Callie's First Steps and SNOW!

I finally got my bratty, snow-baby wish and am now enjoying the site of almost eight inches of snow and counting.  I am not sure my feelings of joy are shared by everyone in Hampton Roads.  This city will be incapacitated into early next week, at least, even though they called in the "snow fighters" from Northern Virginia to help out our V-DOT crews.  Yesterday's news was all about the coming snow storm with important stories like how to create an accurate snow measuring contraption for your yard and what people were buying in the check-out line at Farm Fresh, and oh yeah, a stabbing or two in Norfolk, but back to the SNOW!   It was pretty humorous for Matt and I after living in Blacksburg for so many years.  But we are very glad that Southwest Virginia shared their snow this time and that we are getting to experience some of what we miss about living in the mountains.  As beautiful as this snow is and as picturesque as the neighborhood looks right now, I do miss the view we had from our big window in Christiansburg.  I miss seeing the rooftops of the cedar-sided homes with smoke coming from the chimneys against a backdrop of blue mountains.  And I definitely miss having a snow-loving dog romping and rolling in it.  But I don't think Matt misses having to walk a dog down a steep snowy drive-way!  Here are some pictures from today.  Callie seems excited about the bright white view from the window but she wasn't as excited about being out in it.  She even cried a little when I put some snow up to her lips.  Maybe next year she will get another good snow and will be excited to romp and roll in it then.   At the rate she is growing and changing, she may be ice skating by next year.  She can now stand on her own and has taken up to five steps without holding on.  She practices her new abilities only a few times a day, but she gets stronger and more skilled at them each time.  She is well on her way to being a walker by her first birthday.  It is also very important to mention that today is Grampie's birthday!  He would be enjoying his big day in Myrtle Beach right now but had to cut their vacation short due to the weather.    

Happy Birthday Grampie!  Wish you could be here to share your special day, and this snow day, with us!

 

  

  

  

Chester was not happy about the snow...

  

...but the neighborhood robins have been frolicking in it all day. 

Callie Quake

With all the sad stories coming out of Haiti, it makes me even more thankful for my little natural wonder and, well, natural disaster.  You should see the path of destruction that Callie leaves behind her every minute.  If she is in the family room, she is pulling all the books off her toy shelf and then emptying the bins not even stopping to play with most of the things she pulls out.  She giggles with delight when she sees me bring a laundry basket into the room and will spend a half hour crawling in and out of the basket and pulling the clothes out.  If it is full of her clothes, she will find her little socks and chew on them.  Yesterday, she was crawling around the room with a sock hanging out of her mouth.  It reminded me of nature shows with footage of grizzlies catching salmon.  Daddy now does bath time each night and that is becoming a very special event for them.  She squeals and claps when the bath water is drawn and manages to soak Matt and anything near the tub with her splashing.  Callie now has six teeth but none are quite big enough to get a picture of.  She is still fussy and drooly at times, so maybe she is getting one or two more.  It is only because of God's grace that teething is our main concern right now and not survival from tragedy or disease.  We are so fortunate to not only have a happy healthy baby but to also have a safe, dry and warm little house for her to explore and destroy!

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Callie Helps with the Laundry!

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Callie Stats

Callie had her nine month check-up yesterday. She now weighs 19lbs 8 oz. (62% down from 85% at sixth mos.) and is 29 inches tall (91% down from 99%). The doctor called her long and lean! She said she was perfect in every way, including her iron count which was a relief to me. She hasn't been too into baby food lately and I was worried about her nutrition. But the doc said she should be ready for table food and I should just skip the baby stuff and let her feed herself small bites of whatever we are eating. When we got home, she celebrated by eating her first chicken nugget! She loved it! Callie also has something else to celebrate--her first tooth. She now has her top right tooth and two more uppers close behind it. She has two on the bottom that also look like they might pop through any day. The doctor confirmed that she is getting a whole mess of teeth at once. Callie is also clapping and high-fiving and helping with laundry (by climbing into the basket or pulling everything out and chewing on the socks. Her drop in weight proves that she is a constant whirlwind of mischief and cuteness. And finally, her hiney is now "famous" as it is on display in the "Fabulous Forgeries" show at the gallery this month. She is always popular with the other artists and the patrons at the gallery and her little tushy was a hit on opening night.

"Mommy and Callie Mae" Acrylics, In the style of Mary Cassatt

Callie's First Christmas, vol 4: The Last One, I Promise!

The last Christmas celebration for Callie was up on the mountain in Giles. We went over the New Year's weekend to visit the Epperley clan, the Schmidts in Christiansburg, the Wescotts in Roanoke, and then to the lake to see Nana and Papa before heading home. And this was after spending New Year's Eve in Richmond with Grammie and Grampie and watching the ball drop. Callie stayed up to see it, she insisted on it! We were very tired by the time we returned home, like most trips with a baby, but we were glad that we were able to fit everyone in. Here are some pictures with commentary. Now that I have completed the Christmas updates, maybe I will get to taking the trees and decorations down!

Reading with Grampie

Playing with Cousin Hunter (He is one of her biggest fans and she is one of his!)

More beautiful books from Janice.

One of the rare lap opportunities for Ma-maw with this wiggle worm!

