Breaking Ground, Having Fun, and Karmann turning 1!!

The family photo on the lot at Karmann's 1st Birthday Party!

Michaelle, Marissis and I were all pregnant with Marcus, Maya and Karmann at the same time at work!

"Group photo"

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We had a great time at Karmann's first birthday party! We had warm weather without rain, lots of good friends, and lots of beer too (not for Karmann of course!) We also decided to share the celebration to "break ground" for our house to be, so we had the party on the lot. We did have running water, and a port-o-potty for our guests. Hopefully this time next year, the accommodations will include indoor plumbing!!

The event was a lot of work, and we have to thank everyone for helping out! Especially Alberto and Bianca for the tent, tables, chairs, and hay bales; Jim for being grill master for most of the time; Brandi and Brianna for icing the cupcakes; and to Jennifer for helping me get to the party with Karmann et al! Karmann had a doctors visit that morning, which was not planned, so I was running really late with my responsibilities, so thank goodness Jen was able to come help me out and Karmann was only 45 minutes late to her party - sorry Karmann, I hope this is not a trend in your future big moments in life!!

She was so cute dressed up in her little ladybug dress and patent leather shoes and lace socks! She had a great time with all of her friends and was so blessed to have so many people to celebrate with here in Orlando! It truly was our extended "family" that attended!

We were all WORN OUT last night, and had a relaxing day today opening gifts and hanging out with Grandpa. A couple of the gifts Karmann already had, so we donated those to "Toys for Tots" for another little angel to enjoy for Christmas.

Enjoy the photos and again, thank you to everyone who came to the party! We had a great time!

7 teeth and more to come!

Finally we were able to get a photo of Karmann's teeth. You can't see the 7th one in this picture, but it is on the bottom right, so that makes a total of 4 on the top, and 3 on the bottom.
This weekend Karmann and I went to Maya's 1st birthday party. I was pregnant at the same time as Maya's mom at work, so we've been through a lot together in the past year and 9 months! Here's Karmann and Maya with Alex and Patricia who work with us too.
GG also sent Karmann an early package for her birthday and Christmas. Here she is figuring out how to rip the paper off the box. It wasn't too exiting this time, but I can't wait to see her at Christmas. She'll be the new little elf before we know it!
Kris and I have been busy trying to get ready for Karmann's 1st birthday party, getting Christmas cards out, and still working on the house plans. Needless to say, I'm tired and this blog entry is going to be short! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving weekend

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What a crazy busy weekend! Here's a brief itinerary:

Mon 23: Debbie flew into Orlando

Tues 24: Amara joins the party in Orlando

Thursday 25: Turkey Trot in Morning, Aunt Judy's for supper, Steve flies in to Orlando.

Friday 26: Stenger crew drives to Tampa for Thanksgiving dinner at Keri and Choy's house. Stay the night.

Sat 27: Drive from Tampa to Sarasota to have breakfast with Carrie, Matt and Beth Pontecore. Drive back to Orlando, unpack, re-pack for Cocoa. Drive to Cocoa Beach and meet Sarah and Charlie for dinner.

Sun 28: Wake up really early and head to Cocoa Village for Kris to run the marathon and Sarah and Charlie to run the half. All had a great race. Pack up, drive back to Orlando.

Monday 29: Grandma and Papa head back to Illinois.

Enjoy the photos!!

Taking steps!!

Photo proofs from her first school pictures! You have no idea how difficult it was to get her to smile just this much!! Very unusual for her!!

Today Karmann turned 11 months old! And, she surprised me by taking 3 steps all by herself tonight!! She was standing by herself at the TV and I was on the floor with her, and I asked her to walk to momma and she did!! I was so proud of her!!! We celebrated by hugging and screaming joyously!! Of course I couldn't get her to do it again! She seemed really confident about it, so I am suspicious that she has done this before!! All I have to say is we better watch out!! She is on the move!

This past weekend I spent my first night away from Karmann. Kris watched after her as I watched after my dad who has had a bought of health issues. He is much better now, but I wanted to stay with him this past weekend to help him out and go with him to a few of his appointments on Monday. Both Karmann and I survived, though I know Kris was worn out, but he did a great job! I missed her tons, but to be honest, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole night of sleep! But, while I was waiting at the hospital and doctor's offices, I did think a lot about how extremely blessed we are by Karmann. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and the longest eyelashes! She's already learned to "batt" her eyes, which just melts your heart! The number of expressions she gets on her pretty little face just cracks us up! She is the sweetest little soul and is always so happy. When she holds our hands and walks us around the house, she has the cutest little strut to her step! She takes her time when she eats, and always eats one piece at a time with her dainty little fingers. She knows what she wants and she usually wants it now or she will let you know about it! She loves to talk and talk with her hands too. She's learned to clap now, as well as click her tongue, which is hilarious. She copies us when we do those things too. She's still nursing, and is otherwise a good eater. She pretty much has eaten a wide variety of food at the daycare, including turkey, eggs, fish, yogurt, pineapple, and she loves her peas, green beans, sweet potatoes and zucchini! I hope that lasts! Wherever we go, strangers come up to us and complement us how beautiful she is (which we already know) but it is nice to hear. She's pretty social, but is reserved with strangers until she gets a feel for the person, and then she'll let loose and surprise them with her (usually loud) chatter! Yes, she definitely has a personality and we are very proud parents!!

We are looking forward to the Holidays these next few weeks and can't wait to see all of our family and friends. And we can't wait for those who haven't met our little angel yet to get the opportunity. She won't let you down!

Post 101

So, I just realized that this will be my 101 blog post! I'd say that's a mommy milestone. This weekend has been really fun with K. She has clearly learned to clap and stand up by herself, though she really doesn't know she's doing it. She's also insisting to feed herself, so food is limited to finger food right now. Though, I did coerce her into eating sweet potatoes with apples tonight and she loved it. This weekend Kris racked up a few bonus points by helping the Dunlop's with part of an addition to their house. The points will be redeemed soon, as we plan on "breaking ground" in December. We hope to have a 1st birthday/ ground breaking ceremony together before we head to Illinois for the holidays.

While the boys were working up a sweat, Monica and I took the kids to a Kids convention at the OCCC. We got a lot of free food and hand sanitizer - and our exercise too! Here's a picture of Daniel and Karmann in the back seat. We found them holding hands on the way home - it was too cute!! Taken from my iPhone, it was a little blurry.

Testing Tollerances and Time Change Challenges

I must say, the last week and weekend have been rough. Karmann has not been sleeping well and has had both of us up late/early when she doesn't want to sleep. She has also not gone down

to sleep very easily, and has tested our patience by trying to let he

r cry herself to sleep (which I hate doing) and I usually give in and at least pick her up to comfort her and in turn starting the whole process over again. This whole routine was not any better with the whole time change this weekend. I was so hoping a miracle would happen and she would sleep in - what was I thinking? The sleep deprivation must have kicked in! Beside all these issues, we did have some fun the last week and weekend.

Since the Cardinal's didn't make the world series this year, Kris has moved on to Magic Basketball. We celebrated opening game with Bev and Kirby and ate out and had a few beers at a sports bar near our place. Kirby and Karmann hung out watching the big screens.

We also went to a co-worker's Halloween party which was a lot of fun. Karmann went as a pumpkin, which matched Daddy's Illini Fan outfit! (Go Illini!)

Kris and I also attended our neighbor's wedding on Saturday. Karmann was lucky to hang out at Aunt Judy's house and help hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters while Mommy and Daddy were having a good time at the reception. Then Sunday, Grandpa came to see Karmann, and we took her on her first trip to IKEA! She enjoyed that and gave Daddy some time alone at home to get a few things done for his class!

More pictures are at the following link - enjoy!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?albumId=577710384805&ownerId=96446290305

Karmann Ballerina

Warming up!

