A Thousand Words

Posted by: Cal

I love teh Internets, I freaking love them. What I don't love, though, is digital. Some of my fave albums I own on vinyl. Not that I dislike MP3s, there's just something to be said about the tangible. The touchable. The artwork.
I also can't stand digital photography. I understand some artists can shoot digital and still take fantastic photos, but there's really something to be said for film. The quality. The suspense. Looking at prints from a roll for the first time.
So, for the first time ever, dear readers, here are some of my 35mm photos of Cleo:

Time Traveling at 7 Months

I've been a negligent blogger. I've let the fast pace of summer distract me from appropriate baby updates. But I am on track for a 7-month update, filled with 'old' pictures that will take us back in time all the way to May. Hold on to your seats, dear reader(s)!

Cleo -

You are now seven months old. In my mind, your biggest advancement is that your smile has changed. It now involves more upper gum and extremely cute nose scrunching. It's like you've transitioned from baby smile to little girl grin! It has happened just in this last week, so I have yet to capture it on camera.

Your interest in food may have just taken a turn. In the last few days I've given you rice cereal and then potatoes, and for the first time you stopped immediately pushing them out with your tongue. Now, you haven't exactly started taking bites of food, but this is still an advancement. I suspect your palate is going to vastly expand during your seventh month. Oh, and last weekend your great aunt Val fed you buttercream frosting while I wasn't looking. If you develop a dairy allergy in the future, I'm really sorry, blame your great aunt Val.

You've been quite the social butterfly lately, as we've traveled across the state a few times to see different family members, and you continue to spend time with friends at home. Below is a picture of you with Ryan. He's just three weeks younger than you and cute as can be. And he apparently loves your shark as much as you do.
Back to the family members part, you took your first trip to the Keyes family estate, Bigwater, over Memorial Day weekend. Here are pics below of you with Uncle Tannar, second cousin Kyan, Great Grandma and Grandpa Keyes, and Aunt Shaylee. For the record, the scratches on your Great Grandpa's face are from a motorcycle accident, caused in part by Kyan. It was quite the event. Cleo, not only do you have great grandparents, but they are all active and awesome. I hope you realize how fortunate you are in this respect.




For the last month, your Daddy has been very busy at work. He is a publicist for a film festival and has been so busy he's barely seen us.

When he finally was home, he took tons of time to cuddle and love on you. One day he dressed you in overalls that belonged to him when he was a baby. You looked so adorable in your farmer pants I couldn't resist taking a picture.
We rounded out the month by heading to Lake Chelan. I've been going to Chelan since I was a little girl and it was a strange sensation to arrive with my little girl for the first time. We went swimming together in the pool, since you're still a bit small for the super cold lake, and you loved it. I suppose I should get used to this strange nostalgic feeling that you inspire so often.

Beebs, you are awesome. Each day with you is a joy. You make me laugh and inspire me. Smooching you is my favorite thing to do.

I love you!
-mommy

Congratulations Nanny Paige!

Cleo and I took a road trip of sorts today, down to the mysterious land of the Geoduck known as Evergreen State College. We had the honor of attending the graduation of Paige, who has been Cleo's nanny since I returned to work.

Cleo was a bit intimidated by the crowd, but she clearly was excited for Paige, because when Paige's name was announced it was the only time the yells and claps didn't make Cleo cry.

Play Date!

Cleo and Eli spent some time playing. Which led to Margaret and I spending some time oogling over how gorgeous our bebes are. Which led to photo op! Enjoy the synchronized stripes and amazing baby floor flying poses.

Dan is apparently so desperate for attention that he decided to overcome his mistrust of cameras and get in on the action. Cleo and Eli expressed concern. And rightfully so. Dan looks rabid in the photo. I love it! Hysterical.

Sweet Potato Trauma

Regarding the pureed sweet potato Cleo says, "I decline!"

She hated them so much that when I tried to feed her rice cereal the next day, she tightly pursed her lips whenever she saw the spoon. She didn't even care that it was rice cereal and not the dreaded sweet potato. Note that Cleo is now using her fancy high chair courtesy of GG & GG Keyes and the Bowe family. Now she gets to dine with mommy and daddy!


