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Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Fun @ Grandma & Grandpa's house

My parents recently finished some home improvements projects on their home (had the interior and exterior of the house painted, had new wood floors and carpet put in, had wood replaced on their patio) so everything in the rooms had to be taken out and put back. That included my dad's computer, so I went over to their house today to setup the computer and printer.

While I was detangling chords and cables and reattaching them, my mom was playing with Astrid. Occasionally I would stop what I was doing to pick up the camera and take pictures.

Astrid playing in front of the mirror.

My mom commented, "Oh she loves the mirror." I explained that at home Astrid likes to play in front of our mirrored closet doors.Astrid playing with the vacuum cleaner. She loved the shiny metallic chrome. My mom trying to distract Astrid with a toy rattle. It would work for a few minutes and then Astrid would crawl over to me or get into something else.

Astrid was also vocalizing a lot and my mom was mimicing the sound back to her, "gobble gobble". It was funny to hear my mom making turkey sounds.The furniture behind them is from my room as a kid. The mirror is supposed to placed above the chest of drawers. My parents bought me this girlie furniture set (that also came with a matching canopy bed, desk with book shelves, chair, night stand, and a tall chest of drawers) when I was 4 years old and I had it up until I moved out at 17 to go to college.

Even though I never lived in the house my parents live in today, they still keep my furniture in a separate room. I guess I should tell them it's okay to sell it or give it away as my tastes are a lot different now and I would choose a completely different style for Astrid's bedroom furniture.A cute pic of my mom smiling as she's playing with Astrid.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Little bird wants what Mommy's eating

Astrid did the cutest thing today. It tickled me so much that I wanted to write a post about it. I popped a chocolate almond cluster in my mouth while holding Astrid and I guess she could smell the chocolate and wanted what I was having. She opened her mouth really wide (like she does when we feed her) and put her mouth over mine. It's a natural instinct I'm sure (we've all seen baby birds with their beaks open begging for food from the mommy bird) but it was so darn cute to have my own baby do that to me.

Astrid's handprints all over the mirror

Astrid loves playing in front of the mirrored closet doors. In these photos you can see how much by all the handprints. I guess it goes with the territory of having a kid. I try to keep the house as neat and tidy as possible but some things just can't be helped.When I saw the baby handprints on the mirror the first thing I thought was "well at least the cleaning lady is coming in a couple days." =)

I stand corrected

I made the "woof woof" sound when handing Astrid a teething toy shaped like a dog. Astrid took the toy in her hands, looked up at me with her blue eyes and said, "bow wow wow."

Mommy stands corrected.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Girls just wanna have fun - part II (Astrid & Mara)

Today was Astrid's turn to go over to Mara's house for the afternoon. Here are some pics that Julie (Mara's mommy) took.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Da Da Da

This photo of Uwe with Astrid tonight reminds me what a cool dad Uwe is.Here Uwe looks the part of a rockstar dad, but he also knows all the words to the "Da Da Da" song by Trio (the famous German song for the Volkswagen commercial). Whenever I hear him singing the song to Astrid I always think of the ceramic tile that hangs in my kitchen that says, "Happiness is being married to a German."

Was ist los mit dir mein Schatz? aha.
Ich lieb dich nicht/Du liebst mich nicht.
Ich lieb dich nicht/Du liebst mich nicht.
Da da da - Da da da

To watch the music video click on the link Da Da Da (it will bring up the yahoo Trio homepage), and you can scroll down to the "music video" section.

Girls just wanna have fun - (Astrid & Mara)

Today I babysat baby Mara for the afternoon. Mara's parents Julie and Jason were able to have a baby-free afternoon out on the town. Tomorrow I will be dropping Astrid off at their place so Uwe and I can go to a museum.
At first Mara wasn't too sure about me, as you can see from the pic on the left. But after I fed her I guess she decided I was okay (see pic on the right) and was happily playing with some toys while I took photos of her.

Astrid was taking a nap for the first hour that Mara was over so it was nice to get her acclimated and fed before Astrid woke up and I had my hands full. Look who's awake.

When showing the pics to Uwe I pointed out that Astrid just woke up and he replied, "I could tell by her pink cheeks. They're always really pink when she wakes up." I wish I could say they were "sharing" toys but I have to admit my daughter is a toy snatcher. A very cute toy snatcher at that. Mara having such a nice temperament, didn't seem to mind.
Wonder twin powers activate! (A Super Friends reference.)
Mara was fascinated by Astrid's foot. Maybe because the feet on her Carter's outfit have traction on the bottom.
Astrid studying her foot to see what's so interesting.
"Okay it's my turn now to check you out."
Having fun with the rings. Astrid was beating them together, which she does a lot these days with toys.
Both babies are playing with Mara's stacking rings.
Happy talk.
Mara laughing at whatever Astrid just said.
Just hanging out looking cute.
I played a toddler CD for kids (with numbers and abc's), and as soon as the music started both babies looked up. Uwe says it looks like God entered the room.
Better watch out Mara, Astrid is after that remote control toy you're holding.
A cute photo of Mara.
When Uwe got home we took the girls out for a walk around the neighborhood.
We got a lot of looks from neighbors. With two babies about the same age in strollers, it must have looked like we had twins.

