We Have a Walker!

Finally, I captured it on video!

She's still a little unsteady, but she's doing it...

I think she would actually prefer walking over crawling.

She "bear crawls" around the house a lot more lately rather than crawling. 

ANYWAAAAAAAY....

Here she is!

...pay no attention to the mess of a room, please :)

Books!

I turned my back for a second to hang up a shirt in Wren's closet.

This is what can happen in a few, short seconds...

I would hate to think what her room would look like if I left her unattended for a couple of minutes....

A Day at Home

Wren is pretty busy these days.
These are some of the things she enjoys doing....


Digging in the plant.
She is always digging in this plant.
Always.

Hanging on the gate.
Why?....

...waiting for Daddy to come home, of course!

Playing the piano on Momma's Kindle

Giving hugs!

Ah, what a sweetie!
Oh, and guess what else she's doing these days?
WALKING!
No joke.
Just today she has started taking unassisted steps.
At first, just a few... but she's getting braver and braver and taking more and more.
I tried getting video of it, but I haven't had much luck yet.
Hopefully I can get some footage of her walking soon!

January Play Date!

Wren and I had a play date with the mommies and babies from our breast feeding support group this past Friday.
We don't see each other on a weekly basis any more, but it's always so fun when we do all get together.
We've known these gals since they were itty bitty babies.... they are all growing up so fast!
There are walkers and talkers and 2 that are turning 1 year old soon!
How did that happen?

The girls!

That toy must have been making music or something...
it seems to have their attention!

T.P. Monster

New favorite thing to do...

Uh oh.

Caught red-handed!

Fortunately, there wasn't much paper left on the roll.

And you know what?

It kept her entertained for a solid 20 minutes...

so I'm totally okay with it :)

Random Ramblings

My mind is going every which way lately.  I have so many ideas running through it.  So many things I want to accomplish.  So much I want to get done.  Yet I sit here... and think... and dream... and do nothing when I should be up doing something!

A few things that are on my list... in no order of importance... just typing things as they come to mind....

-Repaint a majority of the walls in our house.  The walls are not easy to clean.  I think we need a semi-gloss paint rather than whatever the heck is on the walls now.  They look dirty and grimy and greasy, and no matter how hard I try to clean them, they still look gross.

-Retile the shower in our bathroom.  It's, I kid you not, the original tile from when the house was built in the 50's.  Bright blue.  With a matching toilet.  Jealous?  Ha, actually the color isn't that bad, but there are a few loose tiles in the shower.  Chris is afraid there may be water damage behind them.  Yikes. 

-New baseboards throughout the house.  Half of the house has white, the other half is wood.  I want white.  All white everything.  I will settle for just doing the front room... for now.  

-I want Chris to build some sort of entry way (which, when I say entry way, I really mean dining room) shelving/storage/seating.  My dining room table is littered with coats, bags, books, cords.  It's like a catchall.  We have a coat closet for storage near the garage door, but we kick our shoes off in front of it so it is not accessible without moving a ton of shoes out of the way first.  I try to keep only a couple of pairs of shoes out so it's easier to get into, but Chris has like 20 different pairs of shoes he wears throughout the week.  I'm not kidding you.  He wears waaaaay more shoes that I do.  Kinda funny....

-We need some sort of shelving or a table or something in the front room.  There is a long wall with nothing against it.  It looks so naked!

-Replace the matting on the picture on that long, naked wall.  It needs to be a different color.  Not white.  Maybe more of a cream?

-Order pictures from the past 9 months to put in frames.  I have been so bad about this.  I have a ton of frames in the house, and none have been updated since Wren was like a week old.  Oh, and there is one frame below the tv that I look at EVERY SINGLE DAY that has a picture of me and Chris in it at the Hoover Dam.  I mean, it's not like it's a bad picture or anything... it's just kinda weird.  It's totally like the green screen background where it looks like we are standing in front of the dam, when we were really just posing in front of a screen.  Everyone always comments on it.  It needs to be replaced.  Soon.

-Toy storage for Wren's toys in the front room.  It is seriously getting out of control in there.  Too.  Many.  Toys.

-Oh, and while I'm thinking about the front room, we still need LIGHTING out there.  There is no overhead lighting whatsoever.  If we turn on the dining room light and the light by the front door, it at least kind of brightens up the room... but not really a lot.  Poor Wren has to play with her toys in the dark after about 5pm.

-Speaking of toys, I want to make the basement into a playroom!  We have so much unused space down there!  Ugh, that's a whole 'nother can of worms when I think about all that would go into that project.  Getting rid of furniture... new shelving and storage.... wall decorations... One of these days I will get to it... one of these days.

-I am planning on doing a major house purge this weekend.  We have so much stuff we just don't use.  Chris is pretty good about getting rid of unnecessary things.  I, on the other hand, am not so good.  I hang on to stuff... especially things I think I might be able to use for a yet-unthought-of-project.  Which, a majority of the time, I never get to coming up with a project to use such things... but it's nice to know it's there in case I need it!

