Our House Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

An advance photo of our new house in Alameda. We close November 20th!

Skeletons in the Closet

Virginia is getting pretty excited about Halloween tomorrow. Today, she dressed up as a super scary pirate skeleton and visited Daddy at work.

Cuteness Factor: High

Virginia likes the weekend as much as us. She gets to hang out in her PJs!

But mostly I'm just posting this picture because she looks really cute.

Creepy Crawler

At 6 1/2 months, Virginia has suddenly become a very mobile baby. She can scoot and roll all over the room and rarely stays on the blanket we put down on the floor anymore! Her latest development is pushing herself up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth. She is quite proud of this feat.

Babbling and Boo

Virginia is just in the early stages of true babbling - repeating a consonant/vowel combination over and over again. While many of my friends' babies have started with "ba, ba, ba," Virginia was smart enough to think of something more appropriate for the month of October. In celebration of Halloween, Virginia has been saying "boo, boo, boo!" She somehow combines the word with blowing a raspberry, so babbling is quite a saliva-filled affair.

Here is a picture of our little ghost all decked out in her Halloween attire (pumpkins+rear end=cute). She has an extra special costume planned for Halloween itself, so stay tuned.

Let's Get Moving

We are excited to announce that Wormy is about to move to a new home! Thomas and I made an offer on a beautiful home in Alameda's Gold Coast and it was accepted. We close November 20, so we will be spending our Thanksgiving holidays surrounded by boxes. We'll go by and take a photo soon.

Pears Are An Acquired Taste

Yes, this is actually the face that Virginia made when she tried pears. Her first fruit.

But after further thought and reflection, Virginia ultimately concluded that pears actually are pretty sweet and yummy. After a few more mealtimes, she is now eagerly powering through them. And she's moving on to apples too.

Wormy Tries Food

Also in celebration of her six month birthday, Wormy was introduced to her first taste of big girl food. For the last several months she had shown serious interest in what mommy and daddy were eating. She grabbed for and gnawed on just about everything, including Coke bottles, Wheat Thins boxes, and daddy's beer bottles. So after dining only on breast milk for six months, Virginia got her chance to sample rice cereal.

Rice cereal is the "gateway drug" of big girl food: once you prove you like it and are capable of handling it, you move on to bigger things. Virginia's immediate reaction was skepticism, but after some coaxing (and allowing her to control the spoon), she found the rice cereal to be worthy of her attention. Frankly, I'm surprised it went as easily as it did, because this food is absolutely unappealing. All of the charm of oatmeal with none of the flavor or nutritional benefits.

The scene was a little like Cookie Monster eating a cookie: a lot of frantic activity without any actual swallowing of food. In the end, though, Virginia did pretty well. At least a few mouthfuls actually went down her throat. A few more days of this and she graduates to the next level. Next up: fruits and vegetables!

VW's Jumperoo!

For Virginia's six month birthday, Leslie and I finally busted out the Fisher-Price jumperoo for her jumping enjoyment. Virginia was easily leaning up in her bouncy seat, which is supposed to be the hallmark of a baby ready for jumperoo action.

Her little legs didn't quite make it down to the floor, even on the lowest setting, so we placed a towel underneath. Now she can swivel around, push off, and jump. She's still sorting out all the entertainment options on it, but seems to be having a good time. It has not been the surprise smash hit that Aunt Meg and Uncle Steve's exersaucer proved to be, but we think it is growing on her.

Daddy is a Yale Man

This weekend, Thomas and I headed to Connecticut with Virginia to celebrate the Whiffenpoofs' Centennial. Virginia made a cameo appearance at the Friday night concert and then spent Saturday night with Uncle Steve and Aunt Meg while Mommy and Daddy had their first overnight outing without her. We had a great time visiting Gram and all the other Macks, and Wormy was well-behaved for her babysitters (or at least we were told she was!).

Virginia sporting her Whiffenpoof gear:

Whiffenbaby meets Whiffenbaby-to-be... Alexa went into labor the afternoon after this picture was taken!:

Visiting with Gram:

Virginia loved her exersaucer: