mama ma ma mama

The best sound in the whole world!!!

Ramey has started saying mama... not directed towards me or anyone else but it is a great sound to hear. A few weeks ago she was doing the dada da da dadada sound, again not directing it at anyone in particular. She tends to focus on a sound and repeat and repeat and repeat... We've been thru the gee gee gee and the ba ba ba ba and ya ya ya and how could we forget the uhh uhh (grunting/growl compo)

If you want to get technical I think she was making the da da sound before the ma ma sound... so Ron, you win... but its the mama ma ma mama ma ma ma that is heard early in the morning and through out the day.

Last week she also started making a new sound... its hard to put into words but it cracks me up. It's almost like her regular chatter but with a deeper sound... I'm sure we have video... oh Ron?!?!?

Cheerio Trouble

Ramey found the Cheerios container in my bag this morning and started playing/shaking it... no big deal it has a top and she likes the noise plus kept her busy for a few minutes.


That is until she figured out how to open the lid (or hit it on something) Anyway, in one quick moment Cheerios EVERYWHERE!!!
Lefty was such a good girl and waited for the go ahead before "helping" me clean up... Good Puppy!!!

So while cleaning the mess I set the container on the stool and this is what happened a few minutes later...

Can you say Cheerio junkie!!!

There's that face again... the I didn't do it look

Lefty?!?!

No it's Ramey.

I think Ramey has been spending too much time with Lefty... She has started to carry toys (and sippy cups and pacifiers) around in her mouth:
She has the wrong end of the paci holder in her mouth...
This is just a sample of the times I catch her crawling around with something in her mouth... socks, shoes (yes she LOVES shoes) various toys and cloths

Ramey loves her puppy...

Fish and Flowers

Ron went to Wisconsin for a weekend fishing trip... he was successful:
So Granma and Papa came for a visit:

We attempted going to the Printer's Row Book fair but the rain sent us packing. While here, they like to pick up some wine at Trader Joe's, so we headed on over... On the way I remembered that the new Whole Foods just opened... anyone that knows Papa knows his love of food... so we made a stop and perused Whole Foods instead of the book fair... We got some yummy burgers and healthy blueberry muffins (not so yummy)

Saturday night Granma and Papa babysat while I went out to dinner with the girls for Ally and Christy's birthdays. The best part was being able to sleep in as Granma got up with Ramey!!

Sunday, Granma and Papa helped us pick out some tomato plants and flowers for the deck. While Ramey attempted a nap Granma planted flowers (thanks!!)

Picky Eater

Not a picky eater like her mother (the one that refused to try anything new till just a few years ago) but picky in the fact that when given real food on her tray she picks at the foods she LOVES!!! Shes eaten pretty much everything that we've given her but definitely has foods that she loves.

We noticed this with puff and Cheerios. Whenever we go out for dinner I take along a mix of Cheerios and puffs and place handfuls in front of Ramey to keep her occupied while ate. Before long we noticed she would purposefully grab the puffs. We even went so far as lining up a few Cheerios and a puff to see what she did... 4 out of 5 times she went for the puffs!!

We are slowly adding more "real" food to her diet. The other night she ate what we ate for dinner (chicken & green beans... plus pasta for the adults) Ramey went to town on the chicken (sorry Aunt Donna, no vegetarian here!!) and seemed to really enjoy the green beans as well. We've only done easy stuff... peaches, pears, green beans, shredded chicken, shredded cheese (was too hard to pick up so switched to cheese cubes), sliced turkey and bananas

I've noticed that when given foods that she likes there isn't much to clean out of her lap... she makes sure it gets into her mouth. Sorry Lefty!! (who waits patiently under her highchair for anything to fall to the ground) Don't worry Lefty gets her fair fair of Cheerios and Ramey loves to watch things fall to the ground (so far it's mostly toys but I'm sure food is soon to follow)

North Ave Beach

Chicago has so much to offer... nice beaches are just the beginning. Today was Ramey's first visit to our "local" beach. Ron and I have been here 10 years and have only gone to the beach a handful of times, I think this is about to change...We had a great day with the Ciaccio's. Ulla made a sand castle while Laila and Ramey ate sandy cheerios!! LOL!!! Ramey started to venture off the blanket and crawl in the sand (something she wanted nothing to do with while in Puerto Rico) It was a beautiful sunny day without a cloud in the sky... While there we were surprised to see Kathryn and the kids walking up... They stopped by the park and decided to head over to the lake for a few minutes while they waited to pick up Paul... It was great to see them!!! Funny how a city so big can be so small.

Eight Months

While in Puerto Rico people would ask how old Ramey was... I would always respond 7 1/2 even though she was just a few days shy of 8 months old... I just couldn't bring myself to say 8. Guess I better face the facts, she is 8 months old and one day will be 8 years old... my they grow up so fast!

A few of Ramey's latest accomplishments:
~Stands while holding on (one handed at times, occasionally she'll let go with both but immediately goes down)
~ *walks* holding onto furniture
~ Drinks for a sippy cup
~ Has 8 teeth
~Plays well by herself (that is until she sees me) and with others (It was so cute to watch her and Laila play* with each other over the weekend) *crawl up to each other and pat each other on the head
~Not a fan of napping (still doing 30-45 min naps, hoping this improves this month)
~We've added meats and dairy to her diet.
~ Shows preferences when feeding self... will clearly reach for preferred foods (puffs/cheerios)

It's hard to tell but she is starting to do this nose crunch thing with cheesy smiles...The pic of Ramey and Ron (in the Puerto Rico post) she is doing the nose thing too

Hello Sunshine!!

Ron had a work conference in Puerto Rico and took the family along!!

Ramey did great on the plane... on the way there we had an extra seat so she was able to move about. Ron even took her for awhile and I was able to watch the in flight movie!! (Bride Wars) The flight home was over sold, so no extra seat but Ramey handled it well... she talked and laughed the whole way home (only slept for about 30 min as usual) Was only able to catch some of the movie on the way home (He's just not that in to you) so can't complain

We had a great time and enjoyed the beach and pool

Not a fan of the beach

(We have video but it's on the camcorder and will have to wait for Ron for it)

But LOVED the pool

Ladybug fun!!!

Lunch in the rain

Napping pool side

Four No More

Not 5... not 6... not 7

but EIGHT teeth!!! That's right we have 8 teeth now!

We had a few rough nights while in Puerto Rico in which I think the teeth made their appearance.

It's hard to look at my baby with a mouth full of teeth and still think of her as a baby... Only big kids have toothy grins

Spring time in the city

We had fabulous weather over the weekend and spent Sunday at the park. With our starbucks in hand we headed over to our neighborhood park.

We also got a shot of the in coming top teeth. It may still be a few weeks but as you can see they are well on there way!!!Click to see top teeth buds...