cousins

here are some more pics of greta and shamus together. i stole these off of john's blog. in the first picture you can see greta playing the role of bully, and her giving shamus the what-for in the second photo. i think greta is taking advantage of the fact that although she is 4 months younger than shamus, they are almost the same size. but just wait til he starts walking....then he'll show her who's boss.

big girl day

today was quite the day for greta. she got her first haircut (see previous post), and now she looks like such a big girl. don't you just love her bangs!! she also sat in the front part of the grocery cart for the first time. we went to whole foods to get some fruits and veggies to make baby food (more on that later), and i decided to see how she would like sitting in the cart. we have one of those fabric covers for the cart, which in my mind makes it a little more sanitary and also seems somewhat safer. it was pretty scary for me, but she loved it. she was looking all around, swinging her legs and grabbing at all the produce. she was very chatty too. to add to her big girl day, she decided to do some major scooting around in her room before bedtime. she was lifting her butt into the air and scooting herself with her feet. my mind immediately jumped to visions of her crawling and all the 'babyproofing' we still have to do. such a big day!!

greta's first haircut

my mom and i took greta to get her first haircut today. joe was out of town, but before he left we agreed that she needed her hair cut so that it would be out of her eyes. (see previous post for the evidence). truthfully, we probably should have cut it a while ago, but joe really wants her to grow her hair long, plus it seemed so strange to take an infant for a haircut. anyway, today was the day. it went well. i cried a little bit. greta sat in the chair and watched baby einstein through it all. i think she was also trying to figure out why they would sit her in a chair shaped like a car and then trap her hands under the cape so that she couldn't play with the steering wheel.

check out the pictures and video of her transformation.

and now she has bangs. my little girl has a "hairstyle" and bangs. it was pretty momentous if you ask me. we even have the locks of hair to keep.

why i need a haircut

peekaboo

so yesterday i noticed greta holding her links

(those plastic rings that link together) over her eyes and peering at me from behind them. then she would move them and smile. i thought it was just random that she was doing that. then today she started holding her hands over her eyes like this. she did it a few times, and then the next time she did it i said, "where's greta?" while her hands were over her eyes. she moved her hands and i said, "there she is!" and she laughed hysterically. this went on and on, she probably did it about 15 times in a row. it was hilarious. joe and i have both been playing more peekaboo with her lately, which she doesn't seem to care about one way or the other. but clearly she has been paying attention....

playing at grandma and grandpa's

here are some pictures from greta's recent visit to grandma and grandpa hansbauer's. greta usually hangs out there about once a week while i take a few hours to work on stuff for xavier. i know greta has a great time and i think it's fun for the grandparents too. not to mention it's probably a good break for mommy. as you can see, greta was busy practicing piano. when i got there to pick her up she was eager to show me how she can bang on the keys. the other picture is greta doing what she does best, which is chewing on her toys. and as you can see, there were plenty of toys to choose from!

next on the menu...carrots

playyard fun

greta played in her playyard for a bit tonight, and briefly tried to escape. she also played for a while with this flower toy. with this toy, when you hit a flower it plays a note or some music. when greta was smaller, we would hold this for her and do it for her. then she started playing with it herself, but all she would do was pick it up to chew on it. tonight i noticed that she now hits the flowers to make them play music. smart girl!

water baby

today i took greta for her first swim "lesson". she LOVES bath time so i figured she would feel the same about being in the pool. when we walked into the pool area, she started going, "ooh. ooh. ooh". i don't know if this was because she was excited or because it was so warm in there. she was all decked out in her swimsuit, showing off all those chubby rolls. i think she had fun. she seemed sort of indifferent about it. but she did lots of splashing like she does in the tub, and seemed to enjoy making friends with the other swimmers and watching the waterslide area (lots of spraying water). she did some kicking, some floating, and one underwater swim with mommy's help. she also practiced "jumping" in from the edge. i think joe is going to go with us next week so we'll have more pictures. i think having her in the water at this age is great, and hopefully between the swimming lessons and our upcoming time at the pool this summer, she will learn to love the water.

happy anniversary grandma and grandpa!

this past wednesday marked the 25th wedding anniversary for my mom and my stepdad, bill. to celebrate the occasion, all the kids and grandkids decided to get a picture taken of all of us for our parents. there were 18 of us total, and it was quite the production. then we went back to my mom's for a party. the picture turned out great and i think my mom and bill were pretty excited about it. here's a picture of greta with her cousin shamus and a pic of my parents opening their gift. happy anniversary!

kids day at the ballpark

saturday was greta's second outing to great american ballpark to see the reds play. the weather forecast looked gloomy, but we ended up having perfect weather! and all the kids made it to the end of the game, even though it went into extra innings! here are some pics from the day. be sure to check out greta with her cool shades, greta and jack, greta and gavin, and a group photo with most of us (the gillards, the arthurs, the hansbauers, and the metzs. the nawroths and the mercurios had already headed home). go redlegs!!

6 month checkup

speaking of greta's 6 month checkup, she weighed in at 19 pounds and is 26.5 inches long. that puts her in the 90-95th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. and for those of you following along, that means our girl is no longer literally off the charts. she is healthy and happy and growing bigger and stronger everyday. the checkup went well. greta got three shots, and she actually didn't cry at all for the first one. she made up for it with the next two. now we don't go back to see dr. bird until greta is 9 months old, which seems hard to believe. although i'm sure i'll be calling the nurses before then with some sort of first time mom worry. and now that we are starting foods, a whole new adventure begins.

eating is serious business

today greta ventured into the world of "solid" food. dr. bird, greta's pediatrician, gave us the go-ahead for foods at her 6 month check up. so this morning greta gave rice cereal a try. she was very serious about it, keeping her game face on so as not to show if she liked it or didn't like it. but she slurped it up, eating every last bit that i had mixed up. overall, i think it was much more exciting for joe and me than for greta.

zoo blooms

today greta and i met up with stacy and gavin, janet and ella, and brigitte and gabby at the zoo to enjoy the sunshine, the gorgeous flowers, and to look at some animals. apparently, every other mom and baby in the tristate area had the same idea. once we all made it through the traffic (yes, traffic to get into the zoo), we had a fantastic time walking around and checking everything out. well, the moms did. the babies really had no clue, except ella might have been looking at the sea lion. we're not totally sure.

here are pictures of the babies in front of some of the flowers. we wisely decided to take this picture right around the time when the three older babies were getting tired. it was like dominos...first one baby was crying and then they all were crying. except gabby. as you can see, she sat peacefully in her carseat.

what a fun day for greta's first trip to the zoo!!

observation

greta and i spent some time in her room today, in between two stroller rides (thanks janet for lending us the jogging stroller!). greta played while i did some re-arranging. in the picture there are three toys which i laid in front of greta for her to play with. she plays a little more vigorously now, so all three ended up out of her reach. i took this picture, and then i sat and watched her. she pulled on the blanket, by accident or on purpose i am not sure. pulling the blanket towards her caused the toy that was on the blanket to come closer to her as well. and sure enough, the toy was reached. it was pretty cool to watch...

old toys are new again

remember this toy? that set of plastic keys on a plastic key ring? i do. i feel like this toy has been in existence forever. i have offered this toy to greta several times since she was born. each time she disregarded it. until today. i offered it to her, thinking it would be perfect to chew on. which it was. and then she started banging it on the floor and i think she liked the sound that the plastic keys made when they clanged together. so today, this toy was the favorite. it now has a place on the shelf. and leave it to greta to think of banging it, which never even occurred to me.

happy half birthday!

