Snow baby

Let it snow

Baby wants to go outside and play.

McDs

First taste of ketchup. She loves it. Now those boring fries taste good.

Birthday dinner

Pianist

prepping

getting ready for the holidays. we will be in milwaukee for turkey day and home for part of xmas. then we travel to tulsa to see my sisters. got baby a doll for her birthday. i wasn't going to do much but then i saw the doll. and so did she. the look on her face was priceless. good part about this age is that she will forget the doll before her birthday comes around. i will post pictures. we have been so busy recently that i have not taken much time to write or post many photos. baby is trying to walk but she is still unstable. maybe grandma can teach her.

Big girl

She wanted the fork. Needless to say she did not eat much for dinner.

Spoon

Not quite ready

Helping

Baby is helping momma cook

Working

In motion

Not a very good picture but she won't slow down.

Vote!

Baby helped make history.

Determined

Even though she is little she still finds a way to make it down the
stairs.

Little

My baby used to be so little. This was one of the first phone pictures
I took.

Halloween

Our little puppy dog

Stairs

Baby likes the stairs

Filed

Still working. Baby found an empty file drawer.

getting better

the little one sleeps. she has a cold and it has been a rough day. we have stuck around the house except for a brief visit next door to see the dog and visit with di and ben. after her nap we are heading to the fabric store for a border to rachel's quilt. i was able to get the dishes caught up and am working on the laundry but other than that all i do is work. the baby goes with me some times and others she stays with larissa or at home with monique. it has been better for her these last few weeks but i have still been tired. the montgomerys got us caught up on house work but it went right back into disarry as soon as they left. i will be so glad when we have this whole mess behind us. tonight is girls night so i will have a night of fun.

The Zoo

Daddy took baby to the zoo. I stayed home for a much needed break. Actually I went to the office and then came home to clean the kitchen. But it was a break nontheless. Here is a picture of baby at the zoo.

Dinner

She loves her mac n cheese. But I wanted it to not be finger food.

Reading

Baby is brushing up to help daddy at work.

Sleeping

Destruction

Audrey, destroyer of worlds.

Dancing

Having fun with grandma

Reading

Baby loves her Eric Carle.

Working

Mom went back to work so baby came in to help. She is on her way to
the call center to get the phone.

Tulsa time

Having fun at Papa Jim and Nana's house.

Playing

At the library

New cover

Baby loves her futon cover. Thanks Nana.

busy

to do:

1. pack for tulsa
2. finish the laundry
3. work on quilts for rachel, cheryl, and baby
4. finish baby's futon cover
5. file the financial paperwork
6. clear out the queue of flagged posts in larryville
7. make deposits for the month of august in quickbooks
8. get some rest

it is going to be a busy few days.

where is the manual?

funny how when you go back to read stuff you have written it sounds better if you do not say it out loud. i guess i write as i speak and that does not always make great reading. so the baby had a fever today. she was not feeling well all day but towards bedtime she really started to feel warm. we went for a walk downtown with my dad and step-mom who are visiting and all she could do was lay in her stroller. this is my normaly very active child who never sits still for a moment. when i found out how high her temperature was i got a little scared. fortunately di from next door helped me out and got me everything i need. i really need to do something nice for them. they have come through for us on more than one occasion. i wish they were staying in kansas as it is not often you find friends like that. i need to visit more with the others neighbors with small children so i have someone else to turn to when the ringquists leave. so the baby is feeling a little better. joshua put her to sleep and we watched a movie. he deamed it a chick flic and came upstairs. after the movie was over i went to check on the baby only to find she was not in her crib. i found her curled up with dad and i had a hard time getting him to let me put her back in her crib. she is asleep now and i should be as well. these things need to come with instructions, the children i mean.

Ice

I do not know who had more fun. Baby tried to hold on but kept
dropping it.

Finally, a bath

Princess is bathing again, hope it lasts.

a mystery

baby is getting pretty good at feeding herself these days. she had her and dad's favorite for lunch, mac 'n cheese. mostly the food makes it to her mouth but there are a few that jump ship. after she assured me she was finished by throwing the remaining food overboard we went to clean up. she is having a good day so i put a freshly diapered and clothed baby on the floor to roam and play. it was not two minutes before she returned to the scene of the crime. i looked to see what she was doing and found her eating the leftover food off of the floor (no, i had not cleaned up yet). how is it that food thrown from the high chair minutes before is now appealing enough to eat off the floor? it is a mystery. i should simply be happy that she is learning to feed herself and i can eat along with her.

Expectant

Waiting for dad to return.

New chef

Baby likes my cooking.

who me?

i fixed the shredder. no need to thank me i know how cool i am. i also scrubbed the laundry room floor because someone left a wet item there to rot. i will not mention the person by name but you know who you are. maybe someday i will get a gold star for all of the floors i scrubbed. or how about a weekend away with no crying babies or demanding boyfriends. i also got the tables and dealers for the casino night fund raiser. maybe i deserve two gold stars. or a chocolate bar. how about my favorite sushi and a child who sleeps through the night again. gotta go figure out what is wrong this time.

