Grandma + Grandpa arrive!

Grandma and Grandpa flew in from Sedona late last night (and boy, are their arms tired!). Rory was so excited to see them when she woke up this morning - and she hasn't slowed down. My mom, who hasn't seen Miss Fiona since she was roughly nine days old, peered in at her sleeping form in her crib in the middle of the night, and declared, "I am in love!" We petted Fiona's thighs, squeezed a bit, and then let her be. Good thing she didn't wake up! My rule, in case you're wondering, is: "You wake her, you take her!" Not that Grandma would have minded...

Today we drove to Charlestown, WV to visit some pseudo-relatives on my mom's side. Her cousin, Peter, died this past Spring. Peter's mom had a sister, and the WV people we visited were cousin's of Peter's on his mom's sister's side. No blood connection, as far as we can tell, but confusing nevertheless! Their names are Randy and Vicky, and they were really sweet people. We spent a few hours drinking coffee and discussing genealogy, and then we hustled back to VA for Rory's lunch and nap. It was a true drive-by of a visit, but a good time was had by all.

Let the babbling begin!

Fiona started babbling this week, in earnest. Lots of "ab-ba" (we think she likes a certain Swedish rock band), "ba-ba," and "da-da" going on. It's great! She gets herself going, and she is off and running. She is also fully rolling over now (she started at around six months, which is on the late end of the scale, but who's counting?), and can almost sit up from a lying down position.

I had to raise the crib rail on Fiona's bed upstairs, because I sat her in the middle one day recently and turned around to put away her laundry. When I looked back, she had both hands on the crib rail and was on her knees! I think she was trying to escape.

We also bought Fiona her very own toddler car seat - no more infant carrier for her! Now my left arm (nicknamed "Popeye") can have a bit of a rest. Lugging a 23 pound baby in a ten pound carseat isn't easy, I tell you!

In fact, until we move to Massachusetts, perhaps I should have Craig install a series of ropes, pulleys, and a basket from the second level down to the front door. That would be great!!

Fiona waves!

This afternoon, while sitting on the ground surrounded by toys, Fiona looked up at me and my friend, Niki George. We both started saying "Hi, Fiona!" and waving at her, and darned if she didn't pick up her sweet little hand and imitate us! It was so sweet to see the "click" in her brain.

Fiona is developing at an amazing pace now: grabbing at everything, playing with toys, improving her hand-eye coordination every day. She has a very sweet disposition, and breaks into huge smiles (typically accompanied by loud squealing) at the drop of a hat. It's great!

Today is also Grandad's 76th birthday (Craig's pop, Donald). Happy birthday!

Fiona is 7 months old!

Wee Fiona turns seven months old today! She has become highly interested in the world around her, and when seated on the floor will grab at anything even remotely within her reach. Toys, books, furniture legs, you name it. She can sit up for 20 minutes at a time, and when she falls backwards onto the boppy pillow, she can pull herself back up to sitting 9 our of 10 times.

Fiona is super strong, and can stand when you hold her hands. I had to raise the gate on her crib recently. She was sitting in there playing while I put away her clean laundry, and when I turned around to look at her, both little hands were holding onto the still-lowered gate. I swear, it looked like she was about to hoist herself up and projectile herself out. So up went the gate!

No updated stats on her weight and length this month. We'll figure it out soon as post it. She probably weights 23 pounds - all in her thighs! =>

To Mexico City and back - in 24 hours

More like 20 hours, actually! On Wednesday, 12 September, I flew to Mexico City to help run a seminar for my company, Sybase 365. I landed at around 8:00 pm, sweeping in over the city at sunset. The urban sprawl there is vast - ten minutes of flying over city blocks before we passed over the main heart of the city. It was enormous!

The seminar was Thursday morning, and by 1:30 pm I was back at the airport, heading for home. While I was gone, Rory got thrown out of daycare for massive, repeated puking. Craig picked her up, and she threw up one more time - in my car. It was so projectile-esque that it bounced off the back of the driver's seat headrest. Talk about distance! Craig had to process her at the side of the road, give her a bath, and do two loads of laundry (in less than one day's time). Rory got better right after the car incident, and has been right as rain ever since.

And Craig may never let me travel again. Hah!

Go Red Sox!

Boy, does Rory like the Red Sox! Especially Big Papi. Hah!

Rory gets chomped

Just a short note to report Rory's first "child on child" violence incident. Some little bugger at daycare bit her today, and left quite an impressive set of fang marks on her left forearm. He didn't break the skin, but she was pretty upset about it. I was going to take a picture of it, but I didn't want to make it *more* of an issue in her mind.

More toy pileups

This time in the high chair. How hilarious! There really isn't much more to say than that. Rory likes bringing things to Fiona. Bottom line!

Rory feeds Fiona (with a helping hand)

Now that Fiona is eating solid (quasi-solid) food, Rory has been taking a periodic interest in helping feed her. Naturally, we encourage it, but with a steady hand guiding Rory's. Once, she jammed the spoon a bit far into Fiona's mouth, gagging her, so we watch closely. Fiona seems to like Rory's help (other than the choking part). It's very sweet!

Meeting Becky!

Fiona had never met our good friend, Becky Mahon Chaklader, so on Sunday we hoofed it to Burke, VA to hang out with Becky, her husband (Subir), and the boys (Harry, who is six, and David, who is three). The boys are adorable - seriously cute and sweet - and we had a lovely summer cookout type of dinner, including Bodgie's (Becky's mom) incredible mac and cheese. Not an ounce of fat! Hah!

Thanks again to the Chaklader's for a fun night. => We must do it again soon!

Visit to Penzey's spice store!

Today, the girls and I went to Rockville, MD to visit one of the two local Penzey's spice stores (the other is soon to open in Falls Church, VA). We went to the store with Amy B, Harlen H's sister, and we had a blast. It was Amy's first time in a Penzey's store (mostly catalog ordering for all of us), and it is quite an experience. If you've never had Penzey's, we highly recommend them.

Included are two pictures from the day: one of Amy hugging Fiona, and one of Rory enjoying the slide at the playground we went to after Penzey's. => We can't wait to see her again - Rory adored Amy.