Half Birthday!

When your birthday is the day after Christmas you get to celebrate your half-birthday to make up for the snub your real birthday will undoubtedly get...at least that is the rule we made in our house! So, today is Corinne's half birthday!! She is 6 months old today and exploding with new skills all the time. Besides sitting up on her own to play, she is eating her solid foods much better now. (In other words, taking real bites instead of just spitting it back out.) She is also rolling over from her back to her tummy, something I was sure she would never learn how to do. But I spied on her from the kitchen the other morning, and caught her in the act of her very first rollover all by herself and totally unprompted. She was all alone, but of course I rushed in to make a big deal of it! And last night she rolled over in her crib before falling asleep. Then she did it again this morning when she woke up. The only problem: she doesn't like to be on her tummy, but she doesn't know how to roll back over again...so she gets mad and needs a little help! Sigh. Life is full of challenges at 6 months. The picture below was taken immediately following her first rollover! Nice work, Corinne.

Finally!

The other night my mom was over and Corinne was beginning to get the hang of sitting up by herself. She was a bit wobbly at first, and not too sure! But in just a matter of a day or two, she has become a pro and can sit for long periods of time. She can reach out for toys and even more impressive is she can catch herself if she starts to get off balance. Hooray! Corinne is just a week shy of 6 months old and I feel like this is one of the first major milestones she's reached. It's so fun to watch and it is SO amazing to me that she has perfected her seated position so quickly!

Grandmas

Today we went to a shower for my cousin, Joe, and his wife, Beth, who are due with a little baby in early August. Of course this meant lots of family time for everyone, and we enjoyed it! So, let me explain this picture...My cousin, Mary, and I are the same age and now we have little girls close in age, too! Fun! Mary had sweet little Natalie Mae in April and she is being held by her Grandma (my Aunt Pat). Corinne is being held by my mom, affectionately known as Grammy, and then my Grandma is down in front--but I'm pretty sure all of you blog readers could figure that out fairly easily. There's no family resemblance or anything, right?!

Recently

Eating my carrots and cereal (and my fingers, too)Reading my new Sandra Boynton books
Trying out the swings at the park
Playing in my activity center
Hosting Grandpa Grigsby for lunch

Happy Father's Day, Brett!

Corinne and I would like to wish you a Happy Father's Day! You are truly an incredible father and we are both blessed by you. You love and care for us so completely and give of yourself on a daily basis, despite all of the things and people who also demand your time. We know that you have made us first priority, and for that we are thankful. We love you, Brett (Daddy)!

Poolside

On Sunday Brett and I took Corinne to the pool for her first experience there! It was amazingly HOT so we didn't stay long, but just long enough to take in the (overly) crowded baby pool. By all indications Corinne seemed to enjoy it, even the water part! (Probably because she was so hot--note that her face is red from the heat!) And yes, we did use the baby sunscreen for all of you worried about my ability to keep her delicate skin from getting sunkissed. One other funny thing is that Brett and I are constantly amazed at all that we don't know...even 5 1/2 months into this parenting gig. This was once again very obvious on Sunday when it dawned on us that Corinne probably would need some type of special swim diapers. Ah yes, we were correct in that realization, and opted to stop and get some on our way to the pool. Here are a few pictures...too many, I'm afraid. I just couldn't resist--the swimsuit is just too cute!

Corinne's Cousins

This past week Corinne's cousins were in town for a visit and here they are with Corinne at Grandma and Grandpa Schatz's house on Monday night. Corinne loved being held, played with, and talked to by her three wonderful cousins! She reveled in the attention they gave her and was thoroughly entertained by them. Their visit meant Skyline for dinner and games, games, and more games with the entire Schatz clan. And, soon there will be TWO new cousins for Corinne to play with!! We can't wait!

Firsts

First pair of shoes First time sitting up without any help...well, kind of...
First time "playing" with Lilly
First mischevious look
First time sitting (on the table) with us at dinner



I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a whole lot of firsts!

Out and About

Brett arrived home on Saturday from a long stay in Germany, so we decided to make the most of the rest of the holiday weekend together! Enjoy the following pictures...captions are under each one. Here is our super smiley girl, Corinne, on her 5 month birthday! We were downtown for Taste of Cincinnati, enjoying the food as well as the interesting people watching.
Our attempt to take a family photo by ourselves:) At least we got everyone in the picture!
A nice passerby offered to take a more "traditional" family photo for us. You can be the judge of the better shot.
We also enjoyed a nice picnic at Sharon Woods with great food and good friends. Can you tell that Brett missed Corinne while he was gone?
And this last photo I just included because it was a sweet candid moment. (Not sure why Corinne is raising her hand...but I think she might have an important question to ask)

5 Months

Corinne will be 5 months old on Monday, and since we have a busy weekend planned I decided to post a little early! Lately Corinne has been a champ at scooting around on her back. She is not quite rolling over--in fact, she is (a little too) content with her chosen mode of "scooting" transportation--as she is able to pretty much get where she wants to go. I find her in a different position every time I go to get her in the morning and after naps, thus demonstrating her proficiency in navigating her crib while totally on her back. I'm not sure that's something we want her to be so good at:) In this particular picture she scooted backwards and off the tiny boppy that originally cradled her head...here it is cradling her neck instead! But the picture is cute, isn't it?!

In other news, we recently started offering Corinne some cereal. She really isn't too sure about it, but she does make some cute faces. More pictures of that later!

And, I wish I had taken some photos earlier today when Brett retured from a week in Germany. Corinne absolutely LIT UP when she saw him!! It changed her entire demeanor instantly...she loves her daddy!