Hot on the Easter trail

 Someone came across her Easter basket today ... early.

I put together her basket last night and set it on a chair tucked under our dining room table, thinking it was in a corner of our house that is usually of no interest to her. But as she was dawdling around our house this morning, just "Dadadada"-ing away, she all of a sudden got really, really quiet. And this is where we found her, riffling through the contents of her Easter goodies.

Obviously we have to step up our game when it comes to these holiday shenanigans, because we have one smart cookie on our hands (either that, or she's got a knack for sniffing out a box of Peeps).

Merrily we stroll along

Pardon the lapse in documentation, but I seem to have completely ignored the fact that our Baby Bean is in deed a true bonafide walker these days! I've written about the most mundane of things on this blog, but of course, I totally overlook the moment that all parents wait for, especially this Momma, who was freaking out for months because our Baby Bean never crawled. But wouldn't you know that she ends up deciding to crawl and walk within days of one another. That happened about three or four weeks ago, somewhere during her 13 month.

So without further adieu, here is a little clip of Maribelle taking a stroll. She's not the most graceful of walkers yet, but her baby legs get more and more stable with every passing day. And she is just so much happier now that she can go wherever she wants, whenever she wants. And the crawling thing? LOVES it. Although I spent large chunks of time reading articles about how crawling isn't even considered a developmental milestone, I'm so relieved to see her putting her hands and knees to good use. But this whole unlimited mobility thing has been both a blessing and a curse, because now there is no settling this little girl's desire to be free and move about. Which means diaper changes and convincing our little worm to lay on her back for 15 seconds is virtually IMPOSSIBLE these days!

Signs of Spring

Little Book Worm

Yes, yes, we've been hiding! I'm blaming it on a case of the Rosies ... Roseola, that is. It's a nicely-named virus that causes a not-so-nice high fever and rash and earned Maribelle the title of Miss CrankyPants 2010 for about a week. It wasn't the worst sickness she's had, but it seriously turned her into a crankpot like no other. All I could do was hold her on my hip, STANDING (because sitting was no good for our little sickie) and walk around the house while she whined and pointed at everything in site. Poor babes. At least she has encountered the bug and shouldn't get it ever again, fingers crossed. And I totally blame it on the mall play area that she visited with her daycare a few days before she got sick. Totally disgusting. Those communal play areas (and the toys at doctor offices, restaurants, book stores, etc) freak me out and cause the germaphobe in me to hyperventalate upon impact. I know that I can't deny her those play opportunities, so I'm trying to get better about it. However, coming down with Roseola probably won't help my paranoia.

But enough about germs and bacteria-infested play surfaces ... let's talk books. One of my favorite blogs has been showcasing children's books all week, and so I wanted to do a quick post about some of Maribelle's favorites. (And does anyone know of a 12-step recovery program for those addicted to buying children's books? Because I honestly can't stop buying them and have enough to open a small children's library.)

At the moment, her go-to "READ THIS TO ME NOW!" book is the classic Goodnight Moon, and she loves it a million times better when Jeremy reads it to her. It's amazing how enthralled she is by this book and its simple illustrations and language. She loves pointing out the red balloon and the little mouse, and always gets very still when it comes to the brush/mush/hush sequence in the book. And Jeremy swears that she yawns every time he finishes the last page of the book. Just the response we're looking for!

After receiving a copy of Where's Baby's Christmas Present and Where's Baby's Birthday Cake as gifts this past winter, she now loves any of Karen Katz's lift-the-flap variety of books. These were her go-to books before the Goodnight Moon obsession began, so I recently added Where's Baby's Belly Button to her collection. She has other lift-the-flap books, but there's something about this series that really keeps her attention. However, Jeremy doesn't approve of the fact that some of these books use the word "no!" a lot because, well, baby's birthday cake and/or Christmas present can't be behind every flap, so the answer is only "yes!" on the last page of the book.

I have a HUGE weakness for any book in the Little Golden Book series, especially the older, more classic stories. Maribelle has inherited my collection of Golden Books from when I was a kid, and she's received quite a few of these little gems as gifts this past year. Her favorite, however, seems to be Baby Farm Animals. It's simple and fun and really tests the reader's animal impersonating skills. And I'm pretty sure that's why she likes it best, because watching your mom and dad impersonate a donkey, duck and a guinea pig (?!) is LOADS of fun.

We have so many other great books in our personal library for little people, and I can't wait to see what her next favorite book of the moment will be. I've been gently nudging her toward a children's book of illustrated poems that was mine when I was little, but as of yet she has no interest in Frost or Wordsworth. And I can't say I blame her.

30 Days: Day 9

30 Days: Day 8

30 Days: Day 7

We've Only Just Begun

There are so many moments when I pause and stare in amazement at our little girl. Whether it be out of sheer amazement at how smart and clever she can be, out of awe at how toddler-like she all of a sudden has become, or out of pure glowing, overflowing love and thankfulness for the little blessing that she is in our lives, it's those sort of moments that just can't be captured with a camera. I try so hard to etch these perfect little scenes somewhere in my mind in an attempt to preserve this magical time that some days just seems to be careening past our very eyes. To go from a little helpless peanut of a baby to an increasingly independent and comprehending toddler in the short span of a year is no less than mind blowing, especially when we consider that we've only just begun to meet the Little Lady that she will one day become. Parenthood is truly the journey of a lifetime.

30 Days: Day 6

30 Days: Day 5

 

 

30 Days: Day 4

VIPs

As a photojournalist, Jeremy has a pretty cool job, even though he spends long hours at work, is essentially on-call for breaking news 24 hours a day and has to work Saturdays. He gets to meet famous people, travel to places near and far (don't even get him started on his jaunt to India and the "Dehli belly" he came home with) and gain access to some pretty fascinating places in Washington, D.C. One of those places is the Capitol Building, which we toured earlier this week with Jeremy's media pass. We got to see all the off-the-beaten-path places that the general public doesn't get to see, and we tried to mix in seemlessly with all the suits, ties and Senators (yeah right ... nothing like an adorable baby squealing "hi!!!!" to everyone she sees to help us blend into the background). We also spent some time in the National Botanical Gardens looking at all the gorgeous orchids and keeping Maribelle from bathing in the various streams and waterfalls. That girl is DRAWN to water, I tell ya!

30 Days: Day 3

30 Days of Stitching

I promise I'm not highjacking this blog and turning it into a craft blog, but in an attempt to fulfill one of my New Year's resolutions, I'm partaking in a stitchalong (are the nerd-alert sirens going off where you are? Because I can hear them loud and clear where I'm sitting). The stitchalong that I'm partaking in is linked here, and so for the next 30 days you will have to put up with a daily posting of my 1 1/2-inch stitched creation. It's a way to be creative and zone out for a bit every day (trust me, I don't need a stitchalong to zone out, but at least this gives me an excuse). I'm already two days in, so here's what I have so far.

Day 1

Day 2

If you have no idea what a stitchalong is and could care less about little embroidered hearts, woodland creatures and flowers (because I'm sure that's what will end up in most of my 30 squares) rest assured we will continue with our regularly-scheduled program of Maribelle goodness.