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Fiona has done many things in the past few days, but sadly we did not get photos of most of them. In brief, her activities included:-the discovery that balloons are fun to play with;-a cookout at a friends house, which included 3 other children, a dog, and 2 bunnies. Fiona was convulsing with joy the entire time;
-a playdate with Gabe, the son of family friends. Gabe is one month younger than Fiona and twice her size. In her attempt to make friends with him, Fiona grabbed his face and made Gabe cry. With Fiona, love hurts.
-another playdate with Zoe, in which Fiona grabbed all the toys while Zoe watched patiently;-breakfast with Boom at the mall. Fiona wolfed down her Zweiback with her usual gusto;
-a trip to Sweet Stuff Bakery with Nana to meet Lisa, the proprietor. Lisa was appropriately charmed by Fiona, but sadly did not offer any free baked goods.
Fortunately, we did manage to get a photo of one of the most exciting moments: Fiona standing, supporting herself (one-handed!) on her Exersaucer. This happened quite suddenly during her afternoon playtime yesterday. (You can see my hand in the picture, because I was concerned that she might collapse at any time, but I promise that I was in no way supporting her). While the entire household raced around documenting this momentous event, Fiona was uncharacteristically somber. Perhaps she realizes that with standing comes responsibility. (As an added reinforcement, we left the Classified ads on the tray of her highchair this morning).
Another major milestone: Fiona has successfully eaten her first piece of Zweiback toast. For those of you who (quite rightly) have no idea what I'm talking about, Zweiback toast is like mini-biscotti for babies, and it's by far the most solid of any "solid" food Fiona has eaten to date. Unsurprisingly, she ate the whole thing. This was especially exciting to her grandparents, who had repeatedly suggested giving Fiona the Zweiback. What is it with grandparents and feeding? I wouldn't have predicted it, but both sets of grandparents get positively giddy contemplating new foods to ply upon Fiona.
Friday afternoon was pretty exciting for Fiona. She rode the Metro to downtown DC, where we met Boom after work for a trip to the National Aquarium. Fiona took the Metro in stride. She was a little cynical. “Mom," she said with her eyes, “what’s up with the carpeting?”
The Aquarium was another story entirely – she LOVED it. This was not a surprise to us, since Fiona has already visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium and had a similar reaction (joy convulsions). However, the Monterey Bay Aquarium costs $25 per person and takes an entire day to see. The National Aquarium, in contrast, costs $5 per person and we saw the whole thing in 30 minutes. Although it’s apparently improved since the days when, according to my dad, it was "a government office with some fish in it,” it is essentially a basement (the basement of the Commerce Department, to be specific) with some fish tanks stuck in the walls. But the beauty of it is, Fiona doesn’t care. Stick her in front of some fish swimming in circles and she’s in heaven. (And that’s all good and warm and fuzzy, and I don’t want to get too political or anything, but maybe with all the things our government spends money on, they should consider shelling out a little for a better National Aquarium. I mean, seriously.)
I am not a big fan of naked-baby-in-the-tub pictures. Fortunately, Fiona seems to share my aversion. By means of a strategically placed fish, she has enabled us to take a bathtub photo that I don’t feel sleazy posting. The significance of this photo is that Fiona is now taking baths in the “big girl tub.” This milestone was reached when we came to Virginia, since her grandparents don’t have a baby tub. These are the small developmental steps that excite us; it’s one step closer to her leaving home, getting a job, and supporting us in our old age.
We've had some gorgeous (coolish and non-humid) weather here on the East Coast this week, so we've been taking every opportunity to spend time outside. Yesterday, we brought out the bubbles while Fiona was playing on the patio. Fiona was very amused by the bubbles, and we had a nice moment when a huge bubble popped right in my face and Fiona busted up with laughter. Nice to see that she's already starting to disrespect her mother.
Fiona's proud Nana never misses a chance to show her off! The other day, she went to a lunch with a group of women who are in her Bible study (and had been praying for Fiona since her tiny birth). Fiona made a brief appearance at this luncheon. Scenario: Fiona and about 12 grandmotherly women. Hmmm, who do you think was the center of attention? We took a group photo; Fiona is fixated on the ceiling light fixture. Light fixtures are one of Fiona's favorite things. Don't know if it's because her grandfather is an electrician or what, but an overhead light with a dimmer switch can keep Fiona amused for 30 minutes.
