We started Christmas with Jenna.
She got Ivy this elephant, Peanut. Now he sleeps with her
.
Ivy got Jenna a scarf and gloves, and we got her a restaurant card. She got us a photo with Ivy on one side and her hand printson the other. It was maybe my favorite gift of all.
Here we are, at the park on Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa.
The weather here is really hard to beat. I'm in flip-flops. Ivy has on her Christmas t-shirt.
Ivy loves the slides. Her daddy takes her down.
And then he helps her back up.
Here
she is with Grandpa John on Christmas Day. I stayed home to bake a red
velvet cake. Rachel frosted it, and it was delicious. We had a great
dinner of steak, roasted figs and potatoes, and green beans. Yum.
A week later, we took Ivy to the swings. We had to wear our coats that day.Our tree Christmas Eve, with all our presents. Most were for Ivy.
Ivy loves her new baby doll.
The crib used to be mine, and before that it was Grammy's.
Great-Grandma Ruth made the quilt. It's pretty special.
The baby doll also has a stroller. It's probably Ivy's very favorite present.
Claire got a baby and stroller too. They had a stroller derby!
Wheely Bug!
We have many new games to play with Ivy. Sometimes she pretends to be serious, especially when her teeth hurt her.
She
loves to play beans, a game Grammy invented. We take them from the
tupperware to the bowl to the sigg. Mostly though, we toss them on the
ground. Ivy especially likes it when we drop them on her head very
slowly and gently. It tickles, and she closes her eyes and laughs.
She also likes to play in the pantry. She finds treats there -- dried figs are her new favorite fruit.
On a rainy Sunday after a rainy week, we decided to head to Houston,
to the Museum of Natural Sciences and to dinner someplace fun (we ended up at the Olive Garden, unfortunately, though Ivy thinks unlimited breadsticks are pretty great!).
They have a butterfly garden.
It was amazing, a three-story rainforest. Ivy loved it, though she did get a little overwhelmed toward the end.
They also had bugs!
Ivy liked to push the buttons in the chemistry room.
The lion roared, and Ivy roared right back.
She just wanted to touch all the animals.
These are to remind you how pretty and dear and smart and fun our tiny Ivy is.
(Does that kid ever shut her mouth?)
What? I'm just coloring.
She still likes to sleep on Mom!
We
took a trip to Austin the day after New Year's (we spent New Year's Eve
at our neighbors -- they had a big potluck, and a 7:26 countdown).
After a stop at the Torchy Tacos Trailer Park, we headed for the zoo.
The
Austin zoo is tiny -- probably no more than 2 acres. All of the animals
are rescue animals, from small circuses, roadside attractions, and drug
dealers. There are dozens of drug dealers, in Texas, apparently, and
they like lions, tigers, giant tortoises, and exotic birds. Ivy loved
the zoo.
The
best part is that they have a big petting zoo area. There are goats,
sheep, pigs, chickens, llamas, and deer. You can buy bags of food for a
buck. We bought three. Ivy had so much fun feeding animals.We started
at the petting zoo, and then when we saw all of the other animals, she
kept reaching in my bag to get more food -- even for the giant black
panther. We didn't let her feed it, or the parrots with the angry beaks.
When
the zoo was closing, we headed back for the dear deer. We had a full
bag of food, and Ivy fed them every bite. We were so proud of how brave
she was. She had no fear at all -- she just wanted to feed and pet
them. You can see how pretty she was, and how sweet. We have a pretty
nice baby, one who cares about her world.
After the zoo, we had a great dinner at Clay Pot, a fusion Indian place. Yum! Ivy ate lots of our food, and lots of her own. Then, she slept sweetly all the way home. She is so good. We think there will be many more roadtrips in our future.
So, Ivy is a big going-to-school girl. Here she is her first day. She went in and started playing right away, but then she cried. We really missed Jenna that first week, and we wondered if we'd made a terrible mistake. We are so glad we had Jenna for as long as we did, and so glad she'll continue to be a part of Ivy's life.
The
other kids seem nice, and she's learned some new words. She had the sad
face on far too often last week, but she's definitely liking it better
now.
Ivy has snack when she gets there. On Thursday it was cinnamon biscuits (maybe that's why she didn't cry that day).
Scott made old-school artichoke dip.
We all liked it, but no-one liked it better than Ivy.
As you can see, she still likes to eat!
At
dinner time, we take off the tray and move her highchair to our table.
She likes to eat like a big girl and be close to us. She also likes to
steal our food.
Ivy
has been pretty sick lately, with ear infections and colds. On Friday,
she had a fever and didn't want anything to eat except my spring roll.
