A Brand New Bag

So now when Winnie is upset, mixed in with her crying are these trilling sounds that we think are hilarious. They rarely come when she's happy, she saves them for when she really needs them most! Also making an appearance in this video are Winnie's two bottom teeth that we can never seem to capture in a photo. She's also currently cutting her top left tooth, so it's good times over here at nighttime, as you can imagine. She really did get one of her two front teeth for Christmas! (well, the resolution's not great post-transfer, but the teeth are there--I promise!)

Christmas Vacation

We went to Conway this past weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Dean family and had a great time. As usual, it was chaotic and wonderful...8 kids under the age of 8 will do that. We attempted on Saturday morning to take a group photo of all the grandkids as a gift for my mom. Here we have them all...Finn, Grace, Pierson, Rafferty, Winnie, Owen, Remi, and Clara. It was impossible to get one shot where all the kids were looking at the camera and smiling, but my favorites are the ones where someone is doing something ridiculous. That's reality! Winnie's favorite gift was her own cell phone that lights up and makes sounds. I want to know who this Tad is that keeps calling my daughter. Anyways, we are grateful for our family and had a good time eating and visiting and playing. We always love an Arkansas Christmas, especially when it's almost 70 degrees outside!

Winnie's Baptism

Winnie was baptized at church on the 14th...she did a great job during the ceremony. One of our pastors, Simon, did the baptism (which we were thrilled about, as he's a friend and in our house group). While John, one of the elders, carried her around the auditorium, she smiled and laughed at everyone. We followed the service with a party at our loft, which was a huge blast! We were way late to our own party, because I ordered the food from South County accidentally (argh!). But it was a great time celebrating Winifred with family and friends. The only picture I took of the entire day was of the cake that I was so proud of from Whole Foods. Typical.

Best Buds

Just a couple of videos to show what a good dog we have. He loves his little sister! Puddy takes a beating often, but is very gracious with Winnie. He's even figured out that if he's gentle and doesn't go full-strength, she'll play tug with him and one of his toys. They've come a long way since the big ball video. Our babies are so cute! I can't wait until they can really play!

It's Cold Outside

Winnie does not enjoy wearing hats--she always tugs them off immediately. However, she loves her new hat, and I have no idea why. I am happy, though, as I am always getting confronted by old ladies at the grocery store..."That baby needs a hat!" Actually, that makes me want to never put her in one. Mind your own business! Anyways, I digress. I am glad she has found the hat of her dreams...it's so cute! In the first photo, she's holding Kent and Marietta's Christmas card. She tugged that thing along with her most of the afternoon. I guess she likes the looks of them!

Santa Baby

Puddy and Winnie went to visit Santa, and I think the photos are too cute! We had them done at the dog groomers (Four Muddy Paws, one of my favorite places!) because our groomer is the photographer and said she'd do them together. A must for me, who considers herself to have two babies! And, we went to the mall and found that it is so overpriced there! Pardon Winnie's awkward legs in the photos...tights aren't always the best look for her, and Santa was more comfortable holding the dog than the baby.

this changes everything

Here is a crudely edited montage of Winnie breaking through today: she learned to crawl! We couldn't be more proud. Go Winnie Go!

Snacktime!

Winnie had her first "Big Girl Snack" this week (cut-up banana and sweet potato puffs). She was so proud of herself, as you can tell by the photo! Now that she's on a pretty consistent schedule, we have a little snack after her nap. I have unintentionally adapted her to the same schedule my babies had at the Jewish Community Center, (I miss that job!) and it is working really well. She's still a little gaggy when she eats chunky food, but we're getting there! She's looking forward to spending the evening with her friend Maggie from upstairs tonight while we have our annual Christmas party. She can hardly eat or sleep!

Just Some Soapy Fun...

Sink baths are Winnie's favorite thing. She usually takes one every night while I am cooking dinner. I don't know what I like best about this video...is it the hair, the head shaking, the sucking on the soapy tupperware, or the attempts at escape? I don't know, but I love it. Or maybe it's just that smiling baby!

Thanksgiving in Arkansas

Winnie and I flew to Arkansas this weekend and had such a great time with friends and family. We went to Russellville for antique mall shopping and lunch, saw Twilight, had a wedding to go to Saturday night, and Thanksgiving dinner Sunday night. While we were there, Winnie experimented with new foods...she munched on long carrots, celery stalks, banana, orange, and tried mashed potatoes. It was a busy, eventful weekend! The video below was shot the first night...Jenny's kids LOVE Winnie and just want to be touching her, kissing her, and playing with her constantly. It's so cute!

Here's a picture of Winifred with the little orange half. She was just sucking away!

This was taken Sunday night, while she was in COMPLETE bliss eating squash, sweet potato, and mashed potatoes.

Her and Finn laughing at Googie's funny noises in the car.

