Takin' a Stroll

Bea's a walking machine! She insisted on walking (with a bit of help from M&D) almost 4 blocks during a visit to the Ballard farmer's market today. Earlier this morning, she took 5 steps on her own. A big day for little Bea!
Oh- she is 15 months old as of 10/2, still growing well and generally healthy. She is about 50% on the weight chart (22 lbs), 75% on the head chart, but still only 15% on the height chart. Short and round for now.
Other developments include pointing at everything under the sun and talking constantly. Her current discernable vocabulary includes: "Dada," "Mama," "up," "uhoh," some version of "ba" for book and bath, and a high pitched "ca" for cat. She has begun to push her boundaries and throws minor tantrums when things don't go her way. Even when she's mad, she is still pretty darn cute.

Fall frolics

Alas, the summer has waned and the rain set in. We are sad to say goodbye to endless sunny days and have been heading outdoors at every opporutnity.

Here is Bea showing us what a big girl she is to go down the stairs! She can't get enough of the slide, especially when she gets to go down on Mommy's lap. Our girl is a bit cautious and feels safer in the arms of her parents.

Shoe Fairy

A little fairy (aka Nana) left these on our doorstep yesterday!

Mimi Visits!

Hi all,
We just wrapped up a wonderful visit with Mimi! Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we were able to get out and about town. We spent quite a bit of time at various neighborhood parks, sending Bea up and down the slide and watching her get totally filthy. We picnicked at Greenlake and Bea and I took a dip in the lake. Mimi and I strolled through the Japanese Gardens, which never fail to leave me feeling peaceful and refreshed. With Mimi's departure, it feels like fall is really here - back to school, back to work. On the bright side, Bea seems to like daycare. She doesn't bat an eye when I leave her now!

Update on Bea's development: She took THREE steps yesterday, totally unawares. It seems food is a motivator for walking...are we surprised? She had been struggling through her first nasty daycare cold and has sprouted at least four more teeth, in addition to the seven she already has. Amazingly, she's been in good spirits through it all. The curls are really coming in now and I'm hoping it will be any day that she can sport cute barrettes. That's about it. More soon.

The Entertainer

Future professional kazoo player? Bea cracks herself up playing and has to stop for a good laugh




Here she is looking just like her Daddy did at her age.





















...and she's still playing.

Bea Goes to Daycare

First day of daycare today. Tears were shed by all - Bea reportedly recovered faster than I did, having only cried for about a half hour. She did just a 1/2 day and when I went to pick her up at lunchtime, she was covered head-to-toe in lasagna, exclaiming "nom nom nom" with each bite. Now, we know she is an "enthusiastic" eater and find this behavior totally endearing, but she stood out like a sore thumb at day care, where all the other kids were eating quietly and much less messily. I hope she learns to be a neater eater, but I won't mind if she continues to provide the mealtime entertainment. In any event, we're going back tomorrow and hoping for less tears all around.

Arlington Times

Bea and I visited my family in Arlington last week. Here are pics of Beatrice playing in the grown up chair at Zayde's house, going up and down the stairs, and stealing all Tuxedo's toys. It turns out that cat toys and baby toys are interchangeable. Uncle Mark educated Bea about the history of baseball and Mimi took the munchkin to the park. All in all, a fantastic visit. The trip home was touch and go, though, as we got stuck in Chicago due to bad weather. Thankfully, my sister Julie and her husband rescued us and we got to spend a fun day in the Windy City. We made it back, 36 hours after leaving DC. Bea was a real trooper!