Thanksgiving: Part 2

Then to Mormor's with our snuggle bear...

who is becoming an entertainer.

(Not many things get this good a response from this man.)

Thanksgiving: Part 1

To grandfather's house we went. Cousin Riley was in town...so fun to see them grow.

We found out that she likes doggies (at least big stuffed ones).

http://vimeo.com/33126153

And pianos!

AND...

Auntie Marnie!!!

Organizing

Mom passed her board exam (one down, one to go), thanks to this little helper and a lot of daddy day care.

All of our SD cards are FULL, so I took this break from the books to catch up on organization. My little chick has a cold, so we're at home today.

But she's still quite busy.

Snuggle Monster

A photo for you by Kathryn. Wardrobe c/o Nana - definitely one of her coolest outfits. Naomi is sporting the ice cream cone today to celebrate Kathryn's birthday!

This video is on the longish side, but I just have to share a peek at our snuggle monster. She has to try out new textures with her thumb in her mouth. It's a fun game for mom & dad. For Naomi, it's just...necessary.

http://vimeo.com/31665688

Naomi Love

Our little chick is 9 months! She's a BIG snuggler, which we both LOVE (except the part when she's extra sad to have us leave in the morning).

With mama at cousin Leilani's wedding. (photo by cousin Josh)

Daddy snuggles.

More daddy snuggles.

Our Pumpkins

The Spicers are in town for cousin Leilani's wedding, so we squeezed in some Naomi-Riley cousin time at Grandpa's!

Jack-o-lantern pumkin and ghost pumkin:

Grandpa and his two pumpkins!

Looking for some more teeth to fill up that jack-o-lantern:

Busy Bee

Taking a break for sweet satisfaction. Naomi says, "Thank you Maggie for giving me your BlaBla doll!"

Then back at it...I tried to hide the outlet behind the furniture, but she went straight for it. I tried to shove the plugs in with the furniture, but it was no match for her.

Videos for the Fans

So much to be thankful for this week.

Here is the place where we show how thankful we are for every day with this little girl!

We could watch her all day long. If you feel the same, you'll enjoy these.

Standing and proud of it!

She could do this all day. (She's not as close to the ceiling as she looks.)

We broke out some "new" toys. She's getting ready to play percussion in cousin Miles' band.

New tricks:

-Increasing her crawling speed (clocking drastically improved splits).

-Pulling up on furniture (and sometimes chewing the varnish off).

-Grinding teeth with her 5 front teeth. (Eeek what a noise!)

-New sounds, clicks, squeals and screams, and using them to COMMUNICATE. (Sometimes makes the "Miss Piggy" frustrated squeal.)

-Definitely understands "up" and will throw her elbows in the air, eyes wide and excited.

-Bounces in daddy's lap to get him to throw her in the air.

Luke Jonathan Kelber

6 lbs 13 oz 19 in

wonderfully made

looks like his big bro
congratulations julie and jonathan

She is on the move!!!!

Happy 6 Months!

New sunglasses and hat. How cute is this? She was "rediscovering" her hands through the tint...it was awesome. I think she hates them, but she also doesn't like the bright sun, so we'll see how much use they get.

All of a sudden, she's changing daily, like the first 3 months. She started having opinions! She desperately wants to stay awake, to taste adult food, to feed herself, and may not want you to take away her toy. She still doesn't like tummy time, but she's making the best of it... Let's get moving!

Happy 6 month birthday to Naomi = Big girl food! Rice cereal was fine and so are peas!

I'll have what you're having! Did I mention she has teeth?!

Cousins

Naomi & Riley (born 6 weeks after N).

Five happy girls!

Oh Riley, your locks are so beautiful, I think I'll take some. Thanks.

Texas Tired

I forgot to post this one earlier, but I loved these photos of our little girl, all tuckered out.

Hard at play.

After the photo shoot.

On the way to the airport.

Bathtime

After not being entirely keen on the pool in Texas, I thought it would help if I got her a better bathtub (the old one was foldable and didn't support her well). It only took one try and she was LOVING it. I offered her toys, but she was so excited about the splashing that she had no interest. Here's our little water animal:

Texas Love

No question this little baby is loved by her Texas Nana and Papa.

Nana watched Naomi and mom & dad took off for Tyler to do some shopping for outdoor wedding apparel. There we were - on the open road - in a pickup truck - listening to classic country - and eating Chick-Fil-A.

Texas Heat

We took a break from the 95+ degree heat and the Johnstons treated us to their community pool in West U...wow what a cool place with fountains, a jungle gym in the water, and lots of shade.

Naomi was really curious about the water but wasn't so sure about being IN the pool entirely.

Texas Style

Naomi with her cousins, Maggie and Hardy...how adorable are these cousins? She wore herself out watching these two kiddos play. And they were so sweet with her.

Foot in Mouth

Feet taste good!

This is Naomi's new trick, well sort of an old trick applied to a new object. She's also big on trying combos of thumb + whatever else (bottle, shirt, etc). The day is coming when she falls madly in love with her blankie.

Life Tastes Good

I had to make sure she got into this ADORABLE dress from Linda and Ray Wingerd (Julie's mom and dad-in-law). Here's how our photo session went...

Sometimes I'm not sure if she's discovering her hands by putting them in her mouth or discovering her mouth by sticking her hands in there. I'm sure she'd stuff more things in her mouth if she were more coordinated (thank goodness). Mmm, ruffles are good!

More Photos

Ricky and I have somehow ended up surrounded by several truly fabulous photographers. Our friend, Stephen is one of them and was nice enough to take these photos.

Ricky's entire family came for the event, all the way from Texas. My family also put on a strong showing. We followed up the baptism with some delicious Thai food and delicious cupcakes.

Promises

Warning, God is discussed here today. In case you haven't noticed, this blog generally takes the form of the "Hardy minutes" or factual updates with minimal commentary or opinion (for a diverse audience more interested in baby photos than in my/our opinions/beliefs). Today's big update ventures beyond neutral territory, into the realm of faith. Before I believed that God existed, discussion about God, Jesus, and Christianity was both intriguing and uncomfortable. I don't like to make people uncomfortable, but for our beloved friends and family outside the Christian community, I do want to provide the opportunity to understand the significance of this event in our lives.

So, yes, Naomi was BAPTIZED (!!), and Ricky & I made our biggest promises yet since our wedding vows. The baptism itself is a seal of her incorporation into the body of Christ (the Church). It doesn't mean that she necessarily believes in God (yet), so it relies instead upon Ricky and my belief and promises. Being a parent has many lofty responsibilities, but this is by far the greatest. Here is what we promised:

-To dedicate Naomi to God

-To bring her up in the Christian faith

-To pray with and for her

-To teach her the doctrines of the Christian faith

-To read the Bible with her

-To strive by all the means of God's appointment to bring her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

Satisfying the question of whether or not God exists was the most fulfilling experience in my life. God's goodness is too often obfuscated by his followers (Christians - flawed individuals in need of forgiveness) or not sought out because of pride (I'm fine on my own; I can make up a better system; I don't need it.). I hope and pray that Naomi overcomes these obstacles and finds God too.

For anyone that wants to know more. I suggest 3 books with authors far more eloquent than me:

- Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (A primer on Christianity and methodical approach to weighing arguments for and against it)

-The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (A journalist searching for evidence for and against Jesus as the Messiah)

-The Bible (A complete work!)

Seek with all your heart and you will find: "But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul." -Deut 4:29

More photos to come.

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!

-John Chrystostom

Here's what was in my Easter basket.

But not for long.

Wishing you a joyful, happy Easter from Naomi and friends!

More Dress Up - 12 wks

This is my favorite doll ever. Dress up has never been so much fun (for me).

Unfortunately, this blurry one was my best motion shot, but look at that leap.

She's been jumping higher by the week, and going barefoot gave her the added grip for some serious hang time.

I'm sad to say that it's back to work for me on Monday.

This little girl is getting more curious by the minute, which means it's harder for plain old mom to entertain her. The MAJOR silver lining is that this is helping to push me out the door and leave her with new friends, Kathryn and Hada.

Laughter

Naomi is growing right out of her 0-3 mo clothes, which means...

...a whole new stash of amazing hand-me-downs from Miss Maggie J.

Who wouldn't want to play dress up with this doll?

...and the highlight of the yankeehardy day:

Oh, how we could watch this over and over and over and over and over...

Crazy Mama 2

I posted the wrong video, so if you're hard core, go rewatch!

Crazy Mama

Miss Naomi is starting to rapidly outgrow many of her 0-3 mo clothes, so we had to be sure to get at least one wear out of some adorable ones like this:

I clowned around until I found her funny bone.

Hearing me call myself "crazy mama" is VERY funny and got some major laughs.

We were only able to capture some cooing on a repeat attempt: (2nd half is better)

Playtime (10 wks)

Baby got an Exersaucer.

Turns out she's a musical genius.

She told me she's psyched that Kathryn will be taking care of her in just a few short weeks so she can learn from someone much more musically skilled than her mama.