pics from the 47th week plus a few more from halloween!

So, last Sunday afternoon we went to the zoo. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, but we got there just before closing. So we went to the petting zoo which is one thing we know Caroline loves and zipped by a few other areas as well.





Because it was such a nice day Kev took us to a place he discovered with Caroline awhile ago- a nice greenway with a bridge to walk across. Caroline was a bit cranky for the walk, but she had some good moments, especially when daddy took her out of the stroller and carried her. What a nice daddy.





Here's the best shot we were able to get of her rapture with the chandelier/patterns on the ceiling. It doesn't really capture it though!



Some more shots in (and with!) the little chair in which her daddy once sat.






And in a pinafore her mommy once wore (I think... my name is stitched in it... if that means anything) and these tights were a hand-me-down from Abby or Anna, not sure, but they say "ADORABLE" across the butt... hilarious. Didn't get a good butt shot though.




Bath time fun! The hair!




I'm not sure if you can see it given that her eyebrows are blonde, blonde, blonde, but here she is raising her eyebrows, a face we saw frequently this week.



But really, she is quite a character, she made LOTS of faces during that meal. Here are a few more. This was the food that she was alternately accepting and rejecting all week long.






And dressing a monkey! And she sure does squirm like a monkey.

First the pants...





And then the jacket, ears, tail... the costume really!

Happy Halloween!

47 weeks!

Well... we have lots of pics from this week and even some videos... but it will have to wait until Sunday when I have time and energy to post them! But the good news is that waiting until Sunday means you'll get to see our little monkey in her halloween costume. As those of you who follow me on facebook now, I actually SEWED this week. Nothing too impressive- I just sewed some felt onto the front of a sweat suit to make a monkey belly and some felt ears onto the hood of that sweat suit. And I made a tail out of a stocking knee high, some cotton stuffing, and several pipe cleaners twisted together and then I sewed that shut. Kev cut out the felt and consulted on the tail. It was a collaborative effort for sure. One would think that every time she latches on I would feel a surge of "I'm really a mommy." But I think because she nurses so frequently I don't often have this experience. But setting aside my school work for an hour or so and picking up needle and thread, the awe and wonder of it all swept over me again.

For the first few months Caroline was with us I felt that so often. I feel it less often now, but it is good to know I can still feel it.

We aren't going to a Halloween party or anything and we aren't taking Caroline trick or treating so there was no real reason to make the costume, but we've asked Jenn and Sean if we can come over for a bit tomorrow evening to show our little monkey off. Jenn is happy to oblige.

So, news from this week...

• cutting LOTS of teeth... sleeping little... erratic moods
  
• She has taken to raising her eyebrows at us, especially when seated in her feeding chair and it is hilarious.
  
• She also has become fascinated with the chandelier above our dining room table and the shadows it casts on the ceiling. Well, we're not entirely sure whether it is the chandelier and its light bulbs or the shadows that are more captivating to her. In any case, several times a day while seated in her feeding chair she leans back, looks up, as if enraptured, and reaches for the ceiling. It is as if she is communing with the divine. We have some pics, but haven't captured her full rapture yet.
  
• She was much pickier about food this week, perhaps because of the teeth? Who knows? Kev made her a new dish with cauliflower, carrots, and lentils- a very tasty dish, if you ask me- and she would frequently reject it. But then, if she was sufficiently distracted she would eat it, or sometimes she just wouldn't reject it. Sometimes if we put it on a spoon with something else she likes she'd eat it no problem; sometimes she'd spit out the bites that were combined. So bizarre. She did a lot of turning her head away from us and jerking to the side to escape the spoon. The strange thing is that when she did take it she seemed to like it just fine. Very weird. The only other food she has rejected has been a cauliflower/cheese dish so maybe she just doesn't like cauliflower very much. I never did as a kid.
  
• Kev said she taught herself to open cabinets today. Must put safety latches on.
  
• She's got rhythm... She has been clapping along to rhythms lately and Kev shared that he was listening to some drumming on-line today (he has started African drumming lessons at our church and is doing research on his own time) and started off tapping his foot to the rhythm, but apparently this was distracting her from eating her lunch so he stopped. But then she started knocking her foot into the tray on her feeding chair repeatedly, in sync with the drums.
  
• She's got music... she seems to be singing along to music more and more. Kev plays various c.d.'s when she's in the car and we'll hear her mimicking sounds in the back seat.
  
• She is REALLY into books. I read about five or six with her, and some of those several times, in about a 15 minute period earlier this evening.
  

Daddy K here. A couple other noteworthy items:

1. On Thursday, Caroline was WIRED!!! She was very active during breakfast, and I jokingly asked her, "So you're going to be a lot of fun today, huh?" To which she replied with, I kid you not, a knowing smirk and a bordering-on-evil laugh. This made us laugh, too, but little did we know it was a sign of things to come. Caroline wasn't out of control, but her energy level was cranked to 11. For example, while riding in the car, she took to vehemently practicing kung fu (Bill Cosby yelling and all) on her jangling kitty that hangs over her car seat. She was in constant motion around the house, and she didn't take a nap until the late afternoon. I am happy to report she slept VERY well that night.

