We just wanted to share some cute photos of Carys. We've just been enjoying our little family. Wednesday we will be traveling up to Mackinac Island for a few days. Our hotel is on the island and we are going to explore the sites. Hopefully we'll have some good photos to share with some fun updates. I just hope I'm prepared and have all that Carys needs!! She is actually pretty easy to entertain. Happy Fall to everyone!!
Carys has a new big girl toy. She should be able to play with this learning table for months. Look how big she is sitting on the bench all by herself.
Sometimes the best toys are free and right around the house. Carys giggled while she played with this plastic tray that held cookies. She loved the noise I think.
As many of you know Carys was diagnosed with a hearing imparement upon leaving the hospital in March. There have been numerous appointments to keep tabs on our little ones hearing. Well...today was one of those appointments. All along Carys has been hearing better and better. She had the hearing aids for two months and then it was obvious she could hear well without them. We now know that she is hearing sound better than what is expected for children her age!! We are so glad to get this news, even though we knew she was hearing. Please pray that her hearing stays on track for the remainder of her life. I was going to post a photo of her when she had her hearing aids in, but I can't find it on my computer.
The past few days have been full of new things for Carys. On Friday we went to story time at the library. Carys did very well and sat through all of the reading. She was the youngest child there. The theme for the story time was a birthday party. Saturday we had dinner with my in-laws. Tim's parents were home from KY so we all got together and had tacos. Carys became pretty fussy while we were visiting with family. I know that she has been working on cutting teeth for sometime now. I felt a lump on her gums, however, no teeth as of yet. Sunday was the really big day. Carys started off with eathing pears...which she gobbled up. We then took her to the zoo for the very first time. It was a lot of fun! The neatest experience was watching her watch the giraffe walk right in front of her. She watched it until she couldn't see it anymore. On the way home from the zoo she ate her very first teething biscuit. She loved it. She was a mess, but what can you expect when an 8 1/2 month old feeds herself?!?!?! It is so much fun watching her experience new things everyday. She is such a wonderful gift.
Wednesday we went to a play group. Carys played and played and played. I'm so glad they clean the toys because she put EVERYTHING in her mouth. The group was one hour long and full of music, singing and playing. This little girl fell asleep as soon as I got her in the car. She has been so funny this week. I was folding laundry yesterday and she just thought it was the funniest thing ever. She had the deep belly laughs. It was so sweet. I called her Grandma Davis so that she could hear her. We couldn't call daddy because he was in the UP at a conference and we couldn't call Grandma Beck because she was at the hospital visiting a friend. Last night she started to play with a pan and a wooden spoon. You only have to show her two or three times how to do something and she can do it. She's amazing!!
I had a meeting today at the office and Carys went along. She was very well behaved. So well that we even went to lunch with my co-workers and to Target. This was also her first time wearing jeans. I think she looks soooo cute!!
Our little one is becoming more and more independent. Not only does she want to feed herself but also wants to clean herself at bath time. She has a unique way of cleaning her feet...as you can see. She splashes and splashes so much that there isn't much water left to drain out. She started loving her bath way back in the hospital. That's when she got her baths in a pink little basin. She is so FUN!!!!
In February we began doing hand and foot molds of Carys. We have done four months worth now. Wow...she has grown so much!!
The top two were done while she was in the hospital and the ones at the very bottom are the ones we did last night.
Over the past few days Carys has been eating sweet potatoes for her first time. This picture is the very first day of her eating the them. She continues to insist upon feeding herself so feeding time is also no clothes time. It's so fun watching her try to feed herself with the spoon. She actually does a pretty good job. Today is the last day for the sweet potatoes. We will be moving onto bananas tomorrow. Friday will be a day of outings for us. In the morning we are going to the libraray for Carys' first story time. I hope she likes it. Tomorrow evening we are going to Ann Arbor to do some shopping. We are also planning a trip to Babies R' Us to get a mesh feeder. This way we can put a fresh banana in the mesh for her to feed herself. We are also going to have dinner. Tonight Tim comes home. He had to go to Indy, IN for work. We missed him!! Carys clearly misses her dad. Today she was saying da,da,da,da over and over and over. I tried calling him so he could hear her, but he was in a meeting:( 
Happy Labor Day to all. This has been a pretty relaxing weekend for us. Friday night we went over to some friends house and got caught up for the Nip/Tuck season. We became friends with these neighbors and hang out every now and then. Saturday we stayed in as I saw some clients earlier in the day. It is so weird being back to work, but also refreshing. I only have 3 families that I see one time a week in Jackson. Sunday my Mom and Greg came over for bar-b-que ribs that Tim made on the gill. It was nice having a small family dinner. Today we did work around the house. Tim mowed the yard and worked more on the ceiling in the basement. Carys and I played and played and played. Luckily I was also able to get some much needed housework done. Carys has had quite the first Labor Day weekend. This teething stage is very long for her. She has been extra cranky yesterday and today. Poor thing. There is only so much that we can do for her. We provide her with all differnt things for her to chew on to massage those gums. She also has to wear bibs to catch the drool. I hope that after these first teeth come in the rest will be much easier for her.
Yesterday Carys had an eye appointment at the Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor. The doctor said that she has wonderful vision!! We were so glad to hear this as it is very common for preemies to have problems with their vision. It was very educational to see how they perform and eye exam on such a small person. Carys did a great job. When we got home it was time for me to make dinner. Well, where I go, Carys wants to go. So, she was watching me make dinner while playing in her exersaucer in the kitchen. She sure likes to take everything in. This was also bath night. She was so full of smiles afterwards. She's such a ham. Today has been another fun day with our little girl. She just keep blowing and blowing rasberries. Tonight her daddy fed her applesauce for the very first time. She LOVED it!! I'm so glad she let him feed her as all week long she's been having to feed herself. I don't understand why she is trying to grow up so fast.?.?
Carys has a new big girl toy. She should be able to play with this learning table for months. Look how big she is sitting on the bench all by herself.
The top two were done while she was in the hospital and the ones at the very bottom are the ones we did last night.
Over the past few days Carys has been eating sweet potatoes for her first time. This picture is the very first day of her eating the them. She continues to insist upon feeding herself so feeding time is also no clothes time. It's so fun watching her try to feed herself with the spoon. She actually does a pretty good job. Today is the last day for the sweet potatoes. We will be moving onto bananas tomorrow. Friday will be a day of outings for us. In the morning we are going to the libraray for Carys' first story time. I hope she likes it. Tomorrow evening we are going to Ann Arbor to do some shopping. We are also planning a trip to Babies R' Us to get a mesh feeder. This way we can put a fresh banana in the mesh for her to feed herself. We are also going to have dinner. Tonight Tim comes home. He had to go to Indy, IN for work. We missed him!! Carys clearly misses her dad. Today she was saying da,da,da,da over and over and over. I tried calling him so he could hear her, but he was in a meeting:( 
