warning: will climb anything

so, it looks like we gave birth to a climber (and a percher, see above). she will attempt to climb anything...chairs, stairs, couches, beds, cupboards, walls...you name it. the other day, she was in our bedroom when zero stepped out for a matter of seconds and came back to the picture below. she had climbed the bed, grabbed mom's book of the bedside table and sat down next to harley to give her some pets and do a little light reading. how cute is that?!
so yes, she spends much time now toddling off to our bedroom, and then you hear, "grunt, grunt, grunt" as she climbs up onto the bed. and so far, only one spill. but yikes, my heart does race as i flutter around behind her, arms outstretched, in fear that she might fall. i try to keep smiling because i don't want her to be fearful, but i can't help but cringe sometimes as i watch her grunting her way to the top of the bed. our bed is pretty high, i mean, it would be like you and i climbing something that came up to our necks. not easy!

she also has a toddler chair that her friend Barbara made for her (along with her daughter Katherine) which molly loves to climb, or at least attempt to climb. she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it yet. but with our assistance she gets up to the top and sits back with a look of triumph.

our little climber! we've got some fun times (and possibly some big bruises) ahead!

argh, happy holidays, matey!

happy holidays from the may/feeney clan! what a wonderful (and white) christmas we had this year! we didn't have any travel plans, no one was coming to visit, so we hunkered down and enjoyed some delicious food, more snow than portland has seen in 40 years, and the best company anyone could ask for!
xmas eve morning we got all dressed up and went to Sarah and Scott's for xmas brunch. it was a very snowy morning, so we had to do some extra bundling, load molly into the backpack (care of the Hare's, thanks you guys!) and we made our way through the winter wonderland! molly looked beautiful in her dress and stripy tights, and had a lot of fun playing with Audrey, Sarah's niece.

because of all the snow, we didn't really get going on the xmas decorating until xmas eve. i went into downtown St. Johns and found a tree for us (actually, the nice man on the lot lopped off the top of much taller tree, so that we could have a tiny one to fit into our tiny home). i dragged it back and zero prepped if for the tree stand. molly helped me get out the xmas decorations and start setting up!


zero and i went very light on the prezzies for molly, but there were still mountains of them by xmas morning! here is what it looked like after Santa had come by...check out all those presents tucked behind the tree!
and here is molly xmas morning, seeing the tree decorated for the first time and getting her stocking! she was fascinated by the ornaments, but was also very gentle with them. it was really the cow bell that she liked the most, which i figured and purposefully stuck on the bottom for her to play with.

and then it was time for the present extravaganza, and here is a little slideshow of that! we started with stockings for her and Harley (yay, molly got her own set of keys - maybe mine won't get lost so often!) and then dove into the wrapped presents from friends and family. people were so generous and lovely. she got balls, and books, and booties, and beads, and baby dolls! in fact, the baby doll was my old baby doll, 'Amy' that my mom had cleaned up and sent for molly - that brought a tear to my eye!

she also got many new clothes and her own camera! shakers and puzzles and bath toys too! we were opening presents all day long (notice the many different outfits throughout the slideshow). and the last present she opened, right before bed, was the first present she got actually, from her Aunt Erin and cousins Sarah, New Year and Ryan.

other fun things we did that day, we had a xmas bath and played with our new bath toy. check out that xmas spirit diaper!
we also watched the snow fall, and in this shot you can kind of see it. the flakes were as big as silver dollars, and it was beautiful.
and we tried to take another family xmas picture, much like the one we did last year. check out the tiny tree and tiny baby, all bundled up in her daddy's arms. but for this year's shot, we had a mover! so a couple of the shots were just of her blazing through. our favorite blurry molly shot is below!
but in the end, we got one that worked!

we made up a big dinner (thanksgiving, part deux) and had an impromptu potluck dinner with our wonderful neighbors (who made fresh raviolis - yum!). and so we bundled up the miss again (in her xmas dress, xmas booties, and pixie hat!) and headed next door.
it really was a spectacular day. from our family to yours, happy holidays and a merry new year to you all!

molly the pixie girl

our wonderful neighbor Rachel (who made the super awesome diapers i mentioned a while back) heard our tale of woe that it was hard to find hats to fit our beautiful daughter's awesome head and she did something about it. she made her two of the cutest hats you have ever seen! she went to the goodwill, found some old 100% wool sweaters and turned them into amazing and adorable hats! and perfect timing, what with all the cold snow! here are some pictures highlighting both!


the first is a cozy brown and pink hat with antenna. it fits molly and keeps her ears all cozy, not to mention the cuteness factor. everybody say "anh, how cute!".



and the second one is the pixie hat, with pointy top and flower. plus the tie around the chin to help keep it on. and if that's not sweet enough, i found out the buttons on the flower are antique buttons from Rachel's grandmother. so sweet and generous!

we love molly's new hats! and we so appreciate them right now with the cold weather. thank you Rachel!

