It's The Roast Silly

Hmmm.....I think Starbucks is on to something with the Pike Place Roast....it's a smoother roast that comes mostly from Latin American beans and is based on one of the chain's earliest blends. No wonder my mommy spends my college fund at that place.

Clearly O. has no "cup" issue. We went from the bottle, to a sippy cup to a coffee cup in one quick afternoon.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes!

Once those little feet have the ability to get from point A to point B - it seems that shoes become a new fashion staple for the under 2 crowd. O. started to walk about 4 weeks ago and has not stopped since. There are no more peaceful walks in the stroller enjoying the breeze and my coffee...I mean baby. It's all about how fast I can run to keep up with her.

To celebrate this milestone we went on our first mommy/daughter shoe shopping trip to the best shoe department EVER. Yes...the shoe meca of Nordstrom. There Ms. O tried on several styles of shoes (we chose the Geox Velcro runners and Stride Right Mary Janes) according to my sister those are the ONLY two brands of shoes of toddlers. Either she's done the research or they have good marketing....what ever....why risk not going with the ONLY brand of shoes for toddlers.

Oh...and no day could be complete without a balloon as a reward for our purchase and a quick run/walk/wipeout on the Serpent.

Happy Birthday To Me!

It's official - O. turned one! Post is a little late but hey it took some time to get over the cake, friends and good times. Soiree was fun and all the little ones survived despite the fact that I purchased a cake that had nuts in it. Who would have thought that German Chocolate included walnuts!?!?!?! Needless to say I think O. does not have a nut allergy.

Surfs Up

Yup - She's surfing. Or as much surfing as you can possibly do when you're only 11 months old and just trying to figure out the whole walking thing.

Give Me That Pretzel

Ummm.....yes O. loves her big fat pretzels. I don't think these are on the Gerber approved baby food list - but what the heck, she's happy. It takes an hour of slobbering over the pretzel to completely finish it - but it sure makes for a good slobbering photo. Better get the bibs out of storage.

Splish Splash We're Having a Bash

Swim lessons officially started last Sunday. After some confusion due to the time change, everyone got their act together and arrived at the pool on time. O. isn't really sure she's having a bash just yet.....we're hoping that a few more lessons will make her a little Dolphin.

One Little Monkey Sitting in a Chair

Fussy eater turns 11 months today and still can't decide what she likes to eat. Today she said no to several items including version 101 of Pasta - but it was a big YES for that banana. Yup she's a biter. Ever wonder how babies learn to shake their head in no? I'm not sure where she's picked up this new trick, but she's great at shaking her little head in a big fat no when she doesn't want to eat something.

Maki Mamma

I realized that my hubby was far more romantic then I ever gave him credit for when he became quite dismayed to learn that I had a 6 PM dentist appointment on Valentines Day. Needless to say I changed it so we could have dinner together. He brought home the catch of the day from Aki Hana and was in the process of creating quite the seafood pasta dish as I started to chow down on the sushi appetizers.

Out of nowhere O. came barreling at the table and wanted her own sushi selection. First she tried the ginger.....then the rice.....then the seaweed.....then she was holding the shrimp tempura maki and taking big bites. Yup the kid likes sushi! So much for that hunger strike she was on last week. Halfway through the sushi roll I thought I heard mamma....but nope....I think it was more like maki...maki....maki.

Must have been all those California rolls she enjoyed while I was pregnant.

Oh...and the romantic - he was in love with his new bottle of White Truffle Oil. I did good on the gift!

Mary Poppins at it again

I came home from work the other night and discovered that Mary Poppins our "Super Nanny" had created a new game for O. She was giggling, bopping around and having a great time. No wonder O. has seperation anxiety when Super Nanny leaves....

Happy Birthday Russian Style

What do you get when you have 56 adults, 24 kids, a live band, kiddie entertainment, balloons, a birthday cake and non-stop food? A 1st birthday party for cousin Zoey - with all the Russian trimmings! It was quite the soiree and both girls were party animals to the end. Despite all the people, the music and the food O. partied like it was 1989. When the music teacher arrived, O. screeched with happiness and could not be contained in her daddy's hands.



Happy 1st birthday Zoey.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Miss O. is a frequent flyer who clearly needs her own AA Advantage number so she can start earning miles for the family. We arrived in Toronto yesterday after minor weather delays and were greeted by a smiling Aunt Helen and sleeping cousin Zoey. The flight was a breeze for our frequent flyer. After several trips this summer to Vermont, Montreal, Toronto and South Carolina our world travelling child had a ball on the flight and spent the entire hour making goo goo eyes at the cute Canadian guy sitting behind us and with her killer smile and six teeth he was ready to take her home with him....I don't think so! (Yup...we're on tooth number 6 - and her dad thinks she's going to be enjoying steak any day now - NO Jim - that's not another good reason to take her to Argentina this Spring.)

Busy week planned in Toronto with a big birthday party for Zoey on Sunday and lots of luvin with Grandma and Grandpa.

Da Da This!

After months of anticipation - Little Miss O. finally uttered what we've been eagerly waiting for. Right between lunch and dinner (where she incidentally has chosen to go on a hunger strike....) O. looked at her rattle and said da...da....da. Ok so clearly the rattle is not the "baby daddy" but it was a huge accomplishment. Finally, babble that we can easily recognize. Go baby go!

On the hunger strike issue - well O. is clearly not taking after her foodie parents. Our desire to feed her yummy homemade baby food, which is so good that we've been eating it ourselves with some added spices, is not making her salivate. She does however plan to subsist on a diet of Cheerios and Puffs.

Beijing or Bust.....

It doesn't appear that "remote control racing" is on the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games roster - but if it were, clearly we know who would come home with the gold!

Happy 2008

After several months of trying to get my mother to let me join the 21st century - I officially have a blog! I know...I know....she tells me she's busy but I've been on her to share my adventures with all my friends and family who live so far away.

I am now 9 months old and can get myself around the house with no problem. Mommy calls it the army shuffle and Uncle Mike said it was the penguin crawl - but regardless of what you call it I can get from point A to point B with NO PROBLEM! I sometimes stop in between to find the phone, remote control or anything else I really shouldn't play with....but hey that's what I do best.

O.