Top Chef

I know I know. It's been almost a week since I've blogged. Veda and I returned from Iowa yesterday and well, I've just been too busy - and tired. We were up early this morning as Veda is still on Iowa time and thinks that 6 is the new 8. We ended up turning on cartoons and putting her on the floor at the end of our bed while we went back to sleep. I almost let lazy Saturday get by without another entry but Todd provided me with some content. We went to the farmer's market in Calabasas this morning to pick up some fresh produce to make Veda baby food. We picked up butternut squash, carrots, pears, avacados, and some other goodies for mom and dad. Here's Todd trying out our new handmixer. The homemade cooked carrots taste ten times better then the packaged Gerber baby food and the bonus is that we're saving $$ too;)

Merry Xmas again...

I'm travelling which means I'm having difficulty keeping up with my blogging responsibilities! I'm in KC and Veda is with Todd's parents in Clear Lake. Great Grandma U sent me a note this morning and said she talked to Veda on the phone - she was cooing and laughing and having a great time. I was just happy to hear she slept through the night and Gary and Diane weren't up all night;) Here's a pic of Veda with her new favorite stuffed animal - a penguin she got for xmas from her cousins Garrit and Rachel;) She likes to hold on to it's wings (is that what they're called)?

We had a hectic weekend in Iowa City getting all packed up to go our separate ways. My parents took turns with her on Sat night while they each took turns attending a neighborhood get together. All so I could go to a holiday party of my own. A group of my friends have been getting together for the last eight years to celebrate the holidays together. I haven't been able to attend the last two years because of geography. So I suprised the group on Sat and had a very good time reconnecting with old friends! Here's a pic of the group at dinner.

Last night after a dinner at my hotel I jumped in the car and drove 30 minutes to see our friends Joe and Heather in Olathe, KS. They have a 15 month old that we hadn't met so I was very happy to meet little Ryan. He's super cute and boy - seeing him made me miss sweet Veda!!!

Brrrr....

Veda and I are headed to the Midwest tomorrow. She is going to spend some time with her grandparents on both sides while I am in Kansas City at a conference and travelling in Iowa to meet with clients. I'm checking the weather and I've forgotten what it feels like to have temps less than freezing. What to pack? Hopefully Veda doesn't get cabin fever. She enjoys our daily walks outside around the neighborhood.

Right now she is laying on the floor watching cartoons. Yes - she is watching cartoons. Her eyes are glued to the TV and she is laughing. I knew I'd be watching Dora the Explorer some day but definately not this soon. (EC this is your fault I got her started on this;).

I don't have any fresh pics to share today so here's another one from our Arizona weekend... watching football.

Veda's report card...

This is Veda having a grand time at Dr. Kundell's office before her shots;) Hey - everyone wants to play with me - she kept grabbing for the stethoscope and cooing. I was armed with a bottle of breastmilk that I stuck in her mouth as soon as the shots were over - worked like a charm.

I asked the Dr. to check her right ear because she's been pulling on it. He said her ears look great and that she probably just figured out it was there and it amuses her. He said little boys play with their wee wees and little girls play with their ears - ah ha;)

She weighed in at 16.09 lbs. The nurse said that her tiara should be 17 inches in diameter - I thought that was cute. She is 90% height (26.25 inches), 80% head, and 70% weight.

Veda meets Lucas

While in Arizona this weekend we got together with my college roommate, her husband and 10 month old. We hadn't met Lucas yet - he is a super cutie. He was more interested in Veda than she was in him - but she also didn't notice the dogs sniffing her either. All she cared about was Lucas' exersaucer.

Sausage Fest

Sausage anyone? Todd and I gave Kel and Chris a Kitchen Aide Mixer for their wedding last year. Chris is from Wisconsin. Chris likes sausage - a lot. For Xmas we bought him the meat grinder and sausage stuffer attachements for the mixer. Todd and Chris spent all morning researching sausage recipies. They drove all over town to get the ingrediants for Garlic and Cheese, Sundried Tomato, and Spicy Jalapeno sausage. Most important, they had to get the casings from a specialty store - have you ever seen pig intestines? Doesn't really make me eager to eat one of these babies. The boys are pumped because the Cardinals won so let the fest begin.

Go Mom - Run Fast

Auntie Kel made Veda this cute little shirt as a suprise for me when I finished the Phoenix - rock 'n roll - half marathon this morning. It says - Go Mom - and Run Fast on the back. So cute. I'm exhausted with a capital E. I ran it in 2 hours and 14 minutes! Hooray! Now recovery time.

Road trip

We are riding along on our way to Arizona. I'm in the back seat computing, Todd is driving and Veda is napping. Friday afternoon + LA Highways = massive traffic. There are seven lanes on the particular stretch of the 210 that we are currently driving on and every lane is packed. We knew it would be bad but we figured it would be better to get to AZ tonight rather than waste half our day driving tomorrow. It's interesting how claustrophobic I feel driving on the Interstate when I'm back home in Iowa - two lanes just seems so restrictive.

