Thanksgiving 2008

We spent Thanksgiving weekend up in Connecticut with Grandma, Poppa, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Dan, Aunt Carmen, and Fiona's newest relative (just born in August): Simon!

It would be an understatement of historic proportions to say that Fiona was looking forward to this visit. As soon as we got off the highway on Wednesday, Fiona started excitedly chanting "Simon Simon Simon Simon Simon Simon...!" and nearly every time Simon was awake during the next three days, Fiona could be found at his side showing him some of her old baby toys, singing to him, or just excitedly repeating his name. This is the first relative she's gotten to know who's younger than her, and what a hit it was. Here, take a look:

Or, for a less musical look at how Fiona entertained her cousin:

I'll note that I cut that video off after 20 seconds. Reality went on for several times that length, pretty much without variation.

We also got a chance to explore the city a little, including returning to Fatty's for brunch on Saturday and checking out Aunt Kathy's new place. A full photo album can be found here.

New Photos

It's been a while, but we do still occasionally take photos of Fiona now that we've moved to Tampa. I just uploaded a bunch here (link in the sidebar as well).

You Can't Argue With Her Logic

Bathtime: Mommy sets Fiona up with washcloth and soap and tells her she'll be back when Fiona's done washing her body so that Mommy can wash her hair. After about 30 seconds:

Fiona: I'm done with my arm!
Mommy: You still have to do the rest of you.
Fiona: No.
Mommy: Yes.
Fiona: I don't want to.
Mommy: Well, you're a big girl, you can do it.
Fiona: Well, you're a bigger girl, you can do it.

Touché.

Big Debbie Harry Fan

Thanks to modern technology, it's very easy to throw the ipod on shuffle in the car and intersperse Fiona songs (Dan Zanes, Disney movie songs, etc.) with music her parents like.

As a result, Fiona's found some of our music that she likes. It usually tends to be stuff on the pop end of the spectrum, which is fine, at least until she starts getting too curious about what's being sung about (Stacy's Mom is just about a guy who thinks his friend Stacy's mom is really neat, I tell her).

She's a big fan of Blondie's version of Denis, and has even asked for that song in particular on a couple of occasions.

Thursday night as I was driving Fiona to the doctor (she's fine, she just had a coughing attack that took a while to subside), The Tide is High came on shuffle. Fiona listened to it for a minute and then asked "is that the same lady who sings the Denis song?"

Frankly, I thought that showed an even more impressive ear than the last time she did this.

All right, that concludes a post that probably made zero sense for any of her grandparents...

Unremarkable for Her

Fiona came home last night running a fever and a bad cough, so needless to say we have her home today.

And because she was sick I didn't do what I wanted to do originally, which was to wake her up shortly before midnight last night to show her history. We let her sleep.

On the other hand, maybe that's for the best. I'm overwhelmed this morning to realize that my daughter will grow up in a world where a minority being chosen to the highest office in the land will always be within the realm of possibility.