Bon Appetit

At Reid's recent birthday party, delicious curried pumpkin soup was served.  I believe Marley was the only one of the kids to have some.  I'm sure he was the only one who asked for seconds.  And thirds.

Anyone who's ever dined with him knows that he's an eater.  He has a broad palate, and is always willing to try new things.  Oh sure, he loves him some mac and cheese.  But he also scarfs down broccoli and green beans, gobbles up salmon and cod, and devours everything we order at Dim Sum.  Plus a whole slew of other things that I don't think I had even heard of as a child, much less eaten.  He does turn his nose up at things occasionally, but he's usually willing to give them another try again later.  And he's been like this since he was a baby!

Now that Amelia's beginning to eat with us, we want to do everything in our power to replicate Marley's adventurous eating habits.  In the couple weeks since she's officially started solids, she has already proven herself to be a champion eater.

With Marley, I made all my own purees and lovingly spoon fed him every bite.  And I have all kinds of time to do the same for Amelia.  NOT!  (Does anyone still say "NOT", or was that just an early 90's thing?)  This time around we're mostly skipping the whole spoon feeding thing and going straight to self feeding.  Things are going pretty well.  Amelia seems to be enjoying herself, and we all get to eat together! 

Snow Day!

Okay, so for me and the kids, everyday is kind of like a snow day, now.  Except usually without the snow.  And actually, it wasn't much of a snow day for Jeff.  Even though he desperately wanted to stay home, he forced himself to hop on the bus this morning.  He did wait for Marley to wake up, though, so he could see his reaction to the snow.  I wish I would have gotten video of that - it was so cute!  The snow continued falling throughout the day and it got really windy.  Jeff finally decided to head home - ON FOOT - since the traffic was so bad.  It took him 3 hours to get here!  However, his sister, Jill left the UW two hours before him.  She was heading home to Steilacoom.  But, since traffic was barely moving, she threw in the towel and decided to head to our house instead.  She got here about an hour after Jeff (a whopping 6 hour commute!). 

Sorry about the lack of videos lately.  I've been running out of space on Blogger, so I haven't been posting as many.  So, I'm going to do what my brother, Matt does (and I should have been doing all along - duh!) and just post links to the videos.

Our first trip out into the snow this morning. 

Ten minutes into our first trip out in the snow this morning.  Yes, Marley had mittens, but he wanted to take them off so he could feel the snow.

Amelia getting ready for trip #2 of the day.  We bundled up better and Marley kept his mittens on.  Trip #2 lasted much longer.

Me trying to teach (very poorly) Marley how to make a snow angel. 

Look what I made Marley for his birthday!

Click here to view this photo book larger

6 months

Marley at 6 Months
13lbs 13oz (3rd percentile), 24.75 inches (5th percentile)

Amelia at 6 Months
16.5 lbs (65th percentile), 26 inches (50th percentile)

Amelia at 6 Months:
*Can push up onto her hands and knees and rock back and forth
*Scoots backwards, often ending up in a corner somewhere or under the couch
*Loves to grab (and eat) her toes
*Is very ticklish, especially on her neck, thighs, and chest
*Babbles: Da Da, Ga Ga, and Ba Ba
*Has one tiny tooth (on the bottom)
*Still has a runny nose and has still not gone back to sucking her thumb (it's been a month, now!)
*Wakes up several times throughout the night to breastfeed
*Thinks her brother is hilarious
*Likes broccoli, green beans, pears, and pizza crust
*Isn't so sure about sweet potatoes, avocados, and bell peppers
*Favorite color is green (according to Marley)

Alki Bakery

It is a very sad day for the residents of West Seattle.  Alki Bakery unexpectedly announced last night that they are permanently closing their doors.  It has been an almost weekly tradition for us to go there for coffee, smoothies, sandwiches, clam chowder, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and a warm dry spot to gaze out at beautiful Alki Beach.  My only small consolation is that we just went there for lunch on Sunday with Nai Nai.  I really hope that there's a way this closure can be avoided.  The Beach will never, ever be the same without you, Alki Bakery!

ETA: Just in case you haven't been following the story as closely as I have, The West Seattle Blog posted an update.  We're still feeling really bummed about the whole thing.  I have a feeling we'll be avoiding the beach for a while until we can figure out a way to tell Marley.  (He's still having a hard time coming to terms with our neighbors moving over a month ago!  "Why did Paul get a new job?")

The Snot Thickens

Just as Amelia and her thumb were beginning to make amends - she'd recently thumbed herself back to sleep once during a nap and twice during the night - her cold got worse.  Much worse.  Or maybe she got a new cold, I'm not sure.  Either way, her poor little head is completely filled with snot.  And on top of that - she's got a TOOTH!  It's just barely poking through her lower gums, but it's definitely there.  Stay tuned for an update after her 6 month check up on Tuesday!

They just keep coming!

Here are some more gems that I've been transcribing over the last month or so.  Enjoy!

Marley overheard me talking with Sarah about planning a family vacation to Florida next year where I mentioned flying into Miami, and asked, "Mommy, why are you going to fly to your Ami?"

To his spoonful of breakfast cereal one morning: "Hold on tight! I'm gonna eat you really fast!"

When helping Jeff out in the yard: "I'm not very good at raking, but I'll try!"

Upon entering Curious Kids Stuff, our local toy store: "It's SO beautiful in here!"

Waitress (jokingly, to Amelia): "Are you gonna have some chips and salsa, too?"
Marley (matter-of-factly, to waitress): "Amelia only eats boobies."

Marley (in elephant costume): "Why does Chris have spikes on his head?"
Liz (in pig costume): "Because he is dressed up as the Statue of Liberty for Halloween."
Marley: "Oh!  And I can be the Elephant of Liberty, and you can be the Pig of Liberty!"

Me: "You can either walk, or you can ride in the stroller."
Marley: "I don't want to do any of the choices!"

Me: "Those people are the dog's owners."
Marley: "Are we Amelia's owners?"

And a couple other deep thoughts that I just want to remember:

"Sometimes I feel scared when you leave and my room is very dark."

"What does it look like in the mirror when I go away?"