Friday, October 30, 2009
Clara @ 4 Months
Clara is 4 months old today. She continues to amaze us in the growth department, measuring in the 99th percentile for height. Her favorite activities are having long early morning conversations with herself, dancing to Sharon, Lois and Bram and putting everything within reach into her mouth. She (and her mother) survived their first two (partial) days of separation this week, and she loved spending her days with cousin Elliot, who she studies with rapt fascination. She is well prepared for the fast approaching Boston winter thanks to Anja, our friend Amy and her father, who have supplied her with a variety of fashionable hats.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Family Resemblance?
Katie thinks that Clara has inherited my dashing good looks - when we visited my grandparents in Pennsylvania, we found some baby pictures of me that allowed us to make an accurate comparison. It's up to you: what do you think?
Since we scanned some of these baby pictures, here's an image of me at 2 months practicing the sideways smile that has served me well as a prelude to mischief...
Chris at 5 months
Clara at 4 months
Let's hope that the logical progression, given these pictures, does not come to pass (this picture of my head has been chosen for maximum beauty):
Since we scanned some of these baby pictures, here's an image of me at 2 months practicing the sideways smile that has served me well as a prelude to mischief...
Thursday, October 22, 2009
A Vacationlet.
Clara, Katie, and I took a minivacation to the lands on either side of the Mason-Dixon line over the course of this past weekend. While we didn't see any mechanical ducks on our visit, we did have the fortune to visit my grandparents and some of our friends who have migrated South with our feathered friends towards (slightly) warmer locales. During our journeys on the road southward, we also encountered not a few snowflakes; I discovered, much to my chagrin, that it is difficult to satisfy indignant feelings toward such injustices as snow-in-October while traveling on the highway, and the best that I could do is call my mom and complain. Thank heavens for mothers (and cell phones).
Clara was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a whole host of new people who love and care for her from afar, including:
my grandmother Arlene, who was amazed at Clara's training to seek after a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Fingers Simultaneously in Mouth",
my aunt Mary, who taught her how to imitate the effect of drinking a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew,
Katie's law school friend Leslie, who taunted her with a delicious cream cheese pecan pie which must have been conjured, rather than made (actually, it was I who did the taunting while eating said pie),
our friends Sonya and Jeff and their daughter Rebecca, who is cute as a button, has enough energy to put the Energizer Bunny to shame, and sweetly shared her toys with our little drooly (sp?) munchkin,
and my grandpa Redding, who over the course of his 87 years has actually figured out how to tell jokes to his 4 month old great-grandchildren.
We also were able to visit our friends Jared and Amy in Baltimore and got a chance to see their gorgeous new townhouse in Baltimore and meet the even gorgouser Sylvie Pearl, who is just a few months older than Clara but already is a barrel of laughs and smiles, visit the Mutter medical museum in Philadelphia and marvel at the many icky things that can be (and are) stored in specimen jars, and visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the adjoining new (to me) park space so that Katie could see where the Constitution that she defends in so stalwart a manner was written.
Clara was fortunate enough to get acquainted with a whole host of new people who love and care for her from afar, including:
my grandmother Arlene, who was amazed at Clara's training to seek after a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Fingers Simultaneously in Mouth",
my aunt Mary, who taught her how to imitate the effect of drinking a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew,
Katie's law school friend Leslie, who taunted her with a delicious cream cheese pecan pie which must have been conjured, rather than made (actually, it was I who did the taunting while eating said pie),
our friends Sonya and Jeff and their daughter Rebecca, who is cute as a button, has enough energy to put the Energizer Bunny to shame, and sweetly shared her toys with our little drooly (sp?) munchkin,
and my grandpa Redding, who over the course of his 87 years has actually figured out how to tell jokes to his 4 month old great-grandchildren.
We also were able to visit our friends Jared and Amy in Baltimore and got a chance to see their gorgeous new townhouse in Baltimore and meet the even gorgouser Sylvie Pearl, who is just a few months older than Clara but already is a barrel of laughs and smiles, visit the Mutter medical museum in Philadelphia and marvel at the many icky things that can be (and are) stored in specimen jars, and visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the adjoining new (to me) park space so that Katie could see where the Constitution that she defends in so stalwart a manner was written.
It was a fun trip and wonderful to reconnect with so many friends and family that we don't get to see as often as we would like. As with most good vacations, we were a little worn out at the end, but it's a good worn out.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Little Miss Pumpkin.
Despite the rain and muddy ground, the annual MIT glass pumpkin patch was held this weekend - if you've never seen it, all of the most cultured and famous pumpkin connoisseurs come from miles around to throw their money at inanimate glass pumpkins. So we figured that if we brought an animate pumpkin (albeit non-glass), maybe we could get them to throw some money at her as well.
In this picture, you can see Clara simultaneously modeling for her well-wishers and communing with others of her kind. She actually flew in for this event on her magic bubble-wrap carpet.
Contemplative hand-munching.
Clara had the bright idea that pumpkins might actually taste good, and decided to have a bite of the one that she was sitting in. We tried to explain that this was a well-established tradition, of a sort, but she couldn't wait for the Thanksgiving meal to test her theories out.
On a separate note, I continually marvel at the wealth of baby paraphernalia that exists for purposes and occasions that are so fleeting as to almost never happen at all. That being said, however, these trinkets sure are useful during that passing microsecond of appropriateness. This week's trinket was a nifty thing called a Bumbo - while that would be the perfect name for a punk band that covered Disney songs, it is also a little seat that helps Clara to remain upright while bobbing around and practicing the fine art of muscle control. It appears to be very comfortable and snug, and Clara very much likes hanging out in it; I'm currently looking for one that fits a size 32 waist.
After one rides the Bumbo for too long, however, the soporific and bumborific effects start to take their toll. As might be clear from this picture, Clara had a difficult time walking in a straight line after her stint in the Bumbo. Actually, she had a tough time walking at all, but hopefully she'll get her Bumbo legs before too long.
In this picture, you can see Clara simultaneously modeling for her well-wishers and communing with others of her kind. She actually flew in for this event on her magic bubble-wrap carpet.
Contemplative hand-munching.
Clara had the bright idea that pumpkins might actually taste good, and decided to have a bite of the one that she was sitting in. We tried to explain that this was a well-established tradition, of a sort, but she couldn't wait for the Thanksgiving meal to test her theories out.
On a separate note, I continually marvel at the wealth of baby paraphernalia that exists for purposes and occasions that are so fleeting as to almost never happen at all. That being said, however, these trinkets sure are useful during that passing microsecond of appropriateness. This week's trinket was a nifty thing called a Bumbo - while that would be the perfect name for a punk band that covered Disney songs, it is also a little seat that helps Clara to remain upright while bobbing around and practicing the fine art of muscle control. It appears to be very comfortable and snug, and Clara very much likes hanging out in it; I'm currently looking for one that fits a size 32 waist.
After one rides the Bumbo for too long, however, the soporific and bumborific effects start to take their toll. As might be clear from this picture, Clara had a difficult time walking in a straight line after her stint in the Bumbo. Actually, she had a tough time walking at all, but hopefully she'll get her Bumbo legs before too long.
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