who's in the mirror?

i put greta in the exersaucer for a quick second so that i could check my email. the exersaucer sits in front of a full length mirror, and there is also a tiny mirror on one of the toys that is attached to the exersaucer. currently greta is alternating between squealing at herself in the large mirror to purring at herself in the tiny mirror. i am trying not to bust out laughing, because i don't want to interrupt her fun. i wish i had the camera up here to capture this....

nawroth's party

see how easy it is to get 6 babies (laura is holding tiny little gabe) in one picture. clearly greta is thrilled at the photo op. when i look at her crying in this picture it cracks me up, and i try to think of what she might have been thinking. i'm sure it involved a few choice words. at least she has her plastic beer bottle to play with. from left to right the babies are gabby, gavin, greta, ella, jack, and gabe. this picture was at brent and janet's fun summer get together they had a few weeks back. it was super fun and hilarious to see all these babies at once!

it's so hot mommy

here is greta at the ridiculously hot

newport arts and music festival. see how she is gazing into the distance...i think she was trying to envision herself somewhere much much cooler.

we're goin' to the zoo, zoo, zoo

we took a short but fun-filled trip to the zoo today and met up with janet and ella. the girls were busy being wowed by pacifiers, bottles of water, and their stroller straps while the mommies looked at the animals. actually, that's not entirely true. the babies did watch a few animals, including the elephants and the giraffes at the awesome new giraffe exhibit. greta also got to watch the zebras run around, which was pretty entertaining. i think the favorite thing for the babies might have been the waterfall at the gorilla exhibit or the waterfall at the polar bears. (it doesn't take much). check out greta's big girl pigtails.

9 month checkup

we took greta to see dr. bird for her 9 month checkup today. today greta made it known that she does not like to go the doctor at naptime, she really does not like sitting on the scale, she sort of hates laying down on the crinkly paper, she especially dislikes when dr. bird examines her, and she has particular disgust for receiving shots.
althought there were tears, we all survived. greta weighs 21 pounds (just above 75th percentile) and is 28.25 inches long (just under 75th percentile). greta's weigh only increased by 2 pounds since her 6 month checkup, and has been hovering around 21 pounds for the last couple months. we asked dr. bird about this and he asked if greta had started crawling yet. um, yeah. crawling, cruising, standing.... he said that when babies become more mobile, they generally don't gain much weight because they are expending so much energy. and judging by the way greta moves around, we are lucky she gained at all!
greta has not shown any symptoms of her dairy allergy in 5 months, so we asked dr. bird about introducing that food group. (main motivation being her birthday cake in a few months!!) he said we should wait til she turns a year and then we can discuss it. darn....looks like it might be a yummy vegan cake for greta. hopefully people will still come to the party!
so our girl is happy and healthy and well.....what more could we ask for.

hillbilly greta

remember when your mom used to tell you to sit back from the tv so you wouldn't hurt your eyes?? maybe someone should mention that to our little hillbilly baby. look at her...nothin' but a diaper to wear and dvd cases to play with.

mommy's little helper

greta loves watching the laundry spin around in the washing machine. a few times when she was tiny, she sat in the swing and watched the clothes go around while i took a shower (the laundry is in our bathroom).

whenever we walk into the bathroom and she hears either the washer or the dryer, she cranes her neck to see which one is going. this day, she was pointing and laughing at her clothes getting clean. now, if only she knew how to fold clothes or use an iron.....

pictures

since joe has the camera on his trip, i thought i would post a few "old" pics of greta. these are from her one month photos, which was a very traumatic experience for all involved. but look at her. oh, the days when she couldn't move at all!! it is funny to think about, though. we would just plop her places and she would stay there. our girl just had her 9 MONTH photos done this week.....and i can assuredly say that she did not stay put for those photos. :)

where's that papa??

things greta has learned to do in the week while joe is away....
-"dance" to music (hysterical)
-lean forward in the tub and place her face gently underwater

things greta has continued to work on while joe is away.....
-standing alone (without holding on)
-placing her nesting cups one inside the other
-recognizing when someone (mommy) is eating, and thinking this means she needs a bite too

things greta may or may not have done for the first time while joe is away.....
-say "bye bye". i swear, we were playing in her room and she looked right at me, waved her hand, and said "bye bye".
-sign "more" she has been clapping a TON while eating, and i am starting to wonder if she is possibly trying to do the sign for "more". (the sign for more looks like if you were to make a bird's beak with each hand and then bring them together). maybe? possibly?

