kate in her crib

Right at 8 months, we stopped swaddling Kate (finally). At bedtime she didn't have much trouble falling asleep without it, but it took her just a couple of days to start going to sleep easily at nap times. Now that she's so mobile, though, she's changing again! Now as soon as we put her in her crib, she starts crawling around, sitting up, banging on the headboard, and chewing on the bumper despite the fact that she is so tired that her eyes (just seconds before) were rolling around in her head. Sometimes we go up and lay her back down, but by the time we get back downstairs and look at the monitor again, she's already sitting up. It's a losing battle I fight, so I might as well just wait for her to conk out. Usually it takes 30 minutes or more for this to finally happen.

Yesterday she took a wonderful, rare, TWO HOUR nap after our photo play date. Here she is, all happy when she woke up...

Isn't she sweet?

Lens Baby: Chestnut Square

What a gorgeous day to get outside and take pictures! This morning my Lens Baby group met up at Chestnut Square in downtown McKinney. It has cute historical houses of different colors, so there are lots of fun backdrops to choose from. Kate has become more mobile, and it's harder to get pictures of her looking at me. She's just so interested in everything else! Nevertheless, I was still able to get a few cute ones.

For the full photo set...

Public Service Announcement: Google Reader

Tell me if this is you: You happen to have a few free minutes with your computer, and you want to check to see if the blogs you read (like "The Carlson Family") have been updated. The problem is, that some bloggers (we won't name names) go for like a month without posting then suddenly start posting several times in one week. Because you don't want to miss a new post, you check the site regularly, only to find it looks the same as the last 5 times you checked. Also, to open these sites in the first place, you probably just have them all bookmarked in your Favorites tab. You pull it down and click on each one at a time. Or maybe you subscribe to email updates that flood your inbox. I know. This was me a couple of years ago.

If you're raising your hand, don't be embarrassed. This post is for you! Google Reader is the answer to your blog-checking inefficiencies. (And yet it does so much more, too!) For your own sanity, watch this short video tutorial:

What's really cool about Google Reader is that not only can you keep up with the blogs you follow, but you can also receive Facebook notifications and Twitter feeds there too. It's your one stop shop. You can also download a free app for iPhone that allows you to view your Google reader wherever you are.

So what are you waiting for? Get Google Reader. Start clicking those little RSS feed icons and build up your subscriptions. Then come back here and let me know how much you love it. If you already use a reader, feel free to outline the many reasons you couldn't live without it.

And because I can't post without adding a picture of Kate, here 'ya go. 

a McKinney morning

Lens Baby: Dallas Arboretum

Yesterday my Lens Baby meetup group met at the Dallas Arboretum. Our goal was to learn how to get heart shaped bokeh like this...

The image on the left was a practice shot. (You can kind of see the hearts!) If you look closely at the image on the right, you'll see those little hearts of light in the background. That's heart bokeh!

Here's how we did it. It was the coolest thing ever!

You make a black construction paper circle with a heart cut-out and hold it up (or tape it as in this photo) to your lens and shoot with the widest aperture possible on your camera. I can do this with my new lens, but the standard lens that came with my camera wouldn't have achieved the same effect.

Here's the Flickr set for a few more pics from yesterday. I used the black construction paper thingy on some of them, but not on others.

Lens Baby: Teddy Bear Picnic

Last Friday was National Teddy Bear Day. To celebrate, Kate and I got together with some Lens Baby friends for a Teddy Bear Picnic photo shoot.

If you go down to the woods today,

You're in for a big surprise.

If you go down to the woods today,

You'll never believe your eyes.

For every bear that ever there was,

Is gathered there for certain because,

Today's the day the teddy bears have their picnic.

Here's the full photo set on Flickr:

Kate is 8 months old

Dear Kate,

It was exactly 8 months ago that our lives changed forever in the best way possible: you arrived on the scene! You've transformed from helpless infant to busy, squirmy baby over the months, and we're always excited to see what you'll do next. Here's what you've been up to over the past month...

* You want so badly to be on the move! You can kind of scoot backwards and roll to your desired destinations, but you're not crawling yet. You get so frustrated! Also, you don't like to be laid down flat because you can't get to a sitting position on your own. We'll have to work on those sit ups!

* All you want to do is stand. As we play on the floor, you like to reach over for my hands to pull up with. We give you minimal support, and you're still quite wobbly. We finally got you one of those Leap Frog tables so you have something to entertain you as you practice using your legs.

* We've recently been trying to wean you from your Miracle Blanket swaddling. It's about time! You're doing okay at night, but sometimes you roll to your tummy (which you don't like one bit), and you're too groggy to get yourself turned back over. You like laying on your side the best. No swaddling has been really hard at naptimes, though. It takes you much longer to settle down and finally fall asleep even though you're tired. It's funny to watch your contortions on the baby monitor. Sometimes I cave in and swaddle you so you can get on with your nap and we can get on with our day!

* You still use your paci to sleep. We don't use it real often during the day, but it's always close by, just in case.

* Blowing raspberries is one of your favorite pasttimes. It's funny to hear you go on and on in the car; it makes me giggle! You'll also "respond" to Daddy with raspberries. He'll blow one at you, and you'll echo. You'll do it for him every time! So sweet.

