Visit from Grandma H. and Turning 4 Months Old!

Daddy went to corporate training this past week, and Grandma H. came to keep Mama and Kara company.  They had a fun time shopping, taking afternoon walks, and playing in the house!

Kara seems quite frustrated that she still isn't independently mobile.  She's working 'round the clock to remedy the situation!  She loves to take everything in with her eyes wide as saucers, and she's becoming more interactive everyday.  She also found her left thumb somewhere around week 16 -17.  Happy day!  She smiles often; in direct proportion to the amount sleep she gets.  The Kara laugh is still elusive -  we'll get a small 'huh huh' if the stars are aligned just so.

The Colorado Folks Come to Visit

Grammy and Grandpa S. came to visit from Colorado this past weekend.  Kara had grown so much since the last time they'd seen her, they couldn't believe it.  On Saturday, they sent Mommy and Daddy out to lunch and a movie, so they could spend some quality time with Kara (without those pesky parents around).  On Sunday, everyone headed downtown and walked around Falls Park.  All in all it was an exciting weekend, and Grammy and Grandpa were glad to be able to spend time with Kara.

In other news, Lee Ann, Tyler, and Kara are heading out to Colorado for Memorial Day.  If you're going to be around, let us know!

The Elusive Smile

Believe it or not, Kara actually smiles quite a bit.  She smiles at Mommy and Daddy in the morning when they go to get her.  She smiles when Mommy sings to her and after Daddy throws her in the air (though we're not sure if she enjoys the throwing or is just happy it's over).  However, we were finally able to capture Kara's smile on camera.  Now we can share her toothless grin with the world. :-D

Kara's starting to be a little more fun.  Mommy enjoys playing with Kara during Tummy Time, and Daddy enjoys giving Kara rides around the house on his shoulders (we think Kara likes it too).  She's sleeping a little better these days, though she still doesn't sleep through the night.  We're hoping Kara gets that figured out pretty soon.

Visit from Grandma H. and the Blizzard of 2010

Grandma H. came up to visit this last week.  She was amazed at how much Kara had grown in the last 6 weeks.  Grandma had a good time hanging out with Kara, and helped Mom and Dad out by taking the night shift.

On Friday, we got a good-sized snowstorm down here in the Deep South.  Grandma and Grandpa H. got several inches of snow at their house in Alabama.  We got about 3 inches here.  Daddy and Kara got to go play in the snow for a bit.  Kara didn't quite know what to make of it, but Dad seemed to enjoy himself.

An over-tired Kara is an unhappy everyone!

Kara had an exciting week.  She got to see her first snow.  Not enough to play in, but enough to see from inside the warm house.  Kara continues to grow and become more aware of her surroundings.  She's starting to play with and grab things, including the rings on her bouncy seat (which she completely ignored the first two months of life) and Daddy's nose - see the pictures.  We're still working on establishing a sleep schedule.  Before we had Kara, we never realized a baby could get over-tired.  If you can catch her just right, she'll go down very easily, but if you don't, she will scream and scream (and she's got a good set of lungs on her) until she wears herself out (usually 10-15 minutes) and falls asleep.  Kara will take 4-5 short naps during the day, and will sleep for a couple long stretches during the night (6-7 hours at a stretch).  She once slept 10 hours straight (which got Mom and Dad very excited), but that seems to have been an anomaly.  She followed that up with a rough night with only 3-4 hour stretches of sleep.  We're still working on it. :)

Grandma H. came to visit with lots of new toys yesterday, so we'll surely have more pictures of those for next week.  Until then, enjoy!

PS - Check out the video of Kara enjoying her tummy time.