Standing Tall

As I mentioned, Callie's new fave trick is standing. She wants to do it all day long. She cries bitter tears if she happens to fall or if you have the audacity to move her into a sitting position. She can pull herself up to standing most of the time, but prefers to just be placed in the position by someone else:) She's getting SO big. Two weeks ago, her pediatrician and I had a lengthy conversation about gross-motor delays, low-muscle tone and what I could expect in terms of developmental milestones for the girl. Silly us; we thought she was behind! We thought she'd need a physical therapist. She must have understood our conversation and decided to get to work. That very same week, she perfected creeping, pushed herself into a sitting position from laying down and learned to pull-up to standing. She can even take steps while you hold her hands. I've even watched her get onto all fours and attempt real crawling. Siiiiiiigh. I should have never opened my big mouth;) Here's my big girl standing tall!



This toy was given to Ben by my grandma for his second Christmas.
We have gotten SO much use from it! He and Emily still love playing with it. And now Callie does, too!

Big Brother and Sister are endlessly delighted with Callie's new tricks:)

Sweet sisters

Ooopsie-daisy! So mad to have fallen down!

Three Weeks 'Til 3!

Emily is almost three. Part of me can hardly wrap my mind around the idea and the other part can't believe she's not actually almost thirteen based on her attitude. Here are my favorite pictures from her first year as we count down 'til her big day! Wasn't she such a sweet baby?

One year old and so so cute!

11 months and pretty in pink

10 months old and splashing around

9 months old and enjoying the park

8 months old and perfecting her stand-up routine;)

7 months old and lovely in lavender

6 months old and celebrating her 1/2 birthday

5 months old and smiling so big!

4 months old and rockin' the "curlhawk"

3 months old and sweet as cherry pie


2 months old and grinning for the camera

1 month old and loving her bath

1 day old and so serene

Sunshine, Water and Fresh Air

Mix those three ingredients with these three best friends and you have one fabulous playdate:) We met Miss Ruby and her Grandma Mary at our fave park for some fun in the sun. We started out playing in the sandbox and playground and were pleasantly surprised to see the water-feature was turned back on for the season. The Three Amigos wasted no time running head-first into the cool showers and had the time of their lives running, splashing and being silly. It was an wonderful way to spend a warm, spring Saturday!

Emmie found a new favorite fruit:) Blackberries!
She loved the "lipstick" color they leave on her lips!

Ben loved introducing Ruby to all the "mountain park" has to offer

Cutest best-friends ever!

Soaking wet in less than 30 seconds. A new record!

Ruby was so proud of how wet she was!

Awww! Holding hands.

"Taking a shower" He told me he didn't need a bath after that:)

You might remember that Emily wasn't really a fan of the water feature over the past two summers. She had a total blast today, though! She started off tentative, wanting to change her clothes as soon as they got wet. Once she saw how much fun Ruby and Ben were having, she dove right in and refused to leave.

Now if I can just get her to stop drinking the water, we'd be golden.

Heart & Soul

This is Callie

This is her big brother Ben and one of his most
prized posessions: his real keyboard from Uncle Ron.

Ben is such an awesome big brother to Callie.
He lets her play it whenever she wants.

They dance and bop to the music, laugh and play. Magic. Pure magic:)

Museum Trip #578

Ok, not really. But, we go there so often. so it feels like we've been eleventy-billion times. Lord knows I have that many pictures! Amazingly, they never get bored or jaded by the museum like I do. And Callie's seeing it through brand-new eyes, which helps renew some of my enthusiasm. While on our spring break, a trip to the good 'ol museum was a must.

Self-styled, as usual:)

Painting their own faces was only "meh?" for Ben.

Milly loved it, no surprises there!

Callie was veeeeery bored sitting in her stroller.

So, we took a little trip to the baby section.
Bigger siblings aren't allowed in there, so Callie rarely gets to stay long.

It's filled with baby-sized exhibits, crawling activities and other babies. Fun!

This faux-fish display was her fave because it allowed her to utilize her new-found skill of standing. She is OBSESSED with standing. It's pretty cute to see, but not so easy to facilitate as often as she desire because she needs a spotter the whole time. She will work herself into quite the baby-tantrum if you don't allow her to stand when she wants to!

Already bored, I guess;)

9 Months Old!

Ok. This is starting to get ridiculous! Where are these little time-bandits storing those stolen days and weeks? I can't even think about her impending 1st birthday without hyperventilating. The girl has officially spent more time out in the world than in my belly. She is growing like a weed in every way possible. She laughs at jokes, waves hello, claps her hands. She's an old pro at sitting, and she can even get into the sitting position from laying down! And, I'm not-quite happy to announce that she is fully mobile, now that she's learned the army crawl. Regular crawling, pulling up to stand and cruising aren't far behind, I'm afraid:( She's also eating anything and everything I put before her. She is a self-feeder now and loving the independence and culinary delight that comes with eating table foods.

Try as I might, this little lady is hell-bent on growing, being and doing. Before this realization sends me into a full-blown panic attack, I'm trying to focus on the fun stuff. Planning the social event of the century(aka Callie's 1st Birthday!), perusing the infant girl sections at our favorite stores(infant/toddler girl clothing is WAAAAY cuter than little baby clothes!) and remembering just how cute toddlers can be. She's such a delight right now. I can't wait to see how her personality develops as she grows. Speaking of growing, her 9 months stats:

Weight: 16lbs 5 oz
Height: 28 inches

Channeling Chris Farley:)
She makes lots of silly faces now while taking her picture!

This looks like I just captured her with her eyes closed, but this is the face she makes the most when you point a camera at her! She partially closes her eyes and smiles. So sultry, Callie!

Play Day With Vanessa(and Katie!)

My friend Vanessa met up with the girlies and me after dropping Ben at school today. We took a nice long walk, played at the park for a bit, and met Katie at our place for lunch. I almost never get to see my friends(especially not during the work-week!) so this was a really special treat for me today:) Thanks, Vanessa and Katie!



Oddly enough, Callie LOVES the swing.
She laughed and squealed and kicked her happy-feet the whole time.
So different than her brother and sister!

The only kind of pushing I encourage:)

Vanessa, helping Callie ride the teeter-totter with Emmie

Katie and Callie