Happy Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving Matthew's sister Melissa and her husband Kristen came up from Seattle. It's not a holiday in Canada today--they had their Thanksgiving back at the beginning of October--but we needed Greta to experience the REAL thing. We all worked together to make a great Thanksgiving dinner. Greta didn't try turkey...but she did have some mashed potatoes. While the grown ups ate their feast Greta devoured one of the snacks she's most thankful for: baby mum mums (little rice biscuits).
This morning Greta wore her Aunt Melissa's hat! She looked TOO CUTE in it, so we took too many pictures :-) Melissa took some photos of Greta actually dressed for the day--but with her camera. So...you're stuck with this photo shoot!


Happy Thanksgiving!

Grandpa Mac and Grandma Linda

Last weekend my dad and Linda came for a visit. I wanted them to have some special time with Greta, as they don't see her that often, so I suggested Matthew and I go out for a bit. Dad and Linda were excited about this, but Greta seemed a little wary of them--I thought that would surely pass and she'd end up having a great time with them while Mama and Papa had a little date. Well, I guess she was alright for about an hour or so, but the last 40 minutes she just cried and cried and cried and was completely inconsolable!!! When we returned her eyes were all red and puffy and she just melted in my arms. Wow, I felt TERRIBLE. I should've listened to Matthew, for one thing, and it was awful to see my daughter so upset. In this photo here she is still "keeping it together"--fascinated with Grandpa Mac's guitar. This was her first introduction to the real live instrument. Despite this novelty, she still wondered where her Mama and Papa were, and it did not distract her for long. Separation anxiety has certainly set in.
Feeling much better now that Mama and Papa are back home. Here are Greta and Papa ready to go out to a church event for the evening. She got to stay up late this night--until after 9! She did pretty well. Being around a lot of people really energizes her.
Linda was so sweet and remembered I had liked this hat we saw together at a store in Gig Harbor a few months ago. She bought it for me for my birthday! A long night at a church function now over, we are all ready to go home and get some rest.
The next morning Dad played the guitar for Greta some more. It took me back to when I was little and he'd play all kinds of songs! He put on quite the little concert, and at some points we were all singing along and Greta was even tapping to the beat.
At church Sunday morning. Greta is wearing a dress my Great Aunt Jane made for my sister when she was a little one. There's a really cute portrait of Jenny--with very rosy baby cheeks--in this dress.
I'm thinking it would be good to put up photos of all of Greta's grandparents in her room--that way they might not seem like such strangers to her when she gets to see them. She has so much family!
Watching Grandpa Mac. During this visit she really did get to spend a lot of time with her grandparents. Hopefully next time they can pick up where they left off :-)
Watching so closely! Maybe if we gave her a guitar she'd be able to play it already? Oh, she's such a first born--such a little genius to her parents :-)
Why aren't you taking MY picture??? I know, I will climb up Mama's leg and make my way into the picture.
I am starting to feel the pressure of finding a full time job for February---that's when my maternity leave runs out. Thank you Canada for such an amazing benefit!!! But please please please provide me with a job when it's over. Many mothers just go back to their old jobs after their year long leave, they are entitled to. However, I don't have one to go back to, as I was just filling in for someone else's maternity leave at my last job. If you are the praying type, please pray that I will find some kind of nanny job where I can bring Greta along much or all of the time. Matthew and I cannot afford for me to continue to stay home once my leave runs out, and we can't afford quality child care either (plus I can't imagine parting with Greta for extended periods of time yet!!) The good thing is that Matthew's schedule, while completely full, will be open some days during the week--so he would be open to looking after Greta a bit when I work. But he will be SO BUSY with schoolwork and not able to realistically do it that much. Please pray that I find a good family in need of care and education for their children, and pray that they will be open to me bringing Greta along.

