Swiper, No Swiping!

Gwenie is a huge Dora fan right now and she constantly makes references to the show. For example, we were leaving Bellevue Square today and she listed the three (made up) places we would have to go to get home, just like Dora does. Anyway, a couple of days ago we were swimming at the YMCA. She was hanging onto the side and Chris was tickling her. She holds out her hand and says, "Swiper, no swiping!" It was so cute and so hilarious.

Natalie is on the verge of learning to walk. She is so stubborn though! She can stand by herself and walk holding onto someone or something. But, if she is on her own she just drops to a crawl, no matter what we do or say. Stubborn!

Christmas in Review

We had so much fun this Christmas! Everyone had wonderful gifts for Gwen and Natalie. Here Gwen is enjoying a baby doll that Nana and Popie
got for her. As you can see, she is well on her way to becoming a little mommy, but still not quite done being a baby.

Natalie is Rolling Over (under 3 months!)

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a little Easter Egg Hunt for Gwen... and she was adorable (of course!). Notice in the video how we all cheer like Gwen has won a big prize each time she picks up an egg! We were a bit ridiculous but Gwen loved it! :)

Gwenie's First Haircut

Last week we took Gwen to get her first haircut! She didn't love it, but looks adorable now.

Thanks for the new video's.

I'm looking forward to getting back next week and resuming my babysitting duties.

Gwen is looking so grown up!

Steve

Gwenie Update

It has been a long time since we updated the blog and a lot has been going on! Gwenie is so busy right now - talking all the time! Her favorite word is Ba which means Barney (the dinosaur). She loves the show and watches it as much as we let her. She is also back in swimming lessons and will be putting her head under for the first time very soon. We'll see how that goes! Her favorite thing to do right now is read books. She likes to be read to, but she also "reads" them by herself all the time.



We also went to the doctor last week and found out that we are having another baby girl in late June/early July. We haven't come up with very many name possibilites and welcome any suggestions. This baby is definitely even more active than Gwen was - she is moving all the time and I am only 19 weeks along. The doctors said she might come early, but I told them that with my luck she would stay put until August.



We have been talking about babies a lot with Gwen to get her ready for her little sister. She carries her baby doll around a lot (and slams it on the ground a lot too) and points out babies in magazines and books. Chris points to my stomach and tells Gwen about the new baby, but she doesn't quite get that yet. We are glad she will get to meet Ryan and Elise's new baby a couple of months before our baby.



47, 86, 87,

Gwen the Soccer Player!

Here is our amazing daughter showing us once again just how smart she is! While Grandma Connie and I were watching her she just started kicking her toy around like a soccer ball. I had to get it on video so everyone could see the next soccer star in the family!

Halloween

What a great Halloween! Gwen was adorable as Roo! We don't have any good video - everything was super dark - but I will post it anyway. We went to a few houses here on Mercer Island and it didn't take Gwen long to figure out how things were done. She started "knocking" on doors, grabbing candy out of the bowl, and even said "tic-o-teet" once! I wish we had that on video! She was a hit with all the houses - I think Cole lucked out because people would give us lots of candy because she was so cute. She really liked one house and ran into it when the people opened the door. Her favorite candy were the lollipops and we let her have two while we were trick-or-treating.

She slept great that night and didn't wake up until nine in the morning - which was great for us! We can't wait until next year! Gwen will have even more fun and so will we!

Mommy's Birthday

Here is Gwen having a cookie on Mommy's Birthday. Both Daddy and Theresa brought over these cookies because they are my favorite! It didn't take long for us to finish off two boxes of them. I had a sub job at Eastside Catholic and Chris is such a good husband that he sent me flowers at the school! They are beautiful and have been brightening up our apartment all week. I got lots of calls wishing me a happy birthday that day and it is so nice to be so loved!

Private Blog

So, I just turned our blog to private so only those we invite can see it. I sent out invitations to everyone I had an e-mail address handy for to be authors (this means you can post if you would like to), but I know I didn't include everyone who loves Gwen. If you can read the blog and know of someone I inadvertently snubbed, please e-mail me their address and I will add them right away. I know I missed quite a few important people - if you are missing you haven't been sending me e-mails, so I guess it is your fault. :)

I will be posting video (it is super dark) from Halloween, Uncle Ethan and Aunt Sara's visit, and my birthday today, so stay tuned!

Sleepy Gwen

What a good sleeper we have! Gwen slept from 7:50pm to 8:00am last night and is in the middle of an hour nap right now! She must have been tired out by the two days she spent with Grandpa Steve!

Grandpa's (and Gwen's) Birthday!

Last night we went to C.I. Shenanigans Restaurant in Tacoma to celebrate Grandpa Ryan's birthday. All the O'Donnells were there! (Except the ones that weren't, of course.) Thelma, Jack, Connie, Sara, Ethan, Chris, Myself, and Gwen. Everything was delicious! Gwen had such a good time with everyone - the waitstaff included. But I think she had the most fun with her Aunt Sara who walked with her and read to her all night.

Gwen was so tired she is still sleeping right now! (8:30 is majorly sleeping in for my little early bird) She and Daddy are going to have fun this morning because I got called for a sub position. It will be my first day as a teacher! Well, a substitute teacher in the resource room. I am only working for a few hours and then Gwen and I are on a mission to find a good daycare on Mercer Island or maybe Bellevue so that Daddy doesn't have to watch her whenever I work (kind of defeats the purpose of two people working).

We do have two excellent grandparents who have volunteered to help out, unfortunately, neither one will move to Mercer Island so I need someone for these last minute calls. Times like these I wish that Chris wasn't doing so well here and we could move down south :). But he is kicking butt, so I guess we have to stay.

Lopez Island

A few weeks ago, we went to a golf tournament on Lopez Island with Nana, Popi, Grandma Connie, and Grandpa Ryan. We had a great time, even though the weather wasn't that great. Here are some pictures Grandma Connie took!

Seattle Aquarium

On Monday Gwen and I decided to go to story time at the Seattle Central Library in downtown Seattle. We had to get out of the house because Colby had brought another bird into the house, but this one was still alive! So I locked the bird in the bathroom with the window open, hoping it would be gone by the time we got back. Well, we took the bus downtown and it wasn't until I tried to open the door to the library that I realized it was Columbus Day (actually Chris called at that moment and told me it was Columbus Day). My Dad was going to be in the area in a couple of hours, so we decided to go to the aquarium to kill some time. Since Gwen is walking so well I let her wander on her own for the most part (I was a couple feet behind her). Her favorite part of the entire aquarium was the "ring of life" where the jellyfish float around in a huge donut-like thing and light changes color. She laid on it and kissed it... I tried to get a video, but it was too dark. We also saw the otters (we actually got to see them eating breakfast!) and she called them "kitties". What a smart baby! The video isn't very good, it was too dark to get most of the stuff, but here it is.

The Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to the pumpkin patch with Ryan and Elise. The highlight for me were the carmel apples! We found a nice little pumpkin for Gwen. She went to another pumpkin patch with Grandma Susan and Uncle Cole a couple weeks ago and got a good "mommy pumpkin". When we go to the pumpkin patch with Aunt Sara and Uncle Ethan Chris is going to look for a "daddy pumpkin" so our pumpkin family will be complete. The family will look great on the balcony of our new apartment! Here are some pictures and videos from our day. Sorry about the lack of editing!

GAP Baby Model Contest

GAP is having a modeling contest for babies and kids. We entered Gwen and if she is chosen as one of the top five baby girls, we will need you all to vote for her on-line. This won't be until December, but keep your fingers crossed until then! Here are the pictures we sent in. Isn't she adorable?