Wow- Half Birthdays are awesome!!!
After I inhaled my special pancakes, Dad came downstairs with a birthday surprise: a new fairy sticker book:
We played, splashed, laughed, and even worked on some of my strokes- I can't wait for summer to come so that I can take lessons!!
I don't hold it against Macie for laughing at me, she still doesn't know any better...
Notice how Macie has learned to hold her own Nuk. We are SO proud of her accomplishments, and I am having lots of fun with my new playmate.
When I finished my drumstick (I ate the whole thing by myself), Macie and I got to watch a special birthday episode of Sesame Street. We both LOVED it!!
After going to gymnastics in the afternoon I had a sushi cake for dinner. It even had a candle...
After singing the birthday song I got to blow out my candle and make a half birthday wish.
My sushi cake tasted better than any cake I'd ever had before.
I took my night time bath while Macie had a bottle, and afterwards the two of us sat in my room together while Mom read us a bedtime story.
Just when I thought my half birthday couldn't get any better Aunt Hayley came in my room with a surprise- She was wearing the foot jammies that I bought for her, and told me that we were going to have a birthday sleepover! I was so excited- it was going to be my first one.
Macie was envious, so Mom put Macie's foot jammies on and the three of us posed for some pictures.
The rest of the week was pretty mello for me as Macie was the star of the show- I guess its only fair that she gets some of the attention (I said some, not all.) She has learned to sit in and play in the pond, and with my help has learned how to press buttons and turn on the music.
When the weekend came Dad brought home a big surprise: He bought a new guitar. Macie, Mom, and I all got to sit and listen to him play- it is one of our favorite things!
On Sunday the whole family got dressed up for some football games!!! Macie sat on Dad's lap and enjoyed watching all the action on the TV.
While we were waiting for the Vikings game to begin Dave and Lee arrived with Aunt Hayley's horse. They had all been on a LONG road trip from California so we went to greet everyone at the barn and welcome Bugs to his new home. I was sure excited to see him, and can't wait until I am big enough to ride him. He is living in a stable very close to our house, so I look forward to going and visiting him often.
Back at home we all watched the game, but our season came to a disappointing end (we are no longer allowed to talk about football, or Brett Favre, until next year). To lighten the mood around the sulky house Mom and I played dress up with Jackson and I have NEVER seen him look so good!
The following week started with a trip to see Macie's doctor for her 4 month checkup (a little late considering she will be 5 months in another week.) There we discovered that she was rapidly climbing the growth charts. She weighed in at 14.8 lbs, and measured 26 inches long! Can you believe it? She is in the 95th percentile for her age, and shows no signs of slowing down.
After all the celebrating subsided the doctor told Mom it was time to start Macie on baby food. Mom couldn't believe the time had gone by so fast- I actually think it made her sad. Feelings aside we followed the doctors orders...
We started with rice cereal and were all excited to watch her take the first bite- especially me since I was the one who was going to be giving it to her.
Macie couldn't figure out what all the hype was about, but she soon found out...
The first bite of rice cereal didn't go over too well...
We struggled for a while, and eventually scrapped the idea and gave her a bottle. She was much happier.
Over the course of the week we tried numerous times to introduce her to food. She couldn't seem to grasp the concept of food flow; with her bottle the food is continuously coming, but now the food comes and goes- this new consumption style does not appease her hungry appetite. After the rice cereal had run its course (it was spit out every time) we tried squash which she didn't like much. By the 3rd day she seemed to understand how to open your mouth and take a bite, but still wasn't too thrilled about the flavorless items we had given her.
It wasn't until we fed her sweet potatoes that she started to realize how yummy food can be!!
We are still having food struggles as she learns taste, texture, and a little patience, but we are making great progress! Soon we will be fighting over the last piece of chicken at the dinner table.
Check out her progress for yourself...
First experience with food; Rice Cereal:
2 days later eating her Squash:
And most recently, with much better skills and understanding, eating some peas:
The family had been so preoccupied with Macie and her trials and tribulations surrounding food that we had almost forgot about the outside world and it's incapacitating weather. To our surprise it was sunny outside so we prepared ourselves for some outdoor fun- that was until we opened the door and found that looks really can be deceiving- the temp had dropped into single digits and we couldn't go beyond the front porch without risking frostbite. Mom was frustrated because she had been looking forward to playing in the yard since the sun was out, but instead had to improvise and boy am I glad she did- we went to Chuck E Cheese.
I dressed in my new pink Uggs, tights, and jacket from Grandma Jean, and was ready to risk being exposed to the elements to get to Chuch E Cheese!
I was so excited when we got there that I did a hot lap around the place to survey my surroundings. I decided to ride the horse first...
I am lucky that I have such a tolerant little sister. She lets me do all sorts of fun things and never complains that she has to sit in her stroller and watch. I think she really enjoyed seeing all the lights and watching all the action around her.
I had tons of fun driving cars, riding bikes, climbing ladders, etc...
Mom was a little concerned by my "road rage" face, and tells me that we will have a lot to work on before I can really get behind the wheel...
I even rode a motorcycle "like Uncle Shawn."
My favorite thing was going on a ride with Macie- it was her very first ride. We got to fly in a shuttle over the city and be superheroes. She sure enjoyed it.
Back at home I was up to my normal antics... Mom hadn't heard much from me for a couple minutes and came into the family room to check on me.
I was caught.
When she confronted me I told her I was peeing in Jackson's bowl- I wasn't really going to pee, I was just pretending to taunt Jax and it worked. Mom was mortified, but obviously found enough humor in it to take a picture.
Another weekend rolled around, yet this one was different than the 20 previous weekends. There was a BIG void left since football season was over for the family and we had to fill it quickly so that we wouldn't wallow in our sorrow. We soon forgot ALL about football when we went to play at the coolest indoor playplace ever- the "Big Red Barn."
Dad bought me a annual pass to play at the "Big Red Barn" so that I can go everyday! It is the greatest place ever and one could NEVER get bored even Macie found something to do:
I prefered the tire swing...
With the weekend behind us Mom began frantically preparing for our upcoming trip to CA. Macie and I are SUPER excited to see all of our friends and family!!!
I will keep you posted on the upcoming events as they unfold!
