Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!!

I LOVE PUMPKINS!!!

Last week, I got to go to a field full of these orange toys. I picked this big guy up and tried to eat him. I also really loved playing with the hay. But mom wouldn't
let me eat it!

Enjoy some candy-corn for your Halloween treats!




And I'll be up to some new tricks enjoying this season's festivities.






And bzzzzzing around.....










Love,
Pumpkinhead

Frustrations & Fits

We are in an interesting stage with Caris as of late. Lil' C is becoming increasingly interactive and participatory in her environment. She is really recognizing familiar faces and places and reacts accordingly. Smiles, laughter, and babbles all abound with clear direction to the recepient of her affections. Oh so cute and sweet.

But on the flip side, our little red head is showing her feisty side. When she is not happy about a particular instance, she will LET YOU KNOW. Take, for example, her toys. She is beginning to understand the concept of possession and has definate interest in particular toys. She recognizes when you take the toy away and if she was not ready for this, you will know about it. With a red face and purposeful scream. She is also none too happy about diaper changes these days. The instant I lay her down on her changer, red faced screams insue. This also is encountered in the area of movement. Caris is not crawling yet, but she likes to sit up and loves to scoot around. Her body just can't quite get her where she wants to be and that means she gets FRUSTRATED and can't figure out how to fix it. Oh little one, don't worry, it will happen all too soon!

Our little 'Fits' really only last a matter of seconds and can easily be redirected by delivering a change in position or a quick hug, but they are FITS indeed. I find it amusing. But I see glimpses of toddler-hood and not so sure it will remain amusing at that point... Right now, I really think it is just a by-product of increased awareness of how her environment correlates to her place in its realm and figuring out what it is that is the source of discomforts.

And this increased paritcipation does make for a very enjoyable 6 month old :) So bring on the frustrations! I love them all....

Can you imagine this sweet little face ever capable of looking anything but??

Fall's Quandry...

HALLOWEEN is on it's way. And that means that creativity is on display!

Growing up, my sisters and I LOVED Halloween costumes. We would always came up with crazy ideas and our parents were just crazy enough to take on task of making our wild ideas come to life. I'm talking all sorts of projects involved to make Halloween happen. Some particularly memorable costumes: Tara as a 'gumball' - my parents constructed a red gumball out of chicken wire and fabric; Shelby as a glue stick - carboard boxes and painting (my parents are suprisingly very artistic so it looked exactly like it!); myself as the statue of liberty - proof I have always been a bit nerdy.

All that to say, I have a lot to live up to. And I'm excited for the time when Caris can provide her input and at least provide some direction to our ideas.

But this year, being our first, I was at a loss as to which creative direction to go. My creativity inspiration was diffuse and I did not know which way to venture. Plus my inspiration time was limited to internet searching at work.

The possibilities are endless.....

All sorts of animals are available for the little ones. I was particularly found of this flamingo. But my consulting teams weren't overly excited for it. Also was loving the Monarch, but they ran out of our size :(

Some funny ones...

I don't think I'm funny/cool enough to pull that one off....

Some 'girlier' ones

TONS of super cute Pumpkins

So what's a new mommy to do? Oh, the pressure. I have quasi-decided on a costume. We'll see if my decision lasts until Halloween. I did not live up to my childhood designs in either creativity or design. But, I know lil' C will be a cutie!!

Fall Weather and Discovery Green

Pumpkin in the Park

Caris' newest look....sassy with the shoulder shrug

Too cool for school....just before she figured out she would much rather utilize her sunglasses as a toy to chew on rather than their intended purpose asUV protection.

Relaxing on the lawn listening to the live music

My my my my.....pouty face, pouty face. Seriously, girl has a POUT on that lip!

and the pout doesn't just come out when she is sad....just one of her looks

Loving Fall colors!

Giggling on the first shoulder ride! Lil' C was the tallest baby in the park....

Thankful for Fall and Family......

Finding Her Voice

I have always been very intrigued at the concept of language development, both verbal and written. I think it is simply amazing and such a testament to our Creator to watch babies begin the journey of learning to speak, with little or no active efforts required for instruction.

