Paprika's First Swim Lesson!

We took Paprika to her very first swim lesson this morning! It was so much fun! She loves the water- it was wonderful taking her into the pool. She kicked her little legs like she'd been swimming all her life. She is so confident in the water. Mr. Mustard and I both got into the water with her and helped her float and swim. It was a great bonding experience for us both. The weather was gorgeous, nice and warm, and so was the pool- about 86 degrees. We are really looking forward to going back next week!

Getting Ready To Swim:

In the pool with Daddy:

Getting dry and staying warm after the lesson! Whew, that was fun!

Curious Baby

Paprika is SO FAST at crawling now! She is into everything and especially loves the slick floors of the kitchen and bathrooms! One of her favorite things to do is to crawl into the kitchen and explore Hauser's water bowl. She delights at tipping it over and watching the water splash all over the floor! I, on the other hand, don't find it quite as amusing. Well, I did the first time she did it and now I'm ready for her to find some new tricks! :-)

In other news, Paprika has learned how to say DADA! She called out for Mr. Mustard (aka Dada) the other night and now does it on a regular basis! We are both so excited! At 8 months old, her vocab now includes: mama, doggie (usually she just says "DA" for doggie), and now dada. She also says "BA" for balloon and ball!

Tomorrow Paprika has her first swim lesson! Mr. Mustard and I are both taking her and we're so excited! She loves taking baths, so here's hoping that she loves swimming, too!

A Great Visit!

We hosted houseguests this week! My friend Kim came to visit with her beautiful daughter, Meredith. Paprika and Meredith are 6 days apart in age, so they have a lot in common! They arrived on Tuesday mid-day and just left. We had such a great time!


On Tuesday, we took the girls shopping on Lake Avenue, a fancy shopping district in town. We had a yummy lunch and caught up. Then we took the girls to the park and they got to swing together. Yesterday, we went for a long walk up to the mall, where I finally got some new shoes to fit my post-pregnancy feet (they're a full size larger than they were pre-pregnancy)!



Paprika really liked having a friend to play with! She is learning how to share, and how to interact with others. She stole Meredith's pacifier on a few occasions, which was pretty funny! A good time was had by all.

Four Things Quiz

I don't normally do this type of thing, but thought it was fun. Here are things you may not know about me:

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
Graphic Designer for The Gap and Old Navy
Assistant at a Major Hollywood Production Company (Think The Devil Wears Prada)
Summer Associate at a "Big Law" Law Firm
Assistant Editor on reality TV gems such as The Bachelor, Bachelorette, and High School Reunion!

B) Four places I have lived:
Indianapolis, IN
Bloomington, IN
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA

C) Four TV SHOWS I love to Watch:
Lost
American Idol
Battlestar Gallactica
Weeds

D) Four places I have been on vacation
All over Europe
Morocco
Aruba
St. Maartin

E) Four foods I like:
Fish, fish, and more fish (sushi and salmon especially)
Chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake
Thai Iced Tea
Avocados

F) Four places where I would rather be right now:
At the beach
At the park
Camping or Hiking
In bed!

G) Four Hobbies or Games I enjoy:
Reading to my little girl
Taking long walks
Researching/Learning
Talking to old friends

H) Top four moments of my life:
Getting Married
Giving Birth
Passing the Bar Exam Nine Months Pregnant
Waking up each morning to see my beautiful family

Relaxing Saturday

We've been having a great weekend so far- just relaxing and spending time at home. Jessica and Matt came up to see us this evening. The plan was to go to dinner in town. Well, 15 minutes after Jessica and Matt came over, Paprika fell asleep! So, that pretty much scrapped our dinner plans. We got take-out and had dinner here while Paprika napped. Three hours later, Jessica and Matt have gone home, and Paprika is still napping!

We have been taking Paprika to restaurants with us a lot more now. It's easier than it used to be because she can sit up in the highchair and is fascinated with everything going on in the restaurant. It's easier if we take her out when she's rested, but even when she's tired, she does great. It's been nice to be able to go out to dinner like we used to, even if it is just for a quick bite to eat. Now, we still miss going to movie theaters and I don't forsee that changing anytime soon. We watch a lot of movies at home now, and that's alright. We watched Marie Antoinette on dvd last night (great costumes, but otherwise pretty terrible).

I took these pictures of Paprika earlier today. All she wanted to do was check out the new, colorful doormat we just got. As hard as I tried, I could not get her to look up and smile at me. She was fascinated by the different stripes!

Paprika Just Said Doggie!!!!

In a very clear, very audible voice, Paprika just said "Doggie" for the very first time!!! She slapped the ground and said "doggie," to call Hauser over to her! It was realy amazing! I am so proud of her! It sounded so grown up- so advanced, not like babbling at all. Amazing! :-)

Pumpkin Head

Paprika took a long nap this morning and slept through storytime at the library. Oh well, maybe next week we will go. We have so much fun together during the daytime. We go to the park pretty much every day together and enjoy this beautiful, but windy, weather we're having. She is sleeping better at night now, which is a relief. I am wondering when she's going to get her two top teeth. It seems like she's been teething forever. Here she is in her favorite hat!

