trip to granny's in the aftermath of a winter storm

a couple weeks ago, mommy and i braved a winter ice and snow storm to drive north and visit granny... gram and pops came down to see us and it was a cozy weekend with family playing, eating, and a quick venture out into the snow.
pops taught me about the virtues of working from anywhere

ashley, erica and conrad took me sledding - i didn't last long but it was an experience!

mommy tried so hard to get a good picture of stacy and me but i just couldn't stop blinking - darn that multi-flash.

eight months old

i'm eight months old now, and really happy most of the time - playing a lot, talking a lot, and being proud of how well i sit up. at least, that's how i was until i got sick... i have my first ear infection but mommy and daddy got me some medicine, and i've started eating yogurt, and things are looking up after four days of being generally grumpy and uncomfortable. on my eight month birthday with my newest toy - four spiky colored balls to roll and play with

this is actually from the week before, but i look pretty cute so i put it on here too

hanging around the house

my nanny kacey made me the coolest rocking chair for christmas. unfortunately you can't see the amazing crafty details because i haven't quite figured out how to rock without hitting my head so we have a blanket on it to protect me, but i love sitting in it and being a big girl
and yes, i am wearing halloween socks

in a snazzy new shirt from uncle brendan and auntie theresa, my eye is a little messed up from that darn blocked tearduct, but mommy thought these were cute anyway

just sassin'

and stay tuned because the drool and the finger in the mouth mean i have two teeth on their way. they're just little stubs now, but have already provided me with a mean bite, so watch out!

my first sleepover

while they were here, grammy and grampa rented a condo so they could watch me overnight and let mommy and daddy get some uninterrupted sleep. the next morning when they came to pick me up i was pretty chipper, i didn't really miss them all that much.

and surprisingly, grammy and grampa don't even look that tired!

My First Christmas

my first christmas was quite an extravaganza! grammy and grampa hermann came in from montana, uncle ric was here from indiana, and auntie mere came all the way from new york to help me learn about the joys of the holiday. we had a tree with a lot of sparkly stuff on it, including a new ornament that mommy made for me, and more packages to open than you can imagine. luckily everyone helped me out as i really just wanted to play with my new toys and all the paper and ribbon. mommy and me on christmas eve

daddy and auntie mere duking it out with mr bacon and monsieur tofu

uncle ric lounging after a long morning of opening gifts

one of my favorite new things, a bumblebee piggy bank

i spent a lot of time in this most excellent walker from great-grandma ceil... and look at me, i now have my own crocs! she was also responsible for my i heart santa outfit, perfect for the day.

i've got this whole driving thing figured out, so don't mess with me!

while waiting to open gifts mommy kept me confined to the kitchen and we read christmas stories

christmas eve is uncle ric's birthday so we celebrated with miniature ice cream cakes

seven months old!

here i am, seven months old!
i am now logging in at 15 lbs and 26.25 inches

and this is my "ride 'em cowboy" pose

Daddy's Birthday Trip to NYC!

my daddy's birthday was december 3rd, and seeing how it was a big one (i won't reveal his actual age) we had a week's worth of celebrating to do. first we had a nice dinner in nashville for steak and i wore a special shirt mommy and i made
and then we were off to new york and connecticut. we stayed with our friends david and alexandra and i got to meet solomon and hannah and play in their fantastic playroom. look closely and you'll see hannah and i have matching pajamas!

it was quite a bit colder there so i got to don my new snowsuit from grammy ginna... it is so stylin' and i love the fur. made for cozy napping even outside.

here's my family on our first snowfall together.

snoozing in times square! new york city was so much fun that we forgot to take pictures because we were too busy shopping, eating, and frolicking! at least daddy caught one of me managing to sleep through all the traffic and commotion.