The First Tooth!

Over the past week, Fiona's first tooth came in, and a second tooth is following close behind. All I can say is: THANK GOD, because it has been like living with a foreign dictator in the house for the past couple of weeks! Teething has made Fiona quite grumpy which, combined with her strongly-emerging personality, means that we often find ourselves the target of shouted commands that we can't understand.

Lest you think this is an idle analogy, here is Fiona:And here is Benito Mussolini:

It was challenging to capture a decent photo of Fiona's new dental accessories, because it is increasingly difficult to get Fiona to stand still. Nowadays she is mostly doing this:
Or this (note the blur):

We are very tired lately!

Fiona and the Fall of Man...

This weekend, we took Fiona apple picking. This is something Erick & I used to enjoy in New York, pre-Fiona, but we haven't had a chance to go apple picking in California -- until yesterday. Our destination was Gabriel Farm, a small family-run operation in Sonoma County. The Fuji and Golden Delicious were in prime picking condition, and we brought home about 12 pounds. We had some help from Fiona, who loved trying to yank the apples off the trees.
Although she's only just getting in her first tooth, she knew exactly what to do with an apple.

Sunday in the Park with Fiona

Last Sunday, we took Fiona to Tilden Park -- a beautiful park that is conveniently located up the street from us. Because we were experiencing a typical September California heatwave, we took advantage of the cooling-down opportunity offered by Lake Anza. Fiona has become quite a water-baby of late; she relishes her baths and has discovered the joy of splashing. Needless to say, she loved exploring Lake Anza.
Sufficiently refreshed, we headed over to the Little Farm. (Tilden Park has created a little farm complete with a variety of barnyard animals for children to enjoy, and it has become one of Fiona's favorite spots). It's very challenging to get photos that include both Fiona and the animal she's watching (if babies don't always cooperatively pose for photos, animals are even worse!), but here she is watching some cows:
and here is Fiona with the rear end of a sheep:

As you can see, it was all we could do to keep her from jumping into the pens! So then, it was time for her to face the beast....That's right: Goats.
I'm delighted to report that Fiona seemed to have no recollection of her earlier goat trauma. I'm sure that early experience is now firmly locked in her subconscious, only to emerge several decades down the road when she ends up in therapy for generalized anxiety issues.

Books and Such....

Only a short time ago, we were concerned that Fiona might never like books. She was unable to sit through an entire story without attempting to eat the book in question. I am delighted to report that this trend has lately reversed: Fiona appears to have developed a sincere love for books in their customary form -- it has been weeks since she attempted to stick one in her mouth. As happy as we are with this development, it is not without its consequences. For instance, the other week Fiona's Grandmommy gave her a book about dogs (titled, appropriately, DOG). This book has become an instant favorite. Fiona demands that we read it morning, noon, and night. I have read Fiona this book 10 times in succession. I can quote this book by heart, and believe me, it is no great piece of literature.Over the past couple of days, Fiona has also developed a strange obsession with our Bible. While we certainly aren't displeased by this, we suspect it has more to do with the crinkly pages than with the content.In other news, Fiona has had several nice experiences over the past week. She met Erick's friend from Tanzania, Jullu.
She attended a 1-year-old Birthday party for her friend Constance. Here she is with Constance (far right) and Cameron (center) enjoying a communal Cheerios-fest.This morning, Fiona danced with her Daddy to some snappy jazz on the radio. She seems to have enjoyed it.

Um, Anyone Else Have This Problem?

After relative peace, Fiona has once again asserted her right to take charge of her own feeding. While I applaud the spirit of this endeavor, the reality is, well, messy. Photos below are of the sequence that happened when I turned my back the other day.
So, experienced parents, any advice? I have mixed feelings; while I don't want to encourage anarchy, she's not really doing anything wrong -- she's making a concerted effort to feed herself. Then again, I do want to sustain the idea (illusion?) that we're in control for as long as possible, at least for her first decade of life. I guess I'm not off to an auspicious start with the authority, though, since I gave up the battle and started taking photos. Hmmm....

Lest you be left with the horrific images above, here is a pretty cute photo of Fiona in her stroller today. This is why she gets away with her Mr. Hyde mealtime behavior:

Fiona Gets Into Things, Joins Union

Lately, all Fiona wants to do is stand. She seems to have missed the memo about the developmental progression from crawling to standing. She crawls only under duress, and with much grunting and groaning. But she is emerging as a champion stand-er. Lately, Fiona's standing skills seem to have given her the confidence to explore everything. I suppose all of this behavior can be filed under the heading: "It's Time to Babyproof the House!"

So, here is Fiona standing at her dresser, amazed at the amount of clothes she has (there are two grandmothers to thank for that!). Shortly after this picture was taken, Fiona had removed all of her clothes from the drawer.
And here is Fiona systematically taking out all of the cds and movies from our coffee table.

This past Saturday, Fiona took a break from standing and destruction to attend the picnic for Local Union 6 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, of which her Grandaddy is a member. Here is Fiona with Grandaddy and the Union Boss. Notice that she looks pretty unimpressed by her new friends in high places.

She was more impressed with the doggy balloon that Grandmommy got her.

And, although we don't have a photo of it, the apex of the picnic for Fiona was the mariachi band that provided the entertainment. She could not take her eyes off of them. We realized that our instincts have been completely wrong up to this point; we are now rocking her to sleep by singing "Guantanamera."

If Dad is Home, There Must Be Presents!

It's frightening how early children develop the gift-opening ability. I guess we're all born materialists.
When Erick came home from Tanzania, he brought presents. The particular present that Fiona is opening above was sent by our friend Joseph Biseko and his family. They gave Fiona a nice bag, a Tanzanian dress that she can wear in about 20 years, and a kanga (Tanzanian cloth used for everything from clothing to baby carriers to curtains). Fiona took to the kanga right away!


The thing is, there are gifts and there are toys and all manner of elaborate childhood paraphenalia, but in reality the best thing is sometimes just...

A BOX!That's right; a plain old cardboard box. That's 20 minutes of entertainment right there, folks.
The only thing that slowed Fiona down eventually was the cold that she caught this past weekend. She wasn't feeling too hot for a couple of days, but she perked right up when we visited the Oakland Zoo with her Grandmommy and she saw giraffes for the first time!