Day 291 - Skol, uhh Brett Favre?

"Now this is what I call clothes. But, do I HAVE to cheer for Brett Favre?"

Football season is heading into high gear soon. I am sure this will be the first of many images of her in either Vikings or Packers attire. I'm a lifelong Vikings fan, so this season has not been, and will not be easy. I just don't know if I can cheer for Brett Favre.

Thanks to Mor Mor Teri for the outfit.

Day 290 - Cause and Effect

"How does this thing work again? Let me just try and push this button here and.. Nice!"

Paige has figured out that if she pushes the big round button down, a little animal pop up. I'm not completely sure, but I think that qualifies as a genius.

Day 289 - Sqeeze Play

"I can go ANYWHERE!"

Trying to keep Paige out of things, off of things, and generally safe is a full time job. I don't know how people with Twins can even manage. The shelf was cleared off again, and it seemed like a perfectly good stage to Paige.

Day 288 - The grass is always greener.

"I like this lush green grass a whole lot better than that dry crinkly stuff that I used to have to crawl around in."

Thankfully the rain has been prevalent during this side of the summer, which makes for a much nicer crawling surface. (even if it IS Wisconsin grass.) In the background you can see the new patio and landscaping that Grandma Alice and Grandpa Steve put in.

Side Note: Not sure what is up with the auto-compression on this one. All of that artifacting doesn't show up in the normal image. Weird.

Day 287 - Grandma Time.

"Grandma, I'm just a baby, you can't leave me all alone in the house!"

If you look, you can see Grandma Alice in the reflection. This is probably Paige's first real experience with a window that she can touch. All of our windows are a bit too high still. Thankfully she isn't strong enough to break one (yet...).

Day 286 - Speak softly and carry a big wooden spoon.

"gnaw, gnaw, gnaw"

Pretty much have given up on keeping anything out of her mouth. She has about as many toys as you could ever ask for, but keeps coming back to the wooden spoon. In hindsight, it is probably a good thing we bought bamboo wooden spoons. They don't absorb much into the wood, and they won't splinter nearly as easily as a regular wooden spoon. Paige spent Wednesday through Sunday with Grandma Alice and Grandpa Steve, so I'll have more photos shortly, but have to work on playing catch up a bit.

Day 285 - Jumping on the Couch.

"What? Can't you see I was busy. I have jumping to do."

Jumping up and down on the couch and looking out windows, these are Paige's newest accomplishments. You can't really tell from the photo, but Paige is not feeling well today. Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that it isn't a direct result from her eating sand on the shore of Lake Superior...

Day 284 - Teeth...for real.

"Of course I have teeth, where have YOU been?"

The front teeth are becoming quite the prominent feature in Paige's mouth. Here's to hoping that they decide to grow closer together. (Please tell me that they will...)

Day 283 - I've Been to Duluth.

"This sand stuff is so interesting. Although, I'd probably only give it about a 4 on the taste scale."

On a whim, we decided to pack up the ol' Toyota Matrix and head for Duluth for the day. It was absolutely gorgeous. It barely broke 70 in Duluth, and probably was still in the 60s on the lake shore, but who's counting? We really miss the lake, it was great to see it, if only for a few hours.

Paige decided she needed to eat the sand...and drop her pacifier in the sand...and throw sand...and get sand inside her diaper. Note to future jan, 9-month old babies and beaches are probably not a good plan.

Day 282 - Believe in the Run.

"If I take this page here, and put that page there...done!"

Any paper that Paige can get her grubby little fingers on a crumble, rip or eat seems to be fair game...including my Runner's World magazine with Kara Goucher on the cover. Personally, I think it was kind of rude of Paige to rip up a magazine cover of the United State's best chance at a marathon victory for probably the next 6 years. Plus Kara is a Minnesotan. Perhaps Paige is just sizing up her future competition.

Day 281 - Fun in the Park

"When will those big kids be done, so I can go down the slide?"

Went to the park to play today. Paige has fun on the slides, but when she is on the slide we sort of occupy it for a while. Thus it isn't really fair to the other kids playing who want to go down the slide as well. Soon enough she'll be running and going on the slide all by herself. Scary thought.

Day 280 - Anything to Help.

"Maybe stabbing my gums with metal will make them feel better?"

Paige grabbed the car keys, and of course straight into the mouth they went. We're pretty sure another tooth is going to be popping out soon. Perhaps the metal was cool and that is what she was looking for?

Day 279 - The Showdown

"What way are you gonna go? I own you know!"

Grandma Alice and Gizmo came to visit for a couple days. Paige really liked to chase after Giz, but he wasn't quite as interested. Quite the different experience for Paige than Kaija, since Gizmo is about 1/10 of Kaija's size.

Day 278 - In the Sun.

"Boy, that sun sure is bright."

You can tell the days are starting to get a little bit shorter, and as is the case in Minnesota, a little more humid too, at least for a short time. First time we had some decent sunlight in a little while as we've been having some pretty big storms rolling through. You can probably tell from the grass that it is in need of a cut, but with how rainy it has been, there just hasn't been a good time. Paige really enjoys playing in the grass, but it is a constant battle keeping all of the interesting finds out of her mouth.

Day 277 - It's a big world out there.

"Everything is so big and looks so far away!"

Ok, so the window really just looks out on our driveway that is in need of a good seal-coating (replacement is probably what it really needs...) and our neighbors house, but that is the beauty of photography. It could really be a window that overlooks mountains, streams, lakes or anything your (and Paige's) imagination could dream up.

Day 276 - Thirsty.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and get me another bottle."

Some times you can't get her a bottle fast enough. Play it where it lies is probably a good motto to keep in mind with a baby.

Day 275 - Foot, It's What's For Dinner.

"Smrghflrg, Mmm. Tasty."

Paige likes to chew on her foot, especially when I am trying to feed her food. Then it gets all over the place, and she thinks it is quite funny. I don't see the appeal.

Day 274 - Bounce Flash and the Stairs

"Ok, Let me give this a try again."

Paige is a trooper, she keeps trying on getting up the stairs (and the bookshelves, and the baby gates, and her crib, and...). Also, I just purchased a flash for the camera that can bounce off of the ceiling, so I am going to be playing with that a lot in the near future. This is one of the first shots that I took with bounce flash. WAY better than the on camera flash, even with my homemade milk bottle diffuser. Should be fun!

Day 273 - Your Butt's Calling.

"If I can just get into this corner a little father, THEN I'll be able to sleep."

So, we were sitting down stairs watching Big Brother on the DVR (don't judge me, you know you watch it too.) and all of a sudden Paige's seahorse started to play music. We assumed that she must have woken up and decided to push on it as she is starting to figure out how to make things like that work. Well, it went off again, so Valerie went up to check on her. I hear a whisper over the monitor "Jan, bring the camera..." Turns out she had backed into it, and her butt was pressing the seahorse and turning it on. hehehe.

Day 272 - Everything in Moderation.

"Aren't all of you tired of these photos yet? Always the same thing."

I beg to differ Paige. Small differences can add up!

Day 271 - Good Morning Monkey

"I think I should have just stayed in bed. You didn't even let me fix my hair."

Good morning. Nothing like an awesome photo of bead head to start your day. Monkey pajamas, a sock monkey, and my little monkey, all in one photograph. That's a lot of monkey.

Some day Paige's husband will thank me for this one. Until then, Paige will just hate me over it.

Day 270 - Here's looking at you kid.

"What's going on up there Daddy? Looks interesting.

Now that Paige is a master at pulling herself up on things (even our stairs. yes, she has managed to crawl up the stairs.) She'll just pop up at any point in time. Have to watch out or whatever is in your lap or near you will very quickly be on the ground or in Paige's mouth.

Day 269 - Birthday Party Time.

"Happy Birthday Max."

Paige's cousin Max celebrated his third birthday today. No cake and ice cream quite yet, waiting for her first birthday for that. My brother's house has windows that are just the right height for Paige to look out of, and she spent quite a bit of time gazing out them. How can you resist a nice shot with soft window light coming in?

Day 268 - Chatting with Grandma.

"Hi Grandma Alice, I'm looking forward to seeing you soon!"

Speakerphone is a pretty cool thing. (I know, welcome to 1986). I think Paige is starting to recognize the voices of her grandparents because whenever she hears one of them on speakerphone or video chat, she keys right in on it. Although it may also be her apparent obsession with technology. (don't know where she gets that from...). One of her favorite things to do now is to scoot along the furniture as well. She can make it pretty much all the way around our living room by hanging onto the edge of the couch. For some reason I am thinking walking may be coming sooner than we had anticipated...

Day 267 - Faster than a speeding bullet

"Here I come!"

It is quite amazing how quickly she has gone from bouncing on her legs to crawling like a madwoman. You can't open a door or hop out of your chair without double checking anymore. I can only imagine how it will be when she is walking.

Day 266 - Speed Reading

"Who needs to look at pages? Turning them is where it is at."

The fascination with turning pages continues. Hopefully it will develop into a desire to read books as well. Bonus points for anyone who has a good suggestion for how to baby-proof that giant electronic blinking contraption in the background. Believe it or not a large electrical surge protector with multiple cords of different colors and blinking red and green lights is a Baby Magnet. Shocking, I know.

Day 265 - Grandpa the Tickle-Monster

"Quit tickling me Grandpa, you're gonna make me pee my pants. Oh wait..."

Grandpa Roger came up for a visit, and of course felt it was necessary to tickle page with a piece of grass. Paige didn't find the humor in it that we did. Such is the life of a baby I think.

I should also note that there are only 100 days left until for this 365. Yikes. Time is flying.

Day 264 - A Long Day

"Afternoon naps are where it's at."

All this teething, crawling, standing, and pulling herself up has made for one tired Paige of late. (and crabby on occasion as well.) I walked in the door after work, and she was taking a nap on Mom. Had to make sure that I didn't wake her up with the camera and all of the shutter noise that it was making, but in the end I was able to get a few photos. She is so peaceful when she sleeps most of the time.

Day 263 - Rally Cry

" You'll never take my Nikkor!"

Ok, so that is probably not what she was saying, but she has certainly begun to show an interest in grabbing my camera stuff. I am sure because it is black and looks like a toy. The stick/sword was just a bonus. Of course two seconds later both my 50mm f/1.8 and the stick were being crammed into her mouth (because she now has 5, yup 5, teeth in various stages of coming in).

Day 262 - Ride 'Em Cowgirl

"Look at me, can you believe it!"

Paige is getting very stable, she can even ride her little rocking horse for a few minutes before sliding off to the side. Sorry about all of the pink. Sort of like a bag of cotton candy exploded or something. But hey, she's a girl.

Day 261 - Yard Work.

"This was fun, for about a minute. Now if you don't mind, please get me out of here."

Branch trimming was in order for some of the trees in our yard. We ended up with quite a large pile, it is amazing how quickly just a couple branches off of the bottom ends up being a gigantic project with branches flying everywhere. In the end the yard looks better, there is more light, and I get to make at least 3 trips to the compost site to drop off the branches. What more could you ask for? At least Paige likes being outside. Hopefully that will continue.

Day 260 - Busy as a Bee

"Hi Daddy."

A brief moment where Paige was sitting still. Pretty rare. Water babies class is officially over as well unfortunately. She had a great time and I think is starting to like the water. Although she is still a bit scared to "jump" of the side.