Southern Tour

Paige's blog has been quiet lately, not because she has been idle, but rather because her whole family has been BUSY BUSY BUSY! We took a trip to Asheville NC, Beaufort SC, and Savannah GA at the end of Sept. We stayed with friends in Asheville, took a hike in the woods, ate terrific Southern cookin, and generally relaxed. Paige tried to make friends with the cat, but the cat was not ready to make friends with her. In Beaufort, we watched proudly as Paige's cousin graduated from Marine basic training. In Savannah, Paige rode the trolley with us, toured some old mansions, and spent some quality time with Grandma Joy and Grandpa Joe (while mom & dad went on a dinner date!). Paige enjoyed the view from the top of Tybee Lighthouse (thanks to me carrying her up in the Ergo backpack), however, the wind was a bit stiff! She was overall a very good traveler, managing to sleep on both flights and even get through most nights in strange places fairly smoothly.

Paige at the helm - Uncle Bubba's Oyster House Restaurant

Paige (sleeping), mom, Grandma Joy, Grandpa Joe

Strong wind on top of the lighthouse

View from the Grove Park Inn, Asheville

Nine Month Check Up

So we were only 3 weeks late for the 9-month check up. We found out the reason our doctor was so busy was all the kids going back to school in Aug & early Sep who needed check-ups. Paige weighed in at 20 lbs 9 oz and 30 3/4 in long! She ranked 75th percentile for weight and off the chart for height. In fact, she is the average height of a 16-month old baby! She passed all her developmental & motor skills with flying colors. She got 2 more vaccinations today, but they didn't seem to slow her down at all. She was cruising around our living room all afternoon & still had a healthy appetite for oatmeal and mixed fruit for dinner.

Here's a photo of Paige last week, modeling the new onesie with moose & bears from Grandma Karen & Grandpa Joe's recent visit to Grand Teton National Park.

New Chariot

Last weekend, we bought a new stroller for Paige. Up till now, we were using a hand-me-down Combi donated from some friends who moved out of state. We leave on vacation next Monday & we needed a small umbrella stroller. We test-drove several models & decided on the Maclaren Triumph. Here's a photo of Paige enjoying the new wheels.

New Moves

Paige has been busy this past week. She went to a party on Sunday to cheer on the Chicago Bears in their first regular-season game. She held her own against 4 men, 4 boys, 2 dogs, and a rabbit!

In other news, Paige has learned how to go up the stairs. Today she climbed the entire staircase from bottom to top! Soon she will have to learn how to get down, but one skill at a time...

And possibly the most endearing move: when I hold Paige on my lap, she will often take my hands & bring them together to make them clap. Lately, she grabs my hands & places them on either side of her face, so I am holding her little head. It's very sweet and of course warms mom's heart.

Walking!

Paige took her first official steps yesterday, and we caught them on camera today! We're very excited and SO proud of her! She seems to walk best when she's carrying a favorite toy and not thinking too much about putting one foot in front of the other.