Look at me, I'm flying...

I can't crawl yet, but I can fly. Isn't that something? This was captured pretty well on Monday 6/25/07. First, a static picture of Daddy teasing me with this funky pen Great Aunt Cathy gave us:


And here's a side view of my flying abilities:


And a front view. Don't you love my flailing arms and facial expressions? I truly am flying:


Unfortunately, there were no barf bags on this flight, so I just made do:

Orendorff Reunion 2007

Way back in December 2006 Mommy introduced you to my Grandma - Judy Adams (Orendorff maiden name). She was one of twelve children! Every year, the Orendorff's gather in Indiana PA (where my Mommy grew up and a lot of other Orendorff offspring). I had a great time meeting all of my second counsins (my Mommy's cousins' kids) and cousins once removed (my Mommy's cousins)(I think that's right?) and great aunts and uncles. Of course I got to see Aunt Paula and my cousins Kira and Marlon again.

The day of the reunion (Sat 6/23/07) it was quite cool in the shade. Here I am chilling on the great quilt Beth made for me.


Mommy and Daddy have been wanting to try out a swing with me, but thought they should wait until I can sit up all by myself. One of my Great Aunts - Patti - assured them I could do it (she should know, she has 5 children and 12 grandchildren and another on the way!) She was right - what fun!:


Then the T-Shirts were unveiled. My cousin once removed, Christy (or is it ie?) always gets these made for us each year and brings them with her all the way from Houston TX! Mine is more of a dress for now:


Then it was time for the photos! Every year we get in a big group to get a photo of everyone. Great uncle Warren is a photographer and takes the picture each year. Hope I get a copy of it eventually. Then we all get photos with our immediate family. Here is Grandma, Aunt Paula, cousins Kira and Marlon, Mommy, Daddy and Me! Wow, our family has grown!:


Here are the Orendorff "kids" from oldest to youngest. Starting from the left is Harry, JoAnne, Patti, Marybeth, Dick, Judy(Grandma), Tom's wife Kathy(Tom sadly passed away from cancer a few years ago), Cathy, Debbie, Bobbi, and missing next would be Jerry (who is in California) and Lori (who sadly missed the reunion due to an injured back):


To give you an idea of how BIG this reunion is, these 12 children produced 29 grandchildren (Mommy is one of those), those 29 grandchildren have produced 32 great grandchildren with 1 on the way. Factor in all of the spouses and you've got one big crowd! How lucky am I to be a part of this great family?! And it's going to keep growing because some of the grandchildren are still in highschool or college and not out there making families yet. Geesh!

After the pictures, we have a tradition of bringing a white elephant gift (something old or a re-gift type thing you want to get rid of at home) and doing a gift exchange where you can take someone else's junk/treasure or pick a "new" one from the pile. It is hilarious to watch it all unfold. Here's a photo taken during the game. From the left there's Jake (a second cousin), Kira (my cousin), Aunt Paula, cousin Marlon, great Aunt Bobbie, Abby (another second cousin), her Daddy - Kelly (my cousin once removed), and her Mommy - Kristy (not sure of spelling):


By the end of the day, I WAS POOPED!:


After going home for a short nap, we went to the hotel where a lot of people were staying and basically overtook the entire pool. Here I am in my first swimmers diaper. Can I tell you, I LOVE TO SWIM - what an exciting first!:



The next day we headed home on the long 4 hour trip. Well, now it's a 5 to 6 hour trip. I did pretty well, but got kind of fussy after being cooped up in the car. So we stopped on the turnpike and got some air. Here I am with Daddy admiring a tree. Did I mention I love to look at trees? I must say, I had a great time with the Orendorff bunch! Hope you enjoyed taking this trip with me:

Just Me Being Cute

Here are some photos from last week of me being my cute self. I got to visit Grammy last week at her house for the first time. She usually comes to my house. I watched and fed the goldfish in her little pond and as you'll see, fell sound asleep in her loving embrace. Ahhh, life is good with a family full of love. So let the slideshow begin:

Not only do I enjoy sleeping on my belly these days (yeah, I know, danger danger - supposed to sleep on back - sorry, I can't help it!) but I also like pulling my knees up which puts my cute little butt up in the air:


Of course, I'm irresistible after a bath:



Yes, another sleeping pose - is there a dramatic future ahead for me? Am I an actress in the making?


Strike a pose (or 2):



Sweet slumber:

Fun and Play

Here are two videos from last Monday (6/18/07).

First, although this is Herbie's toy, I was enjoying watching him play with it so much that Daddy thought he should try it on me. I LOVED IT!



And here I am in my Einstein Discovery Play Center. Mommy and Daddy bought it for me over a month ago, but my feet didn't touch the ground and I found it a little overwhelming. The last two weeks I've really warmed up to it. I don't know why, but Mommy is so happy about it when she's cooking in the kitchen. Something about keeping me occupied...

I Love My Snake

I don't know why, but Mommy calls this my snake toy. It's really just a caterpillar with a butterfly, dragonfly and sun with mirror hanging from it's body. It has a velcro loop on it so that it can hang from my carrier to entertain me when I'm bored. I really do enjoy a good munch or batting on this toy. Be sure to watch until the end to hear my scream - I'm getting quite loud these days.

Relaxing Times on the Couch

Herbie and I enjoy afternoon naps on the couch. Here you can see Herbie seeming calm and then looking quite scary with his animalistic yawn:




And here I am during one of my naps. I take after Mommy as I like to catch flies as I sleep (this means my mouth hangs wide open - it's even worse when I'm on my back!)

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary!

My Great Great Uncle Leroy and Great Great Aunt Jean Zimmerman celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday 6/9/07. What a great example of marriage. Leroy is my Daddy's PePaw's brother - his name was Elmer Zimmerman. What a great turnout!

Here I am eying up their beautiful cake. If you can see it, look at the picture of them in their younger days:


And here they are happy as can be on their special day:


After their party, we headed over to Lancaster Catholic High for the Relay for Life that was happening there. What great, sunny weather. We went to watch our friend Mary sing with her church group, Women at the Well. It was great. Mommy can't decide which picture is cuter, so here they both are. I'm so happy (well at least Mommy hopes I am) to be able to wear all these sun dresses that have been hanging in my closet:

Giggling and Laughing

Here is a video of Daddy giving me zerberts on my neck. I just love that:



And here I am enjoying one of my favorite toys as Daddy shakes it above me:

I'm 5 months old!

I tell you, growing up happens awfully fast. On Tuesday 6/5/07 I turned 5 months old! I'm almost ready to sit up on my own. I enjoy rolling around tremendously. I inchworm my way around a floor pretty good, but not crawling yet. I've introduced some consonants into the stream of vowel sounds that spew from my mouth. I've also taken quite an interest in the food Mommy and Daddy are eating. I guess that world will open up to me at my 6 month birthday. Look out rice cereal, here I come...

Take note of the message on my shirt. I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks Grammy for buying me the perfect shirt:


If you can't see it, it states "When God Created Me He Was Just Showing Off"

Happy 70th Birthday Dick/Richard

After the picnic on Sunday 6/3, we went out to Mount Gretna - about 30 minutes north of Lancaster - to celebrate Richard Steinhauer's 70th birthday. Mommy met Dick (as she knows him) around 1993 when they both attended the same church and sang in the choir. They also sang together in a Victorian Quartet for a few years, that was a lot of fun. Turns out, when she began working for the Library System in 2004, the Community Relation Coordinator - Mary Ann Heltshe-Steinhauer was Richard's new wife. Small world! They are such a great couple and I was glad I finally got to meet Dick. This was a surprise bday held for him at the Community Heights Building. Guess what! That's where Mommy and Daddy got married on 10/30/99 thanks to Dick! He reserved the building for them as his wedding gift to them. It was so neat for them to be back in that special place.

Here's a picture of me with Daddy and Dick:


And here's one with Mommy, Daddy and I at the very spot where they said "I DO"!!:

St. Mary's Church Picnic

My church had their annual picnic on Sunday 6/3. The weather wasn't the best, a little spritzing of rain on and off, but we had a nice time. We couldn't stay too long because we had a birthday party to get to afterwards. Here are some photos from the picnic:

Mommy tries to burp me and eat at the same time:


Daddy holds me while the kids with legs that allow them to get around better than me get ready for a game:

The Cats and Me

I think the cats are finally used to having me around. I'm just another part of the family to them now. Herbie still doesn't get the fact that I'm just a little more important than he is, but that's okay. As you can see in this photo, he really likes my boppie:


And now that we let Herbie outside, Annie is becoming her old, playful self. I do feel a bit sad for the moles and chipmunks and even squirrels that are dying out there thanks to Herbie the Attacker. I just dread the day a baby rabbit is left as the prize. Anyway, here is Annie in a mid-yawn:


I deal well with Herbie's insistence on retaining his spot with Mommy. Sorry buddy, I get to be closer to the food supply - NOT FOR YOU!

8 Things About Me Meme

“For this meme, each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.”

Okay, I'm game. Thanks to Beth for tagging me!

1. To prevent diaper rash, my parents occasionally blow dry my privates with a blow drier before putting a clean diaper on. I enjoy this so much at times, that I instantly pee into the clean diaper.

2. Not only do I enjoy chomping and sucking on my thumbs, I like my fingers and my entire hand and sometimes both hands at once!

3. Even though most of my wardrobe is pink, I prefer purple as my favorite color - or so my Mommy thinks.

4. My nickname is "ZombieBaby" because when I get sick of my fingers, hands and toes, I will begin gnawing on Mommy and Daddy's fingers, arms and even their chins.

5. You absolutely cannot be upset or sad about ANYTHING when I flash my gummy smile with bright eyes shining at you. Just give me a ring if you need this antidote.

6. When I get tired and fussy, I prefer being held over a shoulder. Truly, no other position will do at this point.

7. I love zerberts on really any part of my body. And I also love when Mommy or Daddy pretends they are a monster gnawing on my neck making scary noises. Yes, they watch entirely too many horror movies.

8. When my parents slack at bathing me, I never have to worry, because Herbie, our cat, does a fine job of washing my hair with his tongue. And I LOVE it!

Okay, the next 6 victims are: Hollylolly, thosecrazyvolpes, Life is Better With Cats, Mama Lisa's World Blog, Teach42, sandblade.net. Sorry, all the other blogs Mommy reads are of Library Trainers and professional blogs, and she doesn't really want to tag them!