Visiting with Tori

Mabel gets lots of visitors. Here she is hanging out with our friend Tori. Mabel may not remember, but Tori came to visit us in the hospital twice - once when I was in labor (barely) and then again after Mabel had been born and was in the Special Care Nursery at Sibley. Tori and I meet every Saturday to go running (because we are Elite Athletes), but this past weekend we got rained out, so instead we went for bagels and then Tori came over to visit the Nugget. A good time was had by all.

Sick Day

Today Mabel got a fever at day care and I had to go pick her up early. Naturally by the time I got there the fever was already gone, but nonetheless she has to stay home again tomorrow just to make sure she's not contagious. On the plus side, I got extra time with the Nugget, which is always good. I sang her the muhnahmuhnah song (otherwise known as the theme to The Muppet Show) and she just laughed and laughed. So I sang it over, and over, and over. Mommy is a sucker for her girl. Here she is after we came home from day care today.

On Wisconsin

This is a very important picture - Mabel sporting her first Wisconsin Badger gear, courtesy of her Grandma Sandy. Mabel doesn't know it yet, but she is going to college at UW-Madison. She will be the fourth generation on my side (Great Grandpa Had, Grandpa Dave and me) and the second generation on her dad's side (Uncle Will). On Wisconsin!

Babies for Obama

This Friday was the first presidential debate. It was touch-and-go for a while, but John McCain finally decided to show up, after he had saved the day in Washington. (har har.) Mabel had to go to bed before the debate started, but she got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa before bedtime. That was fun. They brought bbq from Rocklands and watched the debate with Dylan. I missed the debate because my friend Dave Crowley took me to see Kathy Griffin at Constitution Hall. I didn't get home until almost midnight and still haven't recovered. Sleep is like currency around here these days and my bank is empty! But it was worth it - the show was hilarious and KG made some good fun of Sarah Palin.

Here is a pic of Miss Mabel trying out her activity mat. Pardon my foot.

Rainy Day

Today the forescast is for rainy storms and high winds - what fun! Mabel is starting to feel better (her mother writes hopefully) and was in great spirits when I went in to her room this morning. Hopefully that will continue. Her paternal grandparents are coming to town today and will be out for a visit tomorrow. Mabel is very excited to see Grandpa Tom and Grandma Sandy.

Mabel would also like to know if John McCain needs her helping solving the current economic crisis. If so, she will suspend her campaign for Cutest Baby Ever to come to D.C. and assist.

Well, it's official, Mabel has passed her cold on to her dad AND to her mom! Right on. She is staying home from day care today and I have a feeling that between her and Dylan, there will be a lot of sniffling and nose blowing ... and, hopefully, sleeping, since our favorite wee nugget kept her dad up for several hours last night due to cold-related yuckiness.

And, in an unrelated but completely delightful development, last night when I was giving Mabel her bottle, I officially heard her laugh - really more of a heh-heh-heh kind of chuckle - for the first time. Awesome.

Fall is here!

At least according to the calendar. Mabel is celebrating fall with her first cold, which she may have passed on to her dad. She is also celebrating by impersonating a big girl and sitting in her Bumbo seat.