A Video

 October 27, 2013

**Apparently I only take videos of Riesling when she is eating.  Maybe because that is the only time she is sitting still and not trying to steal the camera.

August Recap

In August, I started feeling a little better so we actually left the house for activities other than work and the grocery store.  The first big event was a trip to Paw's farm in New Jersey.  It's a small petting zoo and nature that Jim grew up going to and had very fond memories of.

He was really excited to share it with Riesling.  She was really excited that he did.  He may have been her best day to date.  Have you ever seen a kid so excited to see a cow?

She was seriously overjoyed by the entire experience.  She was trying to climb in the pens with the animals, especially the sheep.  She hugged and squeezed every bit she could.  It was adorable and a really fun little trip.  Way better than the overpriced, crowded zoo. 

The petting zoo was such a big hit that we didn't miss a chance to hit up the local Grange Fair.  This was equally exciting for Riesling.  I was beginning to get concerned that she would think there were sheep everywhere we went.  The ducks and, once again, the sheep were her favorite.  She had the opportunity to plant a few smooches on a sheep or two.

We also hit up the orchard for some peach picking.  Resulting in peach cobbler, peach popsicles, peach for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  YUM! And HooRay for feeling like a real person and eating food again.

Videos

And in case that's not enough Riesling for ya, here's a few July video moments....

She started eating cereal with milk (almond) and a big girl spoon.

And decided that one or more of her 'friends' needs to be at meals with us. She is so sweet and loves to share with Monkey aka Monk.

The Night Chirper

You may recall that last month Jim and I were suffered from a rare form on insanity brought on by a crazy loud, annoying night chirp.  We did a lot of google searching and couldn't really come up with an exact species but there seemed to be a large population of people with complaints regarding crazy night chirping birds. In was really starting to disrupt our sleep (which is saying a lot since we sleep half the night with a rolling toddler punching us in the head), so the night following my post about it Jim decided to go on a hunt and capture mission.  I don't really know what his plan was in regards to catching a bird but the guy has no fear with that kind of stuff and was on a mission.

Yes you heard it right.  It was not a bird, it was a little tiny frog.  I don't think the video does it justice but the thing was so darn loud.  You could hear it all over our neighborhood.  Side Note: The reference to the beaver trapping expedition is a story for another day.  Pretty darn funny but possibly only to Jim and I.  Anyways....

We put some wet grass in the container and stuck it under the porch light for the night, since light seemed to stop the annoying noise.  After a bit of debate, the next day we dropped him off behind a gas station.  It's a pretty nice area with a little pond area, ducks, and other wildlife.  Plus it's far away from residential areas. Jim asked a few neighbors if they had noticed the sound (of course they had!) and relayed his heroic story.  He is the neighborhood superstar now. 

Let's walk the dog. Again.

11 months.

 Somehow my little baby is eleven months old.

That's right.  Eleven months. As in less than thirty days she will be one year old.  What?!  I honestly don't know where the last year has gone.  She is so much kiddo now and not so much baby. I just love watching her discover new things every day, mastering new skills, and developing her little feisty personality.  But, I do miss those brief days when I could snuggling her up in one arm like a little football while she napped and I read Charlotte's Web.  Happy and sad all mixed up in one.

I did manage to get a few shots, but it's extremely difficult to get a good pictures of her at this stage of the game.  This little lady is on the move.....

Riesling's "New" Car

Us Robinsons love a good hand me down....

Breakfast with Riesling

Complete with hand jives, clapping, chattering, and some good ole classic baby toot toots (we were NEVER allowed to say fart when I was growing up!)

Ohio

Some things are just undeniable country living, like riding 4-wheelers....

 Elliona, age 6

 

 giving Papa a ride

Big Girl!

Riesling has taken some major leaps and bounds in the past week (I have been trying to finish writing this for about 5 days now so I'm really referring to last week).  Labor Day weekend we were in Ohio visiting family, playing with cousins, taking family photos, watching the big kids ride 4-wheelers (a video hopefully later this week), and meeting Granny Granny Stidd. Riesling was being her usually cutie pie self but nothing out of the ordinary.  If anything the larger groups of people had her a bit on the shy and reserved side.

 

 Papa & his ladies

After a nice long car ride, we arrived back home mid afternoon on Monday.   Within a matter of hours Riesling decided she wanted to start sitting up.  She has been able to sit with assistance for some time now, but only if you put her in that position she was super wobbly and never stayed there long.  Monday evening I walked into her nursery and she was sitting there in her crib with teddy bear in hand and the BIGGEST grin on her face.  I think it was definitely a very proud and exciting moment for Miss Riesling.

I decided it was time to put the bumpers on her crib because she was moving around so much and bumped her head a few times.  She was also starting to pull up on the railing so I thought that might distract her from it.  Wrong...

 

Apparently all she needed was a few spoonfuls of banana because by the end of the week she was pulling herself up to standing in her crib, with the help of her bumpers!   Jim lowered the mattress all the way down, which oddly I kind of felt bad about.  I watched her each day try to solve another piece of the puzzle, figuring out how to coordinate her movements and put those little muscles to work in the correct sequence, her little mind exploding with the idea of depth perception.  She went through all that work to figure out how to pull herself up and was so proud and then we take it away from her in an instant.   How confusing!  Of course no one, especially me, wanted to see her little head topple over the edge so safety trumped exploration.

In the end I don't think it had much of an effect.  She's climbing and exploring more than ever, which explains why it took me almost a week to finish this post. 

Nanas!!!

I can't believe my little monkey is old enough to be trying foods!  I know some parents start their babes a little earlier, but we were in no hurry.  I knew from the start that I wanted to do a full six months of exclusive breast feeding. I view breast milk as a superfood for babies and found a lot of comfort in knowing that Riesling was getting the exact nourishment she needed plus for us it's convenient, travels well, and is not messy.  I was also a little concerned about food allergies and sensitivities since I have several myself.  Her six month birthday was two weeks ago but we had a couple of hectic weeks ending with traveling to Ohio, so I decided to wait until we got back from our little trip. 

I did a little research, mainly here and here, and spoke with a few mom friends with older kids to get some tips and pointers and ultimately decided that I will just kind of see what happens and adjusts my methods accordingly.  I plan on making most of her food myself but did pick up some Earth Best's organic pouches that were on sale when I was out today thinking they might be good for traveling situations.   

I had planned on starting with avocado but there were none ripe at the grocery store so I went for the classic banana instead.  I heated half a small banana in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds just to soften it.  Using a fork I mixed some of it with breast milk.   I also left some of it in little chunks so Riesling could try grabbing it and feeding herself.  During this process I realized I didn't even have a baby spoon, expect for this one by Boon that was given as a shower gift.  It's intended to put the food in the handle portion and squeeze onto the spoon, but the spoon part is kinda big and I think Riesling had a hard time with it.  Even delaying it by nearly two weeks I was still not really prepared!

All things considered I think her first try went well.  Daddy captured every moment on this action packed 5 minute video.  Action packed might be an exaggeration but you might found it a little exciting if you like babies.  And possibly thrilling if you particularly like my baby.

At this point we're experimenting.  It's mostly about introducing her to textures and the idea of feeding herself so I don't worry if little or none actually goes in her mouth.  Consistency seems to be a big issue.  Today I tried putting some in the Magic Bullet to make it a little more soupy and she seemed to like that better.  I also tried storing some of the uneaten overnight and she really snubbed her nose at it yesterday morning.  I tasted it myself and it did taste a little funny but I'm not sure why....maybe the breast milk?  So for now we're sticking with small, freshly made batches once or twice a day.  We do a little with the spoon, some off my finger, some on the tray....it's a real party over here people!

Saturday. August 11, 2012

Crawling. Day 2.
Riesling captures Sofee dog.



Mommy & Daddy start baby proofing....

TGIF

Our Friday actually started off a little bumpy due to what we later decided was lack of caffeine and poor communication, but it ended up being a spontaneous and fun evening. 

We headed over to Tyler State Park for a little family hike.  The skies were a bit dark and cloudy but  rain wasn't forecasted for a few hours, so we decided on a short trail so Sofee could run off her leash for a bit and then we would continue on the paved path closer to the car just in case.  Crossing over the bridge we noticed the water was pretty high with a strong currant.  Thank goodness we went for the short hike because 15 minutes later we came back to this....

