Day 172: Lake Tahoe!!

 Since we did not arrive in Lake Tahoe until the evening (and past the baby's bedtime), we did not have much of a chance to take in the beautiful surroundings.  We made sure to do so today.  Here is Michal with the lake behind her.

Michal with Smokey the Bear.  Love this picture. 

 Tiny baby in front of ginormous tree

Josh's handiwork here - artsy fartsy!

Day 171: Family Lunch

Today we hit the road on the early side so we could make it up for a trip up to Lake Tahoe, one of my favorite places in the world.  On the way, we made a detour to visit with family - namely, my grandmother and father.  Michal met her great-grandmother in March but had yet to meet my father, so we made sure to stop off on our way.  It wasn't easy to get her to look towards the camera, let alone smile, so this picture feels like a bit of a triumph!

Day 170: Father's Day

Our first Father's Day!  One of Michal's gifts - she has seemingly adjusted to West Coast time by waking up at her normal 7:00 AM waking time.  Good job, goose!

 Once everyone was awake and ready to go, we headed out to dine on some dim sum.  Here is Michal, already mastering the chopsticks (okay, eating from them, not using them - not even Michal is THAT brilliant) with some saucy rice noodles.  She also enjoyed some veggies and chow foon.  Yum.

After lunch, we headed in to San Francisco to visit the Palace of Fine Arts, a structure built in 1915 for the Panama-Pacific Exposition.  I am sure I had been there in the past, but it has been a very long time.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

 Another view - along each side of the rotunda was a series of colonnades and a variety of interesting vegetation.

 It makes sense that we saw two different sets of wedding parties for pictures at such a beautiful location.

 Swans

 Some sort of water bird - we also saw carp, turtles, pigeons, and seagulls.

After visiting the Palace, we headed just up the road to Fort Point, a structure built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1853.  It was finished in time to protect San Francisco during the Civil War, although it never saw any action.  The fort, three-stories tall, sits just below the Golden Gate Bridge, making for an interesting vantage point of a familiar landmark.

 View from under the west side of the bridge, looking out towards the ocean.

View of all three levels of the fort, including the French Quarter-inspired stylings on the side of the fort in which the enlisted men and officers were housed.

All in all, a fun, if not exhausting day.  Tomorrow: another first.

Day 169: First Flight

 

Today Michal had her first plane ride as we made our way across the country to California, where we would visit with family and friends: mainly, Michal's grandma and aunts.  At National Airport, Michal was quite the trooper, hanging out patiently in her stroller as we dealt with a number of small hurdles in our day.  Luckily everything was straightened out without much difficulty, and we were on our way.

All pajama'd up, hanging out in the waiting area for our flight to be called.  Wherever we went, Michal was the ultimate social butterfly, smiling, waving, and, yes, calling out "hi."  In fact, I think planes are her new favorite thing - where else is she in close quarters with 200 or so brand new friends?  Since we were able to board first, she spent about 15 minutes, standing on my lap and holding on to the back of the seat in front of us, scoping out the other passengers as they board, smiling, waving, and calling out hi.  Luckily we did not encounter too many people who were immune to her charms.

All Ergo'd up and ready to fly.  All things considered, she did pretty well on her flights.  The first flight was half good - the poor thing just could not get tired enough to go to sleep - and the second flight was perfect.  


Now - on to vacation!

Day 168: Weirdo

 While I often describe Michal as brilliant, she can be a weirdo.  One example? For some reason, she is very foot-centric.  Not quite a foot fetish - that would be weird - but she is constantly exploring her world with her feet.  Changing her diaper?  As soon as she is on the changing pad, her feet and toes stretch out to see what they can find, inevitably kicking around the container of wipes I keep nearby.  Having a bottle before bed with Mom? Off go those toes, checking out my arm, reaching up to nudge my nose.  Going out for a meal?  Well, until today, it was mostly just turn around in the high chair, but tonight brought on a new act.  The foot popped up, her toes felt out the edge of the table, and she even practiced leg raises or something by grabbing her toes and stretch her leg out so it formed a V.  Weirdo.


To offset her weirdo status, here are some adorable pictures.

Day 167: Ten Months

Ten months.  Holy moly.  Pretty sure the past month flew by in a flash.  It has been a ton of fun, though, so I'm not complaining.  


A few things about Michal at 10 months:

Apparently it is genetic to find monkeys hilarious

Michal has yet to find a food she dislikes

She still occasionally rolls around, but she is slowly learning about forward motion

Holding on to our hands, Michal "walks."  She also loves to stand and cruise around her Zany Zoo.

She will go on waving streaks.  I had to tell the poor man sitting across from us at the doctor's office that he didn't have to keep waving back - she would continue to wave for 5 minutes straight.  I was hoping to save him.

Michal is days away from her first plane ride

Michal has been to six states and one district - this will change in a few days

Six teeth - maybe two more coming in

Michal is ticklish.  Until she decides she isn't.  Mean baby.

Michal has started to grab our hands to her face to cuddle.  Melts my heart.

She is brilliant.  Obviously.

A few pictures from today's hilarious photo shoot:

 Planning her escape

Caught in the act!

She was not being cooperative and would not smile at the camera, until I took the monkey and let him dance in front of me.  THAT was hilarious.

 Apparently he is quite the comedic monkey.

No - no more.  I can't take it!

Cuddles

Making a break for it

Can't get past Mama!

Day 166: Bamba and Pears

Dinner tonight was Bamba and pears - perhaps not the most well rounded dinner, but it worked for us.  She definitely seems to enjoy the Bamba, as you can see above.  The pears were also a big hit.

 Grabbing some yums.

 Licking her lips?  She looks thoughtful here.  Is she critiquing the taste?

 Taking a moment to wave to Daddy

Once she started to alternate between throwing a fit and blowing raspberries, it was time for bath and bedtime.  It's usually either that, or she starts to play with her food on her tray.  At least she's consistent!