Christmas in Rockville

What a nice Christmas we had in Rockville. Little Walnut is getting bigger every day, and the doctors have been very happy so far with her progress:



Ida Jane loved dressing up:



Dressing up is particularly fun when Olivia joins in the fun. And who can resist a freshly stocked toy chest?



This pony was pretty "rocking" (groan!):



Hopefully, she'll be ready to share next Christmas:

A Christmas Rooster

Before we get to our feathered friend, we've been absent for a little bit. Time to catch up!

First, after the Macy's Day Parade, there was, in fact, a little Thanksgiving feast, complete with Sweet Potatoes, Cranberries, stuffing, sparkling cider, a delicious apple pie, and, of course, the piece d'resistance, a wonderful tofurkey (a non-feathered friend):



Then Nana and Papa came to visit. Here's a picture of Ida Jane teaching Papa what "laptop" means:



Then, as a bit of a shock, a tree sprouted in our living room. Ida Jane thought there might be some sort of mistake:



But even Mama and Dada were a bit surprised when, yes, we were visited by the Christmas Rooster:



Ida Jane was very fond of him, even though we didn't know where he came from.



Eventually he was taken away by the animal folks, who will make sure he has a nice home at a farm sanctuary. He was a friendly chap who enjoyed eating oatmeal and icicles. We'll miss him!

T-Day quickie

We're busy making pies, sweet potatoes, cranberries, stuffing, and of course the majestic Tofurkey. And Ida Jane has discovered the most wonderful holiday treat of all: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

So here's a movie of our marching baby. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

O-H ... I-O!

Ida Jane had a great time watching the Buckeyes send the Wolverines packing. "Go!" is a new part of her vocabulary now, as in "Go Go Go Go!"

She got dressed for the part, thanks to Nana and Papa:



Here she is, cheering on the Scarlet and Gray.



Ida Jane also enjoys playing with sounds. She makes a pretty mean explosion sound, and her raspberries are still a solid A. But lately, we've added a new tool to the repetoire. The echo chamber:

Fish face

Ida Jane has been learning lots of new tricks and games. One of her favorite is fish face, which can make a yoghurt snack particularly messy:



She's also been getting a lot better about following directions. Her latest favorite toy is a basketball, which she likes to "dribble" (aka "pound on"). Here's Ida Jane showing off her comprehension and slapping skills.



And, really, who doesn't enjoy a good game of hide 'n seek?



All of this playing can lead to "sour hour", the time when the usually sweet Ida Jane is ready to hit the hay.

Teddy bear, teddy bear

Ida Jane had a great Halloween. She got to dress up as a teddy bear, which kept her warm for trick or treats.



Earlier this weekend she got to go to a Spooktacular at Amy's school. Here she is on the dancefloor, giving Yoda the eye.



And here she is, "bare-headed", after working up a sweat doing some great dance moves:



Then tonight she went out trick or treating. Here she is in the front yard, ready to go!



After she got a little tired, we came home. She greeted other trick or treaters with some scary window raspberries.



After she got dressed up in some beautiful Halloween pajamas, she wanted to stay up late watching for more kids. What a great night!

Of bellies, art, and the klapperfisk

As you know, Ida Jane is expecting her little brother or sister in the spring. In the meantime, she's learning that Mom's lap isn't as big as it used to be:



(Yes, her shirt says "Not a Big Gagne Fan." I got it for her as a joke, and it's unfortunately turned into a good-luck charm. Not only do the Red Sox win when she wears it, but Francona doesn't put in Gagne, either).

Ida Jane loves to go for walks with Olivia. Here she is, giving us a not-so-subtle hint about what she'd like to do:



And here we are, enjoying the wonderful fall weather:



Ida Jane is picking up some new skills. Here we are, working with crayons. The end result was a bit abstract, but we're on our way to making beautiful art:



This weekend we took a trip to IKEA for a few essentials. IKEA has lots of wooden toys and other fun things with strange Swedish names. Here's Ida Jane walking down the hall with her new favorite toy: the Klapperfisk!

Pumpkin Epic

Sing to me, o muse, of the Germantown pumpkin patch and its many colors!



Here's her and Mama sitting on some hay bales, waiting for the tractor to take us to the patch.



