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!!!

2 WHOLE WEEKS!!!

I just had two wonderful weeks of Grandma Frankwick FUN!!
We did so much in the last two weeks that you may want to grab a snack before you sit down to read this blog because its a long one...

Grandma Frankwick arrived at my house as I was finishing my bath time fun. I was so excited to see her when she walked in the door that I bounced with joy. She sat down, gave me a bottle, and I fell asleep in her arms like I used to when I was little.

In the morning I woke up and began my usual routine. I cooed for a moment, rolled over and played with my feet until I got the energy to sit up. I crawled over to my buddies in the crib, and proceeded to play as I normally do. That was until I saw an arm rise up above my crib and wave at me. I looked up and saw Grandma in my room- oh, I was SO excited. I stood up and holding the crib jumped up and down. She picked me up and took me downstairs to begin spoiling me.

It was so wonderful having my Grandma Frankwick come to visit me because we got to do all sorts of fun stuff. One day Mom and Grandma took me to the park! I got to sit in the bucket swing and go back and forth. Who knew that something so simple could be so exciting.




We had a wonderful time playing at the park, and Mom even held me as I slid down the small slide. The next day we took Jackson on a walk down to the pier and stopped at a big grass area where lots of people sit and relax.



We hung out on the grass and I studied my new surroundings with great concern. I was enthralled by the lady bugs and had fun trying to catch them.

Lots of kids came up to say HI to me and I put on what mom calls my "social face" (I always greet new people with an exaggerated smile and erratic wave) and showed off how well I can crawl on my hands and knees (A big improvement from the military crawl I have been doing).

Later in the week Mom and Grandma took me to the Doctor for my 9 month checkup. All bets were in regarding my height and weight, and Mom couldn't wait to find out how big I had grown. I weighed in at 15lbs 10oz and measured a little over 25 in long. As it turned out I hadn't gotten a whole lot bigger, but every little bit counts according to Mom and she was very proud of my achievements. The doctor told Mom that she would like to see me get taller by my next appointment, as I am only in the 3rd percentile for height. Mom joked that she was going to stretch me out. Although I am petite in stature, the doctor said that she was very proud of all the new things I am learning to do, and gave me an A+ for my skill level. Woo Hoo!!!

Mom talked to the Dr. about her concern with my lack of appetite and crankiness and was told that my irregular behavior was probably due to the three new top teeth that were making there way in. By the end of the week I had begun feeling a lot of pain from these no-fun-at-all teeth. They were trying to break through my gums, and were irritating me a lot. I lost my appetite even more, and came down with a case of the sniffles. Mom and Grandma tried to give me things to chew on and eat that would make them feel better, but nothing really helped.

On Friday we prepared to leave for Mammoth. Grandma Frankwick continued to spoil me by buying me a new walker to scoot around the house. She also bought me a new snow suit for the weekend. We drove to Mammoth after Daddy got off of work, and arrived very late at night. I had a tough time sleeping thanks to teeth pain, the runny nose, and the altitude, but was able to wake from an inconsistent night of sleep with a big smile for my Gtrandma Schafer who greeted me. I got to spend some time with her before she left for work and we had a grand ol' time laughing at one another. As I watched her get ready for work I found a new wonderful toy in the bathroom- the door stopper!!! I found that it makes a wonderful noise, and it NEVER gets boring (Mom didn't find it too amusing, as she was trying to catch up on some much needed sleep in the adjoining room). After Grandma Schafer left for work the rest of the family got ready to hit the slopes. I got to put on my new snow suit, and think I look pretty good.

Grandma Frankwick, Daddy, Mommy, and I all walked down the the lodge. It was beautiful outside, and Mom and Dad were very excited to be snowboarding.

Grandma Frankwick and I got to take a ride in a space ship looking thing that mom called the peanut while they were on the hill- I fell asleep right as were boarded.

I guess Grandma Frankwick took me on a walk through the village while I slept and when I woke up we met Mom and Dad for lunch in the lodge. I enjoyed snacking on all the yummy food at the table- from crackers to fruit I loved it all!


The next day I got to spend time with BOTH of my Grandmas. We all went to the lodge in the afternoon and got to hang out outside.

It was another beautiful Mammoth day and Mom and Dad thought it was time that I learn to love the snow. I was a tad hesitant at first, but soon I learned that there are a lot of fun things you can do in the snow.

We built a "Riley-size" snowman and I was fascinated with its feel.


I soon discovered that snowman are also fun to eat...



Dad and Grandma Frankwick showed me how to use the sled. Grandma had a little trouble pushing Daddy down the hill and I thought they sure looked silly!!!

Mom and I got the next turn on the sled, and as you can see the jury is still out regarding my opinion of this new mode-of-transportation.

After a couple of rides I finally got the courage to try it on my own

After we finished sledding we took another ride in the peanut and went down to the village shops. It was fun getting to look down on the town from up above.

While we were exploring the village shops Dad let me ride on his shoulders.

During our excursion Dad and I had a show-down with dome bears in the village, and I think we won. Dad and I sure make a great team!!!

Dad and Mom stopped into a store to buy me a hat for sun protection, and I just HAD to have the stuffed kitty on display at the counter. Lucky for me daddy can't say NO. Prance (the kitty's name) and I enjoyed our ride back in the peanut.

By the third night I had finally begun to adjust to the altitude and found that the pain in the mouth was subsiding so I was able to sleep a little better. In the morning we drove up to Main lodge to see where Mom and Dad got married. Daddy and I took a picture in front of the Wooly Mammoth outside of the gondola, but hurried into the station as the winds were picking up.

We boarded the gondola and headed towards the top of the mountain.


We got off the gondola at mid-chalet to see where Mom and Dad had their wedding reception. The mountain was beautiful, but the winds brought in a chilly air that didn't allow us to stay outside for long.


After walking around at McCoy Station we tried to board the gondola to the top but found that the 100 mile an hour winds were forcing the gondola to shut down. Instead of heading towards the top, we rode back down to Main lodge. As you can see, I really enjoyed watching out the gondola at everything below.

The usual 10 minute gondola ride turned into a 40 minute ride as the winds were causing the gondola to stop. I didn't mind, as I got to enjoy the scenery.

To pass the time Dad told me about all the neat things I am going to be able to do in Mammoth when I get big. As you can see I can't wait!!!

After Mom, Dad, and Grandma Schafer took a couple runs on the hill, we packed the car, had a fun lunch will all of Mommies Mammoth friends, and drove back home.

Since Grandma Frankwick was leaving in a couple of days, we had a busy week planned. Pa (Grandpa Schafer) and Great Grandma Schafer came over to our house for dinner. Unfortunately I was being really fussy and whinny- according to Miss Karen (my neck Dr.) I am really getting stranger anxiety. By the end of the night I warmed up to everyone, but hope that I wasn't offensive. My two top teeth came through the next day, and my attitude dramatically changed for the better. Grandma Frankwick and Mom took me for a ride in my new cruiser and I sure felt like royalty. In my cosy seat I was super comfy and slept while they rode along the boardwalk.

The day before Grandma Frankwick left we got to go back to the park and play.

After swinging grandma took me on the big girl slide.

I think Grandma Frankwick enjoyed the slide more than I did...

That night before bed the whole family spent some time together and dad and I played the guitar for Grandma. Check it out- I have finally got the grip down .

I was sad when I woke up the next morning to silence in my bedroom; I had become spoiled getting to wake up to grandma's "good mornings."I am so grateful that Grandma Frankwick came out from Wisconsin the spend time with me, and am going to miss her lots. According to Mom we are going to be getting back to our normal (boring) routine. I guess this means no more daily park trips or other extravagant activities. She does, however, assure me that there will be some new fun things to do in the future so check back soon!!!