Okay, bear with me...big crazy changes, tons of emotional ups and downs (but mostly ups!), lots and lots of surprises, good and bad (but mostly good!). Let me give you some highlights of the months that have seemed to pass in less than a blink...
Thanksgiving at Mike and Evie's (yes, it's been that long since I've updated!!)
That's right, we match...makes for a great family picture!!
Some of the most important women in my life...
The 'bergs...Uncle Mike, Pete, Ryan, Baby Girl, Uncle Pat and Emily...
Christmas...and Daly in her HILARIOUS reindeer jammies...
Thought I'd update on some fun things we did in the last couple months...we took an RV up to a beautiful beach on the central coast, and Daly had her agra hadig.
Here are some of our favorite pictures from the beach...
Watching the sunset...
Amazing sunny day at the beach...
As proud ABC's (Armenians By Choice), we couldn't wait for Daly to cut her first tooth (agra) so we could celebrate with an agra hadig. This is a beloved Armenian tradition. Baby is put on a blanket with items signifying different careers placed in front of her...
We chose things like a judge's gavel, a book for education, a flower, a gold watch to represent wealth, a bible, a basketball for sports, a stuffed animal, a plane for travel, among many others. Whatever she picks up first is said to foretell what baby's future occupation will be.
It took a little effort to get all the way over to the items, but our Daly girl eventually rolled over and grabbed the prescription bottle!
Then came the guesses of what that means...a pharmacist? a drug counselor like her Jumbo? The final part of the tradition is the grandmas sprinkling hadig (we improvised with sweet cereal) over baby's head. The wheat symbolizes fruitfulness and success, while the sweetness is a wish for happiness in whatever her future holds. Thanks so much to everyone for being there, and to Maral for all your help!
Most importantly, Daly was surrounded by the love and support of her family and friends, which we know will be with her the rest of her life.
Yes, I realize our Daly girl will be eight months old next week, but I have a good excuse...I'm a working mom now! I've started training to teach classes part-time at The Little Gym! I will be working with kiddos from 10 months to 3 years old. So excited!!
Daly's really starting to fill out her jacket (and check out those thighs!) These were taken on the floor of her own big girl room...she's sleeping in there all by herself now...and has even started making it through the night!!
Little girl has grown up quite a bit in her seventh month! She is still loving to eat solids like Mommy and Daddy. Her favorites are oatmeal and sweet potatoes and squash. She is working on crawling! She will scoot a couple steps, and then stop and sit up...(to make sure you're watching and smiling!) We have a feeling she's going to be just a cloud of dust very very soon. She's also babbling A LOT. She's just recently added "dadadadada" to her repertoire, much to Ryan's excitement!
This is her tough girl stare...don't mess with the baby...
The Houston Zoo puts on a fun themed event called the Zoo Boo! They decorate the zoo for Halloween, have trick or treat booths, and a cute pumpkin patch. We went with our good friends Cindy and Virgil and their daughter Janai. The girls had a great time seeing all the animals up close!
Daly in a life-sized recreation of a bald eagle's nest...
Mommy and little girl at the giraffe exhibit...
She loved the elephants!
And, of course, all the excitement led to a nice nap...
Last week we got a pleasant surprise...(probably more pleasant for us than for our little girl!) Daly got her first tooth! We are so excited for another big milestone!! She now has two little teeth peeking out of her bottom gums. Toothless smile no more! Here she is...showing off those pearly whites, and beautiful baby blues!
The Weisenberg family had quite a September! We very narrowly escaped Ike (we are still not used to this hurricane thing...we're more the earthquake type), celebrated Daly's half birthday, and moved into a new apartment.
With Ike fast approaching, and not wanting to heed the call of our state officials to "hunker down" and ride out the storm, Daly and I took the opportunity to travel with Ryan and the Comets. The team was scheduled to have a home game and then fly to Chicago for the last game of the season. The home game was rescheduled, and we caught the last flight out of our airport before they shut it down.
