Summertime Rolls (a little closer in SoCal!)

Dad and Mols went to the beach this weekend - the last weekend of Dad's spring break :(. The big baby was enthusiastic about the trip until Dad tried to get her feet wet! It turns out the big blue is still a little intimidating for little Lash, even if she is advanced in other areas :). After averting a mini breakdown with lots of scary, high-pitched, parent-baby speak (particularly frightening to neighboring beach goers), Dad managed to settle the baby onto the blanket for a few quick snap shots (see juxtaposed). And that was pretty much it for the baby! Next time, Dad will try to stretch Molly's beach tolerance to fifteen minutes - including a possible boogie board ride? Don't tell Mom...

Lashing Out at the Green Gator!

Like many babies her age, Molly already has an arch enemy - the evil Green Gator! The Green Gator likes to hide deep in Lash's bath water waiting for the right opportunity to stealthily rise to the surface and squirt our little heroine (namely when baby Mols is rubbing the soap out of her eyes - can you imagine?). So I guess you could say it was karma when Lash staked out the Gator's hiding spot in the kitchen cabinet, ambushed the arch-villain, and proceeded to chew his snout off with her two good teeth. Now Melissa and I don't usually condone violence, but in this case we felt it was justified. Please don't tell the people at PETA.

It's Not the Country Estate But...

The MacDonalds went to visit the Kious family at their "Brentwood House" (N. of Wilshire for those of you in the know) and found it quite charming albeit lacking some of the pastoral charm of the aforementioned Prehn country Estate :). Bill and Melissa were thrilled to see friends and parents extraordinaire Brent and Jen and Lash got a chance to reconnect with baby Leif (also a Big Baby!) who was kind enough to share some of his incredible exercise equipment with her. Mols had the most fun with Leif's bouncer which she complimented with many squeals and spasmodic movements. Later, adults and babies engaged in genteel conversation while strolling around the Brentwood Golf and Country Club (around as in outside the fence on the dirt path circling the club around). Overall, the visit was a smashing success for all participants. Molly even slept all the way home in Los Angeles Saturday traffic (just as bad as weekday rush hour :) We love L.A.! We love it!). All and all, not a bad Saturday for Lash and Co.

Who's That Baby?

Keeping Up with the Lash!

Lo siento avid readers (if you exist) pero there wasn't a blog update last week... with summer creeping into SoCal it's getting harder and harder to spend hours inside on la computadora. So how is the little star of the show? Terrific of course!

As you can observe, Lash's legs are STRONG and she loves standing (holding onto Dad, furniture, chairs, etc.). She is NOT walking or crawling yet... but she is close! The future stuntgirl has taken to getting up on her elbows and knees and launching herself forward like a mini torpedo. Our future sumo champion also enjoys "throwing her weight around" (literally) by leaning toward something she wants and sprawling toward it in a pile of mini arms and legs. From here, the future Yogi Master promptly vaults into the downward facing dog position and assaults her objective like a mini Patton.

Molly's newest sounds are "Ba" and "Pa" which she has been quietly practicing all week and now is starting to turn up the volume. Mols also LOVES to laugh, chuckle, and outright heehaw (especially if you tickle her sides or sing "Molly MacDonald has a farm...").

Overall, we are pleased with her current performance :) The truth is both Melissa and I love her more than we can even express and still we find ways to love her more with each passing day.

Meet the Nixons...Meet the Ays!

Yes, last weekend was a meet and greet for Mols who finally got to say hello to Kaelyn Nixon her newest BFF (that's "best friend forever" to those not fluent in Textese). Molly, aka "The Big Baby" (weighing in at a hefty 20 lbs!), was pleased to make Kaelyn's acquaintance and said so with a series of "Ba-Ga-Ba-Da's" followed by a earsplitting squeal (this is a good sign!). In the attached photo, observe Lash keeping her sometimes spastic arm movements in check as she firmly shakes hands with Kaelyn and mama Althea. Yvonne and Erdem Ay also joined the babies for lunch at Casa de MacDonald. The midday meal was followed by hours of Baby TV where the guests tracked and discussed every movement of these adorable little baby geniuses!