In the colors...

Caris completed her first art project this week. A finger-painted masterpiece, if I do say myself. Resembling an abstract likening of a Monet. No doubt a deeply inspired piece by the new artist. It's currently displayed on our fridge.

(I think that's required in parental law, along with pictures with Santa which we have yet to do :)

And inside our current art gallery resides another colorful display. In the form of Caris' daily intake of foods. The pureed forms of fruit and vegetable concoctions takes on a beautiful demonstration of the rainbow diet that would make any nutritionist (and grandpa JJ) proud. Carrot- tomato combo, a bright shade of red, the squash puree a pure yellow, our blueberry mixtures bring out deep purples, our broccoli-combined with other veggies provide our earth tones, while the avocado displays a bright green. We are having great fun combining and making all sorts of meals for lil' C. Who knew they would take on such beautiful colors?

And we arrived home this afternoon to a display created by a substance defined by the absence of color: SNOW!!! It was really coming down, a beautiful white winter wonderland. (Yes, we still live in Houston, a rarity) We are more than excited to spend a cozy evening introducing Caris to a new form of joy.

A snowy evening set the stage for a perfect evening to adorn our home in the colors of Christmas. Red and green now dominate our decor to joyfully welcome the Christmas season.

Colors, in all their forms.

Giving Thanks

We are still recouperating from an eventful Thanksgiving celebration. This year's festivities were hosted by my parents and attended by 10 out of 12 Herrmann families and their matriarch (my mom's siblings and her mom). I think the count was up to 56. Let's just say there was opera involved and leave it at that.


Caris enjoyed her first taste of turkey and we translated many Thanksgiving goodies into food form suitable for lil' C via our handy food maker. She LOVED it; already getting the hang of this holiday.



To me, the Thanksgiving holiday has always been a beautiful celebration of traditions and family. As I reflected on the meaning of the day, it occurred to me that this is the only holiday in which the title includes a verb. Inherent in its name is a charge to fulfill.


The act of Giving Thanks.

I will say, that I am overtly thankful for numerous blessings on a daily basis. Constantly reminded of truly how much I have to be thankful for and offering up an expression of thanks. But do I engage in the verb? Do I GIVE thanks in tangible ways? The holiday title does not simply enourage feeling Thankful. It charges us to express this through the act of giving.

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" Luke 12:48


Our life is abundantly full of gifts; both tangible and intangible in form. Much, indeed, has been given to us. And we are called to give in return. The outpouring of thanks I feel constantly should be translated to action. I feel challenged to engage more fully in this act of giving. To give more freely, with thanks, because of thanks.


The act of doing can be manifested in many forms. In fact, the very nature of the Thanksgiving celebration is a wonderful example of giving. What a huge feat to prepare such a feast. Always done with a joyful heart, so that those we love can celebrate with one another.


There are the 'big ticket' items. Involvement in local charities, food banks, sponsoring families, missions. These are areas in which I hope our family can be more actively involved in over the holiday season.


But along with that, there are so many ways to actively give thanks on a daily, hourly basis. Giving a co-worker a sympathetic ear when you are busy, giving an email or letter of encouragement to a friend, giving a smile to the stranger in the elevator, giving directions to the wayward patient, giving your downtime to bring dinner to a family, giving a call to listen to a friend in need. All small acts, that when conscious of the intention, can be easily assimilated into daily happenings.


And you know what I've noticed? The more I consciously give thanks, the more I am thankful.


Thank you, to all of you, for your involvement in our life. For your continued support, in all forms, along our journey. I hope that this blog can, in some ways, be an act of giving.

Best friend..

"people let me tell you 'bout my best friend"

...and he'll love me 'till the end....

"Cause he's my best friend.

Yes he's my best friend...."

Yes, lil' C sure loves that thumb. A constant source of comfort, always by her side, takes away her tears, and brings instant joy. Fulfills all the requirements in the best friend category.

I would say if Caris were to make her 'what I am Thankful for' list this year, her thumb would be at the top of that list. (second maybe only to milk...)

Although originally I was not sure how I felt about this little habit, I find that I am very thankful for the thumb as well. Caris is a conent little lady, and I believe the presence of the thumb plays a large part in that. She self-soothes quite well, which contributes to sleeping through the night, easier nap times, and speedier resolution of fits. I think I'll add the thumb to my thankful list as well....

I am curious, though, as she pretty much only uses the left thumb. Does this mean that the left hand is the dominant hand? Or does it mean she uses it to keep her dominant hand free? I've had several people tell me the former is the case... Can any thumb suckers or thumb sucker's mom shed light on this subject? ....You can also give some useful tips on breaking the habit later on.....or monetarily contribute to the dental bill :) jk... We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Workin' for the weekend..

Loving that today is Friday!! Meaning, two full days with lil'C and G. Truly working for the weekend these days....

I love spending lazy afternoons talking, swinging, singing, and reading with my little one. And gladly foregoing productivity to just lie on the floor with Caris and her toys.

No need for exciting plans these days to make me giddy at the thought of my two days a week sans work. I will gladly bask in the minutia of life's activities, for which I an increasingly grateful for.

Watch out Saturday, we are coming for you. And will most likely see you in the 6 o'clock hour to greet your welcomed arrival. Caris is not yet aware of the joy of sleeping in on the weekend. And I have accepted the fact that 'sleeping in' as a parent now takes place on the backside of the slumber...meaning allowing a guilt-free early bedtime :)

6.75

As in months...

Yes, Caris reached the 6 month milestone .75 ago and will see the arrival of her 7th at the close of this week.

And wow. Have these last 6(7) months passed by so quickly. And how much Caris has changed over their course.

In some ways, I still feel she is the teeny 6lb infant that once curled so small in the nook of my chest. I know this will always remain a strong part of the image I hold of my first-born daughter. Instant love, beyond what I could have imagined. Such intense emotions to protect, provide, and parent.

Now, our tiny infant is beginning the transition to becoming a little girl.

Weighing in at 18+ lbs and achieving the 95% in both height and weight and the 6 month mark, she is making up ground from the 25th% where she began. Although it took the better part of two months for lil'C to fit into her 3 month clothes, her size now ranges from 9 month to 12 month clothing.

Caris is sitting up wonderfully and loves to stand; she has even managed a quasi-independent stance. However, her interest in crawling is zero to none. She loves to move and her motor skills and strength are definately there, but crawling may not be on her radar. When placed in crawling position, she immediately 'locks' up her legs to a semi-standing position. Funny. She continues to receive un-solicited comments on her strength. Might we have an athlete in the making? :)

Advancement in fine-r motor skills has led to increased enjoyment in all things toy. Term 'toy' used lightly as any object can quickly become the source of enjoyment as they find their way into Caris' grip and straight into her mouth. She appears to have her Dad's strength-y finger grip and utilizes it quite well. Caris also seems to have an eye for detail and zero's in on the teeniest of such. She is also beginning to demonstrate some understanding of object permanence as removal of object-eyed-by-Caris-thus-presumed-to-be-toy-but-really-is-not (aka - mom's phone) creates frustration and leads Caris to look around for the whereabouts of once present object.

Sweet girl continues to be consistent in her favorite things, though enjoyment and participation level have markedly increased. Bath time is a source of pure delight for the little one as s

he splashes and plays happily in her mini-pool. She loves books and papers; in both the physical and read form. She loves to sit for long stretches of time in her Dad's lap while he reads his grown-up books to her as he studies. If sleepy, this activity will soon lull her to slumber. She also loves playing with her own books and they are typically the first to grab her interest in the line-up; just recently she began attempts at page turning. Little one LOVES her music and it remains the go-to for fussy times. Recent demonstrations have revealed a keen love for drums (hence the Tracy Chapman magic).

Lil' C is a social little butterfly and truly loves her friends, both small and big. She lights up upon her arrival to her classroom and recognition of her classmates. She typically greats them with a happy squeal and big smile. If company is present, Caris is at her best. Talking, singing, and most recently happy-screaming in the spirit of entertainment. Really, loves people, such a joy to watch.

I can only imagine what the next 6 months will bring. Hard to believe we will have a big 1-year old in this amount of time. It really does, clichely, go by so quickly.

Loving watching you on this journey of growth, sweet girl. And so very thankful to be your mom.

(family pic at Caris' 6 month mark, on my first b-day as a mom)

Stylin'

So caris' school is closed today. This time I have advanced knowledge
of the closure and was therefore aptly prepared. (you may recall this
isn't always the case)
It so happened that G was off this morning and was able to cover first
shift. Yay for daddy/daughter day ;)
As I prepared to leave this morning with Caris still clad in pajamas,
G inquired to what lil' C's attire should be. I happily left it to his
discretion. You see, I find it incredibly adorable to discover what
wardrobe creations G comes up with when left to his own devices. Truly
precious, really.
Particularly upon receipts of emails from caris with pictures like this...

I mean, Dad dressed her with layers. And shoes. The whole 9 yards. And anyone who knows G knows that a lot of thought went into this outfit. I probably looked at this picture 20 times yesterday; each envoking the same reaction of pure joy and love at the thought of the mornings syle session. Seriously loved it.

In conclusion

The magic touch came courtesy of Tracey Chapman and Macy Gray.
Thanks ladies. Your musical skills did what no amount of nursery- rhyming could do. Calmed caris.
And thus ends our 4-part documentary series on riding-in-the-car-with- caris.

Since we're on this topic...

I'll go ahead and belabor it for a little longer....

Peekaboo with a happy traveler. I love baby laughs!

Postlude

I blame it on the time change. Along with many other transition
issues. It's not so easy for the little ones to make the shift.

Commuting with Caris

Oh the car.

It's hit or miss when Lil' C is confined in her carseat.


Honestly, it's more hit than miss. From early on, Caris has been really a great little traveler. Which bodes well for her frequently travelling caregivers. Typically sleeps or plays contently on most occasions when driving to a destination is in order.


But the atypical does indeed occur. And let me tell you, when lil' C does not want to be in the car. You. Will. Know.


Persistant. Inconsolable. Screams-that-make-you-want-to-hit-your-head-on-the-window. (and I admittedly did so a few times last week)


If it's a party of 3 in the car, a visit by mom to the backseat will settle lil' C down.


But when it's just the two girls, and emploring such method would greatly impair my ability to drive, there are NO SOLUTIONS. Truly. Music, toys, windows-down, no music, singing, talking, touching. All tried. All failed.


Enter rush hour Houston traffic. Which transformed my 4 mile commute home into a stop-and-go filled 30 minute trek.


That was my last-week. Every day.


I think the issue at hand is that Caris, following a long day at school, wants to be with her mom. She is a little mommy-clingy these days and as previously mentioned, quite aware af her happenings. So after getting to see mom for not-enough minutes at school and then confined to the backseat with barriers to her desired target of affections, she is none to happy about the situation.


In hopes of potential remedy, I'm going to try to spend a little more time with her before we leave school this week. With hopes for a two-fold benefit of happier Caris and less traffic. Downfall being later arrival home. But hopefully arrival will then be sans-migraine which should contribute to a better evening, regardless of the reduced length.





Oh the joys of an 8-5 working city mom.