Day 90: Playtime

I love watching Michal learn.  This week, the theme seems to be cause and effect.  From her adventures in corn a few days ago, to today's fun with her Poppin' Pals, Michal is starting to learn that if she does certain things, something fun might happen.  Sometimes it is purposeful, sometimes by chance, but it is fun watching her realize that there is a connection between these seemingly unrelated actions.  She's awesome.

Day 89: Proud Mary

Michal is doing quite well with most of her developmental milestones, but there is a wide range of normal among babies.  They tell parents to not compare your child to other babies the same age because of how these abilities range from kid to kid.  In our birth month group, there are babies who are starting to stand and walk (???) to babies who are just now getting used to sitting on their own.  It's all pretty much in the realm of normal, so while Michal's best baby BFF just learned to pull herself to standing all on her own, I try not to worry that Michal is content to just hang out.


Tonight I decided to do a bit of a photo montage of Michal rolling.  She is QUITE adept at rolling from her back onto her tummy, but she still gets stuck often while rolling from her tummy onto her back.  It's quite funny, I think, because she will go through the same thing over and over again, as if it is a yoga sun salutation or something.  On her tummy, push up into a cobra pose, release down to a Pilates-esque swimming move.  She then flips to her side, tries to roll onto her back, gets caught up on the arm behind her back, goes back to the beginning.  It's funny watching her go through this routine repetitively.

 Starting position

 Starting to roll

Getting stuck

 View of the kickstand keeping her from a smooth flip

Getting her bearings again

Eh, let's just hang out, grab our feet, and smile!

Day 88: Ladies Who Lunch

This morning, while Michal was slowly (and stubbornly) settling in for her morning nap, I got an email from a college friend (and fellow band geek) who lives in the area.  Since she did not have any firm plans all day, she wanted to know if Michal and I wanted to do something fun with her and her daughter, n.  Since we had to go into work in the afternoon, we arranged to grab lunch at a local chain restaurant.  


n is 7 months older than Michal, nearly to the day, so it was fun watching the two together, from n interacting with everyone around us (and attempting a daring escape through the front door every other minute) to Michal watching n with big eyes, totally entranced with the Big Kid.  n showed Michal how to play with her toys and how to slurp cheese sauce off of a chip, and Michal tried to pet n, showing her love just as she does to her Bailey Dog.

Towards the end of our lunch, the two showed how chummy they became, with n offering a kiss and Michal offering a pat.  They are sure to become good friends.

Day 87: Calling Shenanigans

As I have mentioned before, Michal loves her jumperoo.  She could easily spend thirty minutes in it, just hanging out, jumping, and exploring all of its toys and features.  She spins the duckies in their ball so they can go "swimming," she flips the "book" back and forth so I get a chorus of "The cow says... the lamb is white and fluffy.... *music*... the cow.. the lamb..." - you get the idea.  


One of the toys that she occasionally visits is a trio of vegetables - a tomato, a corn cob, and a carrot.  Each of these have a nook shaped like the veggie into which they can be deposited, setting off some lights and music or a disembodied voice.  For example, the carrot lights up orange and varies between saying "Carrot," and "wheeeeeee!"  


Michal has never really bothered with an in-depth investigation of this part of her toy.  In the beginning of her experimenting with the various features of the jumperoo, she would sweep her hands around, occasionally catching the tether of one of the vegetables, occasionally bringing it to her mouth for an attempted gumming.  That was really the extent of her interaction with the veggies.  She has not yet bothered to figure out that if she places the tomato back into the round slot, something happens.  The only time the music would play is when she knocked them out of their places (which we have usually replaced them beforehand).


Until today.


