Activity Center

We put together Molly's self-contained stimulation station. I'm not sure what she makes of all the objects there, but she does like to reach out and grab stuff.




The pillow is underneath because she is reaching out with her legs and standing (sort of).

Wet Willie

Molly got her first wet willie from her older cousin. Here's Calvin setting it up.






Here he is delivering it.








I am still wondering if it was Kathy or Marc who taught him this.

Portable High Chair

Molly has a portable chair that hooks on to tables. She was in a really good mood when we tested it out.

Mobile

Molly really enjoys her mobile. She looks at it and smiles.

Busy Day

Molly had quite the busy day. It seemed like every time she woke up, she was in a different place. We visited her Great Grandmother, Costco, and her Grandparents.

She did get plenty of attention from GiGi.

Head Lifts

Molly is getting pretty good at lifting her head while on her belly.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day. Molly spent it with my parents while we went to a wedding reception. They were visiting my sister in LA the previous week and were thrilled to get some time with their granddaughter.

Hangin' With Dad

As you might have seen on a previous post, she enjoys this baby sling. It gives her a great view of everything that's going on. Plus, when she gets bored of songs, funny noises, or books, this is a nice change of pace.

Stuff She's Doing

It's easy to be awestruck at the simplest things she does, but here are a few things she couldn't do a few weeks ago.

Holding stuff. We can put things in her hands and she will grip them. She's not putting everything in her mouth yet, but she knows when she has something.






Leg lifts. We put her in her swing the other day and for some reason, she started sticking her legs straight up in the air.






Head held high. She's holding her head up well enough that we can put her in this little chair. It supports her back and sides so she can just sit and look around.

Afternoon visits

Last week Molly & I went out to visit with good friends. We saw Lydia and her twin girls Ava and Lucia. When the ladies woke up from a nap they were excited to show Molly some toys. We had fun coloring and playing ring around the rosie!


Our next outing was with Melanie, Brooke and Ashley. Molly was a bit fussy and did some crying that afternoon, but after eating some lunch, a diaper change and bouncing around, she fell asleep for most of the visit. Thank you Melanie for keeping me calm through those stressful moments. We stayed for a long time and played a few rounds of Candyland and Guess Who with Ashley who is such a great big sister! Brooke is almost 5 months older than Molly and they are just about the same size!

First Walk

We went for a walk on this relatively balmy day. It's amazing when the temperature goes north of 40 degrees, it's considered warm. I was amazed at the number of guys wearing shorts that were walking around.

We went around the block. Molly slept through about half of it. Barney did not even try to avoid the puddles. He went straight to the tub for a bath when we got back home.

Guitar Hero

This came as a surprise to me, but she seems to like when I play guitar hero. If she's sitting in front of me, she will watch my hand as I press the controller buttons. If she's facing the other way, she will look as the colored dots scroll down the screen.

The clicking of the controller buttons has put her to sleep on a few occasions.

More Reading

Molly loves to be talked to. Reading to her is a great way for her to hear our voices. She also likes looking at each page as we flip through the books.

Aunt Gail's Hat

Colleen's Aunt Gail knitted this hat for Molly. It is one of her favorites and wears it almost every day. Maybe Aunt Gail can shed some light as to what kind of hat this is. Colleen says it's a tulip. I say strawberry.

Frog Outfit

Our good friends Stephanie, Paul, and Eric sent us a frog themed gift basket with a frog doll, outfit, blanket, shoes, and socks. It was quite a surprise and very generous. Thank you to everyone who thinks of us and wants Molly to have cute stuff.

By the way, Paul is our Kickball manager and definitely has a cheerleader for our upcoming seasons!

Superbowl

We went to Justin and Leah's for the Superbowl. She was a little fussy when we got there. No problem, she must be hungry. Leah was happy to grab a bottle and feed Molly.

She's not taking the bottle and is getting a little more agitated. Back to Mom's arms she goes. It's her happy place, right? Not this time. Irritation leads to crying. Is it the noise? All the people? The new surroundings?

Colleen, Karen, Kathy, and I spent a good chunk of the game in the bedroom/coat room trying to calm her. After about a half hour of talking, swinging, and rocking she finally falls asleep. We then were able to watch the end of a pretty good football game. Everyone who wanted to meet Molly had to peek in on her quietly.

She was happy enough by the time we left to pose with Leah. It was a bumpy first Superbowl for Molly. The rest of us had a really good time.

Robert Burns Day

Today was Robert Burns day. In the 18th century, he was the national poet of Scotland. Tim, being part Scottish, likes to celebrate Burns' birthday.

Kathy made these Scottish outfits for the kids.















We can't drag him to a Halloween party, but Marc even came dressed as Robert Burns.

With bagpipe music and traditional food, I think Molly had a great first Burns day.

Fun with the Molloys

Kathy, Calvin, Molly and I spent an afternoon with Sara and Kaitlyn Molloy.  As always the kids and the adults had a great time!  Thanks for all the jelly beans Sara!

Kaitlyn showed Calvin all of her barnyard animals, I think he liked the pig the best.

We tried to get them both on a chair at the same time, it lasted about 30 seconds, just enough time to snap one photo!

 

Kaitlyn has this great green chair that both kids took turns sitting in.  I love this picture of her!

The kids did play together a little bit, Calvin likes to pinch cheeks and Kaitlyn has some of the cutest I have seen!

Molly slept through most of the fun, but, we are definitely looking forward to our next play date!

LOST

Joe and I were watching "Lost" on Wednesday when Sun showed Kate a picture of her baby.  We gasped when we saw it.  Above is a picture taken of the TV, Molly is below just 1 day old.  We think JJ Abrams saw our baby and tried to duplicate the photo!

2 months

Molly had her 2 month check up at the pediatrician.  She weighs in at 14 1/2 pounds and is 24 3/4 inches long, both in the 95th percentile.

She was great with the doctor until the shots began.  It was heartbreaking to hear her screams!  She did calm down fairly quick and slept through most of the day.  The next morning she was back to her smiley self... phew!  Mom is not looking forward to the next round!

I heart NY

Check out Molly in the onesie Aunt Karen brought back from a recent trip to New York. She looks so grown up in her little Levi's at just 2 months old!

Alison

Alison came for a visit and held Molly the whole time! Here is the baby looking very comfy fast asleep on her shoulder. As a mother of 3 she has that special touch. Barney also had fun with Alison and he did not leave her alone for a minute! Thanks for being so patient with the pup!



Here is Molly once again looking very comfy and warm snuggled up in the blanket Alison knitted for her... it is so pretty and cozy! We love it!

LA Galaxy

Aunt Kathy sent Molly a super cute LA Galaxy soccer outfit. She works at the Home Depot stadium and runs graphics for the games. Thanks Aunt Kathy!

Here is Molly bending it like Beckham!

Aunt Karen's Birthday

We had a little celebration of Karen's birthday today. Kathy made Karen a fun birthday sombrero. It was a good time and everyone had fun playing with the babies.

...even the birthday girl.









The babies had a little fun with each other, too.

Dave and Sally

Colleen's Uncle Dave and Sally were in town from Traverse City for a visit. Sally's son bought a car from Colleen's Grandma and they drove down to pick it up. They were glad that we braved the snow storm to make the trip to GG's house so that they can meet Molly. We were happy to do it.

Sally's Son Greg and his wife Lisa are pregnant, so congrats Sally, for becoming a new Grandmother!

Nuance

We're still trying to figure this little bugger out. We've run in to a few situations where she's "over-tired". She's been awake for over four hours, we know she's sleepy, but she will rather cry than sleep (???). Not a huge deal. More rocking and singing. Sleep will always happen eventually. It has only happened a couple of times.

It's still loads of fun. Molly is as adorable as ever. Here are a few obligatory cute photos of her from the last couple of days:

We do not have a shortage of pretty outfits for her. Here's a bear jumpsuit.












She does like the mobile above her crib.













Still enjoying baths...

I Say Manicotti, You Say Manigot

Carrie, Joe, and Joseph Cognitore brought us dinner last night. Carrie's homemade manigot, as New York Italians like to pronounce it, was delicious. She prepared, served, and cleaned up. She also got a kick out of changing a diaper. It was more work than I usually like for a guest to do, but anyone who knows Carrie knows that you can't really talk her out of what she wants to do.


Little Joseph liked operating the controls to Molly's swing. He had fun figuring out how to get it to play music and make sounds.

Thanks Cognitores for good times and good eats!

Happy New Year!

We didn't take any party hat pictures of her, but here's one of Molly in her dog head hat on New Year's Day.

Here's wishing everyone a safe, prosperous, and healthy new year.

CORRECTION: This was a picture from a few days after New Year's. Here is a picture from 1/1/09.