Monday, September 8, 2008

Fruits (and vegetables) of Labor

As most of you know, my Mommy is a wonderful, loving Mommy, but she is NO martha Stewart!! However, she decided that she was going to home-make all of my baby food. So, last Thursday our friend Kiana and her baby came over and we made green beans and carrots (and we tried peas that didn't work....we need them out of the shell!).

Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of what the kitchen looked like during this event! There were two adults, two babies, a high chair, a walker, three boiling pans, a blender, a food mill, 20 ice cube trays, and various utensils all piled into our kitchen! Plus, neither Mommy nor Kiana knew exactly what they were doing! It was a fun, messy time. And the best part is, I am now among the crowds who eat solid food (well, semi-solid anyway!)

Look, here is me enjoying my first green beans! I am a natural!!!!



Now Mommy is a food-makin' machine. She has stockpiled green beans, carrots, peas, peaches, sweet potatos, and yams. Next in line are squash and pears. Even though so far I have only tried the green beans and peas, she is freezing a lot now that the produce is in season. The best part is that eating all this yummy food helps me sleep better too! I can't wait to go to the doctor next week for my 6 month check up and see how much I weigh!

Other updates you might want to know about me....I rolled over for the first time from back to front on Friday, September 5th!!! I only did it one time though. I still need to work on it some more. Another cool thing I do is lay on my back and scooch myself around by lifting up my body and having only my head and feet on the ground. (For those of you who know yoga, picture the bridge pose.) Then I push my feet really hard until my body moves. Mommy is afraid I am going to hurt my neck!

My front upper tooth is still about the same, you can see it but it doesn't poke out all the way yet. I am also working on either a muller or a bicuspid on the top left. Go figure.

Mommy says my two nicknames this month are "squirmy" and "grabby". My hands are always on the go, and I like to pull anything that I can get into my reach--hair, food and drinks, placemats, computer cords!! Then it goes directly into my mouth. I can move toys from hand to hand and hand to mouth. I am also working on sitting up. I have great neck and back strength and I can sit for a few seconds. Then, just when the adult lets their guard down I tip over!!

I have recently gotten some stranger anxiety which is not a fun thing for people who want to hold me or for Mommy and Daddy who need a break sometimes. Mommy tried leaving me in the child care room at Jazzercise for her hour work out....I lasted 5 minutes before she had to come and get me. What can I say, I love my parents!

As you might notice there are no pictures from our second Duck's game last weekend. The reason is that I did not feel like watching the game. The noise scared me and I let M&D that I would much rather play in the park on such a nice day then be stuck in a stadium of noisy fans. So, Mommy took me outside and she walked me around in our new wrap. It was only Utah State, it wasn't that great of a game anyway...sorry M&D. Wonder what this means for the rest of the season??

Some family updates: Mommy officially resigned her job at Head Start to stay home and take care of me full time. She was sad to leave her work and her co-workers, but she feels like it was the best decision. She says she works harder now than she did before....I wonder what that means! Big news for Daddy was that he was accepted into a Master of Business Administration program starting this fall!! Congratulations Daddy!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Lions, Tigers, Ducks, Oh My

We had fun feeding the ducks last night at the park with our friends David and Sarah and their kids. Mommy and Daddy saved left over bread for over a year and it only took us 20 minutes to feed it to the masses of ducks and geese. I was really mad when Mommy would not let me eat the bread. What a tease!
Why do some Ducks wear green and yellow and run on a field while other Ducks have feathers and swim in a pond?
Weee. My first slide. We didn't go very fast though, because Daddy's shorts got stuck on the slide. Ouchies for him!


My first solo swing....do you see the future thrill ride junkie in me?





We had a stroller brigade at the zoo today...the funny thing is that most of the time the Mommies held the babies and pushed empty strollers. Mommy was introduced to the "Moby Wrap" which held me in nice and tight so I could actually see the animals rather than laying the stroller and looking at the sky.



