Snowballs

Tiger Impression

Snow!!

Lily's first original story

Lily,
You have recently started writing your own stories.  Here is one you wanted Jacqueline to write down.  This story is all in your own words:

Once upon a time there were puppies and they were playin.  They were playing at the playground.  Their names were Woofy, Rainbow, Gogi, and Doody.  Doody was in the the treehouse.  Dika was sleeping.  Sudi is on the platform.  They were all playing at the playground and a puppy came to say, "Hello!"  The puppies said, "We want to play!"  They had a party.  Their friends came. They at some cake and bones.  The End.

My little book worm

Lily, it's no secret that you  love books.  You have shown an interest in books since you were a tiny baby.  You have recently stopped taking naps, however you continue to have quiet time.  Which means you stay in your room for two hours reading your books.  You look forward to your quiet time each day.  Right now you are in your room reading.  I can hear you reciting a story about Belle and her Pony....verbatim.  If I didn't know better I would think you could read.  Your stories are complete with words like "he said" or "she pleaded."  You have also demonstrated a recent interest in what sound letters make and you can tell me what letter starts most any word.  I wouldn't be surprised if actually start reading really soon!

New Year's Eve 2011

We went to the Children's Museum for countdown to 1:00pm for New Year's.  We celebrated the new year at the same time as everyone in the country of Madagascar.  We had a great day.  Here are some photos:

Notice Rio anxiously trying to catch Lily:

It looks like you are break dancing:

 Rio's first slide:

The day before this you had gone to the Children's Museum with Jacqueline. You left your new favorite Cinderella doll.  You were pretty upset about it.  It was a miracle that we actually found it the next day.  You were so happy to be reunited:

Nice people always offer to take a picture of all four of us.  It is impossible for both of you to look at the camera at the same time.  We have quite a few pictures like this:

It looks like Lily is in a room with a poster of me and Rio (just a window):

This was the actual New Year's Eve celebration.  Complete with noisemakers and a juice toast:

Striking a pose at the space needle:

Rio Update: 7 months

Dear Rio,

Yesterday you turned 7 months old!  Big changes have happened in the last month.  You are now sitting up all by yourself and easily rolling over.  You have demonstrated that you have no fear.  You leap out to grab a toy that's out of your reach even if it means landing face first on the floor.   You spend a lot of time sitting on your play mat grabbing a toy, chewing on it, dropping it, then grabbing more toys.  You are funny about how you show a preference for some toys over others.  You love balls and this one cup in the bathtub.  You go crazy for that cup.  In the past few days you have started letting me read you books without eating them.  Everything goes in your mouth.  You have been teething for what seems like forever.  I can't believe you still don't have any teeth!  

You are now eating two solid meals per day.  I decided to give you only homemade baby food (which means you are eating a lot of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, and apples).  You love to chew on a piece of crusty bread.  You have made a lot of progress towards sleeping.  You no longer nap in our arms.  You take three naps in your crib per day, however they only last 30 to 45 minutes.  You still fall asleep on your own at night.  We have had a few good nights where you only wake up once to feed but usually you still wake up two or three times.  

A few weeks ago you had your first real illness.  You got a pretty serious case of croup.  So serious that we (specifically Daddy) took you to the emergency room at 1:00am.  You were coughing, wheezing, and couldn't catch your breath.  A few hours in the emergency room with a nebulizer and you were much better.  You had a nasty cold for the rest of the week.  When you're not sick, you are the most pleasant and delightful baby.  You give me gentle squeezes when I pick you up.  You like to rest your head on my shoulder to relax.  Your fingers and hands are in constant motion.  You are always giving me gentle strokes.  Sometimes you scratch our neck, ear, or eyes just out of curiosity.  At night I can hear you scratching the crib sheets just like your sister did.  

You are babbling more.  I am starting to hear reduplicated babble (the same syllable over and over).  You have a precious voice.  It's been a great month!  You are changing so fast.  We are having a blast watching you grow and learn new things every single day.  Here are some pictures from the past month:

This is you with a cold:

This was your night in the ER:

You are never satisfied with the toys that are in reach:

Love, 

Mommy

"Wait, you're telling me there's a Disney STORE?"

Lily,
These days you are quite the princess. You know all the stories of all the Disney royalty without having seen one of the movies. That's because you're such a bookworm and read, or have us read, the stories each and every day.

Every morning when you wake up you tell us which princess you are. "Today, I'm Belle. Daddy, you're the Beast." I think that's a compliment.

I suspect that you believe the Disney debutantes are your own little secret that exist only in your imagination.

We went to the Disney store yesterday and I wish I would have been taking a video of your face lighting up when you first realized that this little secret of yours was no secret. I think we'll be making more trips here. And we should probably watch the movies.

Love,
Dad

Don't Mess

Big Boy Bath

Today was your first time in the real bath tub and not the little blue plastic one that you and your sister have both used. You didn't want bath time to end, and it took you a little extra time falling asleep tonight, but the look on your face was worth it.

Standing

Standing all by yourself today!