Hamptons - Part Deux

Ok, so where were we? Oh yes, daddy has left us in the Hamptons to fend for ourselves for a half day or so while we wait for Dee Dee to arrive. To make the pain of missing daddy lessen, we went to the local toy store. Here is Liora enjoying her new toys in the backyard.

Dee Dee arrived by Ferry on Sunday night, around 9. Since Liora's bed time is at 7, I left the house then, intending for her to sleep in the car and stay asleep once we got to Montauk. Well, as soon as I parked the car, the little lady was up and wanted to see what was going on. We spent an hour or so walking around the docks and watching the sun set. When Dee Dee arrived, we were just about to experience a melt down, so it was perfect timing! We drove home, put Liora to bed, and my mom got settled in.

The next day, we went to the beach! Liora is now sporting a short-sleeve rash guard and a swimming diaper--the bathing suit was really too small, and this worked just fine. Liora was pretty good at the beach--she never picked up fistfulls of sand to eat. But, sand did get in her mouth somehow:

Liora once again loved the beach. As we were walking onto the beach from the car, she didn't stop talking the entire way! She knew what was coming, and couldn't wait.

Even though Dee Dee had eaten lobster plenty in Martha's Vineyard, she was still yearning for lobster salad. So where do you go to find lobster in the Hamptons? The Lobster Inn of course! It was sort of a campy cheap place, but it had lobster salad, so we were happy. Liora sat in her high chair the whole time, eating her food and making eyes at everyone around. When a waitress did not return her gaze, she was not too happy about it. She worked the room well!

Here she is outside of the restaurant, with her arm on the railing as if to say, "Oh, hellooooo, welcome to my restaurant and dock!"

Tuesday was our last day at the beach, since Wednesday we had to drive all the way back to DC. We woke to cloudy skies and some rain, so we started off a bit bummed about the weather. We shopped around Southampton a bit and by the time we were done, the sun had come out! We took full advantage of the time at the beach. Mommy played in the ocean, getting knocked under for a while when a wave hit her just in the wrong place, while Liora and Dee Dee played in the sand.

Our artistic shot of the trip (mommy and Liora footsteps):

And yes, Mommy's back is still breaking. Liora wanted to walk everywhere herself, thank you very much!

The drive home was horrendous! But we made it home all in one piece. Daddy had decorated the house for mommy's birthday, so after hours of driving, it was the best welcome home ever. Liora saw the house, the cats, and daddy and was besides herself with excitement. We were afraid she wouldn't go back to sleep, but she did. The next day was a work and school day...so we went to sleep thankful that we had some time up the Hamptons this summer.

Hamptons Phase 1

Last week, we headed up to the Hamptons! We were so thankful to have the house still available--thanks Otter and Pat and everyone for making this possible. We waited until Liora's bedtime and got on the road around 7, arriving at the house by 2 a.m. (we hit night construction and sat in a traffic jam for an hour)! But leaving then worked out well for Liora; she snoozed through most of the drive. Mommy also napped for a bit (we knew Liora would be up at her normal time the next day, nevermind that we had been up half the night), and daddy held strong and got us there somehow.

The next day, we woke up and walked around, getting to know the house once more. Liora loved the provided toys (thanks Uncle Andrew and family) and was immediately taken with the koi pond and bubbles in the pool.

We headed down to the beach right away, not wanting to miss a minute! Liora took one look at the beach and was in love. She walked right into the ocean as if it was nothing new to her, and showed no fear whatsoever. Of course, mommy and daddy had to learn what it's like to be at the beach with a baby, applying and reapplying sunblock, changing diapers full of sand, trying to keep her sun hat on, and figuring out where to fit in naps.

We met a young boy who had made himself a tidal pool, and Liora decided she needed one too. Here's daddy hard at work while Liora gives him pointers for how to dig that hole.

The house and its property held just as much fascination for Liora as the beach. She loved playing out back, feeding fish, staring at the waterfall (and also the budda statue in the backyard, who she continually said "hi" to. She must be a blossoming buddhist?).

Of course, the pool was the best part for Liora. We went for a short swim every day. Here she is getting sunscreen applied...something that happened at least twice a day, if not more.

Now for a dip...it was a bit chilly, but it seemed to bother us more than her.