Caris has been a babbler from early on and quickly developed the production of several distinct phonemes. We have heard, quite clearly, 'mamama' 'bababa' 'gagaga' 'dadadada' etc. for some time now. Incidently, the 'mamama' sound is usually made when upset or hungry. Interesting. She also couples different sounds together, for example 'ba ra bo', which was interpreted to mean 'brown bow' as she voiced said sounds while we were dressing her and putting on her brown bow :) Pretty consistently, she will mimic sounds when you talk with her. Her favorite is repeating 'hihihihi' after you say hi to her (she will do this into the phone as well, I get a kick out of it)

And when Caris gets to talking, she can put on quite a show for a while. Talking, laughing, squealing, in varied decibels and levels of excitement. She was evidently in that mood yesterday as her teachers informed me that 'Caris had a lot to say today' as I picked her from school. But don't let that fool you; she definitely has very distinct moods throughout the day and embraces each mood fully. She has her active talking mood as described, but she also has a very serious, focused mood at which time you will not hear a single peep from our little conversationalist.

A few weeks ago, I felt like her 'talking' sounded a little different to me. I mentioned that thought to Garrett with the addition that I couldn't quite describe what was different. He, after having a nightly conversation with lil' C, summed up exactly what was going on.

Caris is beginning to have a voice.

It's a subtle difference, I know. But it is indeed a difference, and I find it highly fascinating. Her sweet little sounds have taken on the personality of their developer. Caris' voice is tiny and sweet, but purposeful and full of direction.

Next stop, sounds with correct intent. Can't wait to hear those first words.

Unexpected Vacation

So, it's Friday. And I have not been at work all week. Where have I been you may ask? Well, I have been living it up in the confines of our home. Not quite a 'staycation' that seems to be all the rage the days, but I stayed home. and used the remainder of my vacation days. so I guess it's close enough.

Here's how our week went down.

Over the weekend, Caris succumbs to her first real illness. Fever, cough, pain, the works. I make the decision to keep her home Monday and Tuesday and go ahead and let my boss know that I won't be in. After visiting the doctor, she recommends I keep her home another day. So now I'm off through Wednesday. Thursday morning, I gear up a recovering Caris and convince myself to go back to work and drop Caris off at school. I pull up to her school. no one is there. I have no clue what's going on, so I call the main office and turns out, it's Fall Break. I was completely unaware that - a) there was such a thing and that - b) it was currently occurring. So now I'm faced with the reality that I just stayed home for 3 days and now Caris' school is closed and I have no other option but to stay home 2 more days. I traipse into my boss' office with baby in tow Thursday morning to plead my case and luckily (?) I still have a job to go back to on Monday.

In the meantime, Garrett is getting sicker by the minute. He has been un-well for a few weeks but it finally catches up to him. And he's still working 12+ hour days and on call. He is finally able to get a little bit of time off to go to the doctor and is told he has pneumonia and is ordered to stay out of the hospital for a few days. So now I have two sickies on my hands.

It's full nurse mode.

We've been combatting the symptoms with all the standard remedies. Humidifier put to use. Nasal aspirator within arms reach for constant use. Chicken noodle soup made. Monitoring temperatures. Steam showers. Warm baths. Tylenol. Tylenol. Tylenol. And LOTS of holding and rocking Caris.

I've been in defense mode to prevent the spread of disease. Lysol-ing everything. Mopping floors. Hand washing/sanitizing. Washing anything in sight. Garrett's been wearing a face mask and has sequestered himself to our room. We've pulled out all the stops.

Garrett and I really let illness knock us down; in spite of (or because of?) both working in the hospital. We never call in sick to work and rarely go to the doctor. So when we do, it's usually a pretty bad illness. This bout has had us shut-down for almost a week. Yikes

And Caris fought a good fight against her first virus. It really broke my heart to see sweet Caris in so much pain all week. She would wake up almost every hour at night with painful coughing fits and crying a pained little cry. Her throat hurt, coughing hurt, eyes hurt, and breathing was tough. Night-time has been rough on her. Soooo sad :( But sweet girl was the happiest sick baby I've been around and kept a smile on her face throughout. She was a great little trooper :)

This past week has allowed me to ponder on many a topic; which will probably be best extrapolated in separate posts. Wishing I could stay home every day with Caris, stressing about work, concerns about the health of my family, worrying about getting everything I need to get done. But, an overarching conclusion has been that life, really, is all a matter of perspective. And with that, I am very thankful I was able to spend so much time with my little girl this week. Whatever the reason, however temporary it may be, I had this week with my daughter. And I had a morning with my husband.

I'll take it :)

I like to eat...

Eat. Eat. Apples and Bananas...

Well, we're not up to those yet, but fruits and veggies are making their debut into Caris' diet! Exciting times.

I was not overly anxious to introduce 'solids' into Caris' diet. There is a simplicity in the single-item diet that I quite like. With this new element, we have added to our nightly tasks, increased dishes, created greater messes, and upped the stink factor in the diaper changes. But it was time.

