Day 165: Active Baby

We had a very active day today - lots of standing, "walking," bouncing, jumping, and so much more.  In between that and Michal wanting to be ON ME, it was a tiring day.  I also received a diagnosis of tennis elbow today and was told to not use my right arm at all (???), so that added a fun little kink to the plans.  I cannot complain, though - she is so much fun.  During one diaper change, she threw her pants to the ground - I took that as her telling me she wanted to go without.  Fine, no problem.  This is where cute diapers come in handy.

At one point I heard loud banging in the office - it turns out Michal was using her feet and my desk as a percussion instrument.   

Such a cutie pie, loving on Sophie.

Day 164: Snack Experiment

 New food today: kiwi.  Well, not entirely a new food - she's had a bite of kiwi fruit before, but it was a bite or two in the midst of an ocean of other fruit.  I was curious to see if she would really enjoy the taste.  So far she has reacted pretty calmly to any new food we have given her, so I was wondering if this would be the food that would break the streak.

 Hmmm... what have we here?

Tasty - a little sweet with some tang.

More please!

 Yay! Another successful snack experiment.

Day 163: Social Butterfly

*

 Such a fun Sunday today!  With two gatherings with friends scheduled, we took advantage of downtime at home.  In the morning I joined Michal in her morning nap, and in the afternoon we had lots of playtime - independent and with Daddy.  


First up was brunch with our friends Jess and Doug, with their eight month old daughter, E.  We hadn't seen E in a month or two, and boy has she grown!  It is so crazy how quickly they change.  We managed to fight off some late morning sleepiness and get a couple of cute pictures of the girls - it wasn't easy!

 Of course... the goofball is always ready to smile.

Later we joined friends from our synagogue for a picnic.  We indulged in some delicious food (I brought a watermelon tabbouleh salad - yum! - and white chocolate chip cookies), and the four kids, aged 7-20 months, hung out, blew raspberries, acted silly, and, of course.. played.

 She sure does love to swing!

These two pictures were taken by our friend Lauren - I'm suffering from camera envy!

* I cannot neglect to give Josh credit for the first photo - a great snap!

Day 162: Hola

Hola, mis amigos

Day 161: Girls' Day Out

We had a day full of friends, stopping off first to chat with a friend about the wonderful world of cloth diapers, then heading off to a local mall to meet up with Michal's Aunt Kylie for lunch and shopping.  While my sisters are 3,000 miles away and do not get to see Michal as often as I would like, it is nice that she has "aunties" here who can love on her, hang with her, and spoil her - today Michal ended up with a cool new swimsuit.  I'm sure pictures will follow in the coming days of sweltering heat.

We were able to snag a table on the side of the restaurant that faces out into the mall.  When Michal wasn't eating her lunch, she was checking out the passers by.  She waved.  A lot.  Very wavy baby - but it's either feast or famine.  If she's in a mood, she'll stare you down and refuses to lift her hand.  If she's in the right mood, she'll wave to you non-stop for 5 minutes.

... laid back.  With my mind on my puffs and my puffs on my mind. 

 Silly goose!  She will not keep her legs facing forward.

 No clue what was going on here.  

Later, at home, being silly with Daddy.  I'm pretty sure it was a raspberry contest - not sure who won.

Day 160: Cruisin'...

 Do you remember yesterday, when we were super excited because Michal managed to transfer herself across the incredibly wide chasm of 4 inches between her Zany Zoo and a chair?  And I lamented about how she wasn't really cruising yet?  Well, yeah... that was yesterday.


We had a busy day today - Michal hung out at day care for the morning, then we went to visit a new baby friend, and then we strolled around Ikea a bit.  When we got home, it was definitely time for some independent play time for the goose.  Right away, she wanted to stand up at her Zany Zoo.  But, she was sitting down next to it.  What's a girl to do?

 Oh yeah, pull up to standing.  It took a few tries, and a bit of frustration.  She hasn't done this for a few weeks now...

 All the way up - on her own!

 Did ya see that??

 Playing - she loves moving the beads and animals on their respective courses.

 Working around a corner - previously her biggest obstacle!

 Hmm... which way should I go?

 This was on loop 2 or 3... I lost count.

 Getting tired - it's hard work!  

 And she's off again!

Absolutely amazing.  A few days ago, she started to "walk" (take a few steps) if holding onto both of our hands.  Yesterday, it was big news that she moved from one support to another, all on her own.  Today?  Cruising.  Maybe she'll walk before she crawls.  Maybe she'll crawl tomorrow.  At this rate, it's going to be interesting!

Day 159: Summer in the City

Hot day all across the Northeast today.  Here in DC?  The official high temperature was 98 degrees out at National Airport, but the heat index (taking into consideration the humidity) was somewhere in the 100-105 range.  As soon as Michal got home, it was minimalist baby. Just a diaper!  

We decided to go for a quick dip at the swimming pool with a couple hundred of our closest, like-minded friends.  Here she is, waiting for me to stop taking pictures so we could go!  (Have I mentioned how ridiculously happy I am that Hello Kitty is popular right now?)

 Big trick for the day: she can move!  She has started to take steps and walk with our assistance, but she has not had a good deal of success with cruising.  If she is standing at her Zany Zoo (awesome, fantastic, magnificent) toy, she might take a few steps from side to side, but she hasn't figured out how to round the corner to the next side.  The newest trick today was transferring.  Without our help at all, she was able to move from her Zany Zoo to this nearby chair (it doesn't look that far, but in Michal baby distance it is light years away) - she took one hand off the Zoo, moved it to the chair, then transferred herself all the way over.  I was in the kitchen and Josh started to shout; I ran in and exclaimed what a big girl she is, and she just gave us this nonchalant glance, as if to say, "What, Mom and Dad?  It's no big deal!"

 Love

Dinner = Fun with Eggs