banana-rama

greta thought she'd give otto's banana costume a try.

we heart sophie the giraffe

check out this video of otto and his new teether..."sophie the giraffe". i had read rave reviews about this toy, but didn't really think that a teething toy could be that awesome. i mean, really? otto will gnaw on the carseat strap or his own toes and be completely satisfied. but this toy....it's fantastic. otto loves it, and greta loves it too. it's expensive, but i am truly considering getting another one so that they can stop having to take turns, otto teething it, and then me wiping it down so that greta can pretend play with it. got it at park and vine, for you local folks.

puzzles

i wanted to take a picture of how greta lined up all the puzzle pieces, mama and baby animals together, but i think greta thought i wanted to take HER picture. cheese!!

do you like....

my candy corn sweatpants?

i love my papa

did you know that i can sit?

greta meets max!

lately greta has been obsessed with reading the 'max and ruby' books by rosemary wells. just ask grandpa and grandma hansbauer....
so when we saw that the books by the bank book fair at the convention center was having a storytime with a chance to meet max, we had to take greta. and again, she held her own. she walked right up to that big old bunny and gave him a hug. and then as other kids had their turns, she would go up and get in on their hugs with max as well. that's her in the striped pants in the picture, arms out wide....

sucking my thumb

gymnastics

greta just started taking gymnastics classes every friday morning. it's pretty awesome, for everyone! it's pretty entertaining to watch the one teacher corral all 4 students in the class, trying to lead them from one apparatus to the next. and greta loves it! she always amazes me in new situations....for some reason i think she's going to be shy and hang back, but it's almost always just the opposite. the first day, we couldn't get her leotard on fast enough. she headed right out to the 'big gym' floor. it's pretty cool....they get to walk the balance beam, swing on the rings, and jump on trampolines. she actually does pretty well and follows directions well too.

magazine

i think otto must have seen something he liked on page 37....

sitting together

Pro Biker - Greta on her Strider

So the first day on the Strider was a little slow... it took us almost an hour to get around the block... it was a combination of being unsure on the bike, and lots of chatting... for a refresher see this video...

Now though she's learned that biking is serious business and has started to pick up the pace a little... check it out... this is her third time on the bike... I mean, she's no Lance Armstrong, but she's at least getting to the point where the helmet might come in handy...

Greta's Second Birthday

Greta had an awesome birthday party with all her family. She had been talking about her 'party' for like three weeks before this, but I don't think she really knew what was coming. She thought it was pretty funny that she got all these presents. I'm sure birthday #3 will be a whole new experience as she'll be much more in tune with what's coming her way....

birthday posts coming soon....

our girl is two years old! pictures and posts coming soon....

warm and toasty

trial run

greta is pretty excited about halloween, despite her facial expression in this photo. she has been wearing her monkey costume around the house, and she knows to say trick or treat and "thank you for the candy". we haven't tried on otto's banana costume yet, but i know it's gonna be hilarious. HILARIOUS.

greta riding her bike

here's some cute video of greta riding her strider. she is such a talker...she wants to discuss anything and everything, all the time, even when riding bikes.

otto says mama

check him out....i knew he was a mama's boy. greta said "dada" first, so now we're even!

and then you were two

to our greta girl,
we were walking today, just you and me. we were walking and talking, and without thinking i put my hand out for you. just put my hand down, placing it out there silently. and you took it, casually and easily. and then we held hands for a while, and i felt as if my heart would bust out of my chest from loving you so much. you...the sweet girl who held her mama's hand just because.
usually i write these letters full of all the things you are doing and saying and learning. but as you turn two i am amazed not only by those things but by how kind and gentle, how friendly and sweet, how funny and gracious you are. how you wake up so happy, jumping up and down in your bed, talking to yourself and yelling "papa" over and over again. and how you stay happy all through the day, talking and singing yourself to sleep happily as the day ends. you are not a shy quiet kid and you're not a loud, crazy kid either. you are this perfect mix....a child right in the middle who loves going new places and meeting new people. who loves playing with any toy and talking about anything and everything. who cries when other people cry and wants to know why they are sad, the empathy oozing out of you.
you are such a big girl now. you have started calling me "mom" instead of "mama", which sounds so grown up all of the sudden, and everytime you say it my mind fastforwards to a teenage version of you and i just want to freeze time. i want to have time stop but i want to be able to enjoy each day with you, all at once.
thank you for being so peaceful, so content. the world through your big bright eyes must be pretty amazing. it's pretty amazing to get to look into those big eyes everyday. thank you for these past two years....i had always dreamt of being a parent but i had NO IDEA what it would be like to be someone's mommy. YOUR mommy. there is nothing in this world that could be better...

Greta's Strider

Greta got a new bike for her 2nd birthday. It's called a strider and has no pedals. She is already a pro. We are going to get as much biking in as we can before it gets too cold.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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otto 5 months

from otto's 5 month pics. the photographer had otto belly laughing...it was hilarious!

to otto, our 5 month old SLEEPER!

i feel like you are growing and changing all the time, but one thing that remains is that you are such a happy, happy boy. of course you let us know when you are hungry or tired, but mostly you just watch and laugh and babble and smile. you started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago, just all the sudden. i was dreading having to take away that middle of the night feeding, and then one night you slept through it and that was that. you go to sleep around 7:45 or so, and sleep til about 7:45 or so the next morning. you continue to love to suck your thumb, and you continue to move all over your crib. sometimes you get your arms and legs stuck in the bars....and sometimes when you are falling asleep you scratch the sheet with your fingers as you suck your thumb. so sweet.
you are starting to sit up for a few seconds at a time. and you are DYING to eat some food. only one more month or so, if you can wait that long. when we are eating, you grunt and strain to reach our food. and a few times you've managed to grab onto greta's spoon and we can barely get it out of your tight little grasp. when you see us eating your eyes get wide and you lean forward with your mouth open. i hope you like rice cereal!
you like to look at books with mama and you laugh and coo when we sing you songs. you seem to like the songs old macdonald and down by the station best. your papa discovered that your back is very very ticklish, and you also laugh when we tickle you in your armpits. you are so hard to hold anymore...you move and lean and are so curious about anything around you. nursing is getting tricky too....you don't take long to eat at all, but you want to look around and see what greta is doing, what you can see you the window, etc.
i hope you continue to love life like you do....it is so fun to watch you enjoy everything around you, with your silly hair that's longer on one side...those big blue eyes and those buckley ears and that sweet toothless smile. as greta says, we love our 'otto boy'....

friends

to finish off our busy weekend, we enjoyed a playdate at our house on monday. it was fun to see julianne and robert one last time before they headed back to rhode island! pictured are greta, ella, and robert in greta's learning tower. quinn probably decided it was safer on the ground....who knows how many toddlers that thing can hold! thanks janet and ella, erin and quinn, and julianne and robert for a fun time!

burger farm

after the busy day on saturday, sunday morning we decided at the last minute to meet up with the gillards at burger farm to pick pumpkins. it was another gorgeous fall day and greta (and otto) had so much fun. greta and gavin enjoyed seeing some farm animals, riding a pony, and playing some carnival games. we also took a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch. thanks stacy, scott, and gavin for inviting us along!

falloween

after the morning fun at sawyer point and only a 20 minute nap for greta, we headed to coney island for their 'falloween' extravaganza. it was tons of fun. we met up with grandma and grandpa hansbauer, and the ford cousins. there were tons of fun activities....greta painted her own pumpkin, rode rides, trick or treated, made an apple pie, and, most importantly, played in a giant patch of gravel. greta's favorite part of the evening was probably either the gravel or riding the tilt a whirl with papa and jacob. she LOVED it, and was laughing hysterically the whole time while mama waited nervously. otto had a great time too. his favorite part of the event was playing with the zipper on his bundle me. what a fun fall evening!

park and play

my college roommate, julianne, and her husband jason and son robert were in town for a few days recently. on saturday morning, we got some friends together and hung out at sawyer point. it was nice to see everyone (and everyone's children) and was a beautiful fall day for the kids to play outside. it was also the beginning of a very busy weekend for our family!