playdate with dono

this past saturday penelope's friend donovan came over to hang out with penelope.. and dono's parents came to visit penn's mom and dad.

was gorgeous weather, we bbq'd hung outside for a bit, let the kids "play" (as well as a 2 year old and a 9 month old can play together), and took a TON of pics of the kiddos.... so cute together. 

i think penelope needs a big brother.



in the pack n play together



donovan - get your hand off my daughter's boob.

hugging.. i think.

friends.

going in for the kiss..you already touched her boob -
you owe her that man!
 (that is penn's kiss face -
she's kind of skankyy and goes for the french kiss everytime)

hug?

she likes it.

trying to be like the big kids.

so happy to have a friend!

i love this one.  their little legs and feet.

relaxing after a hard day of playing.

look at his hand on her neck... it hink donovan
 is going to be an awesome big brother to baby q number 2...







and she wins again

the kid is a genius...

every time we have a really rough penelope day she seems to someone do something so damn cute it's almost unbearable...

yesterday's story.

I went to pick penelope up from daycare at 4:15.  she was crawling around on the floor and pulling up on stuff (her new favorite pasttime) - more posts on that later.

and apparently she did NOT want to go home and quite playing with her friends. 

so my first attempt at putting her in her carseat was met by penelopes very first temper tantrum.  full on screams, stiff body, little hands clenched in fists and the biggest crocodile tears you've ever seen.  i couldnt get her in the seat. susan tried too - noo luck.  I tried again - no luck.  all theother kids are staring at penelope - never seen her break down like this.

finally, after multiple attempts - susan and i took all our strenght and managed to wrangle/pin down that little 18 lb body to strap her in the chair.

the lovely mood continued during dinner as she threw puffs and me and spit chx nuggets in my face. 

bathtime got a bit better, followed bya ntoher fit when I tried to put on her pajamas - the nerve of me!

so after a rough night, finally time for bed... and what does the little stinker do?  she throws me a bone.  decides she's tortured mommy enough for the afternoon and let me cuddle her and hold her like a baby while i gave her the bottle.  penelope NEVER lets me hold her like a baby anymore. HATES it.  likes to sit up facing out on my lap and i have to awkwardly move my around around to give the bottle. thtey she pushes me away when she is done and flings backwards with her hands behind her hard - signaling "put me in bed mom, i'm done with you".

not tonight - i got cuddles.  thank you baby.

however, that wasnt the kicker.

later, as i'm in the bathroom getting ready for bed, i hear kris say, "you know what is adorable?  tiny handprints on the mirror."

There are two perfect little tiny handprints on our bedroom mirror.  it's the cutest thing ever.  I took a picture below - but it doesnt reallyd o them justice.

i dont want to ever wipe down my mirror - sweetest thing ever.

well played penelope anne.  well played.

so big!

along with learning how to crawl, learning to pull up, and trying to stand.. penelope has added another new trick to her repetorie (or as kris says "life skills" - he hates when i call them tricks).

we can do "soo big!"

she get's very excited!

"how big is penelope"

"so big"

arms go up and then immediately start clapping at her accomplishment.

she also is a big clapper now.

wow i'm behind on filling in the blog world.

this kid is keeping me too busy!



and she's off!

well it's been a busy week.  I am behind on blogging, but is because i now have a crawler.

a full blown crawler.

who also has decided she wants to stand up as well.

so the lazy bum who took 8 months to roll over, took forever to take that first crawl forward, has now amped up the energy.

and she's off!

we crawling, we kneel, we pull up on anything, we let go and try to stand (and really pissed when we fall backwards - that's all mom's fault apparently).

she crawls over stuff, pulls up my legs, reaches for your hand to help her stand.. basically refuses to be still.

this makes for a tired set of parents.  a mobile baby is exhausting.  especially one that loves to pull up and stand but has yet to develop a healthy fear of gravity.

here are some photos/videos of penelope's recent adventures...

1.  First official crawling.. she did it at the sitter that am - but we got it on video that evening...

2.  sooo big! 

3.  monster baby... penelope has recently started making what appear to be dog/monster noises.  either she is crazy, or she does this because gatsby is her bff.  turn up the volume...

4.  staring at the window.. using her new found skills to check out the world outside.

5. shirts are for jerks... apparenlty it's more fun to play topless.





mommy's new toy...

so.. i'm a liar. i've blamed my lack of blogging on my newly mobile baby. when it reality... it's based on my new toy, or more aptly put - new obsession.

mommy got an iphone! :)

and i love it.

i really love words with friends more than anything else..

however, a close second is all the phone photography apps and effects.

check out some my work below: (all photos and specials affects done on my new toy ).

pretty baby after eating her first donut :)

modeling her new outfit from gma d. and her new hat from aunt mickey

looking for more donuts. (penelope - i think they are in your cheeks)

so freaking cute.

i am love wiht my iphone - i used camera genius or instagram for the effects above and then used labelbox for the labels.. :)







lazy bum

even busy bodies need a break every once in a while..

this is how penelope lays when she is ready for bed. 

hands behind the head.  is she 9 months or 90?



