Author: andrew@kesselimaging.com

With Mom busy and nowhere else to turn, Papa took Helena to band practice. She didn’t just tolerate the loud raucous, she joined in on the fun and is now a proud honorary member of Back to Memphis

Andrew and Maya hosted friends for a brisket and games party and Helena got to see her older contemporary Lenlie

Maya’s parents arrived New Years Eve to ensure a seeming less grandparent transition for Helena. Helena loves to see them and practice her Russian

Helena was not to be seen. While grandparents babysat in ATL for a show at Venkman’s, Helena (mostly) slept away the new year. By the way, mom and dad also got away to Miami and the Everglades on their Florida trip! A rare no Helena blog post

Ok just kidding, Helena makes an appearance or two in the Concrete Jungle year-in-review video here! Couldn’t actually do a blog post on Helena’s website with no Helena

Great vacation in 2017 in warm sunny Florida with Grandpa and Grandma

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A little fish in a big pond….

Helena and family visited the pinball museum of Delray yesterday. We may have a future wizard on our hands.

Helena loved playing in the sand but is still a little unsure about the ocean

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Looking at the birds curiously.

Helena’s first non terrible time at the beach (overall 2nd time). She was very interested in sand and after a little fuss took a nice long nap

A much needed family vacation to Delray

the mustache is real and captivating

Three nights in a row Helena has been out past her bedtime…not that she’s complaining.

A bit hard to see but here she’s dancing with Maya’s co-workers:

trying mushrooms for the first time Trying lentils from Dr U. and colleague Georgia standing up in her stroller

Helena continues to make new discoveries including things she can eat (not always edible though), things she can pull (including herself up from time to time), and trying on a new floatie and training potty.

Helena went out this weekend to her first kid’s fun zone. It was a hopping good time

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A fascination with flame begins…

Helena was in rare form this Saturday for a friend’s brunch. Still though, she toughed it and even made some new friends

Helena visited neighborhood friend and peer Jude last week for a play date. Helena was trying to demonstrate how to crawl to Jude.

Good friends Jon and Amy came over to celebrate and light candles for Helena’s first Chanukah

Keeping warm all bundled up here as winter has settled in

Out for a lovely winter stroll yesterday

These past few weeks have been full of leaps and bounds from crawling to standing, to trying new foods, and our favorite, clapping. Still working on waiving and all of the thousands of other things to come in the next several months.

Helena’s first sight of snow. She didn’t seem that thrilled about it but it may just have been that she was disappointed in the quality of this very wet southern snow. Or maybe it was the quality of the picture

 

…or any suspended object

…and dog time

always something new to play with these days now that we crawl

As Helena becomes a little crawling monster she is now about to observe (and play with) a whole new range of things. For example:

A few other highlights from the trip here

Kessel’s, Dines, Alperns, Fayfman’s, and more reunited in Western, MA for the annual festivities and enjoyed a fantastic meal, good company, and big crawling improvements

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Helena with Heady Topper is a throw back a la Abel one year ago)

Thanksgiving break has started and the family returns North to the land of coldVisiting with friends Pam and Sarah before they have their own little one

looking through the window girl and bunny close up – photo credit Havi Kessel

With both papa and Helena being out of school, the dynamic duo took a field trip to visit mom at work. Helena liked trying on the stethoscope and may have a future career as a doctor. Afterwards, they visited the Margaret Mitchell house in mid-town where she wrote “Gone With the Wind”

A few weeks old now but Helena enjoyed her first swinging experience

Circa seven months, 3 weeks

Helena is now regularly drinking water and guzzling it down like a champ. Here was the first time earlier this week.

Helena is always improving her swimming technique

Helena experienced some of life’s greatest pleasures last weekend, although the sale and sushi were indirectly, via mom. She actually started shaking when she tried her first ice cream, should have been filming.

Good teacher friend Ethan and his kids came over after a visit to the zoo. Little Owen did a great job playing with Helena and she seemed to enjoy it too.

Old friend Titus Levy came to visit and check up on the Kessel’s this past weekend. Helena did not miss the opportunity to attend her first Cabbagetown chomp and stomp.

And so is the little pumpkin

daycare trip to the zoo

With Helena’s new found abilities in sitting up and grabbing things with her hands she has found new things to play with as well. 

Learning how to eat and art work at daycare

Helena and family visited an eccentric and unique living art compound on their way back from Southern GA and the Carters. The colors were a trip!

Helena and family traveled down to Plains, GA Sunday to attend Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school. She received a warm welcome and even a little kiss from the former leader of the free world and his wife Rosalynn.

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It was a sad day for the team but a fine night for Helena and her numerous random fans. She never hesitates to please with her smile.

so meta

Helena and her parents recently attended a district 1 city council woman’s meet and greet at a neighbor’s house. Helena did well although got a little fussy when things got heated. Not sure politics is in her blood.

Starting in reverse

Helena is enjoying play time outside in. the ATL fall!

Helena’s first time getting sick wasn’t so bad as she still managed to smile despite not sleeping much and being super congested. She’s on the up and up now!

