Fair Play

The lure of fair food was too hard to resist, so we took Maribelle to the state fair today. This girl loves to go places, and she was such a good baby! She didn't even nag us to win her a cheesy stuffed animal from the sketchy fair game operators, or to let her ride any of the borderline unsafe fair rides. She napped and ate on the go, and didn't mind being subjected to all the stank of the barnyard animals. Actually, I probably get the award for doing the most whining (surprise!). In order to get Jeremy to buy me a $6 funnel cake, I had to turn the whine on super high. In the end I got to enjoy my sugary, doughy slice of heaven and left the fair with a sugar high, only to crash in the car on the way home.

Besties ... Not Exactly

I think the poopers are slowly starting to warm up to Miss Maribelle, but they still have a long way to go in their baby-canine relationship. Both Manny and Olivia like to keep their space and don't completely trust the pooping, crying, squealing, attention-hogging load of a baby who all of a sudden showed up out of nowhere seven months ago and already has more toys than they do! (And they're not too happy that all those new toys are completely off limits!) Occasionally one of them will sit still long enough for Maribelle to get a quick pet/swipe/grab, but it's always a fleeting moment.


Manny still seems pretty bitter that Maribelle is a permanent fixture in our household, and he for the most part keeps to himself when she's around. Olivia, however, is much more interested in the baby and makes sure to say "hi" with a quick lick whenever she has the opportunity. And if Maribelle happens to fall asleep in her car seat, she'll sit there and whine at her until she wakes up. She also can't wait for the day that Maribelle can join in her favorite game of "go fetch." It's a daily occurrence that Olivia drops her favorite bright yellow ball near Maribelle in hopes that she's learned how to throw it. We've found the ball in Maribelle's car seat, in her swing, and even in her diaper (no, it's not what you think. Maribelle wasn't actually WEARING a diaper with a tennis ball in it). I know one day they'll all become best friends once Maribelle can chase them around the house and give them a nice strong tug by the tail, or ears.


I have to make a quick mention about the quilt that Maribelle is sitting on in these pics. We got a surprise gift from Camila, Clara and Cheena the other day, who pulled together their talents to make a beautiful quilt for Miss M. It's my favorite kind of gift (homemade!), and we know Maribelle will enjoy it for years to come!

Laugh Factory

I seriously think I could listen to Maribelle laugh all day long. Whether it's a giggle or a deep, full belly laugh, it always melts my heart. In this video she's of course laughing at her silly Daddy. Or, maybe she's laughing at his silly mustache, I'm not sure :)

Snuggle Bug

We've had quite a whirlwind of visitors lately, and Grandma and Grandpa M. were this weekend's guests of honor. Plenty of Maribelle holding, snuggling, playing and watching was in order, and she absolutely loved every second of it.

Seven Months

Seven Months?! How did we get here so fast? "Seven months" just sounds so ... so old! "Seven months" means she's a real baby-baby and it for sure means she's not a newborn anymore. When did THAT happen?!? Actually, she's a whole heck of a lot more fun and cries a whole lot less now that she's not a newborn anymore, so I won't complain about leaving that phase behind. "Seven months" also means she's more than half way to her first birthday! And you better believe there's already been some talking and planning about how that first birthday party is going to play out.

Here are some new developments as Maribelle heads into her seven month:

* She sits like such a little lady now! She's gotten very good at holding herself up, and she weeble-wobbles a little less every day. I think this means I've got to get her some "big girl" toys that encourage sitting and (gasp!) crawling! The rattles and little stuffed toys just won't cut it for much longer.

* She's becoming quite the mocking bird these days and gets a kick out of fake coughing. She's even starting to mimic some of the sounds and vocal tones that we make.

* She weighs 15 lbs, 11 ounces.

* She's sampled her way through all the Stage 1 veggies and is now onto fruit! So far there hasn't been a food that she down-right refuses, although she'll only tolerate a few spoon fulls of bananas and doesn't particularly like prune juice. At this point she's had avocado, sweet potato, green beans, peas, carrots, acorn squash, bananas, peaches and prune juice (Soon she's going to try full-on prune puree because, well, solids haven't been too kind to Miss M's digestive system, if you know what I mean.).

* One of my FAVORITE developments so far is the fact that Grandma A. has taught Maribelle how to wave "bye-bye"! Of course it's not a full-fledge emphatic wave of the hand, but more of a subtle opening and closing of the fist and fingers, but it's still so darn cute. We have to hold her arm up to get her to do it, and she's getting better and better at it. There are even times when I see her opening and closing her hand while she's doing other things ... like breastfeeding. Is she trying to tell me something?!?!

* Her feet can finally touch the ground when she's in her jumperoo, so she's just starting to get the hang of jumping. However, as you can see in the video below, she only jumps when she sees or touches the red bird that hangs above her. I'm starting to think she has a thing for birds. When she was a little younger and would fuss, I'd take her into our kitchen and let her stare at the bird plates on our wall, and she would be mesmerized. Next time I'm feeling cranky, I just might try that myself.

Beach Baby, Beach Baby

We took a quick vacation to Virginia Beach this past weekend with my family, 14 people in all! Maribelle was, as my dad puts it, the "Belle of the Ball" and was such a happy baby the whole trip. She provided entertainment for everyone and just loved being the center of attention, whether it was her splish-splashing in the pool in her adorable swimsuit (thanks Aunt Laura!) or flapping her arms like a crazy little chicken (her newest trick! See the video for a sample performance).



The weather was fabulous while we were there, which unfortunately meant that Maribelle spent most of the mid-days inside, ducking out of the blazing sun and heat. We took walks in the early morning and evening and made a couple trips to the sand and water's edge during off-peak hours. She was not a fan of the ocean water rushing up over her feet and wasn't all too thrilled with sand, but she seemed to really enjoy the pool. Grandma and Grandpa bought her a pool floatie, which made her swimming experience extra fun.



Jeremy decided it would be fun to bury Maribelle in the sand, like a little sand crab. Needless to say, she quickly got over her squirmishness toward sand, because Daddy gave her no choice ... she was COVERED with the stuff!
Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us tag along on vacation. We can't wait to do it again next year!

Little Lady

We've been away! Which means I've had no time for blogging. So until I find some time to recap our vacation, here are a few photos to drool over. I think these photos capture some of the fascinating changes we've seen in Maribelle since she's turned six months. She's so much more active and expressive, and there are some days when she just oozes with silliness. These few photos capture some of the crazy and curious girl that she's quickly becoming.