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.

Recovery

It's been a long couple of weeks here for Ida Jane. Between getting her teeth in (at last count, four were visible, two on top and two below) and getting a really nasty virus that had her coughing and took away her voice, she's been through a lot.

She was too under-the-weather to travel to New England this week, which has been rough on everyone. It would have been fun to see all of her friends and relatives, but, as we know, baby controls the schedule. And, in this case, teeth and virus have been the primary itinerary items.

One thing that helped was the sheer quantity (and quality, Ida Jane would probably add) of her toys. In fact, we wonder if she'll ever get lost in them:



Ida Jane also loves her animal friends, and they love her back. Olivia always makes her feel better.



And Herman is very patient, even when she crawls all over him. It feels better when you play with your friends.



As of now, she's still a little grumpy about showing her teeth off, but stay tuned for mouth-updates. Sorry again to everyone that we missed this week. We hope to see you all again soon.

10 mos. and counting!

Ida Jane turned ten months old today! As a nice coincidence, her cousins Grayce and Maddy were in town at Uncle Howard's to celebrate.



It was so nice to meet them for the first time!

Ida Jane also had a very enjoyable trip to Ohio and Indiana over the past week with Mama and Dada. She had her very first swim at a hotel outside of Pittsburgh. She took to it like a fish to water, of course, and loved kicking her legs and exploring the new environment.



Needless to say, it won't be her last.

Ida Jane also spent some great quality time with family. Here she is, enjoying a book with Grandma. She loved learning about new things from Grandma, which often required some serious concentration, as you can see.



Grandpa was good for some laughs as well. Here we are, getting ready for a boat ride.



Cousin Evan was there as well. The two of them hammed it up quite frequently. Here they are, goofing around on a chair.



There were some unexpected visits for Ida Jane as well, like meeting Muddy the Mudhen at 5/3 Field in Toledo.



Sometimes the smile says it all: