Day 273: Afternoon at the Zoo

Today was the second day of Rosh Hashanah, so after services, we headed down to The National Zoo for the afternoon.  Michal is really getting to love watching and saying hello to the animals.  She is her daddy's daughter. 

Waving to the prairie dogs. 

Reluctantly saying hello to the orangutan.  She was clutching Josh's shirt for dear life.

Fun fact:  this orangutan threw up and then ate her own vomit.  Twice.  It was super fun. 

Saying hello to the giant tortoises.   

 Watching them move oh so slowly.

Waving to her favorite cow. 

The other cow.  Isn't she beautiful? 

Up close and personal with one of the goats. 

They will try and eat anything.  This one was working on nibbling on the soap label.

We are continuing to work on our signs.  After MONTHS of work (ie my frantic signing), Michal now signs "more."  This particular sign has been successful when used in conjunction with challah.  Now we are working on "please."  I tried to take a picture, but I have yet to be successful.  To sign "please," you hold your hand in front of your chest, palm facing in, and rub in a circle on/in front of your chest.  Michal's "please"? Extend both arms and wave your hands in circles.  Totally the same thing.

Day 272: Family Outing

We took advantage of the gorgeous afternoon and took a family walk.  Not many warm sunny days left - fall is coming! 

Rare opportunity to pet Bailey - he normally steers clear of the baby.

Greeting a random passer by.   

And yeah... much of the day looked like this.  

Someone decided that she only needed a twenty minute nap.  
She was wrong.  So very wrong.

Day 271: Shanah Tovah!

Tonight starts Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.  In celebration, we gave Michal some traditional food for the holiday - apples and honey!  

She didn't waste any time!  And yes, the apple is as large as her head. 

Yum!  It's awesome having teeth - makes eating apples possible. 

Hmm... can I eat the honey, too? 

And, of course, challah drizzled with honey.  

She liked it so much that she actually used the sign for "more" a ton - I've been using it with her for months, and so far she has only used it when asking for bananas and challah!

Smart kid.

Day 270: New Word

There is a new word in Michal's vocabulary, which pretty much consists of "Hi!" and "Bye!" and "Buh-bye!"  Josh claims that "Mama" is in there, but I'm not sold.


Today, when asking for her sippy cup by reaching out towards it and frantically signing "milk" (The sign for milk is a lot like milking a cow (or goat), but without the vertical motion – you are just squeezing the udder. You take a hand, make a fist, relax, and repeat), and added something new - she also said "mil."  Twice.  Josh says she repeated it later at home.


So there you have it folks.  Michal can say "milk," in her own special way.  Such a grown up girl!

Day 269: Yo, Gabba Gabba!

While Josh and I are huge TV fans (is it a golden age of great television, or what?), we do not tend to watch much with the baby.  We aren't hugely against it, although we do tend to be fairly picky about what she watches, but we just do not spend much time with her downstairs in the basement.  That's where the television lives.  The vast majority of her toys are on the main level, without a TV, so she is not frequently around one.  Although, we do sometimes have breakfast in bed, and she gets to watch "Classical Baby," still a favorite, or "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends."

Today, I wanted to try to do a little bit of cleaning, so down to the basement we went, in time to watch a little "Yo Gabba Gabba."  For those of you without children or who have never seen The Soup (which often features segments of YGG), it's a crazy show that makes you question your take on reality - it's just a little... off.  Gun, goofy, and silly - it makes you want to dance.

Michal gets up close and personal with DJ Lance Rock. 

After a few seconds of being super close to the big screen, I moved her back a decent distance.  Here she is, waving "HI!" to Foofa. 

I can never resist an up close picture of this kid.  Love those curls, her eyes, pretty much everything about her.  Don't you just want to squeeze her and kiss those cheeks?

Day 268: Stomp those Rams!

It's game day - gotta stay hydrated!

How cute is she in that jersey, and how crazy that she loves to drink holding her sippy cup that way!

Day 267: Engineer Baby

We recently brought out one of Michal's new toys, a birthday gift from her friend, Hannah. Instead of pulling out all of her new toys right after her birthday, we are staggering their introduction so she doesn't tire of them all at once.  She has been enjoying this one quite a bit so far.

Intense concentration on her toy 

Hmm... how does this thing work, anyway? 

Checking out the nuts and bolts.  It is fun watching her when she is so inquisitive.

And one fun picture... earlier today, this was the ONLY thing that kept Fussy Butts McGee at bay when naptime did not happen.

Mama's glasses are fun!  

When I put them back on my face, she got SUPER ANGRY.  When I put them back on her, she gave me such a huge grin.  Crazy baby.

Thanks to our friend Jess for taking this picture!

Day 266: Mail Bag

Mail call!  After a quick trip to a local orchard to pick up some tasty apples from their market (super rainy day today, so we couldn't pick our own), we got home and picked up the mail.  Along with the usual inserts and junk mail was a package for Michal!  We came inside and opened up the card, to find a lovely birthday note from her friend Lillian - so exciting!

Tearing into it - it took a few tries to show her how it's done. 

She loves it!  It's a monogrammed shirt with her name!  And an owl - so perfect! 

"Don't even think about taking this shirt - it's mine.  See, it says so!" 

Thanks, Lilly! (and her awesome parents!) What an awesome gift.

Day 265: Crazy Hair

Bed head baby!

Crazy hair is hilarious, didn't you know?

It was most definitely a pigtail day.

Day 264: Change of Plans

I try not to plan these posts out too far in advance.  Sure, if something big is coming up, like her month pictures or a holiday, I know that day's post will probably be about that.  Aside from those occasions, though, I tend to let each day determine what I end up blogging about.  It's worked pretty well so far.

Today, though, I had planned to blog about Michal's new day care.  I mentioned a while back that we had to arrange for new day care for the baby, and we happened to have found someone pretty quickly.  She seemed nice, normal, and qualified, and we felt lucky to have found something so easily.  I found out yesterday (yes, yesterday, as in the day before today, the day when Michal would have started) that we did not actually have anything lined up.  The person who was to watch Michal had her situation change and decided to not open the day care, and she apparently forgot about us and had not been in touch.  I emailed her to make sure we were all set and I knew what we needed to bring, and her in response she broke the news.  

Instead of starting her new day care, Michal came to work with me.  It was a crazy day, with our normal schedule all out of whack due to Michal unexpectedly sleeping in.  I did manage to get her to take a decent length nap at work.

Well-rested Goose, post nap. 

In an attempt to keep Michal entertained so I could be productive, I brought in some of her favorite toys, including her Zany Zoo.  I think they lasted a few minutes before I heard the footsteps of a baby cruising along my desk and chair until I see this...

Lately all she wants to do is sit on my lap.  It's sweet, but not super conducive to my being productive.  

Especially when she starts looking around for stuff to play with. 

"Mama... what is this thing?"

"Hmm... a wireless mouse, you say?  What does it do?"

"Hello, hello?  Is this thing on?"

Day 263: Hugs!

Doesn't this just make you want to give HER a huge hug?  Love this kid.

Day 262: Feeling Better

So it seems like Fussy Butts McGee might be on the way out.  While her temperature was still a little high, Michal was in a better mood today.  At least part of the time.  We did end up taking her to the doctor as her temp has been up and down since Friday.  It looks like it might just be a viral infection, so while we are now on the lookout for a rash, her fever should break in the next day or two. 

Somebody actually played with her toys today! 

... and acted silly and hugged the cushion while hanging on the couch with Mommy 

After lunch, Michal was unusually cuddly, so I attempted to take some cute Mommy-Daughter pictures with the phone.  She occasionally cracked a smirk (not really a smile), but mostly I got looks like this.  She pretty much just tolerated me. 

I almost got a smile here!

 Even fishy face had her narrowing her eyes.  Apparently someone thinks I'm not so funny.

And there seemed to be a reason for the poker face.  Someone was sleepy, and for the first time since... forever (months at least), Michal took a nap on me.  I miss this.

 Some bathtime antics.  She loves eating this soccer ball.

Goober butt 

She cracks me up.  She decided to bend and dip her face in the bath.  Over and over again.  Note how just her hair in the front is wet.  Crazy kid.