So we took a little "Ike Vacation". Chicago was really fun, although they had record breaking rains while we were there (everyone blamed us for bringing the storm along). The Comets got a big win and we were looking forward to getting back to Houston to finish out the season. Houston didn't want us back just yet. They asked everyone who had left to stay put.
We flew to San Antonio instead, where the WNBA had relocated the game to a university in the area. Daly was so excited to have her own bed...
The Comets won again and after a few days in San Antonio, we took a big bus back to Houston. We were incredibly blessed to come home to electricity, running water, and very little damage. There are homes here that are still running on generators more than three weeks after the storm. The city felt sad, but not devastated. Tree branches broken, power poles down, billboards ripped apart, windows blown out, very few working traffic lights. I know the coastal areas were not so lucky.
Ryan, Daly, and I got together with the Comets to volunteer at our local food bank to get supplies out to people in and around Houston who lost electricity and couldn't get into grocery stores for food, water, and ice. Daly was a great supervisor...
Once we settled in, Daly's 6 month birthday snuck up on us! This is how she spent most of her day, lucky girl...
She is really starting to get into books. She loves to grab the pages and turn them back and forth. Before bed time, Daddy read the perfect story to end her big day, "Curious George and the Birthday Surprise"...
In the midst of all this, we found a new apartment that we absolutely love. It's a brand new community, has more square footage and our big balcony overlooks the gorgeous pool (where we took Daly's 6 month pictures)...
Loungin...
Now that she's mastered sitting up by herself, Daly loves standing up. She is getting so strong...
This was a true Texas moment. Jethro called, he wants his overalls back...
We had the awesome opportunity to have pictures taken with Larry and Jessica and our littlest additions to the Kubel family tree. Baby Joseph and Daly were great models for our amazing photographer, JJ, who was doing his first family session.
Turned out the pictures fell right during Daly's nap time, which made for some early tears...
...and then sleep...
...and then smiles...
My mom's backyard was the perfect backdrop...
Can't beat baby feet.
We are so excited to watch them grow up together...
Our girl is five months old! As you can see, she's working on sitting up on her own. We call this her 'tripod'. She is smiling and laughing more than ever and everyone she meets falls in love instantly. Can you blame them?
I absolutely love to see the nervous looks on peoples' faces when I walk down the middle aisle of a plane with this little girl...diaper bag on my arm, blanket, woobie, and rattle in my hands, her binkie around my finger. I can read their minds...'please don't sit here, please don't sit here, maybe if I don't make eye contact, she won't sit next to me."
When we do eventually sit down, our girl changes their minds instantly. If she's awake on the plane, which is rare, she has everyone smiling, soaking up what a joyful baby she is.
Daly is a great traveler, and enjoys it even more now that she can sit up and see what's going on outside the window.
Daly had her first trip to the aquarium here in Houston. We had a great time seeing all wildlife! Not only underwater creatures, but snakes, crocodiles, spiders, birds, iguanas, and even two white tigers!
Daly and her lion fish...she was fascinated by all the movement...
Ryan and Daly crawled under the sting ray tank to get a different perspective...
Our little deep sea diver...
Training to take her place with Siegfried and Roy...
We ended the day with a train ride through the shark tunnel...
...and then got caught in a huge thunderstorm...Daly's favorite part of the day...
My mother's day gift from Ryan and Daly was a babysitter (thanks mom!) and tickets to the Dave Matthews concert in Houston. Absolutely incredible. The venue was really cool and Dave was fantastic as usual. And even though they aren't Ryan's favorite, we both had an awesome time.
Love that eyebrow...
I have an amazingly thoughtful husband. Thanks for an unforgettable first mother's day dude!
So after her first sponge bath and ten minutes of wailing, we were afraid Daly wouldn't be fond of the water...we could not have been more wrong. This girl is a water baby! She loves being in the bath, the shower, the pool...sitting next to fountains...feeling the rain on her face...you name it.
Our Daly girl is 4 months old! She is really growing up. Grabbing for things she wants, 'talking' to her parents and her toys, and smiling smiling smiling! Daly has been on three flights (she is an amazing traveler) and is an incredibly relaxed and calm baby. She has so much fun at all of her daddy's basketball games and was on SportsCenter last week! She is LOVING any water she can get close to...the bath, the pool, our little water park (pics to follow). We are enjoying every second!
