Recent Baby Pictures:

A Day of Firsts:

In the span of a half-hour, Lilja took a first real (and hesitant!) step AND showed us that she can use a fork to feed herself. She also, for the first time, said "nein" in a genuinely conversational way -- and meant it, too -- rather than her previous iteration, "neineineinein," and is clearly switching from "dada" to "daddy," which I find remarkable.

What a morning!

Senators, Governors, and Baby Wahoos, Oh My!

Quick hit #1: future VA junior Senator Mark Warner is going to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National convention. Should be a gratuitous boost to Warner's campaign, should give Obama a bit better bump in the Old Dominion, possibly elsewhere (though I wouldn't stake much on that), and brings into question whether VA Gov. Tim Kaine will be Obama's VP pick. Interesting.

Quick hit #2: While I was off at a meeting, Iris took Lilja over to the UVA Grounds. Seems she was utterly delighted, which, of course, utterly delights me.

Quick hit #3: I'd be worried were it possible to OD on baby Hoo gear:

Baby's Third Word, and Cruising Around Corners:

Lilja's gotten the hang of "dada" and "mama," there's no doubt about that. Precisely when she started making the association we're not quite sure, but it's been a little while.

She's also been working a third word into her vocabulary over the last week or so:

Nein.

She's also quite clear on when it should be used. If she wants a bite of what you're eating, and you offer her something else, say, what she's eating, or a Cheerio or something, she knows what's what. "Neineineineineinein."

If, as right now, you're trying to put her to bed and she's not quite sure she's ready for bed, "Neineineineinein" (I actually have the baby monitor on so I can listen to this little show, an admission for which Iris would be justified in going upside my head when she comes downstairs).

In other baby-related news, in the seven hours (!) it took me to get to and from a meeting this evening, Lilja figured out how to cruise around the corner of the coffee table. Previously, when she got to the end of the table, she'd either drop and crawl around the corner before standing and continuing to cruise, or would reach out to whomever was nearest to help her around the corner.

Tonight, when I came into the family room, she looked at me, grinned, and walked away. "Well, that's a great greeting!" "Just watch. She's showing off."

Indeed she was. She hit the corner, paused, looked straight at me, grinned her toothy, mischievous grin, and very casually, but also somewhat gingerly went 'round the corner and kept cruising.

She pounded on the table delightedly when we burst into applause. Damn, but she's cute!

My Father's Day Present:

Behold:



Unbelievably cute. Real kids do indeed wear black, even if they're drooling feverishly (a couple more teeth en route, apparently).

Some more recent reasons it's great to be a dad:

Birthday Wishes from my Baby Girl:

So my girls are over in VA while I'm hanging out in Boulder, waiting for a panel to start, and taking advantage of the wireless in the building to check my email for the first time today (the hotel I was in last night had its modem stolen recently [!!] and so didn't have any access in the rooms), and look what I discover in my inbox:



Is that cute as hell or what?

Happy birthday indeed!

Baby Boning Up on Her Southern Knowledge:

It's t-minus ten days now until we hit the planes back to VA for eight months, which makes Lilja's book of choice yesterday all the more amusing. Now that she's crawling, she's much more inclined to play by herself and amuse herself for good stretches of time -- really good stretches, since she's curious about absolutely everything (though a bit too interested in cables and cords).

Yesterday afternoon, she meandered over to one of the book shelves, pulled a book out, and was just on her belly opening it, turning pages, managing to take the dust jacket off without ripping it (kind of impressive, actually).

Her book of choice?

1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the South.

Incredible choice.

Baby Busted Blogging:

I knew going into this that it would only be a matter of time before my baby did two things better than me: speak German and anything involving computers. Fair enough. I did not expect her to surpass me on the latter within six months (though maybe I should have), but here she is a few weeks back, blogging away:














I do love the look on her face. "Oh, crap, he saw me!"

Her explanation, as much as I could understand from the mixture of coos and gurgles and syllabic babbling (that she's started doing more and more of lately -- someone REALLY wants to talk!), was that she thought she looked really cute in this picture, and wanted to put it online:














I agree entirely, so we struck a deal -- I'd help her get the pic online, but I wouldn't tell her my password. She kind of smirked and agreed:














She sort of blew it by doing her "my bitches!" dance, but ok.

I also got one more concession from her -- the right to drop a couple more photos on there. Good thing she's not the least bit shy in front of the camera:



























But I'm left with a question:

Is it a sign that you as a parent have taken too many pictures when your baby girl reacts to the sound of the camera being turned on? She hears that little da-ding! and turns, smiling patiently and, now and then, posing (swear to god, she poses already).

The First Baptism:

We did the first baptism over here on Sunday, and Lilja was fantastic -- didn't cry at all, and I swear she listened to the sermon beginning to end; I've never seen her pay that kind of attention to someone talking for that long.

It was a lovely day, and we'll do it again this summer with my family. Here's the girl of the hour in her dress and enjoying herself at her party afterward:

More Baby Photoshopping:

There's something about our baby that brings out the Photoshop in people. This was done up by a buddy of mine (who should be congratulated for the fellowship he just received!) based on the picture I use for my desktop.

Is there a single way in which this is not awesome? Thanks, man!

Sick

If I'm quiet for a few days, it's because I'm in bed most of the time. Temperature up to 101, killer, killer headache, and a host of other symptoms have me off the computer most of the time (except for right now, when I absolutely have to get something done) and -- more importantly -- away from my baby girl. :(

Man, that bit sucks, looking at her smile and reach her little arms out to me as I walk by, knowing that I can't pick her up.

Here's hoping I can get this kicked, and soon -- I gotta get back to work on all sorts of things, a few of which will appear here before too long.

A Year In Review: 1,000 Words or Less:

Testing the theory that a picture is worth a thousand words, here's 2007in 1k or less:



Happy New Year, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the three of us, and a couple of cute baby pics for all! :)

A Discovery:

My baby girl is a sleep-talker.

Baby's First Christmas Tree:

This was the first year that the tree of us could "decorate for three," so to speak, and like last year, I had every inclination of taking advantage of our high ceiling (which peaks at around 16'). Unlike last year, however, I got close to my wish: this tree is probably between 11-12', and thus the tallest I've ever had.

It was a bit awkward getting it onto the car, as you can see:



What with it being almost exactly as long as the car and all.

Still, it looks good set up, and Lilja seemed to like it -- the wide eyes in the first were due to the flash, but look how interested in it she is (and yes, a bit skeptical):





And the finished product -- no tinsel this year, I didn't want it on there (the pink boot? That's the "Baby's First Christmas" ornament my folks brought over when they visited):





(Smaller than the others so it's expandable with a click.)

A Belated Link:

Everyone should check out the ICRVN from time to time -- very good stuff. Particularly this post, concerning the geopolitical ramifications of Lilja's first genuine temper tantrum. Seriously. And it's quite funny, too.

I hear that the ICRVN may be moving, but I'll mention any URL change.

Unbelievable:

Apparently, when the Consulate said that it would take 15 days to receive the Consular Report of Birth Abroad and the baby's passport, they were serious -- it took 15 days, and that only because we weren't home to sign for it yesterday, on Day 14.

Color me impressed. So my little girl is officially eligible to run for President in 35 years, during the 2044 election cycle.

I'd vote for her. ;)

Holy Shit!

If this isn't the best HOLY SHIT! expression ever . . .

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

From me and my baby girl (and mom, too, but she's taking the picture).

A UVA and Halloween Baby: