Santa Baby

Mommy & Daddy took me to see Santa again and I was a perfect little cherub. Kind of. Daddy ran home to get the camera while Mommy & I stood in line, but there were so many kiddies that I didn't want to stay in my stroller. Mommy let me out and I proceeded to hug EVERY boy, touch all of the girls' pretty dresses and test out some other Mommies. I'm happy to say that my Mommy is by far the best. And here's the end result:




















On a side note, I've been working on my 'Pat-A-Cake' skills and in the photo I'm actually "rolling the dough." Of course with Mommy's lack of cooking skills and a vague idea of where the kitchen is in our house, this 'Pat-A-Cake' might be the closest thing to a cooking lesson that I'll ever get.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Pluto Ears

Mommy & Daddy neglected to take me to EuroDisney when we were in Paris (I stayed with Oma & Opa) and they brought me back three gifts: Pluto ears and a stuffed Nemo fish ~ both of which I could have cared less about, and Tigger pajamas which were OK.

Well, now, months later, I have decided that I LOVE my Pluto ears. I randomly put them on my head really doesn't matter how (see pictures), but I sure like them now! OK, in the second picture I don't look so happy, but I was tired of having my picture taken.



















Yes, Mommy is working on the Europe trip blog entries. Maybe before the end of the year. Sooner if we keep getting all of this snow!!!

Dancing To The Balloon

Hello, long time no post! I've been enjoying snow days with Mommy, Daddy or both most of this week and this is what I've been working on:



The balloon came from Auntie Andreea at Mommy's work (it was for Auntie's birthday at the end of October). The balloon showed no signs of deflating so after a month, she gave it to Mommy to bring it home for me. I'm doing some serious work on my dance moves!

Nappin' With My Homies

Milhouse, Giraffe and I are such close friends that occasionally we take a nap together. Millie's very cuddly and cozy and far lazier than Bear who would let me lay against him for about two seconds before moving. Milhouse works very hard to get his 23.5 hours of sleep in per day.

Bah Seahawks!

Well, the Seahawks lost (and not for the first time during this horrible season of theirs). But Mommy and Auntie Adrienne had a blast at the game and Mommy has lost her voice from screaming so loud.

Maybe next year, Seahawks, maybe next year.

Go Seahawks! (Please!)

So this post really isn't about me except to show off my Seahawks cheerleading outfit. At the beginning of football season, Mommy got this so I could wear it when I watched the Sunday games with Daddy and that it would help bring the Seahawks good luck.

Now, several games into the season, it's clear that the Seahawks need a lot more than luck. But, losing season or not, Mommy is going to go to the game tomorrow against the Arizona Cardinals ~ her first live NFL game ever! So she gets to go to the game and I get to have a Daddy day. Now that's a win-win! I'll miss Mommy, but I love hanging out with Daddy too!

Hangin' With My Homie

Little did he know, but Milhouse is an excellent Bark-O-Lounger. I know, lame joke, but Mommy thought it was funny.

My 100th Post!

In honor of my 100th post, I chose this picture of Mommy and me since she helps me type my blog. I'm 16 months old today, and because of Veteran's Day, Mommy and Daddy got to stay home with me and play all day. I got kind of sleepy after playing outside in the afternoon.















I would also like to send out a special THANK YOU to all Veterans and everyone who helps to protect our country and freedom.

Oma Debbie's Visit

At the end of October, Oma Debbie came to spend a few days with me. We did lots of stuff but I really loved playing outside the best. I found an old plastic soda bottle that Bear and Millie had chewed up and spent a bunch of time putting little rocks into it. I tried to eat a lot of the rocks too, but Oma stopped me. Something about choking.

I also worked on having cute pictures of myself taken. I get A LOT of photos taken of me, but since I'm always on the move, it's hard to get pictures that aren't too blurry.

New Furniture!

Mommy got a new bookshelf with a desk at Ikea and I "helped" her put it together. I had fun trying to hide while Mommy worked. It's all done now, and Mommy even let me have two shelves for myself. I keep some of my books there and read while Mommy works at her desk.

Maris Farms

Right before Halloween, Mommy & Daddy took me to Maris Farms where they grow pumpkins and have a big corn maze along with lots of other cool stuff to do. We went with my friends Cole & Evan and their parents Jason & Kim.

First we got to feed the goats! When we got there the goats were sleeping, but I squealed at them and hopped up and down so much that they finally woke up. I pet them and fed them and even fed myself a little too. (And if you think that's bad, you should see me with Bear & Milhouse's treats.)

Then we rode on the pedal tractors but since my feet can't reach the pedals, Mommy & Daddy had to push me and I went sooooo fast... I loved every second of it! And I screamed my head off when we went off to go do the next thing.

Next I got to sit in a really big tractor that they buried part-way in the ground for some silly reason. Evan and I really liked trying to drive it. And then I screamed my head off some more when it was time to go through the corn maze.

The corn maze was kind of boring but we all have 4 year old Cole to thank for getting us all out of it! At the end of the day, I decided that today was one of the most fun days I've ever had.

Happy Halloween!

It's probably not much of a surprise to anyone that I was a Giraffe for Halloween. We went trick-or-treating with our friends in a nice neighborhood. I had to be really careful with my candy. I didn't want Daddy to eat it so I held it tightly in my hands until I couldn't carry anymore. I was so tired when we got home that Giraffe and I went right to bed.

You know, come to think of it, I never did see my candy again....

I CAN WALK!!!

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that? I was really stubborn when it came to learning how to walk. For a couple of months now, I could stand up, hold onto things and cruise around with help from the furniture, but if Mommy & Daddy tried to help me, forget it. If they tried to stand me up, I would sit right down. If I was going to learn to walk on my own, it would be on my own terms and in my own time. I didn't want any help except from inanimate objects.

And then, on Sept. 20, 2008 at 14 Months and 9 Days, it happened. First, I practiced standing and balancing. When I was pretty good at that, it was a step here and a step there. Then when Grandpa George came to visit, I walked from him to the coffee table where Daddy's cell phone was. Now I'm weeble-wobbling all over the place but I still mixed it up with crawling just because I'm an expert at that.

Mommy & Daddy have tried getting me walking on video which up until now has been like trying to capture real footage of Bigfoot or a Yeti. But of course, I always eventually give in...

I'm NOT Afraid Of The Stairs!

Quite sometime ago, I easily learned to climb the stairs. And let me tell you ~ if those baby gates aren't locked (making me feel very much like a prisoner in my own home) I will be up those stairs and in the kitchen in milliseconds. In addition to the stairs, I'm climbing all over the furniture too. Mommy's found me on Daddy's nightstand and the card table (very easy to reach from the massage chair).

















I owe a big thanks to Opa Woof and Oma Debbie (that's Grandpa & Grandma in German!) for teaching me how to get down from things backwards, like when I get off the couch. I get on my belly and slide down off of it. Very easy. They taught me this while we were in Europe.


So instead of trying this on furniture only, I decided to give it a shot on the stairs. Here's a video to prove my immense talents...

New Things!!!

A lot of people having been nagging Mommy (which is odd because Daddy will tell you that Mommy does most of the nagging) to help me update my Blog with stories and pictures from our European vacation. Don't worry, it's coming. In the meantime, these should hold you over...

I'M ONE!!!!!

I'm One! Can you believe it? I finally hit the big One on July 11 although the party didn't start until the next day. Mommy & Daddy invited a bunch of family and friends to help me celebrate at a park near our house and we had so much fun!

I got to eat cake, open a lot of presents (thank you, everybody!!!) and look like such a big girl in my party dress with my special butterfly bow in my hair. It was a really fun day and I can't wait to do it again! (When I turn two, of course.)

Mmmm... cake!

















My friends and family ~ I'm so lucky!

















Sometimes it's nice to let someone else do the work.






















Back away from my cake, Grandpa!

















Presents are fun!






















My hot new ride!























