Cruisin'

Mabel is definitely back in good health. Thought I'd post this video of her cruising around our place. She creeps pretty fast now. She's always after Isabel and her food. To get this video we baited her with Isabel's bowl. Mabel is getting into all sorts of things she shouldn't be into. The other day I turned away for just a second and she had opened the DVD player and taken out a DVD. It was an episode of Lost, so at least we know she has great taste in entertainment.

The sick cloud continues to hover over our house, but Mabel seems to have built up an immunity. Nathan and I continue to struggle with colds, but it's nothing serious.

A small bit of news about Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Dick. Unfortunately, the heater in their house in Peshtigo died and many of the pipes in the house broke due to the cold. My dad, also known as MacGyver, had a light rigged to turn on if the temperature dipped, but the system failed so their loyal neighbor, Ralph, was not notified in time to intervene. The good news is that my dad always shuts the water off before they leave for Arizona, so the damage was limited. Dad flew back to work with the plumbers and assess the situation. They will have to repair many holes in the walls when they get back in the spring because the plumbers had to get in the walls to fix the pipes, but it's nothing too serious. The really good news is the new kitchen appears to be spared.

Pink Eye

Mabel and mama are home from school today. Yesterday, when Nathan picked up Mabel from daycare, they told him that she couldn't come back without a doctor's note that said she didn't have pink eye. Unfortunately, throughout the day, her eyes got all gunked up and red around the outside. Nathan took her to the doctor and she confirmed pink eye AND an ear infection. I stayed home with her today since I have a nasty cold anyway. And Nathan still isn't over the bug that he got at the end of December. Needless to say, we are looking forward to the end of cold and flu season.

Mabel's antibiotics and eye drops seem to be working well. She's in great spirits. She had a nice long nap this morning and has been playing and chatting the rest of the day. We may keep her home one more day so that she can have four solid days at home to recuperate.

MLK Weekend

Just a quick post from the road.  Mabel and I are in Connecticut visiting Uncle Darren, Aunt Jill, Abby, and Sam.  We decided to come out here at the last minute since I had Monday off.  We were able to get a cheap fare and fly out with only minor complications.  The airlines lost Mabel's carseat, but they had an extra to lend us until they delivered her original one.  Nathan is back home headed to the Packer game today.  I hope he can stay warm.

Mabel is doing well at daycare.  She seems to really like the ladies that take care of her and her nap schedule is excellent.  They even tried a new hairstyle on her.  We picked her up last week and she had a little ponytail on top of her head.  I have pics that I'll post later.

Go Pack!!

Flounder Porridge

So, Nathan and I were at the Japanese market yesterday and we thought we'd buy some Japanese baby food. I made her some baby flounder porridge last night. She had a few bites, each one with a weirder face than the bite before. I stopped after a few spoonfuls and switched to green beans, but the damage was done. After most of the green beans were down, the whole lot made a second appearance. We'll stay away from flounder porridge for the time being.

We had a really nice weekend, which was great since it's back to work and school for everybody tomorrow. Nathan went back to work on Wed. and my winter break ends tomorrow, which, of course, means Mabel has her first day at Shining Star Daycare. According to Galinda, one of the Russian owners of Shining Star, Mabel will be holding her own bottle, feeding herself, and sleeping on a regular schedule in no time. If so, the $265/week is well worth it.

One other exciting development...I purchased a new streamlined stroller for Mabel. It's light as a feather weighing in at 8 lbs. and handles like a dream.

First Christmas & New York City

Mabel had a wonderful first Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Dick in Peshtigo and spent Christmas Day with Gammy, Grandma Ciske, Meagan, Bill, Emilie, Alayna, and Olivia. Later on Christmas Day we were joined by Gammy's family.

Mabel received so many wonderful gifts. She's been having lots of fun in her exer-saucer and having long conversations with the talking dog from Grandma Joyce. She's been banging out tunes on her new bongo drums and keeping rhythm with her bilingual maracas. I've also been enjoying dressing her up like a doll in all of her new outfits.

The day after Christmas, we flew to New York City to spend a few days sightseeing and eating our way through the city. Uncle Darren's in-laws were kind enough to let us stay at their city apartment for a few days. Mabel saw all sorts of fun things including the tree at Rockefeller Center, the shops on Park Ave. & Fifth Ave., Central Park, the Upper West Side, Soho, the Village, the Museum of Modern Art, and even a trip on the subway.