I put Michal into the jumperoo so I could get her bag ready to go as we headed out to work.  I bustled around, gathering bottles, formula, diapers, wet bag, when I realized I was hearing the music and words from one of the veggies over and over again... "Yellow corn!" *music* "Yellow corn!" *music* ... over and over again...  and over and over again. I had no idea what was going on, so I walked over, only to see this:

The little stinker, obviously quite brilliant and gifted, figured out that if she pressed the little post inside the slot, it would make the light go on and play any associated sounds. No need to bother with the cumbersome veggie.  So far she is obsessed with the corn.  She must have read the first chapter of The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Day 86: Concentration

Such intense concentration with this little girl.  She oscillates between carefully examining her toys and shoving them in her mouth, and I wonder what it is she sees when she stares at them so intently.  Does she see the color? the shape?  Does she have a sense of what is hard, what is soft, and the varieties of texture?  Well, the last one I can answer - she certainly seems to love feeling everything, letting her fingers explore and take in the varied bumps and ruffles on clothing, couch cushions, her carseat and stroller, and so many other items in her world.  In fact tonight, instead of eating ANYTHING (bananas, peach puffs, yogurt melts), she was much more interested in trying to peel back the fabric covering the arm of her high chair.  I couldn't give you a reason why.


It is great fun watching her begin to recognize and remember her toys and gear.  When I pull Sophie the giraffe out of her diaper bag, her arms start to wave and her legs pump in sheer excitement.  How much fun it is to be reunited with your good teething buddy!

Day 85: Bleh

Somebody wasn't interested in bananas for dinner tonight.

I don't think it was the bananas, per se.  
I think she just was not interested in eating.

This is close to the face we get after the first bite of ANYTHING.  It doesn't matter if it is her favorite food, she makes the yuck face after the first bite.  

Except carrots.  Carrots are magical.

Day 84: Peeking Through

They area still elusive, but you can actually see those first teeth peeking through in this picture.  It took forever (and about 50 takes) to try and get a picture of them.  She either moved too quickly or wouldn't open her mouth, and then, voila, a cute shot with a near-toothy smile.  I cannot believe how quickly she is growing up.


Just a few other pictures from the afternoon:

 Apparently she was not in much of a mood to be a cooperative model.  I finally got her to at least LOOK at me, let alone crack a half-smile.

 I love this face she makes.  I cannot quite decide WHAT it communicates, but she does it quite often, especially when she is presses her lips together and blows out some air.

 Getting a little cranky and giving me her poop face (even though that was not what she was doing).

She spots Bailey, who gets tons of smiles and excited hand and arm waves.

Day 83: Mah Baby

I have mentioned before how much we like the day care where Michal spends her Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Not only do they have an environmentally conscious philosophy, but they are open to accommodate our own crunchy tendencies.  We love K, the woman who owns the day care, and she has two of the cutest children ever.


It's for this reason that I especially love this place.  While Michal is the only baby around these days, she spends a good amount of time with older children.  There are a few kids who come for just a few hours while she is there, but she spends most of her time with L, K's daughter, who is 2.  L LOVES Michal, calling her 'Mah baby,' as if she grew up in the South.  L is such a cute kid - a total tomboy who totally adores her older brother, hence borrowing his Batman outfit today.  

Not sure what L has, but Michal seems to want it.  So crazy to see her next to a "big kid" - Michal seems so big and grown up to me already, and then pictures like this are a total reality check.

Day 82: Getting a Grip

Michal is really starting to get that pincer grasp down.  We have yet to try any of the small puffs and yogurt melts with Michal - mostly because the bags and canisters clearly indicate they are for babies who fit into the "crawler" category, and she is just not there yet.  I will probably cave soon, as many of my friends with babies Michal's age are already playing with a variety of these finger foods and doing quite well with them.  Once in a while, if I am making her something with fresh, soft fruit, I cut off some spears for her to play with.  She does fairly well with them, although some of the slippery items - like peaches - end up being more of a frustration than a meal.  But as you can see in the picture above, she is quite adept at grasping something that requires greater precision and aim.

Yum?  

Poor blanket - a lovely gift from Michal's grandmother.  

I am not quite sure how to salvage it.  It has a few spots like this one.  Silly baby.

Day 81: Close Up

MUCH better mood today.  In general, Michal was in fine spirits, hanging out, not screaming her head off, even smiling once in a while.  It looks like one of the teeth is poking out of the gums just a bit, and you can see the second just at the precipice.  I have a feeling we're out of the woods... for now.


Took a few impromptu photos after a shower this morning.  This one makes me laugh - either she's trying to keep from telling a secret, or it is the world's worst version of a "mean face" ever.  

Day 80: Open Letter

Dear Mr./Ms. Tooth Fairy:


We are sure you are quite busy with all matters pertaining to teeth with babies and children all around the world.  The job must keep you pretty busy.  


If it is not too much to ask, please do what you can to encourage Michal's first teeth to appear.  We know they are nearly here, edging through the gum just a bit, and she DEFINITELY knows they are there, but if you could work your magic and help them pop through, we'd be grateful.  At least until the next ones start to work their way to the surface.


Sincerely,
Michal's Mom and Dad

Day 79: Chag Purim Sameach

Today was the Jewish holiday of Purim, a springtime festival celebrating the rescue of the  Jews of Persia from annihilation.  Along with dressing up in a variety of costumes (causing this holiday to be often nicknamed the "Jewish Halloween" - despite the lack of any thematic similarities), we read the Book of Esther (or Megillat Esther, in Hebrew), share festive meals, give gifts to friends, and give money to those in need.  


While we did not go too crazy in finding Michal a Halloween costume, I knew that I wanted to do something special for Purim.  While some of the more popular costumes feature characters from the Purim story (Esther, Vashti, King Ahasuerus, Mordecai, Haman), I decided to go a different route, while maintaining the holiday theme.

Here is my little hamentaschen - a triangular jam-filled cookie eaten on this holiday.  I searched high and low for a cute costume for Michal and came up short.  Instead, I made my own.  From scratch.  As I created a pattern and sewed it by hand.  I have to admit that I am incredibly lucky it even fit - beginner's luck.  I chose to go with the red/raspberry filling because someone mentioned once that red is Michal's color.  I realized this morning that the "raspberry" filling was doubly appropriate, given her penchant for blowing raspberries.


Here are a few pictures of the process:

Fabric choices on top of the five piece pattern.  Yes, I am crazy. 

Pinning the "filling"... 

...and the cookie pieces.

First seam. 

The finished product (completed in the car on the trip to the wedding in New Jersey).

 Absolutely delicious!

Day 78: Generations 2.0

Michal is fortunate enough to have two great-grandmothers.  One, Josh's grandmother, lives nearby, so Michal gets to see her every so often - most recently on Day 65.  Today Michal got to meet her Great Grandma Harriet, who lives in California.  She was in town for a family wedding and was so very excited to meet her first great-grandchild.  Here are a few other pictures from their visit.

Just checking to make sure I'm still there. 

With the bride and groom 

Measuring Michal next to her cousin's size 13 shoe 

Day 77: March Madness

Every March, there are two days where, for twelve hours, Josh and Roy, one of his best friends, sit and watch each of the first round games of the NCAA tournament.  They have had this tradition for years.  This year, due to some changes in the broadcast, they moved the party from a local sports bar to Roy's house, where he managed to set up multiple TVs and computer monitors so that they could, in fact, watch each of the games as they were shown. 


Michal joined in the party today, as I had a work function in the evening.  I'm not sure how she did with her brackets, but she seemed to have a good time.

Day 76: Pucker Up!

After getting home from day care, we got to spend some time video chatting with Daddy, who would not be home before she went to bed.  Michal kept trying to grab the phone to get at her Daddy.  After we hung up, she started to purse her lips and make a kissy face, which she has never done before.  I was lucky I already had the camera out to catch this funny face.  What a goofball!

Such a cutie!  

Day 75: Seven Months

When did THAT happen?  I am pretty sure it was just last week that I wrote her six month blog post, and all of a sudden, wham! Seven months.  That one certainly snuck up on us.  