In other news, Cleo is now a rolling master. She's been rolling her way all around, which leads her to some new locations.

Today

Cleo and I had a wonderful day. For breakfast, she tried peas for the first time. For lunch, we met the Moms at Greenlake Park and enjoyed relaxing in the shade. Cleo tried the swings and thought they were fun.

After Mommy day we went over to Margaret's for a pool party with Eli, Ruby and Clover. She got too tired to swim, and passed out on the lounge chair instead.

Teething and Tears: 6-Months of Awesome

My sweet lady baby,

Today you are officially six months old. Today finds you to be beautiful, spectacular and engaging. You are growing and learning by leaps and bounds. You can do so much now.

Growth Stats:
15lbs 6.4oz (50th percentile)
27.5" (90th percentile)

Action:
Rolling over is your favorite activity. You roll both ways and I've noticed you start to roll intentionally, that is, you spot an item you want and roll towards it. Yesterday you got up on your hands and knees at the same time, but then a sound startled you and you fell down. Since then, you continue to push up on your hands, but I haven't seen you try getting on your knees again. You continue to dislike sitting, but are getting much better at it. Your stomach muscles are getting stronger, but you have a way to go before you'll be able to sit unsupported.


Sleep:
Sleep has been a bit tricky the last week or so, but not because you've discontinued your awesome sleep habits, but because you've had a lot of secondary issues interrupting you. You are teething, which makes you grumpy and restless. Concurrently, you are now too tall for your bassinet. Baby, my heart broke (here's where the aforementioned tears come in) when I wheeled your bassinet out of my room! I've spent the last week sleeping on your floor on an air mattress while you slept (or tried to sleep) in your crib. Finally last night I decided I'm just not ready for you to sleep in a different room, so you now are bunking in a pack and play next to my bed.

I mentioned above that rolling is your favorite activity. You love it so much you have even started doing it while sleeping! But sadly, you don't really like to roll over while asleep, because it wakes you up and you are angry. On the positive side, last night you started rolling just to your side instead of all the way over, and that seems to make you happy. I am also a side sleeper, so I completely understand this desire.


Teeth:
You have a tooth! Your first tooth broke through on June 1st. It's still pretty flush with your gums, but it's becoming more clear by the day. And I suspect your other bottom tooth is soon to arrive.


Eating:
Your favorite food is milk. You like it for all meals and snacks. You've tried rice cereal and avocado, but you don't seem convinced that food other than milk is something worth being interested in. I bought some frozen organic peas from the store today. Tomorrow morning I'm going to steam and mash them for you and we'll see if you like that better. I figure they are about as sweet as a veggie gets, so I'm hoping you enjoy them. If not, oh well. You'll eat when you're ready to.

Me:
Today I had a funny moment. I was driving back from work and it was very hot. I was wearing some ridiculous sun glasses and listening to the radio. I came across "Welcome to the Jungle" and listened to it very loud with the car windows down. Now, this may seem trivial, however it parallels a moment I had during pregnancy. I was wearing the exact same sunglasses, making the same drive back from Redmond and listening to the same song. When this happened during pregnancy, I had one of my bigger freak outs over the crushing reality that you, Cleo, were soon to join me. I wondered who I would be as a mother. Could I be funny? Could I be ironic? Could I be sarcastic? What would my identity be? I feared that as a mother, my humor would be lost in the seriousness of guiding a child into this world. That instead of someone being silly with loud music and tacky glasses, I would be a mom, sadly attempting to be hip. All humor lost.

I tell you this story Cleo because I'm happy to report that when I blasted the radio today, I felt like me. I'm different now that I have you, but only in better ways. I've become the next-gen me, now featuring advanced multi-tasking skills, one-handed eating action and awesome tiger striping. Wow, I'm a mom. And I'm doing it, humor intact.



Cleo, you make every day a pleasure and a joy. Every day I'm in a state of continual praise to God over how amazing you are. It's such a privilege to be your mommy.

I love you,
Mom