My favorite were the animals that swam right up so you could see them up close (fish, sea otter, sea lions). Apparently there were also zebras, monkeys, giraffes, bears and other animals, but my distance vision was not so good today. I was too busy checking out the people at the zoo, not the animals!

Our friends are Kelly and baby Aoife, Rachael and baby Zaina, and Nadya who was a trooper, walking the zoo at 35 weeks pregnant!
Thanks for a fun day!

Monday, September 1, 2008

Go Ducks!!!

Q: What does a Duck say?
A: Go Ducks!!!

As you may have already guessed, this Saturday was the opening Oregon Duck Football game. Of course Mommy and Daddy took me to my first game to experience the wonderful world of football....also to show me off to all their friends at the tailgate party:) It was an evening game, so it was a little cool for my onesie and bootie outfit, but boy did I look cool. As always, M&D were nervous how I would respond, but I was a very good girl!! Mommy held me in the front pack during the entire game, and our friends helped out with pacifier and spit up duty. I ate my dinner during halftime, and apparently the noise didn't bother me too much, because, I actually slept through the entire second half. Maybe it was the cotton balls and the head band covering my ears that drowned out the noise. I missed the Ducks winning by 44-10!!!! Oh well, maybe I will stay awake through next week's game. Daddy says that the defense is looking really good, and even though the starting q.b went down after the first half with a concussion, that the offense looks good too! Phew, I am glad because I would hate to hear Daddy say a swear word during the football game!
The hat, onesie, and booties came together as an ensemble. The Duck plays the fight song....we played it all the way to the game to get revved up!


How many years do Mommy and Daddy have to save for college?



It never rains in Autzen stadium!

Thanks Grandma Jan and Grandpa Ray for hosting all of us!!! It was fun to all be together along with Aunt Dian, Aunt Shannon and Morgan.

Play Date


Here is a picture of me and my friend Lelani. She is one day younger than me! We actually met in the waiting room at the Doctor's office, and then we also found out that our Mommies do Jazzercise together too. Lelani and her Mom, Kiana came over to our house for a fun play date last Wednesday. We hung out in the back yard and we took a walk to 7-11 in our strollers and even napped at the same time. We played very well together....see we are holding hands! Lelani is already rolling, so Mommy hopes I can learn from her. Mommy and Kiana are planning another get together so they can make homemade baby food. Yummy I hope that happens soon!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

TV debut

Maddie's TV debut was last night on the 11:00 news on KATU Channel 2. We were at a "Women's House Party for Obama" hosted by our cousins Catherine and Claire on the anniversary of Women's Suffrage. Also check us out at OR.BarackObama.com.
It's never too early to get involved in community organizing, and it's never too early to be a TV star. :)
On a serious note though, no matter what your political affiliation, this is a pivotal time for America and now that we have Maddie we are very interested in leaving the best legacy possible for her future!

Yes, her shirt says "Tiny Democrat". Thanks Grandpa Randy!!

Monday, August 25, 2008

More Family Visits

Here are some highlights from Uncle J and Cousin Nick's visit!! Thanks for visiting, we had a great time!




Dinner at The Spaghetti Factory




Rafting on the White Salmon River











This is us coming through the other side of the class 4 waterfall!!















Sunday, August 24, 2008

Fun at the pool!!!

We had a really fun afternoon today! We thought today would be a good day to go swimming since it wasn't too hot and it was a little cloudy. There is a really nice family swimming pool near our home and M&D took me there for my first extensive time in a swimming pool. I was a very good girl and spent over 30 minutes in the pool with M&D. We borrowed a really neat inflatable seat "thingy" from our friend Becca and I really liked that. I also liked swimming around with Mommy and Daddy (especially on his tummy).
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I think Mommy and I might go back this Wednesday if the weather stays nice.
Me and Daddy enjoying the water...


This is me in my bathrobe after getting out of the pool...


Ahhh...me and Mommy nice and dry!