Five Months Old

Carolyn was five months old yesterday.

Here she is showcasing her newest talent (and her old talents of slobbering, spitting up, and displaying her wide array of facial expressions):

Sorry about the quality of pictures - we were outside and it was getting dark. I still have no idea how to use my camera in that situation. Any tips would be appreciated.



Chubby Thighs

This is mostly for Holli, since she gave us this super-cute outfit, but I just can't get enough of these chubby little thighs:

Fresh and Clean

I'm sorry, but her facial expression cracks me up.

Ode to Spit-Up

So.

My baby spits up.

I might have mentioned it.

Three-gajillion times.

Mostly because it kind of consumes my life.

When you put her on her tummy, without fail, she vomits.

It doesn't matter if it's been ten minutes or three hours since she's eaten, barf-a-roo.

Nine times out of ten, she rubs her face in it before you can get to her to wipe it up.

Incidentally, right after these pictures were taken, I was carrying Carolyn upstairs and she hurled down the back of my shirt and in my hair.  Then, she turned her head and ralphed straight down the front.  Nothing like cleavage full of throw up.

Awesome.

Carolyn Loves Her Daddy

Solid Food

Last night we made apple crisp for the church activity.  Here's Carolyn helping me out:

Making Progress

Carolyn started grabbing her toes the day after Thanksgiving.  She rolled from front to back several times that day.  She hasn't done it since.  Apparently she feels about rolling over the way her Grandpa The Paul felt the time he accidentally drank some whiskey - if you've done it once, there really is no need to ever do it again.  The look on her face in this picture cracks me up.

She's kind-of-sort-of holding her own bottle.  If you put her hands on it, she can pretty much keep it where it needs to be.  Unless you distract her.  Then she pulls it into her chest in a death grip.  Maybe she's scared it's going to be taken away.  This is a girl who loves her food.

Other things she's doing:

- She will roll up on her side but ONLY if she needs to get to something or if she wants to see the TV.

- We practiced sitting up yesterday morning.  It went very well beside the fact that she pukes all over the floor as soon as she slumps forward even a little.

- And speaking of spitting up, it's not getting any better.  If anything, I'd say it's gotten worse over the past couple of weeks.

- She got a little rash in her armpit, which was taken care of in 24-hours with some Corona ointment.  Forget Butt Paste, Desitin, ect, this stuff is magic.  If you've got kids, you need some.  I read about it here.  I also bought the Mustela shampoo she mentioned - it's FABULOUS.

Sleeping Baby

This is how Carolyn looked after getting her four-month shots:

Jump Jump

This weekend, I had a brilliant idea.

To buy Carolyn a jump-jump.

Because she likes to kick her legs so much, I figured bouncing around in a jump-jump would be second nature.

This is pretty much how it went:

She used the side to chew on.  For twenty minutes.  I would swear she's teething, but she's been doing that since she was born.  The very first casualty?  My nipple.  Just so you know.

Then, when she was done slobbering excessively on the kitchen floor, she decided a nap was in order.



A really long nap.



With even more slobbering.

Carolyn's Future Boyfriend

The day after Thanksgiving, I was able to hit up Thanet's in-laws for a second Thanksgiving dinner (many thanks, in-laws!  I love you!) 

Fried turkey, bacon explosion (more on that later), mac n' cheese, football, and yes, time to nuzzle baby Mitch's cheeks. 

I think Mitch might have thought the cheek nuzzling was weird.

I can't help it.

Baby cheeks are just like cats to me.

I have to touch them.

Before coming home, I forced Thanet to make Mitch to do a photo shoot with his future girlfriend.

Good grief, but who knew it would be so hard to get a good picture of two babies?

Mitch was smiley, happy, and giggly.

Carolyn was stoic.

Then, she was mad.

Then, she screamed her head off.

It might have been because Mitch was trying to gnaw on her head with his two cute little teeth, but whatever.

Most of the pictures turned out blurry and non-centered, but here are my faves:


Mitch goes in for the kill:

Is it just me, or is this one Matrix-esque?  Carolyn was throwing a fit, but it looks like Mitch took her down:



 Could the looks on their faces be any funnier??



 And, could they look more different??

I think mine kind of looks like this:

Minus the smile, of course.

How Carolyn Feels About My Camera

Four Months

Carolyn is four months old today.  We did our customary weekend photo shoot.  Instead of her happy side, Carolyn decided to showcase her sassy, sultry side (and also her ability to expel an amazing amount of spit)  - as she usually does as soon as the camera is in sight.

Here's the entire set, if you'd care to see them.

Carolyn's four-month-old abilities include:

batting toys

slobbering

babbling

smiling

kicking her legs

fitting her entire fist in her mouth...but not keeping it there

sleeping through the night about once a week

flirting with every male in sight

looking cute

What we're working on:

excessive spitting up

rolling over - she rolled over several times about three weeks ago but hasn't since

hand control

napping on her own



Just Like Her Daddy

I put Carolyn down on the couch the other day so I could make her bottle.  When I came back, I was greeted by a familiar sight:

Looking just like her daddy!

The look on her face when she's surprised/scared cracks me up:

Catching a Smile

I pretty much spend all weekend, every weekend, trying to catch a picture of Carolyn smiling.  I know.  My life is awesome.  And totally interesting.

When I try to coax a smile, I usually get something like this:

Or this (don't you love the hat?  She didn't.):

When I hand her off to Husband, without even trying, he gets this (but only if I keep my distance with the camera):

I'm sorry, but that's a cute baby (even if the pictures are blurry).

Reese

I'm an aunt again - for the 14th time!  Reese Livingstone was born November 9, 2010 - 7 lbs. 12 oz.  Even though this is Nancy's third baby, it was her first with an epidural.  She said, "It's the best $1,000 I've ever spent!"  Apparently after she had the epidural the baby just basically fell out.  Imagine that.

I can't help but think about how pleased The Paul would have been with his new (and coming soon) baby girls.

There's Something About a Sleeping Baby...

A Picture Journal: Our Weekend