Niki and I spent the weekend with Seth's folks down in Oregon, where Niki was, of course, the star of the show, but she had a pretty good supporting cast. It was wonderful to see everyone down there and to watch Niki actually interact with people. She does a lot more of that lately.
The actual Thanksgiving meal was held at Pake and Beppe's (grandpa and grandma's). Beppe cooked us a mountain of food and was very concerned when we didn't eat more than half of it while we were at the table. 
Niki with Beppe, whose namesake she is. You can see the box of leftovers in the background. That shows you how much food there was.
Niki with Beppe, whose namesake she is. You can see the box of leftovers in the background. That shows you how much food there was. 
This is my father-in-law. He is a man who believes in good food, good spirits, and good company. In short, Thanksgiving is his holiday. 
Niki playing with my mother-in-law. Niki was so much more social and playful this time around. She played with everybody, which really surprised me because lately she's been in a "mommy-or-nobody" mood. 
The high chair was at least thirty years old, and had no crotch bar to hold Niki up, so she kept slipping down throughout the meal. I don't think she was very enchanted at the prospect. However, she did like the little bit of turkey and carrots that she got.
Shy of the camera no more, she positively seeks out the opportunity to get her picture taken.
Niki exploring her Christmas present from Beppe.
Niki playing patt-i-foot with Auntie Alice. I call that her hobgoblin grin. Doesn't she look self-satisfied? 
I know I say this with every post lately, but Niki is almost crawling. She can get up on her hands and knees now. She just hasn't connected that idea with the idea of forward motion. She is also getting the notion of grabbing on to things above her, though I think it will be a long time before she begins to pull herself up. 
My parents came over for the weekend to attend a cousin's wedding shower and of course to see their grandbaby. My father was delighted that Niki is big enough to begin playing some of his favorite games. This one is called "Trap the kiddo between my legs and don't let her go." 
Niki was pretty impressed with herself and the general standing position. I was pretty impressed too. She's practically standing by herself right there.
On the way over to the shower, we stopped at McDonald's, and Niki had her first french fry. 
I think she likes apples better, especially if she gets to hold the whole thing and chew on it at her own pace. 
She's also doing things like waving bye-bye at unexpected moments, saying "pa-ta-ca" when she claps her hands, saying "Oh-ooooo" when the dog howls, and just generally making me wish that I had a video camera attached to my hand so I could capture firsts instead of fifteenths. 
Good-night, everybody. God bless you.
Niki tried her first whole apple pieces the other day. The apple was a little green, but she put it away pretty quickly, or so I thought until I took her out of the chair and found the whole thing jammed down in her seat.
We've also discovered the value of the Pak'n'Play since she started scooting. She's very fascinated by the dog bowls, which upsets the dog and worries me that she's going to end up face down or at least sopping wet in one of them. So into the playpen she goes, and most of the time she doesn't seem to mind. 
