Today I am two months old!! I have grown so much this month. Now I can hold my head up so well!
I have also grown, if possible, even cuter! I still don't especially enjoy photo shoots, but Mom is always dressing me up and putting me down on a coordinating blanket to try to get me to smile at that silly black box.
Sometimes she gets lucky and I give her a genuine smile. Since I learned to smile a few weeks ago, I've been exercising my new skill more and more, and winning the hearts of all those around me.
 

I have been going to a breastfeeding support group for the past six weeks- we've had a really fun group- all of us delivered within the same month and have been coming every Tuesday for encouragement and social interaction. Our friendly lactation consultant Sandy leads the group and answers any questions we have about feeding our little ones. Sometimes new people come, but basically it's been about the same five of us (Kara wasn't there today) every week. It's been a lot of fun watching Carolyn grow alongside her little friends. :) From the top left: Lenore with Caimon (girl), Christy with Aiden (boy), Heather with Rachel and me with Carolyn.
Having some fun with Carolyn's curls in the bathtub tonight. You can't see her jubilantly kicking her legs and splashing water all over the floor. But she was. :) I even got a bathtub smile tonight (though it didn't make it on the camera) :)

 

She is learning! Today we played with the special, unique rattle that "Aunt Chandra" gave to Carolyn. She couldn't quite reach out to grab it yet, but when I put it in her hand, she held on to it and played with it for at least 10 minutes. I've never seen her hold anything that long before. This rattle is especially fun because of the bright colors and the fact that you can see the part that rattles (two smaller circle on the bigger circle)- and it makes such a nice, woody sound instead of the typical plastic sound of most rattles. Carolyn really seems to enjoy it. Thank you Aunt Chandra! :)
Look at me holding it up!
It makes such a nice sound when it swings down again.
I'm tired of the game now so I'll make this cute pouty face and then go take a nap. :) The End. 

Saturday, Carolyn had her first trip to Lake Michigan. She experienced the feeling of sand between her toes for the first time (not quite sure what to think... well, frankly, I'm not sure she really noticed the difference... but she will!)
Then she was subjected to the obligatory "stick the baby's feet in the Lake" event (ostensibly to wash the sand off her feet, but really so that we could have this picture for the scrapbook)... she certainly did notice this part of the experience and didn't seem to be too keen on it. Side note: lest you think we torture our precious child, let it be known that there were many sane-looking people swimming in the lake and laying on the beach in various types of swimwear; therefore, it was clearly not too cold!
And she was easily comforted with some hugs and cuddles... and has probably forgotten the whole experience by now. The cuddling continues as Papa Darth takes his turn with the baby. I think he maybe had more turns than anybody this weekend, except Grammy, who rarely allows Baby Carolyn out of her arms and has been suspected of harboring secret desires to steal her! :) So much love for such a sweet little bundle of joy. How wonderful for Little Carolyn that she can be raised surrounded by so much love from the extended family on both sides. I'm so thankful that she can grow up really knowing both sides of her wonderful family. 

Saturday, Carolyn had her first trip to Lake Michigan. She experienced the feeling of sand between her toes for the first time (not quite sure what to think... well, frankly, I'm not sure she really noticed the difference... but she will!)
Then she was subjected to the obligatory "stick the baby's feet in the Lake" event (ostensibly to wash the sand off her feet, but really so that we could have this picture for the scrapbook)... she certainly did notice this part of the experience and didn't seem to be too keen on it. Side note: lest you think we torture our precious child, let it be known that there were many sane-looking people swimming in the lake and laying on the beach in various types of swimwear; therefore, it was clearly not too cold!

And she was easily comforted with some hugs and cuddles... and has probably forgotten the whole experience by now.

The cuddling continues as Papa Darth takes his turn with the baby. I think he maybe had more turns than anybody this weekend, except Grammy, who rarely allows Baby Carolyn out of her arms and has been suspected of harboring secret desires to steal her! :) So much love for such a sweet little bundle of joy. How wonderful for Little Carolyn that she can be raised surrounded by so much love from the extended family on both sides. I'm so thankful that she can grow up really knowing both sides of her wonderful family. 

Carolyn got to meet Papa last weekend. Papa is my grandfather (my mom's dad). He came up from Austin, TX, to spend the weekend with the northern branch of the family. We were delighted to see him! Sadly, Granny can no longer travel with Papa, since she is lost in the devastating fog of Alzheimer's Disease. But one day, all things will be made right again, and she will meet Little Carolyn and will love her so much.
Daddy time...
Just peeking
Time with Mommy... 

I went into Carolyn's room yesterday, expecting to see a peacefully sleeping baby (or, alternatively, a squirming, unhappy baby who didn't want to take a nap). Instead, I got to peek in on her delight with the mobile we placed over her bed. She's only recently seemed to pick up on the fact that it is there and she loves to watch the colorful butterflies go round and round.




 

Carolyn has been having some tummy troubles and neck problems (wants to turn her head to the right and not so much to the left- we think it is best for her to have mobility in both directions). So Carolyn has been seeing Dr. Tinning, a local OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) specialist who works especially with little babies. It really does seem to help Carolyn to feel better! Yesterday was our appointment and the little one was disinclined to fully cooperate with the doctor (she was screaming her head off a few minutes before this picture was taken)- so I provided a mid-afternoon meal for her with the above result. :) Mother's milk is a wonderful thing! 

Tummy time is more fun now that I can hold my head steady enough for long enough to get a good look around!



The whole family enjoys distracting Dad from his reading with a little impromptu TT. :) 

Besides the classic Smile, Carolyn also makes some other interesting faces. She is becoming so much more expressive- one of my favorite things to do is to just lay her on a blanket (in this case, on the bed) and just watch her facial expression change.

Yesterday, she discovered the ceiling fan, a source of never-ending pleasure for her. She has a harder time seeing the one in the living room since we have vaulted ceilings, but she can see the one in our bedroom and loves to stare at it going round and round. I'm so glad we finally got those fans installed before she was born (they sat in boxes in our living room for about 8 months)

As a side note, look closely in these pictures and you can see how really blue her eyes are. I am trying not to get attached to them since eye color can change quite a bit in these first months (and I must say the cards are stacked against her having blue eyes since both Mom and Dad have brown)- but I do think they are so beautiful! I'm sure I'll think the same thing about brown eyes if they come in... but I do love the way she looks right now!




 

Another photo shoot. Carolyn has been smiling so much more this past week that I just want everyone to see how beautiful she looks when all lit up with a smile... but they are very hard to catch with the camera!

Carolyn likes to move and wiggle when she is happy and smiling, making it a bit difficult for her photographer, who would like to be able to not only capture the smile, but capture it in a clear and crisp way!

A subtle smile
The beginnings of a grin
A little too late