Kyveli is 7 months old!

This has been a really fun month. So much fun that I didn't want to take a break to write this blog update! Kyveli is such a fun age right now. She is becoming more and more independent and can happily entertain herself playing with toys on her play mat or in her crib, which has given our arms a nice break. But even though she's getting to be a big girl, she still gets lots of cuddles from mom and dad. And she has started cuddling back! Sometimes when we're holding her, she'll lay her head down against our chests and just hold it there, as if she's giving us a hug. I can't wait until she starts giving those big, open mouth kisses! Here are some of our favorites from her 7 month photos (the rest, as always, can be found here):

Playing her new favorite game: peek-a-boo!




It's getting harder and harder to take these pictures, since she just wants to grab the camera instead of smiling for it. We end up with a lot like these:




Still, we managed to get a few decent ones:




Dear Kyveli,

We took you to your 6 month checkup a few weeks ago. We weren't crazy about your original pediatrician, so when I found that the one I had chosen before you were born was once again accepting new patients, I jumped on the opportunity and switched you. We love Dr. Gruver! She didn't make you cry once during your exam, which was a very welcome change. And it's not just our imagination - you really are growing like a weed. Since your 4 month checkup you have shot up from the 55th percentile to the 90th in height, and now measure 27.5" tall (up nearly 3" since the last visit and almost 10" since birth!). You're definitely a chunker now at 16lbs, 14.5oz - up 2.5lbs since last time and almost 10lbs total since you were born. Seeing you healthy and growing is so gratifying, especially since up to that point all of your nourishment had come from me. You had to get 2 more shots, which we always dread for weeks beforehand, but you did just fine.

On the eve of your 6 month birthday, we fed you your first solid food. We chose avocado, because you're such a California girl! You played along at first, even though you had no idea what was going on. You seemed to enjoy the fun new props the best:



Here you are tasting your first bite of non-breastmilk food:


What ensued was, of course, hilarious:





Since then, we've realized that you're kind of particular about textures. You like your food pureed smoothly instead of mashed into chunks. In addition to avocado, you've now tried bananas, sweet potatoes, apples (both baked and steamed), pears, butternut and acorn squash, green beans, zucchini, carrots, plums and mango, plus baby oatmeal and multigrain cereal, and whole milk yogurt. Your favorites are sweet potato and squash. Next up will be peaches, peas, tofu, and in honor of your upcoming first Halloween, pumpkin! We've been making 99% of your food at home, which has been easy and fun. Once or twice a week, we just make a few extra servings of whatever veggie we're having for dinner or bake up some fruit, puree it using the hand blender, and freeze it in our super cool covered ice cube trays. All of this attention to your growing nutritional needs has helped us to eat even healthier than normal as a result, so thank you for that!

I mentioned in last month's letter that we were planning to go camping with our good friends Coco and Louisa and their daughter Jane at Big Basin in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was so much fun! You and Jane really are two peas in a pod. You both napped and went down for the night at roughly the same times, which made things very easy on the mommies and daddy.

Here are the mamas in the morning, happy because we have coffee. You're napping on me in the Moby (and giving me an idea of what it might feel like to be pregnant with a 17 pounder) while Jane naps in her tent.


Being a happy camper in Jane's Bumbo chair:


You and Jane had fun playing in the pack-n-play during the day and you both slept great at night. We went on a couple of hikes through the beautiful redwoods, and as usual you were mesmerized by the light filtering through the treetops. Despite a very loud and obnoxious troop of Boy Scouts who were up and making lots of noise so early in the morning that they actually WOKE UP the babies, we had a wonderful time. We wished we could have spent a few more days there but alas, we had to return to our regular lives when the weekend was over.




Oh, and remember that little tooth bud that was *just* on the verge of popping through? Well, it still hasn't! In fact, it disappeared completely one day. Just vanished. I've read that teeth can "float" up and down beneath the gums for awhile before surfacing for good, and apparently that's what happened. I can't even feel a bump anymore, and it's been well over a month. Not that I'm in any particular hurry for that first tooth, but it keeps teasing us and I'd just like to get it over and done with already.

