Mio’s definitely picking up words more quickly. I love listening to her talk while she’s playing with her toys — she used to just babble what sounded like nonsense, but now we can make out relevant words. If you watch this recent video of her playing with a seesaw toy and figurines, you can hear her saying, “dinosaur,” “bird,””seesaw,” snf “ice cream”… along with some “oh no”s sprinkled in. And then ending in “off!”
I can’t wait to hear what she’ll be saying next!
We took our first trip to the beach this summer on Sunday, when we went to North Beach, Maryland, which is part of the Chesapeake and only an hour drive away. (We had originally planned to go to Rehoboth but decided to save that for a whole weekend when we could stay overnight, as it’s a 3 hour drive away.) North Beach was a cute little town and while the beach was small, it was pretty private and ideal for small children in that there were no strong waves and the water remained shallow pretty far in. We felt that it was a really safe beach for Mio to splash around in.
At first, Mio was very upset and reluctant about stepping onto the sand, and just kept pointing at the water saying “ocean!” from our beach mat, imploring us to just carry her over to the water so that her little feet wouldn’t have to to touch the dreaded sand. Once she got into the water, though, she loved it and kept going in and out and splashing around in it with Daddy for about two hours! The Atlantic is so much warmer than the Pacific waters that we’d taken Mio to in California and Hawaii, so this was the first time she could really stay in the water for a long time without freezing! By the end, she didn’t even seem to notice the sand because she’d had so much fun.
After spending a few hours on the beach, we packed up, enjoyed some Rita’s Italian Ice and then headed to lunch at Neptune’s Seafood Pub nearby because we were craving shrimp! All the food there was delicious, and Mio discovered how much she loves sour cream. (She kept dipping every food she tried in the sour cream, and then ended up just scooping it up by the handful with her little fingers. She definitely has her Daddy’s taste buds, because I hate sour cream.)
I love that summer is officially here and I look forward to more little mini trips and outings to the beaches in the area! 🙂
This was a run and gun test using the Black Magic Cinema Camera. This was the first time shooting outdoors without the help of an EVF or other devices. There were many shots in there that can be considered ruined, however the amazing flexibility of the Raw saved these shots. This was most apparent when I was in harsh sunlight where the LCD is practically useless.
Ultimately I created this short to test the dynamic range of the camera. Without a doubt, it is an amazing performer.
I showed Mio an episode of the stop-motion claymation TV series Pingu for the first time today, and I’ve never seen her giggle so much while watching anything! Most of the time, she’ll look very serious and focused while watching video clips that we show her of Shimajiro and Sesame Street. Occasionally, she’ll crack a smile or two or stifle a chuckle… so it was really surprising to see her laughing so much and visibly enjoying the show!
Is it because she loves penguins? Or the claymation aspect? I personally have never been a huge fan of Pingu because it doesn’t have any real dialogue and just loud penguin noises, but maybe that’s the appeal to kids! I read that shows like Pingu “teach kids how to decipher a visual story; to respond to it in their own imaginative, creative ways; and, ultimately, to sharpen their skills for mastering media by using them critically.” Interesting! If you pay attention, the show teaches little social lessons here and there as well.
Well, I guess we know what Mio’s new favorite show is…
Last Saturday, we went out to get some Chinese food and Mio started running around with the two kids of the restaurant owner. She’s usually pretty shy and reserved when she sees other children, but the little girl (apparently 3 years old) was so friendly and kept coming up to Mio and giving her hugs that Mio warmed right up to her and soon they were running back and forth across the store. It was really cute to watch! 🙂
…and here’s the helpful advice I got from my fortune cookie there. ♥