PS - Yes, Mommy knows that it's taken forever for her to update the site, but now that we're back from vacation, things should be smoothing out and be less hectic.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

Today was Daddy's last day of school so when he was done he took me to his friend's house where they were having a last-day-of-school party. His friends breed Chihuahuas and I got to play with 4 Chihuahua puppies! It was very, very fun. Here's a little video of me with the puppies...



Who knew Chihuahua puppies were so much fun to snack on?

Updates Galore!!!

I know that it's been some time since I posted, but that's because Mommy and Daddy went insane for a few weeks. They found another house they wanted to buy, spent a bunch of time fixing and packing up our house to sell, then decided to keep our house because of all the reasons they bought it in the first place. We're all really happy with the decision to stay, we have a great house and besides, I'm just learning my way around!

10.5 Months & Mobile

I've changed so much in such a short time that Mommy and Daddy are having a hard time keeping up with me... literally! I've finally traded in rolling around for crawling and boy can I move! I'm very hard to keep track of now, I hear "Where's the baby?" a lot. Mommy and Daddy have to vacuum daily so that I'm not mistaking leftover dog biscuit crumbs for Cheerios (even though the crumbs aren't 'O' shaped, sillies). Crawling has opened up a whole new world for me, there's so much to do and see and that's just in the downstairs of the house!

I have no problem sitting up on my own and getting into and out of sitting by myself too. I also can pull myself into a standing position but only as long as I have something to hold onto. I've made a couple of small steps while holding onto the couch, but I'm much more interested in grabbing for things that are suspiciously always out of my reach. There are three things that I want more than anything... the two peanut-shaped TiVo remotes and Mommy's laptop. Once I get my hands on those...that will be a happy day!

I'm still a very happy and smiley baby, and everyone loves to come and play with me. I've even had a babysitter that wasn't a family member! The weather is getting nicer and I've done some crawling in the grass which I didn't like at first.

Well, I think that just about catches me up on everything. I know that in about six weeks something big is going to happen, but Mommy and Daddy won't tell me what. They keep talking about invitations and decorations, but I don't know what those are. I guess it will have to be a surprise!

Baby On The Loose

Look at me go!!!

I Love Bear

Tonight, Bear learned that like him, I have no concept of personal space. He likes to lay by my toys so I decided that I could practice my standing with him. Mommy and Daddy were surprised that he let me hold onto him for so long, but the second the video ended, he was up and out of the room! He still likes me on his terms, not mine.

All By Myself...

I get to be in the big bathtub on my own now! Mommy and Daddy never leave me alone, but they let me splash around and play with my bath toys. I love this new independence!

Crib-Hair

Now that I'm getting more hair, it looks funny when I wake up! And a lot of other times too. It still needs to fill out a bit on the sides from where I went bald, but it's pretty long on top! Hard to say what color it is exactly, but it's sure looking curly!

I Do Tricks Too!

This is my newest trick! I'll even pull the cloth off of Mommy's head if she's hiding under it.

Let's All Cheer For Cheerios!

I've started eating Cheerios! I wasn't too sure about them at first, but now the whole family has rediscovered their love of Cheerios. Especially Bear and Milhouse. They love it when I throw Cheerios on the floor for them and Mommy loves that they clean up after me.

I'm also working on my use of the sippy cup. It's weird. And different stuff keeps coming out of it. I've had apple juice (which at first I was convinced was poison but now I like it - still hate applesauce), white grape juice, pear juice and water. I've even tried drinking water out of Mommy's big water bottles. This is actually a trick of mine to get her to the holding work and I just sit back and enjoy my drink.

The Case of the Missing Pepper Shaker

Once again, my Bumbo has caused some issues, but this time, just here at home. A few months ago, our silver pepper shaker went missing. Mommy looked for it for a couple of weeks before deciding that it was just gone. But where did it go? Some theories were tossed around… maybe it was accidentally thrown out… maybe a person we had to visit secretly swiped it for whatever reason…

So one day a couple of weeks ago, Grandma Ellen was watching me while Daddy and Grandpa George were doing some work on our house. She was vacuuming the downstairs (thank you!) and when she picked up the Bumbo to move it, she found the pepper shaker stuck in the bottom! See, when I started to eat solids and couldn't quite sit up on my own, I would get fed in my Bumbo on top of the kitchen table (gasp). Apparently the Bumbo was set on the pepper shaker and that's how it got stuck there! Ha!

