Our daughter the trooper

Our daughter was quite the "world traveler" on Saturday. We decided we wanted to head down to Babies R Us (an hour down the road) and visit some friends on our way back.

We left the house at 8:30am, and got to the nice, quiet store about an hour later. After a decent shopping spree, J dropped us off at Buy Buy Baby while he hit the Army/Navy surplus store. S fell asleep while I looked at $1000 strollers (no, we didn't buy one ;)

We stopped by to visit our friends in town. This is my goddaughter. No, I can't help it that she's a Red Sox fan ;)



The kids loved S. We got a group shot of them with her and her panda.

We headed back home, stopping at Red Robin and Target on our way back up the road. A word about Red Robin. It used to be merely annoying when the entire waitstaff came out and sang a happy birthday song. When you have a sleeping baby in a restaurant, the last thing you want is the entire waitstaff coming anywhere near you to sing a happy birthday song. S's eyes got as big as plates and naptime was over. Poor nugget.

We only went to look at grills on Sunday, and she stayed home today. It's been a good weekend.

Memorial Day

While you're at the beach, grilling in the backyard, or hitting the sales, take some time to remember those who fought and died in our armed forces.

S had her first playdate today

And I didn't take any pictures :(

My friend Amy came over today and brought her adorable daughter Cora with her. Cora is 9 months old, so it was fun to see what S is going to look like by the end of the year. Cora is also the spitting image of her father, and is the cutest thing you ever did see. I wanted to eat her up!

It was so much fun watching 2 babies check each other out. S loves new faces, so she thought this was a pretty cool experience.

Thanks for coming over, Amy. I hope to return the favor soon.

First official family day

The weather was beautiful, and we had no major plans this weekend, so we decided to take S out for our first official day out as a family. After her morning bottle, S headed out with us to our favorite diner. She hung out while we had brunch, and smiled at everyone who walked by.



Then it was off to one of our favorite places, Grey Towers in Milford.



We walked the grounds, looked at the pretty gardens, and posed for a few pictures.



Daddy kept saying to get pictures of the views, so Mommy obliged.



S found her fingers (again) just in time for the ride home.

Pictures of cuteness

Certain people get after me if I don't post enough pictures of the nugget. So here goes, with commentary.


J's grandmother bought her this adorable denim dress. And as usual, if I don't use a flash, photos turn into somewhat blurry action shots. Note that she's already kicked off a sock. Not 5 minutes after I put it on her.


This reminds me of the ETrade baby commercial, where he says, "This is my shocked face."



S getting acquainted with her baby doll from Nana.




S tells Daddy a story. She's been "talking" a lot, especially in the morning. Apparently we have to know what she dreamed about.


S's "neutral" face. Not happy, not frowning. Just hangin'



And then we go to full on happy. Note the sleeper matches the burp cloth (go WalMart). And it's another blurry action shot. Yeah, we don't have to worry about lethargy with this one.

What I've been knitting

My local yarn store is doing a genius promotion this spring, revolving around works in progress. The purpose is to finish all those knitting projects you have started and really need to finish. If you get it done by the deadline (Joanne gave us 2 months to get cracking), you're entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. If you register a minimum of 5 projects, you can get a little something for participating. Considering that the promotion started a month after S came home, I just went with 5 projects and hoped for the best. One of the gals registered 33 projects! Needless to say, I am impressed.

The reason this is genius to me is that I work really well with a deadline. Of the 5 projects I registered, I finished 3 already, and still have a month to go before I have to finish the other 2. The other reason this is genius is that poor S doesn't have anything to wear that Mommy knitted for her. So I could pull out all those cute baby patterns and go to town.

Long story longer, here is what I've finished for S so far.
I just love how this tulip yoke cardigan worked out. I even had some cute flower buttons to sew on it. S will likely fit this in a month or so. I just hope it still fits her when it gets cooler this fall.



I just adore how this little jacket worked out. I had some silver buttons with Celtic knot designs that look great. This is a 12-month size, so hopefully S can wear this by her birthday in March.

My other finished project is a shrug for me (yay!). What's left is a pair of mittens I've been meaning to make for me for about 4 months now, and a sweater for S that's been sitting on needles for 2 years. It's about time I finished it off.

I've already suggested that this be an annual event, because I think it gives everyone a great excuse to go through the house, find stuff they didn't know they were working on, and get them done!

