Happy Easter!

It was a beautiful day for an Easter egg hunt with family, friends, and doggies. Everyone had a great time enjoying laughs, food, football, and cards. It was a pleasure to finally meet Erin and Marc's little girl, Emma. She was a sweet cousin who picked up after Nina, tried to give her hugs, and helped her with her sock. Thanks to auntie Allison who gave Nina the cute bunny robe and slippers.

Taking eggs out of the basket?--------------The hunter/gatherers

Found an egg! ----------------- Better than an egg - a rock!

Erin and Emma; Nina blinked---------------------Sorting out their candy

This is our 100th post in Nina's online baby book and we have also surpassed 10,000 page views! Wow - thanks for all of you who have shared your time and love! We'll end with a small video of Nina dancing with some of her toy eggs.

Fun in the sun

Nina has always enjoyed being outside and going on walks, but now she's actually getting to play outside. She had fun at the nearby recreation center, going on slides, swings, and playing with other kids. Today she had a riot playing with mama and sharing the grass she ripped out of the lawn.

"KEVIN!"

Nina is growing up in a hurry. Eating real foods, standing up without holding on to things, and brushing her teeth. She's making funny faces about everything and still quite a doll. We aren't sure why she has started slapping her hands to her cheeks in "Home Alone" fashion, but it's pretty darn funny (except while she's eating and mashed peas fly everywhere).

9 Months

Nina has hit the 3/4 of a year mark and continues to grow faster than we can keep up with. As we organized her closet, we discovered that she's too big for about half of her wardrobe. She's a quick crawler, loves to climb, and is now starting to wave. She's been giving a lot of kisses, eating more food, and taking fewer naps! Here's the video:

Cousins!

After a few weeks of enjoying dogs from afar, Nina was delighted to get to play up close with Cousin Gus. She touched him, talked to him, and tickled him. She also got to play with a few other dogs and a bunch of Dad's cousins at the Great Owatonna get-together. We can't wait to do it all again at Easter.

Mama

Nina recently went from saying 'Mama' just a few times a day to quite frequently. She's been talking to Mama all day and calling out to her during our walk, while eating, and throughout the diaper changes. The whole family is happy to get outside for walks again, and while walking around the lake, Nina tries to talk to each dog she sees. We can't tell if she's trying to say 'woof' or if she's just saying 'oooooooh.' We're going to need to start putting up the gates as Nina climbed 9 steps tonight (with dad behind her) while looking for Mama.

Silly girl

Nina is crawling and climbing on everything lately. She's smiling a lot, although she has started to hear the word 'no' a few times and doesn't seem to be a fan of it (See photo below). She's gotten pretty good at giving kisses, some of them with more slobber than others. Her new word is "Mama" and we're trying to get some footage of it.

Nina also has a few new hobbies. She plays a game with Dada; she yells and tries to startle him, cracking up every time. She also likes dancing to music when she hears it, often waving her hands, bouncing, or just rocking back and forth. Sometimes she tries to trick Mama by pretending she's too big for a pacifier, spitting it out immediately. So silly!