Holiday Card Photoshoot Drama, Grammie Sue & Gramps arrive, & 3 hurried little steps!!!

Before Daddy gets into the Christmas/Birthday details...let's get up to 88 mph and go back in time for a little bit. It's the end of November and we need a nice family picture for this year's Christmas cards. After the great experience we had with the JC Penney's portrait studio in Pittsburgh this summer, we figure we'll do that again. Only to find out that the JC Penney's up here in VT doesn't have a portrait studio. Instead we go to the only one at U Mall in Burlington, the Sears Portrait Studio.

Lizzie Sue, jumping back to the future, one day you will brush your teeth and then drink some orange juice. That disgusting taste in your mouth, is exactly how Mommy and Daddy felt after our Christmas card photo-shoot experience at Sears. Daddy will save everyone the ugly details, and instead share a few choice words: overbooked, disorganized, understaffed, disorganized, apathetic, disorganized, not adequately trained staffers and disorderly disorganized. They did have one thing going for them...they were really good at being disorganized!!! All issues aside, we waited a long time and Lizzie Sue did a great job of waiting and waiting and waiting in her pretty christmas dress. Eventually we got some great photos a made a Christmas card. Oh and Lizzie Sue met Santa for the first time at the Berlin Mall too!







As the days got closer and closer to Christmas and Lizzie Sue's first birthday, Mommy and Daddy were getting excited. We had the house decorated. We had the house cleaned up ready for all of our house guests. We had an almost one year old let go of the ottooman and take three hurried little steps to the sofa. We had the stockings hung....what? YES you read that correctly, Lizzie Sue took her first real steps on her own the week before Christmas!!! Daddy decided not to tell Grammie Sue and Gramps and figured they could experience it first hand in a few short days. Each day Lizzie Sue got better and better about taking those steps and was ready for center stage. Grammie Sue and Gramps arrived, came into the house and Lizzie Sue let out her war cry of excitement, sprinted across the room and Polamalu style tackled Gramie Sue. Ok so maybe it didn't happen exactly like that, but Lizzie Sue did take a few steps in front of Grammie Sue and Gramps and everyone rejoiced!!!

Then Christmas Eve came and Lizzie Sue turned one year old!!! More to come on that shortly...

Lizzie Sue - Happy 11 Months Old!!!

Dear Lizzie Sue,

A few weeks ago you turned 11 months old! Please explain to Daddy how you seem to make time disappear and calendars move so quickly? It feels like just the other day Daddy was writing your 10 month old post with aspirations to squeeze another post in before this post and to actually write this post on time. Double wrong! Daddy is sure all the Lizzie Sue Groupies understand with the craziness of the Holiday Season how time has flown by and why this post is so late. Anyway as always here you are with Roxie Bear!



Part of the reason it has taken Daddy so long to write this post is because over the last month you have become so much more of a little person and not just a bump on a log. You pull up on everything, play with everything, try to eat everything, walk holding onto the furniture and just recently you've been standing all on your own, not holding onto anything. All of these things are reasons why Daddy loves to just play with you or sit in amazement watching you whenever he has the free time, instead of writing blogs...Sorry! The "no-hander" typically happens when you are holding onto something with one hand and playing with a toy in the other. You then let go of what you are holding onto to and play with the toy using both hands. You typically stand there for 5 to 10 seconds all on your own before you realize you aren't holding onto anything. At that point you either panic, drop the toy, and grab for the couch with both hands, or you very delicately and gracefully just sit down and continue playing with your toy. Mommy and Daddy have been working on getting you standing more and more on your own everyday to hopefully build the confidence you need to realize you can walk. We all also learned, while at Pop's and Yaya's house for Thanksgiving, that covering your face to play peak-a-boo while you are standing on your own isn't a great idea. Apparently you seem to loose your balance when you can't see anything...our bad!

Since Daddy mentioned Thanksgiving and Daddy's hungry, let's talk about food for a bit. You have been doing such a great job of feeding yourself over this past month. You push the chair into the kitchen, climb up on the counter, get out the peanut butter and jelly and make your own lunches. Ok so maybe your not there yet, but at least you are doing a better job of getting the food into your mouth and not all over your face. Granted pasta sauce or crock pot cooked, pot roast seasoned vegetables are a little messy, but still you are doing great. We do find it funny that the hardest decision you've ever been presented with at the dinner table is asparagus or green peppers. No, not a decision of should I eat those weird healthy green things, but you love both of them so much, sometimes we can see the brain overload when you can't decide which one to pick up and devour first.

