Life is Good...

The bigger I get, the more I am exploring this great big wonderful world.

I enjoy crawling in and out of all sorts of things.

For a while I would crawl into a tight space and get stuck. Mom would watch as I struggled to figure it out, but she allowed me to do it on my own and eventually I learned.

Thanks to her "hands-off" approach to learning I am challenging myself and succeeding!

This freedom she gives me has allowed me to travel throughout the house, and my new found love for discovery led me to a deck of cards in a basket under the living room table. Who knew that they could be so fun???

It didn't take me long to find out how to open the box. I asked mom to play 52 card pickup with me but she declined and left me to pick up the mess.

Grandma Schafer came to visit me for the weekend, and I decided to show off some more of my new moves. Aunt Hayley will appreciate this one...

After the weekend was over, I became cranky and unruly. Mom didn't know what to do with me; I was swatting at my ears, and being fussier than ever. After a day went by and nothing changed she took me to the doctor to see if I had another ear infection. The doctor examined me and informed Mom that my only problem was that I was teething again. I have 5 more teeth trying to poke thorough, and when they do I will have a total of 9 teeth! He explained to Mom that I was swatting at my ears because I had learned after my last ear infection that it got me attention...

Mom wasn't too happy when she found out that I had been playing her. The good thing about going to the doctor was that they weighed me and told Mom that I topped the scales at a whopping 17lbs 2oz. Can you believe that I finally hit the big 1-7!!!

When we got home mom helped me ease the pain of teething by giving me these great biscuits. She hates the scent, and loathes the mess they make, but endures it on my behalf. Mom wanted to get a picture of my mouth for everyone to see but I was determined NOT to let anyone open my mouth!

Our week went by like a whirlwind, and before we knew it the weekend was here again. Mom, Dad, and I drove down to San Diego to celebrate Liz Mahan's birthday. Can you believe that I got to take my first ride in a limo! Talk about being a high roller- Inside there were TV's, video games, food, and drinks; it was awesome. The best part was looking out the window and seeing the world fly by. I tried to wave at all the other people on the road, but think they must have been intimidated by me because I didn't get any responses.

Here is a picture of all of us at one of the wineries.

While Daddy and his friends enjoyed the wine, Mom and I enjoyed the food.

We made stops at different wineries throughout the day, but my favorite one was our last stop. There was a big grass area where people sat and enjoyed the day.

After playing with Dad I decided to roam around on my own.

My desire to climb, along with my need to get a hold of Mom's empty energy drink can, led me to venture into the basket below my stroller.

As you can see, I am very adventurous!

After our trip to the wineries, the limo dropped us off and we went to dinner. I "hammed-it-up" with Jason and Liz and everyone loved my high fives!


Since we were at a Mexican restaurant Mom and Dad let me sample the cuisine. I got to eat beans, tortillas, chips, and my personal favorite, guacamole.

Dad decided to let me try a bite of lime. I dove right in, but immediately regretted it. It tasted icky and I don't know what possessed Dad to give it to me, or better yet, what would make him think that I would ever LIKE it.

I spent the next 20 minutes licking my lips to get rid of the taste:

After we ate dinner we drove down to San Diego to see Grandma Schafer and Great Grandma Jensen. I hadn't seen her in a long time, and it was great to be able to show her all the things I am able to do now.

Can you believe that there are four generations of women in those pictures????

Later that night we drove out to Pa's house in Jamul where I feel fast asleep. The day tuckered me out, and I slept like a baby (he he he)

The next morning Pa was up to his usual tricks. I don't know why he thinks it is funny hanging me upside down, but she was sure laughing.

As you can see when I finally got upright I was a little discombobulated!

After my participation in the morning circus I took a nap. When I woke up Great Grandma Jean was at the house. The last few times I saw her we didn't really get along, so in an attempt to buy my affection she brought me cookies and a new chair. Her ploy worked, and we got along just fine!

Grandma Jean and I played for a while, and after she left Dad and Mom took me for my first swim in the big person's pool.

We had a great time swimming and afterwards I was so wiped out from all the excitement that I had to take a 2 hour nap.


For the second time that day when I woke up the house was full of guests. Great Grandma Jean was back with Connie, Randy, and Brandon, and Chris and his Dad came over for the BBQ!

We all hung out on the back patio, eating, drinking, and hanging out. As you can see I mingle with the big people now!

After Great Grandma Jean bought my affection earlier in the day, I spent a lot of time with her and boy are we good buddies now!

There was all sorts of food at the party, and I got to try it all! I was ecstatic!

As I was finishing my dinner Aunt Connie brought out some funny glasses for me to try on.

I think they make me look smart. Brains and Beauty, what a package!!!

Mom thinks I look like the female version of Harry Potter.

After dinner and a bath we had to pack the car and head home. Before we left I showed Pa that I had mastered climbing up and down his stairs.




I sure love spending time with my friends and family, and am looking forward to this coming summer when I get to see my Aunt Hayley, my Uncle Shawn, and lots of other people who love me.

Off to a rocky start...

My week began with a trip to the doctor to confirm that I had an ear infection. Poor Mom couldn't understand why I was so whiny. I tried to give her some clues: I pulled and clawed at my ears, and I think that my disdain for any liquid hinted that my throat may be a little sore...

The trip to the doctor was a miserable experience. They tugged and poked and prodded, and to top it off they flushed out my ears with liquid. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper.
They did however place me on the scale, and Mom was ecstatic that I had put on some pounds. Can you believe that I now weight 16lbs 8oz?!?!?!?

Despite my ears throbbing, my throat aching, my head pounding, etc. I still managed to keep a rather good disposition. The Doctor gave Mom some medicine for me, but nothing can cure my ailments like hanging out with my Dad!



He helped me walk through the house on his toes, although I don't need to much help movin' these days...

As you have just seen I move with the speed of light, and even Jax has a hard time keeping up with me now.

Even though I was battling sickness, Dad spent extra time with me (unfortunately it resulted in Dad getting sick). He helped me forget all about feeling icky, and taught me a new trick:

My favorite thing is to make that sound on my own. Mom laughs as she hears it from the other room. Because I was sick this week I wanted my Mommy all the time. I cried a lot when she left me in my playroom, so she decided to let me roam around on the floor while she worked in the kitchen. I found the ties to her apron and twisted around with them. Fun can be found everywhere.

During the day Mom would let me roam around the living room while she was working on some Tutu's. I spent most of my time in the curtains playing peek-a-boo.

Being such a BIG girl, Mom lets me sit on my horse and rock back and forth. The bigger I get, the more I am allowed to do.

I have been crawling over to objects and standing up for over a month, but recently started standing up ON MY OWN. Check me out...

Not bad huh?!?!?

Of all the places I have explored throughout the house, my favorite room is the bathroom. Mom and Dad think its gross that I want to hang out in there, but they don't understand how much FUN it is. The door is shut 99% of the day, but every now and again I find it open... grabbing the magazines out of the bin and tearing them up is quite entertaining; the mini trash can makes a great noise when pounded upon; and I have found the holy grail of FUN:

Mom laughed so hard the first 10 times I did that, but didn't think it was to amusing when the water wouldn't stop running. She told me that the bathroom is NOT a playroom and that I shouldn't make plans to play there in the future.

Crawling throughout the house I manage to find interesting items all over. The other day I found a pear on the table and to Mom's surprise I picked it up and began to eat it. I finished most of it before she took my Fun away.

Speaking of eating Mom lets me feed myself at dinner time now. Check out my night with avocado and cous cous:

Obviously I enjoyed dinner, and to top it off I got to take a bath in the BIG GIRL tub!

Just when I thought that life couldn't get any better...

This week was a whirlwind.

Our week started out with a trip to see Miss Karen in Therapy.

Karen told Mommy how impressed she was with my progress- my neck is getting stronger every week, and soon I won't need to go to therapy anymore. Karen told me she was very proud of me and exclaimed that I am getting "so big." As she did I raised my hands over my head and shrieked with excitement.

To every one's surprise I had shown them that I am SO BIG!!!

Mom about had a heart attack; she had been trying to get me to do that for weeks, and couldn't believe that I did it for Miss Karen instead. Once we got back home she made me do it all afternoon...

On Tuesday morning Mommy received some sad news. A friend of hers from Mammoth was no longer with us. His name was Chris Tyler, and though I was only able to meet him once I thought he was pretty cool.

We spent the remainder of the week preparing to go to Mammoth for the weekend. We didn't do anything new and exciting, but Mom did share a corn-on-the-cob with me

She thought it was funny watching me eat and had to catch it on film:

On Friday we drove to Mammoth to attend a memorial service the following night. On Saturday Dad went up to the hill to represent our family and took a "last ride" down the mountain in Chris's honor. That evening we went to the Memorial Service, it was beautiful thanks to lots of work by Patricia, Teresa, and Peter, and captured special Mammoth moments in Chris' life. Mom told me that Chris was looking down and smiling as his friends gathered together to celebrate his life.

The following day was Mother's Day. Mom had slept with me cuddled in her arms the previous night, and I decided to wake her up by hitting her on the head with a remote control left in the bed. I roared with laughter, but I don't think Mom found it to amusing. After we ate breakfast Mom, Dad, and I dressed in our snow gear and decided to take a trip to the top of the mountain to see where Mom and Dad were married. I was eager to get back in the gondola since I had such a fun trip the first time.

Prance (my Kitty) and I enjoyed the ride!

When we got to the top we walked around and looked at the beautiful mountains,




and as you can see there is still a lot of snow in Mammoth .




We all took a picture in front of the Mammoth sign, and Mom says that every year we are going to come back to this spot and take a picture of our family. We already have the 3 previous years, beginning with Mom and Dad's Save the Date card for their wedding.



The ride back down was fun, and Mom tried to get a Mother's day kiss. I don't like kisses...


This was a special Mother's day for Mommy, since it was her first, and I tried to show her how much I love her:

After our trip to the mountain Mom and Dad took me to lunch at Roberto's with Holly and we had a great time! Don't I look like such a big girl in the high chair with daddy's hat???

Although the weekend was a somber one, it was nice to be with our family. We were reminded how lucky we are to have each other and how important it is, everyday, to let our loved ones know how much we care about them.

Life sure goes by fast

It seems like just yesterday that I sat down to write my last entry, but in actuality it has been about 3 weeks. I can't recall where the time has gone, but Mom did ask me to apologize on her behalf for neglecting to give me sufficient time in front of the computer.

So, 3 weeks have passed since I last told you about my adventures and as you can see I have grown immensely. Some would say I am "growing like a weed," but comparing myself to a weed seems somewhat unsuitable. My hair is getting long and shaggy- sometimes it even stands straight up! Mom laughs that Dad and I look like twins when we wake up in the morning!!! Not only is my hair coming in, but my teeth are gaining ground daily. Three weeks ago my top teeth were mere stubs,

but if you look closely you will see that my top teeth are now BIG. Mom jokes that I look like a chipmunk .


With 4 big teeth I have a bite similar to that of a snapping turtle. I can crunch any food item put in my path and even non-edible items like Mom's finger. Last week I bit her so hard she bled. I felt bad, but now she knows better...

A few nights after Grandma Frankwick went back to Wisconsin Grandpa Schafer and Mama Linda drove up to my house to have dinner with my family.


Jackson let me in on a little secret: when guests come over they like to feed the animals. I guess he was right, cause Mama Linda let Jax and I try all sorts of appetizers while mom was in the kitchen finishing the dinner. My favorite food of the bunch were the artichokes. I finished almost 10 whole pieces.




Dinner was equally good, as I got to eat some cucumbers, bread sticks, and bits of lasagna. The next morning mom informed me that we needed to get focused for the week ahead and get stuff done. Mom has been on a deadline to make clothing, and has made a permanent seat in front of the sewing machine. She lets me crawl around while she is sewing, but between Fourth, Jax, and I she always has to keep one eye focused on our crew. Fourth likes to take the spools of thread and run around the house, Jax loves to lay on all mommies textiles, and I love to play with the rolls of tulle.

Since the back room of our house now looks like a sweat shop, mom has to constantly watch the items I am playing with as there are lots of Big-Girl things I am NOT allowed to play with- ie. needles, scissors, etc. It never fails that the second she leaves them on the floor I find them.


When I get bored watching mom sew, I explore the back of the house. So far I am fascinated with the doggie door, as well as the windows. I watch the dog and cat go through the door and then I bang on the windows to get their attention.

Now that I am a big girl mom and I go all sorts of places. The other day we stopped in to see daddy at work. The staff immediately put me behind the counter and I got to help great guests as they walked in. Raffi helped show me the ropes, and Dad says once my sales skills improve he is putting me on the payroll.

Speaking of improving, I am no longer military crawling. I have moved on to the real thing, and boy do I move quick!!!

I am sure glad that I have perfected this mode of transportation as it allows me to get EVERYWHERE.

I was excited when Friday finally rolled around because we headed down to San Diego for some fun. We met Grandma Schafer at the hair place, and I got to sit in my walker and hang out. I didn't really like seeing Autumn cut Mommy's hair, but Grandma comforted me as we watched...




After the hair salon, Mom and I stopped by the Umbargers house. We arrived just as dinner was ready, talk about perfect timing- I got to eat some hamburger (my first experience with meat), and tomatoes. After my feast I got to play with Great Grandma Schafer, Uncle Randy, Aunt Connie, Cousin Brandon, and their 2 dogs. They must have tired me out, because after I got my bottle mom put me in the car and I passed out! Poor mom was exhausted as we drove down to the harbor. Because dad was driving down late, mom and had to load the stroller and ALL of the gear (including the crib) into the boat in only one trip. She didn't want to leave me on the boat sleeping alone for one second, so she was stubborn and tried to do it all herself. It took us about an hour to get from the car to the boat (and the parking lot is not too far from the boat dock). You should have seen her, she was quite a vision. Once we finally got loaded onto the boat I continued to sleep soundly to the rocking of the boat, but Mom didn't fare too well. The motion was making her nauseous, although we are all hoping that her nausea is due to something else....


The family woke up early on Saturday morning to get ready for the Red Bull Air Race crowd. Mom was determined to sell some of the items she had spent the last 2 weeks creating. She set up her stuff in between two women, both large, hairy, and toothless. Within minutes of setting up they informed her that selling was not allowed in the park, and that they were going to tell the authorities. I was very proud of mom as she held her ground, thanked them for their concern, and kept on standing there with her stuff. We only stayed for a short period of time, as the piercing glares from the two women along with their scents reminded her why she liked to sell on ebay. The good thing was that mom passed out a lot of bus cards and was able to get some contacts who were interested in the outfits.



I was excited when Liz and Wrigley came down to hang out with us, but found that Wrigley got more attention than me. I wasn't too happy about that and decided to show off by standing up. I stood up all by myself and mom was so proud and shocked that she screamed out loudand everyone looked at her like she was crazy! I couldn't hold myself up for long and liz had to give me a hand, but I am now able to stand from a short period of time without any help.

We packed up our gear headed back to the boat to watch the air races. The planes were really loud, and I wasn't too interested in watching them, I was more concerned wtih spending time with my dad.

I had a fun weekend hangin' out on the boat, and discovered that curtains have all sorts of fun potential. Playing Peek-A-Boo with them is AWESOME. In case you are unfamiliar it goes a little something like this...

Where am I ...

Here I am...

Ha Ha- fooled you didn't I???

I like being on the boat because Mom lets me roam without much supervision (she watches me from a small distance and that's an improvement for her usual "arm's length.") Here you can see how I am practicing my 3 point stance to get my balance to stand up. The boat is a great place to practice all sorts of things; standing, crawling, stair climbing, you name it I worked on it this weekend.





By the second day on the boat I was exhausted from all the excitement. Mom, Dad, and I all decided it was time to pack up the troops and head back home to "normal" life.

I promise I will not keep you waiting another 3 weeks for a new post, so check back soon to find out what I will do next!!!