Snow Day

Monday morning we woke up to a blanket of snow.

It was so quiet and beautiful.

 Classes were cancelled at both UO and NCU, so Joshua stayed home all day. I made monkey bread so we could have a special snow day breakfast. The lights kept flickering while I made it, but the power stayed on.

 The snow continued to fall until around noon. It was by far the most snow we've had since moving to Eugene.

 After lunch, Mary got to experience snow for the first time. She seemed a bit overwhelmed, but ended up touching it for a little while.

She was much happier to return inside, take off her outer layers, and admire the snow from the warmth and safety of the kitchen.

Little Cook

Mary likes to help me in the kitchen.

Valentine's Day

 We enjoyed our traditional pink heart-shaped pancakes on Valentine's Day again this year.

Mary got a little heart pancake, and she seemed to like it.

She then proceeded to steal the show for the rest of the day in the cute Valentine's Day outfit she got in the mail from Grandma.

 We finished the day with a delicious dinner and blackberry pie. It was fun to celebrate the special day with more people in our family to love.

Shopping Trip

Mary got to ride in the cart like a big girl for the first time today.

Nine Months

Mary is growing quickly. She suddenly seems a lot older since learning to crawl, but she's still as sweet as ever.

She loves following us around the house or playing on her own as long as one of us is close by.

She's not too interested in wearing socks, but likes pulling them off to chew on them. I don't think she needs them very often though because she is rarely cold, even when I feel cold wearing more than she does.

She now has five teeth and a sixth on the way.

Mary can pull up to her knees now, but hasn't made it all the way up to standing on her own yet.

 She just learned how to clap and loves clapping with us. Music in general continues to delight her, and just recently she started dancing with the music we were listening to for the first time.

Her books are another favorite thing. She usually spends time in front of the bookcase a few times every day, pulling off her books and looking at them.

She's also starting to give high-fives sometimes.

It’s so fun watching her grow, and she somehow continues to get cuter all the time.

Recent Happenings

After traveling and a flurry of baby proofing, things are starting to settle back down around home. Mary enjoys looking out the sliding door in the kitchen and looking at her reflection in it.

She eats three meals a day at the table with us and enjoys eating, playing with her spoon, and smashing food on her tray and in her eyes, hair, and anything else she can reach.

We've had a few dustings of snow lately with some cold weather for a couple of weeks.

Mary helped Joshua with a project around the house and got to try out the power tools for the first time.

She also discovered she doesn't have to stay on her back while she sleeps and now moves all around the crib.