Hanging out

On the ottoman. It is soft.

it's fair time again

a couple of questions for the parents who read my blog:

1. should i worry about the tic tac baby swallowed?
2. is an all dairy diet acceptable?
3. what do i do when she wakes in the middle of the night?
4. how do i discipline a child who laughs when i say no?

it has been an interesting week. i am about half way finished with cheryl's quilt and plans are being made to make my new sister-in-law one. what a great welcome to the family: your mother-in-law is crazy and your sister-in-law makes tacky crafts for presents. hope you will stay.

i did have a garage sale and can finally park in the garage again. and cheryl and i made plans for the fair. it will be another bitter-sweet time without bob. maybe we will all eat too much again and act like everything is fine.

detroit lakes

found some pictures from the lake and thought i would share them. nothing like a cute baby to get the grandparents to give mom a vacation.

she moves too much, or horizontally challenged

so the baby likes pasta, and hot dogs, and bananas. she still has yogurt for breakfast but the rest of the dining experience has changed. we went to the doctor for her 9 month checkup and she has dropped from the 25th to the 10th percentile in weight. the only way i got out of the office with my pride was that she stayed in the 50th for her height. she is growing, just up and not out. they want me to start milk and try to get her to nurse more. i swear i feed the baby, i do. she  moves too much. i think we should work on getting her to move less instead of trying to feed her more. dont they say to exercise more instead of concentrating on diet? shouldnt the opposite be true? any ideas on how to stop the baby from moving? anyone?

tantrum anyone?

joshua says it was oppenheimer who said, "i am become death, destroyer of worlds." and now he has taken to calling audrey that. she must destroy anything in her path. if you stack blocks in front of her she will knock them down. she is also getting pretty good at moving around on her own so nothing is safe. especially not my computer. i say she will be typing before she walks. she also is not happy if i am not paying attention to her. typical only child syndrome. tantrum anyone?

the power of play

audrey is learning to play by herself. we have spent a little time in her room the last few days while she wanders around and plays with her toys. i used to have the toys in the living room but i have slowly moved them back to her room and found a place for them all. while she plays i have been able to fold laundry and clean up her room a bit.

back home

we are back home and not enjoying the heat. i think i could have stayed in detroit lakes, however, not through the winter. joshua has mentioned holing up there so he can get some work done but i am not certain that would be the best thing for the baby and me. plans were made for thanksgiving with the montgomerys this year. that also means a first birthday party for audrey in milwaukee. i assume we will go to tulsa for christmas. more later, audrey wants to go to the farmers market.

Audrey, Destroyer of Worlds

One day a baby alien named Audrey traveled with her parents on vacation. This little alien did not like to sit still so her parents had to travel while she slept. When she awoke Audrey was very happy to see a strange life form called a cat. The cat was not happy to see the baby alien. During the vacation the little alien tried her best to make friends with the cat, to no avail. She also spent time with her grandparents. Grandma taught little Audrey how to play with the interlocking blocks. They played a game called "Push and Pull." Audrey enjoyed this game so much that whenever she was given blocks she would quickly pull them all apart. She played this game so often her father took to calling her "Audrey, Destroyer of Worlds."

Grandmas house

Grandma can make anything work. This is baby's high chair at the
cabin. Notice the tarp.

Cat

Playing with the cat.

New duds

Grandma dressed baby.

Crawling

Grandma is teaching baby to crawl.

a fairy tale, act one

cinderella, cinderella, why do you scrub those floors?
--why, to remove the baby food of course. where are those pesky mice when there is work to be done?
why must you work on bended knee?
--because the mop is not effective if you do not get to a dropped food immediately.
must the baby eat in such a messy fashion?
--apparently she has an independent streak she acquired from one of her parents.
maybe someday you will meet a nice cleaning lady to relieve you of your duties and you too can leave the house.
--i would love to meet such a charming lady.

Smile

You can almost see her teeth

Call in the guard

Breaking News-- Lawrence, Kansas
A state of emergency has been declared for the Adair household of Lawrence, Kansas. The National Guard has been called in the set up a perimeter to keep unsuspecting bystanders out. According to reports the floor of the kitchen has not been seen in some time, maybe as long as a week. Applying water to the afflicted area has made little impact on the situation. It is rumored that the baby terrorist Audrey is to blame. A spokesperson for the baby had this to say: "Audrey says it was her mother's fault and not hers. Apparently her mother gave her watermelon and mango for lunch." The baby herself could not be reached for comment. According to sources she was taking a relaxing soak to remove the sticky residue. Unsubstantiated reports indicate that if the situation is not resolved soon the Centers for Disease Control may step in. The CDC is confident that if called in it could help alleviate the problem with quarantine and containment. A search and rescue team is scheduled for tonight, after the baby is asleep. Stay tuned for updates.

