Canada

We took Molly on a family trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. She did pretty good on the trip there. She mostly slept or entertained herself. She let us know when it was meal time or needed a diaper change.





Nine of us rented a house, including my parents, my sister and her husband, and my uncle and his girlfriend.







We did all the normal touristy stuff like ride the Maid of the Mist through the falls.











They even gave Molly her own mini raincoat.








We kept her in the stroller while the boat was underway, though.

We also visited some historic sites, took a winery tour, and just had fun hanging out with the family.




Molly was very good during the trip. She slept with no problems in the pack-and-play, even though she was in a strange house. She's crawling pretty good now so she had fun exploring. My sister and Tyler were glad to have a few days to get to know her better too.

Standing

Here we go. Molly has been getting pretty good at standing up. If there is something in front of her just the right size, she will use it to pull herself up onto her feet.

She plops back down soon after, but it has been so soon after she got the hang of crawling everywhere!

Downtown Detroit Biking

We went to downtown Detroit today to bike the Dequindre Cut. It's an old railway that runs between Eastern Market and the riverfront. It is now a biking/walking trail. As part of Tim's birthday celebration, all the kids took him out on bicycles to explore.




She did very well on the bike seat for a while until she started getting tired. That's when we switched her to the trailer Kathy and Marc brought.






Here's a few more pics from that day:

Happy Birthday Joseph

Joseph Cognitore had his fourth birthday party at Imperial Lanes. It was a glow-bowl extravaganza!






Once again, Molly had a great time interacting with the other kids. She didn't mind the loud music, flashing lights, and everything glowing from the black lights.

She even managed to fall asleep after a few hours of fun.

Fifth Tooth

I was changing Molly and noticed that she has a fifth tooth! It is to the left of the two bottom teeth (not really visible in this picture).

Smooches

Molly gives kisses. Lots of them. She comes at you mouth first, so you have to do some maneuvering to avoid getting a face full of drool.

Happy Birthday Brooke

Brooke had her first birthday party and we were there to help celebrate. She got her hands into the cake, but didn't smear it all over her face like we hoped.






Molly really enjoyed playing with the other kids. She also likes to watch them as they run around the yard or play on the swing.






She was in a good mood...









Until it all caught up to her and she couldn't keep her eyes open any more.

The transfer to the car seat didn't even wake her up.

Good birthday party. Melanie promised food, cake, and fun. She delivered on all three!

2009 Comerica Cityfest

Our friends Joel, Debbie, and Jenie came by for a visit and we went down to the Cityfest in Detroit. There was a lot of food, music, and people there. Molly didn't seem to mind the crowds. She did mind being in the stroller.




I guess she wanted a better view of what was going on.

Side Crawl

She is starting to get the crawling thing. So far, instead of both knees, she uses one foot and one knee.

Happy Birthday Maxwell

Molly went to Max McDaid's first birthday party. She had a great time playing with all the babies and new toys.

First Father's Day

Here are a few reasons it's fun being Molly's dad.

Growing and learning
I don't just mean Molly. As a new father, every experience is new and every situation is educational.

I'm her protector
Sometimes she doesn't like strangers. They can be quite upsetting to her, in fact. She knows that dad's arms are a safe place.

She's always happy to see me
When she sees me, her eyes light up, her smile gets really big, she flaps her arms and kicks her legs. I don't even have to be away for that long.

If you've even just skimmed the contents of this blog, you know that she's gone through quite a few changes in a scant seven months. I feel like I have gone through just as many.

(turning sappiness mode off now)

Moving

Colleen went to go check on Molly in the morning and found her sitting up. We have seen her lift herself from her stomach to a sit. This was one of the first times she was able to transition from her back to a sitting position.

Dancing

She loves music, as proven by these dance moves:

Two Kids

For Kathy's birthday Colleen took her out to get a facial and for a few hours I got to watch both kids. I was not sure what I was getting into, but I was willing to try.

For the most part it was pretty easy, as long as I was willing to play with them and give them attention. There was maybe a 15 minute stretch when they sat on the floor and entertained themselves with toys, allowing me to just sit on the couch and watch. I think I was lucky that they were both in good moods.

Calvin can crawl fast! He spent some time exploring the house. I picked up Molly and followed him around, making sure he stayed out of trouble.

