Baby Zoo!

We were recently host to Elanor's Mom's Club. We've had a few babies over now and again, but nothing like this! 10 babies with their mom's were all having fun in our living room. Some sitting, some crawling, a few walking, and no shortage of crying! Ryan thought he "cry proofed" his office door but realized although it can keep Wilken's cries from customers, it is no match for the roar of 10 babies. Ryan had to stop working and stop to observe the festivities.

Here is a great bird's eye view of only some of them:

Wilken "Seas World"

We had our nephews stay over on Thursday, January 4th. It was a "glimpse into the future" kind of evening as we were able to experience what it would be like to have a 6 year old and a 9 year old . After many hours in the new "Man Den" (a.k.a. garage) playing Playstation 2, pool, and darts, the boys were exhausted.

On Friday morning, we peeled the boys away from the video games to venture down to SeaWorld. Although David and Grey are no strangers to SeaWorld, this was Wilken's very first adventure (Elanor, Aunt Traci, and cousins David and Grey had fun last week going to the Wild Animal Park).

Elanor tried to talk the youngsters out of it, but they all found the courage to ride Shamu. Now Wilken is not able to swim yet, so riding a 6 ton mammal in 50 degree salt water was hard for her to swallow, but they all did it and are safe as can be!

Thanks for the great time David & Grey!

Happy New Year & Happy 8 Month B-day!

What a great start to 2006! After a fantastic fun and family filled Christmas & Hanukkah, I hit the road with my mommy, Bubie, and Grandpa for good old Bakersfield to which I am no stranger. I spent a whole week there. I spent a lot of time with my Bubie and Grandpa, got to see my Great Aunt Jane for our second visit together, spent an evening with the "Boyz 'O Bakersfield" (see Aden's blog), and spent several days playing with my big buddy Zachary (he can walk!).
I spent over 4 hours with my Great Aunt and Bubie while my mommy and Grandpa went to see a some movie about a giant gorilla. We had a great time, although I start to get a little anxious when my mommy disappears.
My daddy came over New Years weekend and I was soooo excited to see him! I smiled, laughed, and even fell asleep on his shoulder after he wore me out with play. New years Eve was spent eating a big dinner (lots of baby food for me) but everyone wanted to go to bed by 9:00pm! Losers! Grandpa hit the hay at 11:00pm and only my dad stayed up to bring in the New Year.

What is the biggest news so far this year you may ask? I am officially crawling!

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It has been a gradual process. I started hanging out a lot on my knees and even took two steps forward on 12/17/05 as I lunged forward to grab something. I couldn't quite figure it out, so I kept practicing and practicing. I worked so hard in Bakersfield taking three movements forward with my knees. It all came together on 1/3/06, and now I am mobile. Yippeeee! What an improvement on life this is. Now I can not only get to my toys, my parents when I want to climb on them, but I can also make several attempts to go after the various black and brown electrical cords, eat the leaves off of the plants, or pull all of the books off of the shelves. I can even open the fire place! My mom and dad keep talking about baby proofing, whatever THAT is.

You can't STOP me, you can only TRY to CONTAIN me!

Merrappy Chrishanukkah!

Well, the holidays have passed and my first Chrishanukkah was a hit. Much to my parents dismay, I received way too many toys. I want them all out all the time, but my parents are trying to figure out where they can all be stored.
Christmas Eve was celebrated at our house where we opened gifts under the tree. Christmas Day and The first day of Hanukkah was celebrated at Aunt Traci and Uncle Ken's. I didn't get a chance to enjoy the great food, but look forward to that next year! I enjoyed spending time with all the family (Aunt Traci, Uncle Ken, my two cousins David and Grey, Grandma V and Armen, and a special off Chrishanukkah year visit by Bubie and Grandpa). After Chrishanukka, my mom and I carpooled back to Bakersfield to visit with my great Aunt Jane and my new Bakersfield posse. We'll tell you all about the week in my next blog entry.
Happy New Year!