Post-Christmas Relaxing

The week after Christmas has been a blur.  Fiona hasn’t been feeling fabulous—I’d say she shoved one too many shared toys with all their germs in her mouth during Christmas (see photo).  Her nose is all stuffy, but she is still pretty happy.  At bath time last night, she was laughing hysterically for no reason.  The normal back scrubbing set her into giggles.  She has also been eating up a storm.  Tim pureed a whole bunch of new food for her including a chicken, leeks, carrots, and peas, which she has been scarfing down.  Plus, over the holidays, she has had a lot of “real” people food including: raw red and yellow peppers, standing rib roast with mashed potatoes and broccoli, rosemary chicken with lemon and mushrooms, and beef stir fry with peppers and mushrooms.  What a culinary week!

 

After the Christmas visit with the cousins, I think Fi realized that she really wants to be more mobile.  In the last few days, she has been pushing herself up on her knees in front of her toys and toy basket, which has ended up with a few bumped heads.  She has also enjoyed walking holding our hands and behind her walker.  I have enjoyed watching the process of learning to walk.  She seems to look down and check her feet before picking them up to move them.  I love how pleased she looks in the picture on the right.  She looks too little to be standing up!

Merry Christmas, Part 2

 

If you are reading the blog, you probably got one of these in the mail but if not, here are the photos from our Christmas card photo shoot.  I love the one of her looking up.  Fiona looks so angelic.  The dress she is wearing for the photos was a little big on her but very adorable still.  She really is quite the ham in front of the camera right now.  She will look at it and smile big like she is in the upper left photo.  She definitely did not get that from me or Tim, but it makes for a lot of fun a terrific photos.

Merry Christmas!

Fiona celebrated 3 days of Christmas for her first Christmas.  We started with just me and Tim on Monday night.  I got her a couple things from the Baltimore Museum of Art gift shop, and Tim got her a Calder-inspired mobile that he painted with the colors from her room.  We are really throwing the artsy vibe at her.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Reading to be with the Grenko's.  The cousins had a formal photo before church and a pajama photo after presents and before "the crash." 

The youngest were pretty tuckered out post-presents so the pajama photo degenerated to Bridget running out of the room.  If Fi could run, she may have been right there with Bridget as she was trying to buck herself out of Grace's arms by the end.  I love Fi's pajamas though!! 

We left late Christmas Eve to spend Christmas morning with my parents and Uncle Jimmy in Maryland.  Fiona was a practiced present opener at this point.  She was also so tired she crashed for a nice snooze with Grandpa before we stopped to visit Mom-mom on our way back north.

I leave you with a photo of Fi in my rocking chair.  I have a picture of myself in this chair on my first Christmas.  If she could talk, I am sure she'd be wishing everyone health and prosperity in 2014--that's just the kind of gal she is.

8 months old!

Fiona is 8 months old today!  She has gained a tooth, and it seems like we can expect a second one soon.  She has been growing so well.  Fi is still a skinny thing--

her 6 month cords from Carter's are huuuge in the waist.  She will likely have no butt given her genes so I foresee belts (or suspenders?) in her future.  But, Fi is a happy baby, and I love hearing her babble more and more.

Christmas in NYC

I had to go into to NYC this Friday to clear out our office space, and Tim and Fiona came along with me.  While I worked, Fiona played at the Union Square playground.  She took a ride on the swings and on some sort of spinning disk that looked pretty cool.  She also strolled through the Holiday Market.

We had planned to visit MoMA, but the packing got away from me, so we settled for a stroll up 6th Avenue.  We passed the Macy's window from a safe distance (across the street to avoid the crowds) then continued up to Rockefeller Center.  Every year, Tim and I weigh the pros and cons of visiting the tree--fun trip versus annoying tourist trap.  This year was no different.  We found a pretty good spot though to get her out of the stroller, eat some puffs, and take some photos!

Snow and Holiday Fun

It was a fantastic holiday weekend.  The Poconos were expected to get 5-9 inches of snow starting Saturday morning, and by Sunday morning, we got every bit of that.  The snow started slowly Saturday so we went for a walk and to Starbucks per usual plus ran a few errands that were walkable.  We stayed in the rest of the day, wrapping presents and getting together Christmas cards.  

