Lucy and the dog

Here is one of the cute photos M mentioned: Lucy and her friend Simon. They seem quite fond of one another: he makes her laugh, she provides copious amounts of spilled food. They share common interests such as a blue stuffed octopus toy & a plush red ball with a squeaker inside.

This is AWESOME

Perfect for breaks in between writing this tedious document and the next one on the to-do list...you get to play with words (one of my favorite things to do) and also help companies make food donations through the UN's World Hunger Program. Free Rice -- it's so cool. "Desquamate" means "peel off," I've learned. I'm always a little suspect of the "click here and a donation will be made" websites, but this seems -- to my untrained and wanting-it-to-be-true eyes -- to be real. Got it from Lauren at Cheers Y'All, by the way.

Lucy was a happy happy baby this weekend; we got great smiling and laughing photos. I'll post soon. Until then, play.

Hot blooded, check it and see!

Got a fever of one hundred and three!

In the car today this song came on the radio, do you know it? I have very few distinct memories of my childhood, but there is one that is firmly associated with this song.

I'm a big big reader, always have been. When I was a kