Visitors and a girl on the move...

We've been enjoying a mostly beautiful February here in Fresno (and over at the beach). Norah is already working on the letter of the week "T" at school and is getting very good at writing her name all on her own. Her class led weekly chapel this week, so Dan and I stopped in to watch her sing and dance with her schoolmates. She loves school and Dan and I are impressed with how much she is learning.

A few weeks ago, we headed to the beach/Livermore for a nice weekend, capped with a birthday celebration for my Grandpa Ray. Maddie got to try out the swings at the park for the first time (as you can see in the picture below, she was not that impressed - we'll try again when she's a little bigger), and then she got to meet Great Grandma Shirley. It was a great weekend with good company!

After a slow start to solid foods, Maddie is now flying through the orange veggies and getting ready to move on to greens. She was a bit of a stubborn/picky eater at first, quickly mastering the art of shutting her mouth tightly (to prevent the food from getting in), followed by gagging on anything that did make it past Fort Maddie. Luckily, it's going better now, but we're still a little concerned about her future eating habits :)

Over the President's Day long weekend, we were excited to have Judie and Mike come out for a visit. We spent part of the time over at the beach, then the rest in Fresno. Judie had seen Maddie when she was very little, but this was Mike's introduction to his newest granddaughter. Norah was happy to show Grammy and Grandpa all her favorite beach spots, and we all got to eat some wonderful seafood (Lenten Friday's don't seem like much of a sacrifice when you're enjoying lobster rolls and clam chowder at a beach-side restaurant!). We know the trip from Missouri to California is a long one, so we really appreciate the time we had with them!

After about a week of working up the courage to do it, Maddie is now a girl on the move! She's scooting faster and faster each day, and her distance traveled is quickly increasing. The video below is from yesterday, but as Norah will attest, she's even better today. I guess it's time to put those baby gates back up soon, and Norah has learned that her toys are no longer safe.

That's all the updates from us. Love to all!

First Food!

Happy February! With the various wintertime illnesses making their rounds, we've been doing our best to stay close to home. So far, we've been lucky with cold and flu bugs - I hesitate to even type this lest I jinx us - but pinkeye seems to be this year's bug of choice. Norah had her fun on Christmas, with Dan and then me following in the new year. We're not sure where Dan picked his case up (he can't blame Norah since his was viral and hers bacterial), but I'm pretty sure I know where my (viral) pinkeye was from. In any case, we've given the washing machine quite a workout.

Dan and I have been taking advantage of the nice weather the past couple of weeks by trying to get our garden under control. We have big plans for how we would like the yard to look, but our progress is slow (though steady). As usual, Dan gets to do most of the heavy lifting, while I do the weeding and pruning. The girls were helping me outside one afternoon, and Norah was doing her best to keep Maddie entertained so I could finish just one more rose bush...

Maddie sure loves her big sissy! (And don't you like Norah's outfit? She likes to pick out her own clothes now! If we're just staying around the house, I don't press the issue.)

It's hard to believe, but Maddie is already six months old!

She's happy to be sitting on her own and is getting very good at picking things up, (putting them in her mouth), banging them on the floor, (putting them in her mouth), picking up something new, (putting it in her mouth), etc., etc., etc. We waited until the six month mark to introduce solid foods, so we just started her on rice cereal this past Saturday. She was a little wary of the taste/texture/delivery, and the whole process was very messy. We're pretty sure she didn't actually swallow any of the food. As soon as she gets the hang of it, we'll move on to veggies - yummy!