Something about SEVEN MONTHS seems so old.  She has definitely left behind her baby baby days.  She is starting to use consonants when she babbles (Her first word was definitely "bob," but it is unclear whether or not she was referring to a person or to the action).  We hear a good amount of "abababababababa" or "babababababa" in the house these days.  


She is also just minutes away from the arrival of her first tooth.  We have felt the sharp edges for nearly a week now, yet that little guy just has not arrived yet.  Not that she acts any differently; she is taking this tooth in stride.


A few other Michal facts at 7 months:

Michal loves sleeping on her tummy

Michal does NOT love fruit so much (except for bananas, and sometimes cantaloupe), 

unless it is cut with some oatmeal and formula.

Michal loves to blow raspberries - you can really see her sense of humor in that gleam of her eyes as she razzes away.

Michal LOVES her daddy.  Big time loves.  I get smiles when I come into her room or her range of vision, but boy, he gets smiles, arms waving, legs pumping.  

Big time excitement.  Such a daddy's girl.

Michal really digs older kids, from the kids at day care or T at work.
Michal loves pets.  It is nothing new that she adores Bailey, but that love also extends to the cat at day care.  He crossed her plane of vision today, and she just stopped to stare.

She totally figured me out.  At some point during today's photo shoot, 
she realized there was a sticker on her onesie, 
and proceeded to attempt to take it off.  Can't pull one over on this kid!

Day 74: Twins!

Back in January, I posted an entry about Michal and her bestie, Baby in the Mirror.  Since then, she still sees her friend, sometimes says hello, but for the most part the love affair has cooled.  When we go into bathrooms and visit, she is much more interested in everything else - the light switch, the faucet, the soap container.  Anything but Mirror Baby.  It's kind of sad - I thought they were BFFs!


Well, today that changed.  We happened upon a nice family bathroom (somehow you discover these places when you need to locate every single non-disgusting public restroom along your travels) that had a lovely padded changing area upon which I placed Michal and her changing pad.  This changing area was right next to the mirror, so Michal was up close and personal with the Mirror Baby.

And they totally hit it off.  Again!  It was great fun watching her smile, flirt, and blow raspberries at her new old friend.  Such a cutie.

Day 73: The Razzies

Raspberries.


Raspberries everywhere.  All the time.  


Raspberries are not new - I discussed her new found love of them back in February, and they show up every now and then.  She's quite good at them, and even has a variety of them in her arsenal.  She has the one where she sticks her tongue out quite a bit, blowing spit every which way.  She gets a really great buzz with this one.  


She has another that is a little closer to the vest, with her tongue not distended as far, and with far less saliva.  A new one, which might not be a raspberry in the technical sense (I would have to consult the rule book), has her lips pressed tightly together, and she tries to blow through them.  It is not particularly effective, but it is fun watching her perfect her art.


Today at work, she blew raspberries at Miss Helen, seemingly nonstop for roughly five minutes.  She performed them with great glee and was generally in a wonderful mood throughout the day.  Except for when she was sleepy and cranky.  No good mood to be found then.

Showing off for Miss Helen.  You can see the gleam in her eye.

Day 72: Peachy Keen

Michal does not seem to love fruit. I'm not quite sure why this is the case, especially since we purposefully started with vegetables.  We were afraid that if we started with all of the yummy stuff, the vegetables would just get spit back out.  Since January, she has had an assortment of veggies - mostly orange - with avocado, banana, and a few other fun things thrown in.  So I went ahead and made applesauce..


And she hated it.


Who hates applesauce?  It is a pretty unassuming and unoffensive food.  I even tasted it and made Josh taste it to make sure I had not done something bizarre.  Nothing, it seemed fine.  After mixing in some oatmeal, she was fine with it.  At some point I am sure she will stop her applesauce protest, but it was a bit surprising.


I decided to try peaches after seeing some at Trader Joe's. First taste, I got THE FACE, and she flat out refused to have anything to do with them.  After mixing it with a good amount of oatmeal, this is what we found:

Hopefully, if we continue to add more peach and less oatmeal, we'll get the same result!


The bowl, and spoon, ended up on the floor.  Bailey approved.  This might be a bad sign!

Day 71: Naked Baby

Michal has really started to love baths.  She never disliked them, but she used to just hang out, content to be there.  No idea what the turning point was, but she has recently discovered splashing, and boy is it fun.  We finally took out her newborn hammock, so she either sits in the part of the tub that has a seat and allows her to recline or she sits in the main part of the tub, without the recline.  The first allows for leg kicks, the second for splashing with hands.  Tonight she was absolutely taken with the stream of water that emerged from the scoop when I tilted it in front of her.  She stared at the mini waterfall for a bit, then reached out with her hand, experimenting with letting the water spill over her fingers.  Funny baby.


We try to give Michal what we call "naked butt time" every day - it does wonders in making sure she stays clear of annoying rashes.  We usually do this after her bath.  Tonight she rolled around all over the place, using my shoulders/face as a launch point for moving herself around.  I got some really cute pictures of her with my phone, but this one made me laugh.

I took this picture right as she started to get mad.  She was already pretty tired, but I was trying to put off bedtime as long as possible since it was pretty early.  It also looks like she's resting her head on her hand, which was not the case.  I think she was playing with her hair or her ear.  I like to think she is trying to tell me to stop taking pictures and just get on with bedtime already.  Which we did.

Day 70: Staccato Mamba

Michal, Bailey, and I took a bit of a walk today.  While we have had a few days that teased of Spring's approach, it's still in a late winter mood.  We bundled up, got situated in the Moby, leashed up the dog and set out.

The Babes was pretty content looking around.  Sometimes she looked for her Bailey, others she just looked back and forth, taking in the grey sky with patches of light blue, the bare limbs of the trees, and the slight greening of the grass.  It is fun watching her observe, trying to guess at what she is seeing, and offering commentary that is sure to help guarantee her admission to Harvard.  Gotta start them young.

* Random blog title is a reference from one of my favorite shows. 

Day 69: Rainbow Brite

Today was a pretty dreary, grey day.  The weather has been less than desirable, replete with copious amounts of rain and flood and tornado warnings - the latter always makes me just a bit jittery, and Josh's assertion that he survived a tornado taking the roof off his house does little to allay my fears.  This, combined with very sad news we received late last night, necessitated bright and colorful baby happiness.  Nothing helps lighten the gloom better than baby happiness.


Michal received this outfit when she was born from some very special people, so it seemed somehow perfect to have her wear it today.  

My contemplative girl, considering the yucky weather outside.

She actually managed to get one of these open tonight, and it wasn't even the super easy green one.  It was completely by accident, but she's obviously brilliant.

Love.

Day 68: The Face of Teething

Big news around these parts - there is something sharp poking through those gums!  Michal and I were hanging out in the living room, playing and taking some funny pictures, when she grabbed my hand to get a good gumming going.  I realized that something felt a little... different.  She is not a huge fan of showing off her gums, so it was tricky to see anything at all, but it does seem as if her first teeth might be coming in.  Which is funny, since we expected to have an increase of fussiness before anything really happened.  I guess not.  She's weird.  Here are a few pictures from today...

She really loves things that dangle.  Necklaces, earrings, ribbons off of socks.  She is really starting to get the pincer grasp down.  I just happened to miss a really great example of it before I got this picture, but she is staring at the little ribbons on her socks, trying to figure out how she can get at them.

Drooly McDroolerson.  One of the few clues we had that she was teething (aside from chewing on most things she could shove in her mouth) - the drool.  

Love this picture.  I guess she really likes giraffes.  A lot.  They are tasty.*

*And, according to a 2008 ruling in Israel... kosher.  Random.