This is why we have a baby gate

Italian Food Festival

Our church, St. Mark’s, held their first annual “Feast of St. Mark Italian Food Festival” tonight.  We were looking forward to this for months and it was a BIG hit! Grandma and Pop joined us for the event and we all had a great time. I just wish we could have gotten Daddy to stomp some grapes!

There were authentic Italian accordion players…

yummy cannolis…

and great decorations.

Gwynn was definitely enjoying herself as you can see!

Mommy had to feed Daddy AND Gwynn some Italian gelato.

We got to the festival around 3:00, went to mass at 4:30, then left around 7:30…Gwynn was definitely tired (she refused to nap with so much going on around her).

Lasagna, Chicken Alfredo, Focaccia bread…my mouth is watering just thinking about all that food.

She really wants some more gelato.

We had such a fun time at the festival and can’t wait to go again next year!

Lots of videos!

Gwynn and Mommy got into a screaming match! :-)

We are trying to get ready for baby brother so we pulled out some of Gwynn’s old toys.  Here she is “playing” with her play mat.

Gwynn finally learned to wave!!

Gwynn loved the gelato at the Italian Festival!

Grammy babysat Gwynn at her house and Gwynn LOVED Grammy’s dog, Shelby!

Gwynn tried to help Daddy get baby brother’s room ready…

While we were out to eat one night, Gwynn learned to clap and drink from a straw!  We couldn’t get a good video of her clapping, but here is one of her using a straw.

All smiles!

9 months old

Gwynn turned 9 months old on April 5th.

• We had a doctor's appointment on the 9th and Gwynn did great! Daddy took her and luckily she only had to get one shot! She weighed 19 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile) and was 28 3/4 inches tall (90th percentile).
• She is definitely talking up a storm now! She says bye-bye, mama, dada, and blah (which sounds odd, but is really cute).
• Her two top teeth have come in...so we DO NOT stick our fingers in her mouth anymore (we learned that the hard way).
• Gwynn can stand for a few seconds at a time if she's between Mommy and Daddy. We can tell she gets a little nervous when we let go of her. She hasn't tried to take any independent steps yet.
• She is still a champion sleeper. We give her a bottle around 7:15 and she's usually out cold by 7:45. She'll occasionally wake up on her own in the morning, but we usually have to wake her a little after 6:00.
• Eating has become Gwynn's favorite pasttime. She definitely enjoys real food as opposed to formula (can't blame her for that). Her favorite breakfast is blueberry muffins and banana. She loves cheerios just as much as puffs now and Ritz crackers are another staple in our house.
• We are still trying to teach her how to drink out of a straw by herself. Right now she's content with Mommy and Daddy giving her water out of their straws.
• We haven't noticed any separation anxiety at daycare (which just reinforces our choice to keep her at Mrs. Ouida's). She lights up when she sees her friends each morning, which makes Mommy and Daddy so happy.
• Gwynn will pretty much let anyone hold her...she just gets a little nervous if she's the center of attention in a large crowd.
• She is still the happiest and most laid back baby. We are so lucky that God blessed us with this angel!

Trying new foods

Gwynn is able to eat just about everything we eat except honey. She actually prefers to eat solid food to formula from her bottle.

Eager to eat.

“Whatcha got for me today?”

“Are you sure this is safe?”

She has the hang of it.

“I prefer my fingers thankyouverymuch”

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a banana”

In it goes.

Not so sure she’s thrilled with it.

Tuscaloosa Easter

We spent Easter in Tuscaloosa with Kristen’s family

Always good to start off an Easter Sunday with Mass. We went to 7:30am Mass at Holy Spirit.

The G-parents with Gwynn.

We had an Easter egg hunt after lunch.

The girls.

Gwynn didn’t have to look far for her eggs.

She’s not entirely sure what to make of this all.

Kate is all smiles.

Grandma and Gwynn enjoying the outdoors.

The young ‘uns posing for a picture.

Daddy holding baby.

Mommy trying to hold baby.

Grandma and Gwynn enjoying a giggle.

Daddy and Gwynn playing around on the deck.

Daddy being silly.

Gwynn enjoying some time in her excersaucer. Those chairs in the background will come into play later.

No trip to Tuscaloosa would be complete without a visit to Great-Grandma.

Rockin’ a mohawk.

Gwynn loved love loved sitting in the Adirondack chair.

Thank goodness these things are hard to turn over.

Gwynn trying to make her way out of the chair.