Peek-A-Baby

Oh man, this is hilarious...


By the way, did I mention that Melia is now sleeping through the night? And has been for 2-1/2 weeks now? Oh sweet dreams, thou art mine...

Carseats are funny

Red Bull, it gives you wings

My milk must have super powers. Everytime I feed Melia she suddenly gets this super boost of energy. It doesn't matter if she is dead tired. One gulp of milk and she has wings.

Oh my, teeth. Two of them. Cute, you say? Ouch, I say.

Here is Chuckie, getting ready for a leisurely stroll.


This is Jessica, she is 3 weeks old! Can you believe Melia was once this size?

Tofu and Peas

Melia doesn't like tofu, I mean she REALLY doesn't like it.

She is normally a very good, and clean, eater. Even the peas (which she loves) were turned down.

Just sit already

So Melia began sitting a couple of weeks ago. But until she did, she gave her abs a real workout trying to get to the sitting position. Check this out:

Hi Tooth

No pics of it yet, but the tooth a'comith...

Top 10 suggestions by people who love Melia on how to help the pains of teething:

1) Rub brandy, whisky or bourbon on the gums
2) Frozen washcloth soaked in apple juice
3) Hyland's teething tablets
4) Tylenol
5) Suffer through it
6) Frozen bananas or peaches
7) Cold bottle of water
8) The handle of a hairbrush
9) A bib for all of the drooling

and my favorite...

10) A toe to suck on

Here is what really works: sucking on the end of my toothbrush while it is vibrating.

Christmas and New Years in Colorado

It was a lot of firsts for Melia: first plane ride, first Christmas, first snow, first New Years, first NASTY cold, first time meeting cousins and an uncle...

We had a wonderful time and took a ton of photos. I will get an album together shortly, and post the link here. In the meantime, enjoy these memorable photos!




1) A walk in the snow. It was 15degrees outside and Melia LOVED it! She and I did a quick jog along the road and she was laughing the entire time. After about 20 minutes we had to head back inside as her snot was freezing on her lip.

2) New Years, 12:10am. Melia went down for bed, and then woke up on her own at 11:45. She didn't want to miss her first ball dropping!

3) Melia's first snowfall, Christmas Day. It was a blizzard outside, windy, snowy...gorgeous! Melia went back in with daddy, who couldn't handle the cold, and mommy went sledding. Daddy's no fun.

4) Grammy, Auntie Lisa, and Auntie Heather made some fun stuff for Melia. Here is a long hat and blankie.

5) Reid read a book to Melia and Alec. Oh man, it was too cute! Melia LOVED her cousins and had the best time with them. (Cousin Seth didn't come until the 26th)

Check back on Monday for a link to the rest of the album.

Hello 2008

Its a new year, a new day. So many things to be thankful for. One thing I am thankful for? The right to no longer update the blog weekly. Pthaat! to all of you who gave me crap each week when I didn't update it. Call me if you want an update! It takes time and well, I am sorta busy these days! It was too much. I couldn't go on like that! It was inconcievable! That, and my computer ran out of disk space so I couldn't download anymore pics. But this is my new computer with lots of room for pics- I will still update often, just not weekly. I will download new pics this weekend, and get the blog updated with new Melia pics.

Happy 2008 to all!

Love, Krista, Ryan and Melia

Guess who Melia saw?

Meeting Santa...










(scary beard)


New high chair...










(ready for take off!)


New trick...






(fav foods: oatmeal, bananas, winter squashes. least fav: avocado, peas)


First ride on a carousel...

Hats off to you

We 3 peeps spent Turkey Day in Tahoe. It was cooooooold yet there was no snow to be found anywhere. But it was gorgeous.

Do you think we brought enough hats to keep Melia's head warm? She is just too damn cute, dont'cha think?














Click here to see more pictures from our trip:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=ejd5ehd.1xueywht&Uy=-e205y7&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

Like my mother before me

SLEEPY HEAD

Melia sleeps with a blanket on her head. I know, some of you out there will think: "Ooh, bad mom. Aren't you worried about SIDS?" Of course, but it really isn't that common. And I have a cool crib alarm that my dad and Marcia gave us- if Melia stopped breathing the alarm would go off.

Here is the funny thing: did you know that I sleep with my head covered? Always have. My mom used to tell me that she would check on me constantly throughout the night to be sure I was still breathing. Good thing I have that alarm.

This picture was taken this morning. Ryan said to me, "Well we know she has your DNA for sure."

POOR MOMMY

I have mommy burn-out. I feel like I am losing brain cells daily. My memory is shit. So much for grad school, eh? Seems all my college education is good for these days is how to successfully change a poopy diaper. But, to my credit, I could kick any mom's butt at diaper changing. Bring it on. And folding teeny-tiny onesies used to be cute. Now it is just laundry. Which in-and-of-itself is annoying. My only saving grace is that we bought a really cool new high efficiency washer and dryer set...we will see how long it takes before the novely of that wears off. I can't even bring Melia to the gym anymore because she talks too much and is considered a liability. I need some SERIOUS adult stimulation where the discussion consists perhaps of philosophy and aesthetics instead of baby's inconsistent sleep patterns. Blah, blah, blah. Poor Mommy. Enough whining.

HELLO TURKEY

We are off to Lake Tahoe tomorrow. This is our 5th year going to Tahoe for Thanksgiving. Only this year I am not pregnant (hello chip-shots!) and we have our cutie pie with us. Have a fantastic Turkey Day, everyone!

Go with the Flo

So Aunt Flo showed up. Ladies, you know who I am talking about; Men, don't ask. 13 months! It's been 13 months since she was last here! This is sooooooo annoying.

I am always caught off guard by how much my love for this little lady grows each day. Each morning, no matter how little sleep I get the night before, there is just something about seeing her adorable smile in that little crib of hers when she awakes. Ryan saw it for the first time last week. He says to me "Is she always this happy when she wakes up?" My response: "Doesn't it just make your day?" How could it not.

I have car envy. Or should I say crossover sports utility vehicle envy. I really want one.

You've read the headlines, right? The ones about PVC-this and PVC-that and how it is bad for our kids and our environment? I guess you'd only know if you have little ones running around. Well, the stuff stinks. PVC's that is. Think "new shower curtain" smell. Yah, I don't really want those poisonous gasses around my little one. So a fellow mom and I are inventing a new product. I can't tell you what it is quite yet because I KNOW one of my devoted readers will steal the idea. But just know that something big is coming to the world of baby. The PVC-free world, that is.

Our little girl is sick again. Poor baby. I think she caught my cold.

We didn't really take any pics this week but watch this video- her new facial expression is just hilarious!

All it took was one tomato...

Boompa (Ryan's dad) came up this past weekend to visit. Melia LOVED playing with her Boompa and laughing at all of the funny sounds he made.

On Friday, Daddy and Boompa took Melia to swim class where Boompa got to meet Melia's friends. They had the BEST time! That evening we hosted a Mom's Group potluck at the house- 7 babies and their parents! Boompa got a real taste for Berkeley-esque Vegetarian Organic delights. But thank goodness for late hotdogs. :-)

On Saturday we had breakfast at our local cafe, then came back to the house to relax. I had thrown my back out so we were trying to not do too much. That afternoon we all went to the park, and then picked up some Zach's pizza to enjoy. That's when it happened: Melia grabbed a big, chunky tomato off of Ryan's pizza and tried to shove it in her mouth. Now she has grabbed at food before, but never with this much passion. We put the tomato in a bowl and Melia was adamant about getting that tomato into her mouth! At least she has good taste in food.

So the next day Ryan bought her some rice cereal, just in case she was hungry.

Sunglasses are da bomb

Guess who came to visit? Grammy! And she brought the coolest present! SUNGLASSES! Check 'em out...don't I look cool?

We did lots of fun things while Grammy was in town. We went to a b'day costume party that Melia's friend Connor threw for his mommy, we went for a hike at Tilden Park, we went to some yummy restaurants, and there were lots of cuddles.

Right now Melia's favorite thing to do, besides sucking on her toes, is drinking water from a glass! She LOVES to drink water!

Melia and Daddy Talking

This is just too cute...

Swimming and Cheering on Mama

Little Miss Melia went to swim class last Friday for the first time! Oh my, she l00ked so cute in her little bikini! It was too much. She had a blast and couldn't stop splashing around. One time she splashed herself so much that she started coughing- but she recovered nicely. Apparently the American Red Cross says no dunking kids in the water until they are at least 1 yr. old so she will just have to wait.





Feet. She found her feet. It is all about the feet. Feet when she wakes up, feet when she eats, feet for breakfast.



On Sunday I once again ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon. But the best part was the new addition to my cheering squad...you guessed it, the 25inch beauty. It was the best! Jill made the coolest sign: one side said "Run your buns off" and had a picture of a hamburger bun; the other said "Run Baby Run" and had a huge picture of Melia. It was so great! Very inspirational. Thanks Jill! And thanks to the cheering squad for coming out at the butt crack of dawn.

4 months already

Wow, I can't believe Melia is going to be 4 months old on Friday. Can you? She is growing up so fast. She is in that inbetween stage where she constantly needs to be entertained but doesn't quite have the eye-hand coordination to do it on her own. We had to get creative and find some new toys for her to play with. She loves the Mozart Music Cube, her new exersaucer, and her jumper. She also found her feet, which must taste good as they are often found in her mouth. We are also starting baby sign! Milk, blanket, eat...basic essentials! What else- she can't sleep without her little flannel blanket that Auntie Katrina made for her. She sucks her left thumb and then pulls the blanket up to her face with her right hand. She is also grabbing for toys when her hands aren't in her mouth and she laughs and sings and blows bubbles all the time. And anyday a tooth will arrive. Oh boy!

Today we went to storytime at the Berkeley library. It was so much fun! Here is a picture of her friends...

And here is Melia...

Little Ballerina

Oh me, oh my. What a cutie-pie.

Melia and her friends went to Sears to have their pictures taken. Imagine trying to organize 10 infants all at one time. Oh me, oh my. It was a bit chaotic. But they were so cute! First they were shot in their street clothes, and then in their costumes. What cutie-pies!

On Saturday we went down to Carmel for a wedding. Melia looked so cute! She was dressed in a beautiful white sundress that Ryan's friend Terrina sent over from Bangladesh, and some little pink tights. During the ceremony Melia's tummy began to gurgle and then suddenly there was an explosion! In her diaper! Oh shit. Literally. It was all over my hands, my dress, and her tights. It wasn't pretty. Her tights weren't pretty. Poor Ryan was ready to gag from the smell. I think she smelled like flowers. :-)

Sunday we took our little ballerina to the Pumpkin Patch. It was a gorgeous day and we had a blast!

Rolling Over

Ryan's brother Lance flew up from San Diego this past weekend to meet Melia. We had a great time and Melia really seemed to love her Uncle Lance. These pictures were taken at our favorite breakfast spot, Cock A Doodle Cafe in Oakland.

I can't believe that Melia rolled over while on her belly! Can you? Where does the time go. She has also learned to utilize her vocal chords. Her favorite thing is waking up at 4am and talking and singing VERY LOUD. Like we wouldn't hear her!

My mom's group had a potluck yesterday at another mom's house. Melia and her friend Melina were next to each other and started to have the cutest conversation. Click on the arrow at the bottom left of the video and be sure to turn up your volume (ignore the adults talking in the background).

The loud one is Melia. :-)

This and That

Nipple Wars
Melia's newest game is "Nipple Tug-of War." Open mouth, grab on nipple, suck some milk, turn head, take nipple with, smile, repeat. She thinks this is a riot. Playing with her food already. Oh joy!

Bye Bye Paci
Melia is no longer taking the pacifier- it is ALL about the left thumb. She is really good at using it to comfort herself. She hasn't quite figured out what to do with the rest of the fingers: sometimes they are across her nose, sometimes they are in her eye. But the thumb knows right where to go! I think she will be a lefty as I did this when I was her age.

Yucky Cold
Oh snot; oh snot extractor. Goin' on day 12 now. She is really building her immune system! We saw the doctor today, her lungs and ears look perfect so she is on the mend...all 13 lb 12 oz of her!

Sit Ups
Melia LOVES to be pulled up from a laying position to a sitting position. She actually "asks" for it by pulling her head up. It is too cute!

Spitting Game
I tought Melia to do raspberries, only her tongue doesn't stick out. Maybe it should be called a blueberry. I think that this, along with Nipple Wars, is her favorite thing to do right now. She is very good at it too! But the drool...oh the drool that comes with blueberries.

Road Trip
I went up to Mendocino last weekend for a women's business retreat and brought Melia with me. Although the car ride was fantastic (it was about 4 hours), she did feel a bit out of sorts once we were there. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. At least it was good to know that she does well with distances.

(Melia pulled the towel over her eyes all on her own.)