6 Months!

Nina is six months old!

This has been an exciting month of many firsts for Nina:

• first tooth (bottom middle)
• first solid foods (rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes and banana so far -- she's not exactly voraciously eating anything yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time)
• first time sitting up unassisted (still a little tipsy, but getting there)
• first time "scooting" backwards on her back (which always leads to a giggle)
• first Mariners game (with Nani and Papa)
• first time in the baby swings
• first time in the warm sun (we finally had to break out the sun hat for this November birthday girl!)

And, in just one week, Nina will have another big first -- her first official day of school! She has had one practice round so far in the infant room of her new school, and it went great. She even took a bottle from the teacher, much to all of our delight (and surprise)!

Here are some pictures of our big 6-month-old and many of these firsts...

A day at the beach!

Nina, Sammy and I took advantage of the beautiful weather last week to spend a fun morning at Golden Gardens beach with Jennifer Nance and her girls, Clara, Hannah and Eliza. The girls had a great time playing in the chilly water, chasing the birds, and crawling around in the sand to warm up. It's so fun for Jenny and me to see the girls playing together, just like she and I did when we were about the same age!

Sadly, my maternity leave officially comes to an end on June 1, two weeks from today. Nina will be starting at daycare in the infant room at Mother's Place, Sammy's school. I sure will miss having the opportunity to pick up and go to the beach on a beautiful Thursday morning!

Spring!

After a few sunny 70 degree days here, maybe it's premature to think that we're already nearing the end of spring and moving into summer. Still, it does make me think that it's time to catch up a little on the many fun times we had this spring. Here are a few pictures, in no particular order:


Our clematis in the front yard -- my mom and I hacked this back to a stump when we first moved in, it was so overgrown and ugly. We both find it hard to believe that four years later, it's actually photoworthy! Sammy throwing rocks at the beach on Lopez Island, where we spent a wonderful couple days with some of Karen's friends from college.

Sammy and Ellie Free, at the Seattle Childrens Museum.

Sammy and Ellie Free, watching the swing dancing at the Washington Hall House Party. Soon after this photo, the two girls took a whirl on the dance floor themselves!

Susan, Pete, and Anna Jane Leonardson, on a beautiful evening at Pete's cabin on Vashon Island.

Justin, Jill, and Nate Sousley, with Sam, at Pete's cabin on Vashon Island.

Paul and Nina, Pete's cabin on Vashon Island.

Sammy with Molly, Nate, Jill and Justin Sousley, beachcombing in the rain at Pete's cabin on Vashon. Crazy, but this picture was taken about 30 minutes before the ones above. Fortunately for us, there was a dramatic improvement in the weather! Still, I love this picture because it pretty much epitomizes growing up in the northwest -- we're going to get outside, darn it, even if it's pouring down rain!

Sammy at one of our favorite spots, Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill.

Easter Egg hunt with Grandma!

Easter Sunday at Grandma's house.

March Madness and Husky basketball! Sam with her fellow Husky fan, Alexa Moore.

Karen and Sam, enjoying the grand opening of the new Elliott Bay Bookstore on Capitol Hill. We are thrilled to have such a great spot within walking distance now!

Gardening! This spring our big project was removing the gigantic bushes that were taking over our backyard, and replacing them with two raised beds for vegetable gardens. Here's Sammy helping us move the dirt.

And here she is testing out one of the new raised beds! So far we have had great crops of radishes and arugula. Carrots, potatoes and snap peas still to come!

all set?

Sammy wanted to make sure Nina had enough toys for the car ride to school this morning...

matching jammies!

sammy speak

Conversations with a toddler are unlike anything else. While at times the endless "why?" questions can be a bit exhausting, it is so fun to see through language just how Sammy's brain is processing things. Just when I think we've wrapped up a certain subject, the next question comes, and I usually find it to be so unexpected, and yet so logical at the same time...

A few recent examples of Sammy speak:

• We recently went to a new playground that was adjacent to a dog park. Dog parks are a new concept for Sam, so Paul was explaining what it was. Sammy has decided she is not a big fan of dogs (mostly due to a big barker down the street), but is a fan of cats. So, after a long pause, Sam asked, "But where is the cat park?" Paul and I then had fun visualizing the chaos of a cat park!


• With lots of M's fans in the family, Sammy has had some early exposure to the Mariner moose. The other night I was talking to her about how we'd go to a baseball game this summer (no mention at this point about the moose). A few minutes later, while I was midway through reading a story, Sam asked, "does the moose wear anything under his t-shirt?" Hmm. That's a stumper.


• A not-so-uncommon line of questioning, heard the other day as we walked in the door from school: "Mom, how do sheep cough?" Again, not sure I know how to answer that one.


• Sammy has learned that complimenting people is a nice thing to do. The other day, after she'd been a little rough with Nina, she decided to try to make up for it. She cuddled up with Nina and said, "Nina, I really like your hair cut!" A nice compliment, though the idea of basically bald Nina having a hair cut was most amusing!


• Sam also likes to come up with nicknames for all of us. The cutest one of late, in addition to "Nina-bo-bina" for Nina, is her new nickname for her baby sister: "Shorty." :)

nina & sam

5 Months!

Nina is five months old!

Nina continues to be a happy, happy baby, always quick with a smile or laugh. She loves to be in a standing position now, whether it be in her "office" (exersaucer), on your lap, on the counter, etc. She also now tries to grab anything and everything (nose or cheek included) to put in her mouth. She continues to sleep really well and, while bottles are not totally dialed in yet for every situation, she's made some major strides on that front (after enduring a couple intense "bottle boot camp" days with mom...).


Nina is a little over 16 pounds now, and still has very little hair (though some little whisps seem to be forming, if you look closely enough). She gets red cheeks just like her sister, and her eyes are still very blue. She's got chubby calves that make it hard for her socks to stay on, and still has long fingers just like her mom. We still think she looks most like Sammy in the family.

Speaking of Sammy, this month Sam learned that she's sure to get a laugh from her baby sister if she busts out with her "silly dance." We were able to catch one such performance (and Nina's reaction), live at Cupcake Royale, a couple weeks ago -- here's the video:

sam & nina

4 Months!

Nina is now four months old!

We had forgotten how fun this stage is, as Nina is full of smiles and laughs, and is also really starting to explore the world. She has added a few new seating options to her repertoire, including the "bumbo" chair and her "office" (the exersaucer). She tries to put everything in her mouth, makes lots of new sounds, and squeals with delight when she sees us.

At her four month appointment, Nina weighed 14lb, 12oz -- the 75th percentile and about 1.5 lb more than Sammy did at the same appointment. Her length was also at the 75th percentile (though we have our doubts on how accurate that measurement really is with a squirmy baby!). No real hair to speak of yet, but definitely the same eyes as Sammy, and a lot of similar expressions.

Nina continues to be a very happy, easy baby -- yay! Here are a few recent pictures of her...