My amazing daughters.

By popular demand, here's Aria with her babushka dolls:



...and here's a proud papa showing off Aria's art gallery:



(editor's note: I've been informed by those in the know that the flamingo actually preceded the squirrel and the chipmunk.)

Lastly, here's our insane 9 month old (!) showing off her physical prowess:

Audrey walks!

Audrey took her first couple of steps today. Hopefully, we'll have video coming soon.

Oh, and the last tooth on the top broke through yesterday morning.

Big week for her. :)

big girl underpants

Hosanna bought Aria her first underwear today. When I got home from work, after I pulled the car into the garage, the door to the house flew open, and Aria came racing out screaming "Big Girl Underpants! Big Girl Underpants!"

quick camping trip

Anyone remember that during Hosanna's pregnancy with Audrey, we tried to go out to Gerle Creek and camp - but got severely rained out, and stayed the night in a hotel in Pollock Pines instead? (Original story here.)

Well, we tried again. This time, the weather was stunning, and we did actually get to camp out for a night. Here are a few pics that tell most of the story. The only things not pictured are:

a) the mosquitoes (lots of 'em - primary reason we didn't stay a second day)

b) Audrey got another tooth (2nd this week!) - this time it's her left top front one. The other top front one looks like it's not far behind, too.

wow, I'm actually writing something

If you're wondering why I haven't written anything in a while, it's for two reasons:

a) I have been working a lot, including a lot of overtime in the evenings.

b) Audrey went to the next level, and it is exhausting trying to keep up with her.

What do I mean by "the next level" exactly?

• She's crawling everywhere at lightning speeds. We literally have to run to keep up.


• She's way mouthier than Aria ever was, so we have to watch her at all times lest she choke on a piece of fuzz, or a leaf, or one of Aria's toys that's lying around.


• Her favorite toys in the world are a) anything involving electricity - power strips, power cords, electrical outlets, etc; b) dirty shoes; and c) whatever Aria has an interest in at the moment.


• She's constantly climbing up the stairs.


• She can stand up with a lot more confidence now, and her favorite game is to have you walk her around all the time.

So anyway, we're tired. Big fucking surprise.

Here's a random, disorganized set of pics. These aren't the most recent, there are a bunch in the camera that I haven't uploaded yet. It might be a while.

My lovely wife snapped this pic at about 8:30 a.m. after a long night.



Aria is still having her art lesson every Friday.



This new baby carrier RULES.






New double stroller / bike trailer. Still resolving some technical issues getting it hooked up to my bike, should hopefully be solved this weekend for a test run. Works ok as a stroller - it's a bit bulky, so you can't take it to the mall, but it's good for a walk on the bike path or around the neighborhood.



Fun day at the park. Audrey always looks so serious!



Aria's really starting to get around on the playground:

another tooth, finally

After weeks of painful waiting and rivers of drool, Audrey finally has another tooth. One just broke through on the bottom, to the right (her left) of the two she already had. Still none on the top.

Milk

Tonight Audrey made the sign for milk (squeezing her hand as if milking a cow) when she wanted to nurse. Pretty cool. We're hoping she's really learned it and that it wasn't just a fluke.

Funny coincidence - as I logged on to the computer to write this on the blog, I got an email from Mom with the subject "Milk" - only she was talking about the movie. :)