Saturday, June 28, 2008

A Day of Firsts

We took a trip down to the Mall today to see the NASA exhibit in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It was a hot, sunny day so we didn't spend a lot of time at the booths, and we didn't get a chance to see the other two exhibits, Bhutan and Texas. We had fun looking at some of the cool stuff they had set up.

I won't say Ellie had a great time, but she didn't complain too much, and had several firsts. First trip into D.C., first time in an umbrella stroller, first ride on the Metro



and first time on the Moon!



Unfortunately, she slept through this major milestone.



It threatened to rain all day but, similar to Friday, held off until later in the evening. So much for "afternoon thunderstorms." Why bother with a 5 day forecast when you can't even do an accurate 5 hour forecast? I'm glad we didn't decide to stay home.

Friday, June 27, 2008

A Stroll

Daycare provider took a much needed vacation day, which meant a half-day in the office showing the baby off and an afternoon to play. Made a leisurely dash to the library before the storm rolled in. Stopped to take a few pictures on the way.





Learned the hard way why back-lighting is not the best for portraits. You can read something again and again, but until you see it for yourself...



Don't know if you can see, but she's sporting a new hairdo - tufts of hair over the ears. Very stylish.

Got a few fun things at the library.



More importantly, Ellie got a nap in the stroller on the way home. And we made it back before the rain. Bonus.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Baby Bibs

We're learning that babies can never have too many bibs. That's why, when I was having a hard time coming up with a cute Father's Day gift, I thought of Brenda and her new enterprise, Chic Baby Designs. She had lots of options, and did an amazing job making my half-formed ideas come to life.





Sunday, June 15, 2008

Daddy

With an amazing Daddy like this, how could Father's Day be anything but a great day?



Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Toy Hoarder

We got moving early to practice some more with my camera.




Then headed over to McLean for a play date first at a park where she practiced her contemplative look


pretended to be Grandpa G



and posed with her friends Jackie, Sadie, and Dacia.



Then we headed over to Jackie's to get out of the heat. This is where I discovered Ellie is a toy hoarder.




While I absentmindedly handed her new toys, she slowly swept up all the other toys within reach, and before I knew it she was happily buried and contentedly playing with each one in turn.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Little Girl

At some point in the last 29 weeks my little baby turned into a little girl.




We still have a long way to go of course, but for some reason this week in particular she looks so grown up. I used to be able to plop her down in the corner of the couch and rattle off the four photos (I have four different animals I do this with, I'm not sure why but once you start you can't quit) in a few seconds.



Then she got too tall and her head would flop back awkwardly. So, I moved her to the middle of the couch.



Then one week she suddenly had enough head control to sit up, so back to the corner we went.



She started trying to eat the paper 13 weeks ago

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and the last few weeks I've needed additional toys to keep her attention away from the paper long enough to get a shot off.

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It now takes several attempts to get a picture where you can kind of read the sign. Our simple seconds-long photo sessions have morphed into 15 minute power struggles, usually ending with at least one "good enough."

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So, it's been a gradual process. But this week it really hit me. There's no denying it, she's growing up.
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