This weekend

First, I'll open with a funny-and-yet-useful development in Maia's verbal skills: just after she finished her breakfast this morning, she was walking around in the kitchen in her striped PJs. Seemingly out of nowhere, she said "Poo poo!" (which comes out sounding like "boo boo"), and just kept on walking. Brian picked her up and did the baby behind sniff (that we all SWORE we wouldn't do when we became parents!), and yes, she'd loaded up her diaper. Hilarious? Yes. Practical? Indeed.

We spent as much time outside this weekend as we could. It began with our usual Saturday morning outing to the market and Zingerman's for bagels. I had a work-related meeting on Saturday afternoon, and then the three of us finished our grocery shopping after my meeting.

Today was a full day of soaking up the Vitamin D in the sunshine. This morning, we went for coffee on State Street and then made our way across the way to walk around on campus. The students have departed for the summer, which means that there is parking available downtown and tables open at the coffeeshops again. I'm not one of those college-town "townies" who celebrates the moment that the students leave town after finals; after growing up in East Lansing and then living in Bloomington and Ann Arbor, I really think that the students are a fundamentally vital part to the fabric and rhythm of life in these places. But, on the other hand, it's nice to have a bit more space. At least until Art Fair.

Anyway, as you can see from the photos, Maia wandered around on the green lawns, tossed change into the fountain, and gave the tulips a sniff (prompted by Dada).

Then, this afternoon, we drove out to West Bloomfield to visit our friends Jeff, Kelly, Ana and (seven-week-old) Hugo. Maia and Ana were so very toddler-like together: the only truly desirable toy was the one that the other person was playing with. Baby Hugo slept soundly the entire visit; here's hoping that some of that solid, deep sleep moves into the nighttime soon, for Jeff and Kelly's sake!

Maia's growing into a rough-and-tumble, fearless little girl. Every time we get into the car, she begins to say "play! Play!" I like to take this as a sign that we're successfully getting her out into the world, and helping her learn that the world out there is a wide-open place with all kinds of adventures to be had. When we go to Kerrytown Market, she immediately makes for the stairs and starts climbing. When we go to a playground, she finds her way to the tallest slide there. Today, on campus, she would have leapt into the fountain if Brian wasn't there to hold her back.

As our friend Jen so astutely observed: "Maia lives life with gusto."