First bye-bye

Yesterday (July 21st) Gerritt spent another day at Marina's daycare. He slept & ate well & really enjoyed being around other children. When I came back to pick him up he started crying the minute he saw me. He often does this because he is so happy I am back. He calms down & even smiles as soon as I hold him. I had a big shock as Gerritt waved bye-bye to the other 2 children as we were leaving. He did it again on Tuesday morning as my husband was leaving for work. I couldn't believe it! He is so smart!
We all went to a yearly event - Microsoft picnic - on Sunday. Gerritt behaved really well the whole time even though he missed his morning & afternoon naps (he slept in the car a little but I am not sure that counts). We brought our 3-wheeled runner with us. It sure came handy as we were navigating all of the attractions. There were animal petting zoo, a pony ride, a train ride, water baloon fights & so many other fun activities. It's going to be at least another 1-2 years before Gerritt would be able to enjoy any of them. We still had fun just walking around.
Gerritt is now scooting around so much better. Once in a while he'll crawl. He says "mama" (mom), "bebe" (baby), "dada" (dad) & "baba" (doggie or sobaka in Russian). He loves to squeal with excitement especially when my husband puts him on his chest or elevates him onto his legs while laying on the floor to play "airplane."
Today we did some grocery shopping at PCC Natural Market and then visited my old professors at the University of Washington's School of Nursing. 3 of them happened to be there & they have enjoyed meeting Gerritt. I was about 5 months pregnant when I graduated with my Master of Nursing degree so they got to see the end result so to speak. The director of my program was even sweet enough to give Gerritt a touch-and-feel book, a cute outfit and a puzzle. Gerritt had his 1st taste of ice cream while at shopping at PCC. I was eating an ice cream sample when I saw another mother feeding it to her baby (8 or 9-month old). The baby was so excited, he was trying to grab the spoon & if the mother was too slow with the next bite he protested loudly. I just took one look at Gerritt & decided he should have an ice cream tasting as well. Needless to say, a minute later he was the one grabbing my spoon & wanting more. :-)