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Long and lean

Today Carolyn had her 1 year check-up. She continues to have long and very lean stats: Height 29.5 in (65%), Weight 17 lb 11 oz (5-10%) and head circumference 44.5 cm (25-50%). As I've mentioned before, she eats like crazy, and since she grew three inches in the last three months, we aren't worried about her weight. When I told the doctor that Carolyn isn't enjoying regular milk, she suggested that I flavor it. So in went the chocolate syrup at dinner. Not surprisingly, Carolyn downed 2 sippy cups worth.

Slightly blurry striking a pose at library class this morning. This was the last class of the summer session and it was nice to have her Daddy there for a second time. It starts back up in October.

After hearing rave reviews from Auntie Carrie about her Ergo carrier, we decided to get one for our upcoming vacation (since she can't ride on our back in the Baby Bjorn). We did some practicing today with our walk to and from the library. She seemed to enjoy herself and was chatting up a storm the entire trip.

What goes up...

must come down, and we finally know how to do that without injuring ourselves.

Block party

Our annual block party was this past Sunday. There was a fire engine, water balloons, cake walk and lots of food. Our block is populated mainly by 7-9 year-old boys, but there are two little girls 2 and 3 months older than Carolyn so they enjoyed playing/crawling/staring at/with each other.

Apparently the Western Springs fire chief lives on our block (not sure how we didn't know this) so we have special access or something to the fire engine. The older kids took turns spraying and being sprayed by the fire hose.

Rolling around on our blanket on the tree lawn.

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Also of note on Sunday was Carolyn's first day in the church nursery. We are still trying to figure out which church we want to go to, so as we've tried different ones we have kept her with us (or in the family church/cry room) during the services. This was our second visit to a church we really like so we decided it was time to try the nursery. We didn't get paged during the service, which made us optimistic that all the separation anxiety was in the past and we would pick up a bubbly laughing little girl, but she came out with tears in her big eyes. They told us that she was okay during most of the service and just started crying at the end. She was extra clingy for the rest of the day, as though she feared being abandoned again. Hopefully she'll get better as she gets used to a little time apart.

Highchair fun

Carolyn's first time in Grandma Carol's highchair at Grandma Dolly and Papa Chuck's house. She is such a big girl now! She continues to try (and mostly like) lots of new foods including meatballs and string cheese. Fruit is also an acceptable option in the form of pureed peaches, applesauce and freeze dried bananas.

We're walking, we're walking, we're...

walking (after a little warm-up, that is)! Carolyn's first actual steps happened a few weeks ago when Auntie Carrie was holding her hands, walking her over to me and she briefly let go before falling into my lap. Since then she has been reluctant to try, but this week we found her launching point. She stands up at her musical jungle, turns around, dances a little and can then be cajoled to take a few steps (unless she sees a camera (which is why this is from a little farther away then we'd like, plus I wasn't looking so hot, so I really didn't want to be in the shot)). She gets a little steadier everytime she tries and has been standing still for longer periods of time without falling. I think we may need to go shoe shopping:)

Things she loves: 1 year edition

Cooking. She received this kitchen as a birthday gift and loves it, particularly the utensils. She carries the spatula and fork all around the house.

Other babies. Several of my friends have had babies in the last few months (including three in the last two weeks) and Carolyn gets really excited when we look at their pictures on my phone and when she sees babies whereever we go. This is her with her buddy James at her birthday party.

at the zoo celebrating Mommy's bday

Food. Carolyn has always been a good eater and, thankfully, she is making the transition from mushy baby food to table food extremely well. This process has been aided by the arrival of three new teeth (her right front tooth and the two teeth to the right of it). Her current favorite is chicken strips. She also loves grilled cheese, bread, pasta and, of course, Cheerios. For a few weeks she would even eat her peas and green beans, but now realizes that other foods are much better. I sneak in a few mouthfuls of mushed ones at most meals so that she is still getting her veggies. The only icky side effect of all this food is when she decides she doesn't want a Cheerio or Goldfish, takes it out of her mouth and puts it directly into mine. Next up: weaning.

Silliness/sharing. Carolyn's new favorite game started off as a love of sharing. She would pick up a block or bear and hand it to me to play with (though would want it returned promptly). Now she overs it to me, but, just before I can grab it, pulls it away, laughing hysterically. She'll do this over and over and over again with it getting funnier each time. (I accidentally dropped the camera (I had the wrist strap on so there was no damage), but I missed so of the action.

Happy Birthday, Carolyn!

Good morning! It's my birthday!

Now that I'm 1 I can:

stand all by myself,

eat chicken (I've actually been doing this for a little over a week, but this was my first enchilada),

face forward in my car seat,

and, best of all, get dessert comped at restaurants:)

p.s. no, Courtney, I will not continue writing from Carolyn's point of view:)

Random cuteness

hello!:)

picking grass

let's get physical, physical...

I still don't know how she got her arm out.

Happy Birthday to Carolyn

Carolyn's 1st Birthday: Party 2

It was time to celebrate again this past Saturday, this time with my side of the family. We were blessed with another beautiful summer day and a well rested (she got in a full afternoon nap) birthday girl.

the birthday girl

(she actually left her bow in for most of the day!)

the Masinis

the Mulhalls and Bertuccis (apparently, I did a bad job of getting everyone's attention)

We were so glad that Papa came for the weekend to join in the festivities!

Carolyn loved her 1 balloon

opening presents

devouring another chocolate cupcake

Papa's visit

Papa came to town for the weekend and Carolyn had a great time with him. They got in a lot of playtime (including most of Sunday morning, allowing me to do some party cleanup). He also helped with bathtime and bedtime stories, including "Scat, Scat", an old favorite. Thanks for coming to visit, Papa!

Fun with cousins

Auntie Carrie, Brendan and Michael came to town ahead of everyone else on Tuesday. It rained most of the week, but we were able to fit in a trip to Brookfield Zoo to see the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit and a trip to the pool. Carolyn loved watching her cousins and wasn't afraid to play along (even if it meant being stepped on a few times).

Carolyn's 1st Birthday: Party 1

On Sunday, we celebrated Carolyn's birthday with Daddy's side of the family, including Grandma Mila and Grandpa Jim who were in town from Las Vegas. It was a gorgeous 82 degree day and everyone had a great time. Carolyn even snuck in a half hour nap mid-party, which was enough to keep her going throughout the day.

mmm...chocolate! As you can see, Carolyn's first chocolate cupcake and buttercream frosting agreed with her.

How old is Carolyn? (I was looking at her instead of at what the camera was taking a picture of, so I missed her fingers, but she is telling me that she is one (with both hands). Side note- she is getting very good at answering questions. If you ask her what a doggy says she will reply "bow wow".

the yard

the deck

playing with friend Alexis in her garden

Happy 4th of July!

We spent the 4th at cousin Calvin's house with Desi's family. We could see their city's fireworks display from the backyard. Carolyn stayed up until 11 o'clock and was a happy, smiley lady the whole time. I think she just loved being around all of her cousins and the glow sticks didn't hurt.

patriotic lady

pile of glow sticks...thanks Auntie Marchia!

When we got in the car she started talking constantly "wow, bow, wow, wow, ah wow, oh wow, bow, wow" before passing out. I was worried that she wouldn't make it through her party the next day, but she did great. See the next post for more on that.

Grandpa Jim's Birthday Party

playing finger puppets with Sam and Uncle Fred

getting closer and closer to walking

Last weekend we celebrated Grandpa Jim's birthday with what has become and annual meal at Bob Chinn's Crabhouse (I go for the amazing garlic rolls). The family pics are on Auntie Marchia's camera, so I'll post them when I get them. These are from hanging out at Aunt Marichu's house after dinner.

Getting ready for September

Gathering on the Green

playing Peek-a-Boo with Daddy

"walking" to Auntie Anne

Uncle Wed, Auntie Anne, Jet and Jake stayed with us while they were in town last weekend for a Cubs/Sox game and Grandpa Jim's birthday. Friday night we all went to the Gathering on the Green, Western Springs' annual festival of music, food, rides and games. It was the first of several nights in a row where Carolyn was up way past her bedtime (we're still dealing with the consequences of her schedule being out of whack), but it was a really nice night to be out.

Zoo, zoo, zoo

showing Daddy the monkeys at Brookfield Zoo

watching an elephant with cousins Jet and Jake

first carousel ride

she wasn't a huge fan, but Uncle Wed, Jet and Jake tried to keep her smiling by making funny faces