hey momma, watch this

before all of this single-digit and below-zero weather, we had some really nice fall days. i took marianne out to play in the leaves but instead she decided to taste-test. i made a valiant effort at first to stop her but as soon as i would pull one out, she'd shove another in. so i ran for the camera and let her sample.

blech! not so tasty.

but enough fun to give it one more try.

who needs toys when you have empty beer boxes?

they can be a car - vroom vroom, dada.

or they can be a boat - there's room, momma, come on in.

home to see the grands

in november, marianne and i joined jer for his trip home to deer hunt. while jer was off hunting and camping we carried on our merry way, visiting marianne's grands: two great-grandmas and four grandparents. it was quite a weekend and marianne had a blast. she took her first ride sitting in a shopping buggy at walmart while daddy and uncle john shopped for a camping gear and supplies. marianne had just started saying "ba" shortly before the trip and over the weekend she uttered her first "da" - I guess she missed her daddy while he was out on the hunt. a couple of days after we got back home, she started saying "dada"...most mornings we wake up to her yelling it. since then she's also been working on saying "cat" but is yet to clearly say "mama". i suspect i've heard it a few times amidst tired/frustrated cries but otherwise, nothing! she is now starting to wave hello and goodbye - on her own terms though, she refuses to be prompted. she's also clapping like a fool...when she takes a bite, when she knocks down blocks, when she takes a drink, when she crawls into the room...it's addictive and stinkin adorable. she still doesn't like fruit, AT ALL, but i've managed to sneak it into a few meals by mixing it with other foods. she's been cutting teeth like crazy and now has four that have erupted (two front bottom, one front top and the one next to it on the top). she's working on two more (the two corresponding top teeth). that front tooth on the top sure did give her a heck of a time. she started cutting her teeth on 10|9 and pretty much hasn't stopped. maybe she'll get em all out of the way and just be done with it.

here's the photo log from our trip to mo:

with great grandma mary, who remembered marianne's name and was in great spirits when we visited. we actually caught her in the workout room doing her exercises. she was hounding the nurse who was monitoring her workout...she kept calling him a the "meanie man"!

smiles and laughs with grandpa and grandma at the white grill - one of the yummiest dive burgers i've ever had, thanks john.

in the buggy seat at walmart - what fun!

hammin' it up with great grandma minnie. it made grandma's day to hold and hug on a smiley baby.

playing with her cousins at papa and nana's house. cadence is directing the baby play.

on papa's lap with cousin jack and pretty darn happy about it.

laptime with nana. worn out and very content and relieved for the downtime after a busy day playing with the cousins.

halloween +/-

marianne's classroom at daycare hosted a fall party as a parent meet-n-greet about a week before halloween. marianne is in a class with all boys and she pals around with two of them - kian and felix - who are both older by two months and one month, respectively. here they are working hard at a music/activity bench (felix is on the right). her teachers tell me that it doesn't even phase her that she's the only girl. in fact when the boys cry she gets in their face and smiles and laughs. way to go baby girl, work 'em over.

a couple of days before halloween we had a snow storm. i worked from home for two days and got to have one snow day with marianne.

this is her outfit for black-and-orange day at "school" the day before halloween,

when we arrived at school on halloween, kian (aka spider) crawled over and gave marianne a few kisses on the forehead. it was incredibly precious. he's a sloppy kisser. he gave her some slobber along with the kisses.

and here she is in her "very hungry caterpillar" costume. it's homemade so use your imagination.

nothing particularly poignant about this photo, i just love the huge grin. which is almost always in place. she's a happy girl. she is pulling herself up and standing all over the place. today she tried standing with only one hand holding on and then tried "no hands". she promptly landed on her bottom. whew!

have a little laugh. we did.

peas

marianne had peas for the first time tonight. she LOVED them. she kept banging on the tray between bites and practically bit (read: gummed) the end off the spoon. seems she might be a fan of green veggies, so far...zucchini and peas.

don't mind the commentary - we thought we had been recording earlier and then barely caught the end of the meal...as you can tell, I'm scraping the bowl clean.

