WI trip

We told Cali it would be COLD in WI...

and this was her reaction.

So we promised we'd take her to see some green stuff and warm her up...and took her to the Milwaukee domes.

She loved the train exhibit and felt right at home as the train passed the model Golden Gate bridge.

She's learned how to blow raspberries and sometimes even blows bubbles!

Cali also LOVED my parents' and Dylan/Brooke's dogs

Luckily they tolerated her,

as long as we threw them some dummies every once and awhile.

Cali learned how to clap (with open hands) during our stay.

"Yaaay!"

She visited with lots of family and friends:

Great Grandma Strube

Uncle Nick (& aunt Katie)
BFF Aveya
Cousin Parker
"Big bro" Andrew
Future father-in-law, Trent, and husband, Noah
Won't this be cute at their wedding slideshow?

Jenni and her 1-week old, Jacob!

Another 4 generation shot. We're hoping great-grandma Kinsey finally gets her blonde/brown eyed girl with Cali!

**We saw lots of other family and friends too, including a couple UWP friends, Madison friend Kellee, and a bunch of people at my mom's bday bash/celebration of the house remodel, where my cousin Russell's reggae band played--hoping to get pictures of that from others!**

Cali did GREAT with all the new people--by the end of our 2.5 week stay, anyone could take her! Considering the new environment, lack of schedule, and time change, she did great overall. Only problem was when she learned how to stand in her crib--didn't bode well for nighttime sleeping.

Cali's first snowfall...

And here's a photo shoot we did while bored one day (everyone was at work)

What a ridiculous outfit huh?

I call it her baby "Fame" outfit

Peek-a-boo

Cali also learned to crawl while in WI--here are some of her first attempts

The plank as us PTs call it--great abs Cali!

oops, didn't get too far here.

Daddy and Grandpa Heltemes playing "let's hit Cali in the head with a balloon game"--I'll let you guess who made that one up.

Cheesy face!

Oooo the anticipation!

Grandpa Kinsey

My grandpa Kinsey passed away on January 19th. My grandma told me that in the days before he passed, he told her many times, "Helen, we had a good life." And that they did. He will be an inspiration to me always-- For his family values, successful career, generous volunteer work, and beautiful marriage.

I tried to get home in time to say goodbye in person, but didn't quite make it. We arrived a few days later though in order to attend the services and be with family.

I wanted to post a picture here with Cali and her great grandpa, but I realized he only met her once, and we didn't take any pictures. I'm glad he got to meet his first great grandchild though, and I'm so thankful for the many years I had with him.

Monterey weekend

We took advantage of the long weekend due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day and headed down to Monterey. After eating lunch out, Celia and Sean took us on a hike described as "an easy walk through the forest" or something like that. Plenty of hills, a river we had to cross 4 times without bridges, and 2 hours later, we were done. :) Fortunately, Cali loved taking it all in and was such a trooper! The rest of the weekend didn't go as well, starting with rain the next day, followed by Cali getting a cold that turned into an ear infection.

8 months

Let's see....what is Cali doing these days?

-rolling in all directions

-pulling to stand

-sleeping 11-12 hours at night with three 30-45 min naps during the day

-saying "mama" (although she seems to have forgotten this one recently) and "dada" but has no idea what they mean

-lunging forward from sitting onto all 4s and taking a couple crawl "steps" forward

-loves drinking water from a regular glass, with help of course (much preferred to her sippy cup)

-eating cereal and fruits/veggies, but hates meat (still allergic to soy, not sure about dairy)

-is teething (has the bottom 2 already) and much prefers mommy/daddy's shoulders/knees to teething toys

Mommy's been home with Cali for 2 weeks now and here's the schedule they've put together to get mommy out of the house and keep Cali "socialized":

M: run errands or go to the park

T: class at the baby gym

W: cardio dance class for mom/childcare for baby (Cali's not yet a fan of this one)

R: playgroups

F: library story-time

Bath Time

How many faces can you make in 5 min??

Two-thousand and WHAT?

On the eve of the pending new year, one is expected to celebrate the previous year, propose ridiculous and often impossible resolutions for the new one, knock back a little champagne, and kiss a loved one (or complete stranger) at the strike of midnight. These are surely attainable, but hopelessly difficult for overworked parents of a 7-month old baby girl. First, Cheyenne and I had some decisions to make because we were invited to:

• Las Vegas: for partying, gambling, and God-only-knows what else
• Lake Tahoe: for partying, skiing, and snowshoeing

Hmmmmmmm, what to do? What would you do?

After much deliberation amongst ourselves and phoning Celia and Sean, we finally made a decision with our soon-to-be one income check book looming overhead: stay home, in our tiny apartment, make a family-style dinner along with hors d'oeuvres, pop in a movie (The Ugly Truth), and tape our eyelids open so we don't miss the ball drop at midnight. Done!

We did make it to midnight. We knocked back a glass of sparkling cider and shared a kiss!