When it's time for me to stop taking pictures, she lets me know by grabbing the camera!

Happy 8 Months, Beautiful Girl!

Paprika turned 8 months old yesterday! She is now 30 inches long and weighs 24 pounds. She is a very happy and social baby- she loves meeting new people and going new places. She is a fast tummy crawler now. She loves to play and is excited to try new things. Quite the gourmet, her favorite finger foods are grilled salmon and avocado. She also loves to nibble on our burritos from Chipotle, if we'll let her. Most days she doesn't eat any solid food, though. She is still exclusively breastfed, unless Mr. Mustard and I need a break during dinner and then we'll let her try bites of our food.





















We are now cloth diapering almost 100% (except overnight), and that has been an easy transition for us. Things are so much easier now that we have our own washer and dryer!






















Paprika is such a joy and we are so lucky she is our little girl. She's growing up so fast I can barely believe it. She's now wearing 18 month clothes- where has my little baby gone? Paprika is so bright, healthy, and strong. She's my wonder-baby. I love her so much, it's unbelievable. Happy 8 Months, my beautiful girl!!!

Library Story Time

We've been keeping very busy lately. Paprika and I went to Story Time at the Library on Thursday. There were lots of other babies and little kids there, and Paprika got to hear a few really nice stories. Afterwards I took her to the park and she played on the swings. She loves swinging in the baby swings.

Our park that is within walking distance has two great baby swings, that are shaded by a big leafy tree. I have been taking her to the park at least once a day to go on the swings. She absolutely loves it! I usually try to take her in the morning, but she falls asleep on the way, so I end up coming home and laying her down for a nap. Then, we try again in the late afternoon and she can usually make it all the way to the park without falling asleep. The park is great and she will have even more fun there once she's running around, since it has great slides and places to climb.

We had a huge wind storm last week that knocked over my potted plant. Luckily, there is a wonderful gardening store about two blocks from us. It is a fantastic place, and I went there and bought some potting soil to repot it. Hopefully once things calm down, I can get going on doing some planting on our patio.

I also bought Paprika her highchair last week. So, now she can sit at the table with us while we eat! It's a great chair- it grows with her all the way to adulthood! Mr. Mustard's mom has been staying with us this weekend, and that has been really nice and helpful. We've been able to get a lot of things set up while she's been here. For example, yesterday, Mr. Mustard and I bought a mattress for the guest bedroom. So, now we can easily have guests come to stay with us!

We're Online Again!

We're back online. Horray! The cable guys came out yesterday afternoon and finally installed our internet. It was their fourth trip out to visit us because none of them could find the cable box. The guy yesterday still couldn't find it, so I went outside with Paprika on my hip and dug through the bushes until I found it myself! I must admit, it was pretty tough to find, but worth it! The cable guy said that they should hire me to find cable boxes, since even their expert wasn't able to find ours. I guess if being a laywer doesn't pan out, I may have a second career! ;-)






















Mr. Mustard sold our TV to our neighbors before we moved, so we don't have a television anymore. I'm missing that a little bit, but not too much. It's nice to have the peace and quiet without the distraction. I'm getting everything set up from the move, and there is so much in the garage still to unpack. But, we've been living without all that stuff for weeks, so it makes me wonder if we really need it all. I like our home uncluttered, and I don't want to unpack all those boxes, so I'm just leaving them down in the garage for now. I'll move stuff up as we need it, and if we still haven't moved it up in a year, then maybe that's a sign we really don't need it anymore.

















Paprika is growing up so fast, it's unbelievable. She is becoming so independent and wants to interact with everyone around her. Now when we go shopping, she really wants to sit all by herself in the front of the cart. I prefer to carry her in my Ergo, but she wants to sit by herself in the cart. It makes me kind of sad sometimes, but I know it's good that she's growing up. I just want her to stay my little baby forever.

Easter Pictures!

At The Easter Egg Hunt:

Meeting Up At The Neighbor's House:

Paprika Finds Her Egg (And Carefully Touches It With One Finger!):





















She Examines The Egg:





















And Then Takes A Bite (Too Bad It's Made of Plastic!):






















Maybe If She Bites Down Hard Enough Something Will Happen? No Such Luck!:

Paprika Checks Out Her Easter Basket:


















Having Fun At TGI Friday's!:

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! So relaxing and nice. On Friday, Paprika and I went to the Easter Egg Hunt with our neighbors. Paprika zeroed in on one egg and was fascinated by it. She wanted to examine it and chomp on it. She wore her new Easter dress given to her by Ann and got so many compliments. She looked beautiful in it! We met all of our new neighbors and they were all so welcoming. It was really great!

Yesterday we did some more setting up around the house, ate at Chipotle, and took Paprika for a walk up to our local park. She played on the swingset, and then Mr. Mustard took her for a few rides down the slide. It was her very first time on the slide and she loved it! Afterwards we went to the library, which is right inside the park, and we read her some stories from some baby books. She loves being read to, and she is so interested in looking at the pages and following along.

This morning the Easter Bunny left Paprika her very own Easter Basket! Paprika, surprisingly, was really interested in all of the goodies the Easter Bunny left for her. She got two Easter dresses, as well as some new pacifiers and some finger food treats. She was so excited to unpack the basket- it was really cute!

After she finished going through her Easter basket, we all went to church for Easter Sunday. Paprika has discovered her voice, and she is really vocal. She wanted to talk, talk, talk for the whole sermon and loudly, too! We were up in the balcony, so she wasn't too distracting for everyone else, luckily. Then we came home and decided to have a day of fun together as a family. We went to TGI Friday's and had a late lunch, and then went to SpeedZone, which is a go-cart racing/mini-golf/video game arcade. We played a round of mini golf, while I had Paprika strapped in the Ergo. Mr. Mustard and I tied (he graciously gave me a one point handicap per round, since I was carrying Paprika).

A good day was had by all! It was nice to relax a little bit this weekend, since the past month has been consumed with packing and moving. We still have so much to do, but it was really nice to take a break for once.

She's Mobile!

Here is a quick video of Paprika crawling! Click twice on the arrow to watch. :-)

Handsome Hound!

Does he even know how beautiful he is? :-)

Social Butterfly

Paprika and I have met so many people in the past few days just from walking around the neighborhood. There are lots of moms and babies near us! We met a really nice mom and her 10 month old son who live up the street from us, and they invited us to the park yesterday and to the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt on Friday. We also met our neighbor across the street, who has an 8 month old daughter. Then today I met up with a mom's group at the local park, and Paprika got to interact with a bunch of babies her age! It was a lot of fun, and now she's so tuckered out she's taking a nap!

There are so many wonderful things for moms and babies in Pasadena- it's really wonderful! We are getting out and about- and our social calendar is already full. We are having a lot of fun, and it's so nice connecting with other moms. It's like finally getting to breathe fresh air- things are so much better up here for us.

We're slowly unpacking still--there are so many boxes to go through yet, and I'm not in a huge rush to unpack. I try to do one big thing a day, and I figure eventually it will all be unpacked and organized. :-)

Day At The Park

We have been eating up this gorgeous weather! Paprika and I went on two walks today around our neighborhood and also made a trip to our local park. We met some other moms and babies at the park and had a great time. Paprika played in the baby swing, and then sat for her very first time in the grass! She loved running the blades of grass through her fingers and feeling the warm sun on her face.

7 1/2 Months

Paprika's two top teeth are starting to poke through. Her favorite thing to say is "mama" still, although sometimes she calls me "meemee." I think that's because I call myself "mommy" around her, so she hears and says mama and meemee interchangeably for me. She calls Mr. Mustard "Ba!" for dad.

She is able to crawl across the floor on her stomach, but doesn't quite get her tummy off the floor yet. She loves to touch everything, but does so very carefully by placing her index finger out and lightly touching it. Her favorite thing to touch right now is Mr. Mustard's nose! She is so careful and delicate when she touches things, it's really adorable.

She loves playing with balloons and gets really excited when she sees one. She saw a bunch of balloons at the grocery store last week and got so excited and started saying "babababa" for balloon. So, I bought a pretty sparkly one for her to bring home. I realized once we got home that it said "Happy Birthday Princess!" Ooops! Well, she doesn't mind and still likes to play with it anyway.

She is sleeping really well and basically tells us when she's ready to go to bed- usually around 9 o'clock at night. She wakes up usually once per night around midnight (before I go to sleep) and then sleeps until 7:30. It's wonderful.

I weighed Paprika this morning and she is now 22 pounds of pure love. She is really strong and is able to stay on her stomach for hours at a time. She has started to try to pull up on the furniture and has no fear of anything yet!

I am switching over to cloth diapers now that we have our own washer and dryer. I got my first batch in the mail on Friday and they are great-so soft and cozy, and good for the environment, too!

So Long, Farewell!

We officially moved out of our old apartment in Beverlywood yesterday! It was a very full day- Mr. Mustard rented a truck and we loaded, packed, and cleaned all day. Paprika was so well-behaved- we managed to do a lot of work and keep her entertained at the same time. One of our neighbors, Michelle, came and played with her for a few minutes while I helped Mr. Mustard move the couch and some of the big stuff. Then we drove up to Pasadena and unloaded the truck after Paprika went to sleep for the night. Now it's time to start unpacking!