A Visit from Violet

Last weekend our friends stopped by with their baby, Violet. We first met Violet and her family back in January when I was searching out babies to donate my extra breastmilk. Here was our first mention of her -- they are the local Pittsburgh family. We've visited with them several times since January, at first just getting to know each other, but now to catch up on what's going on. To date, I have donated 1,015 ounces of breastmilk and Violet has been the recipient of all but 200 ounces of it. It makes me so happy to know that another baby is benefiting from my milk the way that Imogen has and I am very proud of that.

Violet is now 19 months old and a strong, vibrant, healthy little girl! This visit was the first that we got to see her walking, see her new teeth, and hear her chatting away. I also love her hair -- something that has grown out a lot since we saw her last back in July. She also has a little more chub on her than we've ever seen and I love it! Imogen had a blast playing with her and they enjoyed a game of "pass the bear" back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

I made the knitted dress that Violet is wearing and gave it to her a couple months ago. It now fits and she looks adorable in it! I chose the color scheme (with the help of Chris!) and the colors are perfect for her. She is a very special miracle baby, born at 24 weeks 1 day, weighing 1 pound 2 ounces. Every time I see her, I am amazed at how, with the grace of God and some modern medicine, even the tiniest of babies can go on to flourish!

Pittsburgh Pride Longies

I recently finished Imogen's first knitted pants of the fall/winter season, and I used a beautifully dyed yarn that I purchased locally from another Pittsburgh-ian. No one could have matched the colors of the Steelers and Penguins better! Imogen will get tons of use out of them during the football and hockey season this year and we even have an awesome matching jersey. Action shots to follow, but I don't have any just yet.

Yarn By: Maggie of Burgh Baby Gear
Yarn Type: BFL Aran
Colorway: Pittsburgh Pride

15-Month Well Baby Visit

Today I took Imogen to her 15-month Well Baby Visit with Dr. Lincoln. I can't believe she is so big already! The receptionists in the office always say, "Wow! Look how big she is! I remember when she was this little." Have I mentioned that we really love our doctor and his office? Anyway, Imogen's stats are:

Weight: 22 pounds 6 ounces (39th percentile)
Length: 30.5 inches (46th percentile)
Head: 45.5 cm (50th percentile)

He said she is growing wonderfully and looks like a healthy little girl. She had to get one shot, her last DTaP for quite some time, and took it like a champ. Seriously I think it was the best shot experience we've had so far. I also got some paperwork to take Imogen in to get her blood drawn and tested for lead among other things. I'm sure that will be fun.

Anyway, just wanted to give everyone a quick update!

Sittin' on the Pot

A couple nights ago, Imogen was playing in the kitchen cabinets that hold all our pots and pans. Normally she would just take a few out and maybe slide one across the tile making all sorts of loud noise before abandoning the items as boring. But this day was different. She grabbed one of our large pots and carried it to the family room. I watched her as she then stepped one foot in, then the other in and attempted to squeeze her whole body down into it! LOL! It was soooo funny to watch! She couldn't get herself the entire way in, so she ended up just sittin' on the pot -- and she was so very proud of herself :-)

We already have a potty seat for the real 'pot' and Imogen sits on it at least once a day to start learning what is coming in the future. I can't wait until she uses that pot all the time!

More Friends!

Last week, a good friend of mine who has moved east was back in the area to pack up the rest of her and her family's belongings. She has a beautiful little girl named Samantha, who was born 2 1/2 months after Imogen. You all know Imogen's love of other kiddos so I was excited for them to get to play together. Here are some pictures of them. Do you know how hard it is to get two one-year-olds to sit still for a picture?? It was so funny watching them because whatever toy one was playing with, the other always wanted too! My friend said that Samantha was walking more than she'd ever seen at our house and I think Samantha was just trying to show off to her new friend :-)