Saturday, January 31, 2009

Babies Run Wild

So the Mamas went to a baby shower today, and what that meant was Greta, Gavin and Ella getting to have some real fun with the Papas. Sorry about the quality of the photos... it's the best the iPhone can do.... It's probably best that you can see the real havoc that was going on!

Greta is thinking... as soon as he's distracted, I'm stealing that thing back!

Lunch Time! That might look like Milk, Strawberries and Broccoli, but it's really candy!
Just before this picture, Gavin said to Greta.... "we've got the 'more' part down... go find out how you spell Chocolate Cake"

Fun times!
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Pizza Time at Patrick and Emily's

So, as the snow storm continued on to it's second full day, we needed to get out of the house, and at about that time our neighbors Patrick and Emily (and 14 month old Tom) hit us up to see if we wanted to come over for dinner... we jumped at the chance. We cooked up some homemade pizza (Greta's first try at Pizza) and played a bunch. You can see from my iPhone photos (left our camera at Brad/Brigitte's) that they are pretty similar in age and development. Emily is also pregnant and due this summer... so they should be a good set of playmates for Greta and baby #2 for as long as we are all in the neighborhood.

Greta and Tom 'building' a tower... or just knocking them down...whatever.
Playing with their favorite toys... a drawer full of bottles and plastic containers.

Dinner time... on a perfect kid-sized table. Greta enjoyed her freedom and roamed the kitchen in between bites.
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Snow!


Greta says snow is just like sand at the beach. Except with a lot more clothes, a lot colder and when you fall face first it's a lot more wet! All in all it was fun though!

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Saturday, January 24, 2009

Cool idea Quinn


Hey Quinn.

I liked your learning tower so much I had to get my own. Now I can see what my parents are doing at meal time and not have to have them pick me up all the time. It's awesome.

Love, Greta

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

these girls....



can't get enough of each other. here they are at another playdate. i think i mentioned in a previous post that the girls can say each other's names. well, we have seen a lot of ella lately. so much so that when greta and i were out and about on tuesday, everywhere we went greta said ella's name when we were getting out of the car. as in, where else would we be going besides to see ella.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

sleepover

saturday night greta had her first friend sleepover. it was a co-ed sleepover, as gavin came to spend the night. no worries though, gavin and greta slept in separate rooms. we had a very fun evening....brent, janet and ella came to hang out and play as well. greta, gavin and ella played and ate while the adults hung out, chatted, and entertained the babies. the next morning, all parties involved slept in til almost 8am. here are some pics from the fun....
greta and gavin playing. first, greta and gavin set the table. later, greta showed gavin how to apply lipstick.
















here is joe, better known as the baby whisperer. while brent, janet and i hung out in the kitchen, joe managed to keep all three kids happy, content, and WELL-FED. what do i mean by that? well, food was being passed around (and eaten) like crazy. green beans were eaten by children who don't normally care for them. blueberries were devoured by all. the word and sign for "more" was seen and heard over and over again.

new "toys"
















so we're clearing out our third floor room to make a space for the new baby. our third floor had become a sort of dumping ground for all of our "stuff". snowboarding gear, sleeping bags, all of my montessori albums...the list goes on. on saturday we took the last trip of stuff to goodwill. greta was pretty amused to see all the stuff pile up in the family room as joe brought it down. this guitar case was on it's way to the basement, but greta found some use for it while it was still in the room. now that the third floor is as cleared out as it's going to get, we have someone coming to help us figure out how to configure the room to best utilize the space. we're thinking about half-walls to sort of separate the room into two sides and to also allow for a gate or door. we'll see. for right now, it's just exciting to see a new room taking shape.

