Snow Day!

Aoife is at an age where she can get really excited when she experiences something new. Our last trip to the zoo was a lot of fun because she absolutely loved the animals; she looked in amazement, and laughed, and as we would walk away from certain exhibits she would climb up over my shoulder and gaze back, craning her neck, so that she could watch for as long as possible! It was probably more fun for mom and grandma than Aoife ; )! Given this new awareness of, and wonder at, the world we were really excited when watching the weather forecast this past week. We knew that the weekend would bring snow! When it started falling this morning Aoife was content to just watch, coo, and smile as her dad held her and talked to her about it, for and hour! When we actually got her outside, she wasn't sure -- we still had fun.



It is 30 degrees outside right now, our highs later this week are supposed to be in the low to mid 20s. Fingers crossed, our travel plans for Wednesday won't be too delayed. On that note, our next post will be made from the land of sunshine and warmer weather, Phoenix, where Aoife will acculmulate even more new experiences for us to share.

Until then, have a wonderful holiday season, take care of yourselves and each other!

We love you!

James, Maggie, & Aoife

Splish, Splash...

...Aoife loves the bath, and she has one every single night ; )!

Aoife's bath helps her relax and she loves to play in the water. Silly Mommy played with her hair the other night (now that she actually has a bit) and took some pictures. She was patient and playful, as usual.
Aoife mohawk!The Alfalfa look.
Wet, combed back look--you know, like an old man with thinning hair.
Just super cute.
She also enjoyed playing with bubbles that Mommy made for her. She wasn't quite sure why she couldn't get a hold of them ; )!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. We hope that you all enjoyed your day, too.



We love you!
-James, Maggie, & Aoife

It's mealtime! -- and other bits and pieces

Here's our little Aoife having her first meal:




We think that she did a great job and goodness knows it was exciting for us. We decided to start "solids" after weeks of her watching every bite of food that made its way to our mouths and actually even successfully intercepting the odd morsel here and there ; )! Successive meals have gone even better, as evidenced by the pictures you will find below.You'd think she actually likes avocado.She does love her sweet potatoes!Aoife thinks: Hmmmm, I might actually need daddy's help to get to the water at the bottom of this glass.

I (Maggie) have been making all of Aoife's food so far. Sweet potatoes, banana, whole grain rice cereal, and acorn squash have been a hit -- she gets so excited she can hardly contain herself as soon as she gets into her high chair. She immediately begins to shake and giggle with excitement. She quickly learned to feed herslef. She likes to take her spoon, put it in her mouth, and then turn it over to dump the contents onto her tongue. Actually closing her lips around the spoon and then sliding it out of her mouth has proven a little too sophisticated for now ; ). Avocado and pears (pears of all things?!?!?) haven't gone over so well. They actually elicit a gag reflex. Next on the menu are some green veggies, peas and green beans maybe, to be followed by some oat cereal. She is also really into water, she will drink it any way we give it to her: bottle, sippy-cup, straw or big girl glass. The big girl glass is her favorite, or course.

Solid food has been our most exciting development to date, but we have other news to report. Aofie was 6 months old on the 23rd of October! Time really just goes by too quickly, we can hardly believe it. At her 6 month well baby appointment Aoife was "off the charts" in height. She checked in a 28 inches long -- she is in her 9 and 12 month clothes already! She was 16 lbs. 13 oz., a healthy weight, but only 66th percentile (compared to her 99th plus in length). We joke that she is going to be our gorgeous, leggy, blonde (not what mommy would have expected before she actually arrived). Not only is she gorgeous, but smart too. She already loves books. The same excitement that she shows for food she has for books. Often just the cover of a book, a couple in particular, actually cause her to laugh. Surpirse, surpirse, she loves good food and good literature, she really takes after mom and dad!I love a good book (especially when mommy sings it to me or does the funny voices)!I am so curious about everything in my world.I'm my daddy's girl!
What a beautiful fall day!

We expect wiggling like a worm or crawling shortly. Aoife has started to scoot backward when she is on her tummy and lunge forward, catching herself on all fours when she is sitting playing and wants to get to something. Stay tuned for that news as well as other exciting developments.

We love you!

Un gran abrazo,
Maggie, James, e Aoife

Happy Halloween!

Aoife's first Halloween and all that's left are the pictures:

I am soooo cute in my costume!
Wow! What is this and is it all for me?!?!?

Well, maybe just a couple of pieces!

No, Aoife did not really get to eat any of that candy. She has just started on "solid foods", check back for that update in the next couple of days.

The Pictures Speak for Themselves...

...so, even though the title rings true, I just can't resist a little caption for each ; ).

Cute girls!

Cool, I rolled into my mirror! If I had to encounter an obstacle, I'm glad it was this one ; )!
Practicing sitting with Daddy.
Is it "Portland Weather" already?!?!? Really?!?!?Ha ha! I can sit by myself!Well, kind of.

A Quick Update

Okay, so we've been MIA. Life has been busy, but we haven't forgeten to take plenty of pictures so that we can share what you may have missed ; ). Aoife is growing so quickly, we were just talking about how in the last week or two she seems to have transitioned from our baby to our little girl, the littlest of course, but a little girl all the same. At her 4 month appointment she weighed in at nearly 16 lbs. (75 percentile) and was 26 in. long (90th + percentile). She is learning about her world by babbling, screaming, coughing (on purpose), squealing, playing, laughing, and stuffing things in her mouth (see below). We suspect she is teething, but the only evidence we have so far is the drool tap that starts running in the morning and shuts off just in time to go to bed and the gnawing on everything in sight. She is practicing sitting, and is really doing pretty well considering that she isn't even 5 months old yet. She is an absolute joy! We just feel so fortunate to have her in our lives!

We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon.

Besos,
James, Maggie, e AoifeBitter beer face!!!
Am I teething?
Okay, so after the last two we had to offer this one. Ain't Aoife beautiful?
Mommy, go away, Daddy and I are trying to sleep!
I can fly!

It's in the Mouth ; )

Munch, munch, munch!

What do you think, Watson?

I wonder if I can fit the whole thing in my mouth?

Mmmmmm....yummy!
Hey Mom, I really don't think that this one is going to fit, but I sure am going to try.

Just Gorgeous!

Okay, so I suppose we are a little biased, but isn't Aoife just gorgeous ; )!?!


I love my Daddy!

Sheer joy! We have been acting as a "horse" of sorts for Aofie and singing to her as she bounces along. This is sure to earn some laughs, which we relish!


I love to play!

Mommy adores me!!!


I'll see you soon. Bye, bye!

Aoife: Master of Tummy Time...

...well, kind of. Aoife is just getting to be more and more fun every day. We play a lot and she is always engaged, in fact, maybe a little too much. She has a hard time napping because she is so interested in what is going on around her. Bedtime can be hard, but we are building better routines and are learning more about each other -- reading each other better.

We have been working on "Tummy Time" everyday, she hates it. That seems to be the case with most infants though. We persevere and we actually got some smiles today while she was playing on her tummy. All of the exercise has payed off, she has complete control of her head, so much so that Mommy actually let her face forward in her Baby Bjorn today. She was thrilled!