Eleven months old

Eleven months old! In August, Caroline channelled her inner party girl and wracked up the talley of major family events attended. First up -- Jill and Gary's wedding! She started the day by hanging out with her G-Aunt Barb and G-Uncle Joe for a brief babysitting spell. Barb and Joe obviously whetted her appetite for a party, because she was non-stop the rest of the day! The reception was awesome -- marimba music and a lot of Holtzs having fun. Everyone was so happy and Caroline clearly picked up on the joy of family being together. I think the highlight of the party for me was watching Caroline eat dinner rolls and shake her maracas to the music at 9:30 at night -- eons past her bedtime. She did GREAT -- was fun, flexible, and did everything I asked her to! Doesn't she LOOK like she's having fun?!

Party number two was only six days later. Danny and Amanda were married in a lovely ceremony and CJ was an honorary flower girl! She was pushed down the aisle by G-Aunt Linda in an AWESOME tricked out stroller that Nonna made for her. She waved and smiled and showed off her pretty dress and bracelet. After the ceremony it was time for the party! Caroline munched down and danced up a storm. She was passed from person to person and the smile never left her face. Talk about love and good times!

As usual, we also spent time in August getting out and about. We went to Ocmulgee National Park in Macon, Georgia on a get out and go day. It was HOT -- so hot! But we kept cool in groovy hats and plenty of beverages. We also went to Rock City, Tennessee on a short overnight. I didn't snap a photo of me freaking out in a minor bout of claustrophia -- luckily CJ kept her cool. What did she have to worry about, after all -- she was the one being carried through the rocks and steps and bridges in my arms because those trails were so NOT stroller accessible. At least I'll have strong arms!

Caroline is becoming a big girl. She's so independent and always wants to explore. She pulls up easily now, and creeps around the furniture unassisted. She's THIS close to walking and has the bruises to show for it from some spectacular falls. She's got six teeth -- thankfully the front two teeth grew in so that she looks a bit less like a vampire now! She's self-weaning -- she just doesn't seem to want to take the time to nurse when she could be exploring instead. And her noises are much more nuanced now, with lots of different consonants and inflections. Every day is fun with Caroline -- she's a go go girl that loves new things, spending time with people, and soaking in the world. I'm thankful for such an engaged, happy, and tenacious little girl.

Month number ten

She's UP, she's UP! Month number ten in CJ's life is an exciting one, as she has a new perspective on life -- the one from a standing position! She started pulling herself up at the end of June, and the month of July included remarkable gains in her ability to move around efficiently. Gone are the days of rolling and scootching -- Caroline's mastered a full-fledged, efficient crawl that gets her from point A to point B very very quickly! She now pulls herself up easily and can creep along furniture while holding on. She even freestyles now and then -- letting go with both hands before BOOM she's down on her bum.

With her newfound mobility, Caroline's independent personality has sharpened even more. She can now pursue what she wants, when she wants it -- and can get rather testy when we reroute her from the stairs, or the electrical outlets, or even the bagels that we planned to throw away during refridgerator-cleaning-out Saturday.By moving around, Caroline can also participate much more actively in our life together. Into the shower she comes when we're getting ready for work in the morning. We come home from work and she plays and plays with us while we're having evening cocktails. She's worked out a route around the living room that involves pulling herself up on the coffee table, walking its circumference, switching over to the couch, creeping down its length, and then dropping to a crawl for a couple gymnastic moves through the bottom shelf of the coffee table. She's very proud of herself at the completion of each loop!

Caroline's vocalizations are also much more refined and frequent. She's making noises that sound a lot like words now, at least in their cadence and length. She loves to be part of conversations (even if that involves yelling over top of the speakers). She sometimes reads along with her bedtime story by babbling under her breath. Once she puts together the details of language, I have a feeling that we'll have a hard time quieting her down!

We've been fortunate to have a wonderfully exciting summer. Ball games, days at the park, evenings at the pool, and lots of travel, including a great trip home to East Aurora for Caroline's baptism and an amazing day with family. We're looking forward to all the events of August, especially the family weddings! We can't wait to see you all again and show off all that Caroline can do.

Nine Months

It's summertime! Caroline marked her nine month birthday in Tybee Island, Georgia -- a lovely beach just outside of Savannah. We were lucky enough to spend the week of Independence Day frolicking in the sun and sand. It was great!


I had heard many stories of babies that don't like the beach and the sand, but I was relieved to quickly learn that that's not the case of Miss Caroline. She loved the ocean and hooted and laughed when the waves smacked her legs and butt (and sometimes her face, when mama took a tumble in the surf). She only complained a little about being sunscreened-up 26 times a day -- and loved the sand. As you can see from the picture below, she didn't mind being covered from head to toe in sand all day, and even tasted a sample every now and then.

In short, Caroline did all that we asked of her -- flexiblility with naps and eating, not minding wet clothes and diapers, late bedtimes -- and she did it with good humor and only her normal amount of complaining. It was a GREAT time.

Caroline's nine month birthday is also a watershed in my mind of "time out versus time in" -- and if I think that her birth was miraculous, then seeing how she's changed in the last nine months since then is flat out amazing. She's gone from a baby lump to a baby girl with a full fledged, strong personality -- who can show us what she wants and work to get it herself if she thinks we're moving slowly. For example, Caroline is now crawling -- albeit in her own special "crawl, turn, scoot, lunge, roll, turn, crawl" sort of way. The other day she protested being left in the office momentarily to crawl into the living room to join us. She's up on her feet -- pulling up on furniture, the edge of the tub, and her crib -- and also doing a very cute "downward facing dog" with her hands and feet on the floor and butt up in the air. Its only a matter of time before she's toddling around the house.

Caroline is also very expressive. She doesn't cry very often -- but she does yell. Loudly. We're working on "little voice" but it doesn't seem to be catching on quite yet. She protests loudly when left alone, when she's out of blueberries, during diaper changes, or when she's overtired or hungry. Of course, she also yells when she sees her favorite people, plays with her favorite toy, during games and fun, and when reading books. She's an equal opportunity yeller.

Caroline is a happy curious girl who likes to be on the move. We've been BUSY -- in Denver at the beginning of June, then to Buffalo for Jill's wedding shower, to the beach, and back to Buffalo for her Christening. Caroline (and us too!) love seeing new places and certainly family. Caroline has fully embraced day care and is busy showing the boys in her classroom (and they're mostly boys) who is boss. Seems we have to work on "sharing" a little bit more. And we're looking forward to more travel in August for a spate of family weddings. Can't wait!

Eight busy months

Well hello there! Caroline turned eight months old on June 6. Here's what we've been up to in the very busy months of May and June! We've definately been on the move, both literally and figuratively.

Speaking literally, Caroline's biggest development has to do with movement. CJ is rolling and spinning and scootching and oh-so-close-to-crawling. In fact, she never seems to stop moving! We joke that holding Caroline is like holding a bag of snakes (happy snakes, mind you, but snakes nonetheless) and that's pretty true. Her natural curiousity has combined with her newfound ability to travel to what she wants ...


And the result is this. Curious, grabby Caroline!

Figuratively, we've been on the move too, through lots and lots of travelling. We went to DC quickly for a business trip on the way to Boston for Oliver's birthday and to meet Caroline's new cousin Audrey. We went to Denver for some mountain air, and Caroline got to try out a time zone change while teething -- good times! (or not). We went to Buffalo for cousin Jill's wedding shower. And we recently got back from a fun weekend of camping at our favorite lakeside state park.

Summertime in Georgia arrived with a bang and its HOT HOT HOT. Caroline is completely a water baby -- she loves to swim. Here's the bathing beauty at Piedmont Park Pool on her eight month birthday. We have a membership, and we try to go after work/school 2 or 3 days a week. Man, does Caroline eat and sleep well after some time in the pool!

Going to the beach is even more fun for Caroline because she gets to swim AND eat sand!

Each month with Caroline keeps getting more and more fun. She eats like a champ, and so far the only thing she doesn't seem to like is beets! Her personality is just as strong and crystal clear as it was when she was a little baby, but she seems to be mellowing a little more. Bedtime is much easier and she sleeps through the night a majority of nights. She doesn't really cry -- she hollers. And yells. And clearly lets everyone know what she wants. But she laughs just as easily as she complains, and her belly laugh is contagious to everyone in the house. She's curious and tenacious and works hard to get what catches her eye. I think those traits will serve her well over time.

The good thing about me being so late with the blog post is that you don't have to wait too long for the next one! Caroline's next milestone is on July 6 -- and its hard to believe that will mark the point in time that she'll be OUT in the world as long as she was growing inside me. We'll also talk about Caroline's first month of day care and our week at the beach!

Seven months

Month six flew by in CJ's life, and month seven arrived with a bang! We flew up to WNY to visit family -- it was CJ's seven month birthday, her mom's 21st birthday (I'm sure that's right), and mother's day too. Time to celebrate!

It was a little colder at home than this Georgia girl was used to, but she posed prettily in Nonna's beautiful blooming backyard for her official monthly portrait. The one below was taken a few days prior in our backyard. CJ loves mugging for the camera!

The highlight of the trip home was seeing family. It was wonderful how everyone really busted it out to see the little girl. We had a fish fry with the Holtz's on Friday night, after a very fun visit with GG that afternoon. CJ ate her weight in bananas, avocado, and sweet potatoes and then tried out the fish. Antie B had a hard time keeping up with the sippy cups demands.

I like how GG Holtz and CJ are checking each other out in this picture!

On Saturday we had a pizza party with the Bunts side of the family. Again, the family showed up in force and we had a great time eating pizza. There was even a giant birthday cake, which I scared CJ off of for ever. Ooops -- hope I didn't scar her.

Here's Caroline with her g-poppa, being coy as everyone else makes kissy faces to her.

And CJ and her g-aunts, smiling up a storm.

I'm sure I will say this at every age, but I'm fascinated with all that CJ can do right now. The weekend that we were home she learned to give baby kisses -- big, sloppy, slimy, open-mouthed kisses that are just wonderful. She asks to get up by raising her arms. She loves to eat and try new things, and we have yet to encounter anything that she doesn't like. Her favorites are sweet potatoes, avocados, and pears. She'll even eat lentils and garbanzo beans, and she's learning to enjoy the tartness of plain yogurt. She's working hard at moving -- rolling, scootching, and lunging. She is getting her knees underneath her so I don't think crawling is too far off!

She's definately taken a turn away from her newborn days and is much less demanding (most of the time). She goes to bed without a fuss most nights and naps. She wakes up cheerful, and is only up once per night for an extra top off. She drinks quickly and efficiently so that she can go back to playing and exploring. She babbles like crazy and loves to play baby games like peek a boo. She loves watching kids play at the playground and will laugh like crazy and look over to others to ensure that they, too, are seeing this wonderful thing.

Nonna and Big Pop were down to Atlanta for a long weekend while we took a long-awaited weekend away. I hear from all reports that CJ did great with her grandparents, and I know WE had a wonderful time too.

Caroline is a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful loving family that do so much for her!

DC!

Caroline had her "welcome" party in DC in early April at the house of our dear friends Erica, Rob and Zack. None of my DC friend had met CJ yet -- in fact, I hadn't seen any of them since I was 5 months pregnant! It had been way too long. So CJ and I put on our party dresses and got ready for the big party. We stayed with ER&Z, and I like to think we were good houseguests. I know they were excellent hosts -- the bed was comfy, there were lots of toys, and CJ and Zack hit it off over a squealing, dancing, jiggly pig that Zack was nice enough to share and they BOTH really liked. And boy, did I enjoy sharing a glass of wine and chatting with old friends.

