Girls' Trip to the Arboretum

Today Kendall and I took advantage of the (finally) less than 100 degree temperature and went to the Arboretum for her lunch. When she took forever to finish her bottle due to the plethora of more exciting things to focus on, it occurred to me that she had never really SEEN the Arboretum. Even though I took her there a lot while I was on maternity leave, she was in a carseat and typically asleep. Since then it's been WAY too hot by the time they open (as an aside, 9:00 AM is a ridiculously late time for an outdoor garden facility to open in Texas). We had a really nice time and I think she enjoyed looking at the giant colorful fish because she practically twisted herself into a pretzel in her stroller to keep looking at them when we walked away. The place was crazy chaotic with out of control children and mothers chasing them every which way. My child is so good .... and sedentary! :)

Here are a few pictures I managed to get during our outing. It turns out that putting her on her stomach was not such a brilliant idea. No sooner did I snap the picture than those chubby little fingers curled around a fistful of grass. Kendall then promptly fed herself said fistful of grass. Her hand/mouth coordination is impeccable. Fortunately she found my shrieking to be highly amusing because she laughed and I was able to extract most of the blades of grass from her mouth. I was looking for a new green veggie for her to try, but grass was not on the list!

Battle for the Bottle

First they battled over the TV remote. Now she wants his beer. Is nothing sacred for Daddy anymore? At least she's leaving Mommy's wine alone for the evening! :)

Kendall's Playloft!

The past couple of weeks I have busied myself with converting our little "living area" at the top of the stairs (aka the "loft") into Kendall's PLAYLOFT! She now has a foam alphabet/numbers puzzle mat/rug on the floor, a brand new toybox, a brand new toy organizer with open canvas toy containers, her jumperoo, a comfy reading/relaxation corner, and 4 Baby Einstein dvd's and one Madagascar dvd in her 5 disc changer DVD player ... attached to her very own television. She REALLY wants to watch TV and I'd really rather her not so I figure allowing a few developmentally oriented dvd's is a decent compromise. Spoiled much??? Seeing as how her playloft is at the top of the stairs, the gate is sitting up there waiting for someone (anyone?) to feel a sudden desire to install it. Kendall is still not crawling but I think dog control will be easier if it goes up soon. Baby toys are proving to be SO much more exciting than dog toys. Here are some pics of Kendall ....

..... eating her jumperoo ....

.... enjoying removing all toys from her toy organizer ....

.... playing her piano along with Baby Beethoven ....

.... and lounging in her reading/relaxation corner!

Why babies should not feed themselves ....

'nuff said.

Goodbye to my little girl's Gummy Grin ....

.... HELLO TEETH! Well, hello to the one tooth that's slowly but surely sprouting up from her bottom gums. At first it looked like it was pointed, like a fang, but it's now resembling a little flat topped tooth. But as sharp as that thing is, it may as well be pointed! Kendall has had no adverse effects from the arrival of the little weapon, aside from producing enough drool to practically drown those who live here. No real fussiness or fever. No loss of sleep. Yes, I realize I have probably jinxed myself. As soon as it is more visible, I'll get a picture. As of now, the kid is getting pretty tired of having exploratory fingers in her mouth!

We did a little swimming this weekend with John, Heather and 2 year old Britton Geertsema. Baby Kate Geertsema (11 weeks old) mostly slept. As an aside, why did life seem so difficult when Kendall was that age? All she did was sleep too, yet for some reason I was so busy "mothering" her when she probably really just wanted to be left alone! Anyhow, here is a family picture in the pool. Despite the look on her face, Kendall did have a good time!

Then Kendall did some more swimming in Nana's wading pool (aka Pippin's wading pool). The girl does like the water! Swimming lessons will be a must as soon as possible because water scares the crap out of her mother. Yes, that is why I insisted on getting in the wading pool with her.

Finally, I am busying myself with turning our upstairs loft into Kendall's play area and reclaiming my downstairs living room for the adults, 2 legged and 4 legged alike. It was starting to look like an amusement park for babies. Since this is at the top of the stairs, the baby gates are ordered and on the way even though she's not independently mobile just yet. The little diva will now have a foam alphabet puzzle playmat/rug that takes up most of the floorspace, her own toybox overflowing with toys, her jumperoo, her exersaucer, a "relaxation corner" for reading, and her very own television and 5 disc DVD player all in one room. Spoiled much???

What are Daddy's good for?

PIGGYBACK RIDES!!!!

The FACE!

I should warn you in advance that the pictures you are about to see do NOT accurately reflect the natural beauty of my child. Kendall has developed a new (and hilarious) way of communicating frustration. She makes this face (see below) and then rapidly inhales and exhales through her nose. At first I found it terribly funny. But the more I see this face (for example, if she doesn't want her food, if I take the remote away, if she doesn't like the fact that someone is blocking her view of the television) the more I'm realizing that this is a temper tantrum face that should most likely not be encouraged by parental laughter. Still, it's funny enough to make her blog. Is it too early to make the age-old "Careful, your face might freeze like that" threat???

"Whatchu talkin' bout Mommy?"

"You stay right there and don't come a step closer with those peas!"

"Hah! I scoff at your attempts to feed me peas!"

Exactly how young do little girls these days start giving their mothers "attitude???"

1/2 Year Portraits

Another activity we accomplished while in Tucson was getting Kendall's "6 month" portraits made ... albeit a bit late since she was less than a week away from being 7 months at that time! The poor kid had been sound asleep in the car and rudely awakened in the elevator at Sears. It was also naptime so I did not have high hopes for much smiling, but as soon as she was placed in front of the camera, my little ham just lit up! I wonder if I hired her an agent and she got some modeling gigs, if we can maybe break even on some of her expenses?

Here are some of my favorite shots: