I'm home, and I'm 34 weeks old!

I had a lot of fun on my trip, but I'm happy to be home. I honed my crawling skills while I was gone, and I'm very mobile now! I really enjoyed seeing Daddy and sleeping in my own crib. And now I have found a fun new place to play...the bottom of the changing table!



And here I am in all of my 8 month glory! Can you believe that I'm that old already? Mommy and Daddy say that it doesn't seem like that long ago, but it seems like a lot longer than that. now what is that supposed to mean?

Leaving, on a jet plane...

So this was the flight leaving Omaha on the second trip I've taken, which means that I have been on three airplanes before this one, and now Mommy decides to take a picture of me! Silly Mommy. Oh, well, at least she took one. Yes, I am quite the experiences flyer for only being almost 8 months old, and Mommy is becoming pretty experienced at traversing airports with a cute baby!



And so far, out of five flights, I have been able to have my own seat on all but one. It is much nicer that way, because I can fall asleep much easier and sleep much longer in my carrier, and Mommy gets a much needed break!

Saying Goodbye

I had so much fun in Iowa, meeting lots of friends and family and seeing where Mommy grew up. I also had a great time G-Grandma and G-Grandpa, and Grandma and Grandpa, my uncles, and Aunt Becky too.

I think Mommy is a little fried, and ready to go home, and rest. (I haven't been sleeping very well, since I got a cold and have been in so many different places on our trip.) Daddy misses us both and is ready for us to come home. I've had a lot of fun on my trip, but I miss Daddy and I am looking forward to my own crib!

Thanks everyone for all the smiles and all the fun!

Uncle Chris...aka Uncle Bubba

Uncle Bubba seemed to think he was too cool or something, because he didn't spend much time with me. (He said he had to work a lot, so that might be a good reason.) He did hold me a few times, and he was silly in his own way!

Having lots of fun with Uncle Nick!

He's so silly, but so much fun too.

Uncle Nick

So Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky came out to Iowa because they love me so much, they just couldn't miss spending a few more days with me!! (Yeah, and they wanted to see the rest of the family too, I suppose.) Uncle Nick is still crazy and tickles me way to much, but I like all the attention. (And see, he's smiling again!)



I'm keeping him in his place, making sure he realizes that I am the center of attention now, because I am much cuter than he ever was!

Uncle Drew

My Uncle Drew, he's a pretty OK guy. I'm having lots of fun playing with him...he likes to get down on the floor with me, and he brought me a present (a little stuffed dog, to remind me of my Lily)! I found another new toy I like to play with...glasses, especially Uncle Drew's!




I have discovered the joy of knocking over a stack of blocks. It brings a smile to my face every time I do it! Mommy and Daddy are going to have to get some blocks at home, so they can stack them and I can knock them down!!

Silly hair and a snowman

Grandma was being silly when she was brushing my hair, and decided I needed a mohawk...silly Grandma!


So, it snowed for the third time on our trip (once in Chicago, once in Minneapolis, and now in Iowa) and Mommy decided it was time for me to have my first snowman, and it's my size!!!

Riding a horsey!

I'm having so much fun with G-Grandpa, and I think he is enjoying himself too!

On to Iowa...another new state, and a new toy!

So after spending another night in Minneapolis, this time with some friends of Grandma and Grandpa and Mommy, we hit the road and headed for Iowa! Once again, I slept most of the way, but that made for easier travels for everyone. We arrived at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Wester's house and I was finally able to get out of my carseat! (I'm not getting back in there for a few days!!)

So I was a big hit (of course), and I quickly found a fun new toy...Great-Grandpa's cane! (When he sits in his easy chair, he props it next to him on the magazine rack, a perfect place for me to get it!)






G-Grandpa thought it was funny that I liked playing with his cane so much! I made him smile!!

Look, I'm standing!!!

Minnesota...A new state!

So we left Chicago for Minneapolis...a new city in a whole new state for me! After we found our hotel for the night, Mommy, Grandma, and Grandpa were hungry, so we went to Panera Bread. It was my first time to a Panera (so Mommy had to take a picture), but Mommy said it definitely wouldn't be my last! (I guess it is one of her favorite places to eat!)



After a good night's sleep, we went to see my Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Erdmann, and my Great-Uncle James. We spent the day with them, took lots of pictures, I had a few naps, and everyone else played a few games. It was fun to be able to spend more time with family that loves us!

I was a little unsure about this guy with the fuzzy beard!

A lot has changed...

...in six months. Not only have Wilson (Mangold) and I grown quite a bit, I grew some hair, and now we both smile for the camera. But the biggest difference is Uncle Nick...he's smiling...he likes us, he really likes us!!!!


