Raising a Rockstar

Sometimes, the cuteness rises to a whole new level.



Reading to Kenji. What you can't see is Kenji's expression when Michaela just crawled up next to her on the dog bed.



As promised... our Rockstar getting her ride ready to go.

So proud to be standing on her own.
(PS, have we mentioned she's walking now?!)

Happy Birthday Kenji!

Our lovable labrador turns 3 today. It's hard to believe it's been that long since we watched (via a webcam mounted in the breeder's living room) the little newborn puppies wriggling around next to their mommy. We got to visit Kenji before she came home with us, and hold her as just a little thing. In the years since, Adam and I have compared a new puppy to a newborn, and frankly, the newborn just might be easier to care for.

1) You put the newborn down in one location and they are still there when you return.

2) Babies wear diapers.

3) Newborns don't have teeth.

4) Newborn humans are supposed to consume all of your time, puppies aren't necessarily supposed to.

My food bowl is bigger than I am! (And this food bowl was later chewed to pieces.)

I love my bed! And I still sleep in this position!

But all in all, Kenji is a good girl. She loves to play fetch and swim, she lives to go for walks. We accidentally didn't close our fence gate all the way and she got out. When we returned, she was waiting for us on our front porch. We're glad she's part of our family!

Going for a car ride - first Christmas?

Where is that cat?!

Summer Funning

Out for a ride in the Bob stroller with her cool parents.
We love being able to walk to Bridgeport Village from our house!

At the Tualatin Crawfish Festival. I hadn't had a crawfish before, so we bought one but couldn't figure out how (or what) to eat on it. Good for a photo op, though.





Michaela is rather unfazed by Daddy's attempts to scare her with the crawfish. She prefers munching on the graham cracker.



The beach! Surf's up!

 

Digging a hole in the sand, and then testing its depth. I later fell in that same hole while holding Michaela. Not my proudest mommy moment - screaming and traumatized baby, shellshocked adult audience, nowhere near home... What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?





Nothing says "I love macaroni and cheese" like wearing it in your eyebrow.

 





My family, relaxed and watching the game on a Sunday afternoon. Finally Adam has a fellow fan (although like her mother, with a very short attention span for football).



Today the Zoo...

...Tomorrow the World!

While I have been significantly slacking on the blog front and have many events to catch up on, right now I'll just start with today. Michaela and I went on an adventure to the Zoo with our friends Sarah and Lily. Sarah and I were quite proud of ourselves for arriving early in the morning so that parking was not an issue (until the end of the day, when we were trying to leave and for the life of me I could not remember where I parked my car... the little "emergency/panic" button was not at all helpful, either... only silence.)

Just after entering the zoo, we posed for a "before" picture with the girls in their strollers and the mountain goats in the background. Notice Michaela is holding tightly to her ticket stub. So glad for free baby admission! I had hoped to make a coffee stop (since I'd run out of time for that before leaving the house) but decided to go caffeine-free after seeing the zoo cafe charged $5.25 for a small mocha. Really, is coffee with a view that much better?

In the next photo, Michaela enjoys the sea lion or polar bear exhibit (I can't remember which one). I figured out that Michaela really doesn't realize things are animals yet unless they are moving. But the animals in action she really got excited about. The polar bear was swimming, and Michaela yelled and pointed and kicked her feet. I think she thought that the other spectators weren't properly appreciating God's creation, or else maybe they hadn't noticed the giant white bear in the pool of water right next to them?

Next is another shot of the girls enjoying the zoo - I believe this is by the giraffes, but in order to get both the girls and the giraffes in the same pictures, I had to zoom out too much to see the kids, and frankly, I am hoping that most of you would rather see the girls. My apologies to the giraffe-lovers. This is post-snack and diaper-changing stop.

Sarah and Lily really enjoyed the tiger exhibit.

We were hoping to get "end of the day" pictures, but as I dropped Sarah and Lily off at their house, both girls began crying loudly that the car had stopped moving and we decided hustle would win out over not-so-cute pictures (crying red eyes and runny nose, anyone?) But all in all, it was a great adventure and we look forward to doing it again.

question to ponder

If, as I glibly informed my husband last night, I have taken a college course in nutrition and know what I'm doing when it comes to providing my daughter and my family with nourishment, why does nearly everything Michaela eats begin with "C"?

Carrots... cantaloupe... cream cheese... this was lunch today (plus blueberry bagel, but that ruins my hypothesis)

Other food favorites: cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, cheese ravioli (see a theme?), cereal, cheerios, corn, crackers (graham), chicken...

Fortunately for all, nutrition is based more on the food groups than on the alphabet.

Moving on Up

Well, it's happened. Yesterday, for the first time. Michaela decided she wanted to climb our stairs. She had good motivation, I suppose. She was at the bottom and I was at the top. Typically I can count on running upstairs for something and know that she will be waiting for me right at the bottom of the stairs when I come right back. Not so typical anymore. She took those stairs like they were nobody's business, as if she has been climbing stairs for months. She also wants to immediately turn around and climb right back down, but she hasn't quite caught on yet to the backing down the stairs method. So we might need to get another baby gate. The first one we bought was for Kenji.

So, now, in addition to walking with assistance and cruising along furniture and walls, we also have a climber, folks. Everyone, beware!

Birthday!!!

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Cousins with Papi and Grammy

Last Sunday we celebrated Michaela's first year of life with our family. It's hard to believe she's that big already. Everyone says that, but it's true. And when I say "big" I really mean "old" because we had Michaela's 12-month checkup on Tuesday and she only weighs 17 pounds, 10 ounces, which puts her in the 5th percentile of kiddos her age. On the height end of things, though, she is overachieving. She measured 29 1/4 inches which is in the 50th percentile. The doc commented that Michaela is "long and lean."

We were blessed to have family and friends join us at our worship service on Sunday morning to witness Michaela's dedication. It was so special to see how our church family and our family family gathered around to voice their support for Adam and I as we raise our daughter to follow the Lord.

Afterwards, we had the family over to celebrate with FOOD. Always a delight! Michaela's first cake experience was of a carrot cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting. She liked the frosting so much that after she finished her own cupcake, she tried taking a swipe off of mine as we posed for pictures.

Michaela also got to experience present-opening. The tissue paper was arguably the most interesting feature.

Practicing sitting on the musical push car.
The person doing the pushing, though, was not Michaela, but Uncle Dave!

And because everyone likes seeing pictures of themselves, here are a few of the family. We loved having you here for the day! Do you see yourself?

Among the first few assisted steps...

Playdates!

I have been trying to get together with friends Sarah and Kalina and their little ones on a weekly (or so) basis. The kids don't really play together yet, but then, are playdates really for the kids?

Lily is tired and sleeping after a long morning's playdate.

Sarah and Lily at the last playdate in the old house. Lily thinks checking out Michaela is a serious job.

Crazy eyes = swinging fun! And Isaiah is right next to her having a ball. 

Playing with Isaiah's toys is SOOOO much more fun than playing with your own toys.

When you're just crawling, it's really hard to keep up with your friend who is walking.
And walking away from you at that.

However, you do have the upper hand when your other friend is barely rolling!

We are looking forward to watching our kiddos grow up together!

photos galore

Since the move, it's taken me 6 weeks to find the time and the device to download pictures from my camera. There was a more labor-intensive method to get the other pictures off that you have seen in that time (or else Adam posted) but here are many pictures to make up for lost time. Maybe it'll help you get a taste for life in our shoes.

Fun at the Timbers game - shirt says "50% mom, 50% dad, 100% Timbers Fan"

Super-tired after the Timbers game

At Aunt Abbey's baby shower... playing with Hayden and using the box as a drum.

Strangely, I got no pictures of Abbey at her baby shower.

Some days are just like that.

I'd moved Michaela's baby bathtub out of her bathroom into ours because she had outgrown it. Apparently she's smart enough to know what it's for, and to get herself in it while Mama does her makeup.

Learning to play the piano - she doesn't look happy, but she likes to listen to the piano, at least!

Fashion forward

At the Twin Rocks 'Party on the Parkway' petting zoo. There was no petting involved.

Supervising Daddy while he replaces the leaky faucet on our new kitchen sink.
Michaela may have learned upon close observation that plumbing is not her Daddy's favorite hobby.

Someone told me when Michaela was born that I should make sure to get pictures of her crying. Check.

Pulling herself upon the windowsill while also trying to "sneak up on" the cat.
The cat is trying to "sneak up on" some birds in the tree outside.

Working the ottoman and the couch. Two excellent support systems.

Practicing pulling herself up.. on Daddy's electronics and attempting to
stick her hand in the VCR (yes, we still have one of those).

I LOVE holding Mama's yellow mug and wish I could drink the tea that's in it (or used to be in it).
I also love showing off my big teeth.

Visiting Grandpa -

- and Ita!