SEVEN MONTHS TODAY!

Today is the 22nd of the month, which of course means the Little Monkey Princess is another month older. We find we are still saying she's six months old, sticking, for the first time, to the younger age rather than reaching mentally for the next older age. Six months was pretty much as far out as we had imagined, so this seven month mark comes as a bit of a challenge to our notions of reality.

We have been practicing being a nuclear family. Daddio is home again and not working on the weekend - a real rarity. So Nesserkins took us to the Thursday night Farmer's Market and then the Avila Farmers' Market on Friday. Both were fun but exceptionally crowded. So we snuck over to the Old Porte Pier - one of our absolute favorites - and had a local time of it that perhaps beat the socks off all other Friday night options. See photos.

Saturday, we headed back to Avila to the beach. This was Vanessa's grand introduction to the sea. We cracked out her Christmas gift - an O'Neil wetsuit - for the occasion. Daddio felt certain Nessers was the smallest person swimming in a wetsuit. People actually took photos, causing us to wonder if she has a future in beach wear modeling. You be the judge...

We dropped Vanny down into the sand on her feet and "Hello!" Ankles twirled, toes flapped and sand went flying! Monkey screeches were heard on the beach for the first time.

Daddio clutched his wee, neoprene'd daughter to his chest and marched into the water. Luckily cold is not something that bothers our frozen tot. Soon enough she was loving it. See them here, post swim:

After swimming, baby Vanessa got wrapped in a towel and had what I call "a snack and a nap" in her mama's arms. Yes, I nursed her on a public beach under a hot pink towel. Then she snoozed on Daddy, and kicked back in her ride.

After dinner downtown - pizza - and some new birthday clothes picked out by Daddio from The GAP, we headed home. It was time for a grand production bath.

No stranger to bodies of water now, Vannerkins only tipped over and bonked her head once, cried just a little, ingested very little water, and got only a tiny amount of soap in her eyes.

She loves the water so much now, her monkey feet got pruned because she lingered.

That was yesterday. She slept in today and then had a monster nap in her swing. Such a cutie!

SWINGING AND CRAWLING AND GROWING HER HAIR

Last Friday Daddio and I had a rare evening together, so we bundled up our little progeny and headed to the beach. We landed at the Avila Farmer's Market and boy, did little Miss Vanessa have a ball. She was a big hit, too, as every other person stopped to smile and chuckle at her. She was stuck to her Daddy's chest on the Baby Bjorn with a big grin on. Her tootsie roll arms were straight out to the sides, flapping, and she pointed her little monkey toes downward while she rotated her ankles. Quite a sight!

We put her on the kiddie swing and she laughed and laughed. I keep saying she's a thrill seeker and no zip line or roller coaster is going to keep her happy enough. I only wish I could post an audio clip of her giggles.

Nessers was very intrigued by the pier, all the people on it, and the sea creatures down in the waves. She giggled at anyone playing - kids on the beach, otters in the water, people on swings. But the rest of the time she was all business, taking it in.

Quite by accident, she sampled her first pizza! The little gipper got her stronghold grip on one of Daddio's slices when he wasn't looking and CHOMP: into the mouth with both hands it went. I'm so sorry I didn't get a photo of Vanny double-fisting a slice of 'za. Don't worry, though, nothing was ingested, just gummed.

Since Daddio is working 23 hour shifts this week at his summer camp, VanNestle and I packed up and shipped out to visit Granny at her home. We also made a VIP visit to Sophie, who prayed her socks off for me for years even before she ever met me. Sophie said I don't know how many rosaries for me to A. live and B. have a baby. She is now in the nursing home at the tender age of 90 with some ominous health problems of her own. It was time to introduce her to this miracle baby and remind us all how God can answer our prayers with a phat "Yes!" even when it seems impossible.

Taking Vanessa into the nursing home was a little like having Glenda the Good Witch of the North visit. Every single person lit up and stopped to coo at her. I'm thinking of taking her on tour. When Sophie met Vanners, she said, "This is our baby!" So true. Auntie Anne has said it as well. Vanessa is a community baby and Jack and I are merely the lucky caretakers.

