A week with Nana

This past week the Doctors asked Amy to begin a stricter rest. No driving, no looking after Ida Jane by herself, and pretty much nothing else, either. Looking after Walnut is her full-time job now. Nana came from Berkey to help this past week, and Ida Jane had a blast.

One favorite toy that Ida Jane and Nana played with was "Lala", aka the Merry-go-round she got two Christmases ago from her Great-Granddad and Great-Grandmama Zoll. Here she brings her dolly Kiko to watch the horses spin around, and wants to make sure Mama, who's taking the picture, is watching the horses closely!



Ida Jane loves giving out hugs and kisses, and Nana received quite a few.



Nana was also good for lounging, napping, and catching up on her reading.



We always like to have fun, too. Here's a video of Ida Jane cutting a rug to an Italian version of "Old MacDonald." With bonus terrible Dada Italian!

Busy times in Rockville

Many apologies for a long posting delay. Dada has been very busy at home, getting ready for the new little one. To add to the confusion, he managed to delete an entire memory stick of photos, including those from Nana's visit just after Christmas. Boo!

But Ida Jane remains happily unaware of the trivialities of every day life. She is aware of a few critical things:

Her bunny-


Visits from friends and family. Here is Auntie Kate, fresh off the boat from China, catching up with Zhou Yi (Ida Jane's Chinese name):


Ida Jane is aware of how cute she looks in new outfits, like this one from Aunt Stephanie:


And, of course, Ida Jane is aware of her nose.

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.