We had no choice but to cross.  I had Riesling in the Ergo so Jim picked up Sofee and away we went.  We watched the couple in the picture came across (carrying a stroller overhead!) when we were on the trail side.  We informed them that the water had risen significantly in only 15 minutes.  A few minutes after we were safely on the parking lot side they starting coming back across and said that the water had gotten deeper and stronger in only the few minutes since they had gone over. 

We decided wet boots were a good reason to cut our family walk short and opted for a little country drive in search of ice cream.  We came upon the strangest little area. There was a garden center, a little gym, some antiques shops, a peacock & turkey, a train ride (only running on Saturday/Sunday). It was so cute but no one was there.  Riesling had a little dinner in the empty picnic area.

 Then Jim and I enjoyed some handmade ice cream from O Wow Cow. They use local & organic ingredients and have amazing flavors.  I had lemon verbena, Jim had some kind of almond chocolate.

 

Then for an extra special treat we got to ride a carousel. 

To celebrate the end of the work week we had a pizza picnic in the air conditioning.  Riesling got so enthralled with a dirty greasy napkin that she decided it was time she get moving.....

Chatterbox

Someone discovered their vocal cords today....

This went on for about 2 straight hours.  Varying her range and pitch as she thought necessary.  

Sorry for the weird angle.  I have to sneak up on her sometimes because often if she sees the camera she gets distracted.

Letters from Riesling

Hello Friends & Family!

Can you believe I'm well over a month old? Where does the time go?! My favorite thing right now is rock music. I LOVE to bounce, shake, and dance along to my dad singing his favorite songs. Dad has also been playing some songs on the guitar and working on his rap skills with me. We've layed down some sick tracks....

I've also decided to start training for the newborn weight lifting championships. Since I'm already weighing in at nearly 12 pounds (95+ percentile!), I think I have a pretty good chance of kicking some baby butt. Mommy says I get my competitive nature from my father. He still holds the weight throw record at The College of New Jersey you know! Between music lessons, weight gaining, and taking lots of naps I'm a pretty busy little lady!

Love always,
Riesling

The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

The Black Keys rock.
And I get a good chuckle out of watching this video.

Mommy

I had my first baby dream last night. I unexpectedly gave birth in the doctors office in some weird back storage room. It was a girl...

I woke up with this uneasy sense of the new life ahead. I'm going to be someone's "Mommy." Are you kidding me?! Some days motherhood it is an exciting but overwhelming concept. So with winter settling in and my last 10 weeks ahead, I've decided to dedicate a series of post on all things pregnancy & baby related.

I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy

My favorite is the little boys at the end "oh, good for you now you're probably going to get a belly ache."

SpongeBob Square Pants

We're Ohio bound for Labor Day weekend. It's always kid mania with my niece and two nephews all having birthdays in the same week. It's hard to believe another year has gone by.

I meant to post this video last year but I was waiting around for a lesson in video editing from Jim and it just never happened. But, even though it's unedited and sideways I couldn't resists posting it. He's just the cutest kid and was so SpongeBob crazy last year.

My sister also handcrafted this amazing cake with frosting, food coloring, and a few marshmallows.

Seriously how good is that?

This old house

Joel Baba was a gymnast in the 1952 Olympics.

He also happens to be the original and only previous owner of our house. We actually bought it from his children a few years after he passed away. He was apparently a pretty popular guy in these parts. He was a teacher at the local high school and had a gymnastist school in the area. A lot of people actually asked us if we him and are always sharing little tidbits and stories about Mr. Baba. Jim came across this video when he was stalking the internet for further information about his olympic history.

The cute little family photo with this three daughters sitting on the stairs is absolutely the house. The picture is probably about 30 years old. I imagine the carpet to be soft and plush (which was not so much the case when we ripped it up. 30 years is hard on carpet. yuck!) The picture in a driveway in front of a white car is also obviously the house. There are also a few others with the kitchen in the background, but they're harder to pick out unless you really know what the kitchen use to look like.

So, thanks for a great house Joel Baba. I'm sure we will enjoy our years in it as much as you did. I really could've gone for a little updated after 1970, but I can see that you were a very busy man, so I guess I'll let it slide.