The Next Stage

Today is the last day of my maternity leave. Monday I go back to work, and Nina heads off to daycare. She'll be attending HeadsUp! in Palo Alto. What can I say, it is going to be tough leaving her. I get sad just thinking about it. So instead, let's look at some adorable shots of the sweet little pea.

One of her favorite toys is this see-thru rattle with little colored balls. She figured out that she can shake it to make noise.

Our little athlete. Stretching her quads before the big race.

Our Baby of Perpetual Motion

Today we have a nice selection of photos showing Nina recently advancements in mobility. First is one of my favorites, the froggy sit. She is about to lunge for a toy in front of her.


Now in this next picture note the little pointed toe. She does this all the time! She lies on her side and uses her foot to keep her balance so she can grab stuff more easily with her hands.


And this one is just super cute. After I took this picture, she started munching on the curtains.


She also loves to munch on hair. Here she is in full out attack mode!


We have this foot stool that is just the perfect height for her to stand up. She can balance herself for a couple of seconds.


And check this out! She just started doing this. She'll get on her hands and knees, then push with her feet, and lift both her knees off the ground. Then she flops back onto her stomach. Too much!


Yep, she is pretty darn pleased with herself!

Picchetti

Last Saturday when Grandma was visiting, we headed to Picchetti Ranch for wine tasting and picnic. Mirko likes to brag that it is the winery we can visit without getting on the freeway.


But then all good things must come to an end, and Grandma flew back to Houston on Tuesday. Byebye Gramma! Nina will miss you!

Pool Party

Grandma Vicky came to visit this past week. And of course her bag was jam packed with goodies for Nina - including head to toe swim gear!

Doesn't she look like a movie star? It was perfect considering we were having a bit of a heat wave. Nothing beats cooling off at the pool on a hot summer day. Nina enjoyed the splashing in the water (as well as drinking it whenever possible).


Grandma was also kind enough to watch Nina while Mirko and I went out for my birthday dinner. Here we are about to take off for the evening.


More pictures of Grandma's visit are yet to come, but first I want to highlight a few of Nina's recently accomplishments. She is starting to sit up for a few seconds by herself. She prefers the modified tripod sit - one arm out to the side supporting her weight. Sitting up is a tough feat for Nina particularly because it requires her to sit still for more than a millisecond!


Next up is getting onto her hands and knees. She gets up into this position and rocks back and forth for a few seconds before flopping onto her belly. When she wants to get somewhere she still drags herself along on her belly, but I would say that this position means that real crawling is not too far off!

Family Weekend

We had a nice and relaxing weekend. Spent lots of time just hanging out and playing with Nina. She was in a fantastic mood and having the time of her life.

In this one below she is grabbing at the camera strap. Mirko was trying to encourage her to crawl. He would take a picture and then move back a foot. She would lunge and stretch reaching for the strap. She went probably 5 or 6 feet in total. She pulls with her arms and drags her little body along. She hasn't yet figured to move her arms and legs together. Note me in the background, reading a high quality newspaper. Enquirering minds want to know.




One last note. Nina really likes to play with these little plastic rings - the ones that you use to attach a toy to the baby gym. She can hold on to them very easily and likes to chomp on them. Yesterday, I noticed that she can pass the ring from one hand to the other. Yay, milestone!

Ms. Personality

What a character is our little girl! Her personality has been blossoming lately. And her lungs are getting stronger. She has taken to shrieking, and it is this really forced, and frankly terrible sounding, sound. Sometimes she does it when she is frustrated (or her toys are very naughty), and sometimes she does it just for fun. Another far cuter thing she started is to squinch up her little nose and huff repeatedly out her nose. So funny and random. Her hands and coordination are improving daily as you can see...

'Waaaah! I am sooo unhappy! Wait, what is this thing in my hand?! Whew, that is better.'

Nina is also gaining some awareness of the world around her. For example, she closes her eyes tight and blinks repeatedly when she hears a loud sound - like when we clap loudly or shut the car door. But get this, now when she is sitting in her car seat and I reach to close the trunk of the jeep, she knows it will be loud and preemptively starts blinking and closing her eyes. She knows what is coming next! Big development!

Get crazy! It's Friday!

5 month portraits

Pinnacles

Over Memorial Day weekend, we headed down to Pinnacles National Monument. The Pinnacles are crazy rock formations that are the remains of an ancient volcano. On the first day, we hiked a trail that goes out north of the Pinnacles then on the way back you have spectacular views of the rocks.


Nina was rather excited to start off on the adventure.

But by lunch time, she was pooped. Believe it or not, we had to carry her the rest of the way.


The second day, we took the High Peaks Trail. You climb up and up the Pinncles (a couple thousand feet). Really fun hike around all the rocks and plus great views of the surrounding landscapes. But even near the top of a pretty strenuous hike, you can't avoid the Japanese tourists. So we asked them to take our picture!

Actually, we got a fairly early start on the day, and they were only the second group of hikers we saw that morning. Since we wanted to minimize driving, we booked a room at the Inn at Pinnacles - a very lovely bed and breakfast just a few miles from the park entrance. I couldn't recommend it enough. Great views of the surrounding mountains and a wine and cheese tasting in the evening. Here is a view with the Inn in the background.



Great fun!

And finally, for something completely difference - let's end with a little video clip to show you just how much Nina loves to eat!