Happy 1st Birthday, Sage!

A bright happy face on our bright and happy birthday girl.

Messy yogurt face! Despite her great appetite, Sage is only in the 38th %ile for weight at 20 lb., 5 oz.  She is 29 inches tall, which is just under 50th %ile for 1-year-old girls.

The birthday girl is fascinated with the balloons.

Sage examines her first cupcake.

All are eager for her first bite.

We think she likes it!

Cousin Finn helps with the gifts.

Toys and books that both kids can enjoy!

Sage took her first unassisted steps on August 29th.  By her first birthday on September 17th, she was an old pro strolling from room to room confidently.

All birthday photos posted on this blog were taken by Grandpa Andre (Gung Gung). Thanks for visiting from New York for the special event! And, thank you to all family and friends who helped to celebrate our baby girl's special first birthday!

Sage is 8 Months Old!

Sweet Sage is 8 months old today! Some of her favorite things to do are: motoring around in the walker, laughing at Kian, playing "woosh!" with Dada, listening to Mama sing, being held to take naps (doesn't always happen, but she certainly sleeps longer when she is being held), reaching for magnets on the refrigerator, practicing rolling from tummy to belly, watching a Baby Einstein video called Baby Van Gogh from the "Exersaucer," using her leg muscles to bounce and "stand" with support.... Sage does not have any teeth yet, although we suspect a couple are on their way very soon. Kian had 4 teeth by this age!

Below is a picture of Kian when he was 8 months old...

The Luckiest Mama in the World

The best Mother's Day gift is another day with my adorable, healthy children. But on top of that blessing, Kian brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers ("with blue flowers in it!" he enthusiastically pointed out), and Ryan helped Kian and Sage make me a lovely Mother's Day card. I also got to have a shopping spree, courtesy of Ryan, and picked out something to wear to a fashion show benefiting "Northwest Hope and Healing", which offers financial support to newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients at Swedish Hospital.

So sweet!

Baby Sage, Mama Althea, and Gramma Gei

Happy 35th Birthday, Ryan!

To celebrate Ryan's birthday, we had a lovely dinner of salmon, steak, roasted rosemary potatoes, and asparagus at home with family and a few friends.

Kian dines on the kid food - Dino chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese.

Joan was in town, and Sage loved the extra attention from her Nana.

Sage checks out the baby doll's hat.

Sage is Seven Months Old!

Sage is 6 Months Old/ St. Patty's Day 2011

Our little "Chirish" girl's smiling eyes light up our lives! At 6 months, she weighs 17 lb., 2 oz. (70th%ile), and is 26.5 in. tall (75th %ile). She gives big smiles to everyone, even if they aren't familiar to her, but especially adores her big brother.


Our annual family photo on St. Patty's Day. Last year, it was just three of us, but we had just announced that our family would soon be 4...

Kian and Mama

Sage eats rice cereal

Sage turns six months old next week, so we thought we'd get her started eating some rice cereal to practice eating from a spoon. While she is not taking a bottle, she did take to a sippy cup last week, so that is a relief for everyone, since Mama cannot be there for her 24/7!

We're hoping that with a fuller belly, she will sleep better at night because she still wakes up a few times every night. Sure enough, the night that she ate the rice cereal, she nursed at 7pm to sleep, again at 11 pm (right before I went to bed), then woke up just once more at 3 am to nurse, and slept until 7:30 a.m.! Perhaps after she gets larger portions, she will sleep through the night!