2. I got to play The Disciplining Father for the first time today. As Sarah has already mentioned, Caroline is teething hard these days. Today I was holding her on my hip comforting her, and things were going pretty well until she bit down hard on my shoulder. I immediately let loose with my most authoritative "No!" and put her down for the next several minutes. She cried and wailed mightily, but my heart remained hard and my resolve remained firm. After the break I did pick her back up and assured her that I did love her, but that biting was not okay. The rest of the day went well, and Caroline did seem to get the message, and she was very gently affectionate toward me for a good span of time after the episode.

More pics, Less Text- From the Last Few Weeks- Including Two from Today 46 weeks!

Check out the bottom of her feet. These were hand me downs. I just thought they were cute socks. I didn't realize they were funny!




At the zoo with daddy while mommy graded papers and researched her own paper. The carousel? Something to look forward to. The bird? Less interesting than the people.




In a pinafore her mommy once wore.





Caroline will pick up books now, hand them to us, and sit in our laps. So gratifying.



I think this was an outfit that her Aunt Katherine used to wear, but maybe I did.



My beloved friend, Fran, gave us this mini-shopping cart. It has served different purposes in our marriage. Currently, it holds napkin rings. And is a toy for Caroline. She loves crawling under the dining room table to it and dumping it out.



So. Incredibly. Cute. Onesie from Aunt Janet; Skirt from Cousin Abby; baby legs from 1st cousin once removed Laura.




Playing with second cousin Kate and Kate's water bottle.




Playing with Godsister Abby the day before Abby's baptism. (Abby is wearing the jacket Caroline's Aunt Katherine bought for Caroline right after she was born!) Abby has GREAT toys. And a great dog. Caroline loves visiting Abby.



Caroline and Abby hung out with Abby's Grandma and Grandpa and with Abby's teacher from day care while mommy and daddy went out with Katie and Haddon and Katie's brother Dan to see a comedian. Abby slept the whole time we were gone. So Caroline got lots of quality attention. Abby's teacher commented that Caroline's hair is coming in beautifully and that she thinks it is going to be thick. She also said that Caroline's speech is very unusual, not problematic, just different. I think she sounds like a cartoon character. Katie's brother Dan said that she sounds like a very cute cartoon character. Her favorite sound last weekend, said rather explosively, was "Beeyo!" Dan took to calling her "Beeyo!" Abby's grandma (So Caroline's Godgrandma?) made Caroline a BEAUTIFUL sweater- and here it is!



With Godsister Abby on Abby's baptism day. Abby's eyes got wide when the water touched her head. Caroline wasn't there to see it. She was having a blast in the nursery. She did great in the care of others this past weekend. When we came to the nursery to get her after church she was strapped into a bouncy chair (something we never had) and looking quite content. Mindblowing! I couldn't believe our little active baby was happy to be strapped down! But she was. Good for them!




Jumping in her crib. Not that you can tell that that is what she is doing in a still shot! But funny face, eh?



Yesterday... I've been eager to put this shirt on her! And it fits!




And today- in a sweater and a hat her mamie, my mommy made for me! And chomping on a spoon.. Something she really likes to do!





So a few quick updates-

• another tooth is cutting through on top!
  
• Caroline is rather destructive. She's gnawed chunks out of some of her books and ripped the cover off another. We're trying to teach her better ways to love her books. She'd LOVE to gnaw on mommy's books... so far we've avoided that.
  
• new foods this week- minestrone soup specially made for her by daddy, cheese breadsticks, and she tried hummus again and liked it, a lot! And it was a pretty strong batch! She had a lick of salsa this morning and liked that too! Such a good eater...
  
• So close to walking... appears to be trying to step from independent standing now. I think she may have even taken one step today. She'll walk even if we just hold on to one finger and stand still. She can do it. She just needs to decide that she can!
  
• I don't think I mentioned before that the funky mobile that used to hang over her crib broke and so is stashed deep in her closet. She has discovered that if she crawls into the closet she can get her hands on one of the little creatures on the mobile. And she tugs and tugs on him as if to liberate him.
  
• She truly has mastered climbing. She always wants to get higher, higher, higher. And she has no fear of edges. She has made us very nervous more than once already.
  
• Kev just reminded me that on Tuesday (when I was working from home), Caroline called out from the kitchen "Ma!" And then immediately made her way around and back to the bedroom where I was working.
  
• We have a fun toy on the fridge that is a barnyard musical matching thing. It involves the fronts and backs of animals. If you match them you get to hear the animal sound and a fun song about the animal. If they're mismatched you hear "you're silly!" and a fun song anyhow. The other day a duck front was matched with a cow butt. And Caroline seemed to be trying to place the cow front on top of the duck front. She hasn't grasped that she has to take one out to swap it up, but... maybe she's matching?