First Pull Up

Last Sunday, I tried to get Karis to take a quick nap before going to church. No such luck. I went into her room to get her but she was playing happily in her crib so I let her be. Earlier in the morning, I saw her for the first time go from a crawling position to a sitting position. Then what seemed like within the same hour, I was watching her in her crib pulling herself up. Is life in fast forward mode or is it just me?

Needless to say, when Derek got home from church that day he lowered the crib once again.

6 1/2 Month Update

Here is an older post that I never published. We went on vacation and I never finished it. Here is a look back at what Karis was doing when she was 6 1/2 months old.

Here are a few pictures I've taken recently that show what she's been up to. This is more for me to remember all the little things she's doing at this age. I know I will quickly forget if I don't blog about them.

Sitting pretty.
Karis has been doing pretty well sitting up. She enjoys playing with her toys while sitting up and seldom likes to lean back. She also loves to stand up (with our help) to show off her strong legs.

She can't crawl yet but she sure can roll.
She definitely likes to move and it's hard to get her to stay still... especially during diaper changes. She always tries to roll onto her stomach which leads to a wrestling match. It's a struggle to get her diaper and pants back on. She seems to be quite strong-willed already -- it's scary.

I'm so thankful that she quickly learned how to roll over from her back to her stomach. We no longer have to "flip" her when she rolls over on her back during her sleep. She now sleeps on her back, stomach and side. She has been sleeping through the night. She'll go down for the night between 6:30 and 7:30 pm and wake up around 5 or 6 am.

She no longer acts like she's in a torture chamber when we put her in the car seat.
She always has a toy to play with in her car seat so she is content in the car. We'll take her to our doctor's appointments or to a restaurant, and she'll hang out in her seat until we're done. Below is a picture of us after we enjoyed breakfast together on my birthday. Notice how she's trying to look like the perfect child in her seat.

The two-finger pacifier works wonders.
She sucks on them to help her fall asleep. She also sucks on them to signal that she's hungry or sleepy. We only give her the pacifier when we're out and about and she's tired and cranky. She can get pretty loud with her squeals that tell us she's had enough and needs a nap!

She has been eating better lately.
She is now regularly eating the minimum amount for her age (for awhile, she wasn't anywhere near the minimum). She is also eating solid food regularly. Her favorite so far seems to be the green beans; her least favorite would be pears.
She likes to chew on the spoon so she'll often grab the spoon as it's going into her mouth. You'd be surprised how fast she can whip her hand out to grab it.

She loves tags.
She can find tags on her blankets and burp cloths. She loves to play with them and suck on them.

She's not a talker but she sure does make noise.
She doesn't "talk" a whole lot, but when she does it's typically in the mornings or when she wakes up from her haps. I love walking into her room and hearing her babble in the crib. Her talking consists more of sounds and not so much syllables.

The other sound she makes is a high-pitched squeal (see her in action below). She makes this sound when she is tired and needs a nap. She also has this drunken stupor act she puts on in the evenings when she's deliriously tired. It's quite funny. She gets loud, starts to grab things, wants somethings then quickly changes her mind. She really acts like she's drunk.

Everything in the mouth.

She loves to explore things this way as well as soothe her teething gums. Below is her reaction to a pine needle that made its way into her mouth.

Developing stranger anxiety.

While she is quite social and loves to be around people, it'll sometimes take awhile for her to warm up to a stranger. She no longer flashes her smiles at everyone. She is most "afraid" of others when it's around her bedtime and she's tired.

Our Summer Vacation: A Night at Wrigley Field

We spent our last evening in Chicago at Wrigley Field.  Go Cubs Go!  

Derek's friend Tom had four tickets and invited us to join him and his fiance.  We jumped at the opportunity to watch the game and to meet his fiance.  Kelsey graciously agreed to watch Karis for us.  We took the train and made our way downtown.  The weather was perfect and the game was fun to watch.  To top it off, the Cubs won!

After the game, we missed our train home by minutes.  =(  We had to wait another hour for the next train. It made for a late night and of course Karis woke up in the middle of the night.  But it was worth it and we had a great time.

Here is a picture of Erik Estrada singing during the 7th inning stretch.

Our Summer Vacation: More Visits With Friends

We sure did pack it in!  Here are more photos of some friends we visited with in both the DC and Chicago areas.  We also visited the grave sites of Derek's father and grandparents. 

Our Summer Vacation: Things Karis Enjoyed

Besides all the attention and meeting new people, we discovered a few new things Karis really enjoyed. While staying in Chicago, every home we visited had a cat or dog. For the first time, Karis was able to be up close and personal with animals.  She was so interested in them. She loved when a cat would brush up against her toes and she would giggle every time a dog came to check her out. Here she is with her great uncle David and his pooch.

Karis' Dad even bought her a stuffed puppy (affectionately known as Douglas) and it quickly became one of her favorites.

Another thing that Karis really enjoyed was being on the river. We spent a half day on the river with Derek's sister and her family.  Karis was so excited to be outdoors with the wind blowing on her.

She also enjoyed just hanging out by the river while men held umbrellas for her. 

Our Summer Vacation: We Are Family

Here are some photos from the visits with Derek's side of the family in Illinois and Indiana.  

  

Our Summer Vacation: Kim Family Reunion

While in the DC area, we had a Kim family reunion. All three daughters and their families met at Dad's home in Maryland. We had dinner and celebrated the many birthdays our families have in June.

Here is a photo of the eight grandchildren, from age 6 months old to 13 years old.

Here is a photo of the three girl grandbabies (one from each family). Each of them have Heijah as their middle name, which is their late grandmother's Korean name.


We spent a day in Harrisburg, PA to spend some extra time with my sister and her family. Here is a photo of Derek and my brother-in-law.

Our Summer Vacation - Karis' New Friends

On our trip, Karis made lots of new friends. As you can see from the photos, both the big kids and little kids alike loved to play with her...or just look at her.

Our Summer Vacation - Traveling With a 6-Month Old

We spent 14 days visiting our friends and family in the DC and Chicago areas. It was great to see so many of our loved ones and to have them meet Karis for the first time. Karis did great on the trip. She loved being around new people and she soaked in all the new sights and sounds.

We were amazed at how much we had to pack and lug around. Getting through security was an ordeal with so much stuff and having all the liquids for the baby go through a special check.

Karis' first ride on an airplane went well. She played nicely on our laps and only fussed when she was trying to take a nap. She doesn't usually fall asleep in our arms, so she cried on and off in frustration for about five minutes before falling asleep. Our leg from Chicago to Long Beach was the easiest. We had extra leg and head room, in addition to an extra seat for Karis. It was really nice! Thank you to our friend who gave us free standby tickets on JetBlue.  We were able to get on the flights we wanted and were able to sit together (not without buying a drink for a lady who switched seats with Derek who was seated next to a very unhappy baby).  

With so much to do and so many places to go, Karis took many naps and feedings in the car. She quickly became accustomed to falling asleep in her car seat, mainly because she was so exhausted from missing naps or getting really short ones here and there. Here is a photo of her tired and getting ready to take a nap with Fluffy.

While in the Chicago area, we made a day trip to Indiana and then one to Wisconsin the next day. The travel times to both locations were doubled due to accidents and holiday traffic. We spent way too many hours in the car. Our poor baby had it at one point. She was so unhappy!

No matter how miserable she was in the car, once she got out and was in front of people she was as happy as could be.

When we returned to the Long Beach airport and got off the plane, we think Karis knew what was going on. She was SO happy and excited. We were too! It was a great vacation, but it was long and we missed the comforts of home.

Crawling So Soon?!

We thought we had at least a couple more months before we would have to baby proof our home. But, by the looks of things, we probably only have a couple weeks. Karis has been trying hard to get things out of her reach. She'll get in a push-up position... fall down... stretch her arm... do a semi-army crawl... and then repeat (in no particular order). Eventually she can move forward far enough to get what she wants. It's been so fun to watch her! She is one determined and strong baby! Check out the crazy face she makes when she gets into a push-up position.