Brunch was on Saturday morning, post-nap, and the food was delicious. CJ got to meet Paul, Scott, Will, Jason, and Gregory and scored some pretty fun loot in the process, including a slightly-terrifying-yet-somehow-still-fascinating blow-up lion.

That night, our boys rolled into town and we headed out to a baseball game -- Caroline's first! I'll tell you what -- I forgot how bad traffic can be in DC, and we almost gave up somewhere around Springfield Virginia. But we perserved, and Caroline was introduced to her mom's favorite farm team -- the Potomac Cannons ... I mean Nationals. Good news -- in the 6 years since I've been to a game at the Pfitz, the stadium still rocks and the baseball still stinks!

Then, we took advantage of some beautiful springtime weather to go exploring. This is Caroline working her "Lawrence of Arabia" look at Monticello. She wasn't particularly cooperative during the tour, and seemed to prefer sitting on the grass in the big lawn to being strapped in the pack and listening to the tour guide. We'll be working on that with her -- gotta learn to love the tour guide!

Above all, Caroline seemed to enjoy living the good life in the hotel. She ate her cereal in the desk chair, got a bed all to herself to sleep in (with a fortress of pillows lining the edges so that no unsuspecting rolls resulted in a fall) and goofed with us all.

We hadn't travelled with CJ since she was a wee baby, back around Christmas, so I was curious (ok, a bit apprehensive!) to see how her nascent, strong personality now meshed with the demands of travel. I'm happy to report that she did GREAT -- she tolerated changes to her eating and sleeping schedule quite well, and seemed to enjoy the hustle-bustle and new scenery. We are looking forward to a lot of adventures this summer, so I'm one relieved and pleased Mama that my girl is showing all signs of being a good traveller! Trust me, we'll all keep working together to develop her skills!

Six months and change

CJ turned six months old on April 6. Spring has sprung here in Atlanta -- its nearly summer - and the wonderful weather has brightened everyone's mood and energy. We've busted out some adorable summer dresses and her cute little arms and thighs make her extra squeezable!

Caroline weighs 18 pounds now, and is 27 1/2 inches long. That's the 95th percentile for height -- she's a big girl! The doctor commented on her "advanced" sitting skills and suggests that may foreshadow some early crawling. She is increasingly mobile. When placed on her belly, she'll "commando crawl" on her elbows and sorta-knees. She's better at going backwards than forward, which is a source of significant frustration when she puts the toy she's going after even farther out of reach! She will roll from front to back and back to front. And she can spin herself in circles -- when I go into her room in the morning, I never really know which way she'll be facing! (A new favorite seems to be perpendicular in the bed with her feet up on the slats of the crib).

Nonna and Big Pop came to visit for Easter. Given how sick she was on their last visit, I think they were impressed with her development indeed -- the three of them had a great time while we got some free time to work (ok, and play a little too). She was a very good girl for her N & BP, and she showed them around Atlanta -- Botanical Gardens, Carter Center, even the Publix. It was a great weekend of sitting on the deck and talking and playing. The easter bunny brought Caroline socks and bunny ears.

Caroline is a happy little girl who is increasingly able to explore and interact with her world. She's found her voice and will babble like crazy -- but more often, she yells -- loudly. She's got a lot to say. She's quick to laugh and smile and equally quick to voice her displeasure. She changes visibly every day -- physically, emotionally, and certainly cognitively. Her new ability to sit up has opened up a whole new world for her -- because she can sit in a high chair, she can now see better what's going on at the Waffle House on breakfast Thursdays or out to dinner Monday nights. She can sit up to play, so she and I can face each other to interact over toys. She can join us at the breakfast and dinner tables. And she has BOTH hands free to grab whatever catches her eye -- napkins, food, computers, drinks, glasses, jewelry. She is my curious little girl.

Next update coming soon on our trip to DC!