Baby Yoga

This is why there are not many yoga classes offered for infants. They already know how to do most of the positions. Kate's favorites are plank and downward facing dog.

I put 3 of the downward facing dog because her facial expressions in each were priceless.

My Artistic Child

Padyn decided she didn't like the gourds in the bowl on the coffee table. Apparently they look better lined up on the stairs.

Maybe a future interior decorator?

She has also put them in a variety of other places around the house, of which I do not have pictures. Under the coffee table, in Kate's bouncy seat, underneath the exersaucer...What will she think of next?

I Love My Sister

Hi, Big Sister. I love you. I love your hair. I love that teddy. Give me a hug and kiss...
...then I can try to eat your face.
Oh, more hugs and kisses. I like those.
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you. Now give me the teddy and I won't eat your face anymore. I love this teddy. He's so soft, and cuddly, and squishy...
...and tasty.
Oh, so very tasty.

Can you tell she's teething?

Not a Huge Hit

On Friday, Kate got her first taste of solids. Judging from the pictures, I don't think she liked it. Not so much.

Here she is in her big highchair awaiting her first meal with a spoon. She looks happy. She looks ready. She even seems excited to be wearing a plastic bib. Then...

She had her first taste. "Um, Mommy? What am I supposed to do with this? I don't think I like it so much."
"But I'll take another bite, just to be sure."

"No, I'm pretty sure. I think it's gross."

"Get it out! Get it out!"


P.S. So I've given her a little cereal everyday since then. The reaction is always the same. Last night we tried with pears. The facial expressions were not quite as sour, but there was still no happiness at the prospect of eating.

PUDDLES!

*I promise this will be the last exclamatory title for a while. I don't know what is up with me lately...I just feel like shouting.

It rained last week and one of Padyn's favorite things to do is play in the puddles. Isn't that every child's favorite thing to do when it rains? Let's be honest with ourselves. Unless you are wearing really fabulous, expensive shoes or pants, a little splashing around in puddles is SOOOO much fun.

I had to coach her on the way to school that we DO NOT splash in puddles at school. That will get you in big trouble. We only splash in puddles at home, with Mommy, when we’ve behaved ourselves over the course of the day. She really took this to heart. Waking into school, she purposely walked 2 feet away from every puddle as not to be sucked into the temptation. I was very impressed. See, she really can obey as long as she is highly motivated.

So, after naps, we walked around finding all the puddles in our complex. The sun had come out and it was turning into a gorgeous afternoon. Hard to believe we had had a torrential downpour a few hours before. (BTW-torrential downpour? With two kids? Not so fun getting from the classroom to the car.)

I love this series of pictures. I took it with that nifty little device my camera has that takes photos in rapid succession when you hold the button down. (I have no idea what it's called, as you can probably tell.) When I look through them in Window's Picture Viewer, it looks like one of those flip book cartoons where, when you flip the corners of the book through your fingers, it looks like the cartoon characters are moving. Any idea what I'm talking

about? No? That's ok. Just trust me-it's fun to look at these pictures rapidly in succession. I didn't post them all here because I didn't want to bore you to tears. There are only so many puddle pictures that nonparental viewers can take.

New and Improved

Announcing the arrival of "Anonymous Comments" on girls 2 boys 0. Now all of you, who for some reason or another haven't registered with Blogger, can leave a comment with ease. After you write a comment, simply check "anonymous" and your comment will be accepted. Check it out. Try it. I promise, it won't bite you.

Just remember to sign your name so I actually know who you are.

PUMPKINS!

As if the trip to the duck pond on Tuesday wasn't enough (post right below this one), our playgroup went to the pumpkin patch yesterday. Taking Padyn to this particular pumpkin patch has become a yearly tradition and I'm disappointed that this is the final year the patch will be in operation. Fortunately, I like pumpkin patches so much that we visit 3 or 4 each October. I'm sure I'll be able to get great shots somewhere else. In fact, you'll probably see more on the blog before Halloween. I'll try not to bore you.
This particular patch has a train, some birds in a cage, goats, donkeys, a cow and an automated skeleton that goes off whenever anyone walks past him. Why put this at the entrance of a place that small children frequent? I had to pick Padyn up and carry her out when we were leaving because she was having a meltdown. She refused to walk past it. There was no other way out unless I wanted to hop the fence. Since I had Katelyn in the Bjorn and two little pumpkins I wanted to purchase, that didn't seem like such a hot idea.
Padyn had a great time. We had to ride the train twice. We had to pick up and sit on many many pumpkins. She refused to pet the cow, but she was excited to look at him. And she knew the donkeys where donkeys without me saying so. She didn't want to go in the hay bale maze or in the giant plastic pumpkin, but what do you expect from a child who refused to go near any petting zoo type animal until last Easter? She even picked out two little pumpkins for herself and Katelyn. Kate got the smaller one, of course. (And since we've been home, she keeps wanting to "show Kate her pumpkin." She brings it to her when Kate is sitting in the highchair so she can play with it.)

