Nina had her first encounter with Santa today. She was a little sleepy, as it was just before her naptime. I put her on his lap and after a few moments of looking a bit perplexed, she settled in comfortably, as if thinking, “OK, so this guy’s going to rock me to sleep today.” Santa gave her a candy cane and suggested that Daddy take it home and use it to stir a cup of hot chocolate. That seemed like very Santa Claus-ish advice. This was a very softspoken and gentle Santa — no bellowing Ho-Ho-Ho’s or shouts of Merry Christmas. I guess that kind of thing just scares the kids.

Nina fell asleep shortly after meeting Santa. We made several more stops in Manhattan afterwards, including lunch at Menkuitei, our favorite NY Japanese restaurant. Today they had roasted ginko nuts, a nice toasty treat for a cold day. It was below freezing, and Daddy — our hero — pushed Nina’s stroller through much slushy snow, and carried her up and down numerous subway stairs. Nina went to bed at eight o’clock and Mama is about to follow.

A quick Nina update, which I’ve become too busy lately to provide very often: Our sweet, chubby babe is now six months, and eating solid food, commando crawling (dragging herself tummy-down along the hardwood floor) and becoming a big fan of peekaboo and pillow-hugs (my baby-friendly version of a pillow fight). Here’s a video of her eating sweet potatoes, which she liked but didn’t love. Today, a few days later, I fed her mashed avocado — guacamole, I guess — which was a huge hit. She opened her mouth wide as the spoon approached, and she kept almost all the mush inside.

She recognizes me from afar now, and she cries when I come home from work — not when I leave. It’s as if in this instant that I walk in the door, she realizes that I’ve been gone and wants intensely to be with me, which is of course incredibly flattering and daunting. I think that this, more than anything so far, makes me feel like a mom.

And Daddy’s feeling more like a Dad, perhaps. Today, Dec. 7, 2008, Nina was rolling around on the bed after a bath and said “Da-da” for the first time, or something that sounded very much like it!