Tooth and Peas

It was a big weekend for Mariella. I'll get some pictures up from her baby dedication as soon as I can.

Monday (10/26/09) she tried peas for the first time. We are really on a roll with vegetables, as she has liked every one so far. Peas were no different, though I'm starting to wonder if her enjoyment of all these foods has anything to do with the fact that they all involve her getting to chew on the spoon. That seems to be her favorite part of eating.

Yesterday (10/27/09) tooth #5 poked through. It's another top tooth. She also has many more designs on her crib. What is with these kids and their crib chewing?

Apple Orchard

Last Monday, we made our annual trip to the apple orchard with our playgroup. It was the one nice day last week, which was perfect. We didn't have to contend with mud this year!

Jacob waiting for the hay ride. We took a ride to the apple picking area. He thought it was great to "ride on a tractor!" Even though it was nice out, he insisted on wearing his hat. He eventually took it off because he was hot.

Gently picking apples and placing them in his bag. I think this was where a whole branch came off the tree when he pulled. Oops!

Let's try another one, twisting the apple properly

Mariella wanted to try one. Luckily, she didn't get a bite, but she did break the skin and tasted the juice.

Jacob and his friend Brody waiting for the tractor to take us back

You can't leave without playing on the giant pile of hay! He had the wrong jacket for this--the fuzzy part (dark blue) was covered in it when he was finished.

Mariella gets in on the action, of course needing to taste it first





Then we checked out the pumpkins. Look at this silly girl! Poor thing had the wind in her face for this picture, but it's a good jack-o-lantern grin!

This was the best I could do to get both kids with the pumpkins. Jacob didn't want to sit still.

These last 2 pictures were taken by another mom. She has a wonderful camera and has a great eye for photography. We are always excited when she brings her camera to an activity, because we know we'll get a couple of lovely pictures from her.



Jacob and Scarlett

More Milestones

Mariella can clap (10/17/09). She loves when we clap back to her. Jacob loves when he does something, and gets her to clap for him.

Also on 10/17/09, we discovered a couple of bite scratches on Mariella's beautiful new crib. She either wanted to see what it tasted like, or she is as much of an artist as her brother was. It may also be related to the fact that 4 more teeth appear to be on their way. She just isn't getting any breaks with this teething business.

As I mentioned before, she's been pulling herself up. This is an almost constant activity now. She has even let go with one hand a few times! Some bumps and bruises are part of the deal, and she has cashed in a few times. I hope her cute little nose isn't reshaped from her newest adventures.

You are too young to be doing this!

Trying to figure out what to do with her feet so she can move

Holding on with one hand, and look how proud she is!

She loves to chew on the elephant's umbrella, just like her brother did.

Trying to get in the ball pit

She let out a big screech, which gave me a good shot of her teeth.

Jacob wanted to play with his sister in the ball pit. Look at her laughing at him! Everything Jacob does is funny, if you ask her.

Find the baby

Just catching up again

Here are a few pictures from the last few days. Jacob got a firefighter's hat at a visit to the Faribault fire station last weekend. He decided to share it with Mariella. And yes, these are from 2 different days, and I didn't remember that until I put the pictures up here and noticed her shirts weren't the same. Weird.

New food last night - carrots. She loved them. She loved them so much that this was the first time she got food all over her face. Daddy couldn't get that spoon to her mouth fast enough. We finally have a winner in the baby food experiments!

Messy face!

This was what happened to Jacob one day last week when he skipped his nap. We were watching his favorite movie together and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him start to nod off. I didn't think he really would, because he has NEVER fallen asleep outside of 3 places:

1. someone's arms

2. the car seat

3. his own bed

He ended up sleeping for about a half hour. He woke up when Daddy got home from work.

She Never Stops

Let's begin with a giant SIGH. I know this girl is motivated and is showing signs of being just as mobile (and fearless) as her big brother. But the day after she started fancy-pants crawling, she did this:

I was afraid she was going to fall on her head, but the beauty of pants is that as soon as she got both knees on the slide, she slid right down. She thought it was hilarious.

Also, please note that she was a good little Daddy's girl and was decked out in her Vikings gear for the big Monday night game. It really is cute to see her wearing things that used to be Jacob's.

I Can Do it Myself

We've heard this a lot from Jacob. And it's true, he can do a lot of things by himself.

But this is about Mariella. This girl has one serious independent streak. She's not quite ready to move out of the house, but she does like to feed herself. She was stealing the spoon from me yesterday (not a new occurrence) and I tried making sure there was food on it before she grabbed it. She gobbled up her oatmeal, and then I gave her some green beans--a new food. I'm not sure she even noticed that it was new. She just wanted the spoon. I don't think I actually fed her. Her hands were the ones putting the spoon in her mouth with every bite. She did it again when Tom fed her.

Finishing up the oatmeal

Yummy spoon!

First taste of green beans

The spoon rarely leaves her mouth, so I can't get her real reactions

7 Months Old

Such a precious baby girl. She continues to amaze us with what she can do, as well as with her determination to be a complete stinker. In the past month, she has gone from "maybe crawling" to "definitely moving well on her belly" to "officially hands-and-knees crawling (10/4/09)."

She is able to lock in on her target, usually something of Jacob's or a piece of paper/fuzz/other object that shouldn't be on the floor, and can get there faster than the adult in charge. I had forgotten what good babyproofers babies are! She leads us to everything.

Her current favorite sounds are "ma," "ba," "da," "ga," "la," and "pa." I think that's all of them. She says "ma ma ma ma" when she wants or sees Mommy, and "da da da" for Daddy. It seems really early, but she's consistent so we're pretty sure she's catching on to the sounds for the words. It will surely be awhile before she says her first real word, but for now I'm loving the "ma ma" since I had to wait a very long 15 months to hear that sound from Jacob!

Here are her 7 month pictures. I'll update more the next chance I get. I have a lot to share about both kids, and no time to get it written down!

Look how well I sit now!

My puppy matches my outfit.

Big jumbled baby book post

Mariella - making progress on solids. Has tried 2 cereals, 3 veggies, and 4 fruits.

Likes to slap when happy, scratches everything to get a feel for it

Loves to smile and laugh, opens mouth very wide when excited

Big top teeth coming in, changing her look

Silly: plays peek by putting things over her face and pulling it away, sways side to side when you hold her, very ticklish tummy

10/5: tried to climb up the slide but slid down on tummy once knees got on it. cracked yourself up. Also discovered the stairs.

Trying to pull yourself up on taller things, but can't yet. Short things work.

loves to splash in the tub

likes to help feed herself and is helpful getting dressed now--but rolls like crazy during diaper changes

making lots of new sounds, like to blow raspberries while crawling and sound like a horse



Jacob - getting really into books again, has memorized some favorites and recognizes titles by cover

recalls plots of stories

plays with his cars and acts out the movie

plays along with learning shows - will answer questions

asking lots of questions WHY

starting to try to figure out who is a boy and girl

forming real memories, tells us about things that happened today or longer ago

learned that snow is wet and cold