Growing up with a little of both and the lessons learned along the way
From the monthly archives:
I don’t get what the big deal is about spoons and forks (I’ve heard there is also something called a “knife”, but mommy and daddy don’t let me anywhere near those). I find silverware to be very inefficient, so I’ve improvised a bit…
(Click here for the video.)
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It wasn’t quite a whole week, but last week from Monday thru Thursday, Mommy was in New York for work. And Maile Girl was in Boston with Grandma Jill, Grandpa Mike and Daddy.
Needless to say my girls were VERY happy to see each other on Thursday afternoon when Maile and I went to the airport to pick up Mommy…
A site for sore eyes - Maile Girl greeting Mommy after 4(!) days apart...
Overall Maile did really well. She definitely had her fussy moments, but she mostly avoided full on melt downs. Since she’s still been breast feeding this also meant the first time she went over night without nursing. She wasn’t great on the bottle the first few days, but luckily she ate up a storm and Grandma Jill made sure she fed her lots of juicy fruits (like watermelon).
Maile definitely knew something was amiss and she was more clingy to me than normal. She also would search all over the house for Mommy (including a fun adventure at 2 AM one night where I had to carry her to every room in the house to prove to her that Mommy wasn’t hiding behind the couch).
I think it was tough on Mommy too. We originally planned on using our new iPhones to FaceTime chat, but unfortunately Maile went a little bonkers the first time we tried it. She couldn’t figure out why mommy was stuck in the phone and wouldn’t come out to feed her (she just cried and made her milk motion over and over in front of the camera). So after the first night, Mommy had to go a few days without even seeing Maile Girl (minus the pictures and videos I’d send over to her).
I have to say Grandma Jill was a rock star – I think she took the brunt of Maile missing her mommy, but she made sure Maile had lots of fun and made the days until Mommy came back go by really quickly. Unfortunately, since Maile would get clingy to me whenever I came into the room, I actually couldn’t get any great photos of Maile and Grandma. Here’s the best I got – as you can see she’s already on her way to her Daddy!
Grandma Jill did a great job keeping a smile on Maile Girl's face while Mommy was away in NYC...
And as previously covered, Maile Girl is very much in love with her Grandpa Mike – he gave Grandma a bit of relief when he came home from work and kept Maile laughing until bedtime.
All in all, things went well, but we’re all happier now that Maile and Mommy are back under the same roof…
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To celebrate my first birthday Grandma Jill and Daddy took me shoe shopping for my first pair of shoes. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, but they seemed quite excited, so I went along for the ride…
Okay, I'll smile for the camera - this is fun, Daddy!
It took Daddy a little while to get the shoes on my feet - he said my feet were like a jelly fish. Not sure if that's good or bad, I think my feet are cute.
Ta-da! What do you think? Pretty, right? (Dad note: we sent this picture to Mommy to make sure we had the a-okay from the boss...)
Wait? I don't get to take them off? They stay on?! What is this? You didn't explain this properly... Take. Them. Off.
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For Father’s Day, Maile Girl sent Grandpa Mike a Star Wars t-shirt she found online. She actually sent him two (one Maile-sized and one Grandpa-sized). Unbeknownst to Grandpa Mike, Maile also got Daddy one. So when Grandpa Mike and Maile put on their shirts for some pictures, Daddy snuck upstairs and put on his too. Then Star Dork hilarity ensued…
Mommy said I should amuse them. Here it goes...
Maile: "Ha! Take that." Grandpa Mike: "You can't win, Maile. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Oh no, Grandpa Mike is attacking Maile with the dreaded Mum Mum Saber. But wait, she's fine, she parried it with the mouth counter-attack! The Force is indeed strong with this one.
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“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”
– Dorothy
Last Friday, we hit the beach in Swampscott with our good friends Justin and Kerin, and their twin boys, Nolan and Quinn. Maile had met the boys once before back in November – with a few more months under their belts we were excited to get them all together again.
When we told Maile we were going to the beach, she mentally prepared herself for the beach she went to recently in Hawaii. Needless to say she was in for a bit of a surprise…
Whoa! This water is freezing! What is the deal, Daddy!?
Hey Mommy, can we talk? I have a few things I want to discuss re: this so-called "beach". First, this sand is like pavement! What's up with that?
... Five, did I mention how cold the water is? I can't feel my legs anymore. Six, speaking of the water, why can't I see through it like in Hawaii? Is it dirty? Are you letting me play in dirty water? Seven, ...
"Out of all the sand pits on the beach you ended up in mine..."
"I hear long distance is tough." "Yeah."
We took about 10 pictures trying to get everyone looking the same way - this is the best we did! Justin, Kerin, Nolan and Quinn - great seeing you guys can't wait to do it again soon!
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Family Picture - Year 1
And for old time’s sake, here is our very first family picture:
Family Picture at One Week
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As I mentioned previously, on Sunday I celebrated my birthday with a bunch of friends from the Boston area. Grandma Jill (especially), Grandpa Mike, mommy and daddy planned a really fun BBQ. I got to see some old friends I hadn’t seen since my last visit to Boston in November and I also made some new friends.
Below are some pictures from the festivities – I am definitely a very lucky girl and appreciate everyone who came over to help me celebrate!
Really? Must I wear the hat?
I'm glad I took the hat off, you guys look funny...
Playing at the party with my new friends, Jordy and Alex - they are 4 and 5 years old - basically the same age as mommy and daddy. I learned a lot from them!
This is how I see the world. Everyone is so tall.
Check out the AMAZING cake that Grandma Jill made! She made it completely from scratch and designed the dress to match the dress I was wearing at the party. At first, I was a little nervous that my guests might get confused and eat me instead, but everything worked out okay...
I asked mommy and daddy to help me blow out the candles, but my wish was all my own!
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I try to keep things humble around here, but let’s call a spade a spade and say that Maile Girl has been known to do her fair share of cute things.
We received the video below from Maile’s cousins, Katie and Emily. They live in Japan so they had to send their birthday wishes from afar.
Apparently, cuteness runs in the family (and also gets MUCH louder as the little ladies get older).
(Click here for the video.)
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I’m learning a lot about my Grandpa Mike on this trip.
For instance, he’s a really good story teller. I mean really good. Don’t tell Daddy, but Grandpa Mike is WAY better.
(Dad note: To put this in perspective a bit. I try to read a story to Maile almost every night before she goes to sleep. I usually can get in about 2-3 pages before she starts fussing around and rubbing her eyes. With Grandpa Mike? She’s riveted for the whole story. Apparently, I need to kick my game up a notch. Of course, just for showing me up in front of my daughter, I’m publishing this video for all to see – complete with Grandpa Mike’s ridiculous animal sounds. Payback, Gramps!)
Now, on the other hand – Grandpa Mike isn’t as great with feeding time. Tonight he helped out and fed me dinner. Or more accurately, he let me feed myself while he took pictures like it was the cover shoot for Vogue magazine. It was A LOT of fun, but things got a little messy…
Like this Grandpa Mike?
Just an FYI - this is a little different then how Mommy usually runs things...
All done! Does this count as "eating" my yogurt?
(Dad note: I’m convinced this was a ploy so that Grandma Jill doesn’t look for Grandpa Mike’s assistance again come feeding time. We’ll see … he’s a sly cat that Grandpa Mike.
(Click here for the video.)
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