Day 330: Fun and Games

We scrapped plans for an outing to the zoo for a lazy day at home.  We spent lots of time playing together, including trying out some toddler apps on the phone.  She loves playing with our phones, so instead of letting her open apps at random, we found a few that are age appropriate.  This one is a coloring app - she's doing a great job coloring in this alligator with her right hand.  We're still unsure if she will end up right or left handed.  She SEEMS left dominant, and then I'll notice, like in this picture, that she is using her right.  

Briefly playing with her "laptop" 

 What a surprise... playing with blocks.

Another "new" toy - there are multiple pieces of animal halves.  If you match two, it plays some music and congratulates you on the match.  Very cute.  It's a refrigerator magnet toy, but she refuses to leave it on the refrigerator door. 

And just for fun - dinner.  Notice what remains on her plate - chicken and potatoes.  Only a few pieces of broccoli.  This was her second serving of broccoli.  She didn't seem interested in the other parts of her dinner, but broccoli is always a favorite.  I'm going to choose to not be too worried - in terms of food to eat in great abundance, broccoli is preferred.


On a fun note - notice Bailey in the lower right corner.  He's no dummy.  

Day 329: What Goes Up...

... must come down!

While she is NO WHERE near ready to be let loose on the stairs on her own, she is really starting to get the hang of going down the stairs.  It is amazing how quickly she learns and grows and changes!

Day 328: Thankful Thursday

What a Thursday to be thankful for!  Every part of it was super awesome and perfect.  Lots of cooking and cleaning in the morning, then some Skype time with my mom (even if the computer battery kept us from video chatting for long), then an early dinner with family and friends.  So very thankful for all of the people we love in our life - from those who were able to join us today to those who are further away. 

Thanks to my friend Geryl for snapping this shot of the dinner table.  This was before everything was out on the table - it was quickly VERY difficult finding room for everything.  All delicious, of course! 

Michal seemed unimpressed with her dinner.  She did try some cranberries (see the photo up above - cranberry stain on her dress), but in the end she really only ate some of my dinner roll.  I ended up grabbing some garlic sauteed tofu from the fridge.  She ate a few pieces of that.  Strange picky baby lately.


SHE DIDN'T EVEN WANT MY PIE.  Crazy.


Oh, and I was ready with my camera for a reaction shot once she tried the cranberry, thinking I'd get a great sour face shot.  Nope.  No reaction.  Again.. crazy.

Having fun playing with Geryl! 

Crazy Goose LOVES her blocks.

So thankful for those blocks - she will play with them, by herself or with others, for a really good amount of time, even for a fifteen month old. 

She has a personal vendetta against stacked blocks.  She absolutely hates them.  If someone builds a tower, she must knock it down.  Want to rebuilt it?  She will fight you tooth and nail.  Swat, swat, swat. 

I was getting down some containers for leftovers.  All of a sudden, I realized I was no longer alone on the step stool.  Crazy, crazy Goose.  She was not very happy she couldn't climb to her favorite perch on the top step.

Time for bed!  We finally removed the barrier, and off she climbed up the stairs (her OTHER favorite activity) to get ready for bed. So thankful for our favorite Goose.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Day 327: Routine

We have a great bedtime routine going, and it has really worked for quite some time.  Not only is Michal a pretty easygoing kid, but she gets really playful before bedtime.  It's usually the three of us in her room, and it is just such a lovely time of the day - we hang out, listen to music, read some books... some books multiple times, and then get ready for bed.  Once Michal has a nighttime diaper and her jammies on, we ask her what time it is, and she replies with something that sounds like "teeth."  Off to brush her teeth.  

Once her teeth are sparkly white, it's time for her bedtime book.  Lately it's been a new favorite - Moo, Bah, LaLaLa.  It's a fun one to read, as she has started to imitate the sounds the animals make - here she is, singing "la la la," the sound these crazy pigs make.

Once the story is read, we head to the door to kiss her mezuzah.  Only recently has she really done this part - she reaches up to touch it, then makes a kissy sound with her mouth, then reaches to touch her mouth.  It's her own special take on this tradition. 

Before heading in to turn off the light and go to bed, we always stop to say good night to her name.  She loves touching the flowers, heart, and butterfly on each of the Hebrew letters.  I hope she'll always love her name as much as we do.  Such a special name for a special little girl.

Day 326: Beth El Babies

Since Michal only comes into the office for a couple of hours on Tuesdays now, everyone gets really excited to see her.  Today we showed the ladies in the front office her walking skills, and when we got upstairs, we were quickly greeted by her friend, Trey.  He is so incredibly sweet with her, and she just think he's super awesome.  

One of my coworkers brought in this baby carriage for Michal, but she hasn't played with it yet.  Trey found this Hanukkah-themed "doll" and got her strapped in for the ride. 

 Off they go!

(What you don't see is that she is about an inch or two from running into the wall.  She could not drive that stroller straight for anything.  It's a good thing we have a few years to worry over her driving skills.)

Not sure what she was looking at, but look at that corkscrew curl!   

Watcha looking at???

Day 325: Overdue

It only took me three months, but I finally finished the photobook of Michal's first year, and it arrived today!  I was so nervous that the photos wouldn't have turned out well, the resolution would be off, or it would just plain look dumb.  Of course it didn't, and we had so much fun flipping through it, reliving moments of one of the most amazing years of our lives.  Michal really wanted to look through the book as well, but we had to keep her from trying to turn the pages - I know too well how that could turn out!

I love how all I have to do is put away a toy for a couple of weeks, and when it reemerges, it is her favorite thing ever.  Michal could play with these stacking blocks for tens of minutes.  She doesn't seem interested in stacking them, in fact, she seems insulted when I stack them, quickly reaching over to knock down my tower.  No, she loves to nest them within each other.  I'm not sure what that means, but it is amazing what focus she has.  And those eyelashes kill me - super jealous!

Day 324: Budding Musician?

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that we were super excited when Michal seemed to know, as if by instinct, that if she pressed (read: banged) down on the piano keys, she could make music.  Josh and I met in college, in band... (to be exact - the band service fraternity), and music is a huge part of our lives.  Even though we do not play as often as we once did, music is a constant in our house.  I've been thinking how cool it would be to get a piano at some point so our kid(s) could learn how to play, so when Josh showed me this picture of today's new Goose trick, well, I was pretty darned please.  Play on, kiddo, play on.