Kate seemed to enjoy herself, too. She liked hanging out in her friend, Caitlin's, stroller, and she enjoyed playing with the hay. Unfortunately, I discovered that Kate may be allergic to straw. After taking a series of pictures where she was sitting by herself, she managed to fall over and do a face-plant in the hay. See was sneezing for the next 10 minutes. Oh, and you see the pacifier that got dropped in the straw? Don't worry. I was thinking like a good Mommy and didn't give it back to her. If I had, she'd probably still be sneezing. We can't have that. I'm having enough trouble today with her being fussy from her 6 month shots. Or maybe it’s the teeth I think I see coming in. Who knows. Regardless, she had a fun day, too.

DUCKS!

On Tuesday, I took Padyn out to the duck pond for the first time ever. It was a serious case of deja vu for me. Growing up, my grandfather (whom Padyn is named after) took us to this very duck pond all the time. It was mostly how I remembered it, except I seem to remember boats being nearby. Like there was a harbor or something. No harbor now that I can see. Maybe my childhood brain got mixed up. Who knows. Regardless, it's a great place. Not only are there waterfowl and a pond with a big fountain shooting water up in the middle of it, but it's right next to the little airport. As you can see in the next picture, the runway is right next to one of the paths on the pond. (Can you see the little plane coming in for a landing on the left?) Padyn and her friend Owen got to feed the birds and chase the airplanes. What more could a kid ask for? Oh, yeah. Rocks. They could ask for rocks. Good thing there was plenty of rocks. The place Padyn is sitting in that top picture? It's on top of a pile of rocks. When we ran out of stale bread and chips to feed the ducks? We got to throw rocks in the pond.


Kate didn't have such a good time, which is why there are no pictures of her. She had been asleep for about 10 minutes when an airplane woke her up. And of course she would not go back to sleep. She just wasn't very happy. But someday soon, she too will be able to be out there throwing stale bread at the ducks. Then I'll have two kids to try to keep out of the pond. That was the only downfall. Padyn wanted to go under the chain and closer to the water. Who knows if she actually wanted to go in. When she's older and I can explain to her what "recycled water" is, maybe she won't be as eager to get near it.

Comparison at Six Months

This month I'm going to mix things up a bit. I decided it was too hard to find one picture that captured both the girls, so I decided to post a few. The pictures alternate Kate, Padyn.














I had forgotten that Padyn was such a chunky girl. Since Kate is bigger than Padyn was at this stage, I guess I figured Padyn was more petite. No, she just weighed less and was shorter. She made up for it in her chunky cheeks and thighs.

When I look closely and compare, I only see a few things. Both girls have smiles that will melt your heart. Padyn definitely had more hair at this stage. Their eyes are almost the same color and their heads are shaped similarly. Kate's head is a bit smaller, therefore I think it makes her face look rounder.

I am constantly amazed that God has blessed us with these two beautiful girls. I love seeing them grow, change, and learn; even when it means tantrums and battles of the will. I'm so curious to see who they turn into. At the same time, I want them to stay small forever.

Comparison at Five Months (from there, there is a link to the other comparisons.)

Sitting by Herself

I told you.

More 6 Month Pictures

Apparently Blogger didn't feel like adding more pictures to the post below, so I had to add more here. Enjoy.

Rolling around, laughing at herself. Will you look at those thighs? She'll be crawling soon and they won't be so chubby anymore.

She is so proud of herself that she can play with her toys while on her stomach. Look, Mom. A new toy. The curtains. They make a fabulous noise when you hit them together! (By the way, she rolled/pushed herself over to the curtains by herself. She was about 3 feet away when I put her on the floor.)

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Happy Half Birthday, Kate!

Kate is 6 months old today. Six months. I can't believe it. I am not sure where the last 6 months went, but apparently they happened and I wasn't paying close enough attention. I remember feeling like we had come so far when Padyn turned 6 months. Like I had completed a marathon or something. This time around...I can't figure out how it went so quickly. Hopefully I'm taking enough pictures and getting enough one on one cuddly time with Kate so she knows she's just as important as Padyn. If she ends up in therapy, I guess you can blame me.

Anyway, after visiting the doctor this morning, (who was very surprised to see how much Kate was moving, pulling up to her knees, and doing a plank) here are her current stats:

Weight: 16 lbs, 12 oz (70th %ile)
Length: 26 1/4 inches (75th %ile)

Feedings: 6 feedings a day. Supposed to start solids. (Been too lazy to do that.)
Sleeping: 2-3 naps, 10-12 hours at night

Milestones: rolling, grabbing feet, pulling knees up under herself and rocking back and forth, plank, moving backwards, turning her body 180 degrees while on her stomach, putting her pacifier in and out of her mouth, sitting up mostly by herself, giggling, smiling, making cooing noises, jumping when standing on your lap or in her exersaucer, almost able to put a sippy cup in her mouth by herself, turns when you call her name.

Favorite people: Padyn, Mommy, Padyn, Padyn, Daddy and Padyn

Favorite activities: pushing herself backwards under things (coffee table, piano bench, crib, the bed), playing with her little piano, sitting on Mommy's lap, watching Padyn do anything, putting everything in her mouth, hanging out in her exersaucer, watching other children, passing her pacifier back and forth between each hand, playing with the curtains, grabbing EVERYTHING she can reach.

Least favorite activities:Going to sleep, watching Mommy vacuum, and being left alone in a room.