Wednesday, December 19

Thanksgiving in Ojai


Since we couldn't be with family on Thanksgiving, we decided to get away for a few nights.  We went to Ojai, which was less than two hours North.  Ojai is kind of like a mini Santa Fe and is famous for its "pink moments" that are visible looking East to the mountains as the sun sets.  It only lasts a few moments and is really beautiful!

We found a place through airbnb (people rent out their own homes through this site, so we had access to a kitchen!) and took our own food, so we had a small Thanksgiving feast with rack of lamb, this grain free dressing, these savory sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie with this coconut flour crust, sourdough rolls, and some lacto-fermented cranberries and apples.  Yum.  Especially the sweet potatoes!




We went on a short hike up to a small woodland water fall which was perfect!  We walked around Ojai and played on the playground too.  Mavry loves to swing.


On the way home on Saturday, we took some time at the beach to try for Christmas family photos with the self timer.  It was too bright and we are all squinty eyed, so we will have to try for more. 



Wednesday, December 12

Mavry: 10 months




Mavry is 10 months old! 

She is standing on her own and getting a little more adventurous with that every day. 

She loves her walker wagon.  She will walk with it until she runs in to something and then stop and pull a book out of it to "read." 

She loves going out.  If the outside doors are open, she will head outside on her own. 

When she wakes up from her naps (on her floor bed), she will usually crawl to the door (I leave it closed but not pulled shut) and come out on her own. 

She has her own shelf in the kitchen now that has some vintage tea tins and other kitchen items just for her.  She can make quite the racket!

She loves to talk to herself.  She can be overheard saying "lamalamalamaduh" or something like it from her car seat or as she cruises around the room. 

She used to stay in the same room as us all the time, but now she frequently ventures into a room we are not in - usually the bathroom - to open cabinets and rifle through the contents.  We have put off baby proofing cabinets in our small apartment since we are hopefully moving soon, so we keep an eye on her!

See Mavry at:
9 months
8 months
7 months
6 months
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
5 weeks

Thursday, December 6

Catching up with Pictures

Today is Mavry's 10 month birthday!  But, I didn't get pictures done today so in the meantime, I leave you with these: 

Mavry and Colin getting ready for a wedding.  

Mavry wore a dress that used to be mine!

Colin's birthday breakfast in bed with sausage, homemade sourdough pancakes and hot chocolate. 

Practicing patty cake. 

And as I was uploading pics from Colin's camera, I found this one that he took.  :)

Tuesday, November 13

Mavry: 9 months (40 weeks!)






Getting pictures of Mavry with her Raggedy Ann is becoming more difficult.  (Did I mention that my mom made this Raggedy Ann for me when I was little?)  Mavry doesn't appreciate being put back into the same pose I want her in when all she really wants is to chew on my camera strap.  So, these shots are my best solo attempt. 

Mavry has now been alive outside the womb as long as inside!  She was born the night before her "due" date, which was 40 weeks.  At 9 months, she is all over the place with crawling, scooting, and cruising around everything she can pull up on, which is everything.  She can even scale walls Spiderman style.  She is frequently seen judging the distance between two objects to see if she can transfer between them without getting on her hands and knees.  She seems to be a pretty good judge of this, but she does suffer from bonking her head under things like the dining room table and chairs.  

This month Mavry had her first cold, the first night of which she had a fever.  We were glad when that was over!  She claps and loves to make the sign for "milk" although we aren't sure she means milk every time she does it.  And, her hair is growing long over her ears.  I'm having to restrain myself from cutting those bits!

See Mavry at:
8 months
7 months
6 months
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
5 weeks

Thursday, November 1

Mavry's Table

Colin made a wonderful tiny table and chair set for Mavry with significant help from his friend John Tan and his woodworking tools. 

In Montessori language, this is called the weaning table.  It is meant for first meals and for doing work, but we aren't feeding Mavry at her table.  She only eats with us at the regular table in her high chair. 


She can't get in her chair by herself yet, but I am trying to leave it out so that she can try it out some.  She can get down by herself, but I need to watch her to make sure she doesn't go head first.  So far, I have given her blocks and her egg and cup to work with at the table.  She also loves to walk around it. 

Wednesday, October 31

Happy Halloween!

We visited a pumpkin patch with my mama group and their families before Halloween.


 It was Colin's idea to dress as farmers and have Mavry be the sunflower that we grew. I had fun making her first Halloween costume.  I wanted her to wear a green onesie with leaves, but I somehow lost the green onesie. 

 The cowgirl boots are courtesy of Aunt Laura.  Mavry got them on her visit to Texas in August.  


 These pictures on the horse make me laugh!  It looks like she's hamming it up a little for the camera.  I wouldn't put it past her.


 After we visited the pumpkin patch, we went to our church's Fall Festival.  Mavry was worn out and not much into smiling at this point. 


They had a photo booth set up to take pictures.  This last one reminds me of one of those old timey photos where you aren't allowed to move or smile.  Ha!  I love the stoic face.  Have you seen the picture floating around the net of the little girl as Frida Kahlo?  Mavry looks about as excited as that girl in this pic.

For Halloween tonight, we stayed home and had chicken turnovers with a normal bedtime for the baby girl, so I'm glad we have a few shots from a week ago to show off our little sunflower! 

Sunday, October 21

Labor Day Camping



We went camping Labor Day weekend when Mavry was still just 6 months old.  It wasn't that long ago, but she changes so fast!  Since I got a few other things crossed off my to do list (like making Mavry's Halloween costume), I finally got around to getting the video of our camping trip put together. 

Colin gets excited about camping (which is why in the video, I ask him if he's excited at least twice).  He was even more excited to take Mavry on her first camping trip.  She did really well.  With the exception of getting used to the cold water, she enjoyed every minute. 






Tuesday, October 9

Mavry: 8 Months









Mavry turned 8 months old on Saturday!


For some reason, 8 months sounds old to me.  Maybe it's because she's pulling up to standing and even taking steps around the coffee table (or couch, dresser, our legs, the stack of suitcases in our living room...whatever she can find!). 

Since she learned to pull herself all the way up to standing (a little over a week ago), she doesn't have much interest in toys anymore.  She's just interested in standing up and working on taking steps along what she's holding on to. 

I can't believe she's already at this stage.  The other day I looked at her and wondered out loud to Colin how amazing it is that we have this wonderful little soul living in our house that we get to take care of in this world. What a deal. 

See Mavry at:
7 months
6 months
5 months
4 months
3 months
2 months
5 weeks