Monday, December 05, 2005

WOGFESSIONAL PICTURES

The Wog had some professional pictures taken earlier today. She was quite the ham. These were casual, everyday-type shots. We'll do some fancy dress shots soon. Here's a sampling of her shots. Minnie says she has a "plastic face" and I'd have to agree, based on these pictures.







To see all the pictures, go to www.digiproofs.com. The password is--no surprise here--"Polly".

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINNIE!

The Wog was fussy all day today. Obviously, she misses her Minnie on her birthday. Here she is, sending Minnie birthday greetings.


And here she is, pondering how she is going to eat two crackers at one time.

A MISSING WOG

The Wog has been missing from the internet through no fault of my own. In fact, The Wog herself is to blame for her brief hiatus, having dumped a container of water on my computer--the result being a malfunctioning mouse and constantly moving curser. Typing a sentence on my laptop is now like playing a challenging video game. We're back, nevertheless.

The Wog has been up to a lot (aside from maiming computers) since our last update. She celebrated her second Thanksgiving at her paternal grandparents' house. She's a big fan of turkey. BIG fan. Here she is on the big day with her grandmother and two aunts. I like this picture because she looks like one of the girls.


She also continues her love affair with bananas and the other day downed two whole bananas in a row. She would have eaten another, I suspect, had we had any bananas left in the house to feed to her. Here she is challenging you to just try and take her banana away.


If you look closely, you can see the banana crammed into her cheek, chipmunk-style.


The Wog has also become a mimic. She can mimic words and whole sentences with surprising accuracy. She has a tendency to do so with one index finger raised, giving the appearance that she is delivering a very serious lecture.

She continues to wear her hair in pigtails and, in the spirit of the approaching holiday, someone stopped us earlier today to point out that she looks like Little CindyLou Who.

All this activity tires a growing Wog out. Here she sleeps while we rake the endless leaves at the new house.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

THE WOG DOESN'T WANT TO WORK; SHE JUST WANTS TO BANG ON HER DRUM ALL DAY

A couple pictures--banging on her aforementioned drum, and getting ready to head outside on a chilly day.



Sunday, November 13, 2005

WOGTORTIONIST

The Wog was eating a cracker in her stroller the other day when she discovered that she could eat with one hand and hold her foot in the other hand. AT THE SAME TIME. She amused herself this way for several minutes...a long time for The Wog, who is not known around these parts for her attention span.


The Wog looks a lot like her Pop-Pop and, I think, a little bit like her Aunt Mary Beth. But the other day at the flooring store, the clerk was enthusing over how much The Wog looks like her father. The Wog looks like everyone who loves her, which we think is pretty neat.


In this picture, The Wog ponders the meaning of life. Her conclusion? A pacifier.

Friday, November 11, 2005

COOKIE WOGSTER

We try to avoid exposing The Wog to too much television, but sometimes--if the dishes are piled up in the sink, for example--it's unavoidable. Recently I decided to try her out on Sesame Street. I taped two episodes--one heavily features Cookie Monster, who believes the moon is a giant cookie, and isn't it about snack time? The other is about Snuffleupagus, who is too big for ballet. (Or is the ballet to small for Snuffleupagus?)

The Wog could care less for Snuffy, and I don't blame her: he IS kind of whiney. But she loves her some Cookie Monster. As soon as she hears his grumbly voice, she smiles and hangs over the edge of the exersaucer waiting on his every "Um Num Num Num!"

Here she is, desperately struggling to see around Mommy, who is blocking the view.



Polly has never had a cookie, but some day she'll understand what all the fuss is about.

WHEN (1/8th) IRISH WOGS ARE SMILING

The Wog has had two itty bitty teeth on the bottom for quite so long now. These two itty bitty teeth look so cute by themselves that no other teeth want to come join them.



But she has a whole bunch of upper teeth which she refuses to let us see. Here's a once-in-a-lifetime shot.



This is one of my all-time favorite Wog pictures. She's not looking at me or her father, by the way. Those of you who know her may be able to guess what she's wooing so winsomely...



...her pacifier, of course!

The Wog had her 12 months doctor's appointment earlier this week. She weighs 19.6 pounds and is 26.5 inches long. A growing Wog!

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

WOG-ODILE TEARS

The Wog is a very pleasant, happy-go-lucky baby. But she's also extremely strong-willed. (Sometimes I use the word "spirited" but they both mean the same thing when I'm talking about The Wog.) About a month ago I noted that we had no pictures of The Wog in one of her most outraged moments, so I made sure to capture her mid-fit. (The Wog's father thinks this is mean, incidentally, and it may be. But the cuteness far outweighs the meanness, as far as I'm concerned.) In any case, here are some pictures of The Wog throwing down.

(You'll probably notice in these pictures that I have a thing for polka dot tights.)




I promise in the next entry she'll be back to her happy little self. As she always is--immediately--the instant she gets what she wants.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

HALLOWOG II: THE RETURN OF THE WOG

Yesterday The Wog did not don a costume, but she still looked particularly cute. We have discovered that her hair is now long enough for pigtails (at least in the front--a lady at Story Time calls these "palm trees") and she'll probably never wear her hair any other way because I love it so much. (Plus, it's much more difficult for her to pull out a rubber band than a barrette.)





