Crocodil Gena and other visitors

Mathilda's fan club is growing.  We've had a whirlwind 2 weeks of visitors.
Last weekend, Reggie's parents and grandmother from Haiti came to town.

We acted as tourists and took a ride on the Pittsburgh land-water duck boat.  It was fantastic! I couldn't believe how much I didn't know about landmarks, architecture, and history of our fair city.  Tilly did really well strapped into the Baby Bjorn on the tour.  She loves being outside, and didn't fuss once, meaning we weren't afraid of being thrown overboard by the other passengers.

checking out the town from the water

who wouldn't be happy to live in such a beautiful place! This view is from Fort Pitt/Point State Park looking East towards the city

tiring out. Thank goodness there is a bib to suck on as the seats were a bit tight to attempt nursing.

The next day, my brother finally arrived from Moscow.  I only get about 3-4 weeks/year with my brother and it's not nearly enough.  Long gone are the days of holding his head down in the snow, destroying each other's things, and generally screaming that we hate each other- we've actually become really good friends. Thank God for Skype, but it's just not the same as being together, and he was so excited to finally meet Mathilda face to face.  We also finally got to meet Patrick's lovely girlfriend, Catherine, which was wonderful.  I actually don't think we scared her off!  I knew she was safe when she mentioned listening to an audiobook about the New Deal on her drive to the 'Burgh.  With that, Reg decided she was definitely "our people".

Patrick and I have a history of purchasing "interesting" gifts for each other, usually around a theme (dinosaurs, wild animals, etc) and he has gotten Mathilda in on the tradition.  He brought her "Crocodil Gena", a small talking (in Russian) stuffed Crocodile who wears a top hat, red pleather jacket, and bow tie and we decided looks like a loan shark who lurks around the OTB.  A very strange, slightly scary toy.

Crocodil Gena poses next to his friend, Cheburashka, or "mouse monkey" as he is also known. Yes, Cheburashka also talks and sings in Russian.

 Mathilda loves it.  No, love does not explain her reaction. She is obsessed with this talking croc.  Everytime she sees it, her whole body shakes and she squeals in excitement.  Crying? Just make Crocodil Gena sing and it immediately stops.  Bored? Minutes (which is a lot) of entertainment staring at him, or chewing on his hat. I think he needs to send us 3 or 4 more in the likely event that this one dies before the end of the month!

Awesome nesting dolls onesie from Catherine!

loving Gena

We celebrated my dad's 59th birthday, a bit delayed so we could have the entire family here.  Mathilda wore a party dress, complete with flouncy skirt.

never without a bib. The amount of drool is incredible! But how adorable is that dress??

happy birthday, Grandpa! She's such a happy baby and loves being tickled.  I think she is starting to look more like me, especially in the eyes, which means she is also looking like my dad. I think I can see the resemblance in this photo, what do you think?

My friend of forever, Lauren, also came to town to finally meet Mathilda and spend time with us, her second family.  We have this same photo (below) following basically every Thanksgiving dinner, generally with at least one of us asleep in a food coma. This time, we've added Tilly!

family

very VERY sad that Uncle Patrick has to go back to Russia

Whew!  It's been amazing having family and friends (who are family) around these past weeks.  And finally Mathilda has met all of her immediate family.  Although, I admit, I'm looking forward to a laid back weekend of nothing.