what a babe!

object of affection

four monthday

Greta at four months: what a charmer.

(Jen here). Four months is my all time favorite age and life does not get any better than baby Margaret at four months! Though she hasn't established a good sleep routine yet (She's a terrible napper, but she's great at night, always giving me at least one 6-hour stretch, so I shouldn't even be complaining...), she's easy to put down for bed or naps and always exceptionally cheerful when she wakes up. She is so smiley these days and laughs when being kissed or tickled (and occasionally, she will laugh at the antics of her siblings, which they think is the greatest). She is getting good at grabbing toys and passing them from hand to hand. She's a good nurser and toped the scales at 14 pounds when we went in for her check-up. She's rolled over a few times, but isn't a pro yet. It goes without saying that we are all madly in love with her.

quartet

Mr. Tact

Casper: Mama, you almost look like you're not pregnant anymore!

C, being handed a shirt with a "9" on the front: This shirt has a "6" on it!
Mama: Actually, bud, that's a "9."
Casper: Yeah . . . sixes are pretty complicated.

C: My blood sugar's low. It's all the way down to my fingernails.

duo

These two remain the best of friends. Linus is forever asking to hold his baby sister, and she gets nearly as excited to see him as she does her Mama. (I'm not sure I'm even in the running.) I can't wait to see their interactions as she grows older.

resting

homecoming

During the drive up to Dallas, we happened upon the best rest area I've ever visited -- a large new building with amenities for travelers (including charming bathrooms) and a wonderful play area. It was just what we'd needed, since Greta was getting tired of being in her seat, and even our audiobook of The Dark is Rising (though well received) was not keeping all the children focused. Unfortunately, our timing wasn't the same on the drive back, and we had to stop at a smaller area, essentially a narrow strip of grass and trees (and this lovely woodpile). But we make our own fun, as you can see -- and after getting Margaret cleaned up and fed, we were ready to get back on the road.

presenting . . .

I was recently invited to give a presentation to a group of librarians (preservation administrators and conservators, mainly) about aspects of my library's exhibitions program, which I oversee. I generally do not attend the winter conference of this large library organization, but since the meeting was being held in Dallas, we decided to drive up to spend time with family and so that I could give my talk. The slideshow and discussion went well; I was able to meet some very interesting people, including a famous bookbinder whose structures I've made. A good time was had by all.

sport sensation

Leave it to Gwennie and Linus to come up with a new game to entertain themselves. But pigsurfing? (For the sake of family history, they not only came up with the game, but with the name.)

the Dallas tree

cutup

Casper, after hitting his fingers on the door frame: Daddy, you shouldn't have had that doorway there!

Casper asks for "Hot Pudge Sauce."

Casper: I get to stay up until bedtime!
[He's always getting away with something, that Casper.]

looker

Linus, looking at Greta: She's such a little looker.
Daddy: What does that mean, Linus?
Gwendolyn: It means she hardly ever closes her eyes.

four months' comparison

As with each of our other children, one of the most frequent comments about Margaret we've heard from friends -- and strangers, come to that -- is which of her parents our new baby favors. People seem have very different opinions about whether she looks more like her mother or her father, and so when we turned up some great pictures of each of us, we decided to post them here so that everyone could decide for themselves. Not that we're entirely sure that it matters, but if nothing else, it may become an engaging parlor game.

move games

The big gift that Santa brought our family at Christmas was a new PlayStation 3, with the accompanying action controller. They kids also got a game called Sports Champions which contains a number of activities -- volleyball, ping pong, swordfighting, disc golf, bocce. They've all taken to it, and have branched out from their initial interest in the swordplay to some of the other games. It's great to watch them, but Casper may be the best to see in action. In fact, the real entertainment is watching his face as he plays. Take a look.

trio

This was the picture I was most afraid I'd lost when I thought the past month's data was gone.

a little short for a storm trooper

And, of course, Gwennie went all out for her Princess Leia costume. We couldn't find a Death Star prison cell backdrop for her, so we had to settle for the side of the house.

didn't we just leave this party?

This is Casper's self-designed Han Solo costume. It's more about attitude than verisimilitude, though he did get into the spirit by wearing the shirt inside-out. That's a tinker toy laser pistol in his hand, by the way.

tashi station, power converters

Because of Grandma's gift of the original Star Wars films during her visit, the children have been integrating the major characters into their play more and more lately. They've been creating their own storyline based on the next generation of heroes (Han Jr., Luke Jr., and even Leia Jr.) When we saw them playing recently, each of them had designed a costume -- including Linus's recreation of Luke's desert tunic, which he produced with two of my white t-shirts, worn backward and through only one arm.

eating and living

Sometime before the end of the year, Jen read a book called Eat to Live which had been recommended to her. She was very impressed with this thoroughly-researched book about nutrition and health, and asked me to read it as well. When I did, I found that it challenged many of my preconceptions and givens about how and why we eat. Essentially, it argues that the typical Western diet is calorically rich and nutrient poor, and that a healthful diet should invert this formula. (In practice, what this means is that we should center our eating on plant-based foods and should limit meat consumption, processed foods, etc.) We've decided to follow the book's challenge for a six-week "detox," in which we'll be eating a pretty hardcore vegan diet (though I prefer to call our status "herbivorous"). We will report on the results of our experiment.

the boss of me

Gwennie: Will I be a grownup when Greta's three?
Mama: No.
Gwennie: [grimacing in frustration]
M: What's wrong?
G: I want to be able to boss someone around!
Linus: She does that all day long!

turkey

A conversation overheard a few days ago, regarding our Christmas dinner:

Linus: Why do people eat turkeys?
Mama: Well, people raise them to eat them.
Linus: So, they raise them and then kill them?
Mama: Yes.
Linus: . . . . I love that turkey! Can I have some more?

tummy time

at the park

While we were running around the park a couple of days ago, Grandpa made this lively painting of the children on the play structure. The children were excited to pose for him, and it's certainly clear which figure represents which grandchild.

departures

Saying goodbye was sad for each of us, but it had come time to see Grandma and Grandpa off. The children and I drove them to Austin (while Jen and Margaret stayed home) so that they could spend the afternoon with Larry Thompson before heading to the airport. As always, it was a wonderful, memorable time. We're working on other schemes to get them back quickly.

little sneak

pine pile (top view)

pine pile (side view)

Casper, bringing a signed drawing to Grandma:
G: "Oh, it's wonderful. May I have this?"
C: "It's 68.70."
G: "Dollars? I don't have that much. Gwennie gave me some drawings for just one cent. How about twenty-five cents?"
C: "No. One hundred times that."
G: "Oh, that's $25. I don't think I have so many dollars."