This was Liora's first time in a pool where she couldn't touch the bottom, and she did pretty well, even kicking her legs and moving her arms a bit.

Our days were basically: beach, pool, koi staring, naps, eating, and sleeping some more--the perfect vacation. Daddy was with us through Sunday afternoon. That morning, we breakfasted at Hamptons Coffee where we sat near Matt Lauer (our only celebrity sighting). Then, daddy was off on the jitney, heading home. He didn't have any more vacation time! But mommy did, and Dee Dee was already starting her journey to the Hamptons from Martha's Vineyard when daddy left, to spend another few days with us.

Liora really missed daddy, and couldn't quite figure out where he had gone. She looked for him around many corners. We finally left the house and headed to a local toy store--the only antidote for missing daddy. We'll pick up when Dee Dee arrives in the next post.

Here is Liora, charging into the water:

Almost Crawling

And we are back! While I rifle through all of our videos and photos from the Hamptons, I figured I better post this video since the next step is just days away. This is Liora SO CLOSE to crawling...and getting a bit impatient about the whole thing. My thoughts exactly little one. She has made a few more strides in the past few days...crawling is imminent people. Stay tuned.

Ch-Ch-Cheerios!

Liora is eating finger foods with abandon right now. Since she is sort of shunning regular baby food, we have to try to squeeze in the nutritious vegetables in between mouthfuls of cheerios, yogurt melts, or rice puffs. She is enjoying herself so much, we continue to be on the lookout for more things that are easy for her to pick up that will melt in her mouth well. She doesn't do as well with cut up banana, avocado, or cheese, but she tries.

Why did we record this particular evening of finger food? I have no idea. Is this video exciting? Probably not very. But she looks damn cute, so here it is.

Our little weight lifter

"They grow up so fast." I always thought that was sort of a lame parenting cliche. But it's NOT! On Friday, Liora will be 9-months-old. When I see newborns, I have trouble remembering her being that tiny. When I hold my friends' younger babies, I forget how to support the head. I could go on!

You already know how much Liora loves to walk. Most of her photos have my hands and legs (only) showing because she is using mommy for walking support. This short video shows the first time she has tried to pull to a stand on her own. (Please make sure you have volume; the grunting as if she is a weight lifter is pretty funny.)

So, pretty soon I'll forget what it's like to have a kid who is stuck where I sit her down. And I'll love every minute, I'm sure, just like I have loved every minute of this adventure so far!

Electricity, How do I Love Thee?

Yes, we were one of the over 200,000 households who lost power this past weekend when a freak storm with winds of 80mph hit DC and suburban Maryland. Luckily, the heatwave broke when the storm came, so although this was inconvenient (and we lost some good ice cream), it really wasn't that bad.

We are behind in posting...it's been over a week! We apologize to our loyal fans. Last week was busy, and then without power, we couldn't post. So here are a few photos from that time period to bring you up to date.

Last week, we went to dinner with Saba. Liora was VERY interested in all of our food. Here she is looking like dinner is hers.

Last weekend we took care of our doggy friend Stackhouse. Thanks to him and fellow office dog Locksley, Liora has no fear of dogs. She LOVES them. (She befriended a 160 lb. newfoundland this weekend and everyone was astounded at her bravery.) Anyway, Stacks came with us to the playground; kept Liora clean with lots of licks; and proved his worth by cleaning up the floor after Liora's meals. He can come by anytime! Here they are chilling in the back yard:

And now for toga baby! Frankly, I don't remember why I did this. It is probably because she got soaking wet during dinner (still drinking from a cup, sometimes making a mess), and instead of letting her sit around in a wet dress before bathtime, I wrapped her in a fluffy blanket. So that she could continue walking (still her favorite pastime), I had to tie it toga-style. Here she is in all of her grecian godessness:

Brilliant Baby

We think Liora is so advanced. We know that's what every parent thinks, but Liora IS an exceptional baby.

Case in point. Last week, I turned my back to get something for Liora while she was sitting in her high chair. When I turned around, she had picked up her cup of water and was drinking it! By herself! Without any drips! We were astounded.

The next night, we asked her to repeat.

Yes, that is Daddy saying, "our baby is smarter than your baby" or something like that. And that's me saying "no, we're filming this for posterity." But I'll just let the video do the talking; the brilliance speaks for itself. :)