We're starting solids!!

Now that Rylee is 6 months old it is time to start solids. To me this is bittersweet- it is exciting that she will now be able to sample yummy, delicious food and join us for meal time but bittersweet because it shows how quickly she is growing up. But we are really excited about watching her taste new things and see her reaction. Here is a breakdown on how it is going so far...

Day 1- Rice cereal
We started with the typical rice cereal. We got the fancy bowl, spoon and new bib ready. We called Mema and had her come over. We charged the cameras and got them ready and then it came time to start. Rylee is already used to sitting in her bumbo so we put her in it and began. Her first bite caused a look of confusion-like what is this. But like the champ she is she actually swallowed it. I will admit it was more like milk than cereal. So we gave her another bite. This time she took the bite but then grabbed the spoon and decided it was hers and that it was her new favorite toy. So we would have to pry the spoon from her hand and take another bite. We continued like this for a few minutes. Then she realized that the spoon was fun but the bowl looked even better. What does a 6 month old and a bowl of cereal = one very messy baby!! We loved every moment of it. It was a very proud moment in out house. Here are a few pics from the big day...







Day 7- avacado
After a week of rice cereal I decided it was time to start adding new things. So I thought it would be fun to try avacado. I have read that some people skip rice cereal and start with avacado. So I went to costco and bought the jumbo bag of avacados knowing that Rylee was going to love them- I mean it is the main ingredient in quacamole!! So I mashed and mashed added a little milk and gave it a shot. Nothing could have prepared us for the face that Rylee made. it was one of absolute disgust. She did this gagging face and curled her nose up and started spitting it out. We laughed and tried again thinking she just wasn't used to the texture- wrong- she just doesnt like avacados. We tried for 3 more days without any luck so we gave it up and went back to our staple rice cereal.

Day 9- sweet potato
I have to admit that I am obsessed with making Rylee's baby food. After reading what is in the jarred food (even the organic) I decided that I was going to make it. So I was lucky enough to get the cool baby food making device at William sonoma so I decided to put it to work on the sweet potatoes. Now I do love kitchen gadets but this thing ROCKS!! I love that it steams and then purees. It is brilliant. So I whipped up a batch of sweet potatoes in no time and put my cooking skills to the test. Rylee took the first bite and only made a slight yuck face, gave herself the chills, and then swallowed. Chris and I looked at each other and said we may have a winner. She took a few more bites, played with the spoon, got sweet potatoes on everything (even behind her ears) but really enjoyed it. We just finished our 3 day of sweet potatoes and tonight she ate the most ever and ,ost of it made it in her mouth and not everywhere else. I think we have found a winner.


Stay tuned for an update on peas and carrots they are on the menu for this week...

Happy Half birthday Rylee!!

OMG! Can you believe Ryleee is already 6 months. WOW time is flying by. What an amazing little person she is becoming every day. We have had a super busy month and Rylee enjoyed every second of it. For all of you that are interested her are her stats for the month:

At 6 months Rylee

- weighs over 16 lbs ( we are waiting for our dr appointment this month to get the actual numbers but let me tell you she is a chunky monkey-her cheeks give it away!:)
- wears size 2-3 diapers and sometimes size 3
- loves to roll and roll and roll. You never know where she will end up or stop. I think if she could she would roll from one side of the house to the other with no problem.
- loves, loves, loves her jumperoo. She loves to jump and jump some more. She loves it even more when you jump with her- she smiles from ear to ear and starts laughing. She loves to grab the banana and pull it into her mouth. (I can't wait to see what she will do with a real banana)
- sleeps through the night but loves to wake up at 6:12am every single day. It does not matter if she goes to bed at 7pm or 10 pm the girl wakes up at that minute no matter what. It is crazy!
- still thinks that her feet are the best toy ever. We call it her baby yoga time.
- can sit up for a few minutes all by herself.
- loves to splash in the tub and try to catch the bubbles. She really loves it when we are traveling and she gets to bathe in the big tub-watch out cause water goes flying.
- has flown 8 times and 4 of those times were in first class (lucky girl) and has been to 10 states. This is where in the world rylee has been- California, Nevada, Hawaii, maryland, Delaware, pennsylvania, new jersey, new York, Washington, texas. Plus one district- DC!! Not bad for 6 months!
- is still teething like crazy but no tooth yet (come on tooth fairy help a mom out here)
- is the happiest baby ever. Anyone who runs into her just adores her but not as much as her mommy and daddy do- we love you boo.

A few pics from our photo shoot ( disclaimer: my nice camera busted so we had to use our point and shoot :(

