First Tomato From Our Garden

Daddy planted some tomato plants and herbs a couple of months ago, and we finally have a tomato ready to pick!  I LOVE tomatoes, and ate part of this one for dinner the day I picked it.  I think I get my love for tomatoes from my Mommy and Grandma Julie.

Baby's First Christmas

I had an eventful and wonderful first Christmas! It all started with our Christmas party in Sarasota on December 19 (described more in the "I Miss My Nanny!" post).

On December 20 we had a Christmas celebration in Sarasota where I got to open gifts from my Grandma Julie and Uncle Adam, and a few from Aunt Jennie and Mommy and Daddy.  We had a fun morning and then went out to breakfast.  I was so tired from the party the night before that I slept all through breakfast.  Here I am in my Santa coat with Uncle Adam.

On December 21 we flew from Orlando to Sioux Falls.  This was my first plane ride and I did just fine.  I actually had a fun time on the plane playing toys, walking the aisle, and smiling at all the people. We arrived to Sioux Falls just in time for a huge blizzard!  It snowed about 20 inches over 2 days, and the wind was blowing.  We were stranded at my Grandma and Grandpa Schoenfelders for a couple days, and I couldn't play outside for a whole week!  Here's a summary of our Christmas vacation:

Dec 22 - Hung out at Grandma and Grandpa Schoenfelder's house. Daddy's friend Mike Kappes came to visit with his daughter Sydney - she is 14 months old and we will probably be great friends someday.

Dec 23 - Grandpa Pat, Jennie, and Jordan came over to celebrate Christmas.  I got lots of fun presents from my family - toys, books, and clothes.

Dec 24 - We visited Great Grandpa and Grandma Baumberger, Sarah, Greg, Simon, the trips, Grandpa Pat, Jennie, and Jordan.  We went to Christmas Eve mass at Huntimer Church, which is the church Mommy went to while she grew up.

Dec 25 - Celebrated Christmas with Grandma Kristi, Grandpa Kim, Uncle Jeremy, and his girlfriend Chelsea.  I got so many more fun presents!

Dec 26 - Celebrated Christmas with the Schoenfelder family at Kim and Kristi's house.  We had a great time playing bingo, eating lots of good food, and opening presents. Yes, I got more presents!  Mommy and Daddy had to bring an extra suitcase home just for all my gifts...I'm a very lucky girl!

Dec 27 - Went to visit Mommy's friends Janey and Kari and their babies (see Babies, Babies, Babies! post).  Then we went to a baby shower for Mommy's friend Kristen Gundvaldson at Erin Steever's house. They are friends of Mommy's from college too. Kristen will have a baby girl this January, so I will have another friend to play with! Then we went to visit Mommy's friend Nora Schaefer, who will have a baby boy this January.  I will have lots of boys to pick from :)

Dec 28 - We packed up and flew home.  I did great on the flight and the drive home from Orlando.  It was a great trip, but we were all glad to be home!

Here are some pictures from my first Christmas.

Babies, Babies, Babies!

Mommy's friends had babies around the same time she had me.  Kari and Janey were Mommy's roommates in college at SDSU.  Kari had Elijah on April 28 - he is a husky boy and a lot bigger than me!  Janey had twin boys on June 4 - Conner and Carson.  We all got together while we were in South Dakota for Christmas this year.  Here we are on the couch in birth order.

I Miss My Nanny!

My Tia Tia (that's Auntie, Auntie in Spanish) Jennie has moved to New York!  Her last day of being my nanny was on December 18.  I am so greatful that she was able to be my nanny for a few months because we had so much fun together and she took such good care of me.  Some of our favorite times were taking LOTS of strolls outside, laying out by the pool (I was in the shade), shopping, meeting Mommy for lunch, going to Miami, chasing and playing with Dakota, teaching me how to do flips, and lots of playing with toys and reading books.  We only had one scary day when I choked on a small piece of apple.  Jennie knew just what to do and saved the day!

Everyone can tell I love my Tia so much because I go crazy when she comes in the room.  At Christmas in South Dakota I hadn't seen her for a few days, and then she came to visit.  I immediately started smiling and reaching and straining to get to her.  I hope we get to visit her often in NYC because I will miss her a lot!

Mommy and Daddy are very sad that she is gone too. They really appreciated her help and are thankful for the time we all got to spend together.  We are all hoping Jennie will move to Sarasota someday!

This is a picture of Jennie and I at our Christmas party on December 19.  All of our neighbors and friends came over to celebrate the holidays, say good-bye to Jennie, and welcome Grandma Julie to Sarasota.  I had a blast and didn't go to bed until 11:30 (much to Mommy's dismay).  I was having too much fun to sleep...I'm definitely a social butterfly.

First Lunch Out with Grandma Julie

A couple of weeks ago I went out for my first lunch with Mommy and Grandma Julie. We went to Olive Garden and sat outside.  I was a complete angel and loved looking at all of the people.  I ate some tomatoes and some of the spicy pasta, tomato, and bean soup.  I love that soup!  Spicy foods are much tastier than the bland cereal and processed baby foods.  I also learned how to drink out of a straw and really liked the lemon-peach iced tea.  We definitely will be going to Olive Garden again soon!

7-Month Stats

I went in for another check-up in December.  Mommy and Daddy can't believe 7 months have passed already!  My stats at 7 months are:

Height: 27.8 in. (93rd percentile)
Weight: 15.1 lb. (17th percentile)
Head Circ: 17 in. (58th percentile)

I'm getting very tall - must be a gene passed down from Grandpa Pat.

My favorite activities at 7 months are being outside, strolling, watching and laughing at Dakota, playing peek-a-boo, taking baths, and chewing on everything!  I'm starting to eat some solid foods, but still not a huge fan. I like apples, pears, tomatoes, chickpeas (my new nickname is Chickpea), and beans.

6-Month Photo Shoot

I had 6-month photos taken in early December.  Am I a cutie or what?!