[Whitney] Grumpy pumpkin

If you've ever met our baby you know that she is practically always smiling... that's literally how she is 99.999% of the time. Last night we tried to take some Halloween photos of her, and it was one of those .001% times when she's not so happy. We ended up capturing one Grumpy Pumpkin! Grandma Patty got her this cute pumpkin jacket, so we dressed her up... and she wasn't having it! The photos are priceless, however, so I'm still going to share them... we love our Grumpy Pumpkin! Happy Halloween!

[Fun] The Faust House is famous!

A friend of mine is getting his master's in fine arts and contacted us last year about using our house to film a movie. We were game for it, but one of the crew members was allergic to cats, so it never came through. One of the other crew members remembered our house from when they scoped it out, so he contacted us about using our house for an independent short he was doing. It worked out they could film things when we could easily be out of the house, so we went for it!

They wrapped filming this past weekend, and things went really well! They movie will premier in a few months and we're going to be invited. It will be neat to see our house on screen! They used the kitchen and living room, garage, Whitney's room (which they transformed into a boy's room!), and the backyard. Here are a few photos from the shoot:

Lights set up outside

Filming in the backyard

[Whitney] Seven months old!

Seven Month Milestones

It was definitely a major month for Miss Whitney Pearl:

• Crawling!
• Teeth - two on the same day!
• First words!
• Firsts
• Avocado
• Scrambled eggs
• Favorites:
• Light up toys - especially cell phones and the iPad, but we bought her two baby-friendly light up toys to curb the electronics habit!
• Family time before bedtime - we all hang out in her room while she crawls around the floor, pulls herself up on anything and everything

Seven month pictures:

As you can see we've had to go to putting her month sticker on her back... she likes to roll and crawl! :)

Whitney spent her 7 month birthday with Grandpa Faust while Mommy & Daddy were at work. She loves getting to hang out with him every Thursday!

[Whitney] Crawling!

We've got a baby on the move! Whitney officially crawled tonight:

[Whitney] Bath time = laugh time!

Bath time has turned into laugh time around the Faust House! In late August it became apparent that we needed to move Whitney from bathing in her tub in the kitchen, to bathing in the bathroom. She loves to kick and splash! I think we have a future swimmer on our hands! 

This video is from August 19th:

Once she hit the six month mark, we were able to use some of the bath toys she received as gifts. She *loves* them! And it has made her love bath time even more! Toys that squirt water are guaranteed to get her to belly laugh (and sometimes try to drink the water coming from them, too!). This video is from September 15th:

[Whitney] Six months old!

Six Month Milestones

• Going to daycare with Deb & Bob three days a week, and getting to hang out with Cora while she's there!
• Firsts:
• Eating food (so far cucumber, banana, and zucchini!)
• Using a sippy cup to drink water
• Favorites:
• Ice cubes (in a little mesh teether)
• Doggies licking her feet

Six month pictures:

Whitney spent her half birthday at home with Grandma Patty while Mommy & Daddy worked, and then Papa joined the fun that evening and we all had a nice dinner. Whitney enjoyed some zucchini for the first time, and delighted in opening a present from Grandma & Papa... she enjoyed trying to eat the card, tissue paper, and gift bag more than the gift itself, however. Isn't eating your gift the finest form of flattery? Something like that, anyway. :)

She ended her busy & fun half birthday snuggling with Mommy, and fell asleep on Mommy's chest... Mommy was in heaven. <3

[Whitney] Crawling attempts

We've seen signs that Whitney is ready to crawl since the first of this month. We know that she will take off any minute! She started out by getting up on all fours, and rocking forward. Then she's moved to what appears to be the yoga pose downward facing dog... and that usually ends in her face planting! She's SO close to actually crawling, but hasn't quite figured out to move her hands. She'll go backwards, scoot quite a bit, and go "splat" on her belly, but not yet crawling forward! 

This video captures her attempts pretty well (the dogs are fascinated by this whole process, by the way!):

[Whitney] Five months old!

Five Month Milestones

• Belly laughing
• Firsts:
• Sleeping on her belly
• Girls' weekend with mommy's sorority sisters
• Using a highchair

• Visit to Camp Sacramento
• Putting her toes in Lake Tahoe
• Wedding (congratulations, Kelly & Pat!)
• Favorites:
• Swinging at Camp Sac
• Rolling around any chance she gets
• Size:
• Diapers - size 2
• Clothes - 6 months

Five month pictures:

Her five month pictures were taken two days late because we were still on vacation! Whitney spent her five month birthday in Marin County for Kelly & Pat's wedding! She spent the day with Daddy, and visiting Mommy getting ready with the bride and bridesmaids, and spent the evening in our hotel room with her first babysitter! An Alpha Gam from Sonoma came down to hang out with her while we enjoyed the wedding. And she was such a good girl for the babysitter! We did bring her out to join us in the photobooth at one point - it was so fun!

[Fun] One year apart

Spent the afternoon with dear friends from high school and our daughters are all almost one year apart exactly... so fun!

[Whitney] Belly laughs

"A day without laughter is a day wasted."

- Charlie Chaplin

Whitney has developed full on belly laughs, and it is the cutest thing! You cannot help but laugh right along with her when she does it. This weekend she was all laughs when she woke up:

We were up in Shaver Lake with some of my girl friends from college, and my friend Marci was making her laugh. It lasted for 10-15 minutes! I have three separate videos of her doing this, and I could watch them all day long!

Then earlier today Wes was playing "Super Baby" with her and flying her above his head, and the giggles took over. I can't get enough of this!

[Fun] Photo website

Since many of our family members aren't on Facebook, I have uploaded all of our pictures to a personal Shutterfly site so everyone can see Whitney grow up! You can order photos directly from this site, too, and they can either be mailed to you, or picked up at a Target store for no charge. I will include more photos on here than I do on Facebook, and have an album for all of our mobile photos... and we take a handful every week! :) Enjoy!

http://doubleufaust.shutterfly.com/

[Whitney] Four months old!

Four Month Milestones

• Talking and squealing... so fun!
• Meeting other babies
• Favorites:
• Going on runs & walks with Daddy every day
• Watching the hand motions to "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
• Firsts:
• Rolling over
• Major League Baseball game on Father's Day at Dodger Stadium

• Using the Jenny Jump Up

• Eating her feet!

• Size:
• Diapers - size 1
• Clothes - 3-6 month, growing too long for most 3 month size
• Length: 25 inches
• Weight: 14 pounds on July 5th

Four month pictures:

Whitney spent her four month birthday down at Grandma Patty & Papa's house in San Clemente and got to meet lots of new family friends. It was so fun!

[Whitney] Mirror, mirror on the wall

Whitney had her four month checkup today, and she was checking herself out in the mirror and it was so cute!

She is in the 78th percentile for height, and 68th for weight. She is right on track developmentally, and she was such a good girl for the doctor!

[Whitney] New best friends

Whitney got to meet two babies who were born recently, and whom she will be fast friends with! Our friends Stephanie & Don had Cora Dawn on June 5th, and Whitney got to meet her this weekend:

Cora and Whitney will be together three days a week because Don's mom, Debbie, will be watching both girls. In a few years they'll also go to school together! Stephanie and Wes work together at Fairmont, so the girls will literally grow up together! We couldn't be more excited! Our dogs are already best friends, so now our girls will be, too!

Speaking of best friends, Wes' best friend Sean and his wife Kate welcomed their fourth child, Olivia Reagan on June 10th. Wes has been to visit each of their kids in the hospital after they're born, and Olivia was no exception! We even got to bring Whitney in to meet her, too. We had to laugh at the fact that both girls strongly resemble their Daddies!

Welcome to the world, Cora and Olivia! We look forward to many fun play dates!

[Whitney] Shoes!

Whitney went to 8th grade promotion at Wes' school this week, so we got her all dressed up... including some cute white sandals! This is the first time she's worn them, and she was very interested in checking out her feet. I couldn't capture a good picture because she was moving her feet so much, so I grabbed a quick video:

[Whitney] Rolling over!

Our little girl is ROLLING OVER! We were doing some tummy time, and she went from her tummy to her back all on her own! I had her propped up on a little pillow the first time she did it, and then she still did it with the pillow away and starting from the floor!! With the pillow propping her up to start:

And no pillow to start her off:

She's so strong! And growing up so fast! I'm so proud! <3

[Whitney] Three months old!

Three Month Milestones

• Sucking on her fingers - it appears they are delicious!

   

• Laughter! It's not full on belly laughs yet, but she's starting to giggle here and there, and it's the cutest thing! Sometimes they're more like squeals, and it's hilarious!
• Tears! I never knew that babies weren't born with tears until we had her! We asked the pediatrician and he said they start having tears around three months, and we've noticed some tears forming, and she had one big crocodile tear last weekend!
• Drool! She is a drool monster! It covers her clothes some days! At first I was worried this meant she was teething already (Wes got his first tooth at 2.5 months!!!), but all signs point to this being developmentally right on track - lots of drool, and fingers (or anything) in her mouth!

• Favorites:
• Playing on the mat - we have concentrated "play" time between naps during the day, and she's really enjoying being on her mat. She grabs at toys and will hold on to them and check them out.
• Firsts:
• Plane ride!
• Trip to the beach - and second trip... twice in the same weekend!
• Wearing shoes... of course, the sparkly ones :)



• Size:
• Diapers - comfortably in a size 1
• Clothes - Grown out of the newborn and most 0-3 month onesies, but the pants still fit in the waist... they just look like capri pants (welcome to mommy's world!!); 3 month size stuff fits comfortably with room to grow.
• Weight: 12 pounds, 1 ounce on June 1

Three month photos:

Love this little Booger! Photo for her month-by-month frame!

Happy baby next to the elephant - check out her feet in the air!

Not so happy baby... had to post it, too funny!

Three month sticker!

Whitney spent the day with Grandma Patty & Papa because mommy had to work! We had an event in the afternoon, so I got to hang out in the morning with her (my favorite time... she's so happy and content!). So excited for what month four will bring!

[Random Thoughts] Grandpa Randy

Whitney has three Grandpas, and she couldn't be more lucky. Grandpa Faust beams with pride when he picks her up, and Papa (Roy) captivates her with his baritone voice and fun songs.

Grandpa Randy, however, is her guardian angel. Yesterday marked 22 years since my dad passed away, and I think it's the first May 29th since 1990 that I haven't shed a tear. And I know exactly why... this precious baby has her guardian angel in my dad. She has brought more joy to my life than I could ever have imagined, and while I'm saddened my dad isn't here to witness it, I am comforted by the legacy he left. Whitney will always know about her Grandpa Randy.

At an Alpha Gam function last week I saw a recent graduate from Chapman who works for Disney, and she mentioned, "I saw your dad's Legend plaque the other day." Her name is Kelly, and she's one of the most outstanding young women I've ever come across. She was a Disneyland tour guide for years, and now works in archives at the studios. I told her I'd never seen my dad's plaque - it's from being named a Disney Legend in 2005. She got home that night and sent me a photo of it:

I'm reminded of the numerous memories I have of my dad - from teaching me to ride a bike, to awesome slideshows for every sports team my brother and I played on; from watching Disney movies on reels at my birthday parties, to his Paul Newman smile that could brighten anyone's day - and while the sadness I feel will never go away, it's somehow lessened when I see Whitney with her daddy. I can't wait for them to make these kinds of memories together.

And so, while May 29-June 29 is a month that is always hard for me (May 29 - anniversary of dad's death; June is Father's Day; June 29 - dad's birthday), it's also such an exciting time as Wes gets ready to celebrate his first Father's Day - the first of many to come.

(Sidenote: as I Googled to find the link to my dad's Legend profile, this YouTube video popped up... and now I sit here in tears as it's only the second time I've seen him on video/heard his voice in 22 years. How amazing to have this video... and it just reminds me of the feeling I get every time I step foot in Disneyland, knowing my dad walked those same steps thousands of times as he helped create memories for everyone to enjoy.)

[Fun] Trips to the beach!

Baby toes in the sand for the first time!

All in one fell swoop, Whitney had her first and second trips to the beach! My Mother's Day present every year will be family pictures, so we scheduled time with a photographer to do portraits on the beach Friday night. At first we thought we would have to cancel because the weather was yucky, but it cleared up and turned out to be a gorgeous night.

We met with the photographer on Saturday to select our pictures, and got a great one of the three of us, and a fun one he took of our feet in the sand. We should have the "real" pictures in a few weeks! Here's one of Whitney and Daddy when we were done with photos - her little nose looks so pink because it was COLD! Thankfully Wes kept her snuggled and warm! She smiled and looked absolutely adorable in all of the pictures!

Then on Sunday, we took a family trip to the Huntington Dog Beach! The dogs were in seventh heaven, and Whitney slept nearly the whole time. Here's a cute photo of her in her sun hat as we were headed to the beach (Wes thinks she looks dorky in the hat, and I think she looks adorable!):

[Whitney] First flight!

Whitney enjoyed a little weekend getaway with us, and went on her first plane trip! She was a complete and total champ, too! I have been planning this trip for months to go up to Sonoma County for my dear friend Kelly's bridal shower, and was going to only be gone from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. Whitney was going to stay home with Wes.

After the craziness of going back to work for a full week to help with a big event, it was evident that my milk supply took a big hit, so we went through nearly all of the frozen milk we'd been able to save up. It was clear that I wasn't going to be able to be away for the trip, and thankfully we were able to use miles to have Wes and Whitney go with me! 

The flight up to Sonoma County was great - Whitney was asleep when the plane took off, and very happy and smiley during the entire flight. Here's a video:

The way back was a little bit more eventful... I had gotten her to sleep just before we boarded the plane, and she was in the Ergo carrier. Just before takeoff, the flight attendant informed me that I'd have to take her out of the Ergo, as FAA regulations stated it was safer to have me holding her. Uhh, interesting. Everyone seated around us was appalled that: 1) they were going to make me wake her up, and 2) that being in the carrier wasn't safer! As soon as I tried to get the straps of the Ergo loose she woke up and started crying... grr! I ended up nursing her most of the flight, so she was happy then. 

We had a great weekend, and it was fun for my Sonoma friends to get to meet her!

[Worldless Wednesday] On a walk with Grandma!

[Whitney] Weighing in

Whitney is up to 11 pounds, 9 ounces! She was 11 pounds last week, and there were some concerns with the decrease in my milk production after I went back to work. After a week of diligently nursing, pumping, and drinking LOTS of water, it's comforting to know that it's back up! 

[Whitney] Two months old!

Whitney is two months old today! As I started looking back on the past few weeks, I realized how much has happened and wanted to be sure to document it. Every morning is full of smiles, and Whitney is still sleeping through the night (hoorah - nine out of the last 11 nights!). Here are a few other fun things we want to remember about this month:

Two Month Milestones

• Mimicking facial expressions - smiles, sticking out tongue, open mouth
• Holding onto toys

• Favorites:
• Staring at the birdies on the bouncer

• Hanging out on the changing table (may have something to do with a clean diaper!)
• Mommy singing "Patty Cake" and playing with feet
• Daddy walking around while she faces out to the world
• Firsts:
• Vacation - a trip to the Central Coast of California
• Bottle - she'll take pumped milk from anybody (including mommy!), and doesn't even mind when it's cold!
• Grandma Faust babysat while mommy and daddy were out on a weekend day
• Slept through the night! From 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. on the night of April 23rd
• Grandma Patty babysat when mommy returned to work one day a week
• Met another baby - Julie's daughter, Taylor (i n this picture Taylor is 2.5 weeks old, and weighs 8 pounds, 5 ounces... what Whit weighed when she was born! Crazy to see how much she's grown!); contrary to the crying, she had a blast!

• Size:
• Diapers - newborn (but officially needing a 1 today... we've gone through several outfits!)
• Clothes - newborn and 0-3 months; the pants in both sizes fit more like capris (welcome to mommy's world!), but the newborn are perfect size wise (just not length)
• Weight: 10 pounds, 8 ounces on April 30th

As I started writing these I realized I should do it for the first month, too!

One Month Milestones

• Being born!
• Showing us her moves as "Baby Houdini" and unraveling the swaddle no matter how tight
• Daddy gave her the nickname "Booger," and it seems to have stuck... it comes in various forms of "Boog," "Boogie," etc., but she's called that more often than Whitney, so I think it's a keeper :)
• Firsts:
• Trip to the pediatrician - passed the two week checkup with flying colors!
• Birthday party - for Alicia's daughter Layla's 2nd birthday
• Baby shower - for Julie
• Size:
• Diapers - newborn
• Clothes - newborn (even though they say they're only up to 8.5 pounds, they fit well, and there's even some room to grow into them more!)
• Weight: 8 pounds, 14 ounces on April 2nd

We spent her two month birthday at work for a few hours, and Whitney got to hang out with mommy's colleague and sorority sister, Marybeth. Whitney mostly napped, and was a perfect angel while mommy was in a two hour meeting!

And, of course, we took her monthly photos:

For our month-by-month picture frame

To watch her grow next to the elephant

Two month sticker!

It's crazy to look at the pictures from last month and see how much she's changed! Since we see her every day, I don't think we notice as much! So excited for what this upcoming month will bring for our little girl! <3