Family & Friends Summer 2005

I took several rolls this summer; there were several birthday parties. Veronica is getting fewer photographs all to herself. I am writing this on Sunday, the 28th of August, 2005, and she will be ten months old tomorrow.

She is walking very well, can climb off the bed or couch backwards, and likes to pretend she doesn't know what the word "no" means. She has four teeth, in the front on the bottom. She likes to insist she doesn't know what the word "no" means. She is eating a variety of solid food now, including fruits, vegetables, bread, and a little meat, but still nurses several times a day.

She dances to music (she really enjoys They Might Be Giants' alphabet videos), and sings to herself a lot while she plays: I've heard her imitate some of the melodies that she hears. She loves it when people sing to her, although she does not have the patience to be read to, preferring to devour books by tearing the pages out and stuffing them in her mouth. She can run off and grab whatever she should not put in her mouth kind of trash or dirt and stuff it in there before we can stop her. She does not say any words clearly yet, although "mama" and "da" are recognizable, and she will try to imitate words you say, like the names of colors. We are teaching her a little bit of ASL, and she has made the signs for "nurse," "eat," "more." There may be one or two others I can't remember.

She is very friendly with strangers, and seems very extroverted. She does not mind loud music or noises. She is very, very energetic, only taking brief naps during the day, and hates to go down to sleep for the night, even if she sleeps in our bed. Once she has fallen asleep, she will usually sleep on a a mat on the floor for a few hours, although she usually wakes up early in the morning to nurse and come back into our bed.

Vera is a more demanding baby than Isaac was, and is more curious and destructive, but she is also a great deal of fun. And, fortunately, we are still getting reasonably full nights of (somewhat interrupted) sleep. Rarely have we been kept up very late or woken up for long periods of time, with the exception of a handful of really bad nights, for which I am very grateful!

Triptych: Veronica versus the Chocolate Baby Biscuit. Part 1.	Part 2.	This concludes Veronica versus the Chocolate Baby Biscuit. Time for a bath!
Pulling herself standing.	Her hair is growing in pretty well. It is fine but very curly, depending on the humidity. Summer in Ann Arbor is very humid!	Veronica is going to be a pro-wrestler. Her signature move will involve fastening her mouth onto her opponent's chin and sucking or biting vigorously.
August. She is walking quite well by now. She loves to help with the recycling.	Late July. Isaac's friend Ariana with Vera. This was taken at Isaac's 11th birthday party.	(Can't remember his name...Darrin?) with baby Gabriel, Isaac's cousin, and Yazmine, another cousin. Yazmine and Gabriel are two of the four children of Ben Benjamin (Grace's brother, who died this year) and Shelley Benjamin, Grace's sister-in-law.
Shelley and Lil' Ben-Ben, age two. Lil' Ben-Ben is Benjamin Benjamin, Junior; Grace's brother was Benjamin Aaron Benjamin.	Isaac and Grace with Grace's delicious dense birthday cake made with flaked- coconut cream-cheese frosting. Don't tell anyone, but it was made with goat cheese.	For a few days, we were babysitting Lil' Ben-Ben and Gabriel. Three different babies in different developmental stages along with Isaac. What a week! I don't know how Shelley maintains her sanity.
Shelley and Yazmine, taken earlier at Yazmine's birthday party, which was held at the Detroit Zoo.	Baby Squeaker in her cute winged bathing suit at Isaac's party. It was held at a water park in Ypsilanti.