Daddy is going to cut this post short so he has stuff to talk about later this month as we prepare for the best time of year, yes Christmas but also Lizzie Sue's Birthday!!! One year old is almost here and it's going to be one crazy holiday week at our house getting ready to host Christmas and celebrate your birthday. More on the holidays and our traumatic holiday card photo shoot to come soon. Until next time...

We Love You,

Mommy & Daddy

Lizzie Sue - Happy 10 Months Old!!!!

Dear Lizzie Sue,

Two weeks ago you turned 10 months old! That's crazy, not only crazy that it's taken Daddy two weeks to write this post (Daddy blames you...we'll get to that later) but also crazy that you are in double digits! One month closer to being a year old. As Daddy has said before, it makes sense, you were born on Christmas Eve and it's getting to the holiday season, yet at the same time, nobody can believe it's almost been a year already! As always here you with Roxie Bear.



This past month can be summed up with the one word...no not the word everyone is thinking, teething....the word is family. One, Mommy, Daddy and you have been spending and enjoying more and more time together as a family...Two, Grammie Sue and Gramps were here to visit for a week...and C, we all took a trip down to CT to visit Daddy's cousin's family and you finally got to meet GG (Great Grandma) Moenke. So not only has Daddy been busy with work and enjoying being home after all of that family visit/travel, you are demanding more and more of Daddy's time everyday. Long gone are the days that you slept for 18 hours of the day...some days it feels like we are now at the opposite that you are awake for 18 hours and craving attention every minute of it. Even when you go down for a nap, all Daddy can do is crash on the couch exhausted and enjoy the few minutes to himself before running off to do laundry, dishes, take out the trash, clean up all the toys and the thousand other things that always need to be done around the house. So long story short, you've been keeping Mommy and Daddy pretty busy lately, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

Grammie Sue and Gramps stayed at the McCusker B&B for a week. They use the excuse of coming up to VT to go to all the restaurants they enjoy up here, but sshhhh they really come to just see you! They hadn't seen you since our trip to Pittsburgh back in July. You were about 7 months at that point and a lot has changed in the last three months. Before when Grammie Sue or Gramps could just put you on the floor to play, you'd roll over a bit, maybe even sit up with some help. This past visit if either of them put you down on the floor...you were off like the Flash crawling away at lightning speeds to go grab some toy to play with or some cat to chase. At the same time you were even more fun to play with for them because you could sit up, pick up toys better, and laughed all the time when they would tickle you or smother you in kisses. You even helped Gramps with one of his many projects around the house...Daddy guesses it's never too early to start you using power tools right? We all know that Grammie Sue and Gramps can't wait to get back up to VT and see you again, so don't worry they will be back in December for your birthday and Christmas.

Also this past month we took a trip to the South West corner of CT to visit Daddy's Cousin. His youngest of 3 kids was being baptized so we went down for the weekend to catch up with some of Daddy's family. You traveled really well for not starting the 5 hour drive until 4pm since Mommy was working a football game until then. Aside from having one "get me out of this torture device of a car seat" meltdown, which actually timed around us stopping for dinner pretty well, you were great in the car. You slept most of it, which was a blessing. Mommy and Daddy had a great time seeing some of Daddy's family, some of which we haven't seen since our wedding but really everyone wanted to see you. The top of that list was GG Moenke. You were the only one of her 8 great grandchildren she hadn't held yet, so that was something to get off her to do list as quickly as we could once we got to CT. Amazingly both nights that we were away from home you slept great. It looks like you knew you were to be on your best behavior in front of all the family or you really just like saving those 4am intermissions for Daddy...thanks!

With the holidays right around the corner, an 11 month post and a year old post will be here before Daddy knows it. Until then Daddy will work on getting another post or two in before your 11 month birthday post since we need to have a few conversations about your eating habits lately and this whole separation anxiety fun we are all experiencing. Until next time....

We Love You,

Mommy & Daddy

Lizzie Sue - Happy 9 Months Old!!!!

Dear Lizzie Sue,

This week you turned 9 months old! 9 months??? That's just crazy...it's like three quarters of a year...(wait for Daddy's public school math to catch up with everyone else)...hey wait, you are three quarters of a year old! Daddy said this week because for the first time in 9 months, Daddy wasn't home to see you on your monthly birthday. Daddy is actually writing this from BWI waiting to get on his plane back to VT...but more about that work trip later. As always here you are with Roxie Bear.