You got that one, right?

Happy girl!

As we are preparing for Halloween, we've got 3 options for Karmann's costume. I decided to try out the girliest one tonight. I think Karmann enjoyed it!

We've had a pretty low-key weekend. Kris worked on cleaning the weeds off of the lot. And I pretty much shopped both Saturday and Sunday. Karmann and I both made out with some new well needed shoes! The weekend was almost done, when I was in the kitchen and I heard a strange noise...well, it ended up that the water line from the sink to the refrigerator was leaking! Luckily we heard it right when it started. No damage, thank goodness. Kris ran quickly to the hardware store, but the waterline ended up being about 3 feet short of what we needed, so we'll have to finish the fix tomorrow.

Karmann has also been way off schedule this weekend- or I'm starting to think she just doesn't have a schedule any more! Sometime she naps, sometime she doesn't. Today, she didn't until 2 pm. Then tonight she didn't go down very easy. But, I think she might be going through a growth spurt because she is eating regular food like a horse, and nursing for long amounts of time. If she would only sleep through the night....

Well, hopefully this week will be a good one. Halloween next weekend!! Something to look forward too! By the way, here are the rest of the photos of Karmann Ballerina....Enjoy!

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Faster than the sands through an hour glass...

Loving Daddy's kisses!

If they aren't two peas from the same pod!!!

Almost walking!

Karmann and Mom after a long day at work!

10.19.2009 - 10 months old!

Karmann turned 10 months old this weekend! We celebrated by hanging out with Grandpa and chilling out at home. Not much of a weekend, but we had fun together! Missy Karmann loves to get up and walk around the house - and if you don't walk her when she wants to be walked - watch out! She will let you know that she wants to be on the go!!! She grabs your hands and starts talking! She has been so adorable and smiley lately too! I can just eat her up! She's also starting the "clingy" stage and will hold on to you until the last possible second. She's really cuddly too! She is starting to get the hang of going to bed and tonight she actually did not cry when I put her down! Let's hope the next thing she masters is sleeping through the night...

Karmann received her seasonal flu shot at her 9 month check up and was supposed to get the booster shot this Friday. However, the ped's office called to let us know that they are out of the vaccine. She is on a priority list, but they were not expecting a shipment for 3 weeks. So, we will have to wait. Luckily, she still has some immunity from the first shot, and they said it won't hurt her to wait a few weeks. So let's pray she doesn't get exposed to the stuff!

Other than that, I can't think of too much else to report. She just gets cuter everyday!!

Oh, I forgot to mention that the weather finally cooled off here this weekend (highs were in the upper 60's.) As you can tell, we have Karmann in a long sleeved onesie and pants. She doesn't quite know what to think about the sleeves, as she keeps trying to pull them off, but then ends up sucking on them, so they might be okay with her. I guess that is a trait of a "Florida girl" when you don't know what long sleeves are! She is used to socks and pants, though! She'll be shocked this winter when we go home for Christmas - can't wait for that and hoping for a little bit of snow! In the mean time, we'll hang out down here with the windows open and our blankets out. I am not complaining!!!

Late night walks

Karmann (and therefore all of us) has been on a little bit different schedule since at the new daycare. She's been taking 3 naps a day, with the last one around 4-5:30. So she is staying up a little bit later. So, in order to try and wear her out, we've been walking her around the house and letting her crawl up and down the stairs. Here are a few pictures of Karmann in her pajamas and diaper, walking with her daddy...enjoy!

Break through

There's two reasons why I haven't been blogging as much as I would like...first, it just took 25 minutes for this stupid laptop to load so that I could even get on the internet to get to my page, and secondly, Kris is working wildly on the floor plans of what will hopefully be our future house, so I don't get as much time on the machine. However, here's the latest update...

Karmann had another tooth (upper right) break through the skin on Friday night. It must have happened around 12 midnight because I nursed her for an hour - I swear - and when she wouldn't go back to sleep, I passed her off to Kris. She must have wanted to celebrate, because she had Kris up playing till 2:30 am. Then on Sat, she took a 2 hour morning nap! She's too funny. She loves to crawl up the two stairs we have in our house - and she's up them before you know it! She also is eating much better. Today she had cereal, apple sauce, zucchini, blue berries, cheddar cheese, bread, and more apple sauce. We are still working on the sippy cup, as she hasn't quite caught on to it yet. We will keep trying.

Yesterday we all went to Little Alberto's 1-year birthday party. There were like 8 babies between Alberto's age and Karmann. It was fun to see all the babies and their different stages. I can't wait to see the pictures, and if I get any copies, I'll post them here.

The weekend went by too fast as usual. Though it was in the 90's still this weekend, at least we got out a little bit.

I'm off to bed, praying that Karmann sleeps better tonight now that her tooth is through! 3 down...25 more to go...

When at the beach - eat sand!

Two cuties!

Karmann with a mouth full of sand!

Passed out!

Family Pic

Having fun in the water!

This weekend we took a quick trip to Tampa to visit Kris' sister and family. The weather has finally broken just a tad, so it was a perfect day to head to the beach! Karmann has been to the east coast, but this was her first trip to the Bay. She loved it! Above are a few pictures from her experience.

As I type, little missy is fussing and refuses to take a nap! I think all the stimulation from yesterday is catching up with her. Plus, her poor little teeth are just about to pop out, so I feel sorry for her!! Having played with her all morning, she has to get some rest!

We survived the first week of the new daycare! I have good feelings about it. Though, it is different, and I have more responsibility when I drop her off in the morning to get things put away - I don't mind that. Hopefully week 2 will go as well.

I am headed to a movie with my girlfriend Kimmi this afternoon. Its about time I do something for myself - its been a while! Kris will be fine for a few hours - and if the timing is right, she may even take another afternoon nap!

Month Nine

9 month update!

With everything going on around my dad’s party, I forgot to give an update on Karmann’s 9 month milestones. We visited the doctor last Thursday for her check-up and immunization. She is now 18 ½ lbs. and 27 ½ inches tall! She is growing consistently on the charts within the 50% on weight and between 50% and 75% on height. This past week she has clearly been saying Da Da, which adds to her vocabulary of Ma Ma, Ba Ba, and Hi (which sounds more like a sigh than the word, but she knows she’s saying it.) She’s also advancing in the mobility department and is pulling herself up from sitting and wants us to walk her around the house all the time! She is becoming more brave and transferring from a chair to the couch to me or Daddy when she is standing up. Karmann even knows to take a big step when going up the two stairs in our living room. She also likes to flip over when changing her diaper, which the doctor gave us a quick remedy for, which seems to be working kind of. Otherwise, I change her on the floor now so she at least won’t fall off the changing table!

Also, yesterday was her first day at her new daycare! The first daycare was sad to see her go, and I admit that it was emotional for me on the last day, but I know we have made the right decision to change places. Already I have walked over to check on her, as has Kris. Though, Karmann is getting to the stage where she gets upset when we leave her now, so we probably will keep the visits to a minimum to avoid any separation anxiety.

It is easier to get her ready in the morning too, as the new daycare provides food (don’t worry my baby food hobby still continues for home). We originally thought she would be in the pre-toddler room, but when we dropped her off yesterday, we realized she is too little for that stage. So she is in with the infants, though there are a couple babies the same age as her, whom she has already bonded with, they said. She’s a pretty social baby, so I knew she would make friends quickly! I feel very relaxed with her at the new place, and I have peace that she is just down the street from me and across the street from Kris.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned the fact that we use Skype a lot to visit with my family and Kris’ family since most live far way. We’ve even been using it a lot with our friends too! Karmann has an infatuation with the computer keyboard I think because we have her in front of it so much. She has hung up on calls on accident many times, so we now have our old keyboard for her to play with when we skype. Its pretty funny because she looks exactly like the e-trade baby on TV!! We set her in her high chair and have the computer in front of her and she loves it! I'll have to take a photo next time and post it. We have taken video because it is too funny! So if any of you skype, let me know!

