Carlson Update

Look at me! I'm six months!

Our little C-Lion turned six months a couple of weeks ago (where is the time going?!?!) and the half-year point marked some big moments for her. Not only is she sitting up (like a 9 month old would, according to her doctor), but she had her first taste of food a couple of weeks ago. We won't go so far to say that the rice cereal was a major hit since she seemed to enjoy the novelty of eating instead of the actual taste of it (can't say we blame her). Of course, once we introduced veges and fruits, the rice cereal quickly got pushed to the bottom of the totem pole; she'll tolerate it, but we've found that if we mix half a bit of rice cereal on the spoon with fruit or a vege on the other half, it all goes down quite nicely. So, far, we don't have a picky eating.....with the exception of peas. As her first vegetable, one would think that she has nothing to compare it to (literally, it was the next food after the rice cereal) and someone would have called CPS on us if they saw her reaction. She choked, she cried, she pursed her lips, she turned her head, and finally, she gagged. After that, the peas got thrown out. Maybe next time? She still continues to giggle and laugh (mostly at Ella) although Erika was changing her today and at just random, she started cracking up! Not sure what set her off, but apparently something about changing her diaper was pretty comical! On a different note, she's entered the stranger anxiety phase and will produce a face full of tears if some stranger in the store or out and about tries to engage with her. Totally interesting to see it since she only reacts to people that we don't know, either - it's like she knows intuitively that they are true strangers, not just to her, but to us, too.

But all in all, we've got a very happy and healthy little baby. As of today at her check-up, she weighs 16 lbs 3 oz and is 27 inches long. She did well at the appointment but of course threw a fit when the first of the immunization shots were admistered. Couldn't blame her, those needles are LONG! Ella came along and provided her toddlerisque support - "shh. Caline. You have a booboo. Here's a bandaid." Speaking of, Ella is doing really good - luckily she's outgrowing her tendancy to hit Caroline at every opportunity and her 'time' in timeout has been dwindling. We think she was going through a total and complete "terrible two" phase which, aside from the occasional episodes, seems to be slowing down. Phew! She's become super expressive recently and it's now possible to have conversations with her, which is so nice! Plus, she's starting to take an interest in letters; she can draw the letter E (down, over, over, over) and the letter L. What's most interesting is that she'll recognize the letter E when we're out and about and will point out them out by saying "look mommy! down, over, over, over" on passing trucks, signs, etc. Totally cool. She's recently added the letters S, O, R, H, C, and P to the letters of recognition. Since all this, we've noticed that she's looking at books in a whole new way now. For example, she was thumbing through one of Erika's books the other day and was identifing the first letter at the beginning of each chapter (the ones that are usually bolded and made larger).
Writing all this is a reminder that this blog should be updated more often! So much is changing and we experience some amazing and comical events with our two girls that blogging more often would eliminate this chapter of an update!

Here are some pics!

First taste of solid food....mmmmm....rice cereal

Big Sister Ella helps with the first feeding, too - "MY turn!" Yes, we hear that ALOT!

Looking angelic, a picture that couldn't be missed!

So while Caroline is experiencing new food, Ella is enjoying the fact that all the snow has finally MELTED! Yeah! She LOVES being outside and we find her constantly digging in the dirt, picking up sticks, and just keeping herself busy by making "soup" out of mulch and mud.

We had some beautiful weather this past week and Erika and Caroline were enjoying some outside fun

Waking up in the morning and the first thing she wants to do this time is read "Chica Chica 123!"

Uh oh. Starting to realize that these peas are quite what she thought they were.

Thought we'd try them again, on a different day, but once the crocodile tears sprouted, accompanied with some gagging (very effective), we thought it best to pass [on] the peas, please.

Much better! Sweet potato and summer squash!

Plus, where there is Ella, there is a smile from Caroline!

At the doctors today; clean bill of heath!

Doctor visits are hard work; asleep in the car on the way home.

No, we did not have another little girl. Apparently, Ella decided "Kate" needed some quiet time in Caroline's swing along with some toys.