Archive | August, 2011

sitting up. sorta.

August 30, 2011 at 11:17 pm

I just discovered the sweetest website with handmade toys and clothes for children. And everything is “knitted by hand”! Am I more amazed by the fact that they can charge $48 for a toy or that they are only charging $48 for such intricate knitting? Can’t decide. But I do love these dolls!

Anyway, back to our own hand-knit doll baby: Lena. (See Psalm 139:13) Slowly but surely, she’s getting this sitting up business. Lunchtime today, for example. Things often begin well with Lena sitting up cute as can be:

And then the forward tilt begins. She can prop herself up on her arms for a minute.

She achieves her goal! Toy in mouth. Hands are otherwise occupied.

Ohhh and then we crash. Soft landing on Mommy. Pick ourselves up and try again!

4 :: in arts and crafts, Lena

sitting up. sorta.

August 30, 2011 at 10:17 pm

And then the forward tilt begins. She can prop herself up on her arms for a minute.

She achieves her goal! Toy in mouth. Hands are otherwise occupied.

Ohhh and then we crash. Soft landing on Mommy. Pick ourselves up and try again!

4 :: in arts and crafts, Lena

feet

August 30, 2011 at 2:09 pm

Lena’s growing and changing so quickly I can hardly keep up with recording it on time, either here or to family or in my journal. She’s already learning to sit up… perhaps there’ll be a blog post about that later today. Last night while I was helping my little baby learn to sit up I commented to Elliott that it makes me a little sad to see her doing it. She’s growing up!

But anyway, Lena’s not obsessed with sitting up. Not yet. Right now her obsession is her feet. She can reach them. And they taste good. Mmmm…

I took this series of photos while we were hanging out on base recently.

“Hey Lena, can you show us how you can grab your feet? Happy baby pose?”

“Okay, if you’d like to see. First I reeeeach…”

“… and then grab. Let me get organized here… hmmm…”

“… and then I stretch out like this. Hey, some cool kids are walking by, lemme just check them out for a sec…”

“Lena! Earth to Lena!”
“Huh?”

“Oh yeah, hi you! I remember you! You’re the one with the milk!”

“So yeah, my foot trick… aww, you know, you’re so great, I just love you.”

3 :: in Lena, motherhood

feet

August 30, 2011 at 1:09 pm

But anyway, Lena’s not obsessed with sitting up. Not yet. Right now her obsession is her feet. She can reach them. And they taste good. Mmmm…

I took this series of photos while we were hanging out on base recently.

“Hey Lena, can you show us how you can grab your feet? Happy baby pose?”

“Okay, if you’d like to see. First I reeeeach…”

“… and then grab. Let me get organized here… hmmm…”

“… and then I stretch out like this. Hey, some cool kids are walking by, lemme just check them out for a sec…”

“Lena! Earth to Lena!”
“Huh?”

“Oh yeah, hi you! I remember you! You’re the one with the milk!”

“So yeah, my foot trick… aww, you know, you’re so great, I just love you.”

3 :: in Lena, motherhood

Baby goes to Vicenza

August 29, 2011 at 9:42 am

(I am in love with this picture. And this baby girl!)

This week Elliott has a training course in Vicenza, Italy. Vicenza a beautiful city nestled between Venice and Verona:

Just outside Vicenza is a large U.S. Army base, and that’s where we are for the week. Elliott has an annual training course for the Public Health Command (which includes the Veterinary Corps).

Lena and I have a few different things to keep us occupied:

a great hotel suite
internet in our room (don’t have that in our temporary housing in Sicily!)
more of War and Peace and Good Night Moon
a bit of exploring

We’ll be here at this training course until Friday morning. At that point we’re relocating to a studio apartment in Venice, where we’ll spend a long weekend.

We caught glimpses of Venice from the airplane window yesterday. Wow. Venice has always been a watery, magical mystery in my mind. Are all the roads really canals? How does all that architecture stay up? Is it a murky place of mossy stone steps and quiet alleyways reminiscent of Vivaldi “Summer” concertos or is it hot and overcrowded with chubby tourists?

Soon I’ll know the answers to these questions, but until then, the glimpses of glistening waterways and piercing spires, a shadow in the bright morning sun against a sparkling Adriatic, will keep me dreaming.