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:

Enjoying the beginnings of summer

Ida Jane has been having a lot of fun so far, and summer's just begun! We've gone to the park for a nice swing:



We went to a great fair in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (the apostrophe was dropped after John Brown's raid, for some odd reason). The fair featured bluegrass music, lots of arts and crafts, and a model train set that Ida Jane loved to watch. Here's mama and Ida Jane getting ready to listen to some bluegrass.



Of course, with the advent of hot weather, cute dresses appear. Here's a combo that features a kerchief. Ida Jane likes striking a pose in her new clothes.



Mama had her last day of teaching yesterday, and got to spend a nice day with Ida Jane. She got a brand new toy that helps you learn to stand. We saw this at a friend's house, and it's a lot of fun for a teetering baby.



There's no walking yet, but we are learning to crawl. Here's a video that shows how Ida Jane gets from one toy to another.



Have a great weekend, everyone!

Dada and the crawl

We set up a nice inflatable pool in the backyard, but Ida Jane preferred hanging out on our laps. Here she is yukking it up with dada:



And, did we mention, she's starting to use some words? She can't crawl quite yet, but she's getting there.

Attack of the wild panda!

We meant to take several pictures this weekend, but the best-laid plans go to waste. Particularly when you keep leaving the camera at home for your trips to picnics and restaurants. However, we were able to capture this rare footage of Ida Jane's encounter with a wild baby panda. If you look carefully, you'll see the rare albino deafcat walking by with interest. Also, if the movie says "image coming soon," don't be fooled, it's already there. Press play and enjoy the show!

A Cape Wedding

Ida Jane had a great trip up to Cape Cod last weekend. She was a great traveller, falling asleep on the plane as they closed the door and waking up when we arrived for both flights.

Here's Ida Jane, catching up with Meme and waving to everyone:



She was happy to meet some new family at the dinner the night before, like Aunt Ami, who wore a very exciting necklace.



Getting dressed up for the big day was very fun:



Along with cousins Ryan and Katie, Ida Jane posed for some pictures with the bride and groom:



Ida Jane gave her new Aunt Stephanie a big kiss to welcome her to the family!



Baba is a very, very funny guy:



Not much is better than hanging out with cousins.



Unfortunately, some of our pictures didn't turn out. Ida Jane also had a great time meeting Uncle Tim, Uncle Bob and Aunt Paula, and seeing her Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kris again. We hope to see everyone again soon!

Ida Jane and Evan

Ida Jane and Evan got together yesterday in Rockville. His visit was so exciting, Ida Jane couldn't stay awake for all of it. But we did have a good time:



Here's another picture with Aunt Sarah: