Firsts

There have been a lot of first around our house in the past week. I guess when you have a new baby, there are firsts all the time, but some of these have seemed especially noteworthy.


1. According to our pediatrician, Jonah is working on her first teeth! They are her bottom center teeth and we can feel the sharp ridge in her gums. As a result, she has been a little fussier than normal, and a little more aggressive when chewing on objects (including fingers—hers and ours). We've been giving her frozen teething rings, which she is not too sure about. These rings have been the first really cold things she's ever felt.

2. Today, Jonie rolled over for the first time! We had just been telling her Auntie Sonya how well she's doing with tummy time, and then Jonah decided to show off with her first roll from tummy to back. We all cheered and she started to cry. It is hard to say whether the crying was due to the pure shock of turning over, the thrilled cheering of three adults, or the fact that she rolled from her soft blanket onto the not-so-soft wood floor. I'm guessing all three.

3. Today was a beautiful day in Oakland. Must have been 70 in the sun. We took a walk that necessitated Jonah's first sun hat, and then we all laid in the grass together. Some of us had done this before; others hadn't.


4. For the past several nights, Jonah has been sleeping in her crib in her own room! That has been a big change for all of us. We definitely feel her absence in our room at night, but it is great to get her moved into her own room. The baby monitor is in full force.

Some mom love.

Don't you love the hat? Thanks to Ellie and her mom.

Happy Girl

Waitin' For the Doctor

Anne got some great photos while we were waiting for our doctor in the exam room today.


Oh, that belly.
Crinky Gator is coming to get you!

Michigan!

We just got back from a long and lovely weekend in Michigan. It was Jonie's first time meeting many of her relatives, and she was in great spirits. Anne and I were both really anxious about the plane rides (a three hour stint to Minneapolis and then one more hour to Grand Rapids). Many of our fellow passengers looked a little anxious when we sat down near them, too. But Jonie was a gem. She slept or nursed during both rides and was quiet as a mouse. Same story on our return flights. We got lucky on our long flight home in that we had an empty seat between us so Jonah was able to stretch out and relax.



Grandma Duke (that is what Anne's mom is called) and Jonie got to spend some great time together.
Jonie also got to see two of her great grandmas. Here is Grandma Pasche (Mike's mom)...
... and here is Grandma Scott (Gloria's Mom).


On Sunday, Gloria hosted an open house so that Jonie's aunts and cousins could say hello. They even got the chance to put four generations together on one couch. Pretty cool.


The weekend was made even more special because Anne's brother Aaron was able to drive out from Wisconsin with his wife and their three kids. Here is Jonie getting a tickle on the belly from her cousin Katrina.
Grandma Duke was in heaven with all of her grandkids in the house together. And she was pretty worn out, too. Here is Landon, Jonie's 16-month-old cousin. Anne thinks he and Jonie look a lot alike. He's a cutie.

On Monday we got lucky and had a snow day. Both Grandma and Grandpa Duke are teachers and both of their schools canceled classes for the day. Such luck! Gloria got Jonie a snowsuit for just such an occasion. She was totally adorable and swimming in the thing. We couldn't resist taking her out for a walk.
The Jonie-tunes giving me some Scrabble tips.

It was a wonderful visit. The only thing we would have done differently is take more pictures!

Tubbin'

Somebody loves her bath. And loves her mom.

Junkyard Doggy

Yes, Jonie has a new nickname. Okay, she's got several new nicknames, but our favorite one is Junkyard Doggy. She is earning the name by chewing like crazy on anything she can get her hands on. Sometimes it is literally her own hands....
sometimes it is my hand...
... and sometimes it is a toy.
In addition to her unstoppable love of chewing, our little Junkyard Doggy has developed some pretty strong muscles. She's got some abs of steel:
And a pretty strong neck, too.Is she pleased with herself? Oh, you bet.

And... we're back!

Sorry for the long hiatus, loyal blog followers. (Insert valid excuse here.)

Here are the Jonie photos you've been longing for. The little lady has been working on her grabbing skills. Here she is with her good buddy crinkle gator to her left, and her new rolling elephant to her right. The elephant ears were a big hit:


Grabbing skills in action working on her crinkle book (are you getting the picture that she loves crinkling things?). Don't you love the argyle leg warmers? They're courtesy of my lovely adviser, Cori.
Jonie has really been enjoying lounging in our bed. It starts with nursing in bed with us in the mornings, and now she's hanging out in there during the days, too.
I just love this last photo. She's flashing a little belly at 'ya.