take a hike

Last week we all took a hike at South Mountain Park. It's a desert mountain preserve in South Phoenix. Baby J was pretty happy in the Ergobaby. She even fell asleep for the last little bit. The weather was in the 70s, just perfect - not too hot and not too cold. I think maybe I should have put shoes or something on Baby J's feet just in case she had the notion to kick a cactus or something. Carl is still getting used to the desert. Mr. Chunglund spent most of the hike trying to make sure that he didn't stick his face in a cactus. For me the desert seemed cleaner than the Minnesota woods. No water to make it muddy and no bugs to speak of. I've never been particularly enamored with the southwestern landscape, but I think I might grow to love it. Hiking and mountain biking are pretty popular activities amongst my new coworkers so I think we'll get plenty of recommendations on where to go next.

my little jumping bean

The Jenny Jump Up has now been added to Baby J's repertoire.

everybody loves baby J

Of course I think Baby J is pretty much the absolute cutest baby to ever have graced the earth, but recently it seems as though I'm not the only one who thinks this. Last Friday, Mr. Chunglund and I were out to eat, Baby J in tow. As we were finishing up our meal, Mr. Chunglund was holding her and a man leaving the restaurant with the rest of his group, randomly walked up to her and squeezed her cheeks. On Saturday we were exploring a nearby mall when a woman we passed actually turned around and ran back toward us to touch Baby J. Then yesterday while Baby J and Mr. Chunglund were out to lunch, two women approached them and actually asked if they could hold her! Seriously? Why would you ask a total stranger if you could hold their baby? Why would someone let a total stranger hold their baby? I guess everybody loves Baby J!

And this is one of my favorite pictures of her!

seriously, carl?

When we moved to Arizona I bought Carl this water bowl. For the first week or so, it was great. I only had to refill it once or twice and Carl could have all the water he wanted. Well, it's come to my attention that he's scared of the water bowl. Like one of those office water coolers, it makes a big GLUG when it refills the bowl. The noise freaks him out and he'll sort of cower and run away. I later noticed that he would stand as absolutely far away from the bowl as possible and still be able to put his nose and mouth in there to drink. Then he would quick run away when he was finished. Last night I noticed that he has now taken to drinking out of the toilet because he's so scared of his water bowl. Seriously, Carl? I knew I had a scaredy cat of a puppy, but really? My dog is so scared of his water bowl that he drinks out of the toilet. FML.

yummy in my tummy!

Shortly before Baby J turned 5 months, Mr. Chunglund and I got excited to feed her solids. Baby J has really taken to eating from the spoon. She opens her little mouth up as soon as it starts coming toward her. We were so excited that we failed to follow the one food a week guideline. We gave her rice cereal once and then she was off to the races. She's had mango puree, mango/carrot puree, and banana so far. She seems to like the mango/carrot and banana the best. I've got some butternut squash that I'm going to cook up for her this morning. I got some ice cube tray-like things so I can make one ounce servings and freeze them. If I can get organized enough, I plan to prepare her baby food for the week on the weekends.

look ma! no hands!

We are so proud of our little girl and how strong she is. A few weeks ago she was sitting by herself balancing on her hands. Now, just a few days short of being 5 months old, she is sitting on her own for short periods of time with no hands! And smiling too!

TGIF

New job is exhausting. I've seem to have really hit the ground running, but I suppose that is a good thing. The following is pretty much how my week went -

1) Get introduced to new coworker.

2) Reply that I moved from Minnesota.

3) Laugh and agree that the weather is much better in Arizona.

4) Listen patiently to comments about how hot it will be in the summer.

5) Respond that it is -20 degrees during the Minnesota winter.

6) Repeat every.single.day. for the first week.