M Turns 1!!!

Whew...it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks, but it was all topped off yesterday with a glorious gathering of friends and family to celebrate M's big 1st birthday. She was a champ, LOVED her cupcake and pretty much giggled her way through the day.







We were especially lucky to get a visit from M's godparents, Auntie J and Uncle M, and her godsisters, M and G. She adores them all (as do Trevor & Tuscany...who miss them already!).



Thanks to all for the generous and love-filled gifts for M and for helping us make her 1st birthday so special.

Much love & first-ily,
K, J, M, T & T

Lucky #13

Good bye, dumpster.

We won't miss you, but we appreciate all that you've done for us.

We look forward to seeing your friend #14...but not for a while!

First Year, First Steps, First Memories

It's been an amazing year of wonder, joy and new experiences.

Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl. We love you!

This is what we see when we open the door after naps...

A happy girl standing up in her crib (sometimes she's also yelling "Up! Up! Up!").

11 month 12 day milestone

M just waved "hi" to the president and his motorcade.

Note to self: It's a nice validation of your real estate choices when the president drives right by your house to go to a fundraiser at a home down the street. :-)

Sent from my iPhone

Someone is now sporting a mohawk

So fashion forward!

11 Months Old...and a Piano Virtuoso!

So, 11 months old...closing in on ONE YEAR. Seriously? No, not possible.

Of course, M thinks it is...getting bigger every day and enjoying every minute. Case in point - apparently, M loves the piano. I mean LOVES the piano (thanks PopPop!):







She also loves trying to feed herself - she's learning how to use the spoon, but as you can see the face-to-mouth ratio is still a bit off:


Another thing she loves is people - she's a real social butterfly! Here she is enjoying a stroller stroll with her cousin Avery at the zoo (field trips are totally her thing):


And, yes, talking up a storm - Daddy (most often said word, without a doubt), Mama, uh oh, mmm mmm, that, this, over there (new one), noodle (new one), Tuss (for Tuscany).

We had a wonderful and relaxing 1st Father's Day and got to see our Dads on Saturday (thanks, PopPop and PopPop!).

Now the project is the Money Pit. Contractors are upon us and work is happening fast and furious. We've given everyone a 4th of July deadline which means we should come in right under the wire for M's birthday party on July 24th! :-)

Fingers crossed,
K, J, M, T & T

The Money Pit - Phase 834,297

So...we're continuing with the renovations. The contractors arrived yesterday morning at 7am and within an hour, our backyard looked like this:




Hey, at least we'll have interior doors soon!

OK, we will post more updates later (11 months old, piano playing, Father's Day and the anticipated arrival of dumpster #12!), but this is a test posting from the iPhone.

We'll see if the tech set up cooperates. :-)

Tech-ily,
K, J, M, T & T

10 Months? We've Got a Crawling, Talking, Curly-Haired Meat-Eater Here! (Oh...and Renovation Updates)

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks. Again, we've been reminded of just how precious family is and we were so sad to lose cousin A. It's made us think, reflect and remember what's important. If you are reading this, we love you and want to see you more often. :-)

We've also witnessed new and exciting milestones with M.

Here she is at 10 months, helping to make brownies for Mom-Mom's birthday party. OK, she really just supervised, but it still made it more fun (and left more brownie batter for me!).




Also, after many months of showing not-so-much interest in crawling, our girl is finally moving around. Of course, it's a one-legged, military-style shuffle and she'd much rather walk or tot ride around the house, but, hey, we'll take it.

Ummm...and, can we talk about the talking?!? She's got "Hi" (often it's "Hi, Daddy" no matter who she sees. Especially fun and awkward when I'm walking down the street with her and she waves and says "Hi Daddy" to every man we see. Nice.)


Her other faves are "Mama" (not that often, but at least sometimes!). "Uh oh" which is sooooooo adorable. (She loves to say it when we drop something, I tell her no or right BEFORE she drops something. Hard...to...keep...straight...face...Must...not...laugh.) "Mmmm Mmmm" when she's eating. "Dis" (for "this") - to which you must answer immediately what "dis" is or there is fuss. "Dat" (for "that") - see earlier "dis" entry. And "Tuth" for "Tuscany". Poor Trevor is so jealous.

We've also entered the land of meat. First came ground beef. Mmmm. Mmmm.


We've also added ground turkey. More Mmmm Mmmms.

But, she's still a lover of tofu and peas.


As you may be able to see from the photos, there are the wispy beginnings of little curls. Not yet full blown ringlets, but definitely little Qs around the nape of her neck and over her ears. We'll see if they stick around.

So, big doings. Big steps (almost on her own). Lots of chatter. Bigger every day.

Even Trevor can't believe it:


Last update - renovations. Yes, our "other baby" has been neglected, but it's time to torture ourselves and some unsuspecting contractors yet again...the June of repairs and trim work is upon us! (Also known as "Operation 1st Birthday Prep"). The contractors start Monday and we've got a punch list and project roster longer than our arms (really). Here's a quick recap of our walk through with our guy:

Us: we'd like to do as much as we can in June.
Him: well, there's certainly a lot to still do here. I think it will be me and my right-hand guy.
Us: Great.
Him: on second thought, I think I might bring a laborer in, too.
Us: Great.
Him: In fact, what do you think about me just assigning the laborer to you for June and the beginning of July. We'll just send him every day.
Us: Great.
Him: Ummm...yeah...great.
Us: Great. (We're just in the renovation stupor again at this point...it's begun!)

So, more soon.

Great-ly,
K, J, M, T & T

More Firsts....

One of the most wondrous things about life with M is that every day seems to bring a new "first". There have been many over the past week or so:


First Mother's Day (K and M in front of the new herb garden - just one of the fabulous Mother's Day gifts K received)


First playground day with Daddy


First ride on the swings

We also had our first choking incident (avocado), which J handled cooly and calmly, fishing the too-big-of-a-bite out of M's throat quickly (she barely flinched and then laughed...does nothing scare her?!?).

It's a happy time of giggles, LOTS of talking, constant pointing and increased cruising around the crib and on furniture. While M still hasn't mastered the art of 'traditional' crawling (nor does she show any desire to do so), she continues to get around just fine.

All in all, it's been a great week - we'll take all the firsts (and seconds, thirds, etc.) as we can get!

First-ily,
K, J, M, T & T

The Easter Bunny Was Here...

Well, M's first Easter was festive and fun - many eggs, several bunnies and a beautiful day. Thanks to all the grandparents for the time, baskets and Easter love. :-)

M even liked her gorgeous Easter dress - as is evidenced by this smile:


There have been some other firsts lately...

First ride in the backpack with Daddy


First "puffs" (Cheerio-like cereal...LOVES it!)

First Shoes...

A family foot picture...Tuscany was moving around behind us and is VERY difficult to get in these feet shots (Trevor is more than happy to sit still for them!). :-)

Nine Months In (or Out, Actually)...

That's right, nine months today for M. Where does the time go? Really - not a rhetorical question! If you know, please email us!!!

So, to coincide with this milestone, Miss M. had her monthly check up and we found out she's still pretty heavy, tipping the scales at 18 lbs 10 oz (50th percentile) and she's getting even taller, now 28.5" (75th percentile). While the doctor didn't give J a precise measurement, she proclaimed that M. "has a big head" and is "socially advanced" (???).

We just know that she's getting more and more precocious...exhibit A:




"Ummmm...what? No, I wasn't touching anything. Why would you think I was touching anything?"
Note - this is perfect for her "I'm 9 months today" pic, no?

She's also pointing at us when she wants either of us, the dogs when she wants to watch them play, her water when she's thirsty and certain foods at mealtimes that she wants to eat next (or doesn't want to eat next). And, oh my goodness if you don't get her the food quickly enough. Wow!



T&T are liking the older, kinder, gentler M. (not as much ear pulling and WAY more food sharing!)

They are a fixture under her high chair for every meal.

It's a big holiday week coming up and M. is looking forward to seeing all her grandparents and hunting for eggs. She started off the search this past weekend when we celebrated with Mom-Mom:







HOPPY EASTER to all!
K, J, M, T & T

First, the Living Room...

...remember how open, empty and spacious it was?





Yeah...did we mention we're planning a Yard Sale for June 11?!?

Someone Got a New Toy...

...and is even making the clicking noises with her tongue to go with it.


Cutest. Thing. Ever.


She is also saying "da da" and pointing at J. I'm pretending not to be crushed. (Just kidding...not really...no really).

And, oh, just wait - there will be some more pics tomorrow of our most recent house project. Remember how the living room was all empty and, while barren, looking like a huge improvement? Well, yeah...wait 'til you see it now...

OK, off to bed. M is asleep so we're all going to follow that trend.

Hi Ho, Silver!
K, J, M, T & T

So tech savvy...

Uh oh, we've created an iPad monster (or PopPop Delp has)! M has taken to playing the xylophone...on the iPad. There's a video here, but it's rather lengthy (she REALLY likes to play it!) and was taking a while to upload. Sleep is precious, so I'll try again later this week...

In addition to loving the iPad, M has been growing - still in the 17s in terms of weight (17lbs 14oz - 55th %), but now a whopping 27.5" (75th %) for height and with a 17.25" noggin (75th %). She's also cutting four - count 'em FOUR - teeth. All four front top teeth are coming in. It looks like the two side teeth may come through first. That will be an interesting look!

She also has found some time to go to the beach:

LOVED the waves.

And celebrated her 8-month birthday with a girls' day with Grammy and Aunt P - apparently the stroller walk was a comedy!


She also got to model her handmade-in-China dress with Mom-Mom. While made for a two-year-old Chinese baby, M was pushing the seams at 8 months. Gotta love it!


While still loving her TotRider (T & T part like the Red Sea when they see her coming), she is getting more active and mobile on her belly...not quite crawling, but there's definitely some scooching going on.

Not much new to report on the house front. We are enjoying having a functional kitchen and have been doing a lot more cooking lately. K baked her first loaf of bread last week and this week tackled her first ever upside-down cake (plum - yummy!)


We're collecting a (VERY long) project and punch list for the May/June timeframe and will have another wave of contractors come through then. Oh joy.

Love & kisses,
K, J, M, T & T

Howdy, Folks!

Greetings from M-ville!

All is well here as you can see by the smile on this face. This is the face of a girl who's filling her days with swim class, story time, music class and long walks in my oh-so-cool stroller. This is also the face of a girl who's enjoying a new-found love for FOOD. Sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, mangos, bananas, avocados, apple sauce, egg (yolks only)...you name it and I've tried it (or it's on Mommy's very clearly defined introducing-new-foods list...so, it's coming).

Speaking of which - here are some shots of me learning how to pick up my food and feed myself. Lots of fun...also, apparently creates lots of laundry, but Mommy & Daddy were good sports about it.




Now, I know it's been a while since Mommy & Daddy posted any new info or photos - I keep bugging them about it (have to keep in touch with my adoring fans!), but they've been "busy" or something. (Those are air quotes, in case you're wondering.)

Now that I've finally got some new info up here, check out my 7-month photo...


Is my bathing suit styling, or what???

Here's an even better one - this is my last day of swim class. I totally graduated and Daddy says I was better than all the other babies in my class...hey, what I lack in desire to crawl, I make up for in my splashing abilities.


Don't worry, don't worry...I'm just taking my time on the crawling thing. I zoom around in my TotRider all the time (the dogs are totally afraid of me) and am just itching to walk. So, it's all coming together.

OK, have to get back to my busy schedule - perfecting my peek-a-boo skills (I play all by myself now) and working on my newest sounds (Mommy & Daddy call it 'demon voice'...hmmm).

Love & kisses,
M