snowy, snow, snow!

last sunday, you may remember, we got some snow here in p-town. i was a little sad because i had to go work and didn't get to stay home with the family and play in the snow. throughout the week we got snow here and there, but alas, no snow days for jen. but wahoo, yesterday - my day off - we got even more snow and i didn't have to go to work! so we bundled up miss moo in her overalls (see above) and we bundled ourselves up, and we went for a walk! it was lovely! there is nothing like fresh snow to make everything beautiful.

and just to be sure i didn't feel cheated out of snowy fun, mother nature did a thorough blanketing last night and here is what we woke up to today!







and here is molly checking it all out.
so we bundled up again and headed out into the backyard. here is a little slideshow of molly standing in the snow, which was pretty much all she did. she didn't want to move because when she did, she would just topple over - it's the big jacket and galoshes i think. there's one shot of her right after a topple with harley coming to investigate.

molly was looking pretty chilly, but i couldn't help myself, i made the family go for a walk and we went to visit our friends Sarah and Scott and sat by their fire, which was very nice because we were all a bit rosy-cheeked by then. after our visit we headed back home - it was nap time. and boy was molly tired. she fell right to sleep (and probably dreamed of dogs playing in the snow).


and then the call came from my boss, the libraries are not opening tomorrow - wahoo, SNOW DAY! and just so you know we aren't just being chickens, here's a shot of what it looked like outside around 1:30 this afternoon and right now, we have horizontal snow out there. brrr.....it really puts me in the mood for hot cocoa and holiday music! take care everyone, and stay warm!!

molly v. hershey's

last year, 2007, zero's mom and dad gave him a 5 lb. hershey bar for a present - which is perfect for zero because his one and only vice is chocolate, and hershey is his favorite. but the size of it was a little mind-blowing and we of course had to take a picture of miss. moo alongside (see above).

well this year, zero's mom sent another one - huzzah. and of course, we got another picture (see below). what a difference a year makes, huh?
i see a family tradition here, don't you?!

snow day!

molly in the snow at the park down the street - yay!

the holiday card you won't be getting from us...

so, with less than two weeks to go till christmas, we attempted to do a holiday card picture yesterday. we busted out the xmas quilt Grandma Mike made for us many years ago, put away all the toys strewn around the living room, and decided on a pose. we wanted all four of us in it (dad, baby, dog and me) and then got the camera positioned (that alone took like 20 minutes). but, it was a total no go...so where did we go wrong?

well first, never try and take a flattering picture in front of a brick red wall. it just doesn't work.

second, never try using a camera that seizes up after every-other shot (and sometimes every shot) as mine does. you'll remember back that our camera doesn't really work anymore, but we are too cheap (better stated, too broke) to buy a new one.

third, dogs don't really get into the xmas cheer and want to have family pictures taken. especially older crotchety dogs, like ours.

fourth, similar to a dog's lack of enthusiasm for family holiday photos, one-year-olds don't really get it either and would much rather be cruising around the house than posed with cameras flashing in their face, and mom cursing at said camera when it doesn't flash (cuz it broke again).

so here are some of the shots you won't be getting in a holiday card from us this year...above was our first attempt, turns out the 10 second timer is more like 6 seconds...

an okay shot, but where's the pooch?

ok, we've got harley now, but just barely

hair in my eyes, hair in my eyes!

better, but maybe we should zoom out a bit so i don't just look like a looming head (and what's with molly's expression?)

bored, bored, bored

so after all that we figured we would just send out one of the great pix Scott took of molly this past weekend and call it all good. and though i was a little frustrated by the end of our photoshoot yesterday, the holiday cheer is back in full affect now, cuz it's snowing in Portland today!! happy holidays everyone!

molly's got a brand new pair of shoes

so, as you know, Molly's walking now. more like running (at least that's how it feels to me) and so we had to get her some shoes. real shoes. not the socks with grippys that she has been wearing. the first hurdle was that we didn't know what size she was. all this kid sizing is like a foreign language to me and i really don't get it. at one store, there were some shoes at size 13 that were smaller than the ones at size 5, what's up with that? speaking of 5's, that's molly's shoe size. thanks to the good folks at Nordies, we know that now. and we got her a spectaculary cute pair of pedipeds while we there. these ones in fact!

so we donned our new shoes, headed out our front door, and walked down our street together - molly holding on to each of our hands - it totally slayed me! the first time your kid toddles down the sidewalk and reaches out for your hand, well it's indescribable! here is a picture of that first walk down the block taken with my phone.
we went to our local kids used clothing story, Lily Toad (which is awesome) and got her some more shoes, in a lovely red (molly looks great in red). and here is a little slide show of miss moo in her red shoes.

