Another new outfit. I think she looks like a boy today; Cheryl disagrees. It's unexpectedly near 60 degrees this afternoon, so it's time for a long walk outdoors.

Another new outfit for Caroline; Cheryl loves it. It also showcases her new larger girth, thanks to all the high calorie feedings. Caroline was in a good mood all day and has been letting us know, very loudly. She had a nice long nap this afternoon, and then we went on a short walk around the neighborhood. Bath time is in 10 minutes.

Dancing to Zombie Nation in a preview of the father daughter dance we'll have at Caroline's wedding in a few decades (the song, not the dance).

It was really cold out, so I had to bundle her up well for some walks outside. She's been super happy today, probably because we're both here and she's getting double the attention.

Caroline is feeling ignored as Cheryl talks on the phone with an intoxicated Aunt Carrie.

Caroline in a snazzy new outfit.

We introduced peaches baby food into Caroline's diet this morning, and found a flavor she didn't like at all. Her enthusiasm for eating was tempered by her aversion to the taste; although she ate the whole little tub, she looked like she was suffering through it.

Another rainy day, so we stayed indoors and practiced walking and gave 'reading lessons'. This will likely be the last time she wears the pictured outfit - thanks to frequent feedings and a few hours a night on the rack, Caroline has just about outgrown it.

Cheryl doesn't have class tomorrow, so a bunch of her classmates went to BW3s tonight for karaoke. Unfortunately when we got there we found out that karaoke does not start until 11pm, so Caroline had to leave well before the pain began. Here she's pictured sharing a beer with Cheryl's friend Camille.

After a late bedtime, Caroline took some long naps today. While she was awake, she ate a ton, and her belly is very round. We didn't have much outdoor activity today other than two walks to the school to visit Cheryl. We're practicing walking this evening, so hopefully soon I won't have to carry her on our outside journeys.

Followup to the previous picture - we're also using this lead-filled turkey pictured here on her back to continue to keep her from making her escape.

Caroline is getting dangerously tall and strong, so unless we either continue our apparent gross underfeeding or we lower the mattress, she can fall out of her crib. She can't get into a sitting position without our assistance, but she can pull herself up to standing position using the crib sides once she's sitting. Anyway, the mattress was lowered about 10 minutes after this picture was taken.

We're practicing rolling over and walking again today. She ate a giant bowl of oatmeal cereal this morning, and gets to hang out with Cheryl this afternoon. Unrelated - we're looking for a babysitter on Friday, December 3 so we can go to the school's holiday party - anyone have a suggestion?

Cheryl is pretty sure she's got a thing for electronic devices. She pretty much drops whatever she's playing with if a phone or a remote control comes within range of grabbing and eating. Here she's launching herself at my camera.

Caroline's in a good mood today. She ate lunch with Cheryl at the school, then we took a long walk in the warm weather, then she soaked her outfit during a diaper change, and now she's practicing talking while bouncing in her jumperoo.

Caroline appears to have recovered from her 'reading lesson'.

Today, I "treated" Caroline to some of my karaoke stylings. I tried out some new numbers that she seemed to enjoy quite a bit, including: Don't it Make My Brown Eyes Blue, The Rose, and Delilah. She especially seemed to enjoy part of Delilah when Delilah stopped laughing. I don't think our wee Caroline realized that the lyric implies the singer silenced Delilah permanently. Maybe I shouldn't sing that one to her anymore...

In the spirit of Orwellian naming, I've decided to rename our sad love for singing karaoke to our baby. Henceforth, "karaoke" will be called "reading lessons". See, the words are up on the tv nice and big...and they light up as we sing them... Makes perfect sense. Reading lessons it is. And now you know.

A trip to Target got some more karaoke torture devices for our little Caroline. She also got some new pajamas and some colorful feeding spoons, so she was happy.

All the extra feedings are making Caroline sleepy. We've been feeding her loads of milk, cereal and stage one foods in an effort to get her back on the weight charts. She slept almost all afternoon, and woke up very happy. This evening we're spending a lot of time practicing walking.

I just went to check on Caroline before going to bed, and this is how she was (re)posed. She's been asleep for hours. No extra light was turned on here; we have a nightlight in her room that's always on, but it's not very bright - I'm unsure what she's shielding her eyes from. She had a busy day - while Cheryl studied, we went to the mall to have some pictures printed and to purchase some needed computer components. We also were rear-ended leaving the parking lot - after years of causing accidents, I'm finally not the guilty party. Thankfully, neither the car nor the passengers were injured.

