Lemonheads

We discovered last night that T has a new favourite food...unfortunately, my camera was not there to document it...lemons. Despite the roll on the floor hilarious faces she makes after biting into the lemon, no matter how hard I tried, that lemon could not be pried out of her hands. She bite, sucked, and chewed every little lemon drop right out! We had quite a good laugh.

Other than that, life is about the same. T's pretty close to taking off running. She takes a few steps every day as she goes back and forth from the ottoman to the couch, and last night she stood on her own for what seemed like 5 minutes...until she realized what she was doing.

I think she will be walking before we head off to Idaho, which could prove tricky on a plane (anyone have any airplane tips for the world's squirmiest kid?) .

She has also begun giving us kisses...on demand! She does it about 75% of the time, but 100% of those times it's full-on open mouth and tongue for our little one. It's funny to us, but I am guessing some others may not enjoy such a sloppy display of affection!

Enough babble...here are some recent pictures for the Grandfolks!

Hanging out in the grass on a sunny Sunday afternoon

Not enjoying that grass so much anymore

Much better now that the grass is long gone

SWEET bedhead

Deja Vu?

Here is the living room...before

and after....



and after....

and after.

Is there a purpose, or an intelligent reason, why I should put in the effort to tidy the room when I know a little rug rat is going to destroy it each and every morning when she wakes?? Seems pointless in my book.

Look At Me Now!

Some things our little T likes. I'm not one to jot down a "this is what T is doing at ___ months" but I thought since she is approaching the big "1", I would just make note of some of the things I have noticed her enjoying/discovering.

• toilet paper - rolls are not safe
• Kleenex - pulled right out of the box
• cars - she could watch them whiz by her all day long
• walks - as long as it is outdoors, not in stores (whose child is this???)
• yogurt - no container is big enough
• cheese - can you hurt yourself from too much cheese?
• food - let's face it, there isn't anything she really hates and she'd eat all day long if I let her
• coasters - who knew?
• remotes - okay, maybe she is our child
• Fringe - she may have inherited my love for Pacey
• clapping
• sticking her tongue out - constantly, all day every day. Maybe it's too big for her mouth?
• walking - when you hold her hands, but if she thinks you're going to try to make her do it on her own, she'll drop to her bum faster than you can blink
• books - pulling them from the shelf, not reading them
• Elmo - I pulled out my Tickle Me Elmo a little while ago, she wasn't too sure about him then, but I think she's changed her mind. She'll stand on him, lay on him, hug him...all with a big smile on her face as he laughs and convulses.
• people - LOVES watching people, babies...anything that moves. Luckily it's okay for babies to stare, but hopefully she doesn't stare when she gets older. Unless of course that baby is attacking her as she sits on the floor playing - then she gets mad. I guess that's what happens when the other kid is about 80 pounds heavier and only 6 months older. Good thing she doesn't go to daycare.
• windows - she stands at the window a large part of the day watching cars, people, birds, ducks and rabbits go by
• spitting - well raspberry type noises, but she has also begun to spit food out as a way of letting us know she is done eating - lovely
• pillows - she loves to pull them off the couch, throw them on the floor and then sit/lay on them. If you put them back on the couch and she sees you do it, she will race right over and throw them back on the floor again. Entertainment for hours!

She is just a nut. She has a lot more strange quirks and fun little faces, and as she gets older I am sure she'll develop even more. She is a good, happy little girl...except when she is hungry or doesn't want to go to sleep...then a good pair of earplugs might be needed.
We sure love having her in our family, and even in the most frustrating of times it's hard not to smile when she looks at you, sticks out her arm and wants you to give her the finger. No, not that finger, even though with Mark as her Dad it wouldn't surprise me...her index finger. It's like her version of the fist bump, only it's the finger bump. When you bump, you've gotta blow it up! It's super cute and she'll go around to strangers doing it, or she'll crawl across the room if you stick your finger out for her. Not sure where she learned it, but it's our little game. Unfortunately, nothing seems to hold her attention much longer than a few minutes, so it can be hard to keep her entertained, but she's pretty good at finding something even if it is the plugged in laptop cord.

