Bon Voyage!

Our great friend Tori and her family have left D.C. for their next adventure - living in Mali! I am so sad that she won't be in town anymore but am excited for the Smolivers to start this exciting chapter in their lives. Tori says Mali is only four hours ahead of us, so hopefully we can get some Skype calls set up soon. She came over a few days before they left to see Mabel and say goodbye to Dylan.

Happy Easter!

We spent Easter in Shepherdstown with Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Tom and Granny Lib. It was a quick trip - up on Saturday and back Sunday afternoon, but we had a very nice time. Mabel's too little for Easter egg hunting or bonnet wearing (and she is very anti-hat these days), so we did a lot of crawling - the hallways at Grandma and Grandpa's house are long and wide, and Mabel loved how fast she could get going. Sunday morning I went for a nice long run on the canal and then Dylan and I took Mabel for a walk through town and showed her the church where we got married, the Entler Hotel (where our reception was held), and also Granny's house on Princess Street. Lots to explore in Shepherdstown! We also had a nice Easter dinner, and toasted the safe escape of Captain Phillips.

The Littlest Badger

I got home from work the other day and Dylan and Mabel were just returning from a walk around the neighborhood. Check out the stylin' outfit Dad had dressed Mabel in - compliments of Grandma Sandy, who made sure the #1 granddaughter had all the right Badger gear, down to her socks. As we say at Camp Randall, U-rah-rah!

A Few of Mabel's Favorite Things

Today Mabel is 10 months old. I'm not entirely sure how that happened ... magic, maybe?
Anyway, in honor of this auspicious occasion, we hereby present a list of Mabel's (current) 10 Favorite Things, in no particular order.

1. Cheerios
2. Kitties
3. Dad
4. Books
5. Warm peas (try them! very good!)
6. Frozen bagel, all the better to gnaw on
7. Magazines, all the better to rip up into tiny shreds and cram into my mouth before any can notice
8. Johnny jump-up
9. The small bottle of saline drops that I enjoy shaking like a maraca
10. Crawling. That should actually probably be #1.

We're Very Into Books. Also, We're Crawling.

Mabel is a big fan of reading. Loves to read - give her a book, give her a magazine, hand over that newspaper, just let her get her little hands on it. And perhaps also her mouth. We spend a lot of time trying to actually turn the pages and then, no, thank you, someone would rather do it themselves. But thanks for asking.

Also, breaking news, Mabel is officially crawling. Happened last weekend. I put her down on the floor and then boom, off she went. I guess we really have to babyproof the house now.

Visiting

Mabel was very excited to see Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Tom last week when they stopped by for the afternoon. They were in D.C. and came by to visit on their way home to Shepherdstown. We had a great time hanging out and watching Mabel scoot around the living room floor, where she spent a good 20 minutes untying and then chewing on Grandpa's shoelaces. Mmmmmm, delish.

Nothing But the Sun on My Face and the Wind in My Hair

A few weeks ago we took Mabel to Dietz Park here in Hyattsville for her inaugural whirl on the swings, and she totally dug it. We had to prop her up with a blanket because the bucket seat was way too big for her but once she got the hang of it she was grinning from ear to ear. This should not have been a surprise, considering how much time she likes to spend in her jumper. I predict much time will be spent at the swings in the months and years to come.