The Kitties in the Window

I finally got around to hanging up Ripley's stained glass cat that Grandma Janet made for her (the one on the right). She loves to look out windows so I thought it would be fun to have two cats in the window next to her rocking chair. The second cat is one that I made back when I was in high school (middle school?). As we looked at them today, I told her about her great Grandpa Potter and how he taught me how to make stained glass. I hope some day we can teach her...

Carleton Class of 2029 - revisited

She is finally big enough for her Carleton shirt, and as you can see from the photo, it brings out the smart in her. And she is big enough for the Levi's that her great aunt Connie and great uncle Lee sent. She is quite the stylish baby when she wears them and will probably look even better when they are not quite so baggy!

Out of Town Visitors - my friend Cai

Some very good friends visited us this past weekend. Most of us met in 1993 when they came to Baltimore with Teach For America - Drew, Sara, Kelly, Deirdre. Naya was in DC, but we don't hold this against her. She and Drew have been married for a while now - one of our most fun weddings in Southern Colorado.

Last year when we started telling people we were pregnant, we called Drew and Naya. Somewhere along the way, I think we both doubted that the other couple was going to have kids. I vividly remember walking in the square down in Fells Points and telling Drew that we had something to tell him, and him telling me that they had something

to tell us. Somehow we managed to get pregnant within a month of one another. Cai was born on Apri 24th and Ripley was born on May 27th. Right now that month makes a huge difference - Cai is motoring around while Ripley is still just barely edging along - but as they get older, that month is going to be insignificant, and they will, in effect, be exactly the same age.

I know other people have better pictures from the weekend, so when they share one of the group shots, I'll upload it here (done 11/20/08). My photos from the weekend are linked on my Picasa account. We had such a fun weekend visting old spots like Jimmy's and some new ones like Hampden. There is never enough time, but we've been good about making sure we see one another at least once a year. Everyone got along swimmingly - except for Chad scaring Cai for some reason? Maybe next time, we will try clean-shaven Chad.

Things Ripley Can Do - Eat "real" Food

We started big people food a few weeks ago - first some rice cereal - now on to sweet potatoes and mangos. We try things for 3 days to make sure there are no allergies. I've been making food and freezing it in cubes which has been fun and not nearly as much work as it would seem. Tonight I cooked, pureed, and froze beets which should be fun to give her.

So far sweet potatoes have been the big winner - here's a video of her eating them.

Things Ripley Can Do - Schootch (precurser to crawling)

I don't think "schootch" is any sort of technical baby term, but it was what came to mind as Ripley and I were playing today. She is starting to realize that she can propel herself forward. Pretty fun!

Things Ripley Can Do - Roll Back to Front

This is pretty long (1 min +) and the payoff comes at the end, so don't feel obligated to watch. The gist is that little girl can finally roll from her back to her front, which means we have to start being careful about where we leave her. I used to know she'd be in the same spot when I came back over, but now...a whole new world. Chad said she rolled yesterday (11/4), but this is the first photo evidence.

Lazy Sunday

The pictures say it all. But in case you are wondering about the hat. We've found it the best-nap-aide-ever. It is called a Sleepy Hat (this links to a site with no shipping charge) and has helped Ripley sleep better at daycare and at home. Once she is dozing (not before because it freaks her out a bit), you pull down the flaps, and they block out the light so she doesn't startle as easily. Not to sound like an ad, but if you have a little one or are looking for a good gift for someone who has a little one, check it out.

The Rest of the Halloween Story

Ripley had an incredibly busy week with Halloween activities. It started on Sunday with the Lantern Parade (see previous post), and continued on Wednesday with her play group. We started going to Wednesday play group back in the summer when I was working from home, so it was easy to arrange my schedule to visit with other Fells Point/Butcher's Hill moms and their little ones. It has been harder this Fall, but we manage to go every other week or so, and this week was the Halloween dress up event. Ripley was Tinkerbell, courtesy of her aunt Jenny.

Ripley is no longer the youngest in the group - she was for quite a while - but the majority of the babies are still about 2-3 months ahead of her, so it has been fun seeing what she is going to be doing (crawling!) before we know it.

On Friday, we had 3 events. First came her appearance as Tinkerbell at her day care party. To the left you can see her as "angry" Tink with Miss Crystal (purple hat) and Miss Kari (green hat). I think she was mad that she couldn't have a cupcake with bright orange frosting. Or maybe she was just hungry.

We went from our day care party to Ghoul at the School. Community groups and businesses set up tables at Patterson Park Public Charter School and the kids walk around and get to trick or treat. Daddy aka Dr. Kramer Dr. Kramer Dr. Kramer (it is so fun for his students to see him at events like this) carried her around. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and she had a nice time being the center of attention.

And finally, after a short stop at home for a nap, we headed up to see our friends the Kannams. I am mad that I did not get a picture of them - Peter was a coconut tree, Zachary was a soccer ball, and Cole was a Siberian Tiger. Ripley had drooled all over her Tinkerbell costume, so we changed back into tofu pup to round out the week. I stayed at the house and helped hand out candy, while Chad took her around with the boys. All in all, it was a very fun first Halloween, but I don't think Chad got her enough candy when they were trick or treating. I suppose that will have to wait for the upcoming years.