Callie's Blessing Ceremony

We held Callie's blessing ceremony on Saturday. It was wonderful!! We aren't religious but we are very spiritual so we wanted a way to welcome Callie into our community, similar to a baptism. We held it at the house with our closest family and friends. We started the ritual by lighting the candle I made for our wedding and explained our intentions. We shared our story of Callie's birth and what it meant to us to have become a family. We also explained her name, the fact that her middle name is for her Great Grandmother Helen that is no longer with us. Bill and I took vows as did Callie's godparents, Andrew and Michelle. We also had those in attendance take a vow to help us guide our daughter with the same love and support they have given us. Then each person came forward and gave a blessing, wish, prayer, advice for Callie. It was amazing to hear such beautiful thoughts and to know how much love surrounds her.
Bill and I obviously couldn't take any pictures during the ceremony, but others did. So I will add them to this post as they come our way.

Week 10

Callie is ten weeks old today. She is smiling up a storm! She smiles back when you smile, or when you tickle her tummy. She is also starting to make new sounds. She now has a high pitched squeal/laugh that might just be the cutest sound I've ever heard in my life. Her control over her fingers and hands are increasing. She is getting really good at grabbing my hair and glasses:) She has also started kicking non stop, especially when she is on the changing table. Bill says it looks like she is doing an Irish Jig. Its pretty funny! She also does it in the bathtub. She is much more responsive than she has been in the past which is making life pretty darn fun with her around!

An Evening of Firsts

We had our first tumble last night. It was awful! It was full of cliches. "I only turned my back for a second." I guess they are cliche for a reason! I had her on the couch, turned around and bam! Screaming! Luckily she was only about a foot off the ground when it happened. In a few seconds she was calm and smiling, so I assumed she was fine but we still looked online to see if we should call the doctor. Thank god for the google! From what we found, a fall from 3 feet or less usually isn't much to worry about. It is falls from counters (why would you put your baby on the counter?) that are more worrisome. Especially since she was smiling and cooing, we felt like she was fine. Then a few minutes later Callie and I were in the rocking chair and Bill was on the couch when she suddenly laughed! It was the most adorable thing ever!

Vaccinations Round 2

We got Callie her second round of vaccinations yesterday. Phew! We did AOK during the actual appointment. There was an oral vaccine which she went after with gusto, especially since she was already hungry. She was probably a little confused as to why it wasn't milk! Then she got the shots in her legs. Luckily they combine some of the vaccines these days. She was screaming and I settled in to feed her and she calmed down almost immediately. We got her in the car and she passed out, hard. She slept for about an hour here and there. During the late afternoon it got ugly. I don't know if it was the pain in her legs or just feeling all the junk in her system but she went nuts. She was screaming louder and more shrill than I have EVER heard her, and that's saying something cuz we've heard some doozies in last two months. It was awful! And there was just no consoling her, probably because she didn't know what was happening to her. It lasted well into the night which was really bad timing. I had surmised that if she had a rough time with her vaccinations she would be through it by the early evening. This was important because it was our anniversary and Bill had planned to take me out to dinner. Leaving her screaming with my mom may have been the hardest thing I've had to do yet. If it had been ANYONE else but her I wouldn't have gone. As it was I almost told Bill to cancel our plans. I sat and cried in the car for a bit. But I realized there wasn't anything I could do to help her. While we were out she calmed down for a bit and then erupted like a vomiting volcano. So poor Grandma Tere got to experience the incredible vomiting girl! But apparently she felt better after that and calmed down. At least we don't have to do this again for another 2 months! And you can be sure the schedule will be totally open! Live and learn!

Some Kind of Separation Anxiety

Callie seems to have developed some kind of separation anxiety. I first noticed it last week when a friend came over to hold her and Callie just cried and cried until I took her. I thought it was a one time thing but it is becoming more common, even with her daddy. And now it is making driving in the car interesting. If someone is in the back seat with her she is fine, but when I am driving and she is by herself in the backseat (which is most of the time) she just screams bloody murder! So of course she gets herself all worked up and sweaty by the time we arrive where we are going. From what I have found online, they seem to just grow out of it, but most of the people I found online were experiencing this around month 5 or so. We have made conscious efforts the last few days to have Callie spend more time with her daddy so she will get over this a bit, because I certainly can't hold her 24 hours a day!

Getting Better With Her Fingers

Callie is definitely getting better with her hands. She can reach for and grasp things like fingers and hair(!). Today while we were waiting for a table at Bill's Cafe she started grasping for a toy and actually was able to spin part of it with her fingers. Then of course she put it in her mouth:)

First Blood

No, Callie is not starring in a baby version of Rambo. When I went to get her up this morning, or rather when she got me up, I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her face. She had a gash on her nose from one of her jagged nails. She had scratched herself before, but it had just left behind some red marks no blood. So out came the nail file to take care of those nails. Poor thing.