The first picture was taken August 25, 2008 and the second was February 14, 2009. I'm so happy that Uncle Nick likes babies now. He stilled called me a Fuss Monster, and other names, but we sure did have a lot of fun playing together. He liked to tickle me until I screamed, which I did, repeatedly, until Mommy told him to stop, so I could catch my breath. Good thing Mommy is always taking care of me. (I think I may have peed my pants, but I do that all the time, so it's not really a big deal.)

We stayed with Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky for a few days and then it was time to move on!

New Adventures

So yesterday, I did a few more fun things...I started crawling a little better and found a new room at the end of the hall! I've been in there before, but never on the floor and believe me, it looks a lot different from down here! I also realized that I had found where Mommy and Daddy feed Lily (although she rarely eats there, she likes to take her food to another room to eat each bite...she doesn't want to miss out on anything, just like me). Mommy was a little worried about how Lily would react to my prescence right next to her food while she was eating, but Lily didn't seem to care. She stayed in one spot to eat her food, but didn't realy even seem to notice me.



A little later, I discovered that I can pull myself up on the sofa! Boy, yesterday was an eventful day!

Surprise!!!!!

I surprised Mommy this morning when she came to get me...I was standing up waiting for her!!! She opened my door and saw me like this, called for Daddy to come and see, and then went to get the camera (of course). I was pretty proud of myself, Mommy and Daddy seemed a little concerned. (Maybe it was because they had just lowered my bed a few days ago, and now they are going to need to lower it some more!)




Of course, Mommy was just happy to see that I was feeling better. We had to make a special trip to my doctor yesterday. He said that I didn't have an ear infection, but probably had the stomach flu that has been going around...he was right! (I got Mommy good while she was feeding me Monday night, but then after everything got cleaned up, and I mean everything, I finished my bottle just fine. Then, when I woke up around 2 am and Mommy came to check on me, she and Daddy had to change me and the bed, but then I went right back to sleep. In the morning, Mommy fed me just a little bit to see how I would do, and things seemed to be fine, until she put me down for just a minute. When she came back, she had to clean up me, the playpen, and a few of my toys.)

My doctor said that I would probably have some diarrhea as well and the upset stomach, but I only had a little of that.

What was really bad was that later this afternoon, Mommy came down with the stomach flu also! She had it worse than I did, but she survived!

Wagon ride

Yesterday we went to Nana and Papa's house to celebrate Papa's birthday. It was a really pretty day (especially for February I'm told) so we grilled burgers and ate outside. (I ate Cheerios, lots of Cheerios!) After lunch, Daddy pulled me around the back yard in Nana's wagon. I took me a few minutes to figure out how to hold on and keep my balance, but I got it figured out.




I really was having a good time, but the sun was in my eyes. (Mommy did try to put my sunglasses on, but I didn't want to wear them...maybe I should have listened to Mommy!)

Check this out!

So after my adventure in the closet yesterday, Mommy thought it was time to pull out a new toy (that I got from Uncle Philip and Aunt Lindsay for Christmas)! Its my own little car! I had fun sitting on it, and pulled my legs up to help balance myself. Mommy says I'm supposed to use my legs to push myself around, but it is much more fun when Mommy and Daddy push me (at least right now, my legs barely touch the floor).

But I can also push it when I'm standing (and someday soon walking)! Mommy caught me smiling in the picture, but I was a little unsure about this...my legs and I haven't totally agreed on who is going to support who!

Today, I surprised Mommy by pulling up on my gate! (Yes, there is a gate in my doorway...Mommy says its to keep Lily out of my room, but she seems to use it to keep me in, also!) Up, I'm starting to pull up. I prefer fingers, but when there aren't any around, I'll find other things!

Mommy better get ready...

because I am movin' and groovin'! Yep, I was trying to get up onto the shelf of my changing table. So far, I can only get my legs up, but one day, I'll get up there! The fact that I can get to the changing table myself (from my blanket) means that I'm getting stronger every day...

which is why I really scared Mommy today. She left me to play on my blanket in the middle of the floor in my room, while she went to let Lily outside. When she came back, I was gone...she didn't see me anywhere. But she heard me, and then she saw the closet curtain move. She found me! I had made my way into the closet and managed to close to curtain behind me, but then I had a bit of a time trying to find my way out of the curtain, while Mommy laughed and got the camera!

30 weeks

I'm a happy girl! I'm now 7 months old and keep Mommy very busy. I am getting better and better at eating my fruits and veggies...squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, apples, pears and bananas. But now, I have reached a new milestone...Cheerios!! I really like Cheerios. I can even pick them up, but haven't quite figured out how to get them into my mouth. I'm trying though, and I'll get them in myself in now time...just wait and see!