The little cowgirl

Lately, Afton has taken some interest in her small collection of stuffed animals.

She has discovered that their ears just happen to fit in her mouth.

This makes her pretty excited--even voracious...

and exhausted. Cattle wrassling taken to a whole new level.

Our Little Gourmand

At Afton's four-month check-up, our pediatrician recommended that we start trying a little rice cereal off and on to see how she does with it. We had our first grand adventure into the world of "solids" -- or should we say, diluted rice cereal? Here's how she did.

First, I will note that she gets her skeptical looks from her father. I don't think she knew what to do with something in her mouth that wasn't quite suck-able. And, unfortunately I didn't plan ahead very well, so I was trying to get the cereal, mix it it up, and get it to sweet baby Afton while she rapidly moved from fussy, to frantic, to sc-ream-ing mad. In my increasingly flustered state I forgot the the most important part of feeding a kid (aside from the food) -- the bib.

The mess would have been contained to her chin and chest had she not intercepted my spoon mid-advance. That swift move left the food all over her hand and very shortly all over anything her hand touched. We paused, got cleaned up, and prepped for round two.

In round two, we remembered the bib.

Unfortunately, Afton became much more interested in eating the bib than in eating the rice cereal.

I loved it. Can't wait for next time.

Proof

Tony wasn't joking about his photo-aversion thing. I find it funny because (1) he's actually way more photogenic than I am, and (2) the photo finicky-ness sort of comes and goes. For example...

Last Christmas we spent the holidays with my family and decided to take some pictures before everyone left. Chris, Audra, and Elsa posed for a little shot and even little Elsa grinned for the camera.

Then it was Josh and Brianne's turn. They had just gotten engaged, so they were more than happy to sit together for a picture.

Then it was our turn. The closer my four-month pregnant body leaned in toward Tony the farther he leaned away.

Can you spy the angry Asian man? By the time we hit the whole group shot, Tony was done.

As he later explained to me, he was struggling with the photo session because it "just didn't make any sense." I didn't know what "didn't make sense" about it being a major holiday and us wanting to take a picture on one of the rare occasions the entire family (minus one) that now spreads out over three states can get together....But, I have since reassured my family that our marriage is not on the brink and that Tony generally seems to enjoy my company (at least when it does not involve non-sensical photo-taking).

2-59-62

No, these numbers are not the combination to my 8th grade locker, they are Afton's weight, height, and head circumference i.e., noggin size, percentile ranks.


Yes, our little Afton is a bit of a bobble-head right now. Afton's robust 11 lb 8 oz checks in at the 2nd percentile of babies. As George Costanza once said, "Right in that meaty part of the curve." After getting the chart showing that she was in the 2nd percentile, and after being assured by our pediatrician that our daughter did not qualify for midget status, I felt better about things. That is until I saw that the numbers have a variance of +/- 3% and realized that Afton could actually be in the -1% of weight, putting in her in the same group as the Olson twins and Shawn Bradley - and that my friends is not very select company. Anyway, Heather and I were bit a both surprised at the low percentile until we realized that Heather and I are not much bigger than:

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Yeah, maybe we're not quite munchkin size, but Heather and I aren't the tallest folks in the world either. If you're looking for us in family photos, we're typically the only adult couple in the front row along with the 6-yr olds, newborns, and family pets. Actually, if you're looking for us in family photos, I'm usually the one trying to get out of the picture and Heather is either glaring at me or pinching me to keep me in the frame. Anyway, back to Afton. The fact that she's in the 59th percentile in height was nice. Maybe my failed dream of playing in the NBA will live on through Afton.

As for Afton's noggin size, we're both happy that its growing. However, Heather and I both have newfound respect for Afton as we realize she is trying to balance a jack-o-lantern type head on her tiny, tallish, 2nd percentile weight body.


Hello from Afton and Heather.


Goodbye from Afton!

What a Man!

This post is dedicated to the grill-master in my life. Tony grilled not once, not twice, but three times this weekend and the third time was in the middle of a downpour. (A backyard get-together with my side of the family got rained out...we moved the party inside, but he grilled nonetheless). He has finessed his grilling abilities on our charcoal kettle grill (courtesy of my Lexis-Nexis rewards points in law school) and has wow-ed me with his gourmet burgers, tantalizing kebobs, hickory-smoked pulled pork, and even fajita steak. For many reasons, he makes us smile.

Feeling the Love on Labor Day

Afton loved the visit from Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Reed this past weekend. It meant that there was always someone to hold her. (Note, while Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Reed are looking at my camera, sweet baby Afton is looking at her dad. Although the rest of us have work immensely to coax a smile out of her, she will absolutely beam if her dad does nothing other than walk in the room).


This Labor Day also brought a special visit from Great-grandma H. Needless to say, Afton got her fill of being adored.


How many people does it take to bathe one little girl? A lot. It's the don't miss event of the evening because it's when Afton gets the most chit-chatty. She chirps, coos, squeals, ooos, ahhhs, and this weekend, she even gave a bona fide laugh.


All the excitement did become a bit much for Afton on Sunday night. Bundled in her blankets, and snuggled against Grandma Debbie, she zonked out for a while.


Thanks for the visit! Can't wait to party again at Christmas!