Last weekend we got to go up to Santa Barbara and see Patrick graduate from the fire academy. We're so proud of you! We had a great time hanging out with the whole family and Daly got some quality time with her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Thanks for the pictures Cori!!
Baby Daly with her Uncle Patrick and Aunt Cori.
Lookin a little too interested in that margarita...
So I know it's been ENTIRELY too long since my last post. We have had a whirlwind month of visitors and travel. Here are Daly's three month old pictures (before she turns four months!)
Gymboree has been such a fun adventure for both Daly and me. Not only is Daly learning about her body, her movements, and the world around her, she's already becoming very social with the other babies. She loves just being close to her new friends! I'm really enjoying our mom and daughter time together and meeting other parents in the area with kids close to Daly's age. My mom took me to Gymboree when I was just a little older than Daly is now, so I knew it was something I wanted to experience with my little girl...
Tummy time in front of a big mirror strengthens neck, back, and core muscles, along with giving the babies a chance for socialization...
Daly LOVES her bubbles! She is very attentive and alert as Ms. Ellen blows tons of little bubbles at her...
Then we get to "pop, pop, pop those bubbles" on the parachute...
At the end of every class, Gymbo the Clown sings goodbye and blows kisses to each baby. See you next week, Gymbo!
Last weekend, while Ryan was traveling with the team, Grandma Trish, Daly and I drove up to San Antonio. We had a beautiful view of the River Walk.
On our second morning, we took a tour on a river boat. It was a beautiful (and very hot!) day. Daly really enjoyed the first ten minutes...then fell sound asleep!
Before we left San Antonio, we made sure to "Remember the Alamo". It was an amazing tour through a major event in our nation's history. My mom and I learned a lot, and Daly....no surprise....had a nice, relaxing nap.
I had already packed Daly's cute little white hat (see river pictures), so Grandma had an excuse to buy her another cute little hat...of the Texas armadillo variety.
Grandma Trish has come to visit us in Houston! The four of us drove to the Gulf to spend time at the Kemah Boardwalk. They have great restaurants and lots of fun carnival rides.
Daly got to see her first Comets game! She was more interested in the lights above the court and watching the people sitting around us, but I'm sure she'll get into the basketball soon enough. It was a tough overtime loss.
Daly and I made her onesie! She was very excited to show off her creative side!
Our girl is two months old! Daly is smiling often, staying awake more during the day, getting much much stronger, and continuing to build her little personality!
Our little girl is already one month old! We can hardly believe it. She has had quite a month of life...she's visited four states, lived in two homes and two different states. We stole a great idea from Martha Stewart...choose an outfit sized 12 months and take a picture of the baby in it each month. So here's the first installment. This Ireland hoodie was the perfect choice. We're looking forward to watching her grow into it!
So we made the huge decision to drive ourselves, our 3 week old daughter, and almost all of our things (although "our" things were mostly Daly's things) to Houston. We packed the highlander to the gills and towed it with the tahoe. Good thing Daly loves to sleep in the car! She was awesome. We stopped every 3 or 4 hours to feed/change the baby, get gas, go potty, eat, and/or let the driver catch a little sleep.
All in all, we made it through California, and Arizona...
...and New Mexico...
...and Texas in about a day and a half. We were so relieved to make it to our new apartment, which we absolutely love. Daly was the first thing we moved in!
Just 5 days after our little girl was born, Ryan and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary! Ryan surprised me with one of my favorite sushi restaurants. (I missed sushi SOOO much while pregnant!) That first philadelphia roll was amazing. We had a great dinner and had so much fun reminiscing about a huge year in our lives.
Daly Lynne arrived on March 26 at 5:03am. She weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. We have been enjoying every moment since!! We are now settled in Houston for Ryan's job (coaching the Comets) and are hoping to keep everyone updated on Daly and her adventures, her changes, her life here in Texas!! Check back when you can...I promise to try my best and keep it up!
