Hikers

Cassidy and Floyd

Floyd hasn't been with us for a few weeks. He has been helping take care of a friend who needed company while recovering from ACL surgury. Cassidy has changed a lot in those weeks, becoming more active and mobile. This morning, Chad put Cass in her "exersaucer" and as usual she went to town, jumping and playing with all the toys, making lots of noise. Floyd, her self-appointed babysitter, was tentatively watching, not sure if all was ok. Cassidy, watching Floyd watch her, began to jump even harder, laughing and squeling. Floyd decided he was out of his league and sulked away to his bed. Cassidy, losing her audience, stopped all action and turned herself around to watch Floyd walk away with a frown on her face, as if to say "Hey that was some of my best stuff....Where are you going?"

We got some antics, but these are pretty mild...Seems she gets a little shy with the camera going, but she's still cute!

Starting strong

August has started off with a bang! First off, I have surrived starting my new job and it is going well. I even get to be back in Anacortes at the Middle School, so I'll have lots of great people to work with . I've been working the last week on orientation and getting settled, along with Joceyln, who is the full time therapist in Anacortes. We have hit it off and things are going well. I'm anxious to get back into the schools though and start seeing kids again, enough of this being in the ofice stuff! Chad has been having a great time getting Cass all to himself every morning too, it's fun to hear of their adventures when I get home.

Also, Cassidy got a new ride...

The saturn was making some not so nice noises and Chad and I decided we needed to make sure our girl was in the safest and reliable car. So, we bought a new Honda CR-V and I must say I'm feeling very grown up these days. It is a great car with tons of safety features and actually has more cargo room than the Saturn, so the dogs get to ride in style too.

Cassidy has been gaining more skills with her Cherios, but she still needs some work on the aim! I'd love to know what she was thinking...."Hey, where'd they go?" Along with the Cherios comes her first adventures with real food. I've decided to try to make most of her baby food and my first attempt resulted in a serious mess, but also a store of sweet potatoes, carrots, and yams. I think the next go round will be better, I should have gotten all the kinks worked out! It was kinda fun though, and I put the pureed veggies in ice cube trays for freezing single servings. It has worked great and Cass seems to like the sweet potatoes as her starter! For her Birthday tomorrow I think we might try some carrots....yipee!

Other developments for our girl have been constant movement...or as we like to call her "wiggle butt"! Now when you put her down on her blanket with toys she is all over the place. She is able to roll from tummy to back and from back to tummy. She can also sit for a long period of time, at least 10 minutes, content to play and if she falls forward she can pull herself back up and if she falls back into a pillow she can also get back up. It's amazing, but I think there might be a six-pack under her buddah belly! For the first time today we went in to get her from her nap and she was on her tummy!

24 weeks

Yesterday Cassidy turned 24 weeks old and today we went in for her check-up. It was kinda a tough day...She had to hold still lots for all the measurements and exams. She is now 17 lbs 6oz (75%), 26 1/4 inches long (60%) and still a petite little head of 41 cm (25%). She has dropped a little in the percentiles, she was 90th and 75th for weight and height 2 months ago, but nothing to worry about, just something to watch. As most of you can attest too, she is by no means skinny. Then the really hard part had to happen. The nurse came back in to give the shots...Mom was with us and this time I had to help hold her down and because her brain is working much better, the pain registered much faster and she was crying almost as soon as the needle went in, and so was I. She only got two, we have to go back in a couple weeks when she is actually 6 months, wich is frustrating. I wish I had known before scheduling this apopintment. I would much rather have the torture over all in one day. Her leg is very sore. She didn't want to lay on that side to nurse, so we had to get creative today and she seems more tired and definitely more cuddly. I'm sure she will recover, and so will I. I'm glad that her next appointment is 3 months away (after we get the next 2 shots in a few weeks).
On the up side, the doctor said she could start eating finger food, such as cherrios, and that we can start introducing more veggies and fruits into her diet. Mom was so excited we bought a box of cherrios on the way home and Cassidy was game. She was able to pick them up, but struggled with figuring out how to actually get them out of her hand into her mouth. She seemed to like them when I put them in for her and I'm sure within the next couple of days she will figure out how to make those cute little fingers work.
I think today was tough on me for a couple of reasons. Just realizing how big she is getting and as exciting as it is to watch her grow I am a little sad that she is needing me a little less every day. I can't believe it has been 24 weeks since she laid on my chest and we met her for the first time. It has been amazing and I have been so blessed to be able to be home with her for all this time. But I have to get back to work, starting Friday. We continue to be blessed and I found a part time position as a mental health therapist working in the schools and if everything works out the way we are hoping, Chad will be able to take care of her in the mornings while I'm at work and then either go to sleep or go to work himself. Kit has also volunteered to cover the afternoons that I'll have to work, so we get to keep her in the family! As perfect as it seeems to be working out, I know I'm still going to have a tough time walking out the door Friday morning.

Fun at Grandma's

So even though our main task was working on a new roof, we still had time for some fun in the sun. While Brady and Lindsay got their slip and slide set up, Cassidy was treated to her own little pool, with warm water, thanks to Grandma Kit. Josh and Jack stopped by as well to hang out and enjoy the sunshine, and get a few laughs at the slip and slide

Ok, I may be biased, but I think this is the cutest baby picture ever!

Yes, I too went down the slip and slide, but don't worry, Cassidy met me at the bottom! She was not that impressed with the cold water after her heated pool.

Cassidy needed a good bath after all her fun in the sun, and she had lots of helpers with cousins Brady and Lindsay there.

Even with all this fun, we still got the roof done! Only one more side to go...

More New Stuff

We headed up to Kit and Jerry's today to help with the roofing project. When we arrived, this photo was blown up to 8x10 sitting on the counter. Kit had taken it last week while we were up and when she took it into Walgreen's to get developed, the store thought it was so cute they gave her the enlargement and asked if they could put the picture on their wall! I guess she is the cutest baby ever...it's NOT just me!





Kit also helped in another new development. She was telling me about a new sippy cup she had seen at the store, made by NUK, that was designed for an easier transition. So of course I had to go check it out. Cassidy has been drinking water now for a few weeks, mostly due to the heat, but just from a bottle. Getting her to use a sippy cup would be great, I thought. So off I went and when Cass got a hold of it, off she went, just like she'd been doing it all along! She was holding it on her own and getting the nipple to her mouth on her own. She can't use it sitting by herself yet, she tips over when she tries to get the water out....Pretty cute though! But if she is held reclined or in her bouncy chair, she is set.

Me and my Pony

Cassidy got her first ride on her pony today. Rocky started the day off getting a bath and when he was all dry, he was ready for Cassidy. Poor Chad was nervous, but Rocky treated her very well, just like I knew he would. (I'll get the picture up soon...)