Robe

This robe, a gift courtesy of Grandparents Walter & Faye, has got to be the most amusing article of baby clothing I have ever seen. Who makes a robe for an infant!? I like to think of it as a smoking robe. Add a cigar, an armchair, a roaring fire and Sydney would be an ideal candidate to host the likes of Masterpiece Theater.

Home Sweet Home

We have returned safely from CA and are back home in Portland. We had a great time visiting with family, and especially enjoyed Bob and Cathy's beautiful wedding. It was a touching ceremony, and both Bob & Cathy appear very happy to be finally wed!
In all, traveling with Sydney was about what I expected. Not easy, but not overly difficult. Just kind of tiring. No more whooping it up at the wedding reception until the wee hours of the morning for Steve & Ana...Sydney was pretty much spent by 7 p.m. every night. But, annoyingly for the rest of us, she'd hang in there and keep her eyelids pried open until we would leave. So, for her little world, Syd partied like a rock star...getting to bed at 10 every night. And then short catnaps during the day. What a fantastic combo! But, in all, she held it together and managed to charm most of those around her. Much to Sydney's dismay, the only one who just would not warm up to her was Little Dog (Cathy's American Eskimo small white fluffy dog).
But, in all, we had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves. It was fun to reconnect with family, see how the little ones are getting so big and play a few rounds of Wii!

Of note, the picture above was taken at the wedding reception. Notice how Sydney is lying horizontal, yet strangely, not sleeping. As you can imagine, we left the party shortly after this.

Time to Fly South

This week, we are headed off to California for Bob & Cathy's wedding! Steve and I are looking forward to a break from a hectic work schedule (him) and a change of scenery (me). The flight to Sacramento is just over an hour in length, and I am very curious as to how Sydney will approach air travel. I guess this is a good litmus test for our upcoming trip to Maui in February! We are really looking forward to introducing Sydney to her great-Oma, her Grandpa Walter and all the other Forster relatives. I suspect her wildest dreams of being held and doted on 24-7 will be granted this trip!


Sydney is now approaching 6 mos. of life outside the womb, and to mark this milestone, we have been introducing her to solids (technical term: finely pureed food). She is wild about applesauce and a blueberry/pear concoction. Sweet peas--not so much. She actually had a look of utter disgust on her face when Steve gave her some peas. This new food brings on way more messes than milk, I have to admit. I thought spit up was a pain, but finding orange carrot stains all over our clothes is beyond annoying. But, it just won't do to have Sydney fall behind on the developmental scale of things, so, we'll keep those solids coming! In addition to new foods, Sydney will also be kicking off her first swim lessons in a few weeks. I am looking forward to trying something new with her, hopefully it will be worth the effort (and the task of squeezing myself into a swimsuit!). Steve has been prepping her by encouraging her to splash around, kick and deal with unexpected water in the eyes (I don't think anyone ever gets used to that!), during bath time. So, we'll see how it goes!

A few folks who read my blog (love them!) haven't had the pleasure of seeing the I've Got a Crush on Obama video...It is a hoot, and particularly in this season of primaries, worth a look...Careful though--That background singer hook can get stuck in your head:...barack obama...bama...bama...bama... (and I don't advise that small children watch it either!)
Here's the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU

Family Time

Last night we were joined for dinner by the Murray and Vander Sluis families. I have become a slow cooker aficionado these days, so we had my version of pulled pork for dinner. Slow cookers are such a cool invention--what's not to like about throwing a bunch of stuff in a pot, turning it on, and then eating it a few hours later? And then only having to wash out one pot after you eat! I am participating in a new class @ our church titled Voluntary Simplicity. Maybe I can share slow cooker recipes with the group, since they are very simple :) But seriously, I think it will be a very thought provoking and action inspiring class. Maybe it will prompt me to do more than clean out my closet and take stuff to the Goodwill!
After dinner, everyone took turns entertaining Sydney. Everyone except her parents--who let everyone else do the work! Ryan is a good cousin, and calls her 'goochy goo' or 'siddles'. Sydney responds by taking her hands out of her mouth and, surprise surprise, grabbing at his face and ears. As you might imagine, Ryan doesn't enjoy the cool, slimy feeling of her touch! It is fun having family close by...we often wish that we were in closer vicinity to Steve's family. We will see them at the end of the month when we travel to CA for Bob's wedding (Steve's brother). Linda (Steve's mom) will be staying with us, so I am looking forward to her bonding time with Sydney (i.e. I will get in the car and peal out in the driveway as I zip to the nearest mall).

I'm So Tired...of this Rain!

Yesterday we had about 10 minutes of sunshine in the morning. As I walked down the hall, light was blinding my eyes and I immediately thought, what light did I leave on? You know it's pathetic when just the very sight of sunshine is a shock to your eyeballs. Sydney is nearly 6 months of age now, and I bet she can't even remember what the sunshine looked like as it streamed through the windows back in the late summer. Those were the days! Well, the sunny days...I much prefer the Sydney of 6 mos. vs. the Sydney very newborn phase. All my friends and family told me it gets easier, and now at this stage, I can actually agree. Syd's personality is peeking through more every day. In all, she's a very happy and smiley baby. I'd say she's a curious kid too, and enjoys grabbing everything-toys, blankets, hair, fingers, nostrils-nothing is sacred!
Steve and I are enjoying parenthood. We have this running joke that goes something like this... We had heard over and over again in classes/books, etc. people saying, I just can't remember my life without the baby! Life is so wonderful now! We both thought that was taking things a bit over the top. So, after Sydney was born, we'd say to each other, can you remember your life before the baby? And if the person to whom the question was posed burst out laughing, we knew we hadn't hit that "it gets easier" stage of parenthood! Not that we didn't wish Sydney wasn't with us... but those of you who are parents must at times remember with fondness your life as a DINK! And those of you w/o kids should seriously cherish this time in your life. So, the other day Steve posed the question to me, and I could honestly say I only slightly snorted. Now this motherhood business is sinking in and I'm really enjoying this little barnacle! :)

I've Got a Crush On Obama

Someone is very excited about Obama's big win in Iowa! Like it or not, Sydney has been an Obama Girl since she was in-utero. Steve bought her a t-shirt before she was even born! And, at 2 months old, she even stood in line with us to see Obama live in Portland. We just knew Sydney would make a great photo-op with her t-shirt! What politician doesn't love babies?! However, en route to the Obama rally, Syd managed to have an epic blow-out just before we got to the Convention Center and did a number on the shirt. Which was OK after all, since we didn't get in to see him (line was too long, and all seats were sold out).

Needless to say, Sydney is hoping that she will have another day to meet Obama in the future if he keeps doing so well in the primaries and eventually secures the Dem nomination! Until then, Sydney will just have to watch the I've Got a Crush on Obama YouTube video over and over and over...