Well, so much for the blog. We have been busy though. For 2009 we decided to travel a lot as the economy is carp and Denver is big enough. So we went to Australia for a month or so, then to Korea, and finally the USA for 3 months. Denver saw many of her cousins and she realy enjoyed herself. She also misses Grandma & Cheyenne - often grabbing their pictures and asking where is Grandma?

She also picks up her phone and 'calls' Grandma or Cheyenne to talk to them.

Wow, 2 years goes by very quickly.

Denver is now making pretty good sentences - and she can relate to abstract concepts a bit. Very fun.

Wow, she is getting big. Denver is walking, talking & getting into trouble. We had a great birthday party & BBQ. Lot's of friends turned up to wish her the best.

Denver is getting big! And loud! She always made noises but never screamed - now she can be pretty loud - so it is harder to go out to eat. I guess we were spoiled as she always slept when we went out to eat. Not anymore, she wants to stay awake to see all of the action.

Yesterday we tried to go to a five start restaurant but they don't allow babies. So instead we went to a fancy Chinese place. Denver had a lot of fun!



Hi Denver   I guess you are now a world traveler.  Rumour has it that you enjoyed your trips and didn't cause any trouble.
 
I am writing to tell you about Mothers Day.  Dan and Leeann took all of the Mothers, Grandmothers and Great Grandmothers out for brunch.  Since you could not be here I took a king sized picture of you so that you could join in the celebration.
I know that your Mommy & Daddy are really busy, but anything you can say to them about coming to see me should hlep.
Love you    Grandma


Finally she can crawl!

She could walk, stand up, hold herself up, turn over, sit up, play the piano (with on efinger at a time), drink from her no-spil drink cup - but she couldn't crawl. She would get up on all fours and one leg would insinctively move - but it would just move forward and backward - and no movement would take place.

Now a week after her first crawl she can d 10 feet a minute. She gets so excited that she howls out as she is moving - so proud of herself.

And she can roll from heback to her stomach - but not back - well directly that is. Instead she sits up first and then she lays down.

Still no teeth.

She really likes swimming. We bought her a small inflatable boat - she loves it. She kicks like she is in her walker - but she ends up just spinning around.

No!
She is learning to not touch something or move off her play mat area. When she is trying to grab something she isn't supposed to - and I say "no!" in a firm voice she backs down. Same when she is trying to crawl off her play mat (it is 10X10).

Food!
Denver is just like her momma - very good at eating. We were worried that she might now want solid food as she has never had a bottle - but the first time she tried solid she loved it. Mandy is making all of her food. So far so good. Her favorite so far is sweet potatoes.

Personality
She has learned to whine or charm. When she doesn't want something she will whine - but if you ignore her the whining goes away after 5 seconds and she is smiling and playing.

And when you open the door to her room to peek in on her in her crib she hears he squeak of the hinges - and she looks up with the biggest smile and a "I'm so happy to see you come and rescue me look" on her face. Who wouldn't rescue her from the lonely crib...


.


.

She is now officially eating. Mandy made some rice porridge and she ate her first spoonful trouble free. After a few spoonfuls she whined for more!

So eating doesn't seem to be a problem - she must have gotten that from her mother.

Soon we will start her on other foods as well.

She also has started to play the piano. And as with everything, she uses individual fingers to touch, so she looks like she is actually playing the piano.

She also is spinning a little wheel on her toy - with just one finger. Very cute.

She talks, She walks, She sits, but she doesn't crawl.

We are off to our second international trip. I hope she enjoys Hong Kong again.

Wow, she is growing fast!

Well, she took her first international trip. We went from Penang to Hong Kong and then from Hong Kong to Korea. Each flight was only 3.5 hours long. She really like traveling! She never whined or cried the entire trip (can't say that for everyone). She had fun in the plane - all sort of interesting things and people to look at. She was the darling of the plane.

I brought Denver and Mandy to Grandma's house. I then went to work. Both of us worked for 30 days strait - every single day including the weekends.

After a month we had to stop in Hong Kong as I had one more meeting. I think we did one years worth of work in one month. Hong Kong is interesting but the hotels are very expensive. 2 days was enough.

We were so glad to be back home. Denver was a bit fussy - I guess the long trip wore her out. She also had 4 different beds she slept in. But she was glad to be back home and playing with her toys in her room.

So now she can turn herself over and she tries to crawl. She lifts herself up - does a push up - but then she lifts her back legs up instead of pushing. So she gets a lot of exercise but goes no where. She does know how to move when she is on her back though.

She can stand very well. And she can grip things better and has much more muscle motor control.

Milestones:

She now can stand up by herself while holding my thumbs for balance.

She laughs! She has been find of giggling for a while - but suddenly she bursted out in "ha ha ha ha" laughter - lasting 3 or 4 seconds - and then again a bit more. Of course she stopped by the time we ran for the video camera. Then later in the day I was holding her while on the phone and she started laughing a lot - loud enough for the caller to hear. Kind of sounded like one of those Tickle-Me-Elmo dolls.



Nowadays she is rarely grumpy. Mandy is doing a great job of keeping track of how long she has been up so she doesn't get over tired. Are we on easy street? Or is this a temporary lull? She slept right trough our Chinese New Year dinner (we went to an Italian restaurant - don't ask). I guess the fine dining atmosphere makes her sleepy.

She keeps scratching the back of her head & rubbing her ear.

Milestones:

She can almost stand up by herself as long as she is gripping onto my thumbs for balance.

She now plays with her toys a lot.

She plays with her feet a lot.

She can't sit. She can't crawl. She can't even lay on her stomach. But she can stand! Actually she has been standing for a long time - I hold my hands around her chest as a guide - and she tries hard to balance herself.

Now she will get up from a seated position while she grips my thumbs. She grips my thumbs and I pull her arms upward until they are tight - and then she pushes with her legs and pulls with her arms until she stands up. We usually do this in front of the mirror - and she has a very proud look on her face.

This week we went to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in order to apply for Denver's social security number and passport. It was a lot of work - lots of paper work and various forms and requirements. It was long drive down - but we finally got everything submitted. We just hope it all goes through well.

Denver likes to ride in the truck - but only for an hour or two. Then she starts squirming in her car seat. So we had to stop several time on the 5 hour trip for her to "stretch out" and get some air. She liked the hotel and slept well in the crib they gave us. We went to Ikea to buy more junk - but the good thing is they actually have some not-made-in-China stuff for babies.

Denver is really growing up quickly. We can't believe it has only been 11 weeks since her birth - it seems much longer. And she went from being a tiny baby rapped up in a blanket to a cute, aware, girl that can do so much.

The Bath
Denver now likes her evening baths. Before she screamed all the way through. Now she likes playing in the water. We use a bucket with baby bath soap & water to dunk her in, then scrub her a bit, then into the baby bath to rinse and play (it has a seat built in so she can sit by herself). Loads if fun!

The Walker
Denver started using a walker this week. We have a hand-me-down walker. She loves sitting in it - but even on the lowest setting she can just barely touch the ground - so she is only moving inches at a time. She will look at you as you walk around the room - back and forth, back and forth.

Letter From Grandma:

Denver    I haven't heard from you for quite a while.   I am wondering if your Mom & Dad took you for a 2 week check up.  If they did how much did you weigh and how long were you.  I am enjoying all of the pictures your parents are posting of you, but of course it is not the same as being with you and holding you.   I find it absolutely amazing how much you and your 2nd cousin Cheyanne resemble each other.  Maybe it is because you both have names of cities in the western U.S. What do you think?
Write soon
Love you Gramma

Grandma
I had my check up and all is fine! Just playing around in my crib and with my new toys.

Love,

Denver


I was working in Singapore for a while so I couldn't update the blog.

OK, posting daily is getting out of hand - and hard for readers. So weekly it is.

Denver is saying "hi" more often. When she is in a good mood and playing she will respond to your Hi with a Hi - but she has to see your face when you say Hi.

Denver is now standing for up to 2 minutes with no upward support - or course she still flops backward and forward - but is strong enough to stand up. But her crawling skills are hopeless. In fact, she crawls better when on her back.

On Sunday I met our neighbors with Denver who have a 3 month old at the pool. Lot's of fun!!!!









From Dec 27th to Jan 2nd.

We just can't believe it has been only two months. We have done so much and had so much fun with Denver it seems like a year or two went by.


Denver's first word:

http://denverkroc.com/movies/page17/files/page17-1001-pop.html

Today we made Christmas dinner - the usual except this year turkey went up in price so we had chicken instead.

You have to have speakers or headphones to listen to the videos.

Denver    You will have to have a serious talk with your Mom and Dad.  They are not keeping up with your blog or your photos.   I am so far away I need to see them.  Love you  Gramma

Grandma - Daddy's computer died so he got a new one but the software wasn't updated. Now it works. Did you check out my first spoken word video yet?

Love,

Danver

Today we visited our friends in Butterworth. We first met them at a per-natal class. They had their baby two days before Denver was born. The father, Robert, knows all about my past as he spent a couple of hours in the waiting room with my mom while Denver was on her way out.

Mandy and his wife took care of the two babies while Robert and I played a round of golf.

Denver's first word? Hi! She says hi often.

Two hours at the pool with Denver wore me out - because she wanted to be continuously walked about or pushed in her stroller.

We went out for a Sushi lunch buffet - she slept well the whole time.

Denver and I went to the gym and the pool for 2 hours. She slept like a champ.

Today we finished her hand and feet casts. We molded them with clay then used plaster. Finally we painted them gold and put them in a box frame. Will post picture later.

Denver also got her first toy today - a stretchy dog. We bought it form a handicapped people's workshop. Much better than buying some toxic toy from China.

This was a rough day as Denver didn't give mom much sleep. Finally calmed everyone down and we went to the mall and had dinner. She likes all of the sites and bumps in the mall.

These days she is getting much easier to take care of.

And Denver now has a new cousin:

Cheyanne Rose was born at 5:08 am 12-11-07.  She weighed 8# 4 1/2 oz and was 21 inches long. This is my niece's daughter.

She is becoming a fatty - nice cute fat girl. She is losing her dimples and lines on her face as it is getting chubby.

Denver's sleep patterns are getting more regular - can't wait for the 8 hour sleeps.

She was soooo cute all day long - even when when was crying. We did a lot of stuff. Mandy made plaster casts of her feet and hands, Denver took a bath, we went to the poll (twice), took a stroll...

Denver's hair is starting to thin. Soon we may have a bald baby!

She is trying to 'walk' more. She can hold herself up for 4 or 5 seconds before the wiggles take over and she looses balance.

Today we took our Christmas pictures - at home. Denver was a good model for about 10 minutes and then she started to fidget a bit.

We did Denver's favorite activity today - heading to the shopping mall. She of course slept right through the toy section.

Dang they grow up quickly! She is so different - she knows who we are, smiles, tries to walk, etc.

Denver wanted to go shopping for some toys. We told her she can get any toy she wanted as long as it wasn't made in China. Couldn't find a single one. Dang.

Missed a day - we were very busy with guests and taking care of Denver. She has been fussing much more these days.

She is growing - I can feel that she is heavier. She now knows who is who right away. She is smiling all the time (except when crying - which can happen often these days).

Her hair is getting lighter and her eyes seem to be changing color - from light blue to light brown.Maybe she will be hazel like me!