43 weeks!

We have marvelous photos and an even better video to share, but... aie. So tired. So let's get the text up and then see what happens!

Caroline did great on our weekend of travels. She discovered the joy of pets- LOVED the black lab at her godparents' home and would try to chase it around the house. LOVED the cats at Julie's house. t (And she loved the bowls of pet food and water too... wait until you see the video...) Tried to chase them around. She discovered the joy of a full set of carpeted stairs. The first time she tried to climb them she was chasing a cat and we were right behind her. She zipped up the first six or seven stairs and then, the cat long gone, and many stairs ahead of her... it was as if she forgot her purpose and got overwhelmed. But... before the weekend was over she climbed that whole set of stairs on her own. (With us right behind, but not assisting!) And she was most proud of herself.

Daddy got sick while we were in Georgia so Caroline and I went to the installation service on our own. We got stuck at some train tracks and so made it there a few minutes late. I didn't have time to ease her into the nursery, but she was just tired enough and just fascinated enough by all the kids and the busy-ness of the space that she went from my arms to the arms of a caregiver without a squawk. And I ran off to join the commission for the pre-service meeting. Apparently she was fine the whole time she was with them so long as someone held on to her.

She did well on the drive home, sleeping for part of it. The last 30 or 40 miles she was pretty riled up, but all in all... she continues to be a good traveller.

When we got home Sunday night Kev had a fever of 102. So... we decided he needed a day of total rest (or something approximating it) on Monday. Lacking any child care options... Caroline came to school with me on Monday. I was hoping she'd fall asleep on the drive to campus midday as she had been in a pattern of a midday nap the previous several days... but because I hoped it... no such luck. I decided to treat the day as an experiment, an opportunity to discover if this is ever actually an option. For various reasons I was already planning to record both classes so if I had to leave... so be it. She was WAY too excited about all the people around to settle into a nap in the very large class I am t.a.ing and of course started babbling as soon as the soft spoken professor started the meat of his lecture. I took her out and tried nursing her down in the hall, but she was too interested in people coming and going. So I went into the Graduate Student Lounge study room, turned off the lights, nursed her and sang to her and she was sound asleep in less than 10 minutes. We made it back to class for the second half of the lecture. She woke up when the class ended and people started milling about. We then zipped on to our next class and I asked the prof (who had granted permission for the bringing of her to a THREE HOUR seminar) at what point I should take her out- happy noise? loud noise? angry noise? "You don't need to take her out," he said. "We'll see," I said, "but thanks." He opted to start class with a 10 minute guided meditation and I thought for sure I'd have to take her out, but I sat still with her on my lap and breathed deeply and she remained pretty calm for most of the time. (I need to remember this. Centering myself while holding her might have a calming effect on her.) About half way through the meditation I started nursing her to keep her quiet. Because the prof was so welcoming of her I felt free to let her down to crawl around and explore and she did, with glee. She managed to quickly find the four things she should avoid so I did a lot of letting her go, then following and redirecting. She delighted most everybody. She was highly fascinated with the guy sitting next to me who seemed least interested in her of anyone in the room. Lots of people were vying for her attention- he won it! As did computer cords plugged into the wall on the other side of the room, a table top podium in the corner of the room which seemed an ideal thing to climb, a dry-erase board eraser which she thought was pretty tasty, a trash can, and the bags of my colleagues, particularly those with pens sticking out of them! Caroline nursed down for a 40 minute nap at the end of class. All in all... it was an exhuasting, but pretty successful experience. With the right prof... I guess it is an option... sometimes. Though not all the time... surely.

Just asked Kev for updates from the week that follow-

He is wondering if she's taking after her father's mother's father (the engineer) because she is very into wheels. When riding in her stroller she leans over the side and watches the wheels very intently and has been playing with the wheels on the suitcase that we used last weekend.

She has taken to taking two spoons into one hand at a time and passing them back and forth as a unit. Which means three spoons are needed for every feeding!

She seems to be echoing words more clearly now, though still no first word proper.

Her top teeth have continued their descent and she's been making intentional use of her bottom teeth by placing cheerios intentionally on top of them and pressing them into her teeth with her fingers to break the cheerio up.

She curiously rejected some food the other night... food she ate happily the day before. But for the most part she continues to be a great eater.

She's been taking lots of walks with daddy. It has been a beautiful week of reasonable temps and sunny days.

She's been doing a lot more drinking from big people cups. She LOVES mommy's water cup. She seems to think that she should be able to pick up liquids the way she picks up cheerios or cheese... hasn't quite grasped the physics yet!

It seems to me she's taller every day...

That's all I can think to share for now. I promise to get some visuals up... soon... (Sorry for a laundry list like post... I stayed up VERY late last night working on some school stuff.... dragging...)