Caroline's 6-month Stats

Height: 27.25 inches -- 90th percentile.
Head Circumference: 17 inches -- 50-75th percentile.
Weight: 13 lbs. 14.6 oz. 14th percentile. Yikes.

It seems we're starving her. Actually, the doctor said that breastfed infants tend to slow down on the weight gain after about 4 months (which I've read, too) and that Caroline is "very active", with the gross motor skills of a 9-month old. This means that she probably burns more calories than the average 6-month old child. So, no cause for alarm, but, of course, I am alarmed.

Our goal is to have her up to 17 pounds by 9 months. We're planning to add some formula into her daily diet this week. I'm hoping this will give me a chance to re-build our milk stores for her in the freezer. Also hoping that the formula will add a few extra calories to her day so she'll pack on the pounds faster.

We took Caroline for her 6 month doctor's appointment this afternoon. She was all smiles until they stuck 6 needles in her legs. Although she rallied back to relative cheeriness in the evening, she can't be feeling too good. She woke up about 10 minutes ago, and we're trying to ween her from requiring our presence when she goes to sleep; I've been going in there every few minutes to replace her pacifier and let her know she's safe. I recorded this on one of my trips. Not a pleasant noise.

Caroline is 6 months old today!

After a trip to two grocery stores (Cheryl is very picky about her brands), Caroline is enjoying some more sweet potatoes.

It was a bad night, although she's pretty content now. Here she's standing in her playpen; hopefully she'll be walking by the time she's 6 months old (tomorrow).

Nightshot effect + unhappy Caroline = Alien Sighting. She began fussing a bit around 10:30; within seconds of this shot she was sound asleep again.

Photo explanation - this is a satellite map of the area where we live. The red is the path Caroline and I took on our walk this evening; it was plotted using my gps and the USA Photo Maps software. The yellow circle is our house. The blue circle is Wake Forest University. The green circle is RJR Tobacco's giant Whitaker Park campus; they used to give tours here where students would go to score free cigarettes.

A fantastic night! Caroline slept all night through, by herself, in her crib. Will the good times continue tonight? She took a few short naps this morning before we trekked outside to the school for a feeding. It's obscenely cold right now, especially for one born in Southern California - but she's bundled up well. The CarolineCam will be online very sporadically; I've set the link to return to a blog page when it's off. I'll be turning it on from 1 to 2 this afternoon for Cheryl's benefit - she has a meeting after classes today, but wants a dose of baby jumperoo goodness.

The CarolineCam is currently offline.

The webcam test went well, with many family viewers throughout the day. We'll be using the camera mostly at night to keep watch on our little one when she fusses to hopefully wean her of sleeping with us. Today she wore her waffle onesie and jeans, just like me. Unfortunately we were unable to venture out because of her frequent napping.

I'm singing her some kids karaoke this morning, and testing a live CarolineCam broadcast.

Tonight we introduced baby food into the Caroline nutrition plan. Here she's not enjoying her sweet potato souffle.

Contrary to the weather forecasts, it was nice and warm today, so we walked over to the school. Cheryl did her assignments for tomorrow while Caroline and I strolled around the campus and gardens. I indulged Caroline's insecurities last night because Cheryl had a test today and we didn't want to listen to her crying. Tonight we plan on remotely monitoring her with a webcam in her room and a laptop in ours; we're prepared to listen to her wail, but want to be able to see if she's ok.

Caroline slept from about 1 until 3:30. She ate about 5.5 ounces starting at 4:25.

Caroline got a visit from Grandma Zukowski this weekend. She was spoiled with attention as well as new clothes, toys and books. Cheryl and I were spoiled with a few extra hours of uninterrupted sleep and the ability to go to dinner without the girl. It was fantastic.

Caroline is charming Gary Wiggins, our landlord.

We went to an Indian food buffet for lunch with Auntie Steph. Caroline ate all 6 plates of food pictured here.

My little prisoner is amusing herself in her playpen. She's pretty content this morning doing her thing, but it was a different story last night. Around 5am we gave up and brought her to our bed after she wouldn't stop fussing; even then, she wouldn't sleep unless she was touching both of us.

Caroline is completely indifferent about the election results - which is to be expected from a five month old. Cheryl has a cold, and Caroline might have caught it too - they're both napping now. Hopefully there will be a good photo opportunity later this afternoon.

We finally were able to vote, although thanks to the apparently mentally challenged couple in front of us, it took about an hour of waiting. I think Caroline was happy with my choices.

Today is Election Day. Caroline urges all of her readership to vote.

Now go vote!!!

After some false starts, Caroline woke up for good about 20 minutes ago. She's hanging here in her playpen while I'm heating up a morning snack for her.