rip bob

august 11th marks the first anniversary of the death of my father. he is still missed. instead of falling into a pit of despair it was recommended by my friends that i create a positive focus for the day. to that end i am posting some happy pictures. he was taken from us too soon and so suddenly that it is hard to realize even now, a year later. life still goes on but it is a little different without him. audrey is 8 months old now and lee is getting married in a few months. we just wanted him to be with us a little longer.

there will be more to come today.

still here

yes i know, its been a few days. no i have no excuse. but i am working on something. it will be up on monday. have patience.

evolution of audrey

almost crawling

i am working on a quilt for my brother and one for my sister as well. it has been a very productive week already and if i continue we will have the house ready for crawling in no time. i repotted some plants into hanging pots, moved the low pictures to a higher area, took the shredder and a stool to the basement and now i am working on a little cover for the bookshelves. joshua is going to bolt the bookcases to the wall and i am going to make sheers for the front on pressure rods so that she has a hard time removing the books. i am hoping this will keep me sane during the day when she starts to crawl. i also need to make a drawer for her in the kitchen. she is starting to move on her own but does not have the full crawling action down yet.

New bath

Baby found a new place to bathe.

Lunch

She is learning to feed herself.

same as it ever was

another saturday at the farmers market. peaches are in and baby loved them. she also got to pet her fair share of dogs, as usual. i saw a few mommies i know and talked to the master gardeners about our chigger problem. all-in-all a fine start to the day. we are waiting for baby to wake up so we can go out for breakfast with joshua's brother and sister-in-law. they are in town for a wedding and are staying with us. it is nice to have relatives to play with the baby. we are also watching the dog and cat next door while the neighbors vacation in england for three weeks. this amuses baby to no end because she loves the neighbors dog. that updates you on the last couple of days. nothing new here. baby is working on crawling and i am sure i will have a video up when it happens. even with the heat we have been getting out more and doing more. we went swimming, to the library, made cookies, cleaned the basement, and went shopping with larissa. i also finished the quilting of my brother's t-shirt quilt and am now ready to add the binding. then i am going to finish the sit-upon for a swap and start on joshua's t-shirt quilt. i am also thinking about making a memory quilt for my sister using photographs.

jumper

i just think this is funny

all quite on the western front

we have been busy. really, that's my excuse. ok, the baby has been busy and i am just along for the ride. she started making consonant sounds recently and now they are turning into regular baby talk. she will be saying 'dada' before too long. today she played in the kitchen while i made vichyssoise and chocolate chip cookies. she helped a little with the cookies. i even let her have some vichyssoise for lunch, we ate it warm though, instead of cold. the house is a mess but we are both happy. she stayed awake for 4 hours in the morning and 3 1/2 in the afternoon. this means no third nap and possibly more sleep during the night. we will see. she has been waking at 6 or 6:30 for a week or so and i am tired of it. so i decided to see what we could do.
last night we went to kc for dinner with joshua's cousins and brother. the girls loved audrey and she loved them. however, every time she was placed in jacob's lap she screamed. i even gave him bread to bribe her with. we will have to work something out while he is here to get her used to him. his wife, lisa, will be here later today for a wedding this weekend. everyone loves audrey and they are staying with us just to see her. that means tomorrow i will have to clean.

Moving

Baby is getting around on her own.

a new discovery

joshua is reading gertrude mcfuzz to baby. she got ready for bed early so he deemed it time for a long story. normally she gets goodnight moon and tucked into bed. that is after the fish is fed. i am glad he is reading to her as she was literally climbing up me for the last hour. she screamed on an off all through dinner. it was an interesting day. we went to the gym, 11:31 for my mile today, and then i kept running for another quarter mile. then we came home to have a fun conversation about finances with joshua (did i mention how fun that was?) and after a trip to the indoor pool for an hour. baby actually liked it for a change. we may start going on a more regular basis. when she woke up from her last nap she screamed at me regardless of what i did. i am tired today. and joshua let me sleep in so i should be in a good mood. also, baby discovered gravity.

martha stewart i am not

my day started at 5:45am. thats early folks. i feed the baby and put her back down. unfortunately for me she was not really interested in going back to sleep. i tried again 30 minutes later, this time changing her diaper as well. still did not work. so i got up and feed us both. we then went for a long walk during which she fell asleep. i returned home, put her to bed and tried to get a few moments of rest myself. by the time my body relaxed from my long walk and i was drifting off, she was up again. needless to say i am not in the best of moods today. we got a little laundry done, worked on baby's room, and made some teething biscuits. we took a couple next door for a second opinion and that got diana up and making a recipe that she claims will be my litmus for all other recipes after i try it. she is part way through and we are back home for baby's elusive third nap to get us to the end of the day. she will be asleep for 30-45 minutes and then we will run back next door to watch the final steps. if it is indeed so wonderful i will post the recipe on the homesteading blog (with di's permission, of course). i really should post about our last few days but this time is too precious. i must eat while she sleeps.

A baby or a frog?

Chair

Baby loves her rocker. Nana put soft fabric on it.

Happy baby

We found this at a garage sale. Baby loves it.