Signs of things to come?

We've been having fun visiting new babies recently and Mali is definitely intrigued. As you can see from her expression, she's not sure what other emotions to express. Of course, the first thing new parents say when seeing her is "You're SO big!". How do they grow so much in nine months? Was our big girl once THAT little?

Here are pictures of her with her adorable new friend Jack (more pictures of that little cutie can be seen on his own blog, The Ryans,). Check out how closely we have to hold her hands so she doesn't completely scare him.

Nine Months Old

She has now been out of the womb virtually as long as she was in the womb!

Amalia June Ward is now officially on the go--scooting, rolling, creeping, and almost crawling everywhere. That is, when she's not too busy going out to eat and visiting newborn babies (pictures to follow in upcoming posts). Her current favorite toys, listed in order, are:

1) Anything she is not allowed to play with, i.e. plants, electrical sockets, heating grates, buttons on the computer, tubes of diaper ointment, and electrical cords.

2) Mommy and Daddy's books that she can reach on the bookshelf. We are continually entertained to turn around to find her immersed in reading material like "The Complete Fondue Cookbook".

3) The paper feed button on the printer (we do allow this one, just to enjoy the look on her face when the papers shoots out of the printer).

4) Doors and drawers, and anything else that opens and closes.

5) Her hairbrush, resulting in it being lost throughout the house.

6) Measuring cups and spoons.

7) Any of her own toys, books, or stuffed animals.

A break from baby-related blogging

For those of you waiting in anticipation, the Ward family has completed not one, but two NCAA brackets and we are eagerly awaiting the tournaments today. Our first one, based primarily on our sentimental favorites has Wisconsin vs. Pitt and Marquette vs. Ohio State in the Final Four. Obviously, we expect Wisconsin to win it all. Go Badgers. We were disappointed, however, to have to choose between Marquette and Michigan State.

Sentiments aside and based only on our immense college basketball knowledge, we predict Florida vs UCLA and North Carolina vs. Ohio State in the Final Four, with Ohio State winning it all. At least we did get a shout-out to the Big Ten in there.

And for our Michigan readers, remember that betting over $5 in the tournament could cost you a $1000 fine. See here for more details. Good thing they're really cracking down on the hard-core criminals in that state.

Again, Go Badgers!