Friday, January 16, 2009

museum center



greta and i headed to the children's museum to meet up with janet and ella, who were kind enough to invite us to tag along on their museum pass. the girls had tons of fun, playing in all the different areas. greta was EXHAUSTED and pretty much melted down (or the closest thing to melting down that she has ever done) as we were leaving. between the sand table, the water table, and the ball area, i don't know what greta's favorite part was. maybe this play house area where she could pretend mop to her heart's content. i know what my favorite part was. seeing sarah jessica parker (that's right) in the lobby of the museum!!! sjp was looking super fashionable and janet and i both agree that she was checking out our equally fashionable babies....

Thursday, January 15, 2009

coloring

here are two videos of greta coloring. we actually colored with crayons and markers this time, and she colored for about 20 minutes or so. i was impressed. she was also full of conversation. check her out saying mama, uh oh, and her version of "ella".

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

weigh in

for those of you following along on your growth charts, greta had her 15 month checkup yesterday. this visit was a bit less traumatic than the last few visits, and i am convinced it's because greta got to be stripped down to her diaper for most of the time. she loves to be naked...she just keeps patting her belly over and over as if to remind herself that she doesn't have any clothes on. she did cry each time she had to lay on the table, but she was able to compose herself this time. she even did some dancing on the crinkly paper on the table once the nurse left the room.

anyway, she now weighs 23 pounds, which means her weight has literally plateaued on the growth chart. this puts her in about the 50th percentile for weight. dr. bird said a plateau like this was extremely normal, and asked if she was, "always on the go". uh, you think?

she is 31 and a half inches tall, which puts her height around the 75th percentile.

her head circumference, you ask? well, dr. bird commented that, "the biggest part of her is still her head". her head circumference is in the 95th percentile, which means that only 5 percent of girls her age have a head larger than hers. joe blames it on her hair....that other babies this age have less hair and therefore a smaller head. doubtful.
all in all, our girl is happy and healthy and thriving.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Cincinnati children's champion


Thanks Maggie! It's a perfect fit, love Greta

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Escape artist gets more sophisticated


Greta has been taking her right arm out of her pjs for a while. This morning she took the next step and got her right arm out and pulled them down to her waist via the neck hole. We will see what's next. She at least waits until the morning to do this.

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Monday, January 12, 2009

to our 15 month old broccoli eater

i feel like these monthly letters are becoming just lists of words that you can say, attempt to say, or that you can understand. but seriously.....if you had told me a 15 month old could say, "broccoli" i would never have believed you. but yes, you can say it. we fed it to you once and you repeated the word, and then the next time we fed it to you, you came right out with it. that, and shouting, "beans!!" and pointing to mommy's plate at the mexican restaurant while on vacation. actually, most of your new words involved shouting for some reason. "cheese" comes out with the same demanding tone. as in, "give me that cheese now, woman". whether it's for a picture we're about to snap or a slice of your soycheese, you yell it with the same gusto. and berry (for strawberry). this word also came about in florida. we were sitting in the hotel lobby feeding you dinner, and you started pointing madly towards what we thought was the TV and shouting what sounded like "bah-zhee". turns out, you were saying berry and gesturing at the strawberries on the table. you can also say rice, shoe, eye, down, done, bath, pee, and a jumbled version of the words avocado. you now say "more" in addition to signing it, and you have also somehow learned "elmo". having never watched sesame street, you seem to have a fondness for the little guy. you have seen him at the library and on your diapers, and when you say his name it sounds like he is your one true love. and just recently you starting nodding your head "yes". i feel like there are more words that you say that i am forgetting. and when you are babbling, which is most of the time, i am SURE there are many many words mixed in to the babble that we just don't understand yet. on the drive back from key largo to our hotel in ft. lauderdale, you babbled for almost an hour and a half straight. the other day we looked in the back seat to see you 'talking' to your curious george doll. hilarious. i only wish i could understand more of what you are saying, because what you can and do say melts my heart.
you have gone from carrying one thing in each hand to carrying around as many things as possible at one time. the other day you piled 4 diapers, your toy phone, my phone, and a stuffed rabbit in your arms, tucking the items under your chin as you walked. hilarious. but you are VERY serious about it. you will carry the same things around over and over, moving them place to place as if there is some sort of map or design you are following.
you like so much to sing songs with us, and like to hear the ABCs, "eieio", and your new favorite song is 'pop fly' which you request by saying, "pop pop pop pop!" and pointing to the cd player.
you are down to one nap and (fingers crossed) it is starting to lengthen a bit. and you are also starting to sleep in a little more. every morning now when your papa comes in to get you, you have at least one arm out of your pajamas.
you currently are into reading books of nursery rhymes, especially jack and jill, little miss muffett, and pat-a-cake. you are playing with your babydoll more and also like to take things in and out of your pretend purse. and you are sort of obsessed with climbing onto things and standing on them, whether it is a chair or just an overturned book. you climb on top and do a little dance. speaking of dance, you continue to impress us with your moves. we are currently partial to your slow, swaying move that you do when listening to rock a bye baby.
it is amazing also how you are starting to link things together. like insisting that every utensil is a "SPOON!" and how every letter you see on a sign, cereal box, milk carton, or wherever causes you to shout either, "A!" or "E!"
you are such a fun little girl and you seem to love being around other people, especially other babies. you like to laugh and engage people, which is so endearing to them as well as to us. we love you so much.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

playdate



ella and janet came over to our house today for a playdate. it was good to get back to our regular routine of playdates, and it was great to see them both. it's so cute too, because the girls can now say each other's names!!

here they are, enjoying some pretend tea and fake food at greta's new table.

thanks for coming over!!

boo boo


and did we forget to mention this "boo boo" between greta's eyes that she got on our very last day in miami? fell into my suitcase as we were packing up to go. but really, between the allergic reaction, the jellyfish sting, falling into mommy's suitcase and the bloody lip at the cincinnati airport (don't ask), it REALLY was a fun and relaxing trip. really truly....

Monday, January 5, 2009

Miami Vacation

For you frequent blog visitors... be sure to go back to the last few days to see posts that were created for those days that already had 'mobile' posts created using my phone.  More pics/details... see you all in Cincinnati soon... not looking forward to the weather! 

Lazy Day ---- Almost - Miami Day 7

Today was our final day in South Florida before hopping on a plane and heading back to the cold weather of Cincinnati... It was set up to be a lazy day on the beach, quick nap at the hotel and then an afternoon at the beach again.  Only one problem with those plans... a mean ol' nasty jellyfish.  

After breakfast at the hotel we made our way to Ft. Lauderdale beach again.  Same routine...swim some, build some sand castles, swim some more, have snack and repeat.  Here are some picks of the nice castle we built, and the 'pool' in the castle that required about 45 buckets of water and a sore back for me to build:

We were actually just about ready to clean-up, and head out for lunch and nap... just one final clean-up in the ocean.  Greta was beginning to feel a little tired and grumpy, so when she was standing at the edge of the water with Melanie and begin to hold her arms up and cry to be picked up, we thought it was definitely time to head out.  

It became clear pretty quickly that something else was up as she kept arching her back, and wouldn't stop crying.  We noticed a couple small bumps on her foot and a little redness.  So we called 911 and headed to life guard booth.  They gave us some vinegar to put on it and an ice pack at the lifeguard stand and then the paramedics got there... they took a look, and did the same with vinegar, they told us to keep an eye on it, but that she'd be in pain for about an hour and as long as it didn't swell and she didn't seem to be getting a rash on her body (a sign of an allergic reaction) she'd be fine and we didn't need to go to the hospital.  

So they left and Greta fell asleep in Melanie's arms about 20 seconds later.  And let me tell you that's a real good sign that the crying wore her out.... she never falls asleep anywhere but in bed.  So Melanie held her and let here sleep at the beach, which was good so that we could keep an eye on her and her breathing.  She woke about an hour later and was like nothing had happened... she was laughing and playing immediately... 

So all is well, but moral of the story... when you go to the beach and they have a purple flag up on the lifeguard stand, we recommend staying out of the water... that was a fun fact we learned about this... I didn't even know there were flags, let alone what they meant!   

Here's a picture of Greta and her 'ouch' foot - this is of course post nap!  

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Seaquarium and South Beach - Miami Day 6

Our next to last day we spent at the Miami Aquarium (Seaquarium).  This place gets high marks in all the online guides, but I'd have to say it's a bit pricey for what you get.  They have a nice collection of sea mammals and shows, but the place is a bit run down.  We did get to see some cool dolphin and sea lion shows though.  Greta thought the dolphins were just a crack up.  She also thought the Parrots/Parakeets and their loud bird sounds were extremely entertaining.  


Next we headed off to South Beach..... I am not really a huge fan of Florida in general, but I will say that I think South Beach is pretty awesome.  Huge white sandy beach.  Great local restaurants. And some amazing Art Decco architecture.  The only thing that would make it better is a good public transit system that would remove 90% of the cars from the area and make it more pedestrian friendly.  As it is, traffic is crazy and parking is horrible.  We lucked out and found a spot right.  

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Miami MetroZoo - Miami Day 5

We made our way down to the Zoo.  This place is pretty amazing.  I think the Cincinnati Zoo is much better, but Miami does have some cool things going.  The area they have for the zoo is probably 20 times as large as Cincinnati, and the animals have a bit more space to roam around.  They also have tons of room for expansion, and the result is a park with a very long (several miles) path that roams... It made for a nice day of walking, though I can't imagine doing this in the summer in Miami, it'd be so hot.  

Greta's favorite was probably just the water splash area at their new exhibit - The Amazon... lots of 'jumping' water features that she thought were hilarious.  She also seemed to think the meercats were pretty amusing.  

Greta also learned a new stroller trick after she got bored with the long walk... see below for the sequence.  This went on for about 45 minutes :
After the Zoo, we made our way down to the Keys.  It was about a 90 minute drive and was perfect time for Greta to get her nap in.  We heading to a place called Harry Harris Beach Park.  It was great because there was an area blocked off by rocks, making a nice calm 'pool'.  


Here's a nice little self portrait.... can you guess what Greta is saying?


Here is Greta on her man-made island that we built together.  What you can't see in this picture is the little girl about 3 years old about 10 feet away that had just informed Greta that her similar man-made island was in fact, Barack Obama Island.  Pretty cool to get to spend the afternoon at Barack's new Presidential Retreat! 




Okay... time to get out of here... long drive back!

Friday, January 2, 2009

At the Beach with Chuck - Miami Day 4

We got up and had some breakfast at the hotel and then headed out for Ft. Lauderdale beach again.  Greta was having a tough time figuring out that Chuck's name was Chuck... she kept looking for the trucks on the road.  So we had to rename him to Charlie... by the end of the day she was getting pretty good at saying her version of Charlie, and could at least point him out.  

And, don't be afraid of the beard...it's still the same Chuck under all that hair!  


Orange bowl


Let's go bearcats

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Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Day - Miami Day 3

It's Orange Bowl time... Our friend Chuck came down and we went to the bearcats game and met up with some people... was a blast, even though the bearcats were not victorious.  

Melanie had a rough New Year's day... she claims it was food poisoning from NYE.  I'll leave it up to you to decide if that is true :)  She also broke her phone on NYE, so Greta and I went and got her a new phone and then hung out by the pool.... 

Then we went to TooJay's Deli for lunch.  There we found out that apparently some hot dogs have egg in it, as Greta ate about 5 bites, and started gettting a rash around her mouth.  No worries though... just stopped feeding her the hot dog, finished lunch and got benadryl and all was well.  

so no pictures from this day except for at the game...



Let's go bearcats


Today is the orange bowl. I can't wait! Greta wishes she were going but it's past her bedtime

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