Something about this reminds me of a Norman Rockwell "Saturday Evening Post" picture!

More presents for Callie and she really hammed it up for her audience of 15 people!

Callie got to meet another new addition to the family--Charlie the puppy! He was great with her!

She is very attached to Momma now. I can barely leave the room. The feeling is mutual!

The End (of Christmas 2009 Blog Volumes, that is!)

Callie and Jesus (Callie's First Christmas Vol. 3)

Today Callie is nine months old! It is just a few short months before she turns one and is no longer a "newborn". Just as a quick update on her development, she is not yet walking on her own but will walk holding on to something or someone. And as of this week she has really started babbling and adding new consonants to her vocabulary. She has said "Dadadada" several times but she doesn't know what she is saying yet, so it doesn't count. I am still rooting for her to say "mama" first! Callie has a cold today but she is smiling through it and thinks sneezes are hilarious.

Now on to Christmas. This Christmas was amazing. I have dreamed, for years, of what it would be like to celebrate my baby's first Christmas and the dreaming was only half as wonderful as reality was. And it is also amazing how having a baby around for Christmas helps everyone to focus even more on the reason we celebrate the season in the first place. It is hard to imagine Christ and his humanity or the emotions and struggles of Mary and Joseph, but having your own baby really helps make it real. The only thing that could have made the day better would have been if Becky and her family had been there to share it with us. Our celebration of the official event started on Christmas eve. We bundled up and went to Michelle's condo for a wonderful dinner. My favorite part was the Pear, Blue Cheese and Candied Pecan salad. Maybe I will push for that to be an American Idol viewing night tradition this winter! We opened a few gifts at Michelle's house before heading back home to await the arrival of Nana and Papa who got there around 10pm. Christmas day was spent opening presents and eating - all day! Callie had so many gifts to open that Matt and I put some of hers away for her birthday. We had a wonderful breakfast, provided by Dreama and Michelle, who brought food over for us. Lunch was the Taylor traditional Chicken Roll-ups and Pea Salad by Mom and I. And we had more sweets to conquer that we could manage. Callie had a great time opening gifts and wore herself out! Thanks to everyone for helping make the day so special. And thank you also for all the wonderful gifts to Matt and me. We all had some great surprises!

Christmas Eve at Aunt Michelle's house.

All bundled up! It was cold. Nana and Papa had to leave earlier than planned to avoid driving in more icy whether.

Getting into the presents under Aunt Michelle's tree.

First present of Christmas morning - a new crib toy!

She loved ripping the paper! Look closely at her little face.

She would even stop to read the card.

"Wow, I know I have been good, but I am not sure I was this good, Santa!"

My little angel!

Ripping so fast her hands are a blur!

The box was a bonus present!

A random photo taken by Grampie (Steve). Apparently all Papa wanted for Christmas was a cell phone like Callie's. I guess we will know what to get him next year!

She loved her vacuum from Uncle Jon and Aunt BB. Grampie might sue the company because they apparently stole his cleaning songs to use on the toy. "I'm going to clean the house today, Do-dah, Do-dah!"

She also loved what I call "The Very Needy Puppy" from Aunt Michelle.

Her drum, bell and cymbal set were a huge hit. She new just what to do with the drum, thanks to Ms. Rebekah and Kindermusik class!

Watch it, Papa! Those are my penguins!

Nana pushing her around on her favorite toy from Grammie and Grampie. Grampie is still losing sleep trying to figure out how to make the princesses on the front spin.

Her favorite toy from Nana and Papa. She starts every morning out playing with this one. She rings the doorbell constantly!

Callie's First Christmas! vol. 2

Christmas for Callie officially started the Sunday before the actual day. After church, we drove to Pa's house for the Spiers/Lastovica family gathering. Last year, Logan made his Christmas debut at this gathering and this year he had little Callie to keep him company during the present opening chaos. There was another special new comer this year. Santa (cousin Luke) made an appearance. Callie really didn't seem to care for him much but she did like grabbing his beard. Logan also had a mixed reaction, but both eventually cooperated for pictures. Thank you Luke for putting that hot costume on in an already extremely warm house! Callie's next "Christmas" was the following Tuesday (the 22nd), Matt and my ninth wedding anniversary. Grammie and Grampie arrived for the week and came over to keep Callie while Matt and I went out to eat. It was our first time away from her together. It seemed very weird to not have her in the car seat behind us. Once we returned, Scott and Michelle joined us and we opened any presents that included Scott since he was leaving the next day to go to his parents' house. Callie thoroughly enjoyed opening presents, preferring the wrapping paper, as expected. Uncle Scott gave her her first cell phone which she loved and a soccer ball to start her sports training early. Scott and Michelle also gave her a beautiful silver engraved bracelet that they bought for her in Charleston to match one that Dreama had bought for Michelle when we were there a few years ago. I don't have any pictures of Callie in the bracelet yet because she doesn't let me get it on her. Scott and Michelle were surprisingly excited about the snuggies (slankets) that we gave them. It was a nice evening and just an appetizer for Callie since she had three more "Christmases" to go!

Callie fit right in with the tradition Christmas mayhem at Pa's house.

I think that is the same reaction a pre-teen would have to getting a cell phone for Christmas!