Big Days Part B

My mom just let me know that the christening gown Greta wore is actually the gown Greta's Great Great Great Aunt BESS had for her baby who was stillborn. Bess was on my mom's mom's side of the family...I guess there were two Bess's on that side of the family, as Greta's Great Great Grandmother's name was Bess (my mom's mom's mom's name!) and that's where Greta's middle name comes from. Got it? :-)

Big Days

On Sunday, November 15, Greta was dedicated at church--along with a one year old named Jonathan. For this special event Greta wore an old christening gown that I had worn as a baby at my dedication. It was inherited from one of my mom's aunts, Aunt Mildred. Aunt Mildred had only one baby, and her baby was stillborn. She saved this gown for my mom to use with her children. It is a very sad story (really, not much can be more sad than that)--but for me it symbolizes hope for the future--hope out of suffering and sadness and loss. We have so many hopes for Greta--and she herself is a symbol of hope for us. Her dedication at church represents one of our biggest hopes for her: that she will always remember she is a child of God.
Greta was very patient up there, listening to Pastor Mark talk for a bit. The only other time we've stood up there altogether as a family like that was over 7 months ago, a week after she was born...seems like yesterday.
I was sick all of last week, but recovered by Friday the 13th when I turned 30!! For my birthday my mom and Shayne came for a visit, and they brought my cousin Mary as well, who goes to college nearby in Bellingham. Greta really enjoyed playing with her.
Greta is SO busy! She is pulling herself up on everything--and that is absolutely not an exaggeration. She has also figured out that crawling can really get her places...like out of one room and into the next! The week before I got sick I took Greta to a couple trial Gymboree classes. Greta was a real go-getter, and the teachers commented on how she didn't seem shy at all. Whenever the teachers brought out some kind of prop or something new Greta would go after it...while all the other babies sat contentedly watching. Greta wanted IN the action immediately! I'm thinking God decided it would be funny for me to meet my match...Greta sometimes does not know how to relax (and she was rather distraught at times seeing me actually relax when I was sick...) She doesn't nap very long and is always on the go. If this is really God's tactic in giving us children then I'm a little worried for when the match for Matthew comes along!!
Here is Greta the first time she pulled herself up to standing in her crib. She often looks at us so proudly like "Hey guys, do you see what I'm doing?!" Yes, we see :-) And we love what we see.

I was kind of dreading turning 30, for a variety of reasons. But once the big day came I felt good. One of the first things I did when I got up that morning--as usual--was play with Greta, and I just realized how blessed I am, and how much I love my family and love my life. It's okay for me to be 30 after all :-)

Happy 7 Months, Greta!

In her birthday suit on her 7 month birthday! Ready for a bath.
On the morning of her birthday I decided I would take pictures of her throughout the day, and really document the day in detail and then do a blog post about it...well those intentions lasted until about 10:00am when I realized that would be WAY too much work for the time and energy I actually had. In summary, Greta's 7 month birthday was a good day! At about 4:ooam she woke up to nurse, and then first thing in the morning when it was actually acceptable to be up she played with Papa while he let me sleep in a little longer (thanks Matthew!) Then Papa went to school, so I got up and we played and read stories and ate breakfast. She had a fun bath and then a morning nap, we took the bus to Mom's Group at church where she played in the nursery with other children while the moms had an intellectual discussion about inner freedom (!), then we walked home and on the way she fell asleep in the stroller. Since she was asleep in the stroller and we live on the top floor of a building with no elevator, I decided to stop off at the library on the way home and let her keep resting. However, 5 minutes after I stopped pushing the stroller she woke up! So home we went. At home she had lunch and we played and played and played! Then she came with me to work, where she got to spend time with 3 other rowdy children--watching Mama tutor, observing and using new toys, and getting thoroughly overwhelmed (but enjoying it nonetheless). We got home in time for dinner without Papa, who was watching the World Series with some friends. I tried to keep her awake until he came home, but due to the recent time change she hasn't been able to stay up very late. So we did our bedtime routine: read a sweet dreams card, read a story, and sang a goodnight prayer before nursing to sleep. Whew! What a day :-)
Mmmmmm, squash and pears and cereal! A splendid birthday breakfast. It looks like she approved of it.
Last night before bed we spent lots of time playing with Greta on the floor. Sometimes we get her a little too riled up before bed--she's just so fun to play with! She climbs all over us...and as you can see, she also eats my nose. She sure is slobbery!
Wheeeee!!!
Such a little sweetie.
I think she's trying to go after Matthew's nose here...either that or his glasses. She LOVES Papa's glasses and is always trying to snatch them from him!
Another thing she always tries to snatch: the camera. She loves when we get the camera out, and it's almost like she knows what we're doing with it! Look, I'm right here, take my photo!
Here she is this morning. She had pulled herself up on me and then was reaching out for her crib, so I guided her to it and she hung out there standing for awhile, saying "Ha!" excitedly--so proud of herself!
Ready for an outing this morning. A 7 month old bundle of cuteness! Greta we love you so.

