My favorite things...

Callyn is really on the go these days...she started crawling right around 9 months and now I can't keep up with her. She pulls herself up on everything and manages to find everything I don't want her to find. Oh, and she puts everything in her mouth to "try it out". Despite all the toys we have, her favorite passtime is playing with tupperware and the dishwasher (go figure). She also now loves to eat! Here is a picture of her enjoying spaghetti & turkey meatballs...what a mess!

Christmas Pictures

Thanksgiving

Cory came home for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed Turkey day with his family in Anthem, AZ and then drove up to Flagstaff to his family's cabin to enjoy some "winter wonderland". Callyn had fun with her cousins, Carson & Landon at the cabin.

After 3 funerals, we now have a wedding!

The same week of Cory's grandmother's funeral, we were able to get together as a family for something to celebrate...his cousin, Amy's, wedding. I was planning on going to the wedding alone, but since Cory was home we got to have a much needed "date night".

Another funeral...

Just a few weeks after Ken's death, we had another death...Cory's grandmother. She passed away in her sleep and is finally able to join her husband, who had passed away earlier this year. Cory flew back from China for the funeral and to comfort his mother, who tragically has lost both parents and a husband in the span of 5 months.

Halloween

We had a halloween trick or treat party in my office. I was so excited to bring my little lady bug in work to "show her off"...however, Callyn didn't really share my excitement. She was really tired and I think would have preferred to have taken her afternoon nap. Below are some pics of our office party. My team decided to dress up with the theme of "Occupy Scottsdale"...we all dressed as protesters, with sleeping bags, picket signs, ect. We ended up winning 2nd place! No one seemed to mind that we chose that theme despite the fact we work at a bank!

Remembering Ken Wesolowski

Cory's father Ken Wesolowski, died on September 18th when his motorcycle collided head-on into a jeep. It has been a very sad few months for the family. I was honored to give the eulogy at the funeral. Ken was a very hard-working, spiritual man, with strong family values. His funeral was a testament to the many lives he touched. Cory and I will make sure Callyn grows up knowing about her grandfather and the legacy he left behind. Below are some pics of Cally and her grandfather.

Finally updating the blog...what happened when we landed in China

When I had Callyn, I was convinced that keeping a blog would be pretty easy...well, I was wrong. Having a baby, no husband at home, and working full time gives me very little time to want to log on and blog. I logged on tonight and couldn't believe my last post was made in the business lounge in Seoul, Korea. ALOT has happened since 9/15. When we finally landed in China, we were very jet lagged and slept for several hours. The next day, we did some siteseeing in Dalian (pics below) and got to enjoy Cory's favorite Chinese pizza place, "Brooklyns". Unfortunetly, less than 48 hrs into our trip, we received the tragic news that Cory's father was in a motorcycle accident and had died. We quickly scrambled to get emergency tickets back to the US and we did that very long journey all over again. Here are the few pics I got in China. It will still be nice to tell Callyn she was actually in China.

Alot of the chinese were fascinated with Callyn. Even though there is a billion people in that country, a white baby girl was something of a novelty. Random people (see below) wanted to take their picture with us. When I got off the plane, one of the airport janitor women came up to me and tried to pull Callyn from my arms to hold her. It was a little shocking.

Off to China - 9/15

Cory has been in China for almost 10 months now and Callyn & I are finally making our first trip to Dalian. Cory didn't want us flying by ourselves, so he flew home only to turn around 24 hours later to fly us out. We left Phoenix Friday 9/15 at 6:00 PM, boarded a flight to LAX at 8:15, landed in LAX at 9:30, and boarded our flight to Seoul at 12;30 AM...we then flew 13 hrs, arriving at 5 AM Saturday morning in Seoul. I'm now sitting in the Seoul business lounge waiting to board a 9:30 AM flight into Dalian. For those of you counting...we are on hour 22 and still not there!

So far, Callyn has been amazing. The flight from Seoul wasn't bad at all. Luckily, we flew business class and had seats that reclined into full beds. Callyn had her own seat next to me and Cory sat one row in front. Callyn and I were asleep before they even served dinner. I think we slept about 7-8 hrs. Callyn woke up happy as a clam and played in her seat with her toys. She got a little fussy after about an hour of playing, but some milk and walking around cured that problem. She took another nap while breakfast was served and then we landed. Alot of passengers commented that she was "the best baby"! Only a few more hours to go until we arrive in China! Wish us luck!

Labor Day in Cape Cod

Callyn and I took our first airplane trip to Massachusetts for Labor Day. We flew the red-eye on Jet Blue and Callyn slept the majority of the flight. She was a perfect angel...I, on the other hand, arrived very tired. It's almost impossible to sleep with a baby on your lap. In the future, for any flight longer than 1 hr, its worth it to buy a seat for a baby. 

