Day 212: Dining Out

After one of the most difficult nights since Michal was a wee babe, we had a MUCH better day today.  She even napped in her crib.  Twice.  We might have turned a corner.

It is Josh's birthday on Tuesday, so we gathered with friends at our go-to Mongolian BBQ restaurant.  Michal dined like a queen and basked in the limelight.  All the tricks were pulled out tonight.  So adorable.

Such a cutie!  Always charming everyone around her. 

Just one quick one from outside.  She refused to look at me or smile.  Stinker.

Love these two. :)

Day 211: Getting Comfy

Michal continues to have intermittent sleep issues.  Napping is almost always an exercise in futility with much standing, crying, and screaming (except for day care - she loves to nap at day care).  Getting her to go to bed at night has been hit or miss.  Some evenings our new routine goes off without a hitch, and some evenings... well... it takes a few tries.

But when she gets to sleep, she is OUT.  

Example - I went in to check on her when I couldn't see anything but her butt - she had turned herself around 180 degrees:

Too adorable.  Kills me.

Day 210: Self Portrait

One of those rare self portraits - it's tough getting out from behind the camera sometimes!

Day 209: Lotso Love

Having lotso fun and laughs with Daddy and Lotso Huggin Bear.

Day 208: Brando Baby

Somebody was in quite the mood this afternoon when we got home from work and day care.  Apparently she was feisty there as well, crawling into the kitchen to dump the cat's water all over herself.  Crazy kid.

It started calmly enough, just hanging in the living room, pulling out every book from the basket and helping me read a book about animal babies.    

Then dinner time came.

She loved dinner - she couldn't help but shove into her mouth as much food as it would allow.  She didn't like it when I held back the food to try to give her some time to chew and swallow.  She'll learn.  Crazy kid. 

Plotting her next bite. 

What to choose, what to choose... 

Checking in on Bailey.  Surprise surprise, he kept hanging around, just in case there was a repeat of yesterday's dinner fiasco.  Michal threw food.  It was crazy.

Cheesers 

Chomping a green bean. 

Raspberries during dinner.  Silly girlie. 

Hi!

And then the comedy portion of the evening started... the baby does impressions!

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Day 207: Pigtails!

Michal's hair is getting long enough that I need to do something to it in order to keep her from looking like a ragamuffin baby.  Up until today, that has pretty much consisted of clips.  They have worked fine, for the most part, but it doesn't take much for a clip to start to slip out, defeating the purpose of even using them.  I had tried pigtails and ponytails once in a while, but I only had hair bands that I use in MY hair - doesn't work well in her much shorter, fine hair.


And then someone told me about Target.  Not that I didn't already love the store, but they have teeny baby elastics.  Problem solved.  Today was the first day of pigtail baby.  Adorableness. 

Day 206: Chocolate World

Michal took the day off from work (I still went in to the office) today.  She and Josh joined his mother and cousin on a trip up to Hershey, Pennsylvania.   They spent some time visiting one of Cousin Howie's railroad friends, and then headed on over to MY favorite part of town, Hershey'S Chocolate World.  

While there, they rode the Great American Chocolate Tour Ride.  Starting in the tropical rain forest where cocoa beans grow, the tour takes visitors through the process of making delicious chocolate treats.  Michal loved the cows (you know, who give milk to the making of yummy chocolate), clapping and dancing as they passed by.  She even kept looking back at them after passing along the tour.

Later, she met someone she did NOT like.

The abject horror on her face at meeting the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup guy is almost hilarious, if she weren't about to burst into tears.  I guess we have found the first "person" Michal is not ecstatic to meet and greet. 

A Hershey's Kiss and chocolate bar bigger than the baby?  Yum!

Day 205: Reenactment Baby!

One of the coolest parts about Michal growing up on the East Coast (assuming we do not move in the foreseeable future), is the omnipresence of history.  There is nothing like the ability to experience history in a tangible way.  This was the theme of the day today. 


We live within a short drive to many sites of major Civil War battles, a fact that has not been overlooked by Josh.  Due to his recent consumption of a number of books on various aspects of the Civil War and the inhabitants of that time period, we have taken a number of day trips.  These trips have certainly done much to enhance my understanding of the war, especially since a driving tour of a battlefield is a much better illustration of troop movement and battle progression than any description in a textbook. 


Partly due to Cousin Howie's visit and partly due to a fantastic daily deal website, Josh's mother secured for all of us tickets to the reenactment of the first battle of Manassas/Bull Run (depending on how you view such matters), a special commemoration of the 150th anniversary of that skirmish.  We settled in for a very warm day in Northern Virginia, watching history unfold before our eyes.  

Here is Michal and Josh with one of the actors.  I do not remember if we learned anything about him or the character he was playing, but he was nice and posed for the picture.  It seemed like this was simply part of his "job" - everywhere we looked, we saw people asking the actors for pictures.  


For the most part, Michal did not seem overly interested in the minute details of the battle, but she did love clapping when she heard cries rise up from the stands.  She seemed MUCH more interested in her favorite past time - making new friends.  At one point, we took a break from the sun and heat in a nearby tent, and chatted for a while with a woman, dressed in period garb, whose husband was out on the battlefield.  We had a great deal of fun.


Here are a few pictures from the reenactment, courtesy of Josh.

 The Union calvalry.

 One of the rebel regiments.

Battle!

It is pretty impressive everything that goes into staging a successful reenactment.  Even though there were thousands of people there, the entire day was incredibly well run.  I have a feeling Michal will experience more of these in the future.

Day 204: Luray Caverns

This week Cousin Howie is in town from Las Vegas, which is always a nice treat.  We decided to head out towards the Shenandoah Valley so we could take in a few of the sites.  We toured along Skyline Drive (and added a few more stamps to Michal's National Parks Passport), and stopped for a while at Luray Caverns.  


Hundreds of millions of years old, these caverns contain beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites that were too gorgeous for my camera to capture.  Well, more accurately, I am still discovering how to use the various features of the camera, and this posed more of a challenge than I was able to conquer.  I always have the option to go auto pilot and let the camera do the thinking for me, which normally involves the inclusion of flash.  That doesn't work so well deep within the earth.  I attempted to utilize some of the manual features, fiddling with the light settings, ISO (whatever THAT is), etc., but still the snapshots were a horribly poor rendering of what we saw. 


While I continuously attempted to capture at least one acceptable photograph from our visit, Michal looked up, around, and all over.  Since many of the more impressive formations are strategically illuminated, it was a light show that continued to capture her glances.  She also wanted to touch everything.  Silly baby.


Here is one of the half-decent photos from the caverns:

This totally came out more "Fortress of Solitude" than it really is.  What looks like a bridge of fallen rock is a stalactite that crashed to the cavern floor over three million years ago (maybe three thousand - I cannot recall exactly what he said, I just remembered it was long enough that I probably did not need to worry about it happening today).  Pretty impressive.  

Day 203: Small, Medium, and Large

We had a fun today visiting with two baby friends - one is Michal's friend, Max, who is just a bit more than three months old, and the other is her brand new friend, Elissa, who is just a month old.  We had fun visiting, playing, and trying to steal other babies' pacifiers.  It has only been a few weeks since we saw Max, but boy has he grown.  He has tons of fancy new tricks - he is a tummy time champ and is already doing great at sitting up in Michal's Bumbo chair.  Sitting there with these two tiny babies and giant Michal, it is crazy to think about how quickly they grow, develop, and become amazing little people.  

Here they are - small, medium, and large.  So much cuteness on one blanket!

Day 202: Storytime

Michal loves reading books with Daddy!

Day 201: Scouting Expedition

We are mere weeks away from a special occasion, so we took some time this afternoon to scout out a potential location for the shindig.  It's a lovely park and playground not too far from our home, tucked away from one of the busy main roads in the area.  We're hoping this quiet and shady spot proves to remain that way on a Sunday morning in August so we can celebrate the best year of our lives.

Michal gave her stamp of approval to the playground equipment - 

doesn't she look like such a big girl!?

 Checking out some of the play areas.

Enjoying the swings with Daddy.  I think he might be a tad too big for his swing. 

She still doesn't quite get the point of the slide - 

you're not supposed to stand on it, silly girl!

Day 200: The Great Watery Expanse

Today marks 200 days since beginning this project.  While I did not doubt my ability to stay on top of all the photos and posts, it does seem appropriate to acknowledge the nice round number that is today.  So, hello, 200, and thanks to everyone who has come along for the ride.


Today we removed the baby tub, and Michal took her bath in the great watery expanse of the bathtub.  She has not really needed the baby tub for a long while, but I do not have any good reason for why we have continued to use it.  It just seemed like a good time to give her the room she really needs, especially so she could play with all of her toys!  She had a grand time, playing with the new scoops and chewing on duckies and soccer balls.

Post bath we hung out in her room for some naked butt time - a nightly ritual.  She is newly entranced with a wooden puzzle we received as a gift, so she spent much of the time moving around her room, playing with the various pieces.


I've had many comments lately about her curly hair, and I have maintained that it has been the humidity that has encouraged the curls.  After her bath, though, it just curled right up. Who knows - sometimes it's straighter, sometimes curlier.  I guess time will tell how it ends up.

Holy curly haired, smirky faced baby, Batman.

Josh returned home this evening, so Michal had her last bottle with him.  She was so excited to see him, waving and wiggling her legs all about.  She is such a daddy's girl!

Day 199: Red, White, and Cute All Over

We had a great day today.  Michal took two decent naps and was a great help at work.  More than anything else, she was super cute.  I got lots of baby hugs and cuddles, and I cannot wait until I get baby kisses, too.  

I still cannot decide what color her eyes are.  

Someone today said they are somewhere between grey and hazel. 

Practicing standing and cruising among the chairs in my office. 

I couldn't tell you why she was SO happy, but I LOVE when I get this smile.

Day 198: Adieu

Today, Michal and I said goodbye to Josh as we packed up the car and headed back down to Maryland.  He is staying in New Jersey another two days to finish up this portion of his project.  It was a really nice weekend "away," and I know we are both looking forward to when he comes home on Tuesday.  


I took a slightly different route home, driving down through the middle of New Jersey, through Princeton (early start on the college tours?), and headed into Michal's tenth state - Pennsylvania.  Then on down past Philadelphia and back into Maryland.  After a quick stop at Josh's mother's house to pick up the Bailey Dog, we were on the homestretch.  Michal is a great traveler, singing to me from the back seat of the car.  After a long day on the road, it is good to be home!

Day 197: Eleven Months

There is an eleven month old living in our house.  How did THAT happen?

There were a couple of cute photos of her standing, but this was one of the few that I was able to capture of her sitting.  She kept wanting to move!

While I managed to remember her month stickers and white onesie, I forgot to grab the monkey with whom she normally poses for her month photo.  I have included him every  month as a sort of point of reference for her growth.  I guess you'll just have to pretend he is in these pictures.  If I was more talented, maybe I would photo shop him in.  But I won't go there.  

We did stop by FAO Schwartz when we were in the city yesterday, and while we were not tempted to pick up a second monkey (we considered starting a tradition of one new toy when we go to NYC - that was a short lived idea), we WERE tempted to take a picture of her next to the GIANT version of that monkey.  And then tell you all that she had shrunk.  Or the monkey had blown up.  It would have been hilarious.  I promise.

A few things about Michal at 11 months:

We are starting to see pieces of ourselves in her personality - she seems to have inherited Josh's love of solving puzzles and my unfortunate desire for perfection to do things well.

We are not sure where she gets her extrovert tendencies.  She has not met a person she doesn't LOVE.  She waves to EVERYONE and says hi (and occasionally bye).

Michal has figured out how to crawl.  Fortunately (for us), she uses this skill judiciously.

Michal likes to cruise.  She especially likes to cruise around the inside of her crib as she cries hysterically at night.

New nighttime problem - Michal starts to get rather upset when she goes to sleep in her crib.  We are hoping she moves through this phase quickly.

Michal is still incredibly laid back and chill (see exception right above this)

Michal LOVES tofu, meatballs, avocado, and watermelon.  

She especially loves to wear her watermelon as a badge of honor.

Michal has eight teeth.  Eight!

She is a giant baby.  While we do not have an official measurement, she seems to be 30.5"  (95th percentile) and about 21 lbs (75th percentile).

Michal is brilliant.  Obviously.

One fortunate part of our trip to NJ was the chance to see some friends.  While we had hoped to meet up with a friend in the city yesterday and missed the opportunity to get together with another today, we DID manage to head over to visit with our friends, Amy, Rich, and Lillian.  I've known Amy through my online mom's group for a long, long while now, so it was really great getting the chance to play and dine with them.  Lilly is about 3 weeks older than Michal, but they seemed to have a good time playing with each other.

 Here is Lilly showing Michal how to use the slide.  Michal, like much of the evening, preferred to observe for a while before taking part in the activity.

 Hi, smiley girl!

Lilly was a super awesome hostess and showed Michal how to work all parts of this awesome toy.  Here they are, checking the mail. 

It took much coaxing to get Michal to crawl through the door of the house.  It's obvious, though, that she has now decided that this toy is AMAZING.  It is definitely going on the birthday wishlist! 

Much later (it was practically a baby non-sleep over!), we headed inside.  Lilly let Michal play with one of her walkers.  Michal looked a bit like a little old lady, slowly pushing the toy away.  She really liked it, though, and especially liked watching Lilly zooming around the room.

The bittersweet part, of course, was that when we left, we knew it would be a long while until we could spend time with our friends.  For now, we get to stay in touch from afar.  We hope to see them again soon!

Day 196: New York State of Mind

Today we loaded up the car and headed north.  Josh had a work trip in northern New Jersey, so we joined him for the weekend.  At first it looked like he was going to have to go into the office today, but the project got pushed back a day, so we headed into Manhattan instead.  It is officially the furthest north Michal has journeyed, and New York marks the ninth state she has visited.  Pretty well-traveled baby! 

Here is Michal and her daddy in Times Square.

At Rockefeller Center.

And at Newark's Penn Station - it was her first train ride and BOY did she love it.  

Lots of people with whom to chat and wave.  

I love the look on her face here.  It is totally one of photo-exhaustion.  

I didn't even take that many today!