Wednesday, January 4 (day 187/365)

Phoebe goes through phases where she eats like ... well ... her Uncle John and then she'll slow down for a while.  Recently when we thought she was on a little hunger strike, we realized that she just wasn't finding it challenging enough to have baby-sized food delivered directly to her highchair tray.  Phoebe would insist that she was done eating, but shortly after being set free from her highchair, she'd sneak up and steal our breakfast.  Then she'd giggle and run off shoving bagel in her face.  I guess food just tastes better when you hunt it down yourself!

Make a run for it Danger!

Would you take a bagel out of the baby's mouth?  Just in case, I am going to slobber all over it.

Tuesday, January 3 (day 186/365)

The baby finds dinner to be delicious ... and hilarious 

 

Monday, January 2 (day 185/365)

Today we went to Toys R Us to get the doodles her holiday present at the after holiday sale.  (I know, we are horrible parents.  We take advantage of the fact that the baby has no idea when Christmas is to score presents on the cheap.  She can add this to the long list of things she has to tell her future therapist).  Anyway, she had a great time running around the store, and loved the little ride-on toy at the check out.  We once again took advantage of the baby's lack of knowledge - she has no idea that toy is WAY more fun if you put quarters in it.  Poor baby! 

Sunday, January 1 (day 184/365)

I was feeling pretty under the weather today (the start of the never-ending cold that turned into a sinus/ear infection) so we spent the day at home.  It was our first day alone as a family since our break started, so it was actually really nice to just hang out together and relax.

Phoebe is a HUGE Daddy's girl and loves to goof around with her poppa!

Just a little redecorating before breakfast

What do you think mom?  Doesn't this room flow better now?  It's all about the Feng Shui.

Hanging out with Daddy, probably watching football.

Did you see that call?  Unbelievable!

Afternoon snacks.

Post-game analysis.  Phoebe is not impressed.

Saturday, December 31 (day 183/365)

Today was the Doodle's official birthday party with friends.  We invited a bunch of her baby buddies over for a New Year's/birthday party.  Again, you would think this was an awesome opportunity for some really cute pictures.  Sadly, by party time we were both just so pooped we didn't get any pictures!  Lamest parents ever.  We're hoping that maybe someone else that was at the party got a few pictures and we'll be able to update later.  Until then, I give you a picture of pre-party banana snack.

PS We're not in the habit of letting the baby eat bananas in the living room, but - hey - it was her birthday and we were exhausted.  Also, the chair slipcover is machine washable :)

Friday, December 30 (day 182/365)

Happy first birthday Phoebe Jane!

This year flew by.  While there were definitely moments (nights in particular) that draggggged on forever, the year overall went by in a flash!  Jeremy and I can definitely say that we (mostly) love having a 1-year old.  We would love to say all kinds of sappy things about how much we love our muffin and how we can't imagine life without her, but we're scientists, not writers.  So I'm not sure we could really do justice to just how awesome we think our doodle bug is.  It has been so amazing to watch her change and grow into a little person over the last year. 

For her official birthday, my parents and grandma were in town.  My Uncle Paul drove down from Cupertino to celebrate with us and we all had dinner and cake.  Uncle Paul also taught Phoebe the put-a-coaster-on-your-head game (more fun than it sounds) which is still a family favorite.  During the course of the afternoon, Phoebe managed to run at least four adults totally ragged.  That's our doodle!  She is such a lucky baby to have so many people that absolutely adore her - she is such a loved baby!

Thursday, December 29 (day 181/365)

Lots of people suggest that Phoebe would get mistaken for a boy a lot less if we would put bows in her hair.  These people have clearly never tried to put a bow in Phoebe's hair.  We're pretty sure that they must have some kind of baby tranquilizer at daycare that they use on the days that the munchkin comes home with pigtails.  Phoebe is rarely holding still long enough to get a bow on and then as soon as she notices it she rips it off and spikes it.  She definitely knows what she wants (and what she doesn't)!  While it can be trying at times, we love seeing all the ways her personality asserts itself on a daily basis.

Wednesday, December 28 (day 180/365)

One of Phoebe's Hanukkah presents from Aunt Gladys was an awesome Fisher Price school bus.  The bus is now one of Phoebe's favorite toys - she is always putting other toys inside, opening and closing the doors, and "flying" (aka throwing) the bus all over the living room.  Hands down, Phoebe's favorite thing about the bus is the song that it plays.  The driver's seat in the bus is a button and every third time it is pushed, a little snog about going to school plays.  Phoebe will cycle through all the noises to the song over and over and over.  Thank you Aunt Gladys, Phoebe LOVES her bus!!

Tuesday, December 27 (day 179/365)

We had a lot of guests this holiday season, but we had one day between the family visits, so we went up to Palo Alto to visit some friends.  We went on a fun hike and then had lunch at a great little pub.  Phoebe had a wonderful time!  She loves hanging out with Kestrel, our friends' two year old and once she saw that he was hiking on his own, she wanted no part of the stroller.  While Phoebe demanded we put her down and let her walk on her own, Kestrel was more than happy to take up her spot in the stroller and to let Jeremy push him the rest of the hike (he's a smart kid!).  Of course, the little doodle bug is not super-steady on her feet and she managed to take a giant header down the trail.  She sported a nice noggin scrape for the next few days - at least she heals quickly :)  We only got a couple so-so camera phone pictures, but our friend Geoff has a great camera and we've made him our unofficial family photographer (unofficial because we haven't actually told him yet).  Next time we hang out, we'll hit him up for his pictures which will undoubtedly be much better than these!

Ah, a peaceful nature walk ... oh right ... the baby in the stroller is throwing a FIT because she wants OUT!

A close up of our hiking head wound.

Monday, December 26 (day 179/365)

Uncle John has been working on teaching Phoebe a few phrases that he thinks will come in very handy.  He claims that the most important one to master is "What? It was like this when I got here."  She doesn't quite have the language skills for complete sentences yet, but she is doing a good job working on the related facial expression.

Sunday, December 25 (day 178/365)

We had a wonderful time on Christmas, enjoying dinner with our neighbors and Jeremy's folks.  But guess who didn't take a SINGLE picture of that?  If you guessed US - you're right!  You'll just have to trust us that we actually had a holiday celebration (with ham and everything!).

Phoebe: "Danger!  It's Christmas!", Danger: "Yes, I know.  And you are still here.  So much for that holiday miracle nonsense"

Phoebe and Daddy are ready for the party!

Dear Grandma Joyce - thanks for the trampoline!!

Saturday, December 24 (day 177/365)

What says "Merry Christmas" better than a cute baby in front of a Christmas tree?

What about an extreme closeup of a baby who is very curious about digital cameras?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Friday, December 23 (day 176/365)

You would think that over break when we are home all the time, we would take more pictures.  Yeah, not so much.  We always set out with good intentions of taking tons of pictures.  Then we just get busy.  Sigh.  We did get a couple of cute pictures of Phoebe reading with her new stuffed puppy.  Thank you Uncle Dale and Aunt Susan! 

Thursday, December 22 (day 175/365)

D-day at the Gottwood household.  Baby-jail is breached.

Wednesday, December 21 (day 174/365)

And now for the second night of Hanukkah and the traditional tasting of the menorah.

Baruka-yadda-yadda-yadda, yeah, you keep on going with those blessings Dad.  Don't mind me, I'm just going to take the menorah over here ...

Hmmm, not what i expected.  I sure hope latkes taste better!

Tuesday, December 20 (day 173/365)

Today was the first night of Hanukkah.  We want to make sure Phoebe experiences all of her religious backgrounds (Bears AND Lions) so we got a menorah for the first time since we've been married.  We found a cool LED menorah made of recycled circuit board which seemed just about perfect for our family.  Here Phoebe is saying the blessings and lighting the first candle with her daddy.

This flimsy thing is supposed to last eight days?!  Baby accepts that challenge.

Monday, December 19 (day 172/365)

One of Phoebe's holiday presents from my parents was a big, comfy chair.  She was pretty excited to get it and spends a lot of time in it curled up with a good book.  Of course, she spends an equal amount of time trying to use the chair as a piece of gymnastics equipment. 

Dear Grandma, thank you for the chair  throne.  However, you neglected to monogram it for me.  This has led to several unfortunate instances where the baby has occupied my spot. 

Hello? Anybody there?

We've been MIA for quite a while here on the Gottwoods.  We don't really have a good excuse other than life.  Life with an energetic, adorable, strong-willed toddler.  We've been taking pictures, so rest assured they will get posted eventually, there just probably won't be much commentary.  We're too sleep deprived these days to say anything clever anyway :)