-GET RID OF THE DAMN COFFEE TABLE THAT HAS BEEN RESIDING IN MY DINING ROOM FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS.  We moved it out of the front room when we rearranged a bit out there when we got our Christmas tree way back in November.  It was moved temporarily (or so I thought) into the dining room until a new location was found for it.  Well, here we are in January, and still it sits.  It's not even like it's in a place where you would look at it and say, "Huh, well, a coffee table in the dining room is a little odd, but that looks ok there."  No.  It's sitting next to the table, not against a wall or anything, just kind of randomly placed in the dining room... and it, too, has become a mini-catchall.  Bags, Wren's toys, magazines... all sorts of things find their way up there just because it's there.  Oh, and did I mention that there are Christmas stockings underneath each corner?  Uh yeah, we slid it out there on the stockings so it didn't tear up the floor... and then we never took the stockings out from underneath.  Why stockings, you ask?  Well because I was decorating for Christmas at the time... and I was super lazy when moving the table, so instead of going down the hall to find like a towel or blanket or something, I just reached in the closest box to me and pulled out a few stockings to place underneath it.  They weren't our good stockings, but still...  the stockings AND THE TABLE need to go.

-I want to buy a sewing machine.  On Craigslist, maybe?  I have so many wonderful ideas... if only I had a sewing machine to create such things.

-Teach myself how to sew on newly purchased sewing machine.

-Clean the rug in our bedroom.  It's so filthy.  I cringe every time Wren crawls across it.  Ugh.

-Replace the dining room table.  The top of the one we use now is so beat up.  We HAVE to use a table cloth because the table top is in really rough shape.  A table cloth with a constantly eating 9 month old constantly needs to be cleaned.  I would rather just get a new table.  Fortunately, in the load of unnecessary crap we have in the basement, we actually have an extra dining room table...

-I keep flitting around on Pinterest coming up with ideas for Wren's 1st birthday party.  I know it's still almost 3 months away, but I can't help myself!  I keep finding my mind wandering to that (hopefully) lovely day in April!  I have so many ideas... so many.

I know there are many, many other things that I want to do.... but these are the main things that keep floating around in my mind tonight.  I need to start working on some of these projects.  I feel like I have so much I want to do, but I don't know where to start.  It has actually helped to just get these things written down.  I also feel like seeing things in writing helps me organize my thoughts a bit more.

So... where to begin?

Perhaps with the enormous pile of laundry I have been neglecting for the past few days?  :)

Alright, since I know most of you do not read this blog to listen to me ramble on and on about mundane things... here is what I know you really came to look at....

So sweet.

***As I am rereading this post, I realize that there are an inordinate amount of "I wants" and "I needs."  In reality, I already have all that I really want and need... (pictured above).  

9 Months!

Haha, so this is what we thought we were going to have to do in order to get Wren to lay still for pictures....


Chris actually holding her down...

....Chris hanging onto her legs....

\
...Chris taking Sophie the Giraffe hostage.
This attempt actually worked the best for pictures.

Bebe!

9 months old already!

I tried a "sitting session," too....

That was actually harder getting her to sit still than it was getting her to lay still...

...as you can clearly see.

So many other things to do....

And Sophie the Giraffe is way more interesting than looking at the camera.

This is the closest thing I was able to get to a good picture.

Ah well, that's alright....

So, Wren's 9 months old already.  So, it's 2012 already.  So, where has the time gone?

I feel like I start every "Month" post like this, but it's true... time goes by so fast.  It's crazy.

Wren is growing up so quickly.  

She's "cruising" around the house all the time.  

I swear she took her first independent steps the other day going between Chris and me.  

She's getting so close to walking!

She waves hello and goodbye. 

She signs "more."

She eats like a horse.

She has 5 teeth in, at least 1 more well on it's way.

She needs to stop growing up so quickly....

Window Watching

Apparently there is always something fascinating going on in the backyard...

Well, I guess it keeps me washing the windows fairly often.

Wait, what am I talking about...
no it doesn't.

My windows are definitely smudgey. 

But I don't care because it's this cute little face....

...smudging them up.

Sometimes Chris Dresses Wren....

....and this is what happens.

This is NOT an acceptable outfit by my standards.  

I mean, really... WHAT WAS HE THINKING?!?!
I just don't get it.  Chris has fashion sense.  He really does.  He dresses himself very well.  He is actually quite stylish.  That's why when I see him dressing her in things like this atrocity, I am blown away.
WHY would he think anything about this outfit goes together?

Poor girl.
Don't worry, we didn't leave the house dressed like this.
And I promised her that I won't let Daddy dress her when she goes to school.

Here's a full length shot so you can see the whole mess from head to toe.
Ay yi yi.

9 Month Check Up

Wren had her 9 month appointment today.
9 months!  Already!
Next time we go back, she will be ONE WHOLE YEAR OLD!!!!!
I need time to slooooooow doooooooown.
Seriously.

Anyway, here's her stats...

