Friday, May 23, 2008

Adah Turns Seven Months Old

How can it possibly be that our daughter is 7 months old already!?!

This last month has been quite full of new activities (most of which I have already written about). Here are a few things I have not yet mentioned...

Food Exploration ... This month we have branched out to try several new "solid" foods. (I say "solid" because all are still pureed into a slightly runny state.) Luckily, there are very few foods Adah will not eat at this point. Anything orange (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, peaches) are her favorites ... too bad for me that they also are the most likely to stain clothes. The only food she appears not to like are bananas. We will keep trying, but it's a non-starter at the moment.

Cutting Teeth ... Adah has a new tooth appearing on her bottom gum line. This is very exciting as it means more interesting foods are on the horizon, but boy is this tooth cutting process challenging! She has been on and off fussy for 2-3 weeks now!

Kisses ... I have been trying to teach Adah how to kiss as a new form of communication for her. After much trying, she is finally starting to get the hang of it. When she is in the mood (which is never as often as her parents wish), she opens her mouth sticks her tongue out a bit and then closes her lips down on your cheek. It's very sweet, albeit wet. We are still working on the closed mouth, puckered lip version.

Mobility ... I mentioned this one already, but it bears repeating. Adah can now army crawl and get herself wherever she wishes (if only her Mama would let her!). Anything up to two feet off the ground is fair game for mouthing, head bonking, or grabbing! This has quickly turned into a game for her. I am trying to teach her sign language for stop, but when I make the sign and say "stop" she simply pauses, looks at me with a big grin, and then continues on (as if to say, "come and get me Mama!"). Sadly, her joy for mobility has made cuddling in our arms less of a priority of late. Hopefully, she will be able to handle the 4 hour and 2.5 hour flights we need to get through in a few weeks (during which she is officially supposed to be on my lap).

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Mobility Is Upon Us

A tower of cups is just too tantalizing. Watch and see the power of temptation.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Wine Country Day Trip

Last weekend, the Rozell family took a day trip to wine country ... Dry Creek Valley to be exact. We figured while we were living in California, we should probably enjoy as much of it as we could. A friend sent us a recommendation for some good wineries, so we made a day of it.

Mauritson Winery





Baby Grapes



From the Deck of Sbragia Winery
(our lunch spot)




Mmmm, this strap is tasty!
Can we go home now?

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

First Mother's Day

I have come to realize over the last 6 months what a blessing it is not just to be a mom, but to be Adah's mom. Before you have children, you know you will love them. But I don't think I was ever prepared for the intensity of that love. She didn't do a thing to cause me to love her ... I just do ... fully and forever. Mother's Day was an opportunity to reflect on the last six months and my new role as a Mama.

After a favorite breakfast at home (prepared by Chris) and before an afternoon at the nail salon with a friend, we had a picnic lunch at the park. Adah's discovery of new wonderful things never ceases to thrill me. This day it was grass and swings. Joy!


Adah Discovers Grass



Swing Time





Chillin' on the Picnic Blanket with Mama

Friday, May 2, 2008

Learning to Sit

Adah has been learning to sit up by herself lately. As mentioned in earlier posts, this hasn't been easy for her ... learning to balance and sit still is difficult when one never stops moving. Still, we try. Here are a few picture from today's trial. Enjoy.


Weeeeee


Whoa


Oooo, a new toy



Eeeehhhh (getting a little frustrated)



Waaaaa (and, we're done.)



4 hours later (and after a nap) ...
SHE CAN DO IT!