Anyway - I don't have any good pics to post so here are some pictures I took of our living room the other day. Every time I walk accross the room I have to zig zag to avoid baby obstacles - they are everywhere. And now that our home is off the market I don't fell the need or desire to put everything away every day.

Does is come with batteries?

Another detail they don't outline in the parent handbook. You will need a never ending supply of batteries. Crib Mobile, monitor, play mat attachments, exersauser, toy drum, sing-a-long worm, carseat mirror, breastpump travel attachment, twilight ladybug, door jumper, bouncy seat... I'm sure I forgot a few. I can't believe how much I've spent on batteries! Good news is that my friend who works for Nestle hooked me up with half-priced Good Start formula - woo hoo!

Buddy's Dinner...

Pass the sun tanning oil...

It's 75 degrees in Camarillo right now - with an expected high of 79. If you haven't booked tickets to come visit us then I don't know what's wrong with you! I think Iowa was hit with a snow storm today - so sad. I have to tell you that I get it now - I get why people spend a ridiculous amount of money to live in California. It is 100% the weather.

I'm running a 1/2 marathon in Arizona next weekend. Ok - it's done - I said it. I didn't want to share this until I was sure I was going to go through with it. I've been traning hard and I'm ready to run and I'm excited! I wouldn't have been able to get in shape if it weren't for the great weather that allows me run with Veda in her jogging stroller.

I'm waiting for the pool water to warm up a bit and then I'll take Veda for her first swim - it's really more about showing off her cute swimsuits though - ha ha!

Here's a pic of Veda in her latest sleeping position. She loves her stomach!

Roosters in LA?

Yesterday we spent the day with our friends Christina & Jon (and their two new little twins - Alex and Jacob). Kathy and Christina spent the afternoon at the spa while Jon and I watched football, drank beer and ate wings...at least that was the plan. The boys + Veda had different plans for us. Needless to say, there was lots of crying and very little beer drinking. By the time Christina & Kathy got home, they were all smiles (because we had just fed them), so they assumed we had a very easy 3 hrs...After eating dinner, it had been a long day already, so we ended up crashing at their place for the night and trying to watch a movie (which most of us fell asleep about 5 min. into it).

This morning at about 5:00am we were awaken by a rooster. You heard it right. Our friends live in Los Angeles and their neighbors have a rooster in their back yard. They don't live on a farm, they don't live in the country, they live IN LA. Next time I'm bringing my BB gun...

Slippery little sucker...

Every time I take Veda out of her baby bath I'm reminded that Aunt Kelly once described a Dophin as feeling like a wet hot dog. I think Veda feels like a watermelon rolled in Oil. I'm terrified that she's going to slip out of my hands one of these days - especially as she gets heavier!

By the way - some of you were wondering about our formula dilemma. We solved it. I switched to Good Start and started her on two ounces at a time - followed by 4 ounces of breastmilk. She took it just fine so after a few days of that I switched to whole bottles. So now I just throw a bottle of formula in the mix when I'm not producing enough breastmilk to keep her satisfied;) My Aunt Diane sent me this great baby food cookbook and we will start making up our own carrots, apples, and avacados in just a couple of weeks - she's growing up so fast!

She's starting to sit up on her own too! Only for a little bit before she falls on her face;)

The tickets are booked!

Cross you fingers that the dollar grows stronger against the yen. We are headed to Japan in a couple months to see my brother and we would like to be able to buy you all gifts;) My parents are flying out to stay with Veda for the week as our Christmas present.

Glammer Girl...

See that white spot on her head? Well it's actually a very small piece of glitter - it just looks bigger in the photo. It has been stuck on her head for at least two weeks now. No matter how hard we scrub her head at bath time we can not get it off. Todd even scraped away part of her skin trying to remove it. I guess it's just meant to be - she's our shining star;) I know - I'm a dork.

Tastes like peaches and cream - yum.

Now that I've figured out how to load video - here's another funny one. I promise I won't overdo it though - I know you all don't have high speed;)

Football Sunday...

Veda was propped up in the corner of the couch this morning watching football with Dad...clearly the Dolphins vs. Ravens was not exciting enough for her (me neither...)

Dad leaves in 10 min for Scottsdale to go to the Fiesta Bowl on Monday...so mom and Veda are flying solo.

Mmmm Rice

Coming off a rough day yesterday with formula, we decided to give the Rice cereal a shot. Most of it went down the front of her bib as her tongue still likes to push everything out of her mouth. She still needs quite a bit of practice before we get this eating thing down. In the mean time, we will enjoy the comedy of feeding her....