The girls loved the walk and being outside with all the new sights and sounds and smells.

My husband the dreamer.
Oh the endless possibilities...

Starting to pop a wheelie. Hello little baby. Whatcha doin?

It was nice having Mara over for the afternoon. She's such a good baby and it's always a lot of fun to watch the girls together.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Crawling on top of and over things

Astrid's got the crawling part down and she's not content to just crawl on the floor anymore. Now she's mastering crawling on top of and over things. Here Astrid has managed to crawl on top of the pillow barricade I made and was able to crawl over it.

Other than resorting to baby gates (which I will buy eventually to keep Astrid safe and also be functional for us to use) I'm trying to teach her what things are off limits (like the electronic equipment around the TV), since I won't always be able to keep barricades up to keep her out of things and I don't want to live like that either. When she gets close I say her name and tell her not to go there and entice her back with a toy or a book. She seems to understand the tone of my voice and that she's not supposed to be playing over there. Most of the time she will stop and come back and play with her toys or sit on my lap while I read to her, but there are still many times when she will look at me then back at the electronic equipment and then make a decision that it's worth it to go for all those buttons and lights. I know it's her curiosity but I think it's important to establish limits (not just physical ones) early on, that she understands.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Meme of 4's

I found this fun meme on My Little Pumpkin (a mommy blog about her daughter who's close in age to Astrid).

I'm not tagging anyone this time, but if you'd like to do your own please leave me a comment. I'd love to read everyone's answers.

4 Places You've Worked in Your Life
1. Social Services Agency
2. Financial Planning Firm
3. Executive Benefits Firm
4. Elementary School

4 Movies You Would Watch Over and Over
1. Ground Hog Day
2. Dogtown & Z-Boys (Documentary)
3. Love Story (gets me every time)
4. American Movie (hilarious!)

4 Places You Have Lived
1. Diamond Bar, CA
2. Dana Point, CA
3. Newport Beach, CA
4. Los Angeles, CA

4 TV Shows You Love to Watch
1. Lost
2. Big Brother
3. Survivor
4. Project Runway

4 Places You Have Been on Vacation
1. Germany
2. Holland
3. Switzerland
4. Fiji

4 Websites You Visit Daily
1. yahoo
2. blogspot (to update my blog)
3. mommy & daddy blogs
4. craigslist

4 Favorite Foods
1. Haedobop (sashimi bowl with rice and vegetables)
2. Seaweed Soup
3. Jajiangmeun (noodles with black bean sauce)
4. Jahmpung (noodles in a spicy broth with seafood)
(Notice all 4 items are Korean dishes? Can you tell I'm craving Korean food?)

4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now
1. Australia
2. Movie Theater (watching "Brokeback Mountain")
3. Spa (getting a massage and facial)
4. Hiking with Uwe and Astrid (in her backpack carrier)
(Anywhere but here waiting for the termite company to finish replacing the dry rot wood on our deck.)

Time to use the restraints on the changing table

Another fall for Astrid and near heart attack for me.Astrid was on the changing table and sitting up as she always does. I reached down to grab a diaper and she fell over the side. I was standing right there but she went over the opposite corner end and landed right on the top of her head. It happened so fast I stopped breathing in that instant. She's fine, she came away with just a small lump on her head.

She only cried for a little bit and after she settled down a bit I put a cold towel on her head. I noticed a bruised bump rising on her forehead so I wrapped a frozen bag of peas in a towel and tried to put that on her head to help the swelling. Astrid kept pushing it away but I think it helped a little bit. After icing her forehead I had to go back and change her diaper and this time I used the restraints which keep her down on the table. She doesn't like it but it'll keep her from falling off again.

I gave her some baby Tylenol (her head must have been throbbing) and she played with her toys in her chair next to me like nothing happened.

A few hours later the lump was gone and the area on her forehead was just a little red/pinkish in color. When Uwe got home he had Astrid on his lap and felt around for the lump but couldn't find it. I had to point out the area to him. It's amazing how fast babies heal.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Silly fun while bathing the baby

While bathing Astrid tonight we had some silly fun.Astrid holding onto her rubber ducky.Astrid with a washcloth on her head, and her rubber ducky on her belly. Astrid with a washcloth and her rubber ducky on her head.What a good sport she is putting up with her silly parents.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Out comes the Pack 'n Play

We got out the Pack 'n Play on Sunday before Julie, Jason and Mara came over for the girls and it has remained out with Astrid spending short periods of time inside it playing with her toys. She wasn't too sure about it at first ("Is this a prison cell or what?") but she's getting used to it and it's great for when I need to get ready. "Okay maybe I can get used to this." It's funny to see her through the mesh screen. Still unsure about the Pack 'n Play. She'd rather be crawling around in her baby run, but she's catching on that she can get out by crawling over a pillow or pushing a pillow aside so if I need to leave the room it's safer to have her in the Pack 'n Play. "Cheese!"
Close up shot of Astrid through the mesh screen of the Pack 'n Play.
She likes the way the mesh feels.
Testing the limits of the mesh screen with her head.