Sweet little Calah Girl

The phases of "crawling"

Phase 1: Ok. I'm going to try crawling. Ready...go!









Phase 2: SQUACK!! I'm frustrated!! They make this look a lot easier than it is!







Phase 3: Yep, look at me! I'm going to crawl. *sigh* Nope...back to phase 1.

7 Months Old

7 months old? Is that possible? Calah is closer to being 1 than being a newborn. Crazy!! She turned 7 months on December 15th...so yes, I am a little bit behind (So much so that I have decided to send out our Christmas letter in June. Yep, June.). Calah continues to be our calm (for the most part) and smiley girl. She sits and smiles as Lilija runs around.

Here are highlights from the last month

• Saying "Mama" and "Dada"
• Can do the splits (her flexibility is astounding)
• Gets really mad if sister takes her toy away
• Is still working on crawling
• Loves carrots, peas, pears, and sweet potatoes
• Can stand for long amounts of time with minimal support from Mama or Daddy

That's the scoop for now!

Much love,
Carl "Chip", Kysa, Lilija and Calah

Sisters

Monster Cookies

Lilija and I had so much fun making Monster Cookies. This is a tradition that Auntie Trish and her Mom have been doing since she was little, and I wanted to start it with the girls. By the end of the afternoon there was sprinkles all over the kitchen, food coloring on the counter, a messy child pumped with sugar, and I LOVED every moment of it!

Quick! It's raining!!

I got this pop-up caterpillar from one of my coworkers, and it has been a constant source of entertainment from the moment I brought it home. Lilija calls it her "tent" and she likes to pretend that it's raining out, so you need to run and hide in the tent. This goes on, and on, and on. Here are some shots of her playing the game with Bapa.

Nana and Calah

Sitting up

Calah has been sitting up on her own for a while, but this was the night that she was finally able to sit on her own for an extended amount of time. Way to go Calah girl!

Bath time!

I want to go fast

Liliija - The Update

Since I did an update on Calah, I thought I should do an update on Lilija. Here it goes!

Lilija is 2 1/2 (does that tell you anything?!) and is too smart for her own good. We are in the days of training with her. Jesus gave her a strong willed personality, a hilarious sense of humor, and an incredible thirst for adventure. Mix that with a force of constant energy, no fear, and the cutest little singing voice, and you've got our Lilija!

Her favorite things are reading, running ("I run really fast"), and building things. Right now she's on a towers and puzzles kick. Oh, and she runs really fast, as in faster than Mama. Yeah, I know...I'm not the fastest runner, but seriously she loves to get on the treadmill, and has gone as fast as 6 miles an hour. Mind you, it was only for a moment, and YES, Carl holds her hand the entire time so she's safe, but 6 miles an hour?! I think my top is 5. Goodness, I really need to step up the cardio!

She loves to "read" to you. The book Going to the Zoo is a daily must read, and Lilija likes to tell you what all the animals are doing. The other day she told me that "snakes are very snakey." I wasn't aware of that. Good to know.

Finally, my favorite, she loves to sing "Oh how I love Jesus." You'll hear her precious little voice out of the blue just singing along...or in the monitor at night as she's going to sleep (immediately followed by the Dinosaur song).

Love,
Corbett Family

6 Months Old

The second child syndrome has started. I missed Calah's 6 month "posed" picture with her puppy and sign. Whoops. At least I got the professional ones done. Right? Right. Even thought I missed the official picture I can still loop you in with her 6 month accomplishments and highlights, so here's the scoop!

• Can roll over front to back and back to front...and crawl backwards. (She's still working on getting herself going forwards and gets REALLY frustrated when she's getting further and further away from her nuk or toy of choice.)
• Is FINALLY sleeping consistently through the night. Whew! She was doing that at about 8 weeks old and then our camping trip to Grand Marais threw the routine off. We've been trying to get her back on it ever since. Yippee!
• Is eating solid foods. I don't know why I didn't make my own with Lilija, but that is one think that I'm doing with Calah. She loves sweet potatoes, peas, squash, and is not quite sure what to think about applesauce. This weekend I'm going to make peaches and pears for her to try. Yum!
• If she drops something she realizes that it's gone...or if Mama and Daddy go into the other room she misses us. Very cute.
• Calah is starting to babble, and I've heard the occasional "dada" or "baba" followed or proceeded by a lot of other random noises.
  
• Likes to scream. Still calling her the Calahdactyl. It fits. Really.

She is such a happy, smiley, baby girl. I know I say that at every update (now I'm going to have to go back and check) but it's so true. She's just a joy to be around. *awe*

Love,
Carl "Chip", Kysa, Lilija, and Calah

Birthday Flowers

Carl surprised me with a bouquet of beautiful flowers for my birthday. Way to go Babe!

Thanksgiving

This year marked our 5th or 6th year having Friends Thanksgiving. It started a few years back when one particular Thanksgiving, our parents were out of town. And by "our" parents, I mean almost all of the parents of our group (SMACK MR. T, LJC!). So, we decided to have Thanksgiving as a group and the tradition stuck. It was such a relaxing and wonderful day!