Eight Months Old

My little baby is getting so big! She is more mobile now, though she is not very interested in crawling - she usually ends up in a downward dog position and/or scooting backwards, complaining the entire time. What she wants to do is stand. Currently I am her standing assistant, but it is clear to me that she will not need me for long (oh dear, this is going to be true for her whole life, isn't it?). Enjoy some recent pictures - I tried to get one that showed off her two teeth, but I was not very lucky.

Recent Travels

We've been very lucky to spend some time with family recently. Grandma Gert and Grandpa Bob spent a long weekend with us and got some good time with Ildri. She seemed fairly smitten with Bob, and she even let him put her to bed without a single protest - something that Mom and Dad rarely achieve.

We also joined a wonderful amount of family in Sumner to celebrate Great Grandma Jane's birthday. We had a spectacular time, especially due to the amount of babies present. We got to meet the lovely Harper Snow Milnes, the first child of Marshall and Jackie. David got to meet his nephew Matthew John. Both babies were only weeks old and just adorable! Hillary and Jason's sons were also there, and the nearly-two-year-old Jay showed off his quick stair-climbing skills. We can't wait to see the extended family again soon.

Big Tub

Ildri has outgrown her little blue tub, so we're preparing to move bath time into the real bath tub. To help her transition (she's been scared by the big tub before), we got her a friendly face to join her - meet GIANT DUCKY TUB.

She's given it a test drive on dry land, and has approved it so far. I'll post an update on how she likes bathing in it.

Hilarity Ensues!

Ildri has been laughing a lot at the most unexpected things. And of course, whatever was funny once is never funny again, at least to the degree of belly laughs earned the first time. Still, she does usually find her Mama doing silly walks or jumps pretty amusing, which has been adding to my cardio activity (jumping rope = very funny).

This video is really grainy - the camera had been in the car, so I think the quality is due to the cold. But it's still pretty great.

Ildri's First Christmas

Because Kirstin was due right around Christmas, we decided early on in December to just wait to do our holiday visit to Ames until she went into labor.  Since she was due December 20th, we figured we'd end up there right before Christmas.  However, with the holiday rapidly approaching and no sign of cousin Matthew's arrival we decided last minute to venture out to Ames on Christmas Eve day.  We had a lovely visit, and Ildri had a blast opening presents.

For her first Christmas, Ildri received several books, a Leapfrog alphabet toy, clothing (including a flower-print dress from Great Grandma, a pink Adidas track suit from Aunt Kirstin and Uncle Khyle, an Iowa Hawkeyes shirt and a hat and mittens from Grandma Barb and Grandpa Bill, and a t-shirt from one of Uncle Erik's travels), a birdhouse toy and the coup de grâce, a sing-along "stage" with a large mirror and microphone.

On our drive back to Coralville, mom got her best Christmas present when Ildri pulled her hand into her mouth to chew on mama's fingers - Ildri's first tooth has appeared!  This was the first time I genuinely felt that my little baby isn't so little anymore.

We can't wait for next Christmas, when cousin Matthew will be almost one, and Ildri will be 16 months old.  That should be a hoot!

Splashing!

Ildri has discovered the joy of splashing in her tub.  Whoever bathes her usually needs to change into a dry shirt after the entire production.  I think we're going to have to move the show into the "big" bathtub to avoid cleaning up the kitchen floor/walls every night.

Ildri has a Cousin!

Ildri's first cousin, Matthew John Clute, entered the world on December 30th at 5:05 AM (with just a little help from his mama, Aunt Kirstin).  He shocked us all by weighing well over eight pounds.  Mama has met the little guy, and Ildri and Uncle Dave are excited to greet their new family member as soon as possible.  

I must say, I am so excited for my sister and brother-in-law to be parents.  Not only to David and I get to share the experience of being a new parents with them, but I've always known that those two would make a wonderful team as parents.  Matthew is truly a very lucky little boy.