Helena managed to pick up the rubber ducky, but then it got stuck

Helena stayed in Brooklyn to visit Uncle Jonah and Aunt Maysha and reconnect with her closest cousin Abel. Looks like she is still getting to know him.

trying out Abel’s high chair meeting with old Russian friends and their two daughters in Forest HillsNYC skyline from Forest Hills

Off to NYC for Fall Break, this time Helena is sitting in her own seat for a moment

Technically Helena tried some watermelon and banana a few weeks ago up North in Dahlonega on the labor trip, but this was the first time she definitely swallowed her food!

Old Macalester friend Lisi and company strolled into ATL for one day for a band gig at Ol’ Smith’s Bar. Meanwhile, the two new babies met for a playdate in the actual bandwagon

For Helena’s six month birthday, the family went out for her second pro soccer game in a VIP suite!

baby fast asleep while parents enjoy the game the falcon at Mercedes Benz – Atl’s newest stadium Getting the Beyoncé treatment walking through Mercedes Benz stadium

Maya’s former bridesmaid Kim visited from Boston and as the nights get cooler in Atlanta, she made sure she stayed warm

Some hiking, cabin hang outs, and great times has by all (except during periods of rapid altitude incline and declines

Trip to the great smokies Friday-Sunday for Harvestivus, a reunion for friends and good people

stretching during a quick road side break elk sighting on the road hiking with Helena, a great trouper with 3-4 hour endurance

With Madame Ouanzin in French class

Sleeping in and working on sitting

Click on Goalie

“let’s play!”“what’s going on out there?!”

Some more photos from the two day power outage including hanging out with the Air BnB guests from Florida

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Helena got a taste of the real world when she came with momma and papa to work when the power went out at home after Hurricane Irma swept through town.

Helena helped her parents with some gardening on a beautiful Sunday before hurricane Irma rolled in to town. She loves touching the leaves on the trees

Helena’s not quite there but she’s certainly trying!

Trying everything by eating has begun- or rather has been going on now for a few weeks but with her improved abilities on her stomach it has gone to new levels.

La Routine

It doesn’t matter what you wear,
Just as long as you are there
So come on, every guy, grab a girl,
Everywhere, around the world
They’ll be dancing, dancing in the street 

The family headed up to Cleveland GA for some Labor Day hiking under beautiful weather and Helena crushed it on the hike

she literally crushed the potato chips at the lunch break on the hike

Youngest picker on record

As Helena becomes more and more alert she has taken note of this strange, furry four-legged creature and roommate.

taking a nap on Helena after a long day of work trying out the new Korg sv1 together

Helena appears to have an interest in music, like her parents!

Well at least Helena’s parents were-

She was too busy napping

Awaiting totality In Murphy, NCfeeding in the Apple tree forest

After the wedding, Helena and company also took a quick trip to the iconic Sandy Point Beach for a quick dip. It was Helena’s first ocean experience and with the heat it wasn’t such an easy one. But overall the trip was a lot of fun and Helena has now been to 3 weddings in her short (less than) 5 months of living.

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Helena continues her traveling adventures and good nature on airplanes.
After being diverted to and stuck in Richmond from storms for 4 hours, she couldn't take it anymore and smacked mom in the face.

This past weekend Helena danced and had fun at dad's concert at the Sweetwater Brewery. It was a scorcher!
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A few samples of Helena’s routine at daycare. They’re keeping her so busy that some nights she falls asleep before 8 (normally bedtime is around 8:30).

 

For now it's just Helena and one 'classmate' with two 'teachers' at Urban Explorers Day Care. Her parents have been told that she's been as happy as a clam and rarely cries! Report card week 1 summary: A!

So far so good…

Helena's new banana tooth brush for her two front teeth

Helena with her boyfriend Bennett trying out a bassinet

As papa goes back to work Monday we take a look back at a few typical moments at home together in the past week

https://youtu.be/hXbilIdfwiY
The real and challenging moments

Helena grabbing the milk on her own watching the dog looking at herself in the mirror

Fellow French Teacher Ben and Andrew enjoy a nice summer hike near Emory with Helena. Helena stayed awake for a good portion of it!

Helena is learning french and how to eat giraffes! She’s now up to two front teeth and recently heard that early teething is associated with language abilities. So giraffes and French really can be connected!

Helena met her first puppy at a friend’s BBQ this weekend. Helena was slightly older than the pooch.

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Abel’s old sleep pouch is still a little too big for Helena but she is already starting to fit a lot of 6 month old clothing!

 

Andrew & Maya frequently volunteer for their favorite local non-profit Concrete Jungle. Concrete Jungle often picks fruit hanging around and waiting to be donated to shelters and food pantries around Atlanta. Helena volunteered for some apple modeling after yesterday’s pick

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Helena has taken to experimenting with her voice lately. She likes to wake up just unfortunately an hour or so before her parents and see what sounds she can make. She can sometimes even mimic a sort of “hello.” Here are two morning experimentation samples.

Baby Sounds 1

Baby Sounds 2