We did the cereal thing for a bit and Caris was not so much of a fan, but she did comply with a few reluctant bites.

Caris' Dad has been so excited to introduce foods to his little one since we received this gadget last year for Christmas. It is quickly becoming one of my very favorite baby tools. It has been so easy to use and we can make a week's worth of baby food in under 20 minutes! At least that's the case when Garrett assists with chopping.... I like that we have control over the ingredients that go into Caris' food and hopefully this will save some money too :)

Anyways, we were glad to start putting it to use.

First in line, pears. (Dad's choice...) Caris loved the pears and the fact that they were a bit more liquid in consistency helped the cause. Yummy pears!!

This week we are progressing to some veggies. First attempt - yams. Not so much a fan, a little too thick I think. So then on to carrots. After initial taste shock, Caris took to these quite well.

The funniest thing about Caris and her eating habits is that she uses her thumb to help her swallow her food. Every time she takes a bite, she inserts the thumb. Food, thumb. It's amusing, but messy. And I'm sure the amusement will wear off if this becomes a habit...

So, question, do babies just constantly stay tinted the color of food they are currently eating? Just wondering because currently Caris face is stained a nice shade of orange after her meals.

Charming Caris

We are in the midst of watching Caris' little personality develop. I know there are many facets of this little person that will continue to be revealed over time. But for now, we are enjoying getting to know the personality emerging.

So far, I think she seems to have her Dad's temperament. She is a 'chill' baby, up for anything and completely observant of her world. But, like her Dad, can turn on the humor. She is constantly surprising me with her funny little inserts from her silly smile to her funny looks and reactions; seriously cracks me up sometimes.

And she is a charmer. Her bright eyes can light up a room and charm her audience in no time. Her teachers pointed out this little personality trait and told me that any time a substitute is present, she turns on her little charm and the 'newbies' hold her the entire time, leaving her regular teachers a little jealous :) Many a stranger have also used this adjective in describing little Caris upon a brief introduction.

I can't wait to see what all this little one will show us next.

(pics from our 5 month photo-shoot)

'Tag team'

Back again

Check and direct and let's begin..

As a follow-up to the previous post, I have to say I could absolutely not manage without the support of an involved 'tag team' partner. The nights Garrett is on-call are so much more challenging! I truly give serious props to all the single parents out there.

Last night, with Garrett back in the game, night-time routine is just so much better. We are starting to get the hang of it all.

One plays with Caris, the other unloads the car/bags. One gets Caris' food ready, other gets Caris ready for food. One feeds Caris, other starts dinner and gets Caris' bath ready. One bathes Caris, other finishes dinner. One gets Caris ready for bed while the other eats their dinner. Other eats their dinner while Caris gets her meal from mom. Alternate turns putting Caris back down if first try isn't successful. Then bottle cleaning, prep, diapers, etc plus normal household duties ensue.

Of course, we each have our 'specialty tasks' and joint family time typically occurs at some junctions in our duties. But, our team evenings definately run so much smoother than solo attemps where I'm lucky to get myself fed before 9 and in bed before 12.....

Oh, and mornings? Ya, I'm all by myself on that one which makes evening prep so much more crucial....

Can you dig it? We can dig it.

(does anyone else love 90's rap throw-backs? No-one? oh well. )

whoomp there it is. I thought you knew.

Just a few things...

- Whoever coined the phrase 'No crying over spilt milk' was obviously not a working, nursing mother. Tears are warranted when this occurs.



- Everyone around me is sick. Including the kiddos at Caris' school. I HATED dropping her off there this morning. Even though they send all fevers home, I know there are germs lurking around. At this point, I feel like it's a matter of when, not if, Caris gets sick. Her teachers did comment that she seems to have pretty strong immunities :) I hope that keeps up!I am in a internal debate about when/if to get the flu shot for myself.






- Working full time + Garrett working 60-80 hours and on-call + being full time parents + an active 5 month old = a very busy household. I am doubtful that my house will ever be clean again. I seriously don't know how people do this all!






- We took Caris swimming this weekend and she LOVED it! We have 'swam' with Caris many times over the summer, but that basically entailed someone carrying Caris around in the water (which she really enjoyed). But, this weekend we progressed to our first swim lessons and Caris was a natural! She liked going under water and kept trying to put her face in. While on her belly, she was kicking her legs like a natural swimmer and even got some arm movements in! It was really cute :)






- We got some great pictures of Caris recently, and with any luck, I'll get them uploaded and posted :) Until then, Iphone quality photos are all I've got....