we also noticed that she was jabbering a new sound tonight - "buh". she's only been saying "hehhh", which she says first, and then she starts in with the "buh"s. george is a pretty good sport with her. the video comes to an abrupt end when she makes a hurried getaway to the ledge. ever since saturday morning she's been going up the ledge on her own and she can now maneuver her way down without doing a header into the floor.

pumpkin cap is compliments of aunt kimberly. she's going to wear it to daycare on thursday for "black and orange" spirit day.

playdate

marianne had a playdate with her friend, madeline, several weeks ago while momma had a playdate with madeline's mommy, tonya. they are only three days apart in age - madeline was actually born on marianne's due date of 3/21. they had a great time together. this is actually before marianne was sitting up well on her own.

marianne adeline and madeline marie

i think madeline may have possibly taught marianne to sit up.

they spent a lot of time playing take-away with this strand of beads.

is that a hint of a tantrum?

yeah, they swapped some spit.

madeline, you are so precious.

creepy-crawler

the last month has been so busy and so has marianne...busy taking on the world of crawling, standing and eating solids (at least mushy ones) with her lone tooth. we certainly have seen a lot of change in her during her 7th month.

she decided she needed to be on the move and she made haste. at the end of august she found her way up to hands and knees.

by the end of september she was military crawling and - much to our amazement - pulled herself up to standing at her einstein gym.

military crawl.

i think i'll just stand.

she put it all together this past weekend and she started crawling on all fours.

crawling (and she actually jabbers a little in this one).

she's now aware that there's a lot more on the floor than her toys and the dog and cat - rugs, outlets, cords, shoes, dust bunnies, so much to touch and taste. that's a big "ooooh noooo" for momma and daddy.

a little tummy time in the nude before my bath.

on the fourth of october we started a meal of solids (read: rice cereal thinned with breastmilk). five days later we gave zucchini a try, which she really seems to like, and i suppose she thinks she needs to chew all that mushy food because on the same day her first tooth emerged. i've been making her food so far. it's so simple and quick. i actually can't wait to start flavoring some of her dishes and trying some combos.

first taste...she's not sure about this.

second day...i can do this.

zucchini is a hit.

this past weekend we went to a pumpkin festival. it would have been an amazing day but it was 87º. are you kidding me? in october? it was supposed to be sunny and cool. it was miserably warm, nay, HOT! hence, marianne's cheeks are beet red. but darn it she looks cute with those pumpkins.

our little yogi getting into downward dog.

our little baby girl is changing before our very eyes. we were so lucky to have our friend, denise, take 6-mo photos of her. here's a couple of newborn vs 6-month comparisons.

vs

vs

marianne is finally getting hair - even in these 6-month photos it's barely there and now she has quite a lot and it's fuzzy, that is before momma slicks it down with lotion. it was pretty dark at first but it's turning lighter and lighter.

i like to think she's momma's girl...

...but who am i kidding?

two years

for our second anniversary i made plans for jerry and i to attend a farm dinner in honor of our farm wedding.

i found this genius group of culinary folks who have collaborated with farms all over boulder county to host dinners on various farms throughout the summer. the spots fill up quickly and i was lucky enough to get two seats for the weekend of our anniversary.

there are a couple of long community tables set amidst the farm - in the field, near the garden or, in our case, in the barn. the food prepared for dinner is harvested fresh from the crops and livestock raised on the farm. it was an amazing experience. jerry was doubtful, of course, but we both had the most wonderful time. we met some interesting people, savored a tasty bottle of wine and ate the most scrumptious meal.

we were greeted to frog belly farm with an apertif of italian bitters and ginger ale & an appetizer of grilled flatbread with mozzerella goat cheese and basil.

we toured the farm and enjoyed the sunset before heading to the barn for dinner.

our menu:

cerleriac soup - creamed celery root

roasted peppers, potatoes and farro salad with chevre

wood-fired farm ham with polenta and chard

grilled colorado peaches with lemon verbena cream

we sat next to a couple who had their 1-yr old girl with them. she actually reminded us a lot of marianne and gave us a glimpse of what's to come in six more months.

happy anniversary, jer. it was a wonderful night and brought back so many memories of our wedding. i love you so much. jb

first came love. then came marriage. then came our baby in a baby carriage.