Political Baby

So she's not political in the "election was Nov 4" sense, although I must admit I'm happy that President Obama is the first president she might remember, rather than President McCain. I did watch his concession speech, however, and came away thinking what a class act he is. Audrey's politics, however, have more to do with her decorated onesies. Before she was born, our friend Gretchen made her a onesie that says, on the front, "Eat Local Food" and on the back, "It Works for Me." I had to snap a picture because one day she was lying on her playmat, next to Sleepy Bunny (who, though he is a stuffed animal, has played many roles, from infant head support to nursing pillow in his brief tenure with us). She reached out and grabbed Sleepy Bunny's foot and was poised to take a bit out of it. Not quite the "local food" the onesie-maker intended, but funny.

Travels With Audrey

So I have not blogged in a while, partially because I was traveling for a couple of weeks, back East to VA/MD and then out West to San Diego. These were my first trips with Audrey (who was 3 1/2 months old when we left on our first trip). It was a new experience both because I was now "the woman with the baby" on the plane (fortunately, not "the woman with the screaming baby") and also because it was sort of solo parenting time. My parents met me at both ends of the country, and helped with Audrey a lot, but it wasn't quite the same as having Paul there - a little less of a tag team effect. Anyway, Audrey did very well with flying. I've been telling people that if we'd had a direct flight, it would have been no problem at all - it was when we got to Chicago (on the way East) and Dallas (on the way back to Tucson) that she looked at me with this look that said "Hey, you mean we have to do this AGAIN?" But we did. And she did great, amusing herself by smiling at our plane-mates and developing a fascination for the water bottles I was inevitably toting around with us. She even tried to drink from my water bottle in the San Diego airport, grabbed it and held it and put the top to her mouth. Unfortunately for her (but probably fortunately for me, saving a clothing change), she didn't have the wherewithal to open the top first :-) Of course, some familiar "friends" (like Froggy) helped too. The picture is her at Chicago's O'Hare airport, prior to boarding the second flight going East!

Video Sensation

So I recently took a few little videos with my camera. The taking of the videos was easy, but when I downloaded them the files were huge (50 MB for a 20-second video!). It took me a week or so, but finally I got on Paul's computer and used Windows Movie Maker to "refine" the movies, adding a title and transition, and most importantly, converting them into WMV files which were a LOT smaller than the AVI files. Then I sent them out - but unfortunately, both of the computers I watched them on had the sound turned off, so I didn't realize they had sound (and pretty silly sound, if I may say)of me saying "Audrey! Hey, Audrey!" and "Video of Audrey playing with a blanket" - nothing like stating the obvious :-) Anyway, now that I know how to shrink the files, I can make more interesting videos. Plus she's becoming more vocal too so maybe I can capture her "singing along" to Old MacDonald (she can say "E-I" and we're working on "E-I-E-I-O"). Watch this space for further developments.

Tag Blanket!

Yesterday Joanna sent Audrey a new toy. She apologized for it being late (for Audrey's birth and for my birthday) but I think it's right on time, since Audrey recently learned to grab and even more recently has been trying to put things in her mouth. The tag blanket is perfect for both of those pursuits, and as you can see from the photo, she is enjoying it already!

Fashion Plate

So Audrey hates putting on clothes if they have to go over her head, but she seems to really like "trying on" clothes. I put some piece of clothing over her to check how long/wide it is and to see if it might fit her now, and she flashes a huge smile. It always seems like she's saying "Look at how cute I am in THIS outfit, mom!" I didn't think I'd be able to get a picture of her smiling, but I did, so here she is "trying on" a green footed sleeper on Monday morning.

Leaps and Bounds

So over the weekend, Audrey learned to grab things. Paul has been working with her, showing her that her hands can close around various little hanging toys that she has, but it wasn't until Saturday that things seemed to "click." Paul and I had noticed that Audrey was now bored in her infant carrier. Every time we put her in it, she would "read" the warning on the side of the carrier about 20 times (when she's able to talk, I won't be at all surprised if her first words are "Warning! Advertencia!" since the label, advising us not to put the infant seat in the front seat of the car, is in both English and Spanish). Anyway, Paul hung a giraffe toy from the carrier canopy, figuring she'd look at it.

While we were in the car on Saturday, trundling from party (Happy 15th birthday, Nick) to party (Happy get-together at Lauren, Niel and Gavin's!) I had pulled the canopy all the way down to keep the sun from beating down on Audrey as we drove. I was talking to Paul, and noticed that the giraffe's head (which was all I could see of him, as his body and legs were under the canopy with Audrey) kept moving. I lifted the canopy, and saw that Audrey had grabbed the giraffe's leg and was repeatedly pulling on it, causing the head to bob under the canopy and then re-appear in my view.

Once she mastered this skill with the giraffe, she was quick to try it out on her new toy, the take-along arch (thanks Erica, Sammy and Nick, I think this was a gift from you). Paul clipped it to the boppy, so she could rest and look at - or grab - the toys as she rested there. So that's the picture. Audrey is grabbing the turtle, who is supposed to play three songs, but I can only get him to play one (part of "Pop Goes the Weasel", I think). Audrey managed to hit it in such a way as to get it to play another song, but I have no idea how she did it...I have experimented with hitting the turtle in multiple ways (much to the amusement of Audrey AND Paul) and it either stays silent, mocking me, or plays "Pop Goes the Weasel"...c'est la vie.

Hanging with the Family

So Friday was my birthday. In the morning, Paul talked to Audrey and told her it was mommy's birthday so she should be especially helpful and good all day. He also told her about the party we were having at 5:30 to eat ice cream cake with the Orzech family and some friends. It seems kind of crazy, but she acted like she really heard him. I gave her a bath, and she had no problem with it (previously there had been at least some screaming associated with baths). I fed her a bottle and she took to it right away instead of fussing. And when people came over at 5:30/6:00 pm, she happily hung out with family members and friends. After ice cream cake (chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins...) ten of us went out for sushi at our favorite local sushi place (suggested by a vegan friend who went with us because she knew there were things she could eat there). Audrey hung out in her carrier, smiling at everyone, then ate a little when our food came (she likes to eat at the same time as me) and then fell asleep for the rest of the meal. Here she is hanging out with Aunt Jen at the ice cream cake party...