Well, the weather is supposed to break tonight and it is going to be below 90 degrees tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a little taste of fall! It is almost October already! Great Nannie knitted this little pumpkin hat for Karmann for the fall - she loves it! Enjoy!

Happy 70th Birthday Dad!!

I've been holding back the surprise for WEEKS! Finally, the surprise went without a hitch and the party (also disguised as a Hare family reunion) was a blast! More details later, but here's a link to the photos...Enjoy!

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Trying to remember...

I am so behind in blogs, that exactly what I did NOT want to happen, happened. I can hardly remember the last two weeks, and I know a ton of wonderful things happened in that time!! Well, let me do my best and hopefully not bore you!

The first thing I remember is Labor Day weekend. Thank goodness for a 3-day weekend! Any extra time with Karmann is precious!! The main event for the weekend was a trip to St. Pete to see the Rays play the Detroit Tigers. We made the trip with Jon and Kendra Ippel (who came to FL from Michigan). We also met Kris' sister Keri and Choy and Amara at the game too! It was a good game, better company, and to top it all off, the Beach Boys played a concert after the game. Though the concert was a little bit of a let down in my opinion, we can check that concert off Kris' list! It was a late night, but really fun hanging with Jon and Kendra - hopefully Karmann, who was on her best behavior as usual, convinced them to get on the ball!!

All I remember doing on Sunday is sleeping and hanging out with Karmann. That sounds like a good combination for any day!! Oh- I think i went to the grocery store too.

Monday we took advantage of the extra day and went up to my dad's for a cook out on the grill. Karmann also took a little swim in her little pool on the back patio. She loved showing off for Grandpa!! Check out tha adorable pictures, once I get them uploaded.

This last week was pretty busy at work and after. Kris has started teaching again one night a week, usually, however he covered for another class this week. I also was asked to do a presentation at my supervisor's class at Rollins College on Thursday, so our evenings were out of the ordinary. Karmann was excited, though, because Thursday night she visited Pam Jorgensen who watched her while Kris and I were teaching. She probably wore Pam out, but she had a great visit!

Karmann's days were also busy! She moved into the "big kids" room - which is the infant room before the 1 year old room. She is now back together with her little girl friends Samantha and Emma. They are too cute when they are all together! They talk and gossip and have a good old time. Karmann even took 3 steps by herself on Wednesday at daycare, they said!! She was standing by herself for a few seconds too when I picked her up, but we couldn't get her to walk again. We've been practicing each night since, though she tries, she won't let go of our hands!

Karmann doesn't know it yet, but she's only going to be at her current daycare for two more weeks. I have been wanting to change her for a while, but I finally took the initiative to look for another place this week. I contacted the church that we originally wanted her in, and another one that our friends recommended. I toured both, and luckily both had availability. We ranked the current place and the other two, and our original first choice won by 1 point. So, we are going to enroll her at the end of the month. We will be saving $100 a month, and all the food and diapers are included in the price too! Also, the location is literally across the street from Kris' office, so the decision was a no-brainer! I hope she likes it and makes friends quickly at her new place. I'm sure there will be a blog or two about the transition.

Karmann is coming up on her 9 month birthday next weekend. I can't believe it. I am already trying to prepare for that blog... I'll save it for next time.

A few of the photos are blurry because they were taken on my iphone, but cute none the less :) Enjoy!

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Valid excuse!