Ida Jane was so excited, she couldn't make up her mind where she wanted to go!



The big beautiful turkey was definitely a little intimidating.



So many beautiful pumpkins. Ida Jane wanted to visit each one.



This one looks perfect!



Load 'em up on the wagon, and move 'em out!



Boy, was that exciting. Good thing the car ride is a half hour home.

The Hunt for Fun October

A year ago yesterday was Ida Jane's first day home from the hospital. It's hard to believe our little rambunctious pumpkin was all of 4 lbs. 12 oz. just a year ago.

Lately, she's been having lots of a fun. We visited a farm last weekend, and got to meet lots of friendly animals, like Hal the Mule:



And Oscar the Rooster, who she enjoyed petting:



Ida Jane calls pretty much anything that's remotely cat-sized a cat. And we suspect there's a reason for that. Herman is always at her side. Sometimes, he almost gets put away with the toys by mistake:



There's been a lot of hullabaloo about baseball lately, too. Here's Ida Jane getting ready to root for the Tribe (the Sox were on past her bedtime).



It will get a little tense in the house if the Red Sox and Indians both advance!

Of course, there are the two biggest pieces of news. First, Ida Jane is getting ready to be a big sister! (No pictures of her little sibling are available yet, and Mama hasn't been feeling photogenic lately). We're very excited. The baby is due on April 8, and the doctors all think we can avoid another early entry.

The second big piece of news is that Ida Jane has been a fully licensed walker for a week or so now. She still likes hanging onto things, and quick drops to her bottom are pretty standard fare, but she can definitely move from place to place. Here's a video of her playing with Dada and then walking over to her toys.



Go Tribe! Go Sox!

Extra footage

Here's a quick movie of Ida Jane clapping and generally being happy that we thought might be fun to share in addition to the Renaissance post.

Renaissance Girl

Ida Jane enjoyed her trip to the Maryland Renaissance Festival today.

Riding a pony was a real treat.



There were fun plays and actors to clap for.



We met lots of friends wearing neat costumes.



And, once we found a suitable cap, Ida Jane was playing the part!



What a blast!

Happy Birthday, Ida Jane!

Today Ida Jane turned 1 year old. It's hard for Mama and Dada to believe that their little NICU tugboat has grown up so quickly.

Here's an extra big blog posting to commemorate the day.

First, Ida Jane models some overalls, which suit her personality (tough, but girly).



Then she tried on a birthday outfit, courtesty of Meme and Baba:



She wasn't sure what to think about the big party, which was attended by Nana, Papa, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Mike, and Evan:


But it turns out that cupcakes are delicious



She posed later for a shot with Nana and Papa.



After the party was over, and everyone had gone home, Ida Jane got to play with newspaper until she wore herself out.



She probably can't wait until next year's party, but Dada and Mama are hoping for time to move just a bit slower. ;-)

Delawarrific

Who knew the state of Delaware had so much to offer the average 11 month old? There is the warm Atlantic ocean, perfect for dipping your toes in:



The nice sand where you can sit with Mama and watch the surfers:



The comfortable weather, perfect for piggy back rides:



A short drive from Rockville, perfect for the family!



And, of course, there's lots of toys to play on the sand, and give your old man the ol' "shovel in the nose" trick.

Fun with Baba and Meme

Baba and Meme came to visit this past weekend, and we had a great time. One of the highlights was the swimming pool at their hotel! Ida Jane had a brand new suit to show off.



And here she is, swimming with Meme!



Meme and Mama also went shopping with Ida Jane. One of the purchases was this cute little bow, which she wanted to show Baba.



And here they all are together.

The human cannonball

Ida Jane has become quite the human cannonball of late. She enjoys barrelling from one activity to the next. She's really eager to walk, and is learning to get around by hanging onto things or pushing things around, as she shows in this video here.



We had to bid farewell to our friend Ilan (along with Uncle Howard and Auntie Veronique). Ida Jane will miss sharing meals and laughs with her good friend.



We've been experimenting with different foods. I say experimenting because, sometimes, the food is better as accoutrement than it is as a meal, as witnessed by this lovely potato carrot ensemble (available in the Ida Jane Summer '07 collection).



Baba and Meme are visiting soon, so we'll have lots more pics after their time here in Washington.