Almost Walking

Cara learning to walk hasn't been nearly as binary a process as her starting to crawl was. She started taking steps in mid-November but then gave it up for a bit. Perhaps crawling is just too easy for her. But with a respite from teething and being sick, she started up again in mid-December. Some days will be 90% crawling, other days she's in a walking mood and will toddle her way around, usually with something in her hand. Which is, of course, one of the major benefits to walking!



Falling is a natural result of learning to walk. But Cara is an easy-going girl and falls usually just result in a brief pause and return to crawling. Most of her falls are down on her butt and no cause for concern, but she has taken a few headers which means we need to be a little more cautious about what sharp edges are around that she could whack her head on. We are a little concerned about the 30" high dining room table as Cara was 29" a month ago, and growing fast. We may need to keep chairs positioned strategically near the corners.


Cara also suddenly decided that she knew how to go down stairs as well as up. We had shown her how to go down safely (not head-first, which appears to be the instinct) but she would at most go down one or two stairs before deciding either that up was where she really wanted to go, or having mommy or daddy carry her down was the preferred situation. But then one day she set off down the stairs (with careful spotting by mom). Okay, next skill - let's practice the scrunchy smile!

First Birthday

Amazing at it seems, Cara is now over a year old. It isn't so remarkable when you see her, with teeth popping in, a few first steps and a growing sense of what she wants and doesn't want. But the transformation over the last six months is incredible. The little baby we brought home six months ago is recognizable in our emerging toddler girl - she still has the same cheerful temperament and excitement to explore the world. But even the smile with which she greats that world has changed from a sunny grin to an eye-scrunching, face-encompassing expression.

Like mom, Cara has the mixed blessing of having a birthday close to Thanksgiving. On the plus, there is a better than even chance that she won't have to be in school (or at work) on her birthday. On the minus, Thanksgiving leftovers can end up dominating the birthday dinner. But we did our best to make both her first Thanksgiving and birthday (on Nov. 25th) special occasions.

Doing our best did not, unfortunately win out on the virus Cara picked up earlier in the week. She was in a great mood Thanksgiving morning and we have fun playing peek-a-boo over the couch, but by the time we woke her up from her afternoon nap, Cara was running a fever of over 101F. She spend an hour or so hanging out at mommy's side in a sling before being put down for her nights sleep. No Thanksgiving dinner this year, unfortunately.

The next day her fever was down below 100F, but our little girl still clearly sick and slept most of that and the next day. We had planned a small birthday party for her on Saturday afternoon, but when she was still clearly not feeling well canceled with most of the guests and just had two friends over for dinner. Cara was well enough to unwrap a few presents and eat some dinner. We served her some pumpkin custard in lieu of a birthday cake (she doesn't digest wheat well). She wasn't quite sure what to do with the candle, but was quite happy to tuck into that custard!



On Sunday Cara's fever was gone and we decided to still make a trip to the zoo in honor of her birthday. We were joined by a friend and her daughter, Emma, who are zoo pros. Despite the cold weather we saw gorillas, elephants, various tropical reptiles, and many other interesting critters. Of course Cara was equally fascinated by the squirrels and other children, but we think she had a good time. She was still definitely a little under the weather and we're looking forward to going again when she is feeling a little more herself.



The day culminated with another pumpkin custard (disappeared fast), a visit from her neighbor babysitter and mom, and an early bedtime. Cara remained under the weather for most of the rest of the week, not the best way to start her 2nd year. Eventually the smiley girl came back in full force. We are noticing an increasing number of stormy moments, as her toddler personality emerges!

A visit to the Bay Area

In the middle of November Cara and I undertook another adventure - a flight down the the Bay Area to visit family and friends. C originally thought he would be able to join us, but ended up having to fly to a meeting in Europe instead. But mom and Cara managed the flight down to Oakland just fine, where we were met by a very eager Grandpa. Cara was clearly delighted to see him and began waving her arms and kicking her legs soon after she realized who that smiling man was.




We had a busy schedule trying to spend time with the many people in the Bay Area that we are close to. The main focus of Saturday was a lunch-time Chinese banquet hosted by Grandma and Grandpa to introduce Cara to the extended family. It was quite the event with aunts, uncles and cousins running everywhere. Cara charmed everyone, although was still reticent about letting anyone other than mom or Grandpa hold her. She even got an early birthday cake, but didn't quite get the idea of blowing out the candle. Next year!



