Thanksgiving

We made a surprise visit to East Aurora for Thanksgiving. Mom was in on it, but boy was Dad surprised when he found us all standing in the driveway Thanksgiving morning! I wish I had a picture of THAT -- his mouth kept moving but no words were coming out.

CJ met her whole fam damily and did superb with the airplane flight, variation in schedule, and sleeping at Nonna's house. And to say that her family was glad to meet her is an understatement! She was the rock star of the party.

Caroline had a new dress for the occasion. Don't tell anyone that the tights didn't quite fit and mom had to ball up the extra in the toes of her shoes (which didn't stay on long).

Caroline meets Great Gramma Holtz...

Four generations of Bunts women ...

The rest of the weekend was spent being doted upon by Nonna and Big Pop ... which is really the way a baby's life should be.

Now she's ready to rock Christmas!

8 weeks old

And look at all the things I can do! I can smile.....

and I smile and smile and smile. BOO! is my favorite word right now.

I can move and groove. I learned how to move my legs AND my arms, and one of my favorite things to do is lay on the floor and squirm around. And if I accidentially hit a hanging elephant or monkey on my play mat, so much the better!

...........

Weeks seven and eight have been very exciting. CJ went to the pediatrician today -- she weighs 11 lbs 6 oz, and is 23.75 inches long. That's the 73rd percentile for weight and the 95th percentile for height/length. She took her first airplane journey and did fantastic -- she flew with hardly a peep and charmed all the flight attendants. She met all her extended family -- pictures from Thanksgiving coming in the next post. And she's changing every single day, both in how she looks (longer eyelashes! double chin!) and what she can do (track people moving in the room! lift up her head when she's on her tummy!).

Where oh where did eight weeks fly to?

Camping!

Last weekend, we all went camping at Richard Russell State Park, near the Georgia/South Carolina border. To be specific, we went cottaging -- Georgia has a great system of cabin rentals for those not hardy enough for tent camping. We'll work up to tent campings someday, but its hard to give up clean sheets, stove, and indoor plumbing!

Once again, Caroline proved her flexiblity. She ate in a Walmart parking lot, on a golf course driving range, next to a campfire, on a dock, and at a playground. She slept like a champ (all that fresh air?) in her pack and play, carriage, and carseat.

She helped gather firewood ....
She hung out at the golf course ... And she looked cute. She's really perfecting that!

We had a great time. Here's a short video!

Six weeks old!

Caroline is getting busier and busier (as evidenced by the late posting!). We go to work together three times (or so) a week -- Caroline sleeps quite nicely in the KDHRC conference room and loves to play with an eager bunch of researchers when she's not eating or sleeping. Already Caroline has helped with her first proposal (hanging out in the Baby Bjorn while mom photocopied) and attended her first business meeting (which she brought to a quick end with a spectacular diaper emergency).

I have to say that getting CJ dressed for the day is a highlight -- she's got quite the cute wardrobe. She's entirely outgrown her newborn clothes and is wearing the 3 months size. Here she is rocking her flower child outfit -- Big Pop picked this one out, and it got accolades from everyone who saw her in it. They particularly liked the bell bottom pants with functioning back pockets! Good job Big Pop.We're also getting out and about a lot more -- we had dinner out at a Greek restaurant and run errands almost every day. We also went camping this past weekend up in the North Georgia Mountains -- more on that in a separate post!

A portrait of a baby with laundry

We do this a lot. Laundry, that is. And look cute. Mostly look cute.

It's been a very busy week for Caroline's development. She is learning to be smiley and engaging. We played a game this morning where I zoomed in for a kiss, and every kiss got a little grin. She's making lots of noises now and will lay in her crib cooing for a little while before she gets bored with that and requests my attention with a hearty cry. And she's moving around more than before -- she's my little squirmy worm.

Here's a cute little video.

One month old!

And look at me!

A day at the lake

On Sunday, we loaded up the car and headed up to the North Georgia mountains to get some fresh air. There were a few colorful trees to see as we drove to Red Top Mountain. We played soccer in the big field, watched the boats in the lake, and posed for some photos in front of the scenery. Caroline was quite the flexible little girl, cheerfully taking her midafternoon refreshment sitting on a big rock near the boat launch!

Caroline turned 4 weeks old on Tuesday and was rewarded with a trip to the pediatrician (and a shot, but we won't talk about that!) She weighs 9 lbs 4 oz and is growing everyday. I'm as proud of that 2 lb weight gain (in two weeks) as I am of anything I've ever done!