Baby Carrier

Today Judith spit all over her bouncy seat. Which means that the cover had to go in the wash. Which means that I have to find another place to put Judith down when I can't hold her - except she didn't want to be put down, and I needed my hands free. So I tried on the baby carrier for the first time (Lance has worn it a couple times), and figured it all out on my own! She didn't last too long in it, because she started to get too tired, but it was extremely convenient while it lasted.

One year

Today is the one year anniversary of Lance's step in faith (a year ago today he decided to say "ok" to having a baby). And I realized this Sunday, on Judith's three month "birthday", that she was born two days less than nine months after he made his decision! In a time when many of my friends have tried for months or years to conceive, I still find that an astounding affirmation from God of Lance's trust.

Last walk

Today we went walking for the last time with my friend Erin - she's moving to Des Moines next week :-(. I took some pictures to memorialize the occasion. Some walks have been better than others (really, it depends a lot on whether Judith is content to sit in the stroller - Erin's son Blake is always good), and today was a good one. Judith was asleep for most of the walk, and when I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe, we discovered Blake was sleeping too. Here they are asleep in their matching Bob strollers.

giggles!

Today she giggled! I tickled her under her chin (in what my friend Traci calls "the sweet spot") and she giggled and giggled. I called Lance in, and we were able to experience it together!

camera

Yesterday I was working on a project, and I wanted a picture of Judith crying. So I put her in her chair near me, and figured that eventually she'd start fussing (no, I wasn't going to pinch her to make her cry!). And she did start fussing....but as soon as I'd turn to take a picture, she'd smile and coo! It was a good 15 minutes before I actually got a crying picture - and it's only a partial cry. I guess she really just wanted my attention.

A chilly walk

Today there was a chilly wind (ok, chilly for Sacramento in October) when we went for our morning walk, and so I put on this hat (crocheted by my Lance's coworker Adrianne) on Judith. She turned her head from side to side trying to get it off, but otherwise she really didn't complain about it.

We walked through a more affluent neighborhood near here. It's an older neighborhood, and there are lots of trees overhanging the road and shading the houses. I would imagine that the people actually know their neighbors, and have kids that play together! We even saw two flocks of wild turkeys wandering around! It seemed almost a different state.

Also, what you can't see in the picture is that for the first time Judith has a red ring around her mouth from her pacifier. She fell asleep halfway through the walk, and apparently sucked on it hard enough in her sleep to leave the mark. How she can do that in a moving vehicle, but lose her pacifier every five minutes in her crib is beyond me! :-)

deep conversations

As I write this, Judith is lying in her crib happily chatting with the mobile. I had gone back to bed for a little nap this morning, and she woke me with her noises - but then I realized that they were happy noises, and so I'm leaving her in there until that changes. It is so amazing to listen to her!

In other updates: yesterday we drove up to Auburn to surprise Grandma Sandy at her store. Judith did just fine during the car ride (35-40 mins each way) even though she didn't sleep on the way up. I could hear her periodically sucking on her fingers. She was a little tired at the store, and perhaps a little overstimulated by all the noise/lights/colors/smells/people. But she slept on the way home and was fine the rest of the day.