Author Archives: lmccullough

Peek-A-Boo!

Two weeks ago, we went out to a restaurant with tablecloths. (We’d forgotten it was such a ‘fancy’ place. We hadn’t been since before Alexandra was born.) At the end of the meal, Alex made up her own game, as you can see below.

Also, we posted all the pictures from last month’s photo shoot on Shutterfly. You should be able to order prints directly or you can just let us know which ones you’d like (they now have numbers, which makes it way easier than giving timecodes).

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZsmjNo3buGrnQ

Enjoy the video!

Staycation, all we ever wanted…

As you know, Ian is currently between consulting gigs. Which means we’ve essentially had a family staycation for the past four weeks. We’ve been having lots of fun with our (not so little anymore!) Alexandra. With many pictures to share, I’ll try to post more often but not overwhelm you all with too much cuteness at once.

We're a little scared that she did this without prompting. (At Jack's with Grandpa, May 15th)

We’re a little scared that she did this without prompting. (At Jack’s with Grandpa, May 15th)

Swim class with Mommy! (May 18th)

Swim class with Mommy! (May 18th)

Makers Fair with Daddy. (May 18th)

Makers Fair with Daddy. (May 18th)

The instant when Alex completely loses it upon seeing Jason in the giant cardboard robot suit. (May 18th)

The instant when Alex completely loses it upon seeing Jason in the giant cardboard robot suit. (May 18th)

Cardboard fingers are tasty! (May 19th)

Cardboard fingers are fun…and tasty! (May 19th)

Tunnel Day at Gymboree. (May 24th)

Tunnel Day at Gymboree. (May 24th)

Now YOU pat the bunny! (At the humane society, May 26th)

Now YOU pat the bunny! (At the humane society, May 26th)

These socks were made for walking

As you know, Alex took her first step a few weeks ago. Yesterday, she progressed to actual walking…we were at Gymboree and she was following the bubbles. (She loves bubbles *almost* as much as she loves dogs.) Ian was able to capture her new skillz on video today:

DOG!

Well, it’s official, though not all that surprising…Alexandra’s first word was “dog.” We were at the dog park on Monday (that’s May 27th, for those of you keeping track) and she said the full word after some prompting. “Dada” and “mama” have been around for a while, too, but we think “dog” counts as the first word since it’s all the different sounds coming together.

We don’t have video of the first word, so we hope these pictures keep you entertained in the meantime:

Cutie patoey! (May 15th)

Cutey-patootie! (May 15th)

We joined Gymboree. (May 14th)

We joined Gymboree. (May 14th)

BUBBLES! (May 14th)

BUBBLES! Hopefully the resolution is good enough for you to note the bubble on her nose. (May 14th)

Dinner out with her buddy, Myles. At Jack's, of course. (May 14th)

Dinner out with her buddy Myles. At Jack’s, of course. (May 14th)

Chillin' at Target. (May 14th)

Chillin’ at Target. (May 14th)

Hanging with Teacher Nicole at music class. (May 16th)

Hanging with Teacher Nicole at music class. (May 16th)

Playing the guitar with Daddy. (May 5th)

Playing the guitar with Daddy. (May 5th)

 

“Ears are not for eating”

This is one of those phrases that I never would have imagined I’d say, but having a baby changes all the rules. Alexandra views Bo as her personal jungle gym and decided that soft ears might be tasty. Thankfully, as previously stated, Bo is INCREDIBLY patient with her and didn’t even blink at this.

In other news, we just got our photos back from a family photo shoot on May 5th. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, Alexandra is wearing her authentic-from-Mexico-thanks-to-Aunt-Sarah dress (plus another outfit to reflect her Scottish heritage). We are hugely thankful to Rosaura Sandoval for the great pictures. (Rosaura was also my voice instructor who helped me record the wedding song for Ian, so she’s been present for some great family memories.) Please enjoy the link…not sure how long she’ll be able to keep it up, so watch now! Plus, if there’s a photo you REALLY want, please let us know as we’re meeting with her next week to determine which images to buy.

http://www.rosaurasandoval.com/slideshow/mcculloughfamily2013/

Happy Mother’s Day

Alexandra, Ian, Melissa (Alex’s godmother) and I had a wonderful time celebrating our first Mother’s Day at the San Francisco Zoo. Alex’s two favorites were the lions and the goats. (For the record, these were two different exhibits.) My favorite was seeing the new tiger cub…and spending the day with some of my favorite people.

We saw a bear at the zoo!

We saw a bear at the zoo!

At the bear exhibit.

Actually at the bear exhibit.

Happy mommy and baby (with mommy and baby tiger in the background).