Second post placement visit

I can't believe I forgot to post about this.

In March, I entered this post about our first post-placement visit with our social worker from the adoption agency.

The second one was last Monday, and it was just as easy peasy. Just not as crowded. Our social worker came solo, and was amazed at how much S has changed in 2 months. She walked in the living room and S grinned at her. It was perfect.

We talked about how the last couple of months have gone, who's come to see her, where she's gone, how her health has been, and what her 2 month dr appointment was like. The social worker asked about any issues of stress in our lives, and I couldn't really say there were any. Over and above the occasional frustration when S won't sleep (even though she's super tired) or has an off day. Once again I was hoping for a picture of S with our social worker, but she got cranky and crashed not long after Tammy got here, so we'll try for next time. By then S may be holding up her head all by herself.

The next (and last!) visit is scheduled for July. But it may get moved up if finalization happens sooner, as the law office is telling us.

More movie reviews

Man, I am all over the map when it comes to video on demand.

First up is Good Hair. Did you see it? It was a documentary Chris Rock did on African American hair, specifically women's hair. I had wanted to see it when I first heard about it. Spending almost 10 years in a city like Baltimore, which is predominantly African American, gave me an appreciation for the amazing hair styles that black women have. And this was a fascinating movie. Chris Rock went literally all over the world, from an African American hair convention in Atlanta, to salons and barbershops all over the US, to a temple in India where hair weaves originate, to a studio where he interviewed a variety of African Americans (including Al Sharpton and Maya Angelou) about hair. I learned that the active ingredient in relaxers is sodium hydroxide (!), hair weaves can cost on average $1000 and up, and that black women do not want anyone to touch their hair. Which was reinforced when Neicy Nash said the exact same thing on Dancing With the Stars last night.

Shifting gears completely, I also saw The Hurt Locker. To say I enjoyed this movie would be the wrong word, since it's not the most enjoyable topic. But I can see how it got some serious awards. It also reinforced my appreciation for the situation in Iraq over the years and the horror that many of our soldiers, sailors, and marines have had to endure. Unfortunately I would have to agree with a recent review that it wasn't the Best Movie Ever, since it seemed to end with the most common themes that permeate every war move ever made.

And just so you know, we finally saw the end of 2012. I don't think I told this story here. On opening night of 2012, J and I went to see it at a late showing up the road. The movie theater was a dump and there were teenaged hoodlums hanging around, but the movie was enjoyable enough (the special effects were amazing, even if Danny Glover can't act his way out of a paper bag. But anything with John Cusack in it is OK in my book). Anyhoo, we're about 15 minutes from the end of the movie, and the reel stops, the lights come on, and 2 girls walk in. The building next door is on fire, and we have to evacuate. Lovely. J and I debated on whether to ask for a refund (why bother), go see it again (the theater shut down the following week), or wait for it to come out on VOD so we could see the end. We waited. And we watched the last 15 minutes. It was fine. I'm glad we didn't spend another $9 to sit through whole thing again. With our method, we got to FF through the bad parts and watch the cool special effects all over again.

Scenes from a Mother's Day

The squirt, on our way to brunch




J's mom and grandmother, at brunch


4 generations in one picture



The moms (and baby) on Mother's Day




A picture with my daughter. Finally.

Official 2 month picture

What I did this weekend

Mommy got a solo trip this weekend to attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.



(No, that's not me)

I went for the first time last year. I was heading down to MD for another reason altogether, but J sent me a link and said, "You might be able to find some yarn there." Um, yeah.

So I bought some yarn. And a beautiful hand-woven wool blanket for the guest room. And saw lots of sheep.



And alpacas



I also got to meet up with some old friends for dinner at Samos (highly recommended if you're visiting Baltimore. Just remember, no reservations, and BYOB). We closed the place down. Congratulations to Jason and Alisa, and Chris and Angie, on your impending nuptials.

The best thing I saw, though, was when I came home.

Can you stand the cuteness???

2 month stats!

S had her 2 month well baby appointment this morning. She's coming in at:

10 lb 14.5 oz (50th pct)
23 1/4 inches long (75th pct)
15 inch head circumference (50th pct)

The doctor said she is doing great, and to keep doing what we're doing.

She got her first round of shots, and for the first time in recorded history, cried at the doctor's office. The receptionist thought she had a cute cry. Uh huh. Come see us at 2am when she's hungry.

Pictures to come when she's awake.