things greta has definitely done while joe is away.....
-go swimming
-go for walks
-visit with stacy, scott, and gavin
-go to fountain square and cruise around downtown
-get her pictures taken
-have a spend-the-night at grandma and grandpa hansbauers
-hang out with grandma joan at our house
-go out to lunch....and breakfast
-MISS HER PAPA!!!!!

joe gets home on sunday morning from new orleans and we can't wait!

uncle john's going away picnic

as some of you know, my brother is in the ARMY and is getting ready to head off to iraq for a second tour of duty. we had a going away picnic for him, and it was just an incredible day. there were so many people from all sides of our family there. buckleys, tumblisons, nestheides....you name it, they were there. it was pretty amazing to see everyone together, enjoying each others' company and showing support for our brave soldier.

no matter how you feel about politics or the war or any of that stuff, this is my brother. my mom's son. jessica's husband. roman's daddy. so, for the next year while he is gone, please keep him (and his family) in your thoughts and prayers. now that i have a child, it just breaks my heart to think of john being away from his boys for a year. but he will be back. he is brave, and we are so proud.

and john let told us at the party that when he comes home, there will be another party just like this one. except there will be more beer!! greta will miss her uncle john, but she will definitely keep roman, shamus, and marissa company until he gets back.

to our 9 month old cruiser

so one super cool thing about papa's new apple tv is that the screensaver is all of our photos on rotation. so i can sit and literally watch your entire life, all 9 months of it, roll by. your papa and i will sometimes sit and just stare at the pictures as they pass, saying things like, "look how tiny she was!" or "who is that baby?" you have changed and grown into this little tiny person with a larger than lifer personality. and we love you so much, we just want to eat you up.

9 months and you have definitely shown us how much you like to move. you will let us hold you, but not for too long. if we try to hold you too long, you push against us with your arms and use your little legs as if you were trying to scale us like a rock climbing wall. you much prefer to get places on your own. you crawl everywhere now. you no longer stay in one room but have taken to taking "tours" of the house, crawling around in circles checking things out. you are not the world's fastest crawler. slow and steady is more your speed. but if your speed doesn't tell us when you are excited about what you are heading for, your squealing and panting does. we call you our little puppy lately because you love to pant. sometimes you even carry toys around in your mouth as you crawl! and the last week you started this purring noise, so now you sound like a kitten too.

not only are you crawling, but you are cruising. you pull yourself up on anything and hold on as you take steps. i swear you pull up and sit down at least 500 times a day. you have stood for a second or two on your own, and will hold our hands and "walk" for a few steps. you have started to show an interest in climbing as well. you have managed to climb up onto the first step of our stairs, and sometimes when you stand at the ottoman you lift your leg and pull with your arms like you want to crawl on top of it. i imagine soon we are going to find you up on some shelf somewhere.

eating is going good again. you definitely prefer foods that you can feed yourself. rice cakes are a big hit. pieces of fruit have good over well too, and so did that strawberry sorbet your papa fed you when mommy wasn't home. you also like those meat dinners in a jar that look so gross but you seem to enjoy them. you like eating, but you let us know when you are finished. and you really don't like having your face wiped when you are done. but you will open your mouth to "brush your teeth." speaking of teeth, your top two teeth are poking through.

you are clapping like crazy, and make a "yay" sound when you do so. actually it sounds more like a moaning "eeehhhh" but we get the point. it seems like you are doing some pointing too, and you are making so many sounds we are convinced that you are trying to say something.

you still love baths and now try to stand up when you are in there. you have figured out how to lean your head back when mommy washes your hair.

you will sit for books more and more, and you love that baby talk book we checked out at the library. you like the pat the bunny book, except you get mad at the page where you have to look at judy's book. but i think your favorite book is the bathtime book. you like when we get to the last page and the book squeaks, and then you like to turn the page so we can tickle that piggy's butt at the end of the story. we have to read that several times before getting out of the bath. and as far as toys go, you like anything that isn't really a toy at all. you like the dvds, the paper recycling, papa flip flops, the bongo drums...the list goes on and on. you do have a love for any sort of stuffed animal, and will crawl over to the pile of them and just lay in them sometimes.

you are understanding so much of what we say. like when we say and do the sign for eat, you open your mouth and get excited for what's coming. when we say, "arms up" when we are changing your clothes, you put your arms in the air and "help" us pull your shirt over your head. you have started looking towards the ceiling when i say that i am going to turn the lights on, and you will oblige when your papa sings his "heinie up" song when he changes your diaper.

you love people, especially other kids. and while you sometimes need a minute to warm up to people before they hold you, you are all about flirting with strangers wherever we might be. you flash a smile and a wave like you know the power it has over people.

you definitely know the power it has over your mommy and your papa. we love you so much that sometimes when those pictures roll by on the tv i just cry at our little tiny greta. it is so amazing to see how we have shaped you, but also to see all the things about you that have been "you" since the very start.

just a swingin'

today greta and i headed to sawyer point for a little afternoon fun. had i realized how stinkin' hot and muggy it was, we would have stayed in the a/c. but we walked over, had some lunch, and played on the swings. greta loves loves loves other kids, and the playground was full of them.

nice weather

the weather was nice out today. i put greta in her highchair to feed her some "lunch", but then i decided she might like eating outside for a change. so rather than take her out of the highchair, i just wheeled her through the house onto the front porch. she definitely thought the ride through the family room was amusing. and she always likes being outside, especially when she can enjoy her new favorite snack....the rice cake. again with the crossed ankles while eating.

crazy hair

wowsers...that is some SERIOUS bedhead.

i love going for walks in my pjs....

holiday weekend

greta wrapped up a fun holiday weekend with dinner outside at grandma joan and grandpa bill's. her weekend was packed with fun. walks to the bagel shop, a trip to papa's new office, a trip to the zoo, dinner at kj and sue's, swimming in grandma and grandpa hansbauers new pool, and lots of other fun things. notice her feet up on the table during dinner. someday we'll work on manners...she's just too stinkin' cute right now!!

Happy 4th of July!

greta wanted to wish everyone a happy fourth of july! thanks to sue for the festive 4th of july onsie! our baby is starting to "slim down" (i say that with a slight chuckle), and so she is actually able to fit into her "firsts" onsies that were made at my baby shower last september. you might remember that several "firsts" past by and greta didn't quite fit into the onsies made for her.
thanks also to megan and ryan for a fun fourth of july party!! be sure to check out the video below for greta's holiday greeting....

what's for dinner?!

here is a picture of greta smiling during mealtime.

lately, greta and table food have not really been best buds. and she is pretty good at making her feelings known. this means that when it is a food she doesn't like or when she is finished eating, she puts her hands in front of her face. or she turns her head away. or she grunts and growls. or she arches her back in her chair. or all of the above.

we've been trying to figure out why greta doesn't really want to eat that much anymore. could be that she doesn't really care for the texture of some of the food i have been making. (although i like to think this isn't the cause.) she's also been sick with a cold, and her two top, front teeth are coming in.

the other thing happening right now in the eating world is the greta MUCH prefers to feed herself. so, we've been trying to offer finger foods as much as possible, while sneaking a bite or two off of the spoon. i've also bought some jarred baby food and that seems to be going a bit better than my homemade version (darn). the past few nights have been better food wise. tonight, greta ate some sort of turkey/rice concoction (nasty) and some sweet corn casserole (nastier) from the spoon. she also fed herself some cheerios and bits of a plum. and the smile in the picture was the end result. hurray!

tongue tricks

i've mentioned before that joe and greta are hanging out three nights a week while i am at xavier. the class i am teaching is over in two weeks, but joe has said to me (several times, actually) that i need to find something to do on these nights once the class has ended. i think greta and papa like their time together. i'm sure it's fun. just check out the video to see the what joe has taught greta to do. (and no, she is not choking).

such a lady

greta loves to cross her ankles when she eats. whether she is sitting in her chair, nursing, or having a bottle, she often crosses her ankles. she has done this since she was teeny tiny.