It was non-stop, but I survived.

And yes, they are wearing matching "Squeeze Me S'more" shirts that Aunt Karen got for them.

Swing

The last few times we've been to the park, we put molly on the swing. She could hold her head up pretty well, but she just leaned forward letting the front of the swing support her.

Since she is now sitting and doing push ups on a daily basis, she can sit back and enjoy the ride.

Banana Flavored Oat Puffs

Molly is a pretty good eater. We have given her rice cereal, avocado, banana, potato (sweet and unsweetened), mango, carrots, and peas. While she likes some foods more than others, she will eat what we give her.





This is not the case with these oat puffs. She could not spit them out fast enough.

Diaper Tech

These new diapers are great. They have indicators that tell us what condition they are in.

Happy Birthday Calvin

Molly's cousin Calvin turned one on the 4th. His party was on Saturday. Lots of friends and family were there to celebrate.






Calvin had a blast. He got lots of presents and a face full of cake.







Molly had a pretty good time. She even managed to take a nap during the festivities. She loved being held by her aunts, uncle, grandparents and great-grandmother. She also checked out some of the new toys she would be able to play with soon!

Trying to Crawl

Molly has been trying to crawl. She is sitting up pretty well on her own, but lately she's been leaning forward onto her hands and rocking back and forth. Her left leg in in position. As soon as she figures out how to get onto the right one, she'll be off to the races.

Port Austin

Colleen, Molly, Kathy, Calvin, and I made a road trip to Port Austin. In order to fit everyone into one car, Kathy had to sit in between the car seats. She thought it was great to be able to play with the babies when they weren't sleeping.

Our friend Nicole invited us up there for her father's surprise birthday party. She had access to a few cabins and her parents own a house and a restaurant there.

Karen and her boyfriend Ken were already there when we arrived. We explored the town and walked out to the beach. Calvin was in his stroller and I was wearing Molly in her baby carrier.

We only brought one pack-and-play since we didn't figure that both kids would nap at the same time.

We figured wrong.

Thanks to the ingenuity of the moms, we were able to find a way to make both babies fit.

It was a fun day with plenty of friends and food. Next time, we will definitely spend the weekend there.

Click here for a few more pictures from the trip.

Da Da

Yep, she said it. A bunch of times.

I know it's just noises at this point, but it's still fun to hear.

I should be careful what I wish for. There will come a time when I will want her to stop saying it!

Happy Six Month Birthday!

I can't believe she's a half year old!

We've gone through so many changes and adjustments. My squishy little ball of baby is now a sitting up, solid food eating, rolling over, teething powerhouse!

Just six months ago she was born.

Then five months ago she had her first bath.

Four months ago we were dressing her up in funny costumes.

Three months ago she got her first wet willie.

Two months ago she discovered her toes.

And last month she rolled over for the first time.

It's been quite a ride so far. She continues to amaze us every day.

Mmm More Food

We've been trying different foods lately. Sweet potato she liked at first, but not so much a few days later.







She wasn't sure what to make of peas...








But I guess it wasn't so bad after all.









So far, her favorite is bananas.

Holy Molly!

The day of Molly's baptism started out well enough. In the morning, we picked up the food and drinks we would be serving after the ceremony. When we got to my parents' house to drop everything off, it became apparent that Molly was in a very bad mood.

Today was the day another tooth decided to start pushing its way out.

The poor girl was pretty unhappy all day long. We did what we could to keep her comfortable, and occasionally we saw a smile, but teething does not look fun.

Remarkably, she was quiet at the church, at least until she found herself in a pool getting water splashed on her head.

All was well once she was dried off and put into her pretty white dress.





After the ceremony, we had a small reception and Molly opened a few presents.








It was really nice that my sister was able to come to town to hang out with her niece. It's great when all of Molly's aunts are around.

Overall, it was a great day of fun and family.

Welcome Belén

Molly and I had the pleasure of meeting Leah & Eric's new arrival this week. Baby Belén came into the world just 6 days ago during a planned, natural home birth.  She is a tiny, healthy, beautiful bundle of joy!  We had a great time playing with Oscar who is a ball to talk to and such a happy and proud big brother.

-Colleen