Although nights remain difficult--could we be working on more teeth already?--we've been having some great daytime adventures with the help of Althea's favorite baby accoutrement: the stroller!Going with the stroller started as something of a desperation move, based on Daddy's need to stagger outside with Althea each morning at 8:00 a.m., exposing her to sunlight in an attempt to reset her circadian thingummy. (Please don't ask if this is working... I have to believe it is.) It turns out Althea loves strolling around the neighborhood and especially the park, where she will even let Daddy take a few minutes to sip his "formula" out of a travel mug and read the Journal.
Bliss.
While hanging out at the park, we've taken in a story time children's theater performance, started enjoying the baby swings, and even dabbled in the wading pool. [Now there's a happy verb being put to its original use!] Althea loves splashing, of course, but her favorite activity is poolwalking, taking advantage of buoyancy to toddle a lot further than she can on dry land at this point. The pool is also an opportunity to show off her cute swimsuits!You can also see that Althea is enjoying Mommy time a lot more and not so dependent on being in Daddy's arms, except when meeting new people. (Maybe she just enjoys a higher vantage point.) It adds a lot of flexibility to our day, although now we've had some fussy moments when Mommy is off on an errand. But as Hagar the Horrible says, it's nice to be missed, even by a rock...
Every day we get to see a little more of Althea's personality. One of the new highlights is an extra dork laugh added to the original musical "ha ha ha" that would remind Generation Xers of Horschack or more recent folks of an unspecified Napoleon Dynamite character.
Thanks for all your love, prayers, and support--and thanks especially to the folks who have been bringing us home-cooked meals. You are so appreciated!
