Almost One

Jia Li has been playing with a new toy lately.

Our little girl is almost 1 year old. This time has flown by fast. I don’t want to jinx us, but honestly, this has been easier than I thought it would be!

Adventures

Matt has tricked out my ride with a kickstand, pannier, and flat pedals to go with the cross bike and Chariot.

This means lots of trips around town grocery shopping and having fun. Park hopping has been our most recent activity.

Jia Li has been very intrigued with the slides. She sees bigger kids on them and tries to mimic what they do.

She also loves crawling around in the grass and wood chips.

Rock climbing is still a favorite.

We stopped at Bread for a little treat on one of our adventures.

With the fun we’ve been having, I don’t want colder temperatures. I love this weather we’ve been having! 50s to 60s means we can travel light and have fun as we go.

Visit from Grandparents

Matt’s folks came for a visit a few weeks ago. On their last visit here, they brought Jia Li a rocking horse that they both made together. She can fit on it now. It’s too cute.

On this visit Bill and Kathy brought a baby doll cradle, a baby doll with cute outfits, and two little kitties that represent Jangles and Merv.

She loves playing with this. The kitties have her attention most these days. Plus climbing in and out of her cradle is fun too.

Jia Li will be growing into these gifts for a long time.

Happy 11 Months!

We’re getting close to having a toddler in the house, not a baby.

Jia Li has made some new milestones again this month. Just a few days ago she started feeding herself with her baby spoon. She gets more on her face than her mouth, but she’s getting the hang of it! She’s also drinking by herself out of a sippy cup.

Jia Li has also started waving and she says “Hi” when she’s doing it. I guess that’s her first official word! Okay, she does say mama and dada but I can’t quite tell if she is addressing us or just practicing her language skills.

While Jia Li has been walking with assistance from us holding one or two of her hands, she has recently discovered a way to walk on her own with one of her toys.

As usual, exploring is the name of the game for this little one. She knows how to get into drawers and cabinets. All the low level storage areas are now hers. I overlooked the Q-Tip box the other day. I didn’t think she could get into it. I was wrong.

Jia Li has also been learning how to climb into things. Here she is waving hi again.

We had a cold weekend last week and I bundled up Jia Li for a hike. The down pram worked great! I just need a way to keep her face warm.

Luckily, things have warmed up again. We are enjoying our last days of Fall!

While the Cat’s Away…

I was in the middle of a phone conference the other day and realized Jia Li was being uncharacteristically quiet, so I went to investigate.

Thank goodness this hasn’t become a habit. It’s funny though, I need to learn that if there’s something in the house that the cats like to mess with, Jia Li is likely to mess with it sooner or later too!

Hanging Out

I’ve been horrible about posting on the blog. School and work have me quite busy these days, so now I’ve got some catching up to do!

Jia Li is up to 16 pounds. Still less than the 3rd percentile for other babies her age, but she’s growing at her own rate.

I had a book club meeting at my house at the end of October and Lila came to visit with her mom. This was the first time the girls played with each other rather than just parallel playing. It was really cute.

We are all taking advantage of the great Fall weather before cold hits and we lose all our sunlight at the end of the day. That means lots of trips to the parks around town! Jia Li isn’t complaining.

She always loves checking out my bike.

She’s also becoming quite the rock climber!

I’m getting better about always being prepared on our outings. I can’t forget the snacks!

If we can’t make it to the park, at least we can go for a quick neighborhood walk. This time Jia Li decided to grab keys and lip balm for the trip.

Winter will be here before we know it. I’m looking forward to taking Jia Li out in the snow.

Happy 10 Months!

I can’t believe how close our little girl is getting to a year old!

She’s still not walking but getting awfully close.

She and Dad have been getting a lot of together time. She’s now got a Bama ball cap, so she and Dad were decked out and ready for game day this last weekend.

Jia Li and I have been doing our normal weekend hikes, which as usual are lots of fun. Jia Li has her game face on for this photo.

Here’s Jia Li with a post hike snack.

Nothing but cuteness exuding from this little one these days.