Update to the above comment about writing this from BWI...it's now been two weeks since Daddy started this post at the airport and finally Daddy is getting around to finishing it. That just shows you how busy things have been around here lately. Ok back to the regularly schedule blog post...

Recently Daddy took a new job which allows him to work from home all the time. In Daddy's eyes this is one step closer to being the house husband he's always wanted to be...now just to get Mommy that high paying job with the Steelers and Daddy doesn't have to work at all...hey Daddy can dream! Being home with you has been amazing. Daddy has been around more and feels more involved in helping raise you. It sound silly since Daddy was always involved before, but being home with you now 24-7 really changes that feeling. Mommy does go to work everyday at 1pm and Daddy has to juggle you and work by himself all afternoon. Thankfully you've had more good afternoons than bad afternoons and when the bad afternoons do happen, Daddy's work is very understanding about it. Thankfully working in the web world...Daddy can always make up work later in the evening when Mommy is home or you are asleep. Although it can be chaotic on those bad afternoons, Daddy wouldn't trade this new job, with the ability to spend more time with you, for anything in the world.

This past month you have really taken off into the feeding yourself races. Yes you still pick up the clumps of cat fur and try to eat them, but Daddy is talking about your feeding yourself real food. Mommy and Daddy have pretty much completely gone away from any thing we need to spoon feed you, aside from the random yogurt, to just giving you small pieces of whatever we are having for dinner. Again with this new high chair, you love to just sit in it, next to us at the dinner table, and chow away on anything we put in front of you. Recently you devoured asparagus like it was chocolate covered crack! Pretty much we haven't put a food in front of you that you didn't like, even to the point of you eating tomatoes the other day. That one really threw Mommy and Daddy for a loop as neither of us like tomatoes, so we aren't quite sure how you could like them so much. Still topping the charts as your number 1 favorite adult food for the time being has to be pizza crust. Mommy & Daddy could give you pizza crust every day 3x a day and you'd still chow down on it like it's the best food ever!

Daddy has a question for you...have you been reading his "how to be a dad" book when he hasn't been looking? Almost like clockwork this month started the separation anxiety, mostly from Mommy, but even from Daddy to a lesser degree. For the most part we aren't talking about horrific screaming when one of us leaves the room, but if given the option to be held by one of us, or anyone else at our church that you've known for the last 9 months, you'd pick Mommy or Daddy 9 times out of 10. Although while Daddy was away on this past work trip, again we had some of your favorite Norwich girls come over in the afternoons to babysit while Mommy was at work, and you weren't too happy with that at times. The hardest part was some days one of the babysitters would work a few hours and then another babysitter would come over for a few more hours until Mommy got home. Every time that happened, you heard someone come in the door and expected Mommy to be home. Once you realized it wasn't Mommy you weren't a happy camper to say the least. Needless to say our babysitters all agree that your screaming is giving them a complex...just kidding, but you still are a great form of birth control for them...so keep up the good work pumpkin!

Lastly Daddy wants to apologize to Chip and Dale on your behalf. For those out there in the Lizzie Sue Blogisphere that don't know, those are Mommy and Daddy's two cats. They handled you coming into the family well...interested in the new thing in the house but trying to live their own lives and stay out of the room when you cried. They worked out new schedules of when they can steal attention from Daddy in the morning before you are up, or in the evening once you are down for the night...they have even been known to curl up next to you during nap time every once in a while. Hell they even don't seem to mind you playing with their cat toys as they have been known to bat your toys around ever so often, yet now that you are crawling/walking with help or holding onto things, their world has changed once again. They can no longer curl up and take a nap on the sofa as they don't really like being woken up by you performing CPR chest compressions on their chests. Even just laying down on the floor near Mommy or Daddy leaves them open to you mad dashing of a crawl over to them and "trying" to pet them. Daddy used the little quote fingers there because when he said "trying" really he meant you grabbing a hand full of fur and pulling. Daddy never realized cat skin/fur was so durable, yet another valuable lesson learning from parenthood. And for that Daddy owes you a thank you for teaching him that, and an apology to Chip and Dale for your skin care/fur treatment techniques. Don't worry Chip and Dale...another year or so and she'll be dressing you up in baby clothes and putting you in a stroller...