Sunday the focus was on visiting some old friends. Three families with children and dogs gathered in Berkeley for a day of kid-oriented play and a chance for the adults to catch up. The main event was a trip to the Tilden Park Steam Trains and we all got to ride behind a steam engine! Although I think for Cara the best part of the day was playing ball with one of the dogs, Ginger. We ended a busy day with dinner at Picante, a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Berkeley. Cara loved the pinto beans which mom sacrificed from her plate. A tired girl fell asleep in the car on the way home.




We had the following morning to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and watch the squirrels that hang out in their backyard (lured by many peanuts). Cara had refused to nap the previous afternoon and hadn't slept so well on Sunday night, so she was a little less cheerful than usual. After a quick lunch we regretfully headed out the airport for our flight back to Seattle. Fortunately the flight home was uneventful and we both slept well back in our own beds.

Teeth and grandparents?

The lack of any upper teeth appearing wasn't exactly worrying us, but we were wondering when Cara was going to get some more teeth in. We had long since given up on chewing and drooling being indications of a tooth about to emerge as Cara had been chewing and drooling for over three months with no new teeth. Little did we realize we were missing a key factor - the presence of grandparents (who were visiting when her first teeth appeared)!

C's dad made another brief visit at the beginning of C's trip, providing some welcome support, and I had arranged for my parent's to visit towards the end. We were all initially disappointed that Cara seemed more reticent than usual to meet new people and she took awhile to decide that she really was okay with her grandparents. When we went for a hike on Sunday she seemed especially irritable, even before we all got cold and wet. As I was trying to comfort her I noticed a white area in her upper gum - another tooth! So now we know the magic requirement for new teeth.




Once her tooth emerged Cara cheered up considerably. The weather also improved so my parents were able to get out for some sunny hikes as well as having some fun with their granddaughter.

The last hike of summer

I've fallen horribly behind on this blog. C was travelling for most of the last month and a half, and time got a little tight.

So for the first part of my catch-up, here are some two-month old photos of our last summer hike on Mount Rainier. We had absolutely perfect weather with no bugs. And Cara had a great time. She's gotten big enough that being in the back carrier is more comfortable, and it has the advantage of a built-in sunshade (that works as a raincover in less clement weather).



We were joined in this adventure by Auntie D and our friend R. We were all delighted to walk out of the woods to a beautiful view of Mount Rainier. Cara announced her excitement by bouncing up and down in the backpack and waving her hands - nice that she has such good taste!

The trip back down through the woods was cool, with some fog coming up from the valley below. But Cara's enthusiasm for the trip didn't diminish, and she chatted loudly for much of the hike out, to the amusement of the other hikers on the trail. We're looking forward to understanding what she is saying, since she sure does have a lot to say to us.

Around the house

From this blog you might think that Cara leads a charmed life, constantly playing in the great outdoors. While she does enjoy being outside, in reality she spends most of her time at home making do with the toys we give her. And the toys we don't give her...

Kitchen implements are always fun, which we hope will translate to a daughter who enjoys cooking as much as we do. And have all our mountain trips spurned her delight in going up stairs? Only time will tell, but Cara does seem to be training for climbing. In reality, almost anything is fun to explore, including J's purse. Luckily she sometimes plays with her own toys too.

Not a loss but a gain

Sorry for the break in the posts. Another shift in all our lives, as J had to return to work at the end of August. We were a little worried at how Cara would take not being around mom all day. Losses in her life have occurred every three months so far as she shifted from nursery to foster home to our family. Would she see J returning to work as another loss? Well, from all we can tell, she doesn't seem to be grieving at all, but rather she celebrating having a loving nanny, Ms. A, as a notable gain to her circle of doting adults. Ms. A takes her to the park every day, never drags her to Target, and will happily help Cara explore a cardboard box for 20 minutes without running off to do a load of laundry or check her email. Not bad at all.

Although not quite perfect. After two wonderful weeks of having Ms. A's undivided attention, Isabel came on the scene. We're sharing Ms A. with another family whose daughter is just 1 month older than Cara. So Cara is beginning to learn the difficult lessons of sharing toys, people and space with another little girl. And hopefully also learning the joy of her first friend.