Happy Halloween!

Thanks to Aunt Ilana for the adorable costume!

Today's Mission

After Tali ate lunch today, she had one goal: put her little fingers in Jackson's water bowl. No matter where I put her on the floor, she crawled to his bowl. No matter how many times I told her no, she crawled to his bowl. And no matter how many times Jackson tried to distract her, she crawled to his bowl. (I told you she was determined.) So, I decided to take out my camera and document it.

This went on for 45 minutes and it probably would've gone on longer if I hadn't decided to take them out for a walk.

10 months old now

Dear Tali,

On Saturday, you turned 10 months old. For some reason, 10 months was an important marker for me. Now you have a personality, strong likes (and dislikes) and a sense of humor. You've grown from being a big crybaby to a baby who smiles a lot, laughs at random things and cries on occasion. Some observations about you:

• You love food and it seems that bananas are your favorite. If someone is eating a banana in front of you, you get very upset if they do not give you a piece (Aunt Cara experienced this in Florida). At the grocery store, I have to sneak them into the cart when you aren't looking. If you see them, you will turn around and try to get out of your seat to get to them.

• Speaking of the grocery store, it's one of your favorite places. Most babies like the grocery store because of all of the colors. You, however, like the people. You love when people say hello to you and tell you how cute you are. You also love the free food samples (surprised?).

• For the most part, you are well behaved in public. You like to go places and see people. You enjoy waving "hello" and "goodbye" and almost always smile at strangers, even scary-looking ones.

• You think Jackson is the best toy. You have a great time playing tug with him and get so excited every time you see his leash and collar. You've learned how to pet him (but still pull his hair) and you even gave him two kisses this morning.

• Right now, your favorite toys are items that you can pull up on. Your little chair, the crib railing and your little table are all items that you crawl to regularly. You also enjoy pulling up on the baker's rack in the kitchen and crawl right back to it every time I pull you away.

• You are a very determined little girl. When you want something, you go to it. No matter how many times I pull you away, you go back to that same thing. If I hide it, you start looking for it. Usually you are good natured about it and just keep trying, no tears, just determination to get what you want.

• As with most babies (I assume), you hate being told "no" and even though I think you understand that word by now, you do it anyway. You don't like waiting for your food to be made or served to you. You want it now! And, you don't like having things (pens, coasters, etc.) taken away from you. All of these make you cry.

• You are a drama queen. You can produce tears in seconds and can stop them just as quickly. You can be a perfect angel for strangers and as soon as we are alone you show your true colors.

• One of the funniest things to you is when I yawn. You find it hysterical to see me open my mouth wide. On our flight back from New Orleans, you spent the first half of our flight laughing (loudly) at the guy two rows back and across from us who was sleeping with his mouth open. You'd lean over, look at him, laugh, look back at me and repeat. You made an entire area of the plane smile and laugh at your open-mouth obsession.

• Sometimes, you look at Jackson and laugh. Usually he's not doing anything, but that's funny to you.

• I've become very skilled at making you smile/laugh. Singing the Ants Go Marching or Trot To Grandma's house always gets a smile. Peek-A-Boo receives an ear-to-ear grin. And, spinning around in a circle together emits a chuckle every time.

• You still enjoying cuddling with mommy.

Tali, you've become a lot of fun these past few months and I enjoy spending time with you. I can't wait to see what you'll be like in two more months.

First Stand By Herself

When: Tuesday afternoon

Where: In our living room

Details: On Tuesday afternoon (20 days after she first pulled up to a stand), Tali was standing with the support of her little chair when she decided it was time to let go. So she did. She lasted 2-3 seconds before she needed to put her hands back to catch her balance. She was so proud of herself that she did it again a few minutes later and then one more time that evening while holding on to her crib. Yesterday I took out the video camera to try and capture her in the act. Through about 30 minutes of footage, I got 6 usable seconds. Enjoy!

(Apologies for her head being cut off in the beginning. I had to use a tripod so that I could hold on to the chair and I couldn't get her head and hands in the same shot. But you get the idea anyway.)

First Time in Overalls

Tali looked so cute yesterday in her Osh Kosh B'Gosh overall skirt that I just had to take (and share) a few pictures.

Enjoy!

P.S. She's playing with her "big dog" that really needs a name. I'm open to suggestions, but have already ruled out Spot and Jackson, sorry.