Happy mommy and baby (with mommy and baby tiger in the background).

Oooh! Giraffe!

Oooh! Giraffe!

Yay for the zoo!

Yay for the zoo!

That’s One Small Step for Alex…

…one giant leap for Bugsy (the cat) as he runs away.

We’re so excited to tell you Alexandra took her first step on Thursday! While she’s not fully walking (yet), she’s growing up so fast!

Making progress on finger food. Her favorite so far is chicken tikka masala. (May 12th)

Making progress on finger food. Her favorite so far is the chickpeas from my chicken tikka masala. (May 7th)

Swim class with Daddy. (May 12th)

Swim class with Daddy. (May 4th)

Hanging out with her canine companion. (April )

Hanging out with her canine companion. (May 3rd)

Had to include this shot of her (literally) crazy excited expression. (May 3rd)

Had to include this shot of her (literally) crazy excited expression. (May 3rd)

 

 

 

Multimedia Munchkin

Hello there! I’m pleased to announced that the plumbing issues have been resolved…and as soon as we get a new bathroom floor installed, we’ll tell you the whole story of the constant joys of home ownership.

In the meantime, here’s a videos of Miss Ally Marie for you to enjoy. After all, who needs music to dance?

More Milestones (and the latest bear pic)

Though I find it difficult to believe, Alexandra is now nine months old (and has been for several days now). She’s officially been outside longer than she was inside! Time does fly when you’re sleep deprived having fun.

Most importantly, she continues to be in good health overall (though, ironically, I think she caught a cold at the doctor’s office). The stats from her nine-month appointment:

  • Length: 2’4″ and 63rd percentile … I actually think she’s taller than this, but it’s hard to get babies to straighten out to get accurate measurements.
  • Weight: 22 lb, 12.5 oz and 96th percentile … and before anyone out there worries, she’s fine and the doctor isn’t worried about her weight. In fact, Dr. Jeanne’s comment was that most of the weight is probably in her head, since …
  • Head Circumference: 47.5 cm and literally off the charts (since 100th percentile doesn’t really exist) … I repeat my assertion that she is very smart, though the compliments she receives daily may also be inflating her head. (Seriously, whenever we go out, someone comments on how beautiful she is. Usually with the intro line of “those eyes!”)
"I'm nine months old now!"  Editor's note: And getting so tall!

“I’m nine months old now!”

Alexandra's first bear picture. (August 19th)

Alexandra’s first bear picture, back when the bear looked big. (August 19th)

In other Alex news, we’re also cleared to start finger foods, which is off to a slow start. However, Bo seems to be enjoying this latest turn of events.

And, in family news, we get to fix the plumbing in the master bath AND replace part of the main line! Yay for home ownership! (To be clear, by “we,” I mean “the people we’re hiring to take care of it.” Just in case you hallucinated for a second and thought we’d try to do it ourselves or something equally crazy.)

Not sure about this finger food stuff. (April 23rd)

Not sure about this finger food stuff. (April 23rd)

Look! A picture of both of us! (At the park on April 11th)

Look! A picture of both of us! (At the park on April 11th)

Fishy! Fishy!! FISHY!!!

Last week, Alexandra visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium for the first time. She LOVED it. Her entourage included me, my parents and her godmother, Melissa. We were joined by Linda, her daughter Chris, and Chris’ two kids. Much fun was had by all. Alex’s favorite part was, somewhat ironically, a bird. (There’s an Aviary exhibit as part of the “shoreline.”) Also topping the list of favorites were the sea otters, sea horses, jellyfish and the Open Sea feeding, though we don’t have pictures of those to share. It appears she may have inherited my love of animals. I’m not just projecting…I have the video to prove it!


We now need to find a time to take her to the zoo. I foresee a lot of giggling on that trip. And perhaps another large stuffed animal.

 

Hello there! I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium! (And the very cool infant/toddler section pictured here.)

Hello there! I love the Monterey Bay Aquarium! (And the very cool infant/toddler section pictured here.)

Ooooh! Can I eat that? (Editor's note...she would have enjoyed the Touch Pool much more if it were a Taste Pool.)

Ooooh! Can I eat that?
(Editor’s note…she would have enjoyed the Touch Pool much more if it were a Taste Pool.)

Whoa...pretty fishies!

Whoa…pretty fishies!

Hi Mr. Penguin! I'm Alex! (With her godmother, Melissa.)

Hi, Mr. Penguin! I’m Alex! (With her godmother, Melissa.)

Thanks, Grandpa! I love my turtle!

Thanks, Grandpa! I love my turtle!

It doesn't get much cuter than this.

It doesn’t get much cuter than this.