NYC 2009- a visit with auntie J and uncle Mike

So after DC we decided to head to NYC to visit Jen and Mike. I was so excited because we haven't been out there since they moved and they haven't seen Rylee since she was about three months old. We had a fabulous time with them. They took us to so many sites and places we would never been. But the best part was spending the few days together.
On our first day, we had an amazing lunch at 5 napkin burger. If you are ever in New York you have to try it- delicious! We then headed over to central park so Rylee could see the carousal. Of course by the time we walked there she had fallen asleep- but we did get a picture with her by it. We then headed over to the boathouse for cocktails by the lake. It was very pretty and we enjoyed the time catching up. Rylee enjoyed it too...he loved that she had 4 people that would bounce her around and give her lots of attention. We then headed to FAO and the big apple store. THe apple store is really cool. We then headed back to Times Square. Rylee loved all of the lights. She would just stare at them- it was really funny to watch. We checked into our hotel and then headed to Harlem ( yes, Harlem) for dinner at the Dinasour (A BBQ joint). The food was really good and we had a great time. Then it was back to the hotel to put the little princess to bed.
The next morning we decided to walk across the Brooklyn bridge to a famous pizza joint in Brooklyn. It was a fun walk because you gt to see so much. We saw the statue of liberty, empire state building and the beautiful skyline. We made it across the bridge right before it started to rain. We got to the pizza place and began waiting in line. (on any given day or time there is at least a 45 minute wait) so we waited in the rain. Uncle Mike was so nice he gave Rylee and her stroller his big golfing umbrella and got stuck with Jen's pink heart umbrella. What a good uncle :) The pizza was very good. Then we headed to the subway station because there was no way we were walking in the rain. Daddy was a trooper carrying the stroller, backpack and umbrella all the way to the subway station. We took the subway to ground zero. Chris and Mike went to look at it and then headed to a bar for drinks while Jen, Rylee and I headed to Century21 for some shopping. This place is amazing- great deals just super dooper busy. We then met up with the boys and headed to Wall street so Chris could rub the bulls balls for good luck. (We will see if it was worth the trip). Mike had to go to work so we said goodbye to him and then we headed to grand central station, bryant park and then on our way back to the hotel we ran into a huge street faire. So we decided to walk through it- chris tasted some of the local food and we grabbed a few little presents. We then stopped at a brewery and had dinner before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
On our last full day in NYC, Mike and Jen had to work so we met up with them for breakfast at Sarabeth's (another super yummy place- if you ever see there jams in a store try them because they are super dooper good) Then Chris, Rylee and I headed to the natural history museum. It was a lot of fun to see everything. Made me want to rent a night at the museum again and then go see the sequel. We were lucky we got there right when it opened because by noon it was packed. Afterwards, we walked through central park and headed to Dylan's candy. We had to go there because aunti Jen had bought Rylee a pair of PJ's from there for my baby shower and they are the cutest PJs ever so we had to go get her a bigger pair. Chris couldnt believe how much candy was in one store. We then had reservation at Serendipity. But once we got there decided it was not the best idea. (Not very baby friendly) So we skipped it and had lunch at a cute little place down the street. We then headed back to Times square to look around and then called it a night because we had an early flight back to Cali.
It was an amazing trip. I was so glad we got to spend so much time with Jen and mIke. we have missed them so much since they moved. We cant wait to take Rylee back when she is older in the winter so we can take her ice skatting and do so many more things with her. But we are still hoping Mike and Jen will head back to the west coast eventually :)
Here are some pics from NYC

at the carousal


how you get a baby around NYC


The fam at central park


Mike and Jen with rylee at central park


Waiting for their drinks at the boathouse


At FAO


at Rockafeller center


look at rylee checking out all of the lights- wait until we take her to vegas!:)


Times Square


Brooklyn Bridge






Mike and his pink umbrella


Chris rubbing the bulls balls


grand central station


Bryant Park


our happy jet setting girl


at the natural history museum


Relaxing before we head home

Washington DC

We had a fabulous opportunity to travel with Chris to DC for 4 days. Rylee once again did fabulous on the trip. We were very lucky because we had enough miles to fly first class. I was joking with Chris that Rylee's poor future husband is going to have very big shoes to fill!:) Rylee did very well on the flight and everyone just adored her. We stopped in Seattle on our way there and she enjoyed stretching her legs and checking out the airport. Once we arrived in DC, we were off running. Because Chris had work obligation for most of the days we were there we only had one day to see everything. Lucky for us we have an early alarm clock that lives with us :) So we got up early, jumped on the metro (yes Rylee got to ride on the metro) and went to see all of the sites. We started at the white house then headed to the Washington Monument, Lincoln memorial, World war II memorial, the capitol, the supreme court and then the city. It was a crazy day of walking, hiding from the rain, surviving the humidity but we did it. Rylee loved the monuments and walking around. This was the first time she was in her big girl stroller and she loved it. She loved being able to see everything. I know she wont remember this trip but at least we know she is starting early with her history lessons. After a very long day and a good happy hour we tucked in for the night. We are always worried about the first night in the hotel and wether Rylee will sleep- thankfully she slept awsome- she even slept in until 7:30am the following morning. It was a great treat for mommy and daddy :)
The second day Chris was busy with his conference so Rylee and I chilled in the morning so she could get a good morning nap in. Then we met Chris for lunch and headed to Georgetown to do some shopping. I have to admit I was a little disappointed in Georgetown's shopping. I was expecting more boutiques but instead saw most of the same stores we have here. But nonetheless, we enjoyed our girls afternoon. We then met up with daddy and had dinner and went to bed.
On our third day Chris was busy again so the girls walked around Dupont circle and the neighborhood shops. It was really humid and hot so we headed back to the hotel where Rylee was the hit with the staff and was able to feed the koi in their pond. We waited for Chris and then headed out for our last dinner in DC. I have to say that DC really impressed me. I liked how clean the city was, how polite the people were, and how kid friendly the stores were. If I had to live in a big city I would choose there!
The next morning we headed to the amtrak station and we boarded our train for NYC. Now that is a whole different adventure.

Here are pics of our trip to DC (sorry they are in backwards order)

On the train to NYC


Hanging out with daddy on the train


Riding on the metro for the first time


Chris and Kelly in front of the supreme court


Rylee in front of the supreme court


Rylee in front of the capitol


Chris and Rylee in front of the Lincoln memorial


The fam


Rylee sleeping through the Washington monument


Chris and Kelly at the Washington monument


Chris and Rylee at Rylee's future home


getting ready to board the metro


all ready to start our siteseeing adventure


First stop seattle


Look at all those white things floating around out there...