12/06/2008

Changing blog locations!

Matt and I have set up a family blog, and my page is http://www.annie.dampffamily.com/ It's a work in progress right now, but that is where we'll be making updates from now on.

-Annie

Here is the cutest little video of Jolie from when she was a mere 5 weeks old...

10/12/2008

The Past Two Months

Hooray! The hardest part of the year is over! Volleyball season is officially over. My team finished with a respectable .500 record. But more importantly, I don't have to put in the (with commute) 15 hour days anymore. To celebrate, Jolie and I are heading over to Linvilla Orchards this week with some friends to pick some apples. Look forward to a post this week!

Over the past two months, despite the exhausting schedule, we've managed to squeeze in some fun and some milestones. First, Jolie has become a bonified Philly sports fan. She made it to two Phillies games this year (and lucky daddy has already been to two Phillies PLAYOFF games), and has worn her Eagles gear every Sunday.




Jolie has developed a sweet tooth. Really, it's more of an "anything you're eating" tooth. She's like a dog in that respect- she follows you around or climbs your leg trying to get at whatever you're eating. Daddy and Jolie shared MANY a popsicle this summer. Jolie also carries her toys around in her mouth as she crawls. It's quite funny.




Jolie is sweet as can be, of course. She has learned how to wave hello and goodbye, give kisses, to play hide and go seek, and coast around the furniture. She is also fascinated by other babies. Thank goodness, too, because it would be hard to bring Baby Dampf #2 home to a jealous girl. Here is a series of pictures of her finding "another" baby. I love my little Narcissus!







Yesterday, in the first celebration of the end of volleyball, Matt and I went to None Such Farms in Buckingham, PA, to pick out our pumpkins. I think the process was a bit overwhelming for our tired little girl, but by the end of our search for the perfect pumpkins, Jolie started to have some fun. We got three pumpkins, each proportionate to our heights. After the pumpkin patch, we meandered over to the farm's store and picked up some yummy, fresh apple sauce.



All in all, the past two months haven't been so bad, thanks to the little munchkin and her great daddy. We've had some great times!

8/22/2008

Back to the daily grind

Sadly, summer is basically over for Jolie and me. Two weeks ago, volleyball started up again, and since I have so much planning to do for the new course I'm teaching, it's back to dropping Jolie off at grandma and grandpa's for the day. Of course, I am heart broken, but Jolie doesn't seem to mind at all. She has a blast over there with her goofy grandparents.

Here is a recap of our wonderful summer together:

Jolie went from laying on the floor:


To doing the plank pose:


To crawling:


Sometimes she got really dressed up:


And sometimes she got barely dressed:


Jolie made friends:




Went swimming:


Played with her toys:


Played with Kitten:


Really, she played with anything:


She took rides in laundry baskets:


And rides in her stroller:


But mostly, summer was about having lots of time with daddy:


And mommy:

8/07/2008

Pushing up

Jolie has started to push up. As long as the object (or person) is low enough, she attempts to stand. Here's another short video featuring her overly enthusiastic parents as she climbs the "mommy mountain."

8/06/2008

Little Eagles Fan



Jolie has her first Eagles jersey! #36 Westbrook, a running back for the Philadelphia Eagles. I decided to put it on her yesterday and handed her her little football. She immediately started to crawl away with the ball. She's a natural! For now, we'll call her a crawling back.

8/03/2008

Creepy Crawler

It's official: For about a week now, Jolie has actually been crawling! For the last 2 months, she has been struggling to crawl. She has been practicing her yoga to strengthen her arms, and scooching her way around the house military style. Now, all of that is a thing of the past. Check it out yourself:


Joelle crawls to Kitten from Matthew Dampf on Vimeo.

Also, Jolie is sporting two teeth. She's reluctant to show them off, so you'll have to wait for the picture.

7/07/2008

Jolie's First Fourth

Before I start in on the fourth, here are some great pictures from this past week:





Our patriotic little lady had quite an eventful weekend. As always, Jolie woke up early with her daddy and played most of her energy out by the time I woke up. After eating a hearty breakfast, I hastily decorated the stroller with flag banners and stars and we headed to the stroller parade in Glenside.

We were a bit tentative about heading out because it looked like the sky was going to open up any minute, but the real rain held off long enough for the festivities to go off without a hitch.

Jolie wore her red, white and blue sun dress and held her own pin wheel as we wheeled her onto the field for the "parade." Parade is in quotations because it was really just us being assigned a number and standing in line while judges scrutinized the parents' decorating skills! Since we were waiting so long, we took Jolie out of the stroller so she could check out the bikes, trikes, and floats that were created for the "parade." Unfortunately, without Jolie in the stroller, it must have appeared a little bare, because we did not win an award, despite the fact that 3 were given out and there were only 5 strollers. I will have to go a little crazy next year, if we end up competing again.






After the "parade," Matt and I decided to parade Jolie around the neighborhood. We passed a house we had considered buying 2 years ago, and saw that the people who ended up with it had twins. The amazing yard (football field sized) that came with the house will get some good use.



Since it was Jolie's nap time, rather than wait to head to Hershey, we decided to go immediately so we could spend some time with Jim, Beth, and the boys. Jolie was so tired that she fell asleep on the floor while we packed. That was the only sleep she ended up taking all day. I played in the car with her all the way to Hershey, and then she was too excited by her new surroundings to sleep at Jim and Beth's.






Jolie loved looking at the boys. She regarded them similarly to Kitten. She would pant like a dog (I don't know where she learned that, as we have no dogs) because she was so excited, and then fall backward before she could grab them. She seemed to prefer Jimmmy over Ryan (although the picture above is Ryan), probably because he's the bigger of the two boys and just as relaxed as she is!

Jolie went to bed well before any fireworks went off, so that will have to wait a year or two, but we think she had a fun first fourth.

Saturday, our little family met up with mom-mom and pop-pop for some fun at Hershey Park. Jolie went to the sea lion show and was wowed by the acrobats who were performing with Kitty and Bruce (the sea lions). She also went to the top of the kissing tower and got smooched by her parents, and she completed the chocolate factory tour. She seemed to enjoy the smell of chocolate and she liked the song at the end (No matter how near, no matter how far, you're always close to a Hershey's bar... Hershey, the great American Chocolate bar). We were so glad because we love the song ourselves!

Overall, it was an exciting weekend for our little family, and as always, Jolie proved that she's a trooper and is up for any adventures we're willing to take.