Photos: Florida part 2 and 1 more

On New Year's Eve, Mama noticed something new about Sylvia's smile: on her lower gum, she could just see a small, dark gap in the tissue. Yup, Sylvia's first tooth was about to emerge! Her lower right incisor was coming in. What a way to start 2009. Perhaps a metaphor for her continued growth—exciting, painful, and a sign of big changes for Mama and Daddy.

On New Year's Day, we all traveled from Gainesville to St. Augustine to see Grandma Pat and Grandma Sue. Sylvia slept nearly the whole way, making the ride smooth and peaceful for everyone. The grandmas had rented a lovely place on the beach with a fabulous ocean view.

Sylvia then got to celebrate her fourth Christmas with all the usual presents, photos, and general adoration:


A good time was had by all:


Sylvia even got to help Grandma Pat open her presents. Such expert assistance!


Hm, that kid kinda looks familiar:


Here's the view out the window with Aunty Erica and Uncle Kraig returning from a romantic walk:


Grandma Pat provided all kinds of fun toys for Sylvia. Here she demonstrates that, despite having a soccer player for a daddy, she's still a bit unclear about what a ball is for:


Grandma Pat also provided bubbles. Sylvia loves bubbles. Grandmas are the best! If only the darn things wouldn't pop when you touch them:


Sylvia goes for a walk:


Dreamy:


We saw beach tortoises sunning themselves, trying to warm up enough to go someplace:


We drove to St. Augustine town to eat well, do a little shopping (although we couldn't really do any shopping since the salesladies—and they were all ladies—couldn't stop cooing at Sylvia), and admire the architecture. It's probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing towns in the U.S. This really captures Sylvia as a baby-on-the-go:


Grandma Pat shows Sylvia the view and points out items of interest, such as the sea, the tortoises, and the pelicans that pooped on the window:


Meanwhile, Mama and Daddy took their own romantic walk. Mama felt like she was missing a limb without the baby attached to her body somewhere. But after a while she got used to it and enjoyed feeling so light!


Kevin took a few artsy shots of seagulls:



Then these two unicyclists showed up. Kevin debated whether this was worth photographing because, after all, if you have TWO unicycles, it's basically just a bicycle.


Later, back at our hotel, Sylvia generously gave Daddy a back rub. Such filial piety!


With all of us in one room, Mama and Daddy had to adjust Sylvia's night-night routine. We settled on turning out the lights and quietly watching old Twilight Zone reruns (in black and white, of course) while she fell asleep between us. The two nights we spent there were the best nights we've had since Sylvia was born. "That's it," said Daddy, "we have to get a T.V. in the bedroom." Desperate as she is for sleep, Mama is still not going for that suggestion.

We returned to Gainesville and enjoyed one last delicious dinner at one of Kevin's favorite old haunts, Leonardo's 706. We got to see his good friend, Laurie, and her son Captain ("Cappy"). (Oh no, we're missing Sujata!)


Kevin couldn't resist getting a photo of Sylvia's cousin:


(As of this writing, Erica's due date is less than a month away! We can't wait!)

... And that wraps up all the holiday photos and Sylvia's 7th month! I have just one more bonus photo for this post, which is Sylvia's introduction to black rice:


One day, we were at the park with another mom from Mommy and Me class, and we discovered we had both fed our daughters black rice. "Never again!" we both vowed. Not only is the rice this messy, but it is also sticky, impossible to wipe off a screaming baby, and it stains. Not worth it!

Upon our return, we realized we had left with a tottering, hesitant crawling baby and come home with an agile, confident one, so we had to go into emergency baby-proofing mode. Luckily we had visited the baby-proofing store before we left and had all the equipment, but we had not had time/felt the urgency about installing it. We didn't realize how quickly they change once they get moving! And with the way that Sylvia will stand, unsupported and rock-solid, for extended periods of time, we know that walking can't be far away. Yikes.

Today is actually Sylvia's 10-month birthday, so I am now a mere 2 months behind with the blog. Our next post will showcase Sylvia's 8th-month fashion sense and find us—can you guess?—at another Farmer's Market.