It Won't Be Like This For Long: 30th

I have pretty severely neglected my blog - sorry friends! I keep telling myself I'll be better about updating, and then I procrastinate for a couple months and feel even MORE guilty for not updating more!

Anyway, here's what we've been up to lately:

Right after my last post, the three of us joined the other students and instructors here at Kingsley for the annual 173d Ops Group camping trip. With a three-week-old baby, we didn't camp, but we did visit for the day. It was a great time! It rained a little bit, but once it passed, we hung around the fire and enjoyed ourselves. Caleigh did great, she didn't fuss much at all and was happy to be passed around and held.

Caleigh with great-grandma June.

For the long Labor Day weekend, Jeff had arranged a hunting trip with his dad in Eastern Oregon, so Caleigh and I ventured back to Corvallis to visit with friends and family. Caleigh met her great-grandmas, and both were immediately smitten with her. It's a crazy thing to think about your own grandmother holding your daughter, and thinking about how different things will be for each generation. We hung out a bit with some of my friends, and had a nice relaxing weekend at home. We probably won't go back until Christmas, so it was nice to make the trip!

Shelby's 30th Birthday celebration!

In early September, we "celebrated" my thirtieth birthday. Okay, everyone else celebrated, I pouted in a corner, hehe. Jeff planned a great barbecue and invited all of our friends, and even took care of the baby so I could have a beer or two. We had a great time! Caleigh especially. She's pretty happy as long as someone is feeding and snuggling her. Lucky for us (I think?) she's not terribly partial to who it is that is feeding and snuggling her. For the week or so leading up to the party, we started introducing one bottle of breast milk each evening so she'd be able to have bottles during the party. I think Jeff enjoyed getting the chance to feed her, and be even more involved in taking care of our little nugget. Since then we've given her bottle intermittently, when we're out and about and breast feeding her isn't really feasible. She doesn't seem to mind a bit!

The next week after my birthday, I got to visit my doctor for my six-week "post-op" appointment. This is just the check-up to make sure everything looks good and I've recovered well from delivery. She said everything seems just fine and my body has healed well. Good news! Things feel pretty much back to normal, which is incredible considering what your body goes through to grow and then deliver a baby.

As Caleigh approaches her two-month birthday, it feels like we notice her changing every single day. She holds her head up better than ever, and she has great focus on objects and faces. She will turn her head towards familiar noises, like mom or dad's voice or her car seat toy. Just this past weekend, she started deliberately smiling at Jeff and I. It's the sweetest thing to watch this little girl just grin at her daddy. They are the cutest. We have our two-month checkup with the pediatrician on Monday, and I expect her to tell us that Peanut is a happy, healthy baby girl. She's gained great weight, and I won't be surprised if she's 12 or 13 pounds by the time we visit. This appointment is also her first big round of vaccinations, which means lots of pokes for my poor tiny girl. Hopefully she handles it like a champ, otherwise mommy's heart just might break.

I'll try and remember to update more after our doctor's appointment next week. Until then, here are more snap shots of our little bug: