In My Mailbox: CUTENESS!!!

Calla received two packages today!

From Gram, some extra cute summer attire, including shades! How adorable will Calla be in these outfits?




From Aunt Cathy, a sweet little crocheted turtle she made for Calla. Calla is going to love playing with that turtle, I know! The turtle matches the beautiful blanket Aunt Cathy made for Calla before she was born.




How lucky is Calla to have such loving and thoughtful family?

LOLbaby

If you're not already familiar with lolcats, visit http://www.icanhascheezburger.com and educate yourself. Here's a photo of Calla that the lovely Aimee S. took at our recent playdate, which she captioned in the style of a lolcat. I have another one she did of her sweet daughter that hilarious that I will share as soon as I figure out where I put it.

We hope to have another playdate soon; we had to cancel this week due to our colds. :(

Five Months Old!

Calla is five months old as of yesterday. Almost half a year has gone by, and so quickly. Gram was asking if we had cake again, and we did, but on the 10th, when we took Calla out to eat at Fresh Slices. Here's a pic of her after she stole my beer:

• She continues to roll from back onto her tummy, even though she still has never done the opposite, which is supposed to be easier.
  
• She loves to blow raspberries now, which is very cute and messy thanks to all the drool. Often if you blow a raspberry at her, she will respond by blowing one back. This can go on for a while, too. Her father's daughter, what can I say?
  
• I *swear* I can see two little teeth just below the surface of her gums. I think I can even feel her right one starting to poke through a bit.
  
• She can tripod sit now!
  
• She has an intense interest in food, even though mean mama won't let her have any solids until after six months at least.
  
• In the last few days she has begun to pat me on the arm or shoulder when I pick her up. It's the sweetest thing ever. I think she does it because I pat her a lot: to soothe her, to help her get to sleep or go back to sleep, and often I do it without even realizing it.
  
• She had her first cold this week, and it was my first cold since before I was pregnant, too! Our souvenir from Daddy's trip to Dallas - the whole family was sick over the weekend and most of this week. It was a pretty mild cold, and taking care of Calla while she was sick was not as scary as I thought it was going to be. I thought she was having a growth spurt at first because she was eating so much, then realized the next day that she had a cold. I am now pretty handy with a bulb syringe.
  
• She is still napping like a pro (most of the time) in her crib. This week she has been able to do all of her morning naps (except today) without any help from me. Her afternoon naps, she still is waking and needing a little help to get back to sleep, but usually no more than ten minutes. I still hold her for the short late afternoon nap because I just love the cuddle time. I know I'm going to miss it when she gets a bit older. I like that she is in the crib for her long naps now so I can really enjoy holding her while she sleeps for the short nap.
  

Calla's First Trip to the Zoo

Not the most eventful of outings, but Calla's first trip to the zoo was Friday. We didn't spend a lot of time there, or look at many animals honestly, because we were trying to get Calla to take a nap and hoped that cruising around for a while in her stroller would help, the zoo is near our home, and we needed to renew our membership, too. Calla was too tired to appreciate the animals we did visit, but I'm sure she will enjoy many trips there in the near future.

Calla Before



Calla After

Calla @ Grammy's Work

Calla visited her Grammy at work on Friday. Calla is pretty famous around there. The fridge and a nearby bulletin board in the lab were festooned with photos of Calla. The "Flow Girls" in the flow cytometry lab were all really thrilled to finally meet Calla.

Sitting Pretty

Calla is getting stronger each day. She loves to be upright. Here she is tripod sitting on our new rug.

No Cavities

Calla accompanied me to my dental appointment last week, and Ms. Phyllis took this great pic of her. She had a great time hanging out with the office staff while Phyllis scraped my teeth. I didn't hear her cry or fuss at all. It probably helped that the napping stars were aligned just right and she had just finished a nice nap before we went to the appointment.