Happy Halloween!

This was my bright idea...next year she'll be something darling and adorable, I promise! Matthew wouldn't let me put a beard on her. This really was too funny to see in person!
Pulling herself up on Papa!
Matthew the jungle gym! For Halloween weekend our friends Curtis and Julia and their 15 month old daughter Lillian came for a night. We had a great time!
I forgot to mention in the last post that Greta is also shaking her head and pulling herself up on things now...she has had a very full week.

Recent Happenings

Greta has been practicing sitting up on her own more and more lately, and now she can sit on her own for quite awhile before tipping over! Today she did lots of sitting, and went from sitting to all fours, and then to climbing up on things. She loves to sit in front of Matthew or I, grab our fingers, and pull herself up to standing, and then lower herself back down to sitting---over and over and over!
What's that over there?!!
Greta is nearly always on the go. In fact today she did her first official "crawling"--the classic kind on all fours with step after step...it was so exciting to see!! We've been watching her gradually get to this point for a couple months now. She's gone from rolling around everywhere, to creeping, to getting on all fours, to rocking on all fours--and most recently she developed this system of getting around where she sort of lunges on all fours, plops herself down, lunges again and so on...you'd think it would hurt, but I guess not! She's really tough, and rarely cries when she bonks on something.
Now that she has the strength AND the coordination to really, truly crawl I think we're going to be chasing her around soon.
Another development from this week: Greta can clap! She started doing it over the weekend, and she receives continuous positive reinforcement for this behavior (it's SO CUTE!) that I think she's going to keep it up :-) We'll try to get a picture of the action soon.
About a week and a half ago my mom and Shayne came for a visit. Here are Greta and Grandma Kathy playing the piano. Greta put her hands over my mom's at times, and she watched really carefully as my mom played up and down on the keys. She seems really interested in the piano, and in music in general. We often put CDs on in her room--her favorite seems to be the Ella Jenkins multicultural songs for kids that I got at the library. I like that one too.
Lounging around with Grandma Kathy.
Matthew and I went out for a movie while mom and Shayne were here, so they had some fun bonding time with Greta. I guess Greta really liked leaning herself on my mom while they played on the floor together!
The two baldies! (Sorry Grandpa Shayne...)
Greta LOVES this ball. It has holes all around so she can easily grab it, but when it does get away from her she has such a look of determination on her face as she goes after it! She doesn't give up easily. Sometimes it will take her several tries to get the ball back in her hands again--she works really hard and usually without even a hint of a fuss.
Grandma Judy came and stayed with us last weekend, and she and Greta got to spend lots of time together. Although, it's never enough, is it Grandmas?!
Greta has been eating more and more solid foods lately. She especially loves pears. At dinner we put her in her chair with some toys while Matthew and I eat first, and then I feed her. Greta is SO patient and usually lets me eat my whole dinner before she starts fussing for her food (even after her toys have nearly all been dropped to the floor!)
Wearing her little black dress from Grandma Judy :-)
On Tuesday mornings I take Greta to her swimming class. Here she is, ready to get in the pool!
Riding in the boat.
The pool is very chilly! Greta likes it better when she gets to dangle her feet in the hot tub...but she has never once cried or fussed during the swimming class. I think she likes the water.
Kick kick kick kick kick kick kick!!
Greta was a little more interested in the prospect of crawling on this board--rather than kicking from it.
Often times at swim class I snuggle her in really close to help her warm up--otherwise she gets a very chattery chin!

We've been having a great time lately, as you can see. This weekend we look forward to our dear friends Curtis and Julia coming for a visit with their 1 year old daughter Lillian. It will be Greta's first Halloween! We will have to get a costume settled for her soon...

Greta is such a little sweetie---I really can't say that enough. BUT the last few nights she has been testing us with lots of crying!! From gas to constipation to teething...to just plain neediness...we have been kept up more than usual lately. I can deal with this pretty well, because I don't have to get up too early the next morning, and I don't have the same stresses Matthew has with school and work. Poor Matthew has suffered from a bit of sleep deprivation lately, and it comes at a time when he is very, very busy. We are hoping this is a not a new trend for Greta!

At any rate, I DO get many moments of satisfaction trying to calm my little baby at night--it's all worth it when she snuggles up close to me for comfort :-)