Random video

If you listen closely, you can hear Raffi in the background. Yep, Raffi.
More on music later.

e=mc(scam)

I remember one thing about guests shopping for kids' books at Target when I worked there way back when.
They either wanted a classic -- something like "Goodnight Moon" -- or they wanted the new and supposedly genius-producing book.
Well, I hope those seeking the latter have a receipt to go with their disappointment. Check this out.

Words to play by

Elise is well into the grab-anything-within-sight stage, so we're having to move plates, glasses, picture frames and other household items out of her reach.
She is particularly fond of reaching for the TV remote, the iPod and my cell phone.
In response, Anni came up with a good phrase, even if Elise does not understand it yet: "If it's black or gray, it's not for play."
Look around you and think about that for a moment; it makes perfect sense. In our house, that puts off-limits electronics and remotes, my camera, the phones and music equipment. Oh, and the black-handled Wusthof knives in the kitchen.
Yeah, I would say that's a good policy.

Old tradition, new additions

We made it a tradition: Anni and I would head out to the orchard each fall for apples -- and so Anni could tell stories of when she had worked at the orchard years earlier.
Several years passed and then we started inviting our pals Dan and Erin to wander with us among Regents and Cortlands. It always was a good time for the foursome, and I would get my share of apples, apple donuts and cider.
And then there were five.
Last year was Dan and Erin's daughter Avery's first apple expedition. Again, a good trip, and I got my fill of cider and donuts.
Now, there are six.
Today was the annual orchard trek. Considering that last weekend the ground was covered in snow and it was sleeting just a couple of days ago, today's highs in the upper 50s, sunshine and a breeze made for stellar conditions. The apples and donuts weren't bad either.
Elise would concur -- about the apples, at least. It was her first apple trip with Dan, Erin and Avery, and she spent most of the orchard visit gummin' a juicy Haralson.
The '09 expedition highlights:

Elise does not give up easily.

Camera flare from the sun. Darghh!

Four at six

Here are our favorites from Elise's requisite six-month photos.
OK, so technically they are seven-month shots -- by a day or two -- but the first attempt at home-studio photography didn't go well, so a second was needed. Why not do the second right after the first? Well, you have to wait for a seemingly impossible pairing: good natural lighting and a happy baby. She was quite happy -- until this photo shoot got old, as you'll see.
(A quick note: I'd be remiss if I didn't thank Maxine for the pumpkin hat. It's getting lots of use.)

Back to Old English -- and not the polish

A brief departure from normal blog topics:

One of the many anecdotes sure to be included in my yet-to-be-written-but-always-threatened childhood memoir is what my Dad would say when Bryan and I were verbally lazy and slangy: "English is such a wonderful language. Why don't you use it?"
I thought of that tonight after Anni strongly suggested that I drop the occasional use of lazy English on the blog, even if it's conversational and used for a certain effect.
"It belittles everything else you do on there," Anni said, protesting my recent use of the word "'cuz," among other grammatical nightmares.
Anyway, her point was well taken. In fact, I always thought of this as your go-to site for highbrow, scholarly passages. Consider, if you will, this literary gem from an entry about Elise's bath a few months ago:

Everything was going swimmingly -- until someone had a bowel movement in her bath chair. I told Anni that we're definitely parents now when we have an exchange like this:
"There's crap all over the bathtub," I said while cleaning the tub.
"Well, it's one less diaper to change," she said.

Highbrow, indeed. Now back to writing about the baby.

In one ear...

The photo does not suggest it, but for the past four days we have been caring for Captain Crankypants.
Elise just has been acting out of sorts. Happy one minute, unusually fussy the next. Content to play by herself if you tell her you're walking across the room, but royally peeved if you just get up and walk across the room. Drinks a bottle of formula, then insists on turning the bottle into a chew toy. Asleep for a few hours at night, then awake and screaming.
So at the clinic's urging, off we went Monday for a visit with Elise's pediatrician, who Anni and I are growing quite fond of for her compassionate-without-the-frills approach.
The doc stuck the otoscope into Elise's right ear, then into the left ear.
"Well, her left ear looks fine. Her right ear doesn't look fine," she said.
You guessed it. She's got her first ear infection, or otitus media for all of you who dig medical terms. That, of course, explains her rough past few days.
The doc prescribed an antibiotic -- the ubiquitous amoxicillin -- and sent us on our way.
However, no trip to the clinic would be complete without a stop on the baby scale. At seven months, she is 18 lbs.
What's the mean, 18 lbs? Well, one way to look at it is she now weighs more than the heaviest ball allowed in regulation bowling. Huh.

They're posted because I like them

A sign of intelligence and...

The other day Elise figured out how to open the door to the entertainment cabinet. (Those Swedes at Ikea can give you mediocre furniture at a reasonable price, but don't expect it to come with child-proof devices.)
It was interesting to watch as she tried to pull open the glass door.


Then you second-guess that sign of intelligence, if only for a moment, when all she wants to do is play suction cup with the window.


Just stay away from stop sign poles in the winter, kid.

Silverware? Nah, I got pincers

There are certain obvious developmental benchmarks you watch for in kids. Even the oblivious notice them: Rolling over; sleeping through the night; teething; making sounds with the mouth other than burps; and crawling.
You know, the major stuff.
Well, there is another important developmental accomplishment. And by important I mean that, well, you kinda need this skill: picking up stuff with your fingers, namely food.
I fully admit that this was not on my list of things to look forward to Elise learning. It's not that I wanted her to go into childhood sans dexterity; it just never dawned on me that finger coordination is a learned skill.
Well, it is, and Elise is catching on.
She's getting pretty good at using those little pincers. She gets practice each day when, after her evening feeding, she gets a small handful of Cheerio-like puffed grain snacks. Yeah, I know, they sound horribly bland, but they're flavored and really quite tasty. Well, that's overselling, but they're not bad.
Anyway, it took her some time to figure out that when Mom and Dad are not going to shovel food in the mouth, maybe the thumb and index finger do the trick and make quick work of those puffed morsels.
I'm ready for the next developmental feat: eating real food with the hands. Maybe that will mean graduating from puffed grain snacks to a bucket of wings.

She's just so tactful

The other day we were marveling at one of Elise's new tricks (maybe it was turning on the light switch from her changing table, or maybe it was opening the entertainment center door) when Anni asked me the following -- with a straight face:
"Think of how much she has learned in just seven months. I mean, what have you learned in the last seven months?"
Huh. Good question.

And....we're back

Our computer situation is not entirely squared away, but clearly I have Internet access now, so it's time to update the blog.

An observation about this bottom photo: My hair suggests I shouldn't take photos right after I wake up -- yikes. Good thing your eyes are drawn to the little creature trying to crawl up my back.