Weight: 17 lbs 12 oz.... 32%
Height: 29 inches.... 93%

She just keeps on growin', growin', growin'...
because she just keeps on eatin', eatin', eatin'....



Pasta is a fave around here, if you couldn't tell....

Train Walking

Wren's really enjoying her new walker from Great Grandpa Duggan.

Check it out....

Christmas- Part 3

*****WARNING:  LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD!*****

Christmas night was pretty uneventful at the hotel.  Wren slept wonderfully again!  Monday morning we went back over to Dad's to have breakfast and to say goodbye.  We had to be in Sparta by 11:30 to visit with Aunt Elaine, then Christmas and lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Gudbaur at noon.  It's crazy to think about how many people we used to fit in their basement on Christmases past.  Now our family takes up the whole basement ourselves!


At Grandpa and Grandma Gudbaur's

Wren playing with a spoon...
Mommy eating one of many, many holiday cookies.
Looks like Chris may be chewing on one, too.

Cozy on the couch with Mommy, Daddy, and AUNT SORCHA!

I had to include this pic just cause it makes me laugh.

After Grandpa and Grandma Gudbaur's, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Knight's house to celebrate Christmas with them.  Uncle Tim showed up, too!  We played games, did a craft project (well, some of us anyway), opened presents, and had a white elephant gift exchange.

Lee playing the quarter game

A roll of quarters is wrapped up in multiple packages within packages (there were a TON of boxes to go through this year).  The goal is to get the roll of quarters out (obviously)....  BUUUUUT, you have to wear oven mitts on your hands, and the person sitting next to you is rolling a die, and when they roll a 2, you have to stop and it's their turn.  And so it goes... around and around until someone finally gets the quarters out....

Melissa was the winner this year...
and Lee is a creeper in the back.

We also played lots of "Minute to Win It" games... boys against girls!

Sorcha and Fionn playing against each other

They had to stack the glasses in a pyramid (and place a pom pom inside each one) without knocking them over.  Fionn won this game... I can't remember if boys or girls won overall... but we had a lot of fun playing!



Half of the girls team- Maeve, Sorcha, and Mom!

After Grandma and Grandpa's, we went to check into our hotel in Winona, while everyone else went back to Mom and John's.  Wren slept horribly that night.  We ended up bringing her into the bed with us... so we all slept horribly.  I think her teeth were really bothering her.

Tuesday morning we went up to Lewiston to hang out with the family for the morning/early afternoon.  We opened up our stockings, Melissa made us a yummy breakfast, and Wren got a fun new walker from Great Grandpa Duggan!

Musical instruments for Christmas in Wren's stocking!

Wren loves Christmas!
And Lee is still a creeper....

Wren's walker/train/alphabet learning center

Tiny Kitty and Wren checking each other out

That afternoon, Grandpa Duggan took us all out for lunch at Chula Vista.
There were 14 of us all together!

Family pic at Chula.
Of course Wren is eating!

After lunch, we all went back to the hotel to swim.  Mom, John, and the kids got a hotel room, too... and so did Graham, Melissa, and Lee!  We had a lot of fun hanging out, swimming, playing games, and decorating cookies... yes, we brought sugar cookies to decorate in our hotel room because we hadn't done it yet!  To me, the Christmas season is not complete unless I get to decorate sugar cookies!

Alright, here's a series of unbelievably cute pictures of the Chickaloo in her swimming suit....
I seriously take hundreds of pictures of this girl.  Seriously.


Get me outta here!  I'm ready to swim!

So excited!

Happy baby

Splashin'....

..and swimmin'....


...and playin' with Daddy!

Wren loved splashing in the water!  The hotel had a baby pool, which was absolutely great for her.  There was also a hot tub (the big kids definitely enjoyed that), and a regular pool, too.

Tired baby after all that playing!

Wren was wore out!  She went to bed at 6pm!  Chris stayed in the room and worked on his laptop while Wren slept.  I went across the hall to Mom, John, and the kids' room... Graham, Melissa, and Lee came over from their room, and we played Sour Apples to Apples, Infuntinum, and decorated cookies.  We had so much fun.  I always laugh so hard when we are all together!

Hotel cookie decorating
I like the reflection in the mirror!

Some of our beautiful creations!

Ta-da!

Wednesday morning we all had breakfast together at the hotel, loaded up the car (it was full to the top with presents.. mostly for Wren!), said our goodbyes, and hit the road for our loooooong trip back to Indy.  Wren actually did really, really well on the return trip.  She slept a lot of the ride back (I think she was absolutely exhausted from days that had been jam packed with action!).  We stopped twice on our way home... once to eat and once to take a break.  We made really good time getting home, and were back by just after 8:00 that night.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip.  I had such a great time spending the holidays with my family.  The time always goes way too fast... and it's always so sad to say goodbye.  I wished we all lived closer together.  I really can't wait to see them all again!

Maybe another trip back this summer???

***Oh, and a happy 2012 to everyone!  What an amazing year it has been!

***OHHHH, and another thing... I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I looooooove it.  For real.  Coolest. Thing. Ever.