Then,
as I was making the blog, she started to cry. She had a very high fever
and was panting. We took her to the emergency room. She is fine, but
has a virus of some kind that is really taking its toll on her. We
can't wait until she feels better. Jenna may come on Tuesday.
Because I want to end on a happy note, here are two more cute pictures of our darling baby!
The crib used to be mine, and before that it was Grammy's.
Great-Grandma Ruth made the quilt. It's pretty special.
The baby doll also has a stroller. It's probably Ivy's very favorite present.Claire got a baby and stroller too. They had a stroller derby!
Wheely Bug!
We have many new games to play with Ivy. Sometimes she pretends to be serious, especially when her teeth hurt her.
She
loves to play beans, a game Grammy invented. We take them from the
tupperware to the bowl to the sigg. Mostly though, we toss them on the
ground. Ivy especially likes it when we drop them on her head very
slowly and gently. It tickles, and she closes her eyes and laughs.
She also likes to play in the pantry. She finds treats there -- dried figs are her new favorite fruit.
On a rainy Sunday after a rainy week, we decided to head to Houston,
to the Museum of Natural Sciences and to dinner someplace fun (we ended up at the Olive Garden, unfortunately, though Ivy thinks unlimited breadsticks are pretty great!).
They have a butterfly garden.
It was amazing, a three-story rainforest. Ivy loved it, though she did get a little overwhelmed toward the end.
They also had bugs!
Ivy liked to push the buttons in the chemistry room.
The lion roared, and Ivy roared right back.She just wanted to touch all the animals.
These are to remind you how pretty and dear and smart and fun our tiny Ivy is.(Does that kid ever shut her mouth?)
What? I'm just coloring.
She still likes to sleep on Mom!
We
took a trip to Austin the day after New Year's (we spent New Year's Eve
at our neighbors -- they had a big potluck, and a 7:26 countdown).
After a stop at the Torchy Tacos Trailer Park, we headed for the zoo.
The
Austin zoo is tiny -- probably no more than 2 acres. All of the animals
are rescue animals, from small circuses, roadside attractions, and drug
dealers. There are dozens of drug dealers, in Texas, apparently, and
they like lions, tigers, giant tortoises, and exotic birds. Ivy loved
the zoo.
The
best part is that they have a big petting zoo area. There are goats,
sheep, pigs, chickens, llamas, and deer. You can buy bags of food for a
buck. We bought three. Ivy had so much fun feeding animals.We started
at the petting zoo, and then when we saw all of the other animals, she
kept reaching in my bag to get more food -- even for the giant black
panther. We didn't let her feed it, or the parrots with the angry beaks.
When
the zoo was closing, we headed back for the dear deer. We had a full
bag of food, and Ivy fed them every bite. We were so proud of how brave
she was. She had no fear at all -- she just wanted to feed and pet
them. You can see how pretty she was, and how sweet. We have a pretty
nice baby, one who cares about her world.
After the zoo, we had a great dinner at Clay Pot, a fusion Indian place. Yum! Ivy ate lots of our food, and lots of her own. Then, she slept sweetly all the way home. She is so good. We think there will be many more roadtrips in our future.
So, Ivy is a big going-to-school girl. Here she is her first day. She went in and started playing right away, but then she cried. We really missed Jenna that first week, and we wondered if we'd made a terrible mistake. We are so glad we had Jenna for as long as we did, and so glad she'll continue to be a part of Ivy's life.
The
other kids seem nice, and she's learned some new words. She had the sad
face on far too often last week, but she's definitely liking it better
now.
Ivy has snack when she gets there. On Thursday it was cinnamon biscuits (maybe that's why she didn't cry that day).We continue to be glad to have the Pikes. Right before this picture, both daddies were holding both girls and dancing with them.
I missed the shot, because both girls simultaneously jumped toward each other!
They are so like sisters in so many ways!
I missed the shot, because both girls simultaneously jumped toward each other!
They are so like sisters in so many ways!
Scott made old-school artichoke dip.We all liked it, but no-one liked it better than Ivy.
As you can see, she still likes to eat!
At
dinner time, we take off the tray and move her highchair to our table.
She likes to eat like a big girl and be close to us. She also likes to
steal our food.
Ivy
has been pretty sick lately, with ear infections and colds. On Friday,
she had a fever and didn't want anything to eat except my spring roll.
Then,
as I was making the blog, she started to cry. She had a very high fever
and was panting. We took her to the emergency room. She is fine, but
has a virus of some kind that is really taking its toll on her. We
can't wait until she feels better. Jenna may come on Tuesday.
Because I want to end on a happy note, here are two more cute pictures of our darling baby!
