23rd Week, Set 1

Who's that girl? Yes, it's a gratuitous butt shot. Every parent is obligated to take one.
or two. We didn't pose her for these. She's in the "getting ready to crawl" phase. She can move forward and backwards, but in OT speak, her movements aren't coordinated yet.

Traci had some extra energy and decided to do some much needed leaf raking. She bundled Kylie up, and brought her outside too. These days Kylie is trying to pull herself up. I'm curious as to how well this Graco Baby Einstein exer-saucer will handle the rigors of the baby torture test. So far so good.


 

22nd Week, Set 7 (Back home and 5 months old!)

As I previously stated, we had a long journey home. Our day began in Venice, Florida. We then had to drive back to Jacksonville (5 hours). Then we flew from Jacksonville to Minneapolis/St. Paul via Northwest Airlines (partners with Delta... and proprieters of horrible customer service) (4 hours), then from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Portland (another 4+ hours). Though our day started on the morning of the 14th at 10AM, we didn't actually get home until 1AM on the 15th. I'll have to post about my experience with Northwest on my crc123 blog.

Here's a photo of Kylie on her 5 month birthday!

Below is a photo of Kylie helping Traci unpack.
I didn't expect to come back with so much stuff. My Dad and Kathy, my Aunt Kathie, my grandma, and 'grandma Kay' all gave us stuff to bring back. Kylie is already wearing several of the 6 month outfits people bought.

Here's Kylie in her robe and shower shoes.
 

22nd Week, Set 6

Here's a better photo of the dolphins.

When we came home Kay had put out chips and salsa and had made sangria for us to enjoy. It was nice to come back for a snack and a beverage.
Yes my face is red. Was it the sun? the hot tub? No, it's probably the sangria! Like I said in my previous post, Kylie LOVES the hot tub!

Sadly, we had a short visit with Kay and Dave. It was certainly nice for me to finally meet Dave, and to get to know Kay better since I had only previously met her at Traci's San Jose baby shower. This photo marks the beginning of our long... long... travel day.
 

22nd Week, Set 5

Here's Kylie's first taste of the Ocean (Gulf coast).
Here's our tour guide Dave Johnson.


We did travel with our stroller. It worked out pretty well. No apparent damage. We did buy the travel bag for our stroller. It's $40, but when you gate check it, it should help prevent them from breaking pieces off and losing them, etc. I will tell you that it's nice to have the stroller just for walking from gate to gate during flight transfers. We didn't have the stroller when we laid over in Atlanta, and as a testament to my weakness, my arms were killing me after carrying Kylie in her car seat. She's over 15lbs. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it was enough for me. Conclusion: gate check the stroller and pick it up no matter how short your layover.
Ah yes, this is one of the channel inlets into Venice. And all along the beach we were seeing dolphins. It's very difficult to get a picture of these dolphins. They don't surface for very long. The black bump sticking out of the water is the dorsal fin.
 

22nd Week, Set 4 (the beaches of Florida)

Here's a photo of Kylie with Flagler Beach (Atlantic Ocean) in the background. We had some time to kill before we joined everyone for dinner that night. Sadly, we didn't get out of the house early enough to get more daylight (my fault)... and strangely, the sun doesn't set on the ocean when you're on the east coast!
On Sunday, the 12th, we made the nearly 5 hour drive from St. Augustine to Venice Florida to visit Kay and Dave Johnson. Longtime friends of Traci's family. Like many people in Florida, they have a pool and hot tub. Kay keeps the hot tub around 98-99 degrees... we decided to give Kylie her first chance to swim... and like a fish to water, she was loving it. The warm water, the bubbles, the jets, it was definitely fun for her!

On Monday, Dave guided us around the island of Venice, Florida... gave us some history and took us to Sharky's pier. The weather was nice, the water was a bit chilly for swimming, though we could of acclimated to it. In either case it was nice to be on the beach. (click here for map of Venice, FL)
that's said pier in the background. Look at how blue the sky is... consider that when we left Portland, we were suffering from flood stage rivers and torrential non-stop rain. What a treat!
 

22nd Week, Set 3

Here's my cousin Jenn playing with Kylie. Kylie is getting into the jumping phase. When you hold her up she wants to bounce up and down. It's fun, except when you're holding her on you lap and you have to pee.
My Aunt Doreen making smoochy faces at Kylie.
We went out to dinner at a place called Ci Ci's in Ormond Beach/Daytona. It's a pizza buffet place, very good for the price. Kylie is very interested in grabbing all sorts of things these days. Plates, napkins, silverware, even table salt.

My Dad, Kylie, and I for posterity.
 

22nd Week, Set 2

My Cousin Jenn, her husband James, and Kylie. My cousin Jenn, just got married earlier this year over Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, Traci and I weren't able to make it since Traci was something like 35-36 weeks pregnant at the time. We will plan a trip to visit in the near future.
Four generations of Carlsons!
Just us!

These are Kathy's parents, Harold and Ruby. Now Kylie can have yet another set of Great Grandparents. And yes, Kylie was on the verge of bursting out in tears. Proof that she isn't smiley all the time (just most of the time). 

22nd Week, Set 1 (Still in Florida)

Great Grandma Carlson finally meets Kylie.
Great Grandpa Carlson holding Kylie.


My Aunt Kathie at the restaurant where we celebrated my Grandpa's birthday (his birthday was actually back in October), but this was the first chance my cousin Jennifer and her mom could fly down. The restaurant is "Topaz" and it's in Flagler Beach, FL. Coincidentally it's the same place we celebrated my Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary in 2004.
Here's Traci posing with my Uncle Bill. Retired K-9 cop from Bergen County, NJ. We all had the Filet Mignon at our end of the table, and it was fabulous! Normally, I'm not a blue cheese kind of guy, but it tasted good melted atop the steak.
 

21st Week, Set 1 (Florida trip)

The Carlson Family departed on a 1 week vacation to Florida on Nov. 7th. The purpose of our trip: To celebrate my grandfather's 80th Birthday as well as to visit my family on the East Coast.

My dad, Roy, Kylie, and one of their two Boston Terriers, Bailey. The dogs were both curious and jealous now that they weren't the center of attention.
My Grandpa Roy, Kylie, and Grandma Kathy. My dad took us out to a restaurant on the Intercoastal waterway in St. Augustine. I think the name of it was "Barbara Jean's". Known for their Crab cakes with no filler. Pretty good in my book.


Our little "Bono" superstar.

My dad volunteered to babysit for an afternoon while Traci and I made trip to St. Augustine. We had fun walking up and down St. George Street. We had pizza at a little family owned restaurant called "Pizzalley's". We didn't get to dine in the full restaurant, but the pizzeria pizza was very good! Traci claims it's better than in Italy. Below we are standing outside the Fort. 

20th Week, Set 3

Halloween Party at work. Our group at work has resurrected (from the dead) the annual Halloween party where parents bring their kids in to trick-or-treat around the office. On the right, is Mike and Ryan, the leopard (see 19th week pictures).

I know the picture is dark, but this is our house decorated for Halloween. I'm especially proud of the pumpkin this year. Not so much because of it's expert craftsmanship, but more because of the speed at which I carved it. I have witnesses, but I think I gutted and carved the pumkin in close to 10 minutes. And it was a spooky pumpkin!
You can't really tell in the photo, but we have a flashing strobe light that illuminates the porch. A fog machine that was pretty ineffective this year due to high winds, and a little cauldron with fake flames. The luminaries (orange bags with Candles) were new this year, as well as the candles in the window. We executed some good teamwork to get this together in record time. (with some help from our friends Josh and Shelley).
Here's Traci with our little Bat/Cat girl.
 

20th Week, Set 2 (Harvest Festival)

Our Church, Village Baptist Church, had a harvest festival on the Sunday prior to Halloween. These Harvest festivals are a new concept to me, but have been around as an alternative to Halloween for some time. If you ask us, we're all about trick-or-treating and getting into the holiday spirit.
Sometimes it's hard for Kylie to see with the hood on. It's always covering her eyes. It's hard to tell, but Kylie has some Cat ears on... though on her head, they look more like Bat ears.