Baby Nannerkins was also able to see some of her other Prayer Warriors this trip. She met "Auntie" Gerri and "Uncle" Paolo, Sophie's son. They are family to us and clearly were family to Vanessa. Later, Granny commented that Gerri handled Van like she had already had ten children of her own. Paolo bounced Nessa on his knee during dinner (what Daddio calls The Witching Hour), then later told me he *never* holds babies less than a year old. Ha! Vanny was putty in his capable hands!

Prayer Warrior "Grandma" Liz made a special trip to see her little Nessa. We were able to drop Liz off at home and see her husband, the dashing "Grandpa" Bill. Vanessa had been screaming in the car all the way to their house, but was all smiles and coos once I plunked her onto Bill's lap. "She's never seen a Grandfather before," I explained. Nessa examined him very carefully. He didn't seem to mind one bit.

When she's not meeting and greeting her peeps like the Party Girl that she is, Ness is hitting her development milestones. In the one week since she last saw Granny she started to crawl. It's all backwards right now - we put her down in one spot and she ends up across the room, stuck with her behind up against something. Last Saturday we began monkey-proofing our house, not a minute too soon.

Yesterday morning Granny said, "Why your hair has grown longer overnight! I can see it growing right now!" When it gets wet it curls up. We're still not exactly sure what color it is but it is basically light brown with a great deal of red and gold in it. "Carmel" is the color Auntie Susan called it.

It's funny, when I was bald I prayed, "Please, God, please let me grow wild red hair like Corey and long dark eyelashes." Now I can imagine my father nudging God at that time, saying, "Tell her 'Yes,' but put it on a daughter!" That would be so like my dad.

SUMMER TRAVELS

Well guess who has been on vacation? Yes indeed: Vanessa Ho Ho has been touring around. She took us to Santa Cruz for a family reunion over the 4th of July. It was great fun, and many new things were experienced.

For example, she met her Uncle Bobby, Auntie Cindy, Uncle Timmy, cousins Valerie and David, and "Uncle" Martin. She got to go swimming for the first time, sample watermelon for the first time, let Mama get a mani-pedi for the first time (thank you, Auntie Susan!), "ate" outside at the Crow's Nest, and she even tried day care for the first time. Woo hoo!

Swimming was a hit. July 4th was a scorcher but the kiddie pool was closed, so Daddio took Van to the big girl pool. Let me just note that although we of the fairer sex have great issues with how we look in our summer swimsuits, Daddio has always maintained that all you need is a big smile and joy for the water to look good. I will suggest that, for her first foray into the pool, Nessers looked very cute for the camera. Sure, she was dressed like a boy with a few rolls, a regular diaper that weighed about 14 lbs. and a new swim hat that didn't fit her ginormous head, but hey! she had fun!

Afterward, Ness got her first bath in the sink, to get all the chlorine and sunscreen off that gorgeous little birthday suit.

Mid-week we zipped home to make Nesser's 6 month appointment for vaccinations. See Nestle examine her pediatrician, and demonstrate what her Dad calls "a natural ability with the V-sit" (quite possibly my favorite Nanners photo). She's off the chart with the height of a 9 month old, the weight of an 11 month old and the head circumference of a 15 month old. "All brains!" Dr. Bravo said. No wonder she loves him.

That night, Vanny was sick with diarrhea, vomiting and a fever. The poor little dear! We naturally blamed her vaccinations. The doctor said nope - probably a bug, maybe even from their office (or day care, or the pool, or riding in the shopping carts, or putting every single thing off the floor back into her mouth...). Unfortunately, the day we got home from vacation, Daddio and I both got food poisioning. Or was it a bug? Later, when we could talk again, we found out six of us from the family got hit with it. [It reminded me of last summer's hyperemesis gravidarum days/ weeks/ months and why I was in and out of the hospital. Remember, Nessa?]

This was our last reunion at the old cabin. We said goodbye to 23 Mound... it's been sold to another family for their memory making. As a send-off, we had a wild card game our final night, then a nostalgic morning cleaning up, a goodbye tear or two, and a playful time on the porch the next morning. Vanessa got her time there, too! Thank you, Granny!