Wishing You A Happy Thanksgiving

Back in the Saddle

Winnie's feeling better now, so I thought I'd post a couple cute pictures of her just looking sweet. The first one is in her crib, right before Andy lowered it (so big!) and the second is at CPK at dinner the other night. They both highlight her wicked awesome curly hair!

Not Feeling Well

We have no festive posts to put up, as Winnie has been feeling bad ever since our trip. She has ear infections in both ears and is having to eat a lot of prunes (she doesn't want me to say why she has to eat prunes...it's too private!) She and I are not sleeping well and are kind of crabby during the day. We will post when we feel better. Here's a cute photo of Winnie with "prune face."

Taxation without Representation

Winnie went to D.C. this weekend to see her Aunt Katie and Uncle Craig get married. We had so much to do that there wasn't much time to see the sights, but we managed to get one shot with something famous as proof of the trip. On the way home, Winnie tried to demonstrate the meaning of the word 'gifted' by mastering her tray-table in seconds.

Go Duke!

We went to Andy's parents house last night to watch the first Duke basketball game of the season. We were thrilled that the Presbyterian Blue Hose were no match for our Blue Devils. Winnie's favorite player is Nolan Smith, since we saw him on campus this summer at Duke. It's going to be a great season!

New Toys!

Winnie and I went to Target this week, and she got several new big girl toys. We've tried to get her on video figuring each of them out. Here are a couple of cute ones...(although I can't get them to fully load, so they are just clips. I'll have Andy fix it when he gets home)


She is getting so old!

Election Day!

Winnie was super excited to go exercise our right to vote this morning. We waited for an hour to vote, but the time just flew by...a lot of our downtown friends were at the polling place and took turns holding her in line. She took her little elephant toy to play with so that all would know where we stand on the issues! (Thanks, Googie and Pawpaw!) I got this picture to remember the day and to show off her "I Voted" sticker.

Happy Halloween!

This is her trying to decide if she likes being a cuckoo clock...

This is her deciding that she definitely does not like being a cuckoo clock...

This is her thinking cuckoo clocks are more comfortable in jammies...

Mmm, Mmm Good

I waited a really long time to start food with Winifred. What's the hurry? Aaron took this video a couple weeks ago at her very first feeding...just cereal. She's gotten a little better at the eating thing...slightly less choking and crying. But we're still learning! We're going to add green beans on Saturday--get excited! This video is very typical of my life. Aaron and I talking while the kids cry in the background. Just kidding. Almost.

Fun With Puddy

Puddy loves his big, blue ball. Winnie does, too. That ball has been the single most valuable investment we've made as a family. Two dollars well spent! It is pure enjoyment when they can play with it together. But, as you can see in the video, there is always a casualty.

Is That a Big Baby or Small Pumpkins?

All of my friends with babies have these photos online of their kids with pumpkins. It is seemingly a mandatory fall event. Going to a pumpkin patch in the country with my 7 month old doesn't really appeal to this city girl. Maybe next year. So, Aaron and I combined our store bought, decorative pumpkins and gourds, and I had a little photo shoot with Winners. Although our bedroom floor isn't quite the atmospher of say, Eckerts, it was still a fun time. She loves sitting on the counter and chewing on the stems and the gourds while I'm working in the kitchen. Isn't Aaron's big white gourd amazing? I am in love with it. Happy fall!

Just a Swingin'

Winifred went swinging yesterday for the first time and LOVED IT! We were at my friend Jill's house, and it was too cold for her to just sit in the grass. We tried out the swing, and she was raising her arms and laughing! I'm so excited, because there is a baby swing in the dog park downtown near our house. New thing to do!

The Dark Knight

Winnie went with us to see The Dark Knight in the theatre. So she wasn't the least bit afraid to encounter him in Branson this weekend. And if life imitates art, then she is going to be the assistant prosecutor in Gotham for sure, because he took quite a liking to her!




Now she is wondering why she has never seen Batman and Rafferty in the same room together. Fishy!

Duck, Duck...Winnie!

So this is the cute picture from our Boston trip...Winnie with the Make Way For Ducklings piece in the Boston Public Garden. It is one of my favorite childrens books, so I was thrilled to stumble upon the ducks on our walk. So precious!

Boston, Baby!

Our second stop on our trip was a visit to Boston with Mark and his girlfriend Kara, who lives there. Winnie hasn't seen Mark since she was one month, so she was missing him! We had a great time touring Boston Commons and the Garden, shopping Newbury, and eating Dunkin' Donuts EVERY morning. The trip would have been even more awesome if the guy that I THOUGHT was George Herbert Walker Bush had actually been the Big Guy, instead of just some look-alike. We didn't take many photos in Boston, and some of the good ones are on Kara's camera, so when I see those I'll post one that I'm sure will be a hit. Here is Winnie admiring Mark and having fun with Kara. We can't wait to see them again at Thanksgiving!

