I'm slowly working on updates...keep checking back for links to new posts.
Sadie at 6 months
Conference Weekend

Frightening, but fascinating, right?

Sadie at Six Months

We can't believe that our little Sadie is already six months old!! She is learning so many new things every day and we both look forward to getting home from work to see what new tricks she has to share.

At our appointment earlier today the doctor was very pleased. She's finally getting over her reflux issues (thank goodness for a lot less spit up...my laundry piles up much more slowly) and subsequent trouble with weight gain. Her stats are:

Weight: 14lb 12 oz (25th percentile)
Height: 26 inches (75th percentile)
Cuteness: 200th percentile

At six months Sadie:
- rolls over the minute you set her down
- is an expert at blowing bubbles
- can sit up like a pro
- gives Rachael the best smiles when she gets here in the morning
- won't let mom out of her sight once I get home in the evening
- absolutely loves her bath time
- enjoys being out and about in her city
- loves watching her Baby Einstein videos (when I try to flip back to my shows she lets me know that she is less than pleased with it)
- likes to swing at the park
- loves when people sing to her



For her six month birthday we let her try a little rice cereal. She thought she was hot stuff eating like all the big people and wanted to help!



But then she realized that the rice cereal wasn't nearly as good as all the tasty stuff mom and dad eat in front her!



Happy 1/2 birthday Sadie Bear! We love you!

Conference Weekend

Sadie loved her some General Conference (a semi-annual conference of our church) this weekend. She was just mesmerized by Elder Eyring!

Someone had some fun in the Puerto Rican sun and can't wait to tell you all about it!

Happy St. Patrick's Day
(and happy birthday grandpa)!
Forget smiling for the camera, this pacifier is so much more entertaining

Daddy just loves this picture of me...

Ready to hit the pubs!

Feliz Cumplemeses!

Sadie hit her four-month mark on Saturday and my, oh my, did she celebrate. To start off her big day, she woke up to a rousing rendition of 'Feliz Cumplemeses.' After a morning of play, she took a two hour fifteen minute nap in her crib (she's not a long napper, anything more than 45 minutes is a miracle) before she and her friend Wyatt headed down to check out Momofuku Milk Bar in the East Village (and maybe Veniero's too). She and Wyatt requested that we stop by Babies R Us to pick up a few baby essentials - Sadie tried to persuade me to buy her a new toy, but we settled on a Space Saver High Chair instead.

Sadie headed home to hang out with mom and dad for the night. She requested an evening of chilling in her new high chair, pizza (flavored milk that is) and of course the treats she brought back from Veniero's.

1 'raspberry cheesecake...mmm'

2 'thanks mom and dad, it looks delicious'

3 practicing blowing out the candles

1 2 3

this is what happened when we took her little cheesecake away...

that's better!

Yesterday we took her to the doctor to check in on her four month stats:

Height: 25 inches (75th percentile)

Weight: 11 lb 14 oz (10th percentile)

She's very tall and thin...wonder where she gets that from? A clean bill of health for our little bearsy!

(Note: She got a few more shots and it just broke my heart more than last time...I wanted to take her to ice cream to make it all better...maybe when she gets her one year shots!)

Just read an article on the 5 most marketable and the 5 least marketable degrees of 2009. What was among the least marketable?

Advertising
"As media outlets sink and retail markets contract, they're taking advertisers with them. The global communications strategy firm ZenithOptimedia estimates that ad spending in North America will fall 5.7 percent in 2009, meaning more unpaid internships and fewer entry-level positions.
"With layoffs expected in three of the largest ad holding companies -- Interpublic, Omnicom and WPP -- 2009 grads will have to fight for their first jobs."

Thank goodness I entered the industry two and a half years ago!

She's Growing Up

And we just love her!

The proud new owner...

...of a Snuggie. I have been eyeing these for a while now. I admit the first time I saw the infomercial, I thought it was kind of stupid. But then one day, in the wee hours of the morning I was up cuddling a cute little baby. It was chilly inside and even chillier outside and I thought, "Those people were really onto something, I could really use one of those Snuggies!" Apparently the rest of the world agreed...they were impossible to find and on major back order via the internet. Then a package arrived at the office today. I can't wait to get home, put on shorts and a t-shirt (so that I'm extra cold), turn on The Biggest Loser (love that show), and cuddle my favorite little princess to sleep!

Thanks Mom for an early Valentine's present!

To a tea...

I was just cleaning out my purse and found a Dove Promise message from a chocolate I ate over Christmas break.

"Remind yourself that it's okay not to be perfect."

That's not at all fitting for a mild and easy-going personality like mine...ha!

The Good List

When I was in the MTC (training center for missionaries...I was there for two months prior to going down to Argentina), I met a girl who kept a notebook that she titled 'The Good List.' Everyday she wrote down a handful of reasons to smile. It was a great way to accentuate the positive and remember the good things, especially on the tougher days.

