8 1/2 Months Old

This is a photo taken today after I fed Linnea beets mixed with plain yogurt and banana with a pinch of unrefined sea salt.



Linnea had a doctor's appt this past Monday and she was 19 lbs 6 ozs and 26 3/4" long. She ate meat (prime rib) for the first time this week and now enjoys plain yogurt, butternut squash soup, and bananas mixed with pretty much anything. She now eats solid foods about 3 times a day between nursings. She is learning to drink water from a cup too and has gotten soaked a few times now. She isn't crawling yet but moves along the floor to get her toys and blocks. She can stand on the couch against the back for a bit and then falls backwards or sits promptly down finding this repetitive exercise quite funny. She babbles a lot right now putting different sounds and syllables together forming some weird baby language that no one can understand. She has said mama and dada but doesn't understand that I am mama and Jeff is dada yet. She loves to laugh from her belly and this has got to be the most favourite activity - watching Jeff make Linnea laugh hysterically and other tender moments where she'll just hang on to his finger and look at him with a big smile on her face. It makes me cry!

I am enjoying this week a lot better than last week. Linnea is getting back into a schedule and is much happier during the day and I am finally getting some stuff done around the house and even accomplishing work. I finally uploaded some new maternity photos I took before Christmas and their newborn photos will be online soon too. The snow continues to fall here and it's quite cold. I have one last session shooting for the 2009 Edmonton Symphony Orchestra brochure this coming Friday and then the post production process begins. I then have 2 corporate sessions booked next week and clients coming over to look at wedding albums to order. It's getting busy again and I'm hoping to get my new website up and running by the end of the month as well and get my books together for my bookkeeper who has also had her 2nd baby recently so I better get on that.

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Years. We had a lovely time seeing my mom's side of the family this Christmas and seeing my entire extended family. I am also excited that 3 of my cousins got engaged to be married over Christmas as well so it'll be a fun 2009 with family and client weddings!!!

Christmas Photos

Well it's been way too long since I've blogged so I thought I should get some photos up on the blog from our trip to BC this past Christmas....I have only one card downloaded as I've misplaced the other 2 cards.....so hopefully I'll find them soon so I can get the rest of the photos for y'all to see. Linnea is 8 months old in these photos and it was her first Christmas. It was great to spend it with my mom's side of the family this year in Abbotsford, BC.

There are some shots of us on the ferry on our way back to Vancouver from Victoria (on the retiring/last sailing of the Queen of Vancouver). These are the shots of Linnea in her umbrella stroller. Auntie Sasha and Auntie Kat are in a couple photos spending time with Linnea and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa are enjoying time with Linnea as well. I especially am fond of my grandpa playing piano with Linnea...that was a very special moment for me. And of course there are some great shots of Linnea with her Grandma Horch by the Christmas tree. Favourites of mine indeed!

Fun Shot

I just played with some shots that make up a panorama image from our trip to Canmore this summer...it was just taken with our little point and shoot but it worked pretty well when I stitched them together in Photoshop. Here's the final image.

Linnea 7 months old

Linnea is now 7 months old and more and more fun and interactive. She enjoys "playing" piano, reading books (sucking on the pages), playing in her exersaucer and jumping in her merry muscles. She loves long walks in her stroller when it's not too cold out and sucking on anything she can get her hands on. She has enjoyed yams and other solid foods and has 4 teeth. Here's a photo I took of her a couple weeks ago.

Linnea: Food, Fun and Pillows

Here are some shots from yesterday! Amelia and Linnea, Amelia's photos of us feeding our little girl for the very first time, and photos of Tom with Linnea and Jeff and Tom throwing Jodi's handmade pillows at Linnea which she loves!! Thanks Jodi for providing soft, squishy toys that won't hurt her when tossed directly in her face! Thanks Aunt Sandra and Uncle Tom for the blocks she starting to play with and to Jerrold and Michelle for the little toy "keyboard" she's starting to bang on and enjoys moving around, picking it up and sucking on it.

Solid Food!!!!

Today was the big day. We introduced solid food to Linnea although I thought it was pretty liquid-y still. :) We fed her egg yolks that were softly boiled and mashed with milk. The first time she wasn't entirely sure but this evening she ate the entire yolk! It was a pretty messy experience but really cool to see her eat. "Auntie" Amelia was over this afternoon and photographed the first time she ate with Jeff and I present. I haven't had a chance to upload the photos to the computer yet but will get that done hopefully tomorrow. Tonight was super fun as we had "Uncle" Tom visiting us. She danced and giggled and laughed all night and was quite entertaining. We had a great day today and I enjoyed taking a little time away from work. The rest of the week looks crazy and very busy with several family portrait viewings here and a couple maternity studio sessions. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Linnea slept for 13 hours last night and I actually went in her room this morning at 11am to wake her up! I stood by her crib watching her sleep for 5 minutes before she stirred awake.

Linnea 6 months old

She's done it!! She is now over 6 months old and healthy as can be. Today we went to visit the doctor...first time since about 7 weeks old so I guess it was time. She is 25 1/2 inches long and 17 lbs. She is average in height and weight for her age. Here are her developmental updates:
-Rolls front to back and back to front
-Has gotten up on all fours (ONCE only) with hands on floor and feet on floor, bum in the air (similar to a poorly executed plank) LOL
-Has two teeth and is still regularly teething so I'm sure those top two incisors will come in soon
-Can hold a glass with both hands and wants to drink from it but doesn't know how to drink
-Will start solid foods this week, untraditionally though - gasp, not with rice cereal...we plan on feeding her softly boiled egg yolks and then begin to introduce one vegetable at a time and then fruit.
-Can sit up on her own unattended for about 10 minutes now without toppling over.
-Reaches and grabs toys, moves around on floor, loves to suck on feet and anything she can get her hand on including my hair
-Squeals all the time and babbles a lot
-Happy, content and plays strange with people she doesn't know
-Is freaked out by skyping...doesn't understand how it works but it's cool to watch her just stare at the laptop screen in awe.
-Hair in the front is past her eyes...I have to pull it back with clips often
-Naps in her crib regularly now and has never cried for longer than 15 minutes when plunked in there for naps. Sleeps on average 20 minutes to 1 1/2 hrs+ every nap. She naps 2-3 times a day most days and continues to sleep all night long even when she doesn't feel well.
-Loves to be flipped upside down and lifted up in the air and twirled.
-Loves to see herself in mirror.
-Loves to jump in Merry Muscles every morning for about an hour. Gets great exercise!! Loves to stand as well.

I've included a couple shots taken of Linnea sitting on her own for the first time in her "Little Pumpkin" sleeper from Ang (sorry the cords she's wearing are much too long but they were clean!!), and there are a couple shots I debated putting on of her licking a wine glass that were just too cute and a couple of her in her Merry Muscles...

Back to editing and proofing sessions...lots of orders this time of year!!

Until next time,

Rachel