Today I was lucky to have my first experience with jury duty. And, it wasn't so bad! I was concerned about finding a place to pump (yes, a nursing mom has to pump!) so when I registered, I asked the lady if there was accommodations, and to my dismay, she said there was. Bummer! Then, during orientation, I learned that only a judge can excuse you from your civic duty, so I knew I wouldn't be getting out of there any time soon. Luckily Karmann woke up and ate later than usual, so I had a little more time than usual. Good thing, because around 10:15 my number was called and a group of 20 was quickly whisked to the 6th floor of the Orange County Court house. Once we were asked to go into the courtroom, and the judge started asking questions, it was already 11 am - I was almost to my limit! Luckily, the judge was female, and when asked if anyone had any scheduling issues if the case took more than 1 day, I raised my hand. When asked to speak, I quickly stated that I was a breastfeeding mother and that schedule would be an issue. Though what I said was probably unexpected, she said she'd been there and done that and would take it into consideration. Quickly, she asked all the jurors to leave the room, except for me. Bless her heart, she excused me from service - without forgetting to let me know I could be summoned again and given the opportunity to do my civil duty again! But, in case you were wondering, it is a valid excuse! Thank goodness the stars were aligned in this situation!

On another note, this past weekend was pretty good! Beside the ole' Honda radiator cracking and having to rescue Kris on Sunday afternoon (Kris actually replaced it today all by himself!!), we had a great day at the National Seashore beach. It was a gloomy day, and it was kind of last minute (this explains Karmann not wearing a swimsuit and her outfit and diaper clashing - but who cares when you're at the beach!!) She was adorable, as usual, and loved walking with Daddy in the sand. She also loved watching the seagulls fly over her head and watching the surf come up the beach. We definitely look forward to many more trips to the beach!! Enjoy!

P.S. Update on the rash, etc. - the rash was gone by Friday and she is doing fine - thank goodness!

Catch-up update

Let's start today and work my way back to our trip home to Illinois...

Tonight Karmann broke out in a full body rash. After speaking with the pediatrician, it is determined to be a viral rash. This would explain the febrile seizure last Friday night which resulted in a 911 call, ride in the ambulance, and a 4 hour experience in Arnold Palmer hospital emergency room.The daycare had called that afternoon and said that she wouldn't eat and was really fussy. We gave her Tylenol (thinking it was her teeth) and she ate better and slept like normal the rest of the day. When I got home, I nursed her and she ate really well. She fell asleep so we put her in her crib to nap. I had to run errands, so I took off. About 45 minutes later, Kris calls me and says "I need you home now!" As I run out of the store, he explained that Karmann woke up from her nap shaking and her skin was blotchy and turning colors. She was also clinching her fists and breathing quickly. Kris called 911 (thank goodness!) and by the time I got home, the medics were loading her into her car seat and strapping it to the stretcher to take her to the ER. Her temp was 102 and she was calmed down, but we had no idea what was going on. Kudos to Daniel with Fire Engine 5, who calmly told me what to do and where to go while I was freaking out as I grabbed her diaper bag etc. Kris rode with Karmann and I drove to the hospital, which luckily is right down the street. To make a long story short, her temp was 103.2 by the time she went into a room, so they gave her Motrin, swabbed her nose for the flue, checked her urine for infection, and took a chest x-ray. All were found to be normal, so since the Motrin dropped her temp to 100, she was released with the directions to check her temp and give her Motrin and a diagnosis of a febrile seizure due to a quick high temp and if it happened again to bring her back. She was asleep by the time we got home and she slept all night and woke up fine without a temp on Saturday. Freakish, but now with the rash, it explains a few things. She is fine, and sleeping right now.

Sunday she was also fine, and since it was my birthday, we planned on going to Disney and take advantage of me getting in for free on my b-day. I decided to go to Epcot, which would be the best place for her since she could go on a majority of the rides. Kris' cousin Megan and Lindsey both work for Disney and were gracious to get Kris in on a visitor pass for free too! We all had a great time and Karmann was a trooper! She didn't wear out until around 5, which is when we were to our limit, too! It was a great birthday!

The weekend before, Karmann took her first airplane ride and visited Grandma and Papa's house in Bloomington, Illinois for the first time. She was an angel on the ride up and even slept the whole ride home!! We couldn't ask for a better baby! Nursing her on the take-off was the trick!

