Archive Page #6
Archived Status and Pictures of Malina Renee Olsen.
Current Status
July 20, 1998 - We can't believe that she's
already a year old (as of June 26). Malina's birthday was celebrated over the course
of about a week. Since she wasn't likely to understand it anyway, we didn't worry
about the actual date too much (we went to a Baha'i potluck dinner that night). The
only "party" was a gathering in Delafield primarily for Chris's Grandpa Paik's
83rd birthday, while the Paiks were here to connect with Chris's mom for their Big Trip
Out West. Malina got to see candle-flames a few times, and ate some of the chocolate
cake. She's also developing a taste for ice cream in the last couple of weeks. With some
new foods, she looks at Mom like, "You've been holding out on me, haven't you?!"
Malina's current favorite toys are a little 2-octave keyboard (almost 4-1/2 steps sharp,
so it won't be joining the band), a not-too-loud play phone, and a 50-cents-at-Goodwill
5-inch baby doll. She's healthy and happy (so are her Mom and Dad). The
12-month doctor visit went better (i.e., happier for Malina) than the previous few, at
least until we went down the hall for a blood draw. The med tech said, "Ooh,
she's small, but she's strong!" They finally got their little bit for hematocrit,
hemoglobin and lead testing, which all came out OK. Still just six teeth, but it
seems she might be working on some more. She's walking all over, even in the bumpy yard,
and developing some opinions that differ from ours, generally about what she'd like to do
next. She understands a lot of what we say, which is more apparent since she's
working on saying "no" (right now it's coming out "na-na-na") - I'm
sure we'll be hearing it plenty soon. She's been a lot more social lately; though she's
still not too interested in being picked up by "not-my-parents," she's carrying
toys to folks who might play with her and chattering at them. And she smiles a lot
...except at med techs.
Malina has been accused of always being happy, based on the happy-looking pictures we take
and post. Well, we just don't think of grabbing the camera when she's not being
cute, although she looks kind of fierce in a few.
Her Grandparents in Florida, based on our trip there last April, might say that she didn't
like anybody, though her aunt Jean looks and sounds enough like Malina's Mom that she got
away with holding Malina a little on that trip.
Pictures
A continuation of the last set of pictures (see the archives pages accessible from the bottom of this page), Malina and Mom are looking at the ocean...a little closer this time.
Malina gave her Aunt Jean a little bit of a break. At this stage, Malina is very aware of the difference between "parent" and "not-the-parent", and sometimes even "not-the-Mommy".
We are at Flagler Beach in Florida. I'm guessing that the beach today looks nothing like it did then since the recent fires have been through that area of central Florida.
As mentioned above, one of Malina's favorite toys is a phone that makes various phone noises when buttons are pushed. In this picture, she's trying to get the real thing.
We surprised her with the camera as she was coming down the hallway at home.
Grandma and Grandpa Ramstack were over for a visit. Malina is attempting to drag Grandpa up by his finger so that Malina can use it to charge around at a greater speed than she is comfortable with on her own.
Malina is charging off again. Malina has three basic speed ranges when walking: normal when she is alone, fast when she has hold of one of someone's fingers for extra stability, and ludicrous speed when she has a finger from each of someone's hands in each of her hands.
At Grandpa Paik's 83rd birthday party (he's the one on the right), we're on the couch in a livingroom full of people at Chris's aunt and uncle's house in Delafield.
Another picture during the same party.
Malina is charging around the living room at home. She usually has something along to chew on wherever she is. She has been drooling, and seems to be doing so a bit more lately, so we are expecting to feel some more teeth soon, but nothing yet. She does just fine with the six teeth she has, thankyouverymuch.
Malina is pretty much aware of who's in charge...Mom! But she has a lot of latitude and control over many of the optional things in life, nonetheless.
This "activity cart" was purchased many months ago to help Malina with her walking. We figured that the extra stability would help her be more independent, and maybe save our aching backs some strain from always having to be stooped over while Malina uses our fingers for stability when charging around. It worked OK but...
...this shopping cart-like thing has a much wider and more stabile wheelbase, and can even carry stuff. It has proved to be a much better aid to walking practice. Now, Malina just has to work on figuring out how to steer the thing. She is doing mostly straight-line runs with it for now.
Malina is playing with fire at one of the observances of her first birthday. If you look closely, the candle is lit.
Warning: Malina is a trained stunt baby, and you should not attempt this at home. Use extreme caution when using babies around open flames. Keep flames (and probably babies) out of reach of children.
We helped her blow out the candle. She had a little cake and she is developing a taste for ice cream (oh, no!).
Shortly after the 1998 Independence Day parade in Wauwatosa (July 4), Malina is seriously enjoying an ice cream cone shared with her Dad.
Do not attempt to adjust your monitor. It's just Dad's MSDN shirt!
Right after completing the 2 mile stroller ride in the 1998 Independence Day parade, Malina is greeting Ruth Johnson, a good friend and a wonderful Baha'i from Wauwatosa.
More Archives
For additional pictures that have appeared here in the past, forget about it, or e-mail me, because previous archives (namely, 5-1) have been moved off-line to make room for the wonderful, stimulating, enlightening material you are now viewing :).
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