As Daddy writes this, Grammie Sue and Gramps just got home to Pittsburgh after a week long visit to the McCusker B&B. Keep your eyes posted for another post soon about their visit to VT!

We Love You,

Mommy & Daddy

37 weeks, crawling, highchairs, big kitties and muskets

Dear Lizzie Sue,

You are 37 weeks old which is a weird time for Daddy. You are half way between 8 months and 9 months and Daddy is having a hard time knowing what to tell people when they ask how old are you. Should Daddy round down and just tell them you are 8 months old or should Daddy round up and make you 9 months old? Maybe Daddy should just confuse everyone and tell them you are 37 weeks old.

There is no doubt about it, you are crawling in the traditional crawling fashion at this point. If any of the Lizzie Sue groupies out there need the evidence, check out the video on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMA0YZwipHo Also this means you are now pulling up on everything and anything you can get your hands on. Also not only do you get your hands on it, you also started letting go with those hands and fearlessly taking that first step. Granted you've face planted the few times you attempted it, but that hasn't stopped you from still trying again.

Recently Mommy and Daddy got you a real high chair and that has totally changed your eating habits. Now you actually enjoy sitting down with us at the dinner table and you feed yourself. Since you never really showed an interest in the pureed foods, with this new high chair we've just been giving you little bits of pasta, fruit, pancakes, pizza crust, sweet potato fries, and your favorite - grilled cheese. You have been eating so much better in this new setting, both Mommy and Daddy are very happy even with having to pick up all the pasta off the floor and off your lap.

Daddy took you to campus to watch the Cavalry demo. You were in your stroller for the entire demo and watched every horse just as intently as you watch the kitties running around our house. Granted Daddy had you about 40 yards away from the demo, which is why Daddy thinks to you the horses did look like big kitties. Once you got nose to nose to one of the horses, your eyes were so big, Daddy could tell you were thinking "Wow this thing is huge, not a big kitty at all." Daddy thinks by spring time we'll have pictures of you riding one of those horses. Ok maybe the mini, but it's still a horse.

Lastly Daddy wants to mention you sitting through the Labor Day parade in town. Not only did you love the parade, watching the entire thing with that intense look of enjoyment and processing on your face, you never got scared during the loud parts. Daddy's not talking about a few loud sirens or air horns. You sat there smiling through the cannon fire, civil war reenactors shooting off muskets, loud rally cars and the thing that got you to smile the most was the 60 motorcycles riding by right in front of you. Mommy and Daddy figure Gramps will be happy to hear you enjoyed the motorcycles in the parade. We figure Mommy and Daddy are so bomb proofed from being around Norwich for so long, it must be in your DNA.

We Love You,

Mommy & Daddy

Lizzie Sue - Happy 8 Months Old!!!!

Dear Lizzie Sue,

Today you turned 8 months old. Wow 8 months, already two thirds through the first year of you life...Daddy can't believe it. Before we know it, it will be there will be Christmas items on the shelves at walmart and you'll be turning one year old...and since walmart is already making room for Halloween stuff, it really is just around the corner. Daddy has tons to talk about this month so lets jump right to it, but first, here you are with Roxie Bear.

8 months equals 8 teeth? say what? Yes it is true... not only did that number 6 tooth Daddy talked about in the last post finally cut through this past Friday night, so did number 7 and 8 on the bottom. So now you've got 4 teeth on top and 4 teeth on bottom. Obviously these new teeth need to keep growing to match up with how big your first couple of teeth have become, yet 8 teeth at 8 months is just crazy. Also everything goes into your mouth lately, which is just a normal part of teething, but no more chewing on Daddy's knuckle when your teeth hurt. It wasn't that bad before but lately with all those extra teeth in there, Mommy and Daddy have had enough. We are at the point of teaching you that biting Mommy and Daddy is no longer ok. In an interesting side note, today you were playing on the floor with both your stuffed Monkey from Aunt Sarah and Uncle Matty and a stuffed Tigger that Daddy got you the other day. While you were wresting around with them, Daddy watched you grab each of them at one point or another and bite down on their ear!?!?! Daddy has heard of cats and dogs biting ears to establish who is the alpha in the pack, should Mommy and Daddy assume you are now the alpha in your pack of stuffed animals?

Since we are talking about you playing with these stuffed animals, Daddy wants to talk about some of your other toys. Lizzie Sue, you have four amazing grandparents that have totally embraced their roles as grandparents (read as totally spoil you). With that in mind, you do not lack nor want for toys...then explain to Daddy why your favorite toys are; an old tv remote control, a paper towel tube, a pair of your shoes, and any cat toys that are within reach. Seriously? The tv remote came about after Mommy and Daddy got tired of you trying to steal our remote and when you got it you would change channels on the tv. But the cat toys? Before Daddy said if they are within reach and by within reach Daddy meant in the room with you. The cat toys have had one positive, you've almost learned how to crawl because you so desperately want to get to those cat toys on the other side of the room. Daddy will come back to that crawling thing in a moment, but before then, can you do Daddy a favor and stick to playing with your toys? It's not that we mind you playing with the cat toys, it's that the cats have been so depressed about you playing with their toys lately that all they seem to do is sleep, eat, and just lay around the house. So for the sake of our furry children's mental well-being, please leave their toys alone...they don't play with your toys!

Crawling - you are even closer to crawling then where you were in Daddy's last post. You went to visit Mommy at work this past Saturday and while playing on a blanket on the side of a soccer field, which on a side note, you totally loved watching the girls playing soccer (maybe a future soccer player on our hands, who knows), you probably spent a solid 10 minutes on your hands and knees just rocking back and forth with this huge smile on your face. You've developed your own weird crawl/skootch/belly flop/army crawl that is getting you moving and moving towards those toys (remember your toys not the cat toys, thanks). Although your way to move does work, hopefully you'll just get this crawling thing down soon and we can move onto more important things like ice skating...ok fine we'll start with walking next and then maybe get to ice skating.

Daddy wants to talk about him working from home and spending more time with you during the day and all about Mommy going back to work...yet I'll save that for another post soon.

We Love You,

Mommy & Daddy

Lizzie Sue - Happy 7 Months Old!!!

Dear Lizzie Sue,

Happy 7 months old! Notice that Daddy didn't even say "today you are 7 months old" because this post is so overdue, Daddy might as well start working on the Happy 8 month post. With that in mind, most of your 7th month of life was spent traveling, as seen by the novel of a previous post. Still there are a few things to talk about and before all that...here you are with Roxie Bear, in NH at Yaya and Pop's house.



Let's talk about teeth for a minute. While you were in Pittsburgh visiting Grammie Sue and Gramps, everyone thought you were starting to teeth again. After having two very lonely bottom teeth for the last few months, it was about time some other teeth came around to join them. Well while you were in NH at Yaya and Pop's house, your top two teeth came in. Then by the next weekend another top tooth has come in, just chilling out on the top of your right side with no pair below or pair across in sight. Well in about a week later Mommy and Daddy started to see signs that your lopsided top teeth would be balanced out. Hopefully that tooth will get here soon, since Daddy is writing this post 2 weeks late and that tooth still hasn't come in.

And then there's the rolling, let's talk about that. This past month you've mastered rolling over, front to back, back to front, side to side, top to bottom, you name it, you can roll it! This has made it interesting as you are a little bit more mobile when Mommy and Daddy put you down on the floor for two seconds, who knows how far you'll roll and what you'll get into while you are there. Luckily for us sometimes you get onto your belly and just decide to cry and stay there instead of roll over, which at least helps Daddy find you whenever you try to roll away and hide under the table or sofa. When you are on your belly, you are so close to crawling that it both scares Daddy that you'll be crawling soon, and makes Daddy happy cause that's one step closer to seeing you playing Rugby...ha ha. Even this past week you've gotten up in the crawling position and rocked back and forth, even once or twice when you realize you can't reach a toy you want, you launch yourself forward, willing to take the sacrifice digger to get that toy.

Speaking of taking diggers, this last month has been filled with you moving a lot more, which can be read as you taking tons of bumps and bruises. You are sitting up all on your own if put down in that position, you still don't have the whole, getting up to the sitting position from laying down just yet. Of course just like some crazy scientist throwing apples up in the air, what sits up, must fall down. You've knocked yourself a couple of times that way, yet the best thump happened the other day. Mommy and Daddy still aren't sure if you whacked yourself in the eyebrow with the ladle you were playing with or the edge of the metal mixing bowl you were using as a drum, yet either way you had a huge lump on your eyebrow and it took a while to calm you down after that one.


Well since it's almost time for Daddy to starting working on the 8 month post, this is enough for now. Maybe you'll be standing at the end of the drive way waiting for the school bus to pick you up for the first day of kindergarten before Daddy get's that next post written.

We love you,

Mommy & Daddy