In Denmark with Dad

We spent the past week in Denmark where Ani and I met up with Ben. It was a great trip - we enjoyed the pristine farmlands, beautiful castles and churches, and Viking history. Most of all, it was great to hang out as a family.

Baby feet

Aren't these little piggies cute?

I'm waiting on perpetual hold with Delta airlines, which just may be the 7th circle of Hell. Anyways, I thought I'd try to cheer myself up by looking at cute pictures and posting them. It's almost working, almost....

Beach day

Pictures and lies

Isn't it great how pictures can capture a moment and give the false impression of reality.


For example, here's a great photo of Ani's Uncle Brian reading a story to her and cousin Dominick. Doesn't it look like Ani is listening intently to the story? While Dominick may enjoy story time, I've pretty much given up on reading to Ani for now because she always insists on devouring the book herself, quite literally.


This second picture (taken just moments later) better captures reality, but I'll save the first one for the albums to brag about what a good listener my little girl was :)

Real food

I'm convinced I choked to death on something in a previous life, because I've been very hesitant to give Ani any real foods. Since Ani is completely over babyfood and has 8 teeth now, I've put my fears aside and let her go for the solids. Although Ani is only 1/4 Italian, spaghetti is clearly her favorite food.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Ani and Nicole have made it to Michigan -- our home base until September until we go with Ben to Uganda. Here Ani is taking a bath with her cousin Dominic (18 months). The two have become fast friends and Ani wants to do everything Domi does. It's pretty adorable.

Little red Ani B.

With the flurry of moving activity and visitors we are a little behind on our photos. Here's Ani in an adorable outfit made by Uncle Nate's girlfriend Melissa. Ani loves it. Thanks Melissa!

The power of prunes

For indelicate reasons, we fed Ani stewed prunes this morning. In the process, she took on many characters.

First, she looks like a Revlon model sporting the newest lipstick color "Prunella":












Next, she decided to venture into a Charlie Chaplin routine:


Finally, she decided to transform herself into one of her favorite characters, DAD:

'sup?

In reverse

Watch out everyone! Ani's on the road. Ok, just the playground. She's old enough now to enjoy all the great communal toys lying around the village.

Not your average 7 month old

Ani is trying to help her dad understand the intricacies of multilevel statistical modeling. Hmmm...maybe we should start with ABCs.

I just wanna fly....

When she's not scooting across the room --- she has the military crawl down now --- Ani assumes the skydiving free fall position. I get a sore neck just watching her.

Sitting pretty

It's official, Ani is a bonafide sitter. With her long torso and little bottom, Ani has not been inclined to sit but rather has been working on her crawl. She's mastered it now though and is happy to sit and play for almost 3 minutes before getting bored and rolling into her crawl position.

Visit from Bappa and Mimi

Ani's grandparents (named Bappa and Mimi by cousin Dominick) came for a visit. Ani was remarkably chipper all week, giving her grandparents a distorted impression of her day-to-day demeanor. Of course, she cried the whole way home after her grandparents were dropped off at the airport.

Yuck!

We're enduring a case of the Ani diarrhea here at the Bellweathers. Is it a virus, food sensitivity, just teething??? We have no idea and are hoping that whatever it is, it ends soon. Ani's biggest complaint is a sore bottom and she's expressing her displeasure here. She's pretty darn cute about it though. :)

Raindrops on roses....

Here are a few of Ani's new favorite things:

1. DAD. She is over the moon for dad these days. Mom will do if she's hungry enough, but really, it's all about dad.

2. Moving around. She's a semi-crawler of late. She scoots backwards and shifts around in 360 degree circles but can't get very far in a forward motion yet. Still, we're quite proud ;)

3. Breathing fast and furious through her nose. She found she can make some cool noises this way and always gets a laugh from us. See photo for the great face she makes when she does this.

Two teeth

Ani's two center bottom teeth came in recently. Now she can do some serious damage to the furniture and to mom as well :)

I couldn't get a good photo of her teeth so I decided to put this one up instead that was taken by Ani's new friend Pavlina.

I'm so baked....

Here's a cute picture of Ani that one of her babysitters sent us. Sure, she can't read, but she can model the latest in baking fashion.

baby or puppy?

Ani has a couple of teeth coming in and has taken to chewing on our furniture to relieve the pressure.

Sporting a new style

After much consideration, we got a new carrier for Ani to tote her around town. We feel very stylish now, even if mom hasn't put on makeup or brushed her hair in a few weeks ;)

Sweet Potato!

We've started experimenting with solids - rice cereal, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Although they are difficult to capture on camera, the bewildered faces Ani makes are hilarious. Next week is peas... :)

Literary appreciation

She's very advanced... ;O)

Splish Splash!

Here's Ani enjoying her new favorite past time - splashing her feet in the sink. It combines three of her favorite activities: kicking, making a mess, and looking at herself in the mirror.

Hey there Dad!

Ben is in Uganda for a couple of weeks so I'm uploading a photo of Ani every few days so he can keep tabs on her. :)

Ani's new ride

Here's Ani in her new jogging stroller. She's ready to roll......

Good times in Michigan

We have had a great time with family in Michigan. Ani has enjoyed meeting grandparents, great grandparents, and lots of other friends and family. Thanks to all for a wonderful trip!

Ani's Baptism

Ani was baptized on December 17th at St. Patrick's church in Grand Haven, MI. Aunt Jean and Uncle Nate served as her Godparents. It was great to see family and friends for the event!

Group Photos

Here's Ani with some friends from Nicole's Mom's group.

















Henry, Nika, Avery, Ani, Isaac, Lenci, Wally, Kailea

Heads Up!

All is well at the Bellweathers. It's been fun watching Ani progress. These days she likes sitting up on our laps and is starting to grab everything so she can put it in her mouth. Standard protocol for all babies this age, we know, but it's exciting for us.

Visit from Kyann and Sabine

Kyann and Sabine came for a visit this weekend. Sabine (4.5 months) gave us a fun look at what a difference a couple of months can make in babyland.

Gearing up for the Holidays!

We dressed Ani up for a pre-holiday get together this past weekend. Here's our little holiday elf!

Strike a Pose

Well...lesson learned. I can't force a posed picture of Ani. Here are two sad sad attempts. The first picture was supposed to be Ani looking cute and preppy and the second one was supposed to be a funny picture of Ani sporting long hair - courtesy of mom. Instead, I got (1) a picture of Ani yelling at me that she's too young to model and (2) a photo that makes Ani look like Janis Joplin after a bender. We'll stick to spontaneous photos from now on.

Clean Living

Here's a cute photo of Ani in the tub. As you can see, her eyes are open and while our girl likes her sleep she's a little more engaged every day. The smiles and gurgles are amazing but the fussy time cries we could do without. :)

Family Reunion

Ani completed her first major roadtrip this weekend to Arizona for a Bellows mini-reunion. Grandpa Greg came out from Michigan and braved the roadtrip with us.

Visit from Jean, Brian, and Domi!

Aunt Jean, Uncle Brian, and Cousin Dominick came to visit for a nice long weekend. Dominick (10 months) showed Ani the ropes on what it means to be a fun baby - although Ani slept through many of his lessons.

Cousins out for fish and chips

Last weekend two generations of cousins got together at an English pub in Kensington (California). I'm told on the greatest authority that this fine English establishment could not in fact be truly English with its loud Kids Corner parked right under the dart boards. Regardless of single regulars' opinions (read reviews), area families pop in with kids in tow for a cold pint or two every evening. Nevertheless, cousins and spouses and friends had a great time - even Ani was awake for a while.

Ani Protests!

While it may only sound like regular old baby cries, we think that Ani is adapting to her Berkeley environment and protesting the world's ills - war, poverty, environmental damage, etc...