9 months???

are you kidding me?  she is really nine months old?  it's crazy to think about.

look at how big she has gotten..

this is penelope in her bumbo at about 10 weeks old...

look at how small she is - her shoulders dont even reach the top.

and here is penelope in her bumbo now...she covers the whole thing and her thighs are so chubby we can barely get her out!!

she is growing and changing soo much!  still has the best smile though..

9 month info:

no stats yet - we see the dr. in two weeks for our 9 month check up and we have our 9 month parents as teachers visit in 2 weeks too - i'll keep this update short as I'll have lots more after both of those visits...

food:  penelope stil loves to eat - some of her recent favorites:  blueberries and sweet potatoes are still on top, graham crackers, bananas, grapes, muffins, donuts, any and all puffs, cheese puffs, cheese, pancakes, cottage cheese, peaches,

food dislikes: all green veggies and meat.

motor skills:  she is still soo close to crawling... goes forward a little bit and backwards pretty well, has suddently decided she is more into pulling herself up then crawling... she can get from her belly to a sitting position, back downt o all fours, then pull up to her feet all in the matter of a couple minutes. 

a little busy body.  doesnt want to be held, doesnt want to sit still, doesnt wnat to cuddle. always on the go, on the move and ready to destroy something.  we have said it before, but now we really really need to get this house babyproofed! penn hasnt left us much choice! 

house is on the market now too.  you know how much it is to try and keep your house clean with a 9 month old mobile baby? 

she is getting closer and closer to saying real words.  i really think her first word happended a little bit ago. you know how when you had something to a baby you say, "here you go".  well i talk fast and i'm prety sure to peneloe when i say a phrase it's all just one word. she has been saying for a cuople weeks now, "earyougo"  the 'go' part very clear.  i just put together that she is saying "here you go"  she doenst alwasy use it right but she definatley repeats it when you ask her too.  pretty cute.  i need to get it on film so you all believe me.

she can alos repeat "hello" "dada" "mama" and "uh oh".

still not using any of them on her own in the right way - so not sure they count as real words but you can tell the vocabulary is picking up a lot!

well i'm home sick today and feel like crap so it's a short monthly post... more after PAT and the dr. appt.



grandma d's new business

my mom made penelope the CUTEST little bubble skirt for a present... she is going to start an etsy site to make these and other cute baby clothes... will have more pictues and info soon - but here are a few pics of the first skirt - with the worlds cutest baby modeling... if you are interested - let me know!



she just makes me happy...

something about this kid... she just knows how to make her mom happy... it's all the little penelope things...

1.  the mess.  it never seems to bother penelope when there is food on her face (or her head, or her eye, or in her ear) she focuses on the more important... that there is food in her mouth!

2.  uh oh... i love that she gets sooo excited about eating that she can not slow down.  and gets so much fun in her mouth that she isnt even sure to do next!

3. that foot. oh god i love that foot.

4.  hugs... the cuddles are fewer and further between lately as penelope is nosy and explorative all the time.  who has time to cuddle with mom and dad when there are books to destory, toys to throw, dog bones to try and eat.... so these few cuddle moments are the best...

5. confidence.  when is the last time you were able to sit naked with your belly hanging over and smile proudly?

6. pure excitement.  i LOVE that this little girl just smiles with her whole body.  there is nothing i love more than to see that sweet little chunky face in a huge full body smile... 



first trip to the playground!

we took advantage of the gorgeous weather last weekend and hit up the local playground (in our neighborhood).  penelope is a little young for most of it but we had fun nonetheless!  she played with the tic tac toe board.  she tried to squeeze her head through the "jail" bars - pretty sure that was her favorite part... and she went down the slide with mommy and daddy..

here are some pics of her on the playground.. now i just want to get her into a baby swing...

not too sure about the sun...

oh - something to play with - i'm cool now.

trying to squeeze your head through small spaces is fun :)

yelling through the bars...

so excited to be outside!

feeding dirt to gastby

that was cool and all... but i'm beat



a sunday afternoon for penelope

penelope is getting more and more mobile... which is more and more exciting for her and terrifying for us!  she loves to play with toys and is interesting in them soo much longer now that she can sit, wiggle, and roll from item to item... but we can NEVER leave the room for a minute anymore... cuz she some how gets stuck under somthing, grabs something she shouldnt, or hits her head. and she isnt even fully crawling yet... just backwards army style.. life is about to get a lot more interesting...

however... a mobile penelope = a happy penelope... so lots of good pictures or a little lady enjoying a lazy sunday afternoon!

always camera ready..

um.m.. that's not really what that puzzle was intended for penn.

getting greed - one puzzle piece wasnt enough of a snack.

showing off my favorite little teeth

there we go... trying to put th pieces back after snacking on them...

i love the soggy wet spot on this puzzle piece.

kisses for brother gatsby

smiles for daddy!

getting her learn on.

explaining puzzles to gatsby.  penelope is an excellent teacher... and gatsby is a very interested student.

taking a break from sitting... puzzle building is exhausting

and shes up... any day now til she takes off...