Travellin' T

Alrighty, here is the trip lowdown...I know you've all been on the edge of your seat waiting.

I wasn't sure how T would do on ANOTHER car trip so soon after the last one, but she did pretty darn well. Slept, played, cried, threw cheerios...a good time by all.
So we went to Milwaukee and saw not one, but TWO Brewers game. Obviously this was a trip both T and I had been eagerly anticipating! Mark and I were both surprised at how well T did at the first game given that it didn't start until 7, which is an hour before bedtime. That night she didn't get to bed until after 11. She loved the game...well, watching the people that is, she didn't care about the game at all!! We ended up moving seats because we had some very loud, drunken folks behind us, but T rolled with the punches and found new people to watch.

The next day was a noon game and we were able to score seats right behind home plate (thanks Matt!). Much better seats, although we did get a guy in front of us kicked out since he was drunk, almost fell on a lady and her baby and continually spit onto the ground...lovely.

After Milwaukee we moved on to Chicago. T enjoyed dining at Geno's for some deep dish pizza (she had cheerios and mango), Star of Siam (T had puffs, cheese and a bottle), and Smoque (mixed fruits for T). I just have to say Smoque was awesome (thanks Guy!)...well worth standing in line, and definitely a dive!
Mark enjoyed a Cubs game on Saturday while T and I explored the art Institute, the Magnificent Mile and the Navy Pier, plus a gazillion streets in between (mom has the blisters to prove it).
We had a nice time, T stayed up too late....we ate too much (but I think I walked it all off on Saturday), spent some time in Wisconsin Dells on the way home and had some fun as a family. Here are a few more pics since no one wants to her me ramble, they just want to see T's escapades.

T lounging in the hotel in Milwaukee

T with her car buddy on the way to Chicago
Lounging at the apartment in Chicago
NOT enjoying the grass in Chicago's Millenium Park
Hanging out by the Lake
New spot to hang out and play

T at her first baseball game

The whole fam at the second game

Hanging out at Geno's waiting for our pizza

And We're Back!

Thankfully for a whole month this time until we leave again!!

We had fun...probably won the worst parents of the year award...but we all made it back safe and sound. I'll put up pics and stories later.
Here's a couple until then.

And We're Off....

Again. Hopefully she'll stick to somewhat of the regular schedule I've got her back to since our last excursion...but I am guessing not. Oh well. Who needs sleeps and sanity, right?Thankfully she won't be driving this trip! :o)

Ma-ma Mia!

Mom,
You're the best, I love you. Happy Mother's Day.
Love Tennyson.

Okay, so Tennyson didn't really write that, but she would of if she could have, right? :o)

Swinging on a Star

Before we headed north last week, we had some pretty good weather that required some walks and some swinging be done.
For some reason T has decided that when she rides on Dad's shoulders, she must hold on a special way.Perhaps Mark has really large ear holes! Either way, she holds on tight and she sure loves the view from atop Dad's shoulders.
T has discovered that Dad pushes her much higher on the swing than Mom does...not sure which she prefers, but I suppose as long as she doesn't fall out we're doing alright!

Hanging in the 'Peg

We've been up at my parents for a week or so now, just hanging out, having some fun, seeing some people, eating some watermelon. Typical May activities, right?

T took a couple of unassisted steps while here, of course the camera was nowhere to be found. We've tried to get her to do it again, but of course she just sits down and crawls...smart little girl.

We'll be heading back this weekend so Dad doesn't forget what we look like. Well, he's probably run out of clean clothes by now and needs the laundry done, right Mark? :o)
Here's a few pics of our adventures so far!

Enjoying tasty drink of water

Mmmmmm watermelon. I think she might eat an entire one this summer!

Investigating Auntie Jenne's tongue....hmmmmm

What is this brown hairy thing that keeps licking behind my ears??

I love making a mess in Grandpa's office! Envelopes are the best!

We have a lot more pictures to share, so watch out - you might get photo overload in the coming days, weeks, months....whenever I feel the need to update!