In between the plane rides, we had a wonderful weekend! Great Nannie came over to visit and Karmann met Great Aunt Lillian Todd. Grandma Stenger had an open house on Saturday, and Karmann got to meet 3rd cousins Jan Wrigley and Vicki Good. She also met Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda Stenger, and Uncle Alan and Aunt Cathy Finkenbinder and family. Also many of our friends from Bloomington and Chicago came to visit and met Karmann. Beth and Jason Bauer and Alyssa visited for a while, as did Beth and Andy Reeser with Grant, Andy and Jennifer Williams, Gary Savage and Nate Kneezel, Joe and Ruth Heaney and their grand kids, and I'm sure I am missing many others. Aunt Sarah and Uncle Charlie also made the trip up from Nashville. It was a great party all day long! Karmann even went "swimming" on the deck in her strawberry shortcake swimsuit!

Sunday, Karmann went to church and had a blast playing with the other babies in the back with Grandma. It was perfect weather and perfect company. The previous post has the link to the photos.

Needless to say, it has been an eventful last two weeks!! I pray for Karmann's health and a little less drama!! Enjoy the photos!

First Flight!

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These are not in any order, and there's more to come, but here's a sneak peek! More later this week.

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8/19/09 Update...Here is another link...we are dealing with a teething baby again and I will try my best to get a post of our trip and Karmann's 8-month birthday soon!!

Enjoy!

Karmann has a tooth!

So you may not believe me based off of this picture, but her lower right tooth broke through (finally!) today!! She is histerical playing with her mouth and tounge feeling it! I'll remember this day, as it is also Kris and my 8 year wedding anniversary! Yep, 8 years!! So we had a lot to celebrate today.

Karmann is really getting active. It seems like she has changed a lot in just a week! She is really mobile as she is still trying to crawl, or pushes herself where ever she wants when you are holding her. She also doesn't want to be held, but stand up intead! She loves standing on her tippy toes and holds on to your fingers. She's taking steps, so my guess is she's going to be walking before too long! She also understands how to stand up when she's sitting, but she needs your hands to help. She still doesn't sit up from the laying down position, but she's going to get that pretty soon I think. So, my guess is she's going to be walking before she masters crawling.

I really am excited by all this, but scared too! Actually, for the imediate concern, I am nervous about our trip to Bloomington on an airplane next week. I have a feeling she's not going to want to sit for 2+ hours!! Hopefully I will be able to nurse her to sleep?? We shall see. Thank goodness for a direct flight and I pray for the two seat row and a tollerant group of other passengers!

Click on this link for the rest of the photos we took tonight trying to get one of her tooth! She is too funny!! Enjoy!

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New Hobby

I think I have found a new hobby! Thanks to my good friends and experienced moms, Marisa and Bianca, I have started making baby food for Karmann from scratch. I tried it the first time with apples, carrots, pears, peas and avocados in my mini Cuisinart chopper. It worked okay, but didn't puree the food completely. I especially had issues with the apples. BUT - Bianca suggested I try the "magic bullet" (which happened to be on sale at Kohls with a senior discount - thanks Dad!) and I got it for half price! It is impressive!! This week I've added sweet potatoes, zucchini, and peaches to the menu. Marisa gave me the resource website www.wholesomebabyfood.com which has great recipes, nutritional info and suggestions. After I puree the food, I freeze it in ice cube trays. Each ice cube is about 1 oz. so you can figure the servings that way. I pull out a few cubes at night and put them in little containers and stick them in the fridge. By the morning they are soft enough to throw into Karmann's bag and then they are ready to eat or put in the fridge at day care. Pretty nifty! Though Karmann still doesn't open her mouth to eat, she's tolerated everything shoved into her mouth except the carrots (maybe that's the one thing she inherited from me). We'll keep trying, though.

Here's a few pictures of her (kind of) eating peas, and then a few pics before her bath tonight - my new favorites!!