Random Fun

The joys of mobility

Priya has definitely been on the move since she discovered the wonders of crawling. The first couple of days I kept thinking, "Wow, this really isn't that much different and it doesn't seem to have altered our lives that much." But I'm beginning to get a more realistic glimpse of what having a mobile baby is really all about. Why is it that they are SO drawn to things that they should not go anywhere near?! :)

Here's a sample of something Priya was hot to trot for this evening...

9 Month Check-up

Ashish took Priya for her 9 month check-up this afternoon (I was sick in bed so I stayed home). Her doctor gave another positive report and all seems to be going well. Priya weighed in at 16 lbs, 1 oz and is now 27 inches long.

Guess who's crawling?

Priya entered the world of the mobile baby this morning! She is officially crawling now!

I left the room for a minute to get some clothes for Priya to wear for the day. I had just finished feeding her but there was about an ounce of milk left in her bottle. I left it way out of her reach before stepping out of the room. When I returned - only a minute later - she was lying on her back with her bottle in her mouth, feeding herself!! She accomplished two major feats in one fell swoop! She got to her desired destination and was able to drink from a bottle all by herself!

Since then she's been moving all over the living room! And I've found myself coming after her moving things out of the way to make sure that she didn't get into things that she shouldn't. Here we go into the next exciting chapter of baby-hood!

Sleep? But playing is MUCH more fun!

Tonight I put a very tired girl to bed and was surprised to find that she was still awake and chattering happily in her crib nearly an hour later! I went in to investigate and found a sitting up Priya poking her little arms through the slats of her crib, playing with the ties of the bumper pad. She has finally figured out how to go from a lying down to a sitting position and has seemingly decided that staying up and playing is much more fun than sleeping.

She is also on the verge of crawling and will soon be pulling herself up as well. So I'm sure that this is only a small glimpse of what is to come... Looks like it's time to make some more changes to her little crib.

There's No Place Like Home

It's good to be home again! Priya seemed to instantly recognize her surroundings upon our return home last night. It was fun to see how happy she seemed to be to see her jumper and her own room again - not to mention her daddy! :)

We've enjoyed our time getting settled into being back home today. Priya somehow slept until 10:15am (she fell asleep around 9pm last night)!! She was obviously tuckered out from her long day of traveling.

Her 5th tooth popped through today too! They are just coming in like crazy!

We had the opportunity to join Janis & Holli Meredith for lunch in the afternoon (thanks again for an awesome time!) and then trekked out to see Ashish for a while where he was stationed for the day.

We're Home!

I'm happy to report that we are safely home again in Redding.  It's been a long day and we're tired, but it was a good day.  It was nice to be able to spend some of the day with my parents since it was my dad's birthday today (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!).  They dropped Priya and I off at the Seattle airport at about 1:30pm and we took off at 2:45pm.  It was nice to only have 1 flight to worry about this time and Priya did very well.  We managed to have an open seat next next to us so Priya had a little bit of extra room to stretch out and play.  

We were both thrilled to see Ashish at the Sacramento airport when we landed.  It was awesome to see how happy Priya was to see him and to see the joy that he had in being reunited with his daughter.  He was happy to see me too, but it was really neat to see the bond that has formed between father and daughter.

The past 11 days have been a whirlwind.  Thanks to Judy, Kyle & Niko for an amazing stay at your home!  Thank you to Mom and Dad for letting us tag along on your journey and for being such a huge help with Priya all along the way!  And thanks to all the friends that I was able to meet up with on our journey!  It was wonderful to catch up a bit with each of you!  Hopefully we'll be able to do this again sometime in the near future - but with Ashish next time! :)

Last Day in Abbotsford Before Heading Home

It's hard to believe how quickly our trip has flown by! It's been wonderful to be able to spend some quality time with Judy & Kyle in Calgary and then to reconnect with friends in Abbotsford. Today was our final day of socializing before our return trip to Redding. It was a lot of fun, but Priya misses her daddy and I miss him too, so it'll be really great to be home again. Below is a glimpse of our last day in Abbotsford:

We met up with Heidi McMaster & her 2 month old, Isaac, for lunch.

In the afternoon/evening we trekked out to Aldergrove to meet up with the Huberts' family & the Palsma family. Below is Jacky & her 3 boys Noah, Levi & Mattias.

We also got to see Edwin & Angela Palsma & their kids Carson & Lexie.

Reconnecting with old friends

Priya and I had a fabulous day reconnecting with some of my old friends - and making some new little friends. As you can see below Priya was all smiles about meeting some special people.
(Priya also has her 4th tooth now - it just sprang through yesterday)
It was wonderful to see Rachel Zalinko and her boys, Max & Marty, who stopped by for a visit.

We were also fortunate to have Teresa Guynup and her little ones, Brooklyn & Marik, pay us a visit.

It was great to spend the evening reconnecting with Tara Storeness-Bliss as well. Thanks for the great heart-to-heart! It's great to be able to pick up where we left off - even after 5 long years!

From Calgary To Abbotsford

Priya had 3 teeth while we were in Calgary (as seen in the photo below). Another one really popped through today (Monday) so now she's the proud owner of 4 teeth.

Making the nearly 11 hour trip from Calgary to Abbotsford. Priya did amazingly well again despite the fact that she was once again confined to her carseat...well, for most of the time...

Grandpa, you better slow down! We don't want to get a ticket!

I'm telling you, I've got a budding coffee drinker on my hands! Anytime I took this cup away from Priya she would really scream! Don't worry, she's not really drinking anything... ;)

Taking a short break in Canmore, Alberta.

Enjoying another break in Kamloops, BC.

Playdate with the Heppner kids (Rachel, Megan & Evan) in Abbotsford on Monday.

It was AWESOME to have the time to reconnect with Wendy again! Thanks for babysitting Ray and Grammy & Grandpa so that we could get out and enjoy an evening of freedom together!

Calgary Fun

We are continuing to have a wonderful time here in Calgary with Kyle, Judy & Niko

I found Priya sleeping like this last night and thought it was adorable! She had her thumb in her mouth and was up on her knees. She almost always sleeps on her tummy now.

Priya is one bouncy little girl - jumping and bouncing any chance she gets.

Priya's First Trip To Canada

I am happy to report that Priya survived her first roadtrip! It took some effort to train Priya to sleep in her carseat, but she finally caught on and was a little angel - well, most of the time. :)
Our trip took a total of 2 days. We drove from Redding, CA to Spokane, WA the first day (about an 11 hour trip). The 2nd day was only about 8 hours but we were overjoyed to finally step out of the car and into Kyle & Judy's new home in Calgary. Priya greatly appreciated the opportunity to move and no longer be confined to her carseat. She was also quite thrilled to meet Niko - Kyle and Judy's Husky. Anytime Niko leaves the room now Priya cries for him to come back. Maybe she'll grow up to be an animal lover just like her mom...

Getting reacquainted with Aunt Judy & meeting Uncle Kyle for the first time.

Niko and Priya get acquainted. Niko kept licking Priya's feet which resulted in an abundance of giggles from Priya.

Enjoying a nice sink bath.

Priya loves her Uncle Kyle.

Priya tries to join the adult table by making an attempt at drinking from a big girl glass.

Priya loved bonding time with Bud Johnstone (Kyle's Dad)!

Where are you Mrs. Johnstone?

Giddy-up Niko!