BEST WEEKEND EVER

This week we've been cooped up in the house because the air quality has been so severely impacted by the 1100 wildfires all over northern California. However, on Saturday afternoon the ocean breeze came in, the sunshine made its way through the smoke, and we decided that we should take advantage of a couple of good hours outdoors before the bad air returned. So, on Saturday afternoon, Vita had her first picnic! She got lots of attention, and had a great time. We've been enjoying our lawn whenever we get the chance to. After all, having caused Vita's botulism, it may be the most expensive lawn ever so we might as well enjoy it... Good friends, a bit of food, a new cocktail that I call the "Laura Palmer", and life is good. Also, the very small fig tree that I planted when we first moved in (I call it "figlet") finally produced its first fig. On Sunday morning we slept in late. Then, Vita practiced more sitting up. She's doing great, and she can already sit up for five minutes at a time! Here's a side profile... Vita has also been saying "dada"! Actually, she's been saying "dadadadadadadadadadadadad..." Does that count as her first word? I say... YES, IT DOES! I've been trying to get a good video of her saying dada, but she's really good at stopping as soon as she sees the camera, so this was the best I could do. Now that Vita is sitting up, she can enjoy all of her old toys in new ways. This activity triangle is now more fun than when she used to use it during tummy time! And I just have to point out how cute this outfit is... check out her dinosaur onsie with a matching spikey pointed hat! The rocking chair is more fun now, too. She can rock in it all by herself! (Well, with VERY close supervision, that is...) Finally, to celebrate her new skill, we bought a "sitting up toy". She loves this activity table, and it's quite educational. It's got the ABC song, numbers up to 10, it operates in English and Spanish, and it operates in "learning mode" and "music mode" (as if music doesn't count as learning). Anyway, it's great, and it's something she couldn't have played with before she was sitting up. Also, as she starts learning to stand, she can lean on this toy for some support. Here's little Vita playing indepently with her new toy. After all that has happened, I find so much joy in every little acheivement she makes... and every happy day that we share together seems like the best day ever.