Swing time!

Taking advantage of the nice weather on Friday, Eric took the girls to the playground. They met up with a good friend for a merry old time:

Yes, that is caution tape on the merry-go-round. Why do you ask?

Then Toddler Jeneric showed Baby Wily the finer points of swinging.




And speaking of swinging, Baby Wily threw some serious mood swings on Thursday and Friday and on Saturday... out popped her first tooth!

Boy, was that exhausting!

Happy 8-month birthday, Baby Wily!

Lift off!

Many months ago - last fall, in fact - Toddler Jeneric witnessed a wondrous activity - jump roping. Our neighborhood is full of jump ropers of various levels and next door live two avid jumpers. Toddler Jeneric spent many days watching with amazement, studying the jump rope left on the sidewalk, and, most importantly, practicing her own jumping. This week, Toddler Jeneric became consistent with getting off the ground - over and over and over and ....

Preparing to jump...	and jump!

A typical practice session:

And just in case you're not familiar with our cast of characters:
Toddler Jeneric, as the jumper
Daddy, as rope holder #1
Mary (JIF), as rope holder #2

Answers

Results of the poll: 5 out of 8 were correct to choose crawling. Baby Wily can make it from her bedroom to the top of the stairs in about 30 seconds.

The camera is one of her favorite destinations.

Zoology 101

"Look Daddy, the bird likes me!"

The bird likes Daddy too!


"I like the blue one. Can I have one, Daddy?"


"Look grandpa, pretty!"


"Maybe a goat would be nice, too!"

"That's enough now."

Grammy & Grampy are back again!

Grammy & Grampy rolled into town and showed the girls a good time.

They taught Baby Wily a drinking game...


Took the girls swimming...




Caught the girls aping... Monkey see...


Monkey do!


Visited a nature center - and caught the Turkey Trot!


Then took a lap around the pond.


Whew. Boy are we tired! And not the least because Baby Wily is crawling circles around all of us (Grampy says our poll was rigged!).

Random Wednesday

Video-edition - a compilation of snippets from the last month.

Interlude

Eric: Toddler Jeneric, where are you going?
TJ: With Grammy & Grampy.
Eric: Where are Grammy & Grampy going?
TJ: With Toddler Jeneric!

Rainbows & Smiles

Why is Baby Wily smiling so big?


'Cause she loves Toddler Jeneric's outfit!

(Count the rainbow stripes - the dress, the leggings, socks and hairclip!)

Mobility

As many have predicted, Baby Wily is focusing her time on figuring out how to keep up with Toddler Jeneric. Baby Wily hasn't picked up any bruises yet, but we have certainly done a lot of wincing watching her do a face plant when she gives up on trying to crawl. She has managed a few feet of forward crawling motion, as well as a tentative bit of cruising from one piece of furniture to another. Just in case you think we're taking too much latitude with our definition of mobility, you can judge for yourself:



Now that Baby Wily has had a taste of walking, her attention span for sitting still is about 30 seconds.

ETA: Let's vote! Will Baby Wily walk or crawl first? Cast your ballot to our informal poll in the upper right corner.

Interlude

Toddler Jeneric's description of an upset tummy:
"There's a caterpillar in there."

Gifts for Mom, Part II

Mom's love handmade gifts, so break out the ol' watercolors and go to town!



And if fine-motor skills aren't your thing, just be yourself!

Interlude

Does it count as crawling if Baby Wily took two 'steps' forward?

Gifts for Mom, Part I

Every Mom loves a home cooked meal when she doesn't do the cooking. Toddler Jeneric offered up this unique breakfast on Mother's Day.



Can you name all the ingredients? If your brain's having a little hiccup here's some help:
Goldfish crackers
Kix cereal
NesQuik Strawberry Milk

And yes, she did finish the bowl.

Take me out

to the ball game!



Toddler Jeneric thought she'd introduce Baby Wily to an American classic.


While Baby Wily rolled down a hill (hey, the lawn seats are cheap!), Toddler Jeneric expressed consternation that some people (the announcer) talk too loud.

Sadly, the home team lost.

Interlude

Said to Daddy, yesterday:
"I really like my world."

Laugh-a-minute

What could make Baby Wily laugh so hard? The same thing that made Baby Jeneric laugh that hard when she was little - silly muppet dancing!

Interlude

While walking by a wedding cake shop, Toddler Jeneric thoughtfully declared:

When I get a little bit bigger, I want one of those. Okay, Mama?

Eh, What's up, Doc?***

Baby Wily often complains vociferously about getting crammed into a high chair and fed all sorts of disgusting things (oatmeal, apples, anything green). In an effort to quell her screams of rage, Eric let her play with her carrots Saturday night. Whoa. Can that girl play.


Carrot on the spoon, carrot on the shirt, carrot on the pants - but oddly enough, no carrot in the hair!


What carrots? Where?


Oh, those carrots! Have you seen the pool of carrots up my sleeve?*


What do you mean I was too messy? Where are my clothes?**

*No clothes were permanently harmed in the making of these images. OxyClean really is magic.
**Somehow nakedness is contagious in the under-three set.

***This is probably our most-used title. See it here (doctor/health context) and here (carrot-eating/Bugs Bunny context).