Playmates

Nickel and Jane have been getting to know each other slowly but surely. At first, Nickel would just sort of wander across a room and Jane would just stare. Now Jane gets really excited when she sees Nickel and is working on petting her gently (sorry, Nickel). I think they were even having a conversation in mews and squeaks the other day. As far as Nickel's initiative goes, she has been caught curled up by Jane's toys, on top of her clothes, and in her rocking chair. In these pictures, you can see how she even likes to be nearby while Jane is playing! The second picture makes me laugh because they seem to have the same expression. Are they giving me the stink eye? I think Nickel may be a bad influence on Jane's happy countenance...

Toast versus Pear

toast:crunchy::pear:squishy

toast:easy::pear:hard

Jane has made a lot of progress with her finger foods since the bananas a few weeks ago. In this first video you can see how easily she picks up and eats a few pieces of toast. Wait for the awesome snort of joy at the end.

In the second video, she has a little more trouble picking up the slippery pear. The snorting seems to be useful for expressing feelings of frustration, as well.

I know it seems cruel to put that pear on her tray, but you have to admit it's pretty entertaining!

At home with family and (furry) friends

"I have a foot! What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Ooo, I love this part!"

"No, Nickel, this is how you roll onto your tummy."

"Um, mom, are these clothes clean or dirty?" 

Kaminski's

Jane and I just got back from a little Kaminski family reunion. It was my first time flying with her! The first trip was seemless, as there ended up being an empty seat next to me on both flights. The return, however, was a wee bit stressful with Jane teething and being bound to my lap. Thank goodness for Orajel anesthetic swabs, and the very nice and reassuring gentleman sitting next to us!
Anyway, we had a great time visiting with William, my dad, and my new stepmom, Juli! I was so focused on Jane maintenance, that I forgot to take any "real" pictures, but I managed to capture a few moments with my cell phone.
Here's Jane taking a little stroll with Uncle William.  (The sun was a bit bright!)

One last visit at the airport before we had to say goodbye (sniff). 

Happy Anniversary

On Tuesday, Richard and I celebrated our EIGHT year anniversary--woo! 

We started hanging out, or dating as everyone else said, at UVA in the spring of 1999.  Here we are at my dorm on our way to a "date function," but no, we were NOT dating! 

People would continue to tell us we looked alike for many years to come... and still do.

We went to a few football games, and wore lots of costumes.  

And danced our share of dances.

We had some very short haircuts along the way!

We eventually got engaged in the fall of 2001...

...and married August 10, 2002!

Since then, we have lived in three cities and remodeled three houses... eew!

We adopted two furry friends...

 

... and finally had a little baby of our own (and more costumes)! 

But of course, you know her from the other zillion pictures on this blog.  

Bananas

Yesterday Jane had her first tray of finger foods, which contained little pieces of banana. She kept trying to pick them up with a very dexterous pincer grip, although it was unsuccessful. Those bananas are slippery! She was happy to eat them off of my fingers, though. Of course, as soon as I stopped filming, she did the most entertaining things. First I tried putting a piece on her own finger, but instead of bringing it to her mouth, she stuck it to her head. Nice. Then she tried picking up the pieces off the tray with her mouth to bypass the unwieldy finger operation all together.  
Today we had success, at last! Check out our big girl feeding herself.

Memphis family at the beach

We had a great week in Destin, especially at the end when we were joined by Jane's Memphis grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins!  It was fun to have so many generations enjoying the place that Richard's grandparents picked out nearly 40 years ago.  Thanks, Mimi and Papa!

 Our last morning at the beach... we hit the sand at 6:55!

 And Richard with his dad on the same beach 31 years ago!