Day 292: At the Dog Wash

Today was dog wash day.  Michal was super helpful.  If, by helpful, I mean silly and not very helpful.  She even tried to tickle me when I was soaping him up.  She did try to grab the water cup to help pour water on Bailey, but it was a little heavy and she was a little too quick for the camera.  It's been a few days of phone pictures, which means any movement equals a lot of blur.  Apologies for that.

Michal's new favorite thing is beeping our noses.  She REALLY loves it.  I think she might be trying to beep Bailey's nose here, and I think he's trying to figure out what the heck she's doing.

Yeah.  He wants no part of that.  This is pretty indicative of most of their interactions - Michal is still interested in the dog, and he wants little to do with her (unless it's dinner time).

Day 291: Exploring

It was a quiet day this afternoon, so Michal took a bit of a stroll with me.  Well, her stroll was more of a crawl, chasing after me at baby light speed - sort of like this: 

Her boost of speed cracks me up - she starts to crawl like crazy, barely staying up on her hands and knees. Such a funny baby.

Among our explorations, we found Cheryl, and Michal showed her some cool places on the map.  Here she is, showing her friend where Israel is on the map.  It was a pretty awesome day in Israel with the release of Gilad Shalit from 5 1/2 years of captivity, so it's been on our minds.

Speaking of exploring, I think she's thinking of making a break for it.  I can almost see the wheels turning in her head.... "Okay, sippy cup - check, now, how do I get out of here, and can I get to the door before Mama finds me?"  She does have a unique way of carrying her cup.

Day 290: Just Another Manic Monday

Our Monday started out like....

 ... this.  Michal woke up with a crazy puffy eye.  Her right eye was so puffy that she could barely open it!  The weirdest part was that we couldn't figure out why.  It didn't look like she had a bug bite (at least an obvious one) and we couldn't think of a possible allergy that would have caused it.  We called the doctor's office, picked up some Benadryl at their suggestion, and by the end of the day the puffiness was gone.  Hopefully it won't reappear in the morning!


The rest of our day was a roller coaster.  Michal was at time amazingly great, fun, and hilarious, and at other times a right disaster.  After work, she and I went shopping for a new range/oven/stove/thing and then met Josh for dinner.  The theme of the day continued - she was a nightmare, eating 1/4 of her dinner and spitting out the rest and screeching like a pterodactyl.  And then she was a sweet cutie, saying hello to our dining neighbors and sitting on my lap to do this, for the very first time...

It didn't last terribly long, but it's the first time she's really attempted to do something with a writing implement.  She had a tricky time, although we noticed she was using her right hand, and we've had a theory she is left handed.  It was a cute thirty seconds, regardless.

Day 289: Lotso Love

It's Sunday.  Since last week was their bye week and we are still months away from playoffs, that means it's time for Michal's weekly Ravens photo.  Every week the Ravens play, Josh takes a photo of the baby in her Ravens gear, and posts some funny comment about how the Ravens will trounce their opponent.  Today's photo has a guest star - Lotso, otherwise known as Lots-'-huggin' Bear, the strawberry scented villain from Toy Story 3.  

 This picture makes me laugh.  It is as if they are meeting for the first time.

I can imagine Lotso saying, "Why, hello there, Big Baby!"
Luckily Michal has nothing in common with THAT character from the movie!

Becoming fast friends! 

Awww!  Bear hugs!

Day 288: Sukkah Hop

We are three days into the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  With historical basis (it partially commemorates forty years of wandering in the desert by the Israelites following the exodus from Egypt) as well as agricultural ties (it marks the end of summer and ushers in the fall harvest), it is a joyous holiday.  We build temporary structures called sukkot, like small huts, and we make a point to eat and spend time in them.  It's also fun to invite friends over to take part in the holiday, and that is just what we did today.  

First up, we headed to the sukkah of Michal's friend Koby.  While most of the children were a bit older than Michal, she did have fun playing on this structure.  She even slid down the slide... with Josh's help, of course. 

Discussing themes of great importance with Daphna, Koby's older sister. 

After a while we headed over to another friend's home for a gathering of some of our friends from the synagogue.    Michal saw a number of her baby friends (we are a group of young families), including her friend Henry, who was kind enough to let her hang out in his tent and play with some of his toys.   

She seems to be having a blast! 

And my favorite picture of the day.  Somebody enjoyed her chocolate covered cookie a bit too much.  Crazy kid!

Day 287: Baby Genius

We took a field trip today to a local bookstore so Michal could pick out a few books to get with a gift card she received for her birthday.  We had lots of fun - while I looked through books, she attempted to escape and crawl off.  We did pick up four new books and I can't wait to read them with her.  While we were perusing the shelves, Michal flipped through this book on colors.  As an example of her brilliance, I asked her to point to something green on the page and she did!  It was the green page but still!


In all seriousness, though, tonight when Josh was zipping up her pajamas, Michal said "seees," which, in Michal-speak, is teeth.  She knew it was time to brush her teeth!  Brilliant, I tell you.

Day 286: Hat Head

Such a cutie pie. Love this goofy kid.