what we need now, with all the rain and blustery weather, is galoshes. she has some that were given to her, but they are already too small. though she does insist on me putting them on her and she toddles around (clump, clump, clump). i only let her wear them for a minute though, i worry about her squished toes. she also likes these red sandles someone gave us, that have a slight heal to them. it's strikes me as odd, who would sell a size 5 girls shoe and put a heal on it? i mean, really people, these are for CHILDREN! but molly likes to play with them, she likes to play with all her shoes. it's pretty cute.

other molly wonders. she says dog, uh-oh (usually means, "i'm about to drop X on the floor"), whee (that's a word, right?), "ah-do" (which we believe means "i love you"), "gee" (which stands for cheese and/or cookies, her favorite foods) and dada all the time. mama is still a rarity, but when she really needs me, she gives me a shout (usually in the middle of the night if she wakes up and gets the frights). she also has her signs for water and "all done" completely down now. and beyond the words and the signs, she just communicates so well with us now - pointing and gesturing - and it is very obvious that she pretty much understands everything we say (that means you too Brandon!).

she still L-O-V-E-S her babydoll that her auntie Shani gave her for her bday. here's some super cute shots with babydoll.
she is getting better and better with her hand dexterity, it's super fun watching her manipulate things with her tiny fingers. and she's started to help out around the house. you all saw her dusting, but she also helps with the vacuum, sponging off the table, and carrying things from the fridge to the stove for me.

and then there is the dancing...i'm going to have to do an entire post on that. boy can that girl BOOGIE!

every morning i look at her, and it's like she's a whole new little girl. she looks more and more mature everyday. and every day she learns something new, and does something that just blows us both away. molly is a total superstar!

and speaking of super-stardom, i want everyone to note that i got out 4 posts today! boo-ya! now you won't hear anything from me for like 6 months. :)

take care everyone!

dad's birthday!

happy birthday daddy!

zero turned thirty-something yesterday and to celebrate, gave himself a spa day (lucky so-and-so)! but before he left to be pampered, molly and he shared a yummy lunch of pb&j together (it's actually ab&j, cuz we use almond butter, but that just doesn't sound as good). here's a little slideshow of that fun time!

then we walked him to the spa, which is a new place here in St. Johns and let me tell you, he had an amazingly fabulous time. the words "blissed out" and "can't remember when i felt that good" were common phrases in describing it. so if you're in the area and you've been looking for a spa, check out Malu Day Spa in St. Johns.

but back to the walk, it was blustery and cold here, so we put on molly's new winter jacket (another wonderful hand-me-down from our friend Maria!). it's super cozy and warm, and she's got room to grow. yay!
like i said, zero had a wonderful time at the spa, followed up by all-you-can-eat sushi for dinner, so he was pretty much on cloud 9. which of course he deserves in spades, because he is the best dad/husband/friend birthday boy, ever!

we love you z-daddy!

the faces of molly

we went to see Scott again, here is the latest round of unbelievably cute pictures of miss moo. Scott has a special gift because she sat for quite a while having her picture taken - maybe 30 minutes or so - which for a new walker is something close to a miracle. enjoy!

gifts

molly is very lucky in that she has wonderful, talented, adoring friends and family who make her beautiful gifts. i've been meaning for some time to do a post about these lovely gifties and when we had our friend Scott take some pictures of Molly with three of the beautiful quilts she's been made, i figured it's the perfect time! in the picture at the top of molly and i, molly is donning a beautiful knitted cap that her friend Emily-Jane made for her when she was first born. she also has a matching sweater and booties, alas only the hat fits her still, and just barely, but we love it.

my mom of course has been a Grandma sewing machine! she made molly her her first blanket (this wonderful soft green comfy-cozy blanket), the diaper holder in her room, burpy towels, curtains, bath towels, and so much more i could go on forever. most recently molly got a fuzzy, terry robe and new pjs which are featured in the slideshow below.


i mentioned at the start the quilts. molly has been given some of the most beautiful quilts you have ever seen! the slideshow below shows them a bit, the first two are of her with the quilt her Grandma Mike made for her (molly is in a blue shirt for those two), followed by a couple with the quilt that her friends David, Jerry and Jack gave to her right after she was born (one is of her feet), and finally a couple shots of the quilt her friend Arden made for her 1st birthday! in the first shot with Arden's quilt you'll see she looks a little sad, she had just bumped her head and went over to her quilt and got some comfort by laying right down on it, it was too cute!


because we started with Emily-Jane we are going to end with Emily-Jane, a beautiful woman with a huge heart and amazing talents. below you will see one of the most precious of molly's gifts, a hand-knitted christmas stocking. Emily-Jane has been working on it for a while now and presented it to me last week. i was almost brought to tears. it's the perfect stocking! it has her name on it and beautiful snowflakes, the colors are so rich, it's super soft to the touch, and roomy enough for lots of goodies! this is a gift that will last a lifetime. and as you can see, molly loves it too!to all of molly's friends, you are wonderful, amazing people and we love you all very much!