Thursday, March 29, 2007

New quirks

Vanessa has started biting her bottom lip! It's so funny. I wonder if it has anything to do with teething? I keep thinking Vanessa is teething, but I'm always wrong.


Biting her lip!

Cutie pie!

I often give Vanessa water out of a glass. She usually spills a little, but then again, so do I!
Vanessa has been so squirmy when changing her diaper -- rolling over and crawling, etc., that now we often buckle her in.

Vanessa has definitely bonded with the teddy bear that her Aunt Jessica gave her. Sometimes all she needs is to brush it against her face to go to sleep.

Vanessa still does have trouble going to sleep other times. I think she'd prefer to stay up late and sleep in, just the way her daddy and Nana would do things if they could.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Swimming!

Vanessa's very first swim lesson was this Friday. It was much anticipated! Our first class should have been held last Friday, but it was canceled due to the sleet. Add my disappointment from missing our first class to the fact that Vanessa had 2 grandmothers, a mommy, a daddy, and friends (Jessica, Revie, and Jeff) in attendance, and you get a picture of how much this class was anticipated! I know, swimming with a six-month-old baby is really just a glorified bath, but I couldn't help it, I was really excited about this class!

About 5 minutes into the lesson, I wasn't paying enough attention to what I was doing, and I let Vanessa get a face full of water. She wasn't too happy about that, and I could tell she got water in the wrong place and that she really had to burp but couldn't. It was stressing me out! As the lesson progressed, Vanessa and I were getting more and more miserable. By the end of the class, our instructor had had us dunk our babies in the water twice, and we were both more than ready to get out. Vanessa was crying loudly as we got out of the pool. But she soon got her burps out and was fine afterwards.

So her first swimming lesson didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped, but I'm still really excited about the next one. We did really enjoy the beginning of the lesson, after all, and I think I just have to be careful about Vanessa swallowing too much water. I'm thinking I might not dunk Vanessa for a few more lessons, though -- not until I'm really ready to.
Vanessa and mommy are really enjoying the beginning of the swim lesson. Jessica and Revie are in the background, getting along swimmingly! Vanessa almost looks like she might be kicking in this picture, don't you think?
If it so happens that Vanessa doesn't end up liking swimming, we have a hunch that she'll like soccer!
Vanessa is just beginning to figure out what to do with the soccer ball her Grampa Maxted (otherwise known as M Go Blue) gave her. It's too big to fit in her mouth, but she can push it around with her hands.
Vanessa's grandma came to see her! Grandma played with Vanessa a lot and especially helped her crawl. I think Vanessa has made incredible strides with her crawling this week! I doubt James and I have much time before our house has to be thoroughly baby-proofed.

Vanessa has been just a little grabby lately. It's her way of saying I love you (or perhaps I want to eat you, the two meanings are very similar in baby-ese!). Here Vanessa gives her Aunt Heather a squeeze at lunch today.


Vanessa grabs Uncle Terry's lip. We are so very lucky to have seen Heather and Terry so much lately. I love having family nearby, it's the best!

James and I just learned that we'll get to host my brother Zak for the summer while he works as an intern near here. I can't wait to have Zak around!

While I'm on the topic of family, I have to say that I am really missing my brother Jake, my sister-in-law Jessa, and my nieces Katelyn, Jadyn, and Bryn! I have been thinking about them so much lately. I finally added a link to their blog. http://jessicakaylor.blogspot.com Most people who check this blog also check theirs, but just in case you don't, you should check it out. They're a great family and you won't be able to help yourself from falling in love with them!


Vanessa and I took advantage of the beautiful weather to have an outdoor concert for Vanessa. She played some very modern atonal music for a very small audience (just her parents).

James holds Vanessa during a game of Settlers of Catan. Vanessa has become a little more advanced at her Settlers playing, now able to pick up cards and to make her parents scramble to keep her away from the tiny game pieces.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

St. Patrick's Day!

We don't generally do too much for Saint Patrick's Day at our house, but since my friend Lisa came over to make Irish soda bread, I decided at least to put Vanessa and I in some green clothes!

Lisa got Vanessa to smile for the camera. I don't know why I seem to think she'll smile bigger if I make a ridiculously big smile!


Aunt Heather and Uncle Terry came over to help Vanessa celebrate her first St. Patrick's Day. Yay!

Vanessa has been very fascinated lately by the fact that other people seem to have mouths.



It is hard not to open wide when feeding a baby, isn't it Heather? (Good, so it's not just me!)



Uncle Terry seemed to have no problem avoiding making funny faces, but he did have a little trouble holding on to the spoon...

Feeding Vanessa is definitely fun, but I always get excited when I have help! Vanessa's Nana fed her just a couple of days ago (and expertly -- hardly any mess at all, how does Nana do that?). Vanessa is so lucky to have so many friends and family to help her grow up!

Friday, March 16, 2007

Aunt Heather visits


Last time Aunt Heather visited, I forgot to take any pictures! So when Heather visited on Thursday, I tried to take lots.

Vanessa evaluates the taste of Aunt Heather's watch compared to Uncle Zak's.



Vanessa says, "Uncle Zak's tasted better!"


Heather and Vanessa play outside in the beautiful warm weather.

Vanessa just loves this toy, as you can probably tell from its recurrence on the blog!


Vanessa discovers what it feels like to be a hat.



Vanessa and Heather did some dancing to a Latin beat. Vanessa loves dancing!



Here's a picture of Vanessa doing work on the computer.




She says, "Mom, I'm busy right now. Can I pose for pictures later?"



Vanessa fell asleep in her stroller on a walk when the weather was beautiful last week. (There's snow and sleet on the ground outside tonight -- what a quick change in weather!)



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Monday, March 12, 2007

I'll do it myself, thanks!

Vanessa has been making some of the decisions around here. For example, although we put her on her back to sleep, she decides to sleep on her side.
Sometimes she doesn't want mommy or daddy to feed her, she wants to do it herself. Sometimes she's so focused on her spoon that I can't pull it away from her to refill it. I've tried introducing an extra spoon to distract her, but somehow that makes feeding her even more complicated. (And entertaining!)

Now that she's becoming a little more mobile, we decided to put up a safety gate to keep her out of the fireplace and the entertainment center. You never know what she'll decide to do next!
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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Visit with Uncle Zak


Uncle Zak visited Vanessa and me at the mall after an interview on Monday. Vanessa has a big wet spot down her front because I only brought one bib, and I needed that for her lunch. She's still learning how to drink water from a cup. (So it's not just drool from trying to eat Zak's watch!)

Vanessa and Revie had a toy munching contest yesterday. I think Revie might have won.

Vanessa shows how she can support herself on all fours sometimes.
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Monday, March 05, 2007

Bath with daddy

Vanessa likes playing on her tummy pretty well now, especially since she's so good now at rolling over to her back! Just in the past couple of days, she's learned how to support herself on all fours. She hasn't made too much progress in crawling, but in a way, that's a good thing for us! James and I still have a long way to go in baby-proofing our house.
Vanessa has been taking baths in the big tub lately. Sometimes Daddy helps her!

Friday, March 02, 2007

6 months!




0, 3, and 6 months! It's amazing how fast she grows!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

6 month check-up

So Vanessa was 25 and 1/4 inches long (average) and 18 pounds 7 ounces (95% percentile) at her six month appointment today. Good thing that pudgy babies are so cute!