Cape Cod

We just returned from our trip to the Northeast...our first stop was Chatham with Cookie and Sir.  Winnie had a great time playing with her new toy puppy (a gift from them) and seeing the beach and birds (even in the cold weather).  We ate out a lot, walked around Chatham, went to the beach, drove to Provincetown, and slept in every morning.  Thanks, Cookie and Sir, for a great vacation!

Daydream Believer

When I look at this picture, I can't help but project my own busy thoughts into Winnie's head. What is she wondering? Is she remembering all the things she wanted to do today, but didn't get to? Is she wondering why her pillow keeps giving big sighs? Hard to say for sure. But one thing I know - it's cute. Since Puddy is missing out on vacation, he gets to be featured in another throwback photo today. We should have some good shots of Winnie invading Boston when we return next week.

Don't Mess With Us

We are on vacation (as you know from the previous post) and forgot the cord that downloads photos from our camera to the computer. So the new cute photos will have to wait. In the meantime, I hit the archives to find a good photo of Winnie and her brother Puddy. Something about the look on Winnie's face says "don't mess with us" to me.

I'll probably pull some more classics out this week to keep the viewing public happy.

We're Heading Out of Town...

This is just a fun picture of Winnie that I love...such a cute little watermelon shirt that she only got to wear once before she grew out of it! You can't see them, but she's also wearing her green daisy dukes. Precious! We will be in Cape Cod and Boston this week, but hopefully we will post some fun vacation pictures while we are there. Have a great week!

(Grocery) Shop Til You Drop

One of my favorite things to do is grocery shopping (well, really all shopping). I love finding new, delicious foods to try, and I enjoy reading labels and learning about nutrition. So of course, Winnie loves to grocery shop with me! The best thing about her learning to sit up on her own is that she can now sit in the grocery cart. No more Baby Bjorn at Whole Foods! We went today, and she received many compliments on her big smile and her mohawk of curls. Her favorite thing to do is find the electronic pen (probably the germiest item in the world) at the credit card swiper and try to eat it before I know what's going on. She loved every minute of it!

I'm a read! I'm a learn to read!*

I really like this photo of Winnie checking out a magazine in her high chair. It looks like she is reading. Then you realize that the magazine is upside-down. Then, if you were there, you would have seen that really all she wants to do is eat the pages. I may replace this photo with a video to prove it.... stay tuned.

*from Chris Rock's standup routine on the HBO Prison Special. Classic stuff, people.

A Toy-Gladiator Needs A Proper Helmet

Take it from a father looking for something to occupy his daughter's young mind - Winnie's discovery of the joy unloading the toy box is one of the coolest advancements she has made. Sitting up like a big girl, taking every toy out one-by-one, even just scratching the box to feel the texture - Winnie loves her new activity. But with all those crazy toys around, it's probably best to have a pink unicorn puppet for a hat. You know, just in case there's trouble.

Friends

I think it's funny how we say babies have best friends and boyfriends. Clearly, Winnie does not make these decisions on her own. They are just the babies of our best friends. Here she is with two of her good pals that she is often around--Poppy and Addie. I love how her and Addie are holding hands! Please excuse Winnie for not having on pants. We don't always get out the door every day fully dressed!

Sittin' Pretty

Winifred Gray Murphy, Official Sitter-Upper!
Here she is showing off her new skills in front of our new painting we bought at the art fair Friday. She is still perfecting the sitting up, but she's a pro if she's not at all sleepy and has something good to look at. In this case, it was Daddy, who just got home from a weekend away just in time to see Winnie sitting up. What a way to welcome him home! And, check out the awesome hair-do she's sporting. Clearly, Mommy didn't prep for this photo shoot. And it's not like there's anything she could've done about it anyway.

Make Your Own Caption for This One...

g-l-a-m-o-r-o-u-s

The beach just wasn't ready for young Winnie as she went into full diva mode in North Carolina. She so much as glanced at some people next to us and they gave us their chairs and umbrella.

superwinn

I guess it is a tradition if you have done something five or six times. Andy's band used to stop every time they left St. Louis at the Metropolis exit in Illinois to take some photos as superman - and fill up the Suburban that got 6 miles to the gallon. Here is Winnie as the Man of Steel (the Wonder Woman photo just wasn't as good).

See You Soon!

We are heading out on vacation tomorrow morning...nine days in North Carolina. We might post from the beach, but I can't promise anything. I thought I'd temporarily leave you with a cute photo that captures Winifred right now...she is so observant and seems so thoughtful already. She's always studying faces and the things around her.

New Kid on the Block

My dear friend (and next door neighbor) finally had her little baby last week. I thought Winnie was still so small...until Al came around. She looks huge! I can't get over it. Well, hopefully he catches up with her size in time for their wedding. Save the date...summer 2033!