David Foster Wallace’s shorter works, like found in “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” is to an olive as “Infinite Jest” is to:
a. a concrete block
b. a hot air balloon
c. a muffuletta sandwich
The answer is c, a muffuletta sandwich.
Where is it the coolest?
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundaykofax/5963677201/”>
Where is it the coolest?, originally uploaded by sundaykofax.
Tempcat: It’s like having a bloodhound or truffle pig.
New blog goal: mini milestones
I asked 80 to smile for the picture. My aunt Sharon politely dubbed this her “chipmunk face”.
It seems there are these very consistent benchmarks for babies of the same age, and other milestones that can be very different (new teeth, walking). I make a lot of parenting decisions based on other’s experiences, taking the same/different factor into consideration. I’ve decided to try and blog more of these small observations. On a personal level, they’re really only fun for 80’s family, but this data could be interesting to other new parents.
An observation for today: while playing on the front steps of C+A’s house, 80 discovered hauling both herself and her water bottle up an down. She’d be on one step, and put the bottle on the step above or below. It’s a small thing, but it’s related to manipulating both herself and another object on a multi-level surface.
Midwest milestone
80 had her first sweetcorn on Sunday. We attended a heavy metal pool party that featured lots of great food. The corn was buttered and grilled, thus making it the best first sweetcorn a baby could have. It’s a great toddler food, since you really only need the front teeth to eat it, and the cob can be gnawed on to no I’ll effect. She also liked the spicy garbanzo bean salad, the pool, and the metal music.
First hairs cut
Another milestone our baby book makes us note: 80’s first haircut.
Before:
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/wadsgreen/5878253230/”>
It wasn’t so much a haircut as a trimming of a few wispies in front of her eyes. I was hoping they’d grow long enough to sweep to the side (thus giving us the same haircut), but that never happened. They’re so thin and sparse that a barrette (which fits into the choking hazard category) slowly slides down her head.
After:
See how much more passive and docile she is with a haircut? It’s just like wild animals. Oh, you didn’t know that? Oh yeah, you just have to wrestle a fox down to the ground and give it a trim.
On diaper strike
Another milestone our baby book makes us note: 80’s first haircut.
Before:
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/wadsgreen/5878253230/”>
It wasn’t so much a haircut as a trimming of a few wispies in front of her eyes. I was hoping they’d grow long enough to sweep to the side (thus giving us the same haircut), but that never happened. They’re so thin and sparse that a barrette (which fits into the choking hazard category) slowly slides down her head.
After:
See how much more passive and docile she is with a haircut? It’s just like wild animals. Oh, you didn’t know that? Oh yeah, you just have to wrestle a fox down to the ground and give it a trim.
This is what I came upon when I got 80 up from her nap.
Reset
Last week was rough, and I took Mary and Laura’s offer (in the comments of the last post — reason enough to blog right there) to come down to Fairhaven and New Bedford to visit. There are no photos to commemorate the event, but it was a great day. Here’s 80, all dressed up in the romper my aunt Sharon made her*, before we got in the car.
We left at 9:30, and 80 napped in the car the whole way there. We met up with Laura for a walk to the library (my former workplace) and lunch at Elizabeth’s**. We talked birth and babies, as Laura is going to be giving birth in the next few weeks.
Then 80 and I drove to New Beige to visit Mary and her fabulous family. I’m not using superlatives lightly. Jason and I agree that Mary and KC are the best parents we know. We channel them when we are stuck on a parenting decision. I made several covert observations while I was there, for future use. If 80 turns out like any of her children, I’ll be delighted. Mary’s youngest and 80 are very close in age, and got to meet for the first time. They mostly did the year-old thing of playing around each other, but not really with each other. 80 napped while I hung out with the family and ate various delicious crackers.
80 and I drove home after her nap, which I was nervous about. She’s in a rear-facing carseat, and I was driving alone, so it’s a long hour if something is bothering her. At first she was kind of cranky, but after I started feeding her a steady stream of snacks, she was happy the whole way home.
We ate dinner, Jason came home, we played on the porch. 80 was in such a great mood, fun and funny and …
I can hear 80 right now, awake in her crib, and I hear velcro. She’s wearing just a diaper so you’ll have to excuse me.
*YES, THAT’S HOMEMADE. My aunt Sharon is a fabric whisperer.
**I had pesto and almond encrusted haddock, for you foodies.
OK, so the second year is just as hard.
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundaykofax/5867576336/”>
On top of everything else, I lost the post I wrote. Life is hard. 80’s sick, teething and changing her nap habits. It was rainy all week, and the library (my sanctuary) is closed on Thursdays.
Twinlike
Today is International Yarnbombing Day. I yarnbombed the corner of Concord and Donnell, in Cambridge MA.
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundaykofax/5825779404/”>
Here’s how it went down. I knit i-cord, and went outside to find someplace to yarnbomb.
I had been thinking of doing the usual i-cord-on-a-car-antenna, but saw this hedge with a single untrimmed twig sticking up.
Now it’s cozy.
This is just sometimes how our cat sits. I think she needs suspenders.
Two babies, one sippy cup. Yup, I said it.
Not propped
Today is International Yarnbombing Day. I yarnbombed the corner of Concord and Donnell, in Cambridge MA.
on Flickr” href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/sundaykofax/5825779404/”>
Here’s how it went down. I knit i-cord, and went outside to find someplace to yarnbomb.
I had been thinking of doing the usual i-cord-on-a-car-antenna, but saw this hedge with a single untrimmed twig sticking up.
Now it’s cozy.
This is just sometimes how our cat sits. I think she needs suspenders.