Baby

Last week we learned that adult children of divorce will almost always revert to childish behaviors. Case in point, Briana, the daughter previously known as The Most Reasonable Person in Orange County, dissolved into a impertinent, recalcitrant, petulant brat upon meeting her mother's boyfriend. This week Briana grows up and fights like a big girl … but we'll get there soon enough. Elsewhere in the O.C., there are tiaras to be worn and bling to be bought as Alexis goes all out for her little princesses, and Slade decides to declare Gretchen his queen.

A Baltimore grand jury indicted a 29-year-old woman Monday on attempted murder and seven other charges in connection with the brutal stabbing of her 8-month-old daughter during a supervised visit at a city social services office in April. Kenisha Thomas, who is being held without bail in the incident, was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in district court Tuesday, but the indictment will move the felony case into circuit court. An arraignment on the new charges is set for July 17. According to police, Thomas smuggled a large kitchen knife into a Baltimore social services office April 24 and repeatedly stabbed the infant, named Pretty Diamond, in the head and neck as office staff fought back, with one man throwing a chair at her. The baby, who previously was removed from Thomas' care, survived.

I hope everyone has taken a few moments to collect themselves after that spectacular finale. Midway through, I was a bit worried as the episode was beginning to seem more like a series finale than a season finale. However, the last 15 minutes provided everything a good finale should: suspense, murder, a love triangle (quadrangle!), a drug overdose, break-ups (bonus points for calling off an engagement), a conniving friend, heart break, a parent finding their child unconscious, unplanned pregnancy, a declaration of “never speak to me again” followed by a quick hang up, an engagement, a serious accident (plane instead of car, way to go big!

Don't be fooled. This baby can't be trusted. Quite suddenly, he cannot be relied upon to stay where he is put. Can you believe that? He's been rolling a bit for the past few weeks (so we've obviously been careful about where we lay him down), but now, he's rolling with purpose . Last night, he rolled across most of the living room to get to his big brother. The night before that, he saw me peeking in on him in his room and rolled -- and rotated himself! -- all the way to one end of his crib.

A male foal Zebra sticks close to his mother at the National Zoo of San Salvador. This baby is less than a week old and the first to be born in the National Zoo.

Remember how President Barack Obama promised he would heal the planet and make the seas stop rising?  Well, it turns out the president does have a special, magical touch. It's just not with the environment. It's with babies.  The White House recently put out this video of a crying baby whose family had come to see the president. First Lady Michelle Obama couldn't comfort the child, but the second the president held the baby, the crying stopped.  Now, can that magical touch work with the American people a second time around?

Summertime is a prime season for babies — for anticipating them, having them or just watching them go about their napping, toddling and drooling business. Maybe we just see more babies this time of year, perspiring in their jogging strollers with their fitness-oriented parents, sitting in laps on lawns with their melting snowballs, or being held aloft in front of frighteningly toothy giraffes at the zoo. Whatever the reason, you can't escape the abundance of babies in the summer, and it's delightful because these mini-humans remind us that life is a journey that is unpredictable, joyful and sometimes just plain gross.

Veterinarian Doctor Maria Diaz gives milk to a newborn lion at the Zoo and Eco Park in Honduras. Pretty darn cute..... If you can't get enough bouncing baby lions, check out this one . And also this one.

Twilight continued its influence on the top baby names in 2011, as Jacob was the most popular name for boys, and Isabella was #2 for girls. Sophia captured the top spot for girls, according to the Social Security Administration -- a nod, perhaps to "Tom Jones"," or a twist on "Sophie's Choice"? Next year I have my money on variations of Katniss, Gale and Peeta. Here's the rest of the list: 2 Mason Isabella 3 William Emma 4 Jayden Olivia 5 Noah Ava 6 Michael Emily 7 Ethan Abigail 8 Alexander Madison 9 Aiden Mia 10 Daniel Chloe  

You may remember this season's bachelorette, Emily Maynard, as the winner (and later dumpee) of the less-than-bright Bachelor Brad. She's the hot single mom with a tragic past and too many morals (she refused the overnight invitation). Her fiance, NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, died in a plane crash -- a plane she would have been on if it wasn't for the morning sickness she was experiencing with their unborn daughter. Okay, that is very sad. No jokes there. This time around, ABC is skipping the Los Angeles mansion in favor of Emily's hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

A Baltimore campaign to reduce the city's high rate of infant mortality got a $1 million boost Wednesday that will enable it to continue its efforts. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield awarded the renewal grant to sustain the B'more for Healthy Babies campaign.  The grant builds on CareFirst's initial $3 million grant, extending the program through 2013. The money was approved during Wednesday's Board of Estimates meeting. B'more for Healthy Babies, launched in 2009, seeks to prevent infant deaths through policy changes, by educating providers, and through community outreach and mobilization.

The approach to National Harbor, where three highways meet on the Maryland side of the Potomac River, is pretty much a wow, with the arched 18-story atrium of a massive convention hotel its centerpiece. National Harbor is a still-new resort town on a slope overlooking the big river, with six hotels, upscale shops, restaurants, condominiums, marinas and a busy schedule of events that attract healthy crowds on weekends. David Cordish must look at Nat Harbor and wish he'd thought of it. Or maybe he wishes the place had been available as a location for gambling four years ago, when Maryland voters approved the return of slot machines to the state.

Johns Hopkins University Engineering students unveiled devices Monday that they hope will lower the number of still births and deaths from fever-related illnesses in developing countries. FeverPoint is a screening test that uses a cotton thread and a drop of blood to check for causes of fevers related to malaria, bacterial pneumonia and other infections. The device works similar to a pregnancy test in that it does not require water or electricity, which are not readily available in some countries.

Spring's time for planting more than flower and vegetable gardens.  it's oyster planting time, too. Last week, the Oyster Recovery Partnership put 31 million baby oysters in Harris Creek, near the mouth of the Choptank River. The oysters were bred at the University of Maryland's Horn Point hatchery , and primed for planting once they had settled as "spat" on old oyster shells. It was the first of a series of plantings the Annapolis-based nonprofit hopes to make this year, seeding Harris Creek, the Severn River and possibly a couple other spots in the Chesapeake Bay with a projected 300-500 million bivalves.

It was the voice on the other end of the phone that kept Neysan Sturdivant calm on the night of Sept. 4 after his wife, sitting next to him, yelled, "Stop the car!" In a second, the Severn couple's minivan was on the side of Route 32 in the darkness. Sturdivant's wife, Gillian, was giving birth, minutes away from Howard County General Hospital. He ran to her side of the vehicle and opened the door to help — but didn't know what to do. He asked 911 for help. "I had the phone in my ear," Neysan Sturdivant recalled, saying that most of what immediately followed "is a blur.

Citing the "bravery of two" but noting the "valor of all" their colleagues, the state's governor and city's mayor lauded Thursday the workers who helped save an infant being stabbed at a social services office in East Baltimore. William Purnell Short III hit the suspect with a chair, forcing her to drop the infant, and Dana Hayes screamed for help, prompting a flurry of 911 calls that got police and paramedics quickly to the social services complex on Biddle Street on April 24. Short held the suspect — who police said bit him on the hands — until police arrived.