dear daddy,

hi daddy. i really miss you a lot. can you come home soon, please? mommy says you'll be here after 2 more bedtimes but i think that's a long time. i took 3 naps today but you still aren't home. mommy thinks i'm "teething", but i just miss my daddy. i'm eating really good and taking my naps and being nice to the kitties. well, sort of nice to the kitties. it's not my fault! they're just so fluffy! see how big i am, daddy? i don't even need my swaddler anymore. i'm freeeeeeee!! well, i should really be sleeping instead of blogging. oh yeah, happy birthday, daddy!

night night, daddy. nani loves you.

aiyana is figuring out her mouse house. several round mice get stuffed in the chimney and can be pulled out through the red door. (it opens and closes with velcro...nani LOVES velcro.) all by herself today, she picked up a different ball (but similar in size to the mice) and tried to push it down the chimney! definitely worthy of the video camera!

we played with this toy for a long time. it's a current fave. mommy put the mice down the chimney and aiyana reached her arm in to find them. she is fully in the drop and search phase of development. it's great fun for us. but not so much for the cordless phone...

late afternoon chat with dadadadada

aiyana's first webchat

we talked to daddy this morning...aiyana was a little "wierded out" by it at first, but she came around. eventually she just rolled around and played with her toys while daddy talked to her.

pool playdate

mama, don't you think it's naptime?

we met our friends amy and avery at the pool for a little swim. it was hot and almost naptime, but we still had fun. aiyana just loves sitting in the baby pool with mommy and splashing. now she even kicks like she might be able to swim (except for the sinking part). avery really has become a little fish. she says, "swim like a fish!" as she crawls across the pool on her hands. so cute!

just another sunday at home

no, mama! where's my dadadadada??

our little drummer girl...

she turns the ladle over and studies it, but has decided that this is the best way to hold it. at first, she experimented with holding the spoon end, but must have found that wasn't making the best sound. the skillet was closet to her, yet she reached over it to bang on the soup pot. i don't blame her. the soup pot was MUCH louder. even though it was scooting out of her reach, she kept stretching for it. (i think she was pushing it farther from herself as she was bending forward to reach it.)

look what i can do!

quickly becoming "miss independent", aiyana enjoys playing in her room for a few minutes while mommy throws in a load of laundry. of course i check on her every minute, but she usually doesn't see me peeking. when she does catch me spying on her, she usually gives a great big grin to show me what she's been up to. this playtime will have to be contained once baby girl figures out the crawling thing, but for now, she can't scoot herself into too much trouble.

on this day, she discovered that she could tip the baskets that contained books (mommy's) and toys (aiyana's). she chose mommy's book basket and looked over the baby name book. (see it in her lap?) i was a little concerned but then saw that she found what she was after. one of her little blocks had tumbled into the wrong basket and she fished it out. she forgot all about the books and shook her block for me to see. it was so sweet. she was proud of her accomplishment.

i forsee a trip to Target for more soft-sided baskets.

NOW i'm ready for the beach!

soooooo big!

i couldn't wait until she joined in the "how big is aiyana?" game. it's cute everytime.



day 2 at the beach was just as fun. aiyana had a nap in her sling as we walked along the beach. the weather was perfect, even when it rained. we sat under the pier and watched the rain on the ocean. aiyana slept through much of the rain. just another beautiful vacation day.

beach baby

day 1

first ocean view

fingers, toes, and faces full of sand

first face-full of sand. she didn't mind.

first steps in the ocean.

but she preferred sitting.

aiyana quickly learned to brace herself for the incoming waves.
she leaned back, but never lost her balance.

just like the bathtub! we don't know if she realizes that she is splashing herself. but, once she got a taste of the salty water, that was the end of her "low-sodium" diet! she couldn't keep her salty fist out her mouth and kept lapping her lips with her tongue.