Day 167 - Faces of Paige

"Uh, come again?"

Facial expressions are becoming one of her strong suits. Not sure what this one is supposed to be saying, but I fell over (literally) laughing after I chimped this shot.

Day 166 - Hello Kitty, Hello Ducky.

"Wait, what does "cheese" mean. What is this "cheese" of which you speak?

You never know what you are going to get when trying to take a "formal" portrait. Sometimes she hams it up, sometime she freezes. At least she speaks in proper English, not ending sentences with prepositions for this girl*.

*turns out we have all been lied to. You CAN end a sentence with a preposition. See Grammar Girl

Day 165 - Sitting Up? Check.

"This sitting stuff is getting a lot easier you know?"

Paige can officially sit up, for at least a minute before she tumbles and smacks her head. You would think that it would be slow motion falling, not so much.

Day 164 - Grandma Time

"Mor Mor, this has been really fun."

We were able to spend the morning with my parents and have breakfast (Abelskeivers and Zup's Pork Sausage) before we had to head home. It was a great weekend.

Day 163 - Chilly Day At the Cabin

"Grandpa, you're so funny!"

We were able to spend the weekend at the Cabin in Ely. It was supposed to be rainy and very cold. We lucked out, and it was mostly sunny and about 50. We were able to go for a nice walk / run around Miner's Lake with Paige and Kaija. She also was able to spend some quality time with Grandpa Will and Mor Mor Teri.

Day 162 - Food Update.

"I think I've got something on my shirt, you should have put a bib on me."

She has advanced quite a bit in her solid food endeavors, but a good portion ends up on her clothing still. It never seems like we have enough bibs around these parts. She is now eating sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, carrots and peas.

Day 161 - Laundry

"Uh, Mommy I think you forgot something."

Laundry day in the house. Parents only have so many hands, and sometimes you need to make some innovations.

Day 160 - Bedtime Again?

"Always with the bedtime, huh?"

Some days you feel like you are just rushing towards the end of the day, and before you know it, it is bedtime and you haven't taken a photo yet. Have to make the best of it.

Day 159 - Parks and Swings

"AHHHHHHHHH!"
Went to the park tonight to try out the swing, since she has been doing so well with sitting up and keeping her head up. She really enjoyed it. I attempted to try and pan with her, but was not as successful as I had hoped to be. Oh well. Keep trying I guess.

Day 158 - Mmmm. Hand Sandwich

"Mrghfphgh."

Not sure why, but she seems to like sucking on our hands more than anything else these days. Perhaps it is a sign that she will be popping out some teeth soon. Other indicators point to this as well. On a separate note, it was my birthday. Paige drew me a card, well, more like held a marker while Valerie moved the paper around. It was very nice.

Day 157 - Yard Work

"All that raking, and for what?"

Had to get some yard work done this evening. Our yard has been slowly progressing over the last six years to something that is almost presentable. Sure takes a lot of work to keep it going though. Especially with Kaija trying her hardest to ruin it.

Day 156 - Grilling Out

"So are you grilling me anything? Yeah, I didn't think so, jerk."

Paige came outside to hang out with me while I was grilling up some burgers for dinner. She found my grilling skills to be quite humorous. I beg to differ.

Day 155 - Sweet Potatoes

"Wait, food comes in COLOR?"

Day 1 of sweet potato mush for Paige. She absolutely loved it. She just cannot get enough semi-solid food. I tried the sweet potatoes, pretty much taste exactly like you would expect. (considering the ingredients on the package said "Sweet Potatoes, Water" I can't say I am surprised. This also marks me being caught up as this picture was taken yesterday evening. rock on.

Day 154 - Sunsets, Babies, Kittens or Flowers?

"I'm liking this outside stuff, so much to look at."

Spent a little time this evening sitting outside with Paige and Valerie. Just so happens that a nice sunset was developing and we could see it through the trees by the bluff.

Day 153 - I've Got a Fever...A Fever For More Cowbell (or not)

"Not feeling so hot today. This sucks."

Paige had to leave day care a few minutes early today. She developed a fever of 100.7˚. Some baby Tylenol brought it right back down, but she was not a happy camper. Big plus to whoever came up with the idea of putting a baby thermometer in a pacifier by the way. Fever was gone that evening and didn't come back. I hate it when she isn't feeling well, you just wish you could make it better, but some times there is nothing you can do. I guess that is part of being a parent, learning what you can fix, what you can't, when you should and probably most importanlty, when you shouldn't.

Day 152 - Almost there

"Woah. That was a close one."

Paige is working on sitting up on her own. She is getting better, but not quite there yet. A swift hand from Mom saves the day.

For those of you keeping track, Paige is now officially 5 months old. Time is flying.

Day 151 - Dry Cleaning

"Daddy, your bib is a lot softer than mine."

Paige decided she needed to taste my tie. She was very considerate and only slobbered on the back side. Probably should go to the dry cleaners anyway...

Day 150 - Easter Sunday

"Again with the hats, when will the insanity end?"

Went to Easter service in Beaver Dam, and then out to a nice brunch before departing for the cities. All in all, it was a great vacation. Some times it seems like you need a vacation from your vacation, but this wasn't one of those. We came home, and it felt great to be home, but I wasn't nearly as stressed out as I have been after previous vacations.

Day 149 - Reunited (and it feels so good)

"And you are..."

As soon as we made it back to Grandpa Roger's house, we went looking for Paige because they were out for a walk with the dogs. As much fun as the trip was, it sure felt good to be back. I'll post some photos of the trip up to my flickr page when I get a chance, but catching up on the blog if priority number one right now. This also marks my return to behind the lens. I took a lot of photos during the trip, but not having Paige there to take pictures of just seemed a little odd.

Day 148 - Vacations can be hard.

"zzz."

All the activity on her vacation pretty much wore Paige out. If you look closely you will note that she now has enough hair to attach a barrette to it. Next thing you know, she'll need to have $30.00 bottles of conditioner. Can't wait. I think it is probably time to retire the bassinet at Grandpa Roger and Grandma Denise's house. For some reason, she never liked sleeping in one at our place here, but had no problem at their place.

Day 147 - A Visit With the Easter Bunny

"That is one big rabbit, if you ask me."

Paige went on a field trip to the mall in Madison to meet the Easter Bunny. Who knew that the Easter Bunny had friendly associates who garden during the day, and are dealers at a casino at night (at least that is the only plausible explanation I can come up with for why that bunny is wearing that vest).

Day 146 - Stop Looking At Me Swan.

"Let's have a staring contest. First one to blink loses."

Paige had visits from all sorts of family while she was on her vacation. Above is her great aunt Donna. She's pretty good at winning over everybody she meets within moments.

Day 145 - Play Ball.

"Baseball? I was just starting to figure out that Basketball thing."

Opening day of the baseball season. Should be a national holiday if you ask me (as should election day). In the above photograph you will notice one of the primary concerns any god-fearing Minnesotan will have when leaving their offspring in the state of Wisconsin. Your child may come home with Wisconsin Sports taint all over him or her. Proceed with caution. I must admit however, that the Brewers are my NL team, so I don't have any objections to the above image and ensuing indoctrination. As long as she roots for the Minnesota Twins if they meet each other in the World Series, then live and let live.

Many more posts to come, just ran out of time tonight. I think I am now only about a week or so behind.

Day 144 - Rub, A Dub, Dub

"Maybe I should take up synchronized swimming."

Bath time. Always exciting, and always full of splashing. This time was no exception.

Day 143 - Let the Good Times Roll.

"Hope you're having fun on that cramped airplane, chumps!"

Spending some quality time with Aunt Tiffany after we left. As evidenced by Paige's smile here, she clearly didn't miss us.

Day 142 - Cousin Time

"What do you call this game again, Ayden? Shove the green bunny in your face, you'll love it!"

Paige was able to spend some quality time with her cousin Ayden while she was in Wisconsin. This also marks the last photos on the blog taken by me for a little while. Grandma Denise stepped up to the plate to deliver you the next few days. Thanks so much for helping out with the project. It really means a lot to me!

Day 141 - All My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready To Go.

"You think you could have crammed any more crap in here dad? I mean come on."

On our way to good ol' Wisconsin. The Matrix is packed to the top. We couldn't leave without her little quacking duck though, now could we? Quack, Quack.

Day 140 - Spending Time on the Porch

"So why am i wrapped up in this blanket if it is Spring?"

We spend a lot of time in the spring, summer and fall on our porch in our side-yard. As a big bonus, the evening sunlight is really nice on this side of the house.

Day 139 - Hopes and Dreams

"You've made them wait a really long time for these photos daddy, Oooh, you better hope the first is a good one!"

Not sure what she was thinking, or even what was going on at the time any longer. Sorry for such a delay.

For anyone who is interested, I technically set a PR this morning for 10 miles at the Tax Man 10 Mile. 1:15:36. I could have run a 10 mile race faster last fall, but given the fact that since my last half-marathon last October my running has been anything but well planned out, and the fact that I've put on about 10 pounds, but hey, a PR is a PR (personal record for those not into runner-babble speak) I'll take it!

Your regularly scheduled programming

Ok, we are back, but I have a serious backlog of processing etc. to do. I promise to have updates soon. Just not yet tonight. (I have a 10 mile race tomorrow morning at 5:30 am, so it is early to bed tonight.) Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a batch up.

Programming Note

Just a programming note for all 3 of my devote followers (who never leave any comments...). We are going to be on vacation from April 6 until April 12. Further, the ol' MacBook has to go in for a service while we are on vacation, so I won't have access to a computer from April 1 until probably April 15 or so. Sorry for the long delay, but alas computers have a nasty habit of breaking down on you.