A Marked Improvement

After a couple of failed experiments, we’ve finally gone back to our original plan of not letting people try to hold Caitlyn. This seems to have relieved any stress or pressure that Caitlyn might have had. I think prior to this, Caitlyn was always anxious around my parents because she thought they would whisk her away from Mommy at any moment.

But now that we’re upholding the ‘no holding’ rule, partially because my dad’s too scared to her hold now, Caitlyn is content with being around them. And if Mommy is in another room, she will go and check on her, but will usually come back to where the fun and action is. Balance has finally been restored.

This was particularly true this past weekend when we went to go visit family for the Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday. My dad had reminded everyone about not holding Caitlyn, and it seemed to work. Everyone was on their best behavior, and in turn, Caitlyn was on hers.

I think people were a bit shell-shocked when the fussy, crying Caitlyn didn’t show up at their door. After all, this is the only side of her that they’ve seen. Instead, she put on the performance of a lifetime, smiling and interacting with everyone, which garnered a resounding grade of ‘100’ from the crowd for her behavior. And on Sunday, she had a repeat performance when we had another family gathering.

Yes, she had to be by Mommy’s side for the most part during both days, but we’re moving forward one step at a time. Hopefully that next step or actually, crawl, is having her clamoring for people other than Mommy to hold her. A daddy can dream big, right?

Sticking to Mommy like
white on rice

I'm never letting you out of my sight!

 

I refuse to take another bite!

Ok, fine. But only one more!

 

Sticker?

Happy, happy!

 

Here's a sticker for not
trying to hold me

I'm a lean, mean eating machine!

Hallelujah!

I can still see you Auntie Serena!

 

Wait! What happened to the
'no holding' rule?!

You're breaking the rule too!

 

Give me 5, my man!

You want a cracker?

 

Dipping into the cookie jar

Thumbs up if you like snacks!

 

I'll let you hold me, but only
until Mommy comes back!

Ladies only

 

With 4th Aunt

Group photo

 

With Grandma and Grandpa

With Texas Grandma, Grandpa, and 6th Aunt

 

Call me Ms. Crabby

One crawl at a time

Morning Blues

For the past week, Caitlyn has been waking up at 6 every morning instead of her usual 8:30. There are two possible reasons for this. Either being sick or the arrival of my parents has caused her schedule to be off. It’s hard to tell which is the cause because both happened at the same time. If this early morning wake-up call becomes a habit, well, I shudder to think of the ramifications. All I know for certain is that the wife has not been happy about this at all.

Not only has Caitlyn been waking up early, she’s also been unwilling to be put to sleep during nap time. It’s obvious she’s tired, but she will just whine and cry until we take her out of the crib and will continue this until she’s too worn out to fight it. Once again, is this because she’s been sick or because of my parents, or both?

And for the better part of the day, Caitlyn will still cling to the wife like crazy glue and will cry every time she’s pulled away. My father came in with a determined plan to help put this bad habit to rest, but even he’s been put in place and has admitted defeat. We keep telling them that she's usually not this bad, but I don't know if they're buying it.

My solution has been for the wife to ignore the baby, but there’s only so much screaming and crying that she and my parents can stand. My other solution is for the wife to leave the apartment so Caitlyn won’t see her and let my parents and I go a few rounds.

To me, this is the best option because everyone gets a little break, but then the wife has been complaining about not knowing what to do with her time. Uh, how about getting a massage or a pedicure, going shopping, drinking some coffee at the coffee shop, browsing through the bookstore…I can think of a hundred things I could do if I wasn’t burdened down by the baby. 

Even though things haven't been too smooth this past week, hopefully we can still change things around. As my dad said, "That's one week down, we still have six more to go. What's the plan now?" I'm sure four capable adults can figure out how to deal with a mere baby who can't even walk yet, right?

When I'm not crying, I can
be really cute!

Will today be the day?

 

Yes! I finally went through!

Whee!

I told you this was fun!

Help me roll the ball, Grandpa!

I already know how to play
with blocks!

Get those bubbles!

Beep, beep!

Let me show you what a
duck looks like, Grandpa

Don't be fooled by this face!

Why can't you be like this
every day?

 

Whoohoo!

Clap your hands with me!

Say, "Cheese!"

One of the first things I did when I found out that the wife was pregnant was to get a new camera. I wanted to make sure I had a quality camera that could capture everything.

But it was a tough call between a regular point and shoot camera and a DSLR. Point and shoots are nice because they’re simple to use and convenient to carry around, but the quality can be pretty bad in low lighting. DSLR’s are nice because they take great pictures and you have a lot more control over the features, but they are super bulky, expensive, and not very convenient to use when you’re chasing after a baby.

Unfortunately, my usual thorough research and decision-making failed me, and for some unknown reason, I purchased a mega-zoom camera. It had the build and bulk of a DSLR, but with the photo quality that accompanied a point and shoot camera. A horrible, horrible combination.

Having a baby that doesn’t walk yet means we’re going to be spending most of our time indoors. And unfortunately, regular digital cameras like my mega-zoom camera don’t take great shots indoors with poor lighting. If our baby was able to sit super still for photos, then I suppose it wouldn’t be all that bad, but she doesn’t, so the majority of pictures taken indoors are blurred and unusable.

Since I knew my parents were coming for a two-month visit this time and we would probably be taking a few family trips together, I figured it was time to trade in the camera for something more worthwhile. I’ve been wanting to buy a new camera for a long, long time now, but the expensive price tag and the fact that my camera really isn’t that old or broken has prevented me from doing so. But I figure two years is a long enough wait. After all, my patience can only stretch so far.

This time around, I knew better than to look at point and shoot cameras and instead focused on DSLR’s and the smaller mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. After weeks of reading up on camera reviews, I finally settled on the Nikon 5100 and bought one a few days ago. It’s moderately priced, is user-friendly, and the photos turn out great.

And if the wife’s agitation at me constantly snapping pictures of her and the baby is any indication, this camera was definitely a good buy. I suppose I can always get used to the weight and bulk. If anything, it’ll be a good workout for my arms.

This is my happy face

This is my silly face

 

This is my cute face

Clap your hands!

 

Yee-haw!

Hiya, Daddy!

 

Picking Grandpa's nose

Time to wake up!

 

Quick break

Mommy's helper

 

Hey, Grandpa!

All smiles

 

Duh!

Pooped

Good times

Crystal clear shot!