Even though the snow came down heavy, we were able to shovel out fairly early on Sunday.  This was the most snow Fi had seen so we took her out in it in her Patagonia.  We thought we'd get a few cute pictures of her sunk into the snow.  We hadn't factored in the sleet that made a crisp layer on top of the snow along with her dainty figure--she didn't sink at all but sat right on top of the snow.  She seemed pretty impressed by the snow and even more impressed with the man using the snowblower down the road.  

After shoveling out, we headed to the mall for photos with Santa, hoping that the snow would keep early crowds away.  It worked out perfectly.  The line was short, and Fi was a happy baby.  I know some baby's are particularly weary of men with facial but I think Fi is fond of them (Tim's scruff, my Dad's beard, and Tim's Dad's mustache).  She had no problem sitting with Santa although she looked a bit confused at first.  We coaxed a smile out of her with some peek-a-boo.  

Fi rounded out the weekend watching Elf with us and catching a little bit of White Christmas before bed.  Bing and the gang's "Snow" was her bedtime lullaby.  A perfect ending to the weekend.

Tooth and a Tree

It was an eventful weekend.  Fi's first tooth finally popped through on Saturday!  I feel like she has been teething forever, so it was nice to see one of those sparkling whites finally made an appearance.  Now that it has come through, she seems to be enjoying it.  I can see her running her tongue back and forth over it and sucking on her pacifier in unusual ways.  I'd say that the tooth will help her eating, but she has been doing fine without teeth.  This weekend, she gummed a pickle down surprisingly far.  I love letting her try whatever she wants (I don't want her to be a picky eater like I was through college).  My only concern is that she has a knack for sucking pieces of food that are a bit too big for her.  She's also gotten really good at feeding herself the little Gerber puffs.  The first time we gave them to her, it was just fun for his to watch her try to get the puffs in her mouth (and as they get wet and stick to her hand).  Now, she gets them to her mouth amazingly quickly. 

  

Because the weather was looking questionable for Saturday morning, we decided to pick out a tree at the fire company Friday night.  It was cold and rainy, and Fi wasn't that into picking out the tree, but we got it done.  We brought the tree into the house Saturday, and I expected Fi to be sort of amused having a tree in the house, but that didn't strike her fancy either.  It wasn't until Sunday morning, when she woke up to see the tree fully decorated with lights and ornaments, that she seemed interested.  She really liked touching the snowflake ornaments that Nana made a long time ago.

 

We squeezed in some holiday photos too.  Fi was very accommodating.  I gave her the Christmas rattle ornament from the Cornelison's, and she played contently.  I decided not to share the photos we are using for the Christmas card (there are some cute ones!), but here she is with Tim under the tree.  

Thanksgiving festivities

Thanksgiving came and went in a flash.  We kicked off celebrations in Maryland with the Bulle Rock Turkey Trot Thursday morning.  It is the fourth year Tim and I have run it, but it was Fi's first time.  It was a crisp morning so we bundled her up in her Patagonia, put on her knit turkey hat, and strapped her into the jogging stroller.  She was awake and content the whole ride, either enjoying the new scenery or all the people running around her.  The turkey trot at Bulle Rock is pretty rough because it is so hilly, so I was glad that Tim was pushing the stroller, especially when the winds kicked up.

Dinner was at my parents so we spent the rest of the day prepping for the meal.  Fi fell asleep shortly after the guests arrived, which included a good mix of family: mostly Shelley's, two Grenko's, and a Krantz.  We told her she should have napped earlier in preparation, but she didn't listen.  She woke up at the end of dinner and enjoyed some turkey and potato filling though and a little bit of football too.

Friday started with coffee with the girls (me, Fi, and Kendall) and ended at the Shore with her Grenko / Olivard cousins.  She saw Santa being rescued from the roof of Ocean City City Hall by the firefighters, although she was really more interested in the crowd around her.  

 

Saturday was Thanksgiving part two.  She expanded her palette to include some cranberry sauce with her turkey and potato filling dinner.  The weather was nice enough for a few good walks on the boardwalk in between games of peek-a-boo.  

        

Thanksgiving weekend ended back in Maryland since I have a work trip out of BWI on Monday.  We stopped by to visit Mom-mom, Aunt Tadpole, and Uncle Mark and that cool little dog Dash to round out family time.  It was a nice but exhausting holiday weekend.  I can't believe Christmas is only a few weeks away.  There really should be a movement to add a few more weeks between the holidays.