Day 45: Be Mine

Happy Valentine's Day!  Or, as I like to think of it, Love Day!  


I had a lovely day with Michal today, even if she was a bit fussy at work.  She did give me a lovely gift this morning, though - a slightly longer nap than usual - so I was able to get a few winks in there, which I desperately needed.


I decided to do a short photo shoot with Michal for the holiday, and I dressed her up in one of her "new" outfits - new, because she has not worn this yet.  We are just starting to transition her to the next size up in clothing - 6-9 month.  She will be six months tomorrow and we have her six month appointment in a week and a half.  I'm curious to see how much she has grown since her last appointment.  


The photo shoot was not a huge success.  I was able to catch many pensive baby moments, a couple of funny expression/gesture shots, and a few blurry action shots.  

 C'mere - I have a hug for you!

 Raspberries...

 Ima, you know I'm sleepy.  Why are you torturing me?

 Hmm... what's down there?

 Oh! Hello there!

 What are you looking at, huh?

Put up yer dukes!

This was what happened for most of the shoot.  I have no idea what was happening out on the deck, but it seemed to be fascinating.

Day 44: Sitting Pretty

I ran into a friend at work today, and he asked after Michal, inquiring about her current talents and skills.  By far her current trick is sitting, and she has gotten really good about sitting up on her own.  She has pretty good control of her body, although she will often lose balance if she gets distracted, looks around too actively, and tries to look behind her - she loves looking behind her, but she cannot quite figure out how to adjust and compensate for her moves. 


I had a long day at work today, so when I got home, all I wanted to do was hang out with Michal (well, Josh, too, but she's cuter).  Luckily she woke up from a nap right when I got home, so we got to hang out and play.  Between practicing our sitting up and raspberries, it was a good time.

Look, Ima, no hands! 

Love this kid in profile, especially when she's checking something out. 

Ooooooh....

Blowing raspberries.  This was really big last week. 

 I'm a sucker for baby feet.

And my favorite: air guitar baby.  Who needs Rock Band or Guitar Hero when you have rockin' baby!?!  She knows all the hits!

Day 43: Zoology

It has been a long winter, and while we have not seen the record amounts of snow we were gifted with last year, it has been incredibly cold.  So when we saw that we would be blessed with a balmy day today - with a high in the mid-40s! - we decided to get outside and go to our local zoo - THE National Zoo.  It was the perfect way to spend our last day with Grandma before she leaves to head back home to California - and she was nice to not rub it in that it will be in the 50s and 60s there.  We are jealous.


We had a feeling Michal would enjoy the zoo, given her infatuation with Bailey the Dog.  There were also a few adorable reasons we thought the zoo would be fun for the entire family...

One of the giant pandas, munching on some bamboo... 

Red panda, hanging out.  

Elephants! 

I think this is Bonnie, one of the Orangutans 

Just a few days after Michal arrived, seven lion cubs were born to two of the zoo's lionesses.  We made sure to keep an eye on the time so we could see the cubs when they were brought out.  It was much fun watching them play with each other, drag logs to and fro, and even get daring and attack the male lion's tail.    

Just a little bit of a Lion King moment here...

Of course we had to head down to the Kids' Farm and check out the cows... and goats... and donkeys... and alpaca (Michal showed the most interest in these guys!).

Here is M, checking out the lion cubs.

We cannot wait to come back to the zoo when it is just a touch warmer.  While Michal did not show a Bailey-level attention and fascination, we know she'll love the zoo and the animals as much as we do!

Day 42: Photo Shoot

It is hard to believe, but Michal will be six months old this Tuesday.  It is a bit crazy how quickly time flies.  We decided to go get her six month photos taken, so the entire family headed out to our local photo place for some shots.  When we first went for her newborn shots, we decided to get the photo club package, getting discounts and free photos throughout the year, with the intention to go every three months.  


This was, by far, the best visit, even if her general good mood and smiley nature was not perfectly captured by the photographer.  The pictures are cute, and it was difficult picking just a few to purchase.  She even showed off by managing to sit solo for a bit (although I was mere inches away to help grab if she started to topple).

 Here is a sneak peek behind the scenes of the shoot.  Since that is me in the picture, steadying Michal, I was obviously not the photographer!  Josh took this one, and it was such a fun picture that I stole it for the blog.  What amazes me most about this picture, is that when I'm close to Michal, she doesn't seem small at all, and yet, in this picture, she looks absolutely tiny. 

Day 41: So Sleepy!

Tonight's photo comes courtesy of the camera phone, as we spent most of the post-Day Care portion of our evening out and about.  With Grandma still in town, we met up for dinner at our local chain restaurant.  Michal happened to fall asleep in the car, as she is wont to do, and slept for a good long while.  While we waited for our drinks to arrive, she started to wake up.


There are not many gestures that Michal makes that belie her moods.  Back in December when she had her ear infection, there was no ear tugging or rubbing to clue us in.  One consistent gesture, though, is rubbing her eyes when she is tired.  It is adorable...

Day 40: B-A-N-A-N-A-S

It's another food picture but really only because she's so cute.  Today we had mashed bananas with rice cereal again - definitely a Michal favorite - and she just could not get enough.  She is funny about eating, though.  If you bring the spoon up to her mouth, she cannot get it in there quickly enough.  


So far we have tried sweet potatoes, squash, peas, carrots, avocado, and bananas.  We still have tons of frozen cubes in the freezer, but I do want to keep playing with different options.  I'm planning on making apples, pears, and prunes soon, but for now, we keep playing with our food.

I cannot take credit for this great picture (especially since that is my hand feeding her) - Josh took this one.

Day 39: My Valentine

Michal got mail yesterday from a baby friend - it was not the first piece of mail addressed to her, and while I like to think that it would be pretty cool if this had been her official first piece of mail, I don't think it was either.  In any case, I picked up the mail yesterday after she was asleep, so I did not have a chance to open it with her until this morning.


I have mentioned before that I found a great group of moms online, all with babies around the same age.  I have gotten closer with a few of them, so our babies are now "friends."  Well, Michal received her first Valentine in the mail today, and it was from her friend Lauren.  Hopefully some day Michal and Lauren can have a play date - especially since Lauren currently lives in San Diego, which sounds amazing on the very cold, windy day we had today in DC.  


Here is Michal, attempting to open her Valentine in her own special way...

I'm going to eat it open, Ima!


I'm still not sure what I want Michal to call me.  Mommy seems easy, since it is what the dog has called me forever, but I love the idea of her calling me Ima.  It's a work in progress... but that felt right there.