* We've been going on lots of playdates. We're active in the Lens Baby meetup group, and I love taking your picture. You're just such a cute subject! Also, we have joined a new Bible study group, and we've done a couple of playgroups with them, too. There are lots of babies just around your age.

* We left you for the first time overnight with Gram and Granddaddy while Daddy and I went on a vacation. It was so hard to leave you, even though I knew you'd be just fine. And you were!

I love to see your sweet, smiling face greet me every morning. You're our happy girl who's (usually) easy to please. I can't wait to see what the next month has in store for you, little chickadee!

Love you lots,

Mama and Daddy

Clothes: 6-12 month sizes, 12 month PJs
Weight: 20ish pounds
Length: 28ish inches
Diaper size: 3
Sleep: 7:30 pm - 7 am (We sometimes come help you flip back over once in the night.)

Naps: 9 am - 10/10:30 am, 1-2:30, and sometimes a catnap from 5pm - 6 pm. I'm trying to reschedule, but it's not an easy task! A short morning nap and a long afternoon nap sounds good, but we'll see what you can do.
Food: 4 bottles per day, totaling anywhere from 20 to 30 ounces. (Sometimes you're hungry, sometimes you're not.) You also get two stage 2 baby foods per day. You get a great variety, and you like almost everything. You don't like thick textures; they make you gag. We'll keep trying!

This month's elephant pic:

Compared to months 3 through 7:

Los Cabos and the story of "The Great Collapse"

Nick took me on a trip to Los Cabos, Mexico, and it happened to fall on my birthday! It was only for 3 nights (I couldn't bear to leave Kate for longer than that), but we made the most of our time! Scroll all the way down for the Flickr link to all our Cabo pics.

One funny story (funny to you, embarrassing to me)...

The night before my bday, we went to one of the restaurants there at the Hilton. As you can see, I had gotten a lot of sun that day.

The restaurant was mostly empty, as was the resort on the whole. We ordered a fun appetizer...

...and that's where the photos stop. As soon as they set my beautiful main course in front of me (salmon with almond something or other and risotto), I started feeling, well, not so good. I turned to Nick and calmly said, "Just so you know, I feel like I'm going to puke, and I feel light headed." Nick gave me a quizzical look and dismissed my warnings. Seconds later I said, "I need to go to the bathroom now." I stood up and told Nick he needed to go with me. He thought I was nuts. I stood up and immediately went down. No kidding. Right there in the restaurant, I was on the floor with black spots swimming around me and only static in my ears.

And then...

I was surrounded by all the waiters... "Senora, Senora!" (and to Nick) "Is she pregnant?" (NO, I'm not pregnant! And why do men always jump to that conclusion??) After un momento, there was an attempt to get up, followed by a second fall to the floor. No lie. By this time, a couple of security guards added themselves to my entourage. They leaned me back. Ahhh... much better. Blood was getting to my brain now. Deep breaths... yes, all was good. I tried to tell them.

And then...

One of the security guards had an oxygen tank. Yes, my friends, an oxygen mask was applied to my face. I really was feeling almost my usual self, yet I was forced to breathe nice and slow into the mask. For real. The sweet Mexican men kept proclaiming, "El doctor! We need to get her to the doctor." "No, I'm fine... really." I must not have been convincing.

And then...

They brought a wheelchair. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. They lift me into the wheelchair and have to hoist the thing (with me in it) down a few steps. (Insert some grunty lifting noises here). They now were wheeling me to el doctor on the premises. We get to the "doctor's office..."

And then...

No doctor is there. Nick asks how long el doctor will be. "Only 30 minutos, Senor." Yes. El doctor had to DRIVE IN from where ever it is he lives. You need to know that by now I'm seriously fine, and feeling almost perfect. We wait for el doctor. What else can we do? I'm on the patient bed thingy....

And then...

One of the security guards gets the aloe. He puts on gloves and starts rubbing it all over my scorched back. The security guards all keep saying, "Mas aloe (pronounced all-o-ay), mas aloe! Es muy fresca!" over and over and over again. I think he put like 5 layers of aloe on my back. Disgusting.

And then...

El doctor arrives. He's 26 years old. Seriously. He says my blood pressure probably dropped. (No, really???) I had to sit up slowly, stand slowly, and take a few steps to prove I was not going to drop again.

And then...

We paid el doctor 100 US dolores for his services.

Not how I would have liked to spend that money.

Please don't make fun of me. No one believed me when I tried to tell them I was fine.

The rest of the trip photos:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

With birthday money I was able to buy...

This lens (35mm, f/1.8). It is a fixed focal length (I can't zoom), and it gives nice bokeh in the background (fuzzy background). I've been having so much fun with it!

Lens Self-Portrait

Lens-Play

AND... I also bought Aperture photo editing software for my MacBook Pro.

An example before/after shot with the use of the software:

Before...

   After...

Lastly, I purchased a blog design revamp... I'm very excited for the big reveal!

And from Nick, I got this beautiful Kelly Moore camera bag...

Thanks so much to those who contributed to these photography items, and thereby the success of birthday 2010. I am having a blast!