Week of Firsts

Last week was a week of many firsts. Tali and I flew down to New Orleans and spent a few days in Florida with Granny, Papa, Gran and Aunt Cara. We had a great time and she charmed everyone she met. Some of the "firsts" highlights are:

First time she enjoyed the swimming pool. There were two main reasons she liked this pool: 1) The pool was very warm, bathtub warm. 2) The pool sloped up to the ground so we could sit at the edge of the pool and just get our feet wet (like you would at the ocean). This allowed her to gradually get used to the water and eventually she crawled in a bit further.

First time she ate Granny's macaroni and cheese - and she LOVED it! This girl is definitely my daughter. Tali's first experience with Granny's macaroni and cheese was so funny. Once she had one bite, she did not want the rest of her food (veggies and chicken). All she wanted was the mac and cheese. Whenever I put another piece of food on the table, she'd look at it, look at me, then look at the mac and cheese. It was so yummy that she even scooped pieces out of the pocket of her bib. She didn't want to waste one bite!

First time she willingly went to other people from my arms. Yes, she reached out for Gran and Aunt Cara to hold her. And she was happy even if I disappeared. By the end of the week, she let complete strangers hold her without any fuss. From Aunt Cara's friend Tiffany to Grandpa's secretary, Tali traveled from arm to arm without a fuss.

First experience with Mardi Gras beads. What fun! They are the perfect toy for Tali. Long enough for her to swing around and manipulate between her fingers and small enough to go into her mouth. She loved them so much we took a pair home.

First set of car keys. Gran bought Tali her first set of keys. And while they aren't nearly as fascinating as my keys, she did enjoy playing with them.

First long car ride. Tali spent five hours in a car (each way) without a problem. She slept, she played, she pooped and all was good. We took an hour break each way (included in the five hours) so that we could all eat and just get out of the car. But she had no complaints.

Below are a few more pictures from the week. (More will come later from Aunt Cara.)

(Tali with Aunt Cara, Uncle David, Papa, Aunt Ilana and Uncle Greg)

First Bath In A Big Tub

When: Tonight

Where: At Gran and Grandpa's house (in their jaccuzi tub)

Details: Tomorrow we are driving to Florida (another first - long car ride!) and in order for everyone's things to fit in Gran's Prius, Granny and Papa took some of our things today to put in their car. One of the things they took was Tali's tub. So tonight she got her first bath in a real tub - with her mommy. Tali was scared as soon as I sat her down and she immediately turned around and hugged me tight. She held on for a few minutes as she got acclimated to being in such a large tub of water. I washed her hair and body while she sat on my lap (not the easiest thing to do). After all of the cleaning was done, I sat her back down in the tub, wrapped my legs around her, and she was okay. But she is still so tiny that she was slipping and could have easily drowned if I wasn't in there with her. There was no laughter or playtime, but there were no tears either. She survived but she's definitely not ready to give up her little blue tub just yet.

Flying to New Orleans

Yesterday Tali and I flew down to New Orleans for a week (technically, we'll be in Florida for three of those days) and it was the first time I flew with her alone. Back in March, we took Tali down to New Orleans for my sister's wedding and she was a perfect angel on the trip. She was so young (just over two months) that she slept most of the time. But this time I was worried. I've heard numerous horror stories about babies this age (and older) causing a scene on long flights. So I chose to take a connecting flight instead of flying direct so that we could have a break between flights for her to crawl around (and me to sanitze her hands afterwards).

Our first flight left the Westchester airport at 12:30. We had enough time to check in and purchase some water before we lined up to board the plane. Although it was a tiny plane, it wasn't full and there was an empty seat next to me and Tali's car seat made it onto the flight. She was very tired so I tried to get her to sleep but she simply refused and began crying. Five rounds of "The Ants Go Marching" later, I took her out and she sat on my lap and played with some toys and my keys. Twenty minutes before we were scheduled to land in Detroit I breast fed her and put her back in her car seat to give her food. As the wheels touched the ground, Tali fell asleep mid-chew (a pea). She slept while we got off the plane and the whole time I frantically looked for the stroller (turns out it was put on the plane, contrary to one passenger's story) but left next to the plane when they unloaded the rest of the carry-on luggage). I then sprinted from the end of Terminal C to Terminal B to catch my connection.

Once at my new gate, I asked if there were any extra seats and there was one. I spoke to the woman in that seat and she agreed to switch with me! As I was boarding the plane, a guy offered to help me and he carried Tali (in the car seat) while I carried my very heavy bag. I was walking to our seats and looked behind me just as Tali was waking up. She opened her eyes, finished chewing her pea and smiled at me. She stayed awake the entire 2 1/2 hour flight and was very good. After her diaper change (two poops - I felt guilty putting a stinky diaper in the bathroom garbage), she ate the rest of her lunch, played with my keys and smiled at other passengers as we walked the aisle. As the plane was landing, I tried my luck and put her back in the car seat for a nap. She was not happy about this and let out her first real screams. Luckily, the landing was loud so it didn't carry too far. As we were leaving the plane, I got lots of compliments on how good she was.