And finally, to leave this month's letter on a fun note, here are some pictures of one of your first experiences with swings! Lets just say you're a big fan.






We love you, Kyveli, and we're so thankful for every day that we get to spend with you. Until next month.

Love,
Mommy

6 month studio photos

To mark Kyveli's first half year, we lugged her down to Sears for some good old fashioned studio portraits. Enjoy!



By clicking on the super cute photo below (mommy's favorite of the bunch), you will be taken to Kyveli's online Picasa album where you can browse around more and even order prints - we purchased the digital files, and along with them, the rights to the photos:

6 month studio photos

Kyveli is 6 months old!

How on earth is my tiny little baby already 6 months old? I've been feeling extra nostalgic lately, since Kyveli is becoming more like a kid and less like a baby every day. A few of my friends have had babies in the last few weeks, with several more due in the next few weeks and months, and I can't help but picture myself in their place, meeting their sweet little ones for the first time and enjoying all those wonderful first moments. But at the end of the day, when I'm putting her to bed for the night, I'm reminded how much of a baby she still is when she curls up in my arms, collapsing like a sweet, sleepy little sack of potatoes. At the same time, I marvel at the fact that in the same amount of time that she's been here from now, we'll be celebrating her first birthday, and likely experiencing her first words and steps. We're just so happy to have this little sweetie in our lives. Here are some of the highlights from her 6-month photos:








Dear Kyva,

You are 6 months old! This has been a big month full of firsts, and as a result this may be the longest blog update in history. But before I get to the 'firsts', you also had a pretty cool 'second'...your second camping trip! We took you on the annual camping/rafting trip to Camp Lotus, where daddy has been going almost every year since he was your age with his daddy, Grandpa Terry, and a bunch of the local Sonoma County characters. It was quite the gathering with Auntie Heather and Uncle Brian, along with your cousins Shasta and Jevria, Inyo and Nicole with baby NiYo happily baking away, to name just a few...Shenoa and Dan even came along. During the day, daddy went rafting and/or kayaking and/or floating down the river on an old air mattress, and mommy stayed back at camp to take care of you since you're still too little to join in the fun on the water (maybe next year). It was my first time at Camp Lotus too, and I have to say that it was just my kind of camping, with free hot showers and bathrooms with running water. It got pretty hot during the day, so at one point Nicole and I dragged our camp chairs into the river and sat there with our feet in the water watching the river life pass by. Not too shabby!

Here's daddy in the kayak and after a long, hard day at the office:



We had lots of fun in the tent in the morning:




You took your morning naps in the Moby wrap:


We discovered that you take after daddy in more than just the looks department (ok, you might have gotten some of this from mommy too):



As for those 'firsts', we took you on your first flight, a trip up to Oregon where mommy grew up, and you did great! We were nervous that we would be "that family" on the plane with the screaming baby. Making matters worse was that our flight was delayed by nearly 2 hours. This meant that instead of arriving in Portland by your bedtime, we were barely leaving San Jose by bedtime. You tend to get cranky when you're tired, so it could have been an ugly affair. But as usual, you were happy as a clam and even managed to make a few new friends with your big happy smiles. I took the advice of friends and nursed you during takeoff and landing so that your ears would adjust to the change in pressure, and we gave you your pacifier in between just in case. You were so relaxed during descent that you fell sound asleep, and slept all the way through deboarding, baggage claim, car rental, carseat installation, and the drive to Robin and Garrett's place halfway across town. Here are a couple of pictures of you during your first flight:



You further wowed us with your flexible nature when we completely threw off your routine for 8 whole days, sleeping in no fewer than 3 different places, and you had no complaints whatsoever. We packed a lot of fun things into those 8 days.

Garrett made one of his famous breakfasts the morning after we arrived. We had a great time catching up over the huge, yummy feast and a few mimosas. Adeline and Bruce came over (it was Adeline's first time meeting you and we were very excited to introduce you to her):


...as did Megan and Todd, with Halen and Flora Mae (who is 11 days younger than you).




A trip to Silver Falls, one of mommy's favorite places. We had grand ambitions of hiking the entire loop, but we got a late start and only had time to see South Falls:




...later that same day, we squeezed in a visit with Adeline's parents, Bob and Bonnie. They came to visit us when you were 3 weeks old during their California road trip, and were amazed at how much you had changed since then. Adeline's oldest sister, Elina, also stopped by to say hello:


...a stay at Grandma Renee's house. She loved getting to spend so much time with you and even wore you in the Moby wrap for one of your naps. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more:


...While we were there, auntie Leanne surprised us by stopping by with Tabor, your very first cousin on mommy's side of the family!



...we took a trip to the Oregon coast, where your mommy lived when she was a little girl:



...and saw some pretty sweet sea lions:

Sea lion #1: "hey, is that your bukkit over there?"
Sea lion #2: "whaaa...?"
Sea lion #1: "made you look!"


...a nice visit with Yiayia, your Great-Grandma. Yiayia is 93 and just as sharp as ever. She was really looking forward to your arrival (you're her 5th great-grandchild!), and I'm so happy you had the chance to meet her. It's too bad you're too little to taste some of her cooking...she's the best there is!





...then, the reason (or rather, the excuse) for taking the trip: Robin and Garrett's beautiful wedding! I'm so happy they found eachother...I would never have guessed it, but they're just perfect for eachother. Check out the look on Garrett's face as he watched Robin walk down the aisle:


...can you blame him? She's spectacular!


(previous two photos by Todd Fleming)

...Your auntie Marisa arrived fashionably late to the wedding due to a last-minute work thing. She had just returned from Southern California where she was visiting her newest niece and nephew on her dad's side, born within a couple of months of eachother. It's been a bumper year for her! She hadn't seen you since you were 3 weeks old and just loved you up:




...Your auntie Madylan was also super excited to see you again after many months. She just celebrated her 18th birthday. I can't believe it!!! It seems like only yesterday that SHE was the lap-baby.


...Zack, Jess and Alexis were sweet enough to let us stay at their house for the last few days of our trip. We were so happy to see them again, as well as Irene, who was visiting from Hawaii for the wedding as well. I hope she doesn't hate me for posting this picture of the two of you:



...then, on the day we had to leave, we squeezed in one last visit with Sarah, Adeline and Bruce. They took us to a local pub that had a fantastic menu, including tater tot nachos, or "totchos":




...and then, sadly, we had to return home. We barely made it to the gate in time to board! But board we did, and you had another incident-free flight (despite a very close brush with a major blowout).


After we got home, I noticed that my milk supply had dropped a bit. I assume it was because we did so much running around, and because I hadn't always remembered to eat enough food or drink enough water, not to mention get enough sleep (even the small amount that you've accustomed me to). But fortunately, after being home for a few days and taking really good care of myself, plus a batch of lactation cookies, we were back up to normal and maybe even a bit more.

Another exciting milestone this month was that you began sitting up without support! One week you were still a little tripod who had to hold herself up, and the next week you could really do it! Now it's your favorite thing to do and you like to sit up every chance you get. I think you really like the new perspective on things.



Last week your buddy Jane came over to spend the day with us and we all had a blast! She'll be here on the days that her regular daycare person isn't available to take care of her. Jane and her mommies, Coco and Louisa, have become great friends of ours and we love spending time with them. We're planning to go camping with them in a couple of weeks, which should be a whole lot of fun. You two had a great time playing together all day.



Notice the hand-holding:


After Jane left, you were so tuckered out from all the playing that you took your first ever nap IN YOUR CRIB! So it's not just an overpriced storage bin after all!



Phew...what a busy month! I love you, Kyveli, and I'm so happy you're mine.

Love,
Mommy