to our halfsies girl....you are 6 months old today. this morning at 9am i looked at your papa and remembered that at this time of day exactly 6 months ago, i was at my doctor's appt. completely oblivious that you were arriving that very day. and today at 3:33pm i thought about that same time 6 months earlier and i thought about the very minute you were born.
1/2 a year ago today and oh how our lives have changed. how you have changed. how you have changed our lives. you are such a big girl now. your two bottom teeth are peeking through and i can feel a tiny bit of one. you have mastered rolling over every which way, and you are the sitting up champion. maybe its your chunky little thighs that you use for support, but as soon as you started sitting up you had it mastered! you love to sit up and see the world, craning your neck to look all around. you have started to bang on things and enjoy rolling around on our new rug we got so you could do just that.
you are talking more and more (i say that every month). lots of dadada and raspberry blowing. you still like a lot of the same noises, like when your papa whistles or pretends to whisper something in your ear. you like when mommy sings baa baa black sheep and pat a cake. you cackle when mommy smells your toes and says "phew stinky!" you think that is just the most hilarious thing.
you are still rocking the nighttime sleep (except for tonight at our girls night party at janets where you stayed up late with the big girls) and have also started napping for long stretches. sometimes you still cry when we put you down for naps but at night you just talk to yourself and then fall asleep. you are ALL OVER the crib and often get your arms and legs stuck in the bars. mommy and papa watch you and we noticed that you like to play on the bars with your hands and feet, and sometimes you just go a little too far and next thing we know you are stuck. sometimes when you wake up in the morning you quietly play with the crib bars for a bit.
toys that you love right now include your taggie and your ring stacker. mommy will put the ring on part of the way and then you slap it the rest of the way with your hand. when it plays music you sit back and smile and listen to the music. we have also started playing with blocks, and you will sit and watch mommy make a tower and then you knock it down. you love love LOVE that papa of yours and you will look around the room for him. when he comes downstairs in the morning to leave for work you have to stop what you are doing and watch his every move. saturday morning bagel shop trips continue.
you seem to like being outside, and enjoy your stroller rides. you have also taken to looking outside through our big front window. i think you are watching our flag fly around.
since you sit up so well you now sit up for your baths, which make them more fun for you and much more wet for mommy. you splash and splash. diaper changes are also a bit more challenging, as you like to roll around on the changing table and try to reach for anything and everything.
greta, thank you for the past 6 months. you have opened my heart to so many amazing things. each time i try to write here how much i love you i can't find words. you are my world. your shiny eyes and your rosy cheeks and your tiny hands and all that crazy dark hair. you are such a miracle.

thanks robert!

greta arrived home from the playdate to find a package waiting for her from her future boyfriend, robert. robert is the son of my college roommate julianne and her husband jason. robert and greta ended up being born just 6 days apart!! and as much fun as it was being pregnant together, i feel so lucky to have our children be so close in age. julianne is a fantastic friend and sometimes its such a relief to talk to her on the phone and share the ups and downs of parenting.
anyway, little robert was thoughtful enough to remember greta's 1/2 birthday, which is tomorrow. turns out he is just as thoughtful as his mom, who was always good about remembering my 1/2 birthday as well as my real birthday in college, even if i did ruin a surprise or two. robert sent greta this toy as a 1/2 bday gift. it's perfect, as you can see in the pictures. the first picture is her enjoying the toy, which she did for most of the evening. the second picture looks like i made her pose, doesn't it?!

playdates are awesome

another day, another playdate. pictured are gavin and greta, who just after i took this picture were looking at each other and smiling. greta enjoyed shooting hoops and hangin' on the rim of gavin's basketball toy. ella and gabby were also there, and they brought along their moms. it was a fun day. the adults had brunch and hung out and talked about the usual things, and each baby took a turn eating, sleeping, and getting a diaper change. we're hoping that our next playdate can be at the zoo to enjoy some great spring weather and zoo blooms!

getting old

greta will be 6 months old on saturday. sometimes i find it hard to believe that she isn't still a brand new baby. then i look at her with her little ponytail and then....ready for this....i see the TEETH starting to poke through her bottom gum and i realize she is growing up. yes, TEETH. i noticed yesterday that you can see her two bottom front teeth. they haven't broken all the way through yet, but you can see them. holy smokes. the girl hasn't even had any real food yet and she's already getting teeth.

tv junkie

greta thought no one was looking and decided it was the perfect time to see what was on the boob tube. if only she had the fine motor control....she succeeded in muting the tv and turning it off. caught ya!!