Adventures

I have one addition to the last post - a video from Norah's Easter party at school that I was having trouble uploading earlier. They've been working on one letter each week for most of the school year, so that week, they were working on "V," and were singing a cute (and catchy) song to help them remember some "V" words. (Norah is on the far side of the third row, in the white shirt.)

We had a very fun and blessed Easter weekend, starting with a 90th birthday celebration for my Grandma Nell. We were honored to be able to mark this milestone with her, and enjoyed getting together with my extended family - including Laura who came in for a quick 48-hour (or less) visit. Norah got to spend some time with her cousins Liam and Owen - she was quick to ditch Dan and I in favor of hanging out with people who are way more fun! The party was great fun, and I am so thankful for the 32 years (so far) of fun memories with my grandma.

We spent Easter at the beach, where we enjoyed church, an Easter egg hunt, and more cousin time.

We attempted to take some Easter pictures of the girls, but as you can see, Maddie was more interested in pulling her sister's pigtails than looking at the camera.

Norah was very relieved that the Easter bunny was able to find her at the beach - she came away from the egg hunt with a basket full of candy, including some of Maddie's eggs, since "Maddie doesn't have any teeth, so she can't have any candy." Norah enjoyed having some egg-hunting buddies this year, and I know she'll be good at teaching Maddie how to look for eggs next year.

While Maddie may not have any teeth yet, she flew through a handful of other developmental milestones last week. By the weekend, she was reminding me of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, always hungry for more... adventures, that is!

On Monday, she started pulling herself up on everything in sight - tables, chairs, walls, windows, and any other vertical surface she could reach. She had been doing this with help for a couple of weeks, but all of a sudden, she got it on her own... and she wanted to practice it constantly.

On Tuesday, she started crawling on her hands and knees instead of scooting on her belly. Again, she had been close for several weeks, but last week, she really got it! And we thought she was fast before! Now we put her down for a few seconds, and she's across the room.

On Wednesday, she realized that her new pulling up skill could also be used in her crib. Actually, this discovery made her more mad than anything, since she marooned herself in the standing position in the middle of the night. This has not, however, prevented her from utilizing this skill over and over again since then. Mommy and Daddy are very tired of it, and all of us are tired in general, since we're averaging about three wake-ups/stand-ups a night. Hopefully she'll either a) get tired of pulling herself up as soon as she wakes up, or b) figure out how to get herself back down on her own. Either way, something must happen soon!

On Thursday, Maddie figured out that once she was in the standing position, she could do a bit of cruising... taking a few careful steps while holding on to the table/wall/couch, usually in order to get something just out of reach. This adds a new vertical element to her mobility, and means that not only is the floor Maddie's playground, but also many of the lower surfaces as well... and that it's time for my decorations to get put away for awhile.

On Friday, Maddie learned how to feed herself a Cheerio. (Actually, make that three to four Cheerios at a time, since that is what she can get in her fist, and then she just puts her whole fist into her mouth and licks them off her hand. She gags herself not infrequently.) It is at times like this that I want a dog, since we have Cheerios everywhere. While Dan and I are very excited for all that Maddie is discovering, we're getting more and more nervous for the possibility of trouble to come! She's so cute when she figures out something new - so proud of herself that she usually laughs out loud - but there is also something about the way she looks at us as she crawls to the trash can and empties it contents or races to grab one of Norah's toys when she thinks no one is looking that says, "I am going to challenge you later!"

Speaking of trouble to come, Dan is making good progress on our new edible garden - with the help of a jackhammer he just happened to be able to borrow from one of his co-workers. (I call his pickaxe a divining rod, since it's pretty good at finding the location of and cracking buried sprinkler lines - and a pickaxe is nothing compared to a jackhammer!) To Dan's credit, he didn't hit any sprinkler lines, gas pipes, or electrical conduit, but he did make me very nervous since all of those things were mere inches from the demolition site. Next step - leveling the ground and then paver installation (good news - that means another opportunity to use a big power tool). I just hope my plants produce enough food to do justice to all of Dan's work building raised beds and a new paver walkway!

More pictures (and video of Maddie crawling) to come!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Norah is on Easter break now, so she had her Easter party at school last week. They started with an Easter parade, followed by an egg hunt and a visit from the Easter bunny. She invited Dan and I (and Maddie) to come watch the festivities.

Norah was so proud to be able to show us what she's been doing at school. They've been working on learning their letters all year (A through V are now complete, so just a few more to go after break), but now they're also working on their writing skills. She's turning into such a big girl!

I also subjected the girls to our usual silly holiday picture (plus a few others from our pre-Easter activities)... I know that sometime soon they won't be so willing, so I'm going to get in as much cuteness as I can early!

Dying Easter Eggs

Relaxing in the Garden

Speaking of being less than willing - Maddie is no longer willing to stay put in her bouncer. When Norah was a baby, all she wanted to do was practice her walking while holding onto someone's hands. I guess Maddie decided early on that as the youngest, she wasn't going to get the undivided attention necessary to make that her primary mode of transportation. Thus, she has been much more interested in developing her crawling/climbing/diving skills. I'm not sure if I should be glad that she's adaptable, or scared of what's to come. Either way, the bouncer has now been put away.

Happy Easter to all!

Spring!

Happy (almost) spring! We wanted to take advantage of the beautiful springtime flowers blooming in our yard, so we headed outside for some cute (and silly) pictures of the girls.

Maddie has been practicing her new moves as she becomes quite a proficient (read quick) crawler. She's doing this yoga/headstand thing lately (see pics below), which she also uses to get herself from her belly back to the sitting position. Norah and I found her gleefully sitting up in her crib after her nap the other day... so proud of herself and so close to pulling herself up and right over the edge. (Her mattress is now lower.) We've resisted putting the baby gates back up, but I'm not sure we have much longer.

This past Saturday, March 16, would have been Phil's 60th birthday. We miss him so much, and though we wish he could have met Maddie and seen her and Norah grow up, we know he's watching over them every day. Happy birthday Phil, with all our love.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had a little St. Patrick's Day fun today... silly headwear and pictures, followed by corned beef for dinner!

All Aboard

We have been enjoying some beautiful weather here in Fresno. So, instead of spending our weekend doing the usual routine of gardening and other projects around the house, we decided to head out to enjoy the springtime. Every year, the county organizes a "Blossom Trail," which highlights the local agriculture and gives people a chance to enjoy the blossoms in the many orchards that surround Fresno. There are lots of events as part of this... last year, Dan and Norah ran in the Blossom Trail race, and this year, we decided to head out to Hillcrest Farms to ride the train. Norah has been really into trains lately - model trains, trains that we pass on the highway, etc. - so we knew she would get a kick out of it. The farm also had a great play space for kids, with miniature houses, a suspension bridge, and trails through the woods, so it turned into a fun morning for all of us.

Maddie also turned seven months old on Saturday. She's still busy practicing her scooting and working up the courage to crawl on her hands and knees alone. It's hard to believe how fast time goes!

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!