Seven Months

Our 7 month old sweetie!

The most noticeable difference between month six and seven would have to be the fact that she definitely has a much more acute sense of the world around her. She wants to watch everything (making feeding more difficult in a distracting setting), she wants to play with everything that Taylor is playing with (including an increased interest in toys with buttons to push), shows more concentration with pages of board books, and definitely an increased sense of when mama or dad walk out of the room (separation anxiety has made daycare drop-offs a little more tough this past week or two).

She is definitely becoming a more fun, interactive, vocal little girl.

This past month we have also had a fair amount of visits to the doc. Today Camryn started her second round of antibiotics for an ear infection. At least this time it is just one ear and not both.

7 month picture

(Taylor at 7 months...)

(Cam at 7 months)

At 7 months, Camryn is:
* Consistently waking up at least once, sometimes twice a night (with the ear infections popping up, as well as a sore throat mixed in there as well, our nights have certainly been less than perfect this month)

* Weighed 16lbs 10.5oz and was 25.5in long at her appointment today

* Taking short naps at daycare, and subsequently taking a longer late afternoon nap pretty soon after we get home from work

* Going to bed around 7:30-8pm, and getting up between 6am-7am

* Wearing size 2 diapers during the day, size 3 at night, and wearing 6-12 month clothes

* Eating a consistent breakfast and dinner that includes oatmeal cereal and fruit & veggies (so far she has tried apples, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, and carrots)

* Not interested in rolling over or being on her tummy much now that she feels more confident with sitting up and being able to reach toys that are farther and farther out of reach

* Is definitely starting to show a preference for certain "lovies", including a little white lamb (her first stuffed animal that was given to her by her great uncle and great aunt who live in Sante Fe), and either her own pink and brown silky blanket or Taylor's green taggie blanket

Pictures of our 7 month little sweetie pie :o)

(Checking out her toes)

(excited about getting a chance to play with big sister's toys :o))

Penguins, sharks, dolphins....

This past weekend, we took the girls on a trip to Chicago to visit Shedd Aquarium with my mom, a.k.a. Mem. :o) We had been thinking about taking this trip for a while because Taylor LOVES fish and aquariums, and recently had seen the movie, "Finding Nemo", too! 

Saturday night, we stayed together in a hotel outside of the city. We enjoyed a fun dinner out and then Taylor, Ryan and Mem spent sometime playing in the kiddie splash zone of the hotel's pool area (Camryn was more interested in getting snuggled in bed then going swimming, so she and I didn't stay very long :)). It was the perfect depth for Taylor to be able to run and play around.

Sunday morning we were up EARLY (5am Chicago time!)...
Mem and the girls just waking up :o)

...but between packing up, breakfast, driving into the city, and trying to find a parking spot (which took too long, and Taylor ended up getting sick in the car :( ), we arrived at the aquarium doors 10 minutes before it opened! And just as we had hoped - Sunday morning proved to be a great time to visit! We didn't really have lines at all, and a few areas we had all to ourselves!

Now for the pictures!! Unfortunately, the pictures were a little tricky to take because of the no-flash rule and how dark some of the areas were (and we forgot our good camera - shucks!), but we still managed to capture a bit of the fun we had at Shedd.

Heading into the aquarium - Chicago was definitely the WINDY city on Sunday - it was also SO warm!

As soon as we walked in, we immediately saw Diego and Dora! There were a few 4-D movies, including a Diego and Dora water adventure, that were playing at Shedd, and Taylor was quite thrilled to see these familiar faces!

Also, Ice Age was playing...

To say that Taylor was a little excited about all that she saw, would be an understatement...such a fun thing to be able to see these creatures that we read about and see on TV, in person!

Little girl - big tank...we could have stood here for a long time

Camryn was quite amazed, too :o)

A shark, twice the size of her ... so cool

So much to see!

Penguins! Taylor loved these and we went to visit them twice

 

Watching them swim underwater

Dolphins - underwater

Watching the dolphin show (Camryn took a good nap during a good part of the performance)

Seahorses

Beluga whale, swimming upside down (and her baby, who was nursing!)

It was a great trip - one that will be repeated!! :o)

Pure Fall

Gotta love a good-old fashioned leaf pile...

Plus a toddler who takes great joy in jumping in the middle...

(edited to add: This is Taylor wearing the same coat and hat a year ago - she seems so little! :o))

Halloween 2012

Just a few pictures of Halloween this year.... we went trick-or-treating in downtown Holland on the Saturday before the actual holiday, and it is a good thing that we did, because the weather was rainy, cold and windy on Halloween night.

Our little kitties doing their first round of trick-or-treating

A few other pictures turned out well...

Bapa and Taylor

Mem and her two little kitties

But when it came to trying to get a picture of both girls together, this is what Taylor thought about that idea...she wasn't into it. Little stinker :)

We love our two little kitties! :)