We had a great time visiting family and enjoying the Labor Day weekend at the beach. Callyn even went in the ocean...she didn't know what to think of the waves, but when one hit her in the face, all she did was laugh. She's enjoyed being spoiled by all her aunts, cousins, and Nanny & Pop. Here are some pictures:

7 Months Old

Once again, I've been horrible at keeping up with this blog. Callyn turned 7 months old on Aug 31st and is really starting to become a big girl. She's well over 20 lbs (my guess is 22 lbs) and is in 18 and 24 month old clothes. She's learned how to sit up by herself and loves feeding herself cheerios, puffs, and anything else that she can get into her mouth. She has her first two teeth in (bottom ones) and it won't be long until more pop up. Meals have become extraordinarily messy. Sometimes I feel like we get food everywhere but in her mouth. She's smiling and laughing alot and is beginning to recognize her name. She gestures "bye bye" (though I'm not convinced she actually knows this yet!). She also understands the word "up". Whenever I say "up" she lifts her hands up and dives into my arms. She's still the best sleeper in the world. She takes long morning naps and then a few afternoon "cat naps". She goes to sleep around 7:30 every night and is better than an alarm clock...waking up at 5:45 AM every morning! Here are so recent pics:

4th of July in Flagstaff

Cory and I took a family trip with Callyn & Sedona up to Munds Park (Flagstaff) to his parent's cabin. It was supposed to be 117 degrees in Phoenix, so we decided we had to escape the heat. Cory's brother, Clint and his family met us up there and we are having a fun time watching Callyn with her cousins (Landon 1, Carson 3 in Sept).

Callyn turns 5 months old

I have been so bad about posting on this blog. Callyn is getting so big and honestly looks more like a small toddler than a 5 month old baby. I think she weighs close to 20 lbs and is already in 12 month old clothes and size 3 diapers. She smiles alot now, is almost sitting up by herself, and she started eating solid food. It took awhile, but she is finally getting the hang of opening her mouth for the spoon. Now, we just need to get her to stop pushing the food out with her tongue. Here are some recent pictures.

1st week of Daycare

Callyn started daycare this week (may 2nd). Cory and I dropped her off together, which was nice since I had a bit of a hard time leaving her. I thought I would be OK since I've been gone from her at work for almost a month now, but I still cried. Her "school" is really cute and there are about 5-7 other babies in her room. She has her own crib and plenty of toys/swing/ect to use. I don't think she sleeps very well at daycare, because she passes out at about 7:30 every night! My mom says that after a week at daycare, she'll be one scheduled little baby.

Auntie Laynie comes to visit

Laynie came to visit April 15-17th and met Callyn for the first time. It's official: Callyn looks more like Laynie than me! We had a busy weekend together, including celebrating my 6 year wedding anniversary with an amazing dinner Laynie cooked for me (too bad Cory wasn't here to enjoy it!). We can't wait to see Laynie again. She is such a wonderful auntie!

Daddy's home, Funeral, Easter & Baptism = busy 2 weeks

The last 2 weeks have been very crazy! Cory came back from Dalian April 19th, a few days early to attend his grandfather's funeral. He passed away a few weeks shy of his 99th birthday. He was a truly amazing man and I feel blessed to have known him and introduced him to Callyn. Cory was home for almost two weeks and flew back May 2nd. It was fun watching Cory with Callyn. He gave her his first bottle and finally got her to sleep in her crib in her own room! We had a wonderful easter together and baptized Callyn the Sunday after Easter. She was great during the baptism and never cried. (more pics of the baptism to come!)

Callyn is growing so much. I wake up in the morning and sometimes it actually looks like she grew overnight. She blew out the 3 and 6 month old onesies and is now proudly wearing 9 month old clothes. She's smiling alot now and loves reaching for objects on her activity mat.

Callyn meets cousins Paul & Cole and Aunt Emily!

Emily and the boys flew to AZ last week 3/29-4/2. Emily got to watch Callyn while I was at work. Callyn just loves her aunt & cousins. The boys were really good with her. They love their cousin Cally (they decided that they will call her Cally, not Callyn). Cole liked her alot b/c she shared her binky with him. I think he was a bit disappointed that she didn't like Spiderman or the Incredible Hulk.. Here are a few pics from the visit.

2 Month Check-up

We had Callyn's 2 month check-up on Friday 4/1. I was nervous to go to the appointment alone because of all the shots, so my mom "Nanny" graciously came.  Callyn had 2 shots and a drink of something and was very good. She screamed a little, but calmed down quickly when I gave her a bottle. As for the check-up stats, here they are:

• Weight: 12 lbs 14.6 oz (92%)
• Length: 23.5 inches (88%)
• HC: 39.5 (70%)

The nurse said Callyn favors the right side of her head a bit and I have to make sure she lays more on her left side so her head isn't flat on the right. So now I'm a little more conscience of which side she is held on, sleeps on, ect.