More Nine Month Developments

Too many milestones this week to fit all in one post. It seems that 9 months is the magic number for our little girl. In addition to crawling, it seems Lena has also developed some language skills!

We believe (though we're not entirely sure) that Lena signed for "more" a couple of days ago, and yesterday said the word "mama". Her "more" sign looked more like she was flailing her arms up and down and together, but she would do this motion while we were feeding her, when she was done with a bite and wanted us to offer her more. Sometimes her hands would even touch... see how to sign for more here.

Yesterday she was babbling with Daddy and when Mama came into the room she immediately started saying mmm, mmmm, mama, mama. It could have just been a coincidence, as she has started saying more consonants like nnn, and ggg, and kkk, and mmm, but Daniel is pretty convinced she was saying "mama". So sweet.

And We've Got a Crawler!

Lena learned to crawl this week! A month ago Lena started getting ready for this huge milestone by learning to get from the sitting position onto all fours and rocking back and forth. We knew then that we'd have a crawler in the not too distant future. The rocking turned into what is called army crawling (basically crawling with her forearms and dragging the rest of her body behind her), and then all of the sudden this week she realized how to move her arms and legs together to crawl. What a difference a month makes!

We now have a mobile baby in the house and mama's job has become a whole lot harder. Keeping track of a crawling baby is definitely a full time deal, and has been a bit exhausting over the past week. And Lena is only going to get faster and faster at this whole crawling thing. In fact, who knows, maybe she'll be walking by next month. She does seem to enjoy standing and wants to practice walking all the time. Hard to believe that her cousin Levi was walking already at 8 months!

Lena continues to grow so fast it seems hard to believe that she is only 9 months old and has gone from being a helpless little mouse to a baby who crawls, sleeps on her own, eats spinach saag, pizza, and eggs, and occasionally uses the potty.

Spring Break 2011 - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

We spent last week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Baba, her friend Victor, Uncle Bruno, Aunt Alicia, and Cousin Ayla. The trip was everything we had hoped it would be; perfectly warm weather, lots of sun, great food, and lovely company. Ayla and Lena spent a great deal of time playing in the pool and on the beach, while Moms and Dads sipped on Margaritas and Baba and Victor walked along the sea shore.

Our resort hotel in Nuevo Vallarta was the perfect place to stay as a family. The Bornszteins and Spirns shared a double suite, which included two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and dining room. Baba and Victor were just down the hallway and visited often. We were able to buy food at the local Wallmart and cooked some relatively authentic Mexican food which saved a lot of money. Everything we could possibly need or want was available at the resort, so there was no need to leave the premises, although we did rent cars and left several times for day trips up and down the coast. Mostly though we hung out at the pool or on the beach, took beautiful long walks around the exquisite resort grounds, and just relaxed as much as possible.

The highlight of our vacation was a quick day trip to San Pancho, a sea side town on the Riviera Nayarit, located just a half hour away from our hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to discover one of the best restaurants on the entire Riviera, a place called Bistro Organico, where we lunched on fresh fish and shrimp fajitas, scallop ceviche, spicy guacamole, wonderful tasting black beans, and delicious fruit smoothies. There was even a small pool on the restaurant patio where Lena and Ayla were able to take a quick and refreshing dip. Bistro Organico is located below a boutique hotel called Hotel Cielo Rojo, and Dan and I can't wait to go back and stay there. It would be the perfect romantic getaway.

Lena was a great traveler as always, and even learned quickly to nap on the go. She spent several naps in her car seat, and another handful poolside. She also learned to eat a variety of new foods, including and loving guacamole, black beans, bread, and pasta.

Nobody wanted to return home after such a perfect vacation, but our trip came to a close on Monday and we're now back in Minneapolis, where it is currently snowing, and 27 degrees farenheit, a rude awakening and welcome back to real life.

Thank you Baba Delia for making this trip possible. We wouldn't have been able to go without your help. And thank you Bruno and Alicia and Ayla for being such great housemates. We had so much fun spending the week with all of you.

8 Months!

A week ago, exactly on her 8 month birthday, Lena made a huge development! She got herself from the sitting position to the crawling position! She has finally learned how to get herself on all fours. This is very exciting. This also means we may have a crawler in the house soon and it is time to baby proof. Not sure how we're actually going to be able to do the proofing, as our house is laid out in a way that will make this difficult, especially the open staircase. We'll have to get creative! Here's a video of Lena showing off her new skill!

Lena Visits Grandma and Grandpa in Cherry Hill

Last week we took a plane to Philadelphia to spend some time with Grandma Marion and Grandpa Irwin. This was Lena's second time flying the friendly skies! Unfortunately, both Deborah and Lena were hit with a super nasty cold, which for Lena turned into her first ear infection. Despite being sick, Lena was a stellar air traveler, and even managed to get compliments from all the flight attendants and several other travelers, despite her snot covered face.

Once at Grandma and Grandpa's house we spent most of our time indoors, playing with new toys and Grandpa's glasses, reading the paper, cooking, and mostly resting. We had had plans to explore Philadelphia with G and G and little Lena, but because of Lena's ear infection we mostly just relaxed at home. Mom and Dad did manage to go out for dinner on Friday night, thanks to Marion and Irwin's generous offer to babysit.

On Saturday we drove up to Mont Claire, New Jersey to visit Jason, Denise and Paolo. This was the Tanz's first time meeting Lena and they enjoyed meeting her. Lena loved playing with Paolo and all of his old toys from when he was a little baby.

On Monday we met up with Laurie and Mark Turner and their new baby boy Logan, who was born just three days after Lenabel last year. We drove out to Devon, PA a suburb of Philadelphia and enjoyed the scenic views of the rolling Pennsylvania hills from Laurie and Mark's back yard. Lena and Logan really hit it off, playing with each other, stealing each other's toys, holding hands, and occasionally making each other cry. It was really wonderful to catch up with the Turners, and we wish they lived closer to us so that Logan and Lena could play more often.

All in all our trip out East was lovely, despite our poor health. Towards the end of the trip both Lena and Deborah were starting to feel much better and we are excited to return to Philadelphia for some more time with Grandma and Grandpa, and a bit more exploring.

Lena and Ayla In the Tub

Lena had a lot of fun this weekend with her cousin Ayla, who came over for dinner on Saturday and ended up staying for bath time and joining Lenabel in the tub for a great time in the water. The two cousins had a blast playing with Lena's new squirt toys and splashing away. Both sets of parents were thoroughly entertained watching the girls enjoying their first bath together.

Skiing the Northwoods

Winters can get long in Minnesota, so it's always important to plan some sort of getaway, preferably somewhere warm. Baba Delia has invited us to spend spring break with her in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and we can't wait. Unfortunately we still have two and a half more months till March!

This weekend we beat the cabin fever by driving five hours north to Lake Burntside, Minnesota for a cross-country skiing vacation. We joined several of our friends for the first of hopefully many yearly trips to Camp du Nord.

With the temperature hovering around 10 degrees fareinheigt, we were a bit concerned about keeping Lena warm, and we wouldn't have been able to enjoy our trip without the ski chariot. We were lucky enough to borrow this key piece of equipment from a friend and it proved to be absolutely necessary to our vacation. Without it we surely would have been stuck inside as the winds and cold were pretty strong. But the Chariot kept Lena surprisingly warm, warm enough for her to even take several of her naps in it while we skied. We were able to spend quite a bit of time outside, and Lena seemed happy and comfortable in her ride.