Angela Diary

4/1/10
Angela Grace is already 19 months old now so this diary is getting off to a late start. Angela Grace got her first cold and fever last week and went to the Doctor for a check up. Doctor Taylor said she was in the 95 percentile for height, only 5% of children are her height or taller, and of average weight and good health. She recovered in a few days and all is well. Angela is starting school and today was her first day. Angela started the car ride by arching, crying and twisting her way out of the toddler car seat in hopes she would not have to go. After a few we got her buckled in. Netty stayed home to work and off we went. When we got inside the classroom Angela just kept a tight grip on me [Daddy] and didn't want to let go. After 20 minutes I broke Angela's latch and she started to smile and played with some plastic kitchen cups and spoons for a whole 5 minutes and back up to Daddy again. After another 30 minutes of squeezing my neck I pulled Angela off again and started to play with help from Carrie at the Goddard school here in Atlanta that has classes for infants, toddlers and children up to 6 years old. Carrie got her interested in a toy and like a coward I slipped out the door. I planned on getting her home early anyway but they called to say she was crying and it would be a better adjustment to cut the day short and try again. So when I arrived I peeked through the door and all the toddlers were asleep except Angela who was sitting at a table staring outside with a hpeless face and sadness only a parent can depict. Heart-wrenching! Well Tomorrow is Spring break day and Monday we try again. Angela Grace will have to get used to it and will do fine.

4/12/2010/ Angela turned 20 months yesterday. Her hair is getting long in the back and her Bangs are cute. Angela picked up another cold and fever from her school mates and has been put on her 1st ever dose of amoxicillin due to her fever, cough, runny nose, ear infection and sneezing. She saw DR Taylor who said it was "Interesting" that Angela still was very playful and happy at home during her cold. Angela will miss school tomorrow again and Mom will go to work and Dad will be with her. Angela is beginning to love Bananas, vanilla milk and crackers. She is trying all kinds of grown up foods and shows a high standard of taste by being exclusive in what she eats. Angela is over all happy when home with Mom and Dad and we are debating if to keep her in school or keep her home with a Nanny again. She had never been sick before school and she still was learning plenty of skills. At school she eats very little and not knowing whats she is feeling, experiencing and doing is rough. You just can't know if you don't have a child. Angela has a little sandbox now on the back deck and loves to scoop sand more than anything. She also did something cute at Kaiser. AngelBaby waited for the nurse to leave then stepped down and released her tight grip on me and got her hat on and shoes and took my hand and pulled me to the door and placed my hand on the door knob and said "Here" Angela really wanted to leave before the Doctor got in. And this time Angela seemed to do better with having her ears looked at and the rest.

4/19/10 Today is Angela's Mom's birthday. Angela and her parents are all still sick. Mommy is going on week 3 of her cough and cold and Daddy on week 2. Angela is almost finished with her antibiotics and is better except for her cough which started after the Doctor visit. Angela missed all of last week of school and tomorrow Tuesday the 20th she returns. I know Angela will be devastated once again watching me walk away from her leaving the classroom. It kills me to do it each time but now it's worst because it will be starting from scratch again. She is so young her hair just got thick enough about 2 months ago to lay down instead of standing up. That was a cute Mohawk look Angela had going there for a while and I already miss it. Well Angela will be brave once more tomorrow and we will see how it goes. She is still dangerously unstable walking up steps or walking near object that are eye level. She still needs to control her momentum walking down or up slopes for she will fall every time with out extreme supervision. Last Sunday I let her run full speed all alone and she just fell with force on her forehead. People have all kinds of advice to give and I always hear "Just let her fall and get hurt" This is poor advice since Toddlers don't learn from injuries, they simply repeat it over and over despite the pain. This would simply be dumb to allow. I would prefer to be called "overprotective" than to allow injury to Angela and thats the name of that tune as Barretta used to say.

4/21/10 Angela has done well at school but has not slept during the 2 hour nap period nor does she eat very much. But she is stimulated and learning social skills and more. Angela Grace will be doing really well after she gets used to it. She still is next to immpossible to get in the car seat and will ressist geting in so aggresively it can take 15 to 20 minutes to get her latched and ready. Angela hates car seats.

Angela

Angela

Angela

Angela

4/22/10 Well Thursday Angela refused to eat or even sleep for the daily 2 hour nap and seems to be having a rough time so we withdrew her from school and will be going back to an in home Nanny for a while. Angela will have another chance at school in the near future. In the meanwhile Angela seems to be trying to copy everything we do and say, the list is endless of words and actions. One example is I was with her in the deck and she dropped a portion of banana on the ground. I threw it over the fence and then she proceeded to throw the rest over the deck on to the yard. Then she got a new one and threw that one on the ground also. You really have to watch everything done and said. Especially spitting is not a good idea to let them see. Sometimes we just have to do it. But you need to make "arrangements" so they don't see you when you must do it.
4/25/10 It seems Angela has a fever again and both of us are still sick with sneezing, coughing and head colds. Back to Kaiser and check ups for us all. Today is Sunday and I'm picking up Mom and Dad from the airport where they return from Spain.
5/1/10 We are all better now and Angela has been having fun with her parents every day. We are trying to get her to eat more. Angela Grace is in the 95 percentile in her height category but her weight percentile is around 30%, so we are going to try all of the tricks we have been researching such as hiding veggies by adding it in a sauce and so on. Well off we go to the mall. I added 10 videos of Angela on Youtube since yesterday and some are really funny.

Angela

Angela

Angela

Angela

AngelBaby

Angela

5/6/2010 Angela had started having her 3rd episode of fever. Her Doctor was a new one from another location and she did more than the other Doc's in making her calm by singing "Itsy bitsy spider" and poking her and just all around making her feel safe. Angela Grace had 102 temp for 2 days and it shot up to 104.5 last night. But there are no other symptoms. The Doctor said to worry about the cause of the fever and not the fever. She ruled out strep[neg test], UTI [no pain while urinating or blood in it] , pneumonia [no cough] and no ear infection. So she thinks it's a virus and mentioned Roseola as a possibly. Angela's Dr. said if the fever does not go away in 3 days to return and don't be surprised if rashes appear.Well Angela is falling asleep with Mommy as I write this and I am listening to Mark Levin on the radio. Good night from headquarters.

5/8/10 Toddler Angela had the expected rash break out. It is a good size rash and I think she is doing fine with it. She is playing and normally eating for a toddler of 21 months of age. Yesterday "AngelBaby" was crying for 2 hours non stop and we tried everything parents try to calm this Toddler's tantrum and it finally dissipated. Today was a slightly shorter episode however just as bad. Let's see what happens. Tomorrow Angela Grace will go to the store with Mommy and Daddy to pick up some beef for a sick friend of Mommies who has an urge for cini gung.

Angela on 5/8/10

Angela Grace

5/8/10 Angela is all better and has been for a few days now. Angela Grace is a Toddler who has just turned 21 months old yesterday. Angela seems to love to use tools of all kinds and enjoys raking and scooping with her new Garden tools from Wal Mart. She is always in a happy playful mood and is really developing at a good clip. Angela has 4 more Websites Daddy put up for her in the last couple of days. They are Angela Kaplan, Angela Grace Kaplan, Angel Winged and Wings Angel. These sites will deal in the affiliate sales of Angel Art, Angel Paintings, Angel Gifts, Angel Shirts and Angel Jewelry.

6/23/2010 Angela hasn't been sick a single day since we took her out of day care all those weeks ago and is doing great. She has a new pink hat and doll that she adores and is saying new words all the time. But when the doll is in her bed as Angela walks in she will be scared, cry and back out. Mommy taught her "How are you?" and she loves to say it. She is very active and has picked up the skill of scrolling through an iPad and choosing the App's she wants. Such as the games and camera tabs for example are a couple of her favorites. I watch as she touches the icon and waits patiently as the app opens and starts watching. Then she will get bored after a bit and pick a new one. It's fascinating to watch thinking she is not even 2 years old and is doing this. Angela now has her own room too where it is pink and very fun. Angela walks in there and likes to jump on the bed like a trampoline and laugh and just wear herself out. She is extremely playful and happy. Well thats all for now.

7/14 Angela is amazing us every day.She loves the word NICE! and is so cute where she uses it. She is beginning to really enjoy Mickey Mouse fun house and little Einsteins very much. Angela Grace tries to dance, jump and spin all the time and is very happy. Angela has started going to the gym where her favorite things to do there are to play in the huge ball box, play with the water cooler, modeling in front of the mirror and being on the swing. She imitates almost everything we say and mimics what we do from time to time. She now sits down at her table in the playroom where Mommy feeds her and is getting more careful with the food and drinks. She will be turning 2 years old in less than a month and will be having her birthday party at the fun gym.

She hasn't been sick a single day since she has left school and is growing fast and is a beautiful little girl. Stay tuned.

8/30/10 Angela Grace has just had her second birthday party and it was held at My Gym where she goes each week. Her cousins Zach and Anna came as well as Mommy's friends daughter and son. Angela can read letters and count numbers and her favorite YouTube video is Matt on DreamEnglish.com who sings "The Wheels on the Bus", "Old Macdonald", "Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes" and several more. She has began to watch a small portion of The Brady Bunch on YouTube and several other clips from great 70's classic programming her Mommy & Daddy grew up on. Especially music. She loves The Carpenters, Jim Croce, The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Blondie, theme from Rocky and plenty of others. Angela has also just learned how to use a microphone and loves singing Karaoke. All of this is mostly captured on video in Angela's Picasa Web albums and Angela's Toddler & Family YouTube Channels. Angela also has been extremely active and healthy in every aspect of life and it is an incredible sight to behold.

Angela Grace the toddler has been doing great in every dept. She goes to "My Gym" every week and during the week is happy, healthy and learning words, phrases and lately has picked up some dancing and singing skills. On her two Toddler You-Tube Channels her adventures are witnessed. Angela Grace is beginning to also demonstrate her uniqueness in her personality with so many things. The way she interacts with Mommy and Daddy's friends is fascinating. She grins, speaks allot of Toddler talk and some real words, smiles, turns away, looks back and places her closed hand under her head as though she is expecting and waiting for a reaction. What she is saying is a mystery but it is conversation. She is very adorable at this stage and everything she does is incredibly cute and fun to watch. Her second Baby & Toddler Family Video channel is also coming along nicely. September 27, 2010

Our favorite Priest and a sweet holy man passes at 61 years of age. Fr Marty of St Jude in Sandy Springs who married Angela's parents and baptised her. A very sad day indeed. His bio is here.