Big girl is 4 months old!

January 2, 2012  Wow!  The days seem to be flying by.  This month CC is become much more vocal.  She has the most adorable machine gun laugh and her giggle is developing.  She also blows raspberries (and has been for a couple months)  She has started this funny clicking sound too. 

She is very interactive with the dog, loves to play on her mat.  She loves to play with her toys that dangle in front of her in her car seat, swing, and bouncer.  She really wants to be able to see and do everything herself.  She loves to attack things with her mouth and make an actual attack sound when she does it.  It isn't uncommon to see her attacking her bear, toy purse, mom's chin, dad's cheek, her own hands, etc.

CC also is VERY serious about eating.  She loves her bottle and definitely recognizes it.  When she gets an eye on seeing you make a bottle or get dangerously close to making a bottle she is a little fussy pants!  She loves her baba!

We've been finding her flipping from her back to her tummy.  Her scooting has been in circles mostly or backwards...but not at large distances.  It is fun to look back at how she has grown and changed over the last few months.

Here are some random photos and a couple of videos.  I recognize I sound like a goober in them, but try not to concentrate on me :)

She loves the exersaucer

Lunchtime Pizza @ The Rock (Yummo!)

Giggle giggle

Holding that head up

Nom, Nom, Nom

I love to scoot backwards and in circles

haha

bathtime bliss

Perfected tummy time and toy holding/chewing simultaneously

She loves to read her books

laughing with daddy

What is that stuff on your face Daddy?

Wooh! I spun around a little too quickly!

This month she had her first swimming adventure and her first play in the snow adventure too!

Back to work...

I started back at work on January 9, 2012.  It was probably a harder adjustment for me than for CC I'm guessing.  She is still at home and she and daddy get to play and Dad has to try and fit in his homework assignments and cleaning and keeping up the house.  Week one is complete.  It wasn't quite as difficult as I thought it would be to get back into the swing of things.  I only needed caffeine (Coke Zero) and Excedrin 3 of the 5 days!

I managed to memorize all the kids names before the end of the week and I also am getting the hang of a the whole new grading system.  It has been an undertaking but honestly, everything has been less stressful as I thought it would be.

 HUGE thanks to Lauren and Teresa for helping us out in watching CC here and there as Paul juggles his classload and we get to go to swimming lessons together.  Oh yes, I can't forget Paul and I started swimming lessons together this week too!   Why not bring as much chaos to our newly adjusting lives as possible.  It was a great first lesson and I look forward to becoming a stronger swimmer.

So I worked 5 days and have had a few more days off this week...thank you snow.

Happy Domestication Day!

I don't what has come over me in my motherhood moments.  I feel the need to do things I haven't before and feel brave enough to do them.  Okay this one is pretty lame on the scale of lame to completely totally amazing...but hey, I tried something!


So since CC was born I started sewing.  Mind you I don't really know what I'm doing.  I followed a pattern (for the first time) to make CC a cute corderoy jumper.  I made CC's Christmas blanket with my amazing VT Kathleen Crawford who so diligently helped me with the construction of the blanket and the gathering of the ruffle.  I have been making hair stuff- bows, clips, etc.  and dabbling with some of my "small electrics" in the kitchen.

Today I decided to bust out the bread maker (see I told you it was on the lame side, I didn't really do much but dump the ingredients!)  I must preface this by saying that I was gifted the bread maker when I was in college by my mom and dad.  I tried it like 2 or 3 times (no success with the yeast actually making the dough rise) and then haven't touched it since.   When I was putting the griddle away in the entry way closet (don't get me started about the confined space we live in and our creative storage ways) I saw it sitting there, tucked underneath my spare new pair of nike flip flops and my retro Jordan 3 harbor blue basketball shoes.  I saw it and thought, I can't go wrong.

I have to also tell you that both my mother in law and sister in law are wonderous bakers.  They are always crafting and making things.  It hasn't always been a joy of mine, mainly because I didn't like to take the time, but now that I have my hubby and it is not just me that will enjoy it, I've been trying my hand at new things.

So back to the bread maker.  I pulled it down from the spot that it has been for more than 7 years-wiped it down inside and out and then decided to thumb through it for some recipe ideas.  I wanted to make plain white or potato bread but the recipe needed dry milk and I didn't want to go to the store.  I came across this Oatmeal Date bread.  I decided to make Oatmeal Craisin bread instead because a) I don't like dates, and b) I didn't have any on hand anyhow.  It seemed easy enough.  Brown sugar, flour, yeast (eek! will it work, my mom had a fear of yeast that was passed down to me I guess...), oil, water and salt.  I figured can't go wrong if it has brown sugar in it!

Here is the finished product.  Not the BEST bread I've tasted, but not the worst either.

It's fun to swim at the Y-M-C-A

...Especially when it is snowing outside and no one else braved the roads to venture out on such a snowy day (school/work was canceled for both Paul and I)

Paul cleared off the superhonda 2.0 and warmed it up while I gathered CC's warm clothing goods, diaper bag and well CC.  I bought a whole bumch of different sized suits at the end of the summer when they were on clearance for super cheap as I assume it will be challenging to find them at this time of year.  I'm determined to have CC be a strong swimmer.  I think swimming is a good lifeskill, especially now that I have a knee injury and it is my only way of exercising at this point...I digress.

A little pre-swimming photo shoot.

She's happy and we don't know why...we all just woke up!

Um, I think I'm sliding...

I toppled over!  That was fun!

I am a happy baby girl!

So we got to the Y, me in my flip flops, Paul in his winter coat, CC in Paul's winter coat.  The pool was pretty empty.  In fact there were a couple lap swimmers, the guard, and us.

CC didn't really have much of a reaction when we put her in the water.  She didn't smile, she didn't cry, she was just kind of curious.  Eventually she was interested in looking at her hands and feet in the water.  She floated around on her back and on her tummy.  She kicked her legs but didn't really ever splash with her hands.  She loved it when mom made a little fountain under the water for her to peer at.  The guard let us use the kids alphabet letters that float (note to self, bring your own next time so that the little bug can put them in her mouth and we do know where the ones we own have been).

She was intently looking at the surface of the water I'm guessing her perspective was distorted when she looked at the water so we couldn't get her to look up for any of the photos.  Oh well.

Did I mention how proud of her I was?  She didn't cry once.  She let me hold her hands as her body floated behind her.  She especially liked it when we bobbed up and down in the water.  CC and daddy played chase.  Paul acted like a shark and came up and tickled her.   It was a glorified version of peek-a-boo.  But she still wouldn't smile.    Well enough of this jibber jabber I'm sure you all want to see the beautiful baby floating around.

First dunk, toes are hitting the water

Here I go!

I love trying to get those letters and that octopus!

They are just out of reach!

more floating

Getting out was still not a big deal.  She didn't cry at all.  They have these nice assisted changing rooms that have a shower, bench, etc.  So the three of us were able to get cleaned up altogether.  As soon as we put her in the shower to rinse off all the chlorine she started talking up a storm making all sorts of noises and smiling away. 

What a great way to spend an unexpected day off!  This is the first of many pooltime adventures.  Snorkling off for now.  Leaving you with a few post swimming shots for your enjoyment.

Post swimming, warm, happy and very tired

Look at those cheeks! (and those eyelashes!)

Happy Happy

 





Dangling Memories--let some slip away

I started this post in July of 2011. With one quick push of a button the entire thing erased so I've waited to write it because of my frustration with the deletion of said post.  The reason for this post was because I was going through my 'nesting' phase of pregnancy and we were clearing out the baby's room and sorting through stuff that had just been sitting around. 

First, I have a little momento box that I got when I graduated from High School. It looks like a mini-hope-chest.  I have been keeping all sorts of tiny memories in it.  Rather than spend time breaking down each and every item.  I'll just tell you a few things.

Desert Storm Pin from my mommy.  We would wear them to support our troops
My first watch--Mickey Mouse Face
A rock that is shaped like a heart, my dad always brought them home for my mom.
A roll of nickels from one of my dad's trips to vegas for a conference.
$2 bill, from neighbors growing and --The Ayers and one from my Grandpa and Grandma Welch
Both of my tassels at that time--HS and BA
My patch from Craters of the Moon
My daddy's dog tags from the National Guard.
A pink whistle from who knows when
Random change that meant something at one point but is a blur now.
I added Paul's coin collection from his Grandpa Hays
I had keychains and keys from my summer hire work at Potlach Consumer Products Division
The address label from my hot pink personal cooler lunchbox from elementary school
Gumby and Pokey, need no explanation
A little clock, graduation present from my neighbors growing up--the Favors
I know there were more things at one point...many little gadget and toys that my friend Jodi Brockman Brown and I would collect and haul around with us in the VW bug while in high school.  I think we used that yellow/blue ticky tack to hook things to the dashboard.  That reminds me, I wish I could locate the picture of the bug when we decorated for Christmas, bulb ornaments, garland and such. 

Update:  Thanks to Jodi for sending the picture to me! YAY!  What joyous memories we had in that rusty pile.

What a blast we used to have in that car...

 Second:  This is my "So-Sew" cloth.  My  mom was tired of us talking back ( I guess it is probably mostly me since I was 5 years younger than D and he was probably not much of a back talker, and 7 years younger than K --according to my sister I wasn't the angel that my mom led me to believe I was as a child).  Anyway--I love this idea and I think it worked!

Every time I would snarkily say "so" to my mom, she would have me sew a button by hand on denim!  It was  a clever and good consequence. She posted all three of us kids demin squares on the railing in the kitchen as a reminder. 

Third:  My keys!  This is my first set of keys with the bug key, our Lewiston house key, and some other garage keys or something.  I did finally part with them, good idea since we no longer own the Lewiston house (that includes the garage), we don't own the bug and well, I have no idea what the other ones are for!  I will sure miss that oddly shaped bug key.

Cleaned out my closet (it is not just clothes it is our only storage space in our home) and found...my HS honor society cords.  I am going to post this picture, toss them and never look back.

Thanks for taking the trip down ol' memory lane with me!

Reading with Claudia Cate

December 2011

We have recently begun reading with CC more regularly.  It has been fun to watch her expressions as she looks at the pages and listens to our voices.  It has also been fun listening to her cooing as we read, but the most exciting thing happened today.  We were reading "Baby's Christmas"  a board book from my childhood that has 5 page turns---CC on her own successfully turned 3 of the 5 page turns!  I know she probably isn't completely cognizant of the action...She did grab and push the page the direction it needed to go without any assistance or coaxing by mom and dad!  Yay CC!  You are such a big girl!

I was recently at a Book Sale and some grandma figure teachers told me something along the lines of read to your baby..if you read to her regularly your going to have a scholar on your hands.  It's true!  I love watching her soak up the pictures and listen intently to the words when we read to her.  I picture her brain as a sponge gaining all sorts of knowledge and categorizing it in her pwn learning card catalog.