Stop! Cease! Desist!

This one's for Dad!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

Izzy and Daddy took advantage of the sunny and breezy day to fly Izzy's kite that she had gotten last year.

Girls

Mae is 9 Months Old!

Mae is a mover and a shaker. She has mastered crawling and is now trying to learn how to stand and walk. She's getting into everything! We need to re-assess ground level to Mae proof the house. Many toys have made their way up into Izzy's room for safe-keeping away from drool and possible ingestion. Mae puts anything and everything into her mouth.

The kid has a voracious appetite. We just put food in front of her and then keep our hands clear. We find out her new stats next week. She's definitely grown taller but she started crawling before she got a good layer of baby fat on. I've now put away the 6 month clothing and she's into the 9-12 month gear. It'll be nice to have a doctor visit that isn't a sick visit. Mae is now on her 4th run of antibiotics for ear infections. Fortunately she's a really happy camper so it's been obvious when she hasn't been feeling well.

Mae is a girl of very few words when she's around people but I can hear her babbling away in her crib as I'm writing this. She's got a couple words that she repeats in rapid succession: Dadda, Babba and Hi. Mainly she lets Izzy do the talking whom she thinks is hilarious!

Spring has been slow in coming but this past week we got to go outside for a bit and use the swing set. I've had to put the baby swing upright since she isn't into relaxing reclined while swinging. She tries to swing herself by holding onto the ropes and gets herself rocking back and forth. We also brought out a couple of riding toys for her but she can only reach the ground with one foot at a time. She's really trying to go though :)

Milestones:
Crawling
Pulling up to stand on low objects
Walking while holding someone's hands
Drinking from a straw

Mae likes:
Food!
Being cuddled
Sucking her thumb
Conan O'Brien
Watching Izzy
Being outside in her swing
Step stools
The ride-on lion "Roar!"
Talking to herself
Bedtime

Izzy dislikes:
Being strapped in her carrier
Not being part of the party
Izzy getting in her face
Teething
Ear Infections

Words in progress:
Dadda
Hi
Babba

Mae's new cheesy "smile" for the camera

Hanging out with Grandma

One for the road

You'd never know this kid has a stomach bug AND double ear infections

Reminds me of the mouse with the pea in her mouth

Mmmmm plastic broccoli :)

Whatcha getting into, Mae?

Mae practices her "down dog"

The stool is Mae's new best friend

Guess what?

Mae butt!

Chinese New Year 2011

This year, we finally got to join Natalie for Chinese New Year. This is the year of the rabbit which is my birth year ( 3 cycles ago.) Laura and Fred know her from WPI. We had a lot of fun watching the lions dance and through food. The firecrackers were a bit loud and Izzy freaked out after a particularly loud bang during the first dance we saw. We had yummy lunch of dim sum. Izzy nor Griffin ate much but I think Felix and Mae ate more than their share. Mae LOVED the fried rice and slimy dumplings. Me too :) Afterwards, Daddy had to remove Izzy from Chinatown for a bit since she had become paranoid of the fireworks but Mae and I got to see a few more dances with the cousins. We hope to go again next year.

Happy New Year!

I hope the red lion leaves some dim sum for us!

Family dim sum for four

Izzy demonstrates how to drink tea

Mae's loving the fried rice

Crazy Uncle Fred checks up on the cousins

Griffin shows Mae how it's done

Mae and Aunt Laura

The yellow lion gets ready to rumble

Roar!

Daddy and Izzy stand at a safe distance

Here comes the orange lion crew!

He was our favorite

Natalie's excitement is contagious

Mae thinks this is the best day EVER in her whole 8 months!

Mae is 7 Months Old!

Mae's biggest adventures this month have been in eating. At her last check-up the doctor suggested that she start to use sippy cups and eat table food. We started her on Cheerios though she has yet to master the pincer grip so more end up in her seat than in her mouth. She's quite successful at eating mashed potatoes on her own though :) She no longer has patience for pure mush anymore and insists on a bit of texture. So she now gets chopped up meat or noodles mixed in. Mae also loooves kidney beans. Mae really caught on to the sippy cup. She can now suck down 4 oz of formula in record time. It's really helped us that she can feed herself bottles and cups. Now if only she could stop being a "vomit enthusiast."

Mae is still working on getting around. She can sit up for quite a long while but before long she gets fed up and dives so that she can scoot somewhere else. She's really working on moving forward but has really only mastered going backwards. Often we find her hung up on a table or a chair. Mae also has a bad affinity for electrical cords. No matter how far away we place her and how well we try to hide them, without fail she will find one to put in her mouth. Thank goodness she doesn't have teeth yet!

This month Mae has been gracing us with her company late at night. She doesn't want to miss out on whatever party she *thinks* is happening while she's asleep. I think she just wants to watch her beloved Conan O'Brien. Makes sense. Izzy loved Jon Stewart when she was a baby. Otherwise, she's been sleeping pretty well. Izzy appreciates that Mae is becoming more fun. They can play with some toys together and both love story time. Izzy has been great at entertaining Mae. Mae thinks Izzy is the awesome-est person in her little world. I can only hope they continue to be such great sisters. At times the love they share is blinding :)

Drowsy after a satisfying meal of toast and turkey.

Now if only there was real food in this fridge

Enjoying some alone time with her new toys

Mmmmm corn...

Mae is stirring, stirring in her pot

Sisters :)


Izzy does a happy dance for Cheerios