Sitting Up

This is a little old news by now, but here is some video from Dec. showing how well Noli could sit on her own (and fall over). Within 3 weeks of the video she will be crawling all over the house.

Popeye

Noli is starting solids! We started with rice cereal and she tolerated it pretty well, but as we found out when my mom fed her at Christmas in Missouri, she has preferences. Her favorite is butternut squash. I think the avocado/banana puree slightly trumps rice cereal. Her least favorite so far seems to be the pictured spinach and carrot puree. Could you really disagree?

Drum Set Hero

I had been pretty skeptical of the Guitar Hero phenomenon. Even though I don't play an instrument, I tended to take the musical high road and argue that kids should be learning the actual instrument instead of wasting time on fake, video-game versions. But I played drums on Guitar Hero over the break and got hooked. It was really fun to be able to play along with songs I loved and to let the game dumb it down enough that I could be challenged but not get lost. I highly recommend it and will now be looking to mooch some drum kit time from friends that might have the game. Anybody want to jam?

We had a great visit to MO for Christmas this year. Lots of family got to meet Noli for the first time and she traveled very well. Here are some of the photo highlights.

Top 5's of 2008--Monika's Turn

It is Dec 31st so it is not too late right?
1. We had a baby people, how could that not be my numero uno? It has been lovely and frightening, a little more of both at different times.
2. Costa Rica Trip. We went for Brett and Kim's wedding and it was a fabulous get away of adventure.
3. Friends with babies. People all over the place are procreating and it is fun to see people transform to parents.
4. House cleaners. What can I say? I'm a bit lazy and LOVE coming home on some fridays to a spic and span place.
5. Support. There have been a LOT of changes in our life this last year and the love and support we have received has really made me know how lucky we are.

So here is to a fun 2009. Oh and did I mention, that my top 5 is almost never about music?

This Week in Noli

Two big milestones this week.

On Thursday she started saying her first consonants. Of course I was thrilled when they turned out to be da da da. I win! She's been practicing them constantly for the last 4 days.

On Saturday we went in after her nap and she was up on her hands and knees. Maybe she was practicing in her crib all this time, but it was the first we had seen. Mon said she did it two more times during her morning play time today.

The other funny, not so funny thing that happened this week was that the daycare workers sent home a note to us pleading for help with Noli. Apparently she fusses all day and they are at their wits end. The problem is that she doesn't sleep well there and gets overtired. But we immediately became "those" parents: that can't be my child, she's always perfect at home.

Not to Beard

Since my beard post was oddly one of the most commented-on posts I've had, thought I would give an update...

I caved and shaved.

For those interested in what it would have looked like, calculate the expected amount of gray that appears in a man's beard between the ages of 28 and 31 and sprinkle that into the photo below.

To Beard or Not to Beard?

Inspired by my brother's grizzly beard and curiosity to see how much gray is in mine, I took the long-weekend growth from Thanksgiving and started a winter beard. The problem is that I keep reading in our child development books that Noli will probably develop stranger anxiety sometime soon. This begs two questions: Will she be scared of me once the beard comes in? Will I ever be able to shave the beard once spring rolls around?