A new addition...

Introducing the newest member of our family, a beta fish! Yes, that's right! I got him on a whim today at the pet store. He loves his new fish box and Jane Ritchie likes checking him out (and pointing at him, of course).

He doesn't have a name yet, so if you have any suggestions, leave a comment. If you nominate the name we choose, we'll send you a prize!

Flair and Flailing

Jane Ritchie is obsessed with refrigerator flair (magnets, pictures, etc.). When she wakes up from a nap she wants to point and point and point at all the things on the fridge. It is highly amusing. Hopefully we can catch it on video one day!

Her other new thing is not so cute. Almost every time we try to change her diaper she goes crazy, flailing about, and tries to turn over and eventually starts crying when we try to get her to stay on her back. Any suggestions??? The book says to distract them with a toy, which used to work but no longer does. It also says to distract them with a song, so maybe I'll try that! We're good at making up songs. I'm getting really good at putting diapers on backwards!

Video Heaven

Some recent videos of Jane Ritchie that I finally downloaded. Flip Video and Youtube rock!

Here she is dancing to her Baby Leap Lion that sings. She usually dances for a longer amount of time, but it was hard to catch on video!




This is a long video of her playing around. I initially thought it was funny how she was just crawling around like a crazy girl, but at the end she says "hola" and also makes the "k" sound!




She plays peekaboo all the time. Here's a short exhibition




Finally, here she is talking to Mommy and then finding the sunshine!

Wildlife

This squirrel was cracking me up hanging upside down to try to get bird feed in our back yard.


I looked across the street the other day and saw two deer and a fawn standing in the middle of the road. They were just standing there like it was no big deal! By the time I got out the door with the camera they had started to move.

The sun is out!

The sun finally came out today! We spent some time outside on our new outdoor mat, watching Paul paint Jane Ritchie's new highchair. It is fire engine red. Woo hoo! Jane Ritchie enjoyed playing in the grass....or dirt, and also worked on her bird watching skills.

Laughing

Here are a couple of videos of Jane Ritchie laughing. She has a Leap Frog that she thinks is hilarious!

Aquarium, parte dos

We went to the aquarium again yesterday. Our landlord was one of the founding members and he gave us his guest passes. It worked out great since he wanted to do some loud work on the house while we were gone!

Jane Ritchie loved the tunnel for toddlers as you can see below. (Dad crawled through with her).

Yodel

Jane Ritchie has a goat that sings the song from Sound of Music. Now she tries to yodel along with it. We tried to catch it on video!

Learning to be a lady at lunch

Happy in a clam

Monterey is known for its nice aquarium. They have a new section just for babies and toddlers called The Splash Zone. We went to check it out the other day with our friend Liam. It was FUN!

Occasionally Jane Ritchie was fascinated with the fish in the big tanks, but mostly she was fascinated by the crowd.

Pik Yor Sef

We headed over to Watsonville, CA yesterday to the Gizdich Ranch to pick some strawberries. I bought a Gizdich Ranch Very Berry pie the other day at the grocery and it was delicious!! So, I looked them up online and we decided we would visit. They grow apples, strawberries, olalliberries, blackberries, and boysenberries. They have an antique shop, gift shop, bakery and juice processor. It is fun for the whole family!








P.S. When you move around alot, it is always nice to know someone familiar with your new neighborhood. Cheryl Wrathall has given us some great advice about where to go here in the Monterey Bay area. Thanks Cheryl!

Cute

I couldn't resist posting this cute picture of Jane Ritchie in the back pack at Yosemite. We bought it at a consignment shop, so it didn't come with directions. She didn't fall out, so I guess we did it right. She looks ready to go!

Fun times in beautiful weather!

We had a great visit with May May and Aunt B last week. Jane Ritchie learned many new things. She started to hold her own bottle and sippy cup. She now says "Bless you" when someone sneezes or coughs. She also says "where is she" when playing peek a boo. It is too cute!

We had a wonderful morning out at Point Lobos State Park. It is just 10 minutes from our house and is beautiful! We even saw a couple of whales!!!! We didn't even have to pay to go out on one of those boats wearing a crazy yellow rain coat!! It was a special treat.

At Point Lobos

Yosemite National Park

On the drive to Yosemite Jane Ritchie was entertained by Aunt B and May May and was such a good girl. We are proud to say she's visited her first National Park at age 9 months!

Jane Ritchie's first sight of snow at Yosemite!