Rory at 15 weeks

At 15 weeks, Rory is blossoming into a beautiful, spunky little girl. She grasps her toys and blankets with ease.
She laughs with abandon when her mommy makes goofy faces ...
... And Rory has learned to make some pretty goofy faces of her own, especially this one in her Thanksgiving dress.
Rory's counsins Katie and Maggie help Rory stay fashionable in these baby Uggs ...
... which clearly made Rory a very happy little girl.
Rory and her mommy. (Doesn't it look like Rory is going to bust out into a show tune?!)
Rory and her daddy (doing what he enjoys most ... showing off his daughter!)

Rory's First Thanksgiving (In Verse)

A Thanksgiving Poem

Rory awoke on Thanksgiving Day with an insatiable desire for turkey, gnawing on her Orange Bunny and acting quite perky.
"Daddy, I want my turkey with gravy and stuffing!" my daughter declared, huffing and puffing, but certainly not bluffing.
So, her mommy dressed Rory in her special brown gown, and Rory awaited her guests and began the count down.
When her family arrived they all raised a glass. "Three cheers for our turkey princess and our Thanksgiving lass."
A day in the kitchen led to an early evening feast, with turkey, gravy, and stuffing to say the least.
And as predicted, Rory became our "living center piece", we circled around her and the fun did not cease.
A gift was her prize for being so sweet; Rory got to wear monkeys on her tiny little feet.

And as the turkey was converted to mommy's milk full throttle, it was delivered at long last by Rory's aunts in a bottle.

Rory's Tongue

Rory has always displayed a proclivity towards sticking out her tongue for all the world to see. But, lately, we can't get her to keep that thing to herself! Actually, the tongue does have an advantage; it makes a pacifer almost impossible to stay in, which means that she is weaning herself off of the binky earlier than we had planned.
Okay, I'll admit to having encouraged her a bit.
You almost get the feeling that she is sticking her tongue out as a way to protest that thousands of pictures that we take of her!

How New Parents Celebrate Their Anniversary

On Friday, Sarah and I celebrated five years of marriage together. Five years! And what better way to toast my bride than to stay in with Rory and a home-cooked, three-course meal?! The first course was a "left-overs biscuit", an original creation by Chef Tim that started with a crust made from pancake batter and continued with a wide range of left overs found in our fridge, including ...
... canned turkey, grilled asparagus, baked potato pieces, roasted corn, and mozzarella ... all on top of spaghetti sauce that had aged for 2 months.

The second course was canned spaghetti-o's, Sarah's absolute favorite!
The third course was canned green beans with good champagne.
Doesn't Rory look like she knows exactly what she's done to her parents?
Our little family celebrating together. Am I just the best husband in the world! (Can't you see the love in Sarah's eyes?)
And, if a fantastic meal wasn't celebration enough, we took Rory to a "Help the Homeless" Walkathon the next morning.


(Okay, seriously, Chelle and Allen are babysitting for us tonight, and I am taking Sarah to a nice dinner on the Alexandria waterfront.)

What do you think about a toupee for my daughter?

I am beginning to contemplate the merits of ordering Rory a gift from Baby Toupee for my bald little daughter. Doesn't that look like Rory in the picture above? And wouldn't she look good with pink hair?!

In other news, Sarah attended her last official "PACE" group, a gathering of moms who all gave birth in August. She has really enjoyed sharing stories with these women each Wednesday afternoon, so much so that the group is going to continue to meet in each other's homes. Sarah is hosting the group at our home after Thanksgiving. With five baby girls and four baby boys, maybe Rory's arranged married will be made with another baby from this group.

Bumbo the Baby Sitter

Doesn't Rory's new "bumbo" make her look so grown up?! Or, perhaps it just makes her look like Yoda when he is sitting in the round Jedi Counsel chair in the new film trilogy.
"Who are you calling Yoda, daddy?"
"Oh, you were just joking! You are so funny!"
"Hmmm, don't interupt me, daddy, I'm focusing..."
"... No, forget the book, I'd rather eat my toys."
"Now, I can join my parents at the 'big person' table."

Rory's Vocal Stylings

Our Rory has become quite a singer. You can check out her vocal stylings on this video. The picture to the left shows Rory chilling next to her daddy.

Vote Early, Vote Often

As Rory can attest, it has been an exciting few days in the hyper-political world of DC and Virginia. Rory made her first trip to the ballot box to participate in what has been a very close Senate race here in Virginia. You can see that Rory got her "I voted" sticker, although she was a bit bewildered by the experience.
After performing her democratic duties, Rory changed into her party clothes for a day on the town with her mommy.
Rory has started to make some friends of her own. This is her friend Sarah.
What do these cuties talk about it all day?

Rory at 12 weeks

It is with the most profound awe that I watch my daughter grow with each passing day.
She laughs longer, stares with more intensity, reaches with greater deliberateness, and delights in her surroundings.
Sarah has discovered that Rory is especially taken with coffee shops. Rory soaks in the background noise, and she flirts with other patrons.
Rory loves her activity gym (thanks Simeen and Paulash!), entertaining herself for quite some time (while her parents watch TV or do the laundry).
And she loves her extended family. Her Pops visited last week while in town for a conservation conference. (For a video of Pops and Rory dancing together, check out this video.)

Halloweeen 2006: Year of the Dragon

Rory celebrated her first Halloween in grand style. She was the cutest little dragon, but a ferocious one at that (as this video proves!). She celebrated her first big holiday with lots of family and friends throughout the day.

When Rory was not scaring the trick-or-treaters with her dragon outfit, she was styling in this little orange get-up (thanks Barb!).

You have to love the "boo" on both feet.

Rory's Grandma, Aunt Chelle, Uncle Allen, and Uncle Mike celebrated Halloween with us.

Earlier in the day, Rory attended a Halloween party with 20 of her closest baby friends.
Here's the close-up.
And for those of you who missed the earlier posting, here's Rory in her full dragon glory.

Rory's First Trip to California

Last Tuesday, Rory made her first trip to California, and she proved a wonderful traveler! We had a wonderful time with Chuck and Roberta, we got to see many of our b-school friends, and we participated in the wedding of our good friend, Matt Brokaw.


Rory relaxes after making it successfully through airport security!
Rory only had a few squawks during her 5-hour plane ride to California. Although she slept for most of the trip, she also got some good playtime.
Pops was delighted by his granddaughter. They spent lots of time playing ...
... and walking together. Here's a video of Pop and Rory dancing together, with Cecil trying to cut in.
Rory also got to meet Cecil, who displayed intense concern for Rory for our entire trip. Whenever Rory cried, Cecil cried too.
And after so much playtime with Pops and Cecil, Rory loved taking naps with her Nonna ...
... and taking baths with Nonna!
Rory and her Mommy looking incredibly cute.
Daddies and their daughters! (Oh, Mark, this picture does nothing flattering for our hair!)


Rory had two major milestones on the trip -- she rolled over for the first time (tummy to back) and grabbed her toy!
The family!

Don't Daddy and Mommy look good?! They are off to the wedding, and they are leaving Rory behind with her Nonna.
Our return trip! Can you believe that Rory did even better on the return flight?... She coo'd for the most of the trip and said hi to each of her fellow passengers as they passed by.