This 'n That

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days. I am working on a video to hopefully post sometime tomorrow as tomorrow Carolyn is 10 months old!!! She's doing and "saying" so much that video is really the best way to "capture" her.
Munchin' on a little grilled cheese... Carolyn's appetite is finally beginning to come back after a bout of the flu and the ensuing digestive recovery this week. It's fun to watch her try new stuff. She likes grilled cheese and yesterday discovered the wonders of Goldfish crackers. Pretty much anything that goes "crunch" is good in her book! She loves crunching things with her new front teeth.
Bathtime is the highlight of Carolyn's day!
We got out our Hippo walker thing (bought used on eBay) for Carolyn to try. We're working on finding a little plastic shopping cart, but for now this will do to help Carolyn get moving. So far she just likes to stand behind it, but every once in awhile she seems to accidentally push it forward and then either takes a few steps or falls down. :)
We had a Sunday School party at our house last night and got out the portable fire pit. Here Carolyn enjoys her first S'more (minus the chocolate and the marshmallow... okay, so it was just a graham cracker, but she doesn't know the difference and enjoyed it immensely!) :)

First Shoes!

This week was a major milestone in Carolyn's life. She got her first "real" pair of shoes! I figured it was time for her to have some good shoes since she is starting to spend so much more of her time standing and is beginning to take steps around furniture... it's hard to believe, but she will probably be walking sometime in the next 6 months or so! Yikes! So we went to the store and got some very special first shoes, size 2 1/2 for anyone who is interested (her friends' feet are already two whole sizes bigger, so it seems that Carolyn has inherited her mama's- and grandma's- small feet...)

I was especially impressed with the miniature size of the box. It is the cutest shoe box I have ever seen. I don't think I will be throwing this one away. :) And if you get a Christmas gift in this box, know that you are indeed very, very special!!!

These shoes were made for crawling...
And standing... and Cruising... and, one day, Walking! What a big girl to have such lovely shoes!
Here's a close-up of the most darling shoes ever made. :)

Fun with Mollee

Tonight we spent the evening with Carolyn's friend Mollee (and my friend Ellen). Mollee's daddy is a resident at the same hospital as Brad (except he's in surgery) and both our hubbies were working tonight so we (finally) were able to get the girlies together for (sadly) the first time since Halloween! They've grown considerably since then (see our November archives for pictures of the two pea pods) but still look so cute when we dress them the same. :)Mollee is 4 weeks older than Carolyn but Ellen and I were due right around the same time, and so the girls are really about the same size and enjoy doing a lot of the same things.
There were lots of hugs and kisses all around.
Both girls loved the coffee table in the living room.
Carolyn, Ellen, and Mollee.

Weather Improvements

The weather has been becoming more April-like this week (well not the last couple days, but earlier this week it was quite nice)- one day I put the baby gate in front of the open door so the breeze could come through and Carolyn couldn't get enough of trying to stand up on the gate and look outside.We went out to enjoy the grass. She loved the fresh air!

Crawling around in grass requires a bit of a different touch- she tried to crawl on just her hands and feet to keep her knees off the ground.
Little swimsuit model... we were supposed to start swim lessons this week (basically, hold the baby in the pool and splash time) but the rotavirus kept us home, so we'll be starting next week. Had to be sure the darling little thing fit. Still a little big, but I think we can make it work! :)

We're back from Raleigh! We had a great time with "all" the Irvings.
The flight down was quite different from our previous experience just a few weeks ago- Carolyn has become so much more determinedly mobile that it was difficult to restrain her! We were thankful that on the way home there were extra seats on the plane so she got to sit in her car seat! She quite enjoyed our layover because she got a chance to crawl around the gate and pull herself up on the chairs and the window.
Modeling Uncle Doug's glasses. :)
Getting to know Emily again...
Doug and Katy's dog, Walter, was one of the highlights of the trip for Carolyn- without the complicating presence of the other dogs at Christmas (which tend to have an... energizing... influence on his behavior), Walter is really very gentle with little ones. Carolyn loved that Walter would let her get close by (and even "ride" him!) and licked her hands.

Carolyn loved playing with Emily's toys...

