50 weeks - Brrrr!!!!

Cara watching the snow fall for the first time...

Wow, 50 weeks have passed so fast! We're in the home strech of Cara's first year and we can hardly believe it! Look for a special retrospective coming soon :)

Winter has really started early and we had snow multiple times this week - so unfair. We had to dig out the winter coats, boots, mitts and toques - so unfair. But Cara didn't seem to mind and will actually wear her winter hat - amazing what freezing temperatures will do to a stubborn bald baby! We didn't have a toque big enough for her so we had to take her to Walmart last weekend in the cold and try on every hat then buy it and put it on her before we left the store!

The snow also ruined our planned trip to Jasper for the weekend...they closed the transcanada through the park due to a storm so we decided it was best not to venture out on the icy roads. Instead we are going to go spend 1 night in Banff and try to do some things there we have never done before just to make it more interesting - and we're staying in a hotel with a pool so we can take Cara swimming again! Look for pictures from our trip next week :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Playing with Goti's bell - Goti being very patient!

Flying with Daddy!

Up really high!!!

Getting the winter accesories out of storage (she is so helpful!).

All bundled up! She is sooo cute!

49 weeks - Autumn arrived and so did 2 teeth!!

Deep thoughts and teething (notice the red cheeks).

The cool weather has arrived! Fall lasted about 6 hours then winter-y winds blew in and frost and the threat of snow tonight...yikes! Autumn didn't last long!

Cara has been teething for a while now and we finally saw some new teeth this week. Another bottom tooth beside the front pair and a bottom molar. That takes her to 8 teeth that have cut so far. She's getting some sleep thanks to Infant Motrin and teething tablets. She continues to point at everything these days sometimes pointing with both index fingers for emphasis :) and it sounds like she says "that" when pointing so we've started naming anything she could be pointing at expanding her vocabulary :)

Adam and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary this week! We remembered that great day we had 3 years ago in NB with a great supper and flowers and Cara :)

All soapy in the tub!

Practicing pointing during bare-bum time.

New game - empty the cupboard!

Another new game - spin in Daddy's desk chair! She loves it!

Walking with Daddy :)

48 weeks - A new cousin!

Cara was very happy to meet her new cousin Connor - thanks to email!

Cara had a hot week in Calgary dealing with an end of September heat wave! We had a record high of 32 degrees! But now fall is in the air and it could snow any day now :)

Aunt Sarah and Uncle James had their baby this week - Connor James was born on Sept 24. he weighed 3lb 4oz and 17 inches long - he made his appearance 10 weeks early and surprised everyone! He is doing well and so are his parents :)

Cara is getting closer to walking and is exploring everywhere! So we are getting prepared for a 2nd wave of baby proofing! Pretty soon we won't be able to open the cupboards anymore!

We can't understand why sometimes she won't sleep ;)

Cara's favourite new expression - the scowl with pucker! She does it all the time - very cute!

Helping Mummy make supper :0)

Pointing out Connor's nose!

Standing!

This is a clip of a new trick she does - playing fetch! She will chase the ball all over the house but hasn't figured out to bring it back!

47 Weeks - Kindermusik

Cara and I started Kindermusik this week! It is a 45 min class every Wednesday where we sing and dance - Cara had a great time! She loves music and dancing so I'm sure she will love every week. We got to have a CD of all the music to play at home (and for me to learn all the words!) and whenever we put it on Cara perks up and starts clapping - very cute! There are 7 other babies in the group so she will make some new friends too.

Cara keeps standing all by herself and perfecting her balancing but hasn't tried to take a step yet. She started pointing today with just her index finger - at supper she pointed directly at her sippy cup that was out of reach - it was true communication! We started some sleep training with Cara last week since she was getting up sooo much and it is going really well - she is putting herself to sleep for her 2 naps and at bedtime and had one night where she slept from 7:30 pm to 7am straight! Hopefully she continues this behaviour!

Standing!

Being a cutie eating her cracker :)

Daddy calls this her "work" outfit since she is wearing khaki pants ;)

Wearing a dress that Mummy wore as a little baby :)

46 weeks - GD Family Picnic

Cara had a good week this week, if you don't count a few bad nights of teething and keeping me up half the night! She is doing much better now with the teeth and the sleeping :) The second molar is coming in and the first one is all the way in...she actually chews with it really well! She had her first taste of cow's milk this week and had no ill-effects - we'll gradually give her more over the next month or so and hopefully have a smooth weening experience.

The 3 other babies that were born at my work went to the office for a small shower so Cara and I went in to see them. Cara loved seeing the babies and all of the people. She showed off her standing skills and talking skills - her repertoire now consists of "kitty", "tickle", and "sticky" on top of the usual babble of "dada" and "bababbabababa"!

Today we went to Calaway Park, an amusement park just outside Calgary, for Adam's company's Family Picnic. Cara was able to go on a few rides with us holding her...she did not like the rollercoaster at all!!! just kidding - we went on a train ride, hot air balloons (ferris wheel type thing), the carousel, and an "egg" ride that was sort of like the dumbo ride at Disney (only not quite the same!). She was really good and seemed to enjoy the rides. She nearly fell asleep on the train! It was a fun afternoon. :)

Her first taste of cow's milk and using her sippy cup like a pro!

Practicing walking pushing her highchair around!

Practicing walking with her new walking toy! She is really good :)

The baby boom of Olympia Trust Company in reverse birth order - from 5 weeks to 10.5 months!

With Daddy on her first amusement park ride - the Carousel! She didn't want to sit on a horse though - maybe next time!

First taste of a Creamsicle! No surprise, she liked it!

Walking for Daddy's co-workers!

Giving Daddy a "kiss" - she was actually biting his face! ouch!

The Train (a.k.a. the choo-choo).

Nearly asleep on the train ride.

The hot air balloon ride!

Cara having a good time on the balloon ride!

One the Egg Ride with Mummy!

Getting back to the car after a fun-filled day! She had a great nap on the way home!

45 Weeks - Brent's Wedding

Cara made another cross country trip this week to Ottawa and back for Brent's wedding last weekend. She did very well on the plane going to Ottawa and really had a great trip. She loved playing with her cousins Caleb and Lucas and her Aunt Kelly and Uncle Mark, too. Kelly witnessed Cara saying "kitty" so we now have confirmation that "kitty" is Cara's first word! We all had a great visit with the DeBruyns and the wedding was great too (other than the rain!).

Back home this week Cara figured out how to drink from her sippy cup after weeks of practicing. The molar that she has been teething has moved down some more so we're hoping that experience is almost over. We went to a mom & baby group this week and Cara was showing off her standing a bit and was amazed by the one baby who is walking so she now has a new goal and she may be taking her first unaided steps anytime now!

At the rehearsal dinner with Brent's Mom, Ellen.

At the wedding with the Bride and Groom

Family portrait :)

Asleep at a park near the DeBruyns' house (as the rain started again).

With Aunt Kelly!

Going offroading!

Practicing her balance.

Wearing her summer dresses this week while she still can! (This one got lots of compliments at baby group - thanks, Nanny!!)

Chugging water from her sippy cup!

After a macaroni incident :)

Eating dirt covered watermelon at a picnic today!