HAPPY HALLOWOG!

The Wog had a low-key Halloween (her second Halloween ever--hard to believe!) this year. She'd been sick, so there was neither tricking nor treating. She did have a single M&M in celebration.

(I am only posting these pictures under the presumption that viewers will agree to ignore the clothes exploding out of the dresser in the background.)


Friday, October 28, 2005

SNEAK PEEK

Here is a sneak preview of The Wog in one of her several Halloween costumes. She has become impossible to photograph because as soon as we set her down, she's off and crawling. So The Wog's father stood on one side of the bed with The Wog, and I stood on the other side of the bed with the camera. He held her back and then "released" her, immediately ducking down to get out of the shot, while she tore across the bed toward me as I tried to snap her picture and prevent her from careening off the edge of the bed at the same time. This picture captures The Wog mid-tear, and The Wog's father mid-duck. Despite all the obstacles, they were clearly having a good time.

A PATHETIC LITTLE WOG

The Wog is sick. Poor little Wog. So off to the doctor we went yesterday, but there's nothing that can be done except baby Tylenol since it's viral. Our doctor is off on Thursdays, so we had to see the "walk-in" doctor--an all new audience for The Wog! She valliantly rallied to impress the people in the doctor's office; runny eyes, red face, audible congestion and sneezing, and yet the most adorable little smile at everyone. (Oh, and the Wog now weighs 19.4 pounds; we've been wondering!)

The Wog has never been a cuddler (in fact, she's the opposite of a cuddler and will vigorously push you away should you try to cuddle, snuggle, hug or kiss). The closest she's ever come to cuddling (and that was more "clinging") was when she was terrified at the Christmas Loft store we went to when Minnie and Pop-Pop were visiting. Even when she's being carried, she refuses to face the carrier; instead, she twists her body all the way around to greet the world. But all she wants to do is cuddle since coming down with a bug a few days ago, so we've been enjoying our time together on the couch.

Hopefully, The Wog will be feeling better soon, since she has missed Storytime and Baby Music class this week, as well as a Halloween parade. No doubt the Halloween parade was SORELY missing its lobster.

Cranky and yet so very cute:


Thursday, October 20, 2005

THE PARTY RAGES ON....

More pictures from Polly's party!

Here she gives her new car (about which she was indifferent--let's see if she feels the same when she's 17) a whirl:


She loves reading, like her Mommy. (Let's hope she gets her father's sense of direction.)


On Monday we checked out a local Christmas-themed chain. I had stopped in the previous week in search of wrapping paper and was shocked to find the building with the mild exterior I pass almost every day contains a winter wonderland! So we went back with Minnie and Pop-Pop. Polly did not enjoy all the life-size creatures that walked and talked and jingled at her. If you look very closely, you can see she is desperately clutching Pop-Pop's sleeve in both pictures. She continued to do so the entire time we were in the store.



This does not bode well for this year's picture on Santa's lap.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

A WOGDAY PARTY

We had a small fete in honor of Polly's first birthday over the weekend. Minnie and Pop-Pop came up from NJ and Polly had a blast being the object of their attention. She had a great time, and there are pictures to prove it.

Here's the setup:


I made the cake in a fit of misguided Martha-ness. (I've since learned that fondant is not training wheels.):


Polly anxiously awaiting her birthday cake:


And post cake-smashing. It took her a really really long time to get into the cake. So long that we all missed the big moment, having turned to our own desserts. We turned back and suddenly--cake carnage!


Here's the one-year-old, exhausted from opening 8,000 terrific gifts from Minnie and Pop-Pop:



In addition to celebrating The Wog's birthday, we also made a pilgrimage to Walmart for what the Wog's Pop-Pop called, "Knock Me Down Elmo." She ended up with a "Shout Elmo" instead, which is delighting her and dismaying the dogs in equal measure.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

A WOGTROSPECTIVE: A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE WOG

The Wog is 1! How did that happen? More to come, but for now a brief look back...

Moments after being born, in the arms of Minnie (who somehow managed to hold her before Marc!):



Being 3 days old is hard work!


Our very long little polliwog:


A six months old Wog:


And just last week, practicing for the big day!

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

A CRAFTY WOG

The Wog has a new trick. When I heard her making noise this morning and went to get her, I found her standing in her crib with a big grin on her face and the light on. The Wog had one guilty little finger on the light switch!

Saturday, October 01, 2005

POLLY PUMPKIN

After The Wog's swimming lesson today (she did great with the splashing, but didn't quite get the whole kicking thing yet) we went on a hay ride for pumpkin picking!



Oh, the pumpkins!


The Wog carefully deliberated between the offerings...


And finally settled on one of her own.

(If I had this picture to take over again, I'd go for a little more Wog and a little less the man sitting behind her.)

We had a very easy time picking the best pumpkin out of this patch.