Emily loved playing with Carolyn's hair. :)
We found that this time the age difference of 10 weeks seemed far less than it did even at Christmas. They are about the same size now (Carolyn's a couple inches shorter and a pound or two lighter). Both of them are doing a lot of the same things, though of course Emily has perfected some of the skills Carolyn is just beginning to refine. They interacted alot more this time, though it was hard to get any pictures without one or both of them stopping the cute thing they were doing to look at the camera. :)
Maybe her favorite thing was the couches at Doug and Katy's house- they are a little lower than our couches and the perfect place for beginning standers to learn! She is beginning to take a few steps while holding onto the furniture and is never as happy as when she is standing and attempting to walk. :)
Reading stories with Uncle Brad/Daddy
There's a small park across the street from Doug and Katy's with two swings just right for babies. Carolyn wasn't sure what to think at first...
Emily gives Carolyn an encouraging pep talk...
Soon, though, Carolyn decided she enjoyed swinging! I've been waiting for the weather to get warm enough for us to do this together!

They stood around a lot together, enjoying the world (and each other) from an upright perspective. :)
On Friday afternoon we went to a fun children's museum with a special section designed just for pre-walkers. There are all these fun things to crawl over, under, and around!
She loved pulling herself up on the large mirror that was there.

Finally, CAKE! The reason we came to visit! We celebrated Emily's first birthday on the 20th... Sadly for us all, the cake didn't sit well in Emily's tummy and she kept us all up for about 3 hours that night to keep on partying!
Here Carolyn helps Emily open up some of her presents.

And lest you think I took no pictures of anything but babies, here's the rest of the family, gathering around the table for some wine and some Be Nasty To Your Neighbor card game.

Unfortunately, this is the last picture I took on this trip! That fateful visit to the Children's Museum brought an unwelcome visitor back to the house- an incredibly virulent 24-hour Flu bug- and half of us (including myself and Carolyn) spent the next day in varying states of gastrointestinal distress and the rest spend that whole day taking care of everybody! It's a shame that I was too sick to take pictures (those of you who know me will know how sick I really was!) because there were some really cute moments... but I guess you probably get the idea. If you've read all this way, I'll know you're really my friend!

So there's the end. Comments welcome!

Off to Visit Emily!

Well, this morning we leave for Raleigh, North Carolina for a few days to visit Cousin Emily, Aunt Katy, and Uncle Doug. It is Emily's first birthday tomorrow! I'm not sure how she got to be a year old; last time I checked, she was just born not too long ago! Where did this year go?! Why is it that babies grow so fast?! You just get used to things and then they change!

I'm really excited to see the girls together this time because the 10 weeks that separates them in age is starting to really shrink and they can do a lot of the same things and will be able to interact with one another more than they have in the past. Also excited for some much-needed catchup time with Doug and Katy- we don't get to see them very often. Grandma and Grandpa will be coming with us for extra fun. :)

Not sure if I'll be able to update while we're on the trip, but you can be sure I will take lots of pictures and will update as soon as I can!

Cheese and Crackers with Great Grandma

Great Grandma Irving came to town this weekend all the way from Florida and we had a great time visiting with her. Carolyn enjoyed sitting in Grandma's lap.
Hmmm... so this is cheese... not sure how I'd describe that... more solid than what I usually eat... kind of a rubbery texture... interesting taste... pretty sure I liked the crackers better....
But I think I'll try some more.
Grandma helps me bring the cheese and crackers where I can reach them! I'm such a big girl now I have to feed myself!
I love cheese, crackers, and Grandma GREAT! :)

I have six teeth now and you can see four of them in this picture (plus some leftover food on my gums. :))

Little Crawler

She can crawl! Typically she chooses to scoot instead because it is faster and it is her own personal mode of transport (see, she's already an individual and doesn't want to be just like the crowd! Bravo Carolyn)- but at night before bathtime we have Crawling Practice simply because I think she looks so cute when she's crawling on hands and knees. :) She usually only chooses to crawl when she's not wearing anything on the hard wood or tile floor (cold on tummy!)

I love how she deliberately picks up her arms and smacks her little hands down on the floor to take her "steps."

This look of determination makes me smile. This girl has got somewhere to go!

Lately she will try to stand on anything she finds handy. She's getting better and better at it every day! And today I saw her take a few tentative steps along the couch. She'll be cruising before we know it! :)
As a side note, aren't these baby thighs adorable?!

Getting into Stuff

Now that Carolyn is more mobile, the house is hers for the exploring! So many new things to see and touch and taste!

She especially likes the track for the sliding door. The icky grease that lives in there will soon be the next delicacy! :)
She also loves the oven drawer and trying to pull herself up on it- the better to see her reflection (another of her very favorite things). :)
I do apologize for the paucity of posts this week. The Princess has not been feeling well and none of us has been sleeping well, though it does seem to be getting a little better as the 2 teeth she has been cutting at the same time are finally starting to peek through the gums and the cold she's been fighting all week is finally beginning to subside. We really didn't do much this week!