Stop The Presses! I said "Dada"!!!!!

It happened again! This time "Dada" slipped out. I say it a lot when I'm happy and I see Daddy and I want to play. That's the way I work... Daddy for play and Mommy for comfort. Daddy LOVES that.

Stop The Presses! I said "Mama"!!!!!

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, I let it slip that my babbling can actually form words. And I said "Mama". I don't say it very often, usually when I'm unhappy and I need comfort. Mommy isn't too sure how she feels about that.

I'm Nine Month's Old!!!

It's my 9-month birthday! Can you believe that in just 3 more months I'll be a whole year old? Mommy is a little sad that I'm growing up so fast, but this is still just the beginning! I'm changing so much right now and am totally keeping my parents on their toes!

At my doctor's checkup I got a clean bill of health and am 20.6 pounds and just shy of 28" long. I did some serious damage to about 10 feet worth of the white crinkly paper on the exam table (I have a thing for paper products) and only cried for about 3 seconds after my one shot. I'm such a good girl!

I am a very busy little baby. I've got SIX teeth now - four on top and two on the bottom - in various stages of coming in and they are starting to show when I smile big. I'm extremely good at rolling to wherever I want to go and have a knack for rolling underneath things that make you wonder how I actually got into that position. Daddy thinks I have the ability to teleport because whenever he looks at me I'm in a different spot, usually far away from where I started. I always roll over to Bear and Milhouse to play with their fur and dog tags (I can't WAIT to chew on those)!

I'm still trying out different foods. After a few tries I finally like Cheerios. It took me a bit to figure out how to put them in my mouth, which is odd because I put everything in my mouth. I currently like to clench them in my hand and suck my thumb - oh, and I throw them and drop them randomly. Bear and Milhouse have discovered their inner love for Cheerios as well. After I get Cheerios she tries to help me wash it down with apple juice mixed with water. Clearly she's trying to poison me! It's horrible!

But I guess the biggest news is that I'm seriously working on crawling! So far I've been able to get up on my hands and knees and rock back and forth and crawl a couple of steps backward. I think this week I will work on going forward.

I am also figuring out how to clap and wave and am expanding my vocabulary by babbling lots of babbles that start with the G or B sound. I spending a lot of time trying to figure out what word will be my first. I've got a few ideas already.

And last but not least, here are my nine month pictures. I've got no explanation for the first picture of me, but everyone laughs and laughs when they see it. We had a really pretty day for once, so I got to wear my new dress and spend time in the yard. And the last one is when Kellie and her daughters, McKynnlie (3) and Evanjillie (5mo.) came to visit Mommy and me.

Keep checking out my accomplishments!

Snow Baby

Something weird happened last night ~ it snowed like crazy! I really liked watching it fall all over. Mommy took me out on the front porch so I could feel the flakes.

Then I got all bundled in my super-comfy snow suit and we all went outside to take some pictures. First I posed with Daddy, then they set me in the snow! At first it was fun but very quickly it became really cold and wet. The ice and snow had melted all the way through my clothes. Did I mention how wet and cold it was?

My First Easter

As you can see, my first Easter was quite the affair. I mean, a quiet affair. I liked chewing on the plastic eggs and I took a few naps snuggling with Giraffe. Mommy and Daddy didn't even have a special dinner or anything, but they promised next year that we would do an egg hunt. We did all spend the day together, so that was special in itself.

Where's Maggie?

I have this matching pajama and blanket set and it says "I Love Daddy, I Love Mommy, Everybody Loves Me." Mommy has long wanted to get pictures of the set, so all this is totally staged.

However, you do get to see my new trick - rolling my tongue out the side of my mouth. It's fun! Also, you can clearly see how Milhouse tried to steal some of my thunder. Again, not successful!