This morning on the subway, I was reading a little section in 'Parenting' titled 'happiness handbook.' One of the suggestions was to 'remember the good things.' I love being able to look back at the list I made while in the MTC and Argentina and decided to start it up again. Every week I will post 'the good list' so I can remember just how good life is and capture these moments that are floating by all too fast!

'The Good List' 2.2.2009

• the return of 24 and more importantly, itunes so that we can download and watch it when we miss it
• family hugs!
• the smell of a tasty roast as you walk in the door from church
• watching Sadie discover her little voice
• brand new towels
• catching up with friends
• freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
• finishing a fantastic (if I do say so myself) presentation

Mi Nena

I'm working on lots of updates and hope to post them all at once. In the meantime, here are some pictures to appease the grandparents.

Sadie got her first cold on the 15th. It was so sad but she was still just adorable!

My NY baby!

She's a pro at tummy-time (and drooling too)!

Got milk?

Sadie came to my office at about 5:30pm so that we could go straight to meet Brett for dinner. My co-worker's 11-year-old son had been at work for the afternoon and when he saw me feeding Sadie a bottle he said, "Oh, so she drinks formula? Sometimes babies drink human milk. But they definitely can't drink cows milk when they're babies." I replied, "No, this is human milk." To which he questioned, "How did you get that human milk?" Knowing my co-worker and that he is very open with his kids I said, "I pumped the milk out." He looked back at me with a cute smirk and said, "Oh, so you milked yourself!" Touché!

On this day...

• Sadie is hanging out with her nanny, Rachael
• Kris is back at work
• our first African American president takes the oath of office

Big day for us!

We miss you Daddy!

Sadie and I came out to California 6 days early to spend some extra time with grandma, grandpa, uncles, ti, Aunt Katherine, Nicholas and Katya.  We miss Daddy and can't wait to see him Tuesday night!

Bearsy at 2 months

I can't believe my little bearsy is 2 months old...we went to the doctor today...

Height: 23 inches

Weight: 9 lb

Head Circumference: 39 cm

She is getting more fun by the day.  She smiles, coos, rolls from front to back and brings us so much joy.  Happy two month birthday Bearsy!

We get Brett back!

Brett has been studying for the CFA Level 1 for the past four months. Ever since Sadie made her appearance, she has been helping him out with the studying – well, actually, she tried to get into it, but the material just put her to sleep (I can't say that I blame her).
Today is the big day for Brett – six hours of CFA and then he’s free (well free from studying at least but still slave to work and tithing settlement for the next few weeks). We’re rooting for him today and can’t wait to see him when it’s all over at 5pm. (Note: Sadie rooted for him by sleeping in until I woke her up at 8:30…what a champ!)

Good luck Daddy, we’re so proud of you!

Miracle on 34th Street

That's right...our little miracle celebrated her first Thanksgiving on 34th Street. We went to my (Kris') office for a breakfast buffet and prime window viewing of the parade. Sadie was a little angel and though we're not too sure she caught much of the parade, she sure seemed to enjoy the thrill of it all. Brett and I loved it - I remember watching the parade as a kid and wondering who was lucky enough to be in the windows along the parade route. Who knew I would be so lucky?

Our first Thanksgiving as a family of three.




Hanging out by the window as Buzz Lightyear flew by.




Buzz was cool, but Kermit put her right to sleep.



Some other shots of the parade. Note that we were right in front of the finishing line at Macy's so we got to see all the performances as well as hear Matt, Meredith and Al over the loadspeaker.






In the afternoon we enjoyed a fabulous dinner with friends.

This Thanksgiving we're especially grateful for our beautiful little girl and the joy and new perspective she brings to us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Meeting an Apostle

Today we were privileged to attend a special Stake Conference for the Manhattan Stake where Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (for those unfamiliar with the LDS church, we have a prophet at the head of the church and twelve apostles just as in the times of Christ. Elder Holland is one of the twelve apostles of our day.) spoke to us. His words were so uplifting, especially in such a tumultuous time. His was a message of great hope and as I heard him and watched him interact with the individual members, I knew he was an apostle of the Lord.

We decided to stick around and meet Elder Holland. We were toward the back of the line, so it took a while, but it was well worth the wait. He was so kind and personal. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Elder Holland: "Thank you for sticking around so long. Who is this?"
Kris: "This is Sadie."
Elder Holland: "Well, isn't she just cuter than a koala bear! How old is she?"
Brett: "Seven weeks."
Elder Holland: (directed at me) "And you're already out and about?!?!"
Kris: "Well we had to come meet Elder Holland."
Brett: "You are the first apostle Sadie has met."
Elder Holland: (laughs)
Kris: "Yes, you made her calendar of firsts!"

So there you have it - as spoken by an apostle of the Lord...Sadie is cuter than a koala bear and I'm doing pretty good if Elder Holland was impressed that I was out and about!

Note: we took this picture right when we got home to document her 'bear suit' that triggered the comment