On the Move...

...kind of.

Just a quick update on the goings-on in the world of Aoife. We broke a new tooth last night, that makes three, and I say we because it was a long night for all of us.

Aoife has been scooting around on her bottom, she kind of puts her leg behind herself and then when she pulls it back again she inches forward a bit. Sometimes I think it creeps up on us and all of a sudden she is across the room. She is still working on crawling, she wiggles around, but no forward momentum that way, yet. In some of the pictures below notice where the boppy pillow is, that is where she started out before I snapped the shots. You can see that she is making progress : )!

She has also been playing passing games and putting things in and out of other things for a while now. That can make laundry interesting, and mealtimes sure are fun. She always makes sure to share her food with mommy and daddy. She is such a sweetie.

Just some shots to show off our pretty girl.I'm helping, mommy.Or am I just havin' fun?!?!? ; )I'm not sure how I got over here, but here I am : )!

Changing Times

Well, Aoife will be 9 months old on Friday. Wow! We have heard time and again that children spend the first 6-9 months growing and then really develop by leaps and bounds over the next 6-9 months. We are really beginning to see evidence of that.Give me a break, I just woke up from a nap. Yes, I do have bed head...I guess I slept well ; )!Aoife has been feeding herself more and more recently. As is the case, mealtimes have become much more interesting, as you can see. Notice, too, that there are far fewer pieces of cheese on her table than peas. I bet you can guess what she likes more ; )!We had our first swimming lesson today. It was so much fun! Oh, and, how much do I look like my cousin Gabriel? Mom and Dad say there is definitely a family resemblance. Yes, I am that cute!So, her swimsuit is so darling from the back, too. I had to share a picture.

In addition to the "evolutions" above, Aoife is:

-Waving "hello" and "goodbye"
-Saying: Mama, Dada, and Bye-bye in appropriate contexts (this is super exciting) and babbles up a storm stringing different sounds and syllables together
-Has two teeth
-Pulling herself up from sitting position on mom and dad and in her bath-tub
-Crawling in circles, no forward momentum yet but sometimes backwards
-Making friends every new place we go, she is such a flirt, she smiles and waves to most everyone at the grocery store, Target, the coffee shop...
-Loving to stand, after she pulls herself up she jumps and jumps and takes little steps (maybe we will skip crawling?!?!?)
-(As you can see) Feeding herself finger foods and feeding herself with the spoon (she pretty much insists at this point)

Yes, we are proud parents...we just feel so fortunate to have her.

Keep checking back for the latest.

We love you.
Maggie, James, & Aoife

Aoife's First Christmas

So, even though she was equally fascinated by the tree and the wrapping paper (and the kitties at grandma's house) as she was her presents, Aoife's first Christmas was a lot of fun. We were so excited wrapping them, it just built anticipation for the coming years when she is more aware.

Aoife and Mommy were up before everyone else, I suppose that this will be routine for years to come (hopefully not for mom though).Anticipation...Fun opening presents.This seems pretty cool.Hmmm...what's this?I do like it!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season! We wish you the best in the coming year!

Love,
James, Maggie, and Aoife

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 ; )!