Tali didn't fall asleep until we got in the car so Gran drove around for a half hour until she woke up. She had a lot of fun playing at her grandparent's house and went to sleep pretty quickly. All in all, it was a successful day. Fingers crossed the flight back is as smooth.

First Pull Up to Stand

When: Monday afternoon

Where: In her crib

Details: On Monday afternoon I went into Tali's room to get her out of the crib after her nap. When I opened the door, she was standing in her crib holding on to the rail! I was shocked and asked her how she did that. She just looked at me and smiled, as if to tell me that she's been able to do it all along. Since Monday, she's pulled up on the fireplace ledge, our chairs and me many times. I've been waiting to write this entry because I wanted to take a picture of her standing in her crib, but she hasn't done it since. Guess you'll just have to believe me.

First Wave Bye-Bye

When: Yesterday

Where: At the Loweniger's house

Details: Since my mini freak out about missing the clapping milestone, Tali and I have been working on waving bye-bye. We wave bye-bye to everything: people, Jackson, her toys, the car, etc. She still cannot clap, but I was hoping the wave would come at a normal time. Yesterday we went to the Loweniger's house for Sukkot (this was also Tali's first Sukkot, first time in a Sukkah and first time she only napped for two hours the whole day) and we had a great time. When it was time to go, Tali waved bye-bye! And she did it again, and again, and again. Later on that afternoon, I took her and Jackson on a walk. We ran into some friends who waved hi and she waved back! I think she gets it. Hooray! We're on track for a milestone!

A special thanks to Savta for the video

and Aunt Judy for her vocal performance.

Tali TV

This past Friday we got a new baby monitor for Tali. Up until now we had been using an old-fashioned sound-only monitor. We had originally purchased a video monitor but it interfered with our Internet so I returned it. But since she's doing a lot of thumping with the crib, we wanted to make sure she was okay in there. H found a monitor that doesn't interfere (made by Lorex) and it is working great. Honestly, I was perfectly happy with our sound-only monitor, but now that we have a video one, I don't know how I did without it. It's priceless entertainment.

For example, I put her down for her late afternoon nap on Friday and, although she acted tired, she was wasn't ready to go to sleep. So she played quietly in her crib for 45 minutes. First she sat up and played peek-a-boo with her blanket. Then she crawled to the other end of her crib and played with her rattle. Next she played with her soft book. She then brought the rattle and the book to the middle of the crib (where her blanket was) and decided she wanted to play with the ribbons on her bumper. So she leaned over and untied one ribbon and pulled it into the crib. Then she went to the other side and untied that ribbon. Now she had her blanket, a rattle, a book and two ribbons all around her. She played with everything for a little while longer and then finally fell asleep for 30 minutes. It was so much fun to watch! As H commented, she's much more active in her crib than we thought.

A Not So Warm Welcome

She's done it to Savta quite a few times. Uncle Adam was a recent victim. And last night Miss Vicky (our cleaning woman/babysitter) got the full experience. Tali does not like people walking into her house. When someone walks through our front door, it's not uncommon for Tali to look at them and burst into tears. I am not sure why she hates the front door so much. Perhaps she knows that this means I'm leaving or maybe it's just the shock of someone new entering the room, but it happens quite often. Last night she put on a full show.

H and I went to a concert so Miss Vicky came to babysit. When she arrived, Tali was happy, playing in the Exersaucer. But one look at Miss Vicky and the waterworks began. She didn't cheer up when Vicky held her or tried to play with her. The only thing that would calm her is me holding her. Normally, Tali loves Vicky. She sees her once a week and is always happy to go to her and play with her but Vicky usually arrives while Tali is sleeping so there is no front door shock.

So I decided to "reset" Tali and brought her upstairs to play for a few minutes. She calmed down, began smiling and we came back downstairs. Tali was happy to see Vicky but still didn't want to leave my side. Since I didn't want to leave Vicky with a screaming baby, I put her in the stroller, got Jackson's leash/collar on and Vicky took them on a walk while I left. I'm happy to report that did the trick! Tali was happy on her walk and a perfect angel when Vicky brought her home. I'm glad we were able to solve the problem, but I just wish it wasn't a problem in the first place. I guess it's time for me to teach Tali some southern hospitality.