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...
12/06/2008
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!
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:
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.
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.
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.
6/27/2008
It's been a fun-filled month!
Another month, another milestone! First of all, Jolie had her 6 month appointment. I can't believe it's been six months already! She was 16 lbs 9 oz and 28 1/2 inches... off the charts for height, which is no surprise to us- she truly is a daddy's girl. Jolie has graduated to her big-girl car seat and to stage one vegetables. She can also sit up un-assisted (for a minute or two), plays peek-a-boo, and holds her own bottle!
Here she is feeding herself:
And here is the epitome of a daddy's girl: She roots for his team and even wears his clothes!
While I'm on the topic of being a daddy's girl, on Father's day, Jolie, Matt and I headed to the pool for Jolie's first swim. She absolutely LOVES the water. She's a natural little swimmer, and even more of a natural babe. Jolie now owns FOUR bathing suits (compliments of grandma and mom-mom), and has used all four already. We are so pleased that Jolie likes the water, because the pool is pretty much my summer plan during the day! In addition to the public pool, Jolie and I are taking baby swim classes at the Hatboro YMCA. Jolie is such a ham- we got compliments after from parents who were watching about how fabulous she was in the water (the youngest baby there!).
I am officially (and finally) home for the summer, my school year having been extended a week for curriculum writing. I have loved every minute of my time with Jolie. She is such a bright and cheery girl; she truly makes me happy! She is very close to crawling- right now she rolls over almost immediately if we lay her on her back, and then she does the "plank pose" from Yoga (think of the hardest part of a push-up), and scootches backward. All she needs to do is figure out how to use her knees and the great Jolie chase will commence!
5/30/2008
Update: Sleep, friends, and school
I knew that I spoke too soon. Sleeping through the night has happened about 5 times. Non-consecutively for the most part. UGH. Oh well, in a few WEEKS, I'll be home and can nap in the afternoon with her if necessary!
We have continued to feed her various cereals with moderate success. Jolie loves to hold her spoon and feed herself (with me guiding it into her mouth). It's quite adorable and alarming at the same time- She's growing up so quickly. She also likes to sip water from my cup, although Matt thinks she just wants something hard to chomp on, our poor little teether!
Jolie has truly discovered her feet. At every change, she nibbles on them and pulls off her socks. I think that has been my favorite feat of hers thus far!
Two weeks ago, Jolie met Jimmy and Ryan, Jim and Beth's boys. Here they are:
We stayed in Harrisburg with them. For the most part, Jolie was very well behaved, although she did try to eat Jimmy. (See below)
He didn't seem to mind, but Jolie needs to learn some manners! We also got to meet baby Colin, Joe and Katie's little boy. We wonder which will be her future boyfriend! The boys are so tiny, but in good health and cute cute cute!
Finally, last week, Jolie came to work with me for May Function day, which is my favorite day of the work year. Rather than teach all day, we (and the students) go outside and have a carnival of sorts. Jolie was amazing all day. She truly is a happy baby. She was passed around like a hot potato and still happy as a clam. I loved spending my entire day with her. Only two weeks until EVERY DAY IS MAY DAY!
We have continued to feed her various cereals with moderate success. Jolie loves to hold her spoon and feed herself (with me guiding it into her mouth). It's quite adorable and alarming at the same time- She's growing up so quickly. She also likes to sip water from my cup, although Matt thinks she just wants something hard to chomp on, our poor little teether!
Jolie has truly discovered her feet. At every change, she nibbles on them and pulls off her socks. I think that has been my favorite feat of hers thus far!
Two weeks ago, Jolie met Jimmy and Ryan, Jim and Beth's boys. Here they are:
We stayed in Harrisburg with them. For the most part, Jolie was very well behaved, although she did try to eat Jimmy. (See below)
He didn't seem to mind, but Jolie needs to learn some manners! We also got to meet baby Colin, Joe and Katie's little boy. We wonder which will be her future boyfriend! The boys are so tiny, but in good health and cute cute cute!
Finally, last week, Jolie came to work with me for May Function day, which is my favorite day of the work year. Rather than teach all day, we (and the students) go outside and have a carnival of sorts. Jolie was amazing all day. She truly is a happy baby. She was passed around like a hot potato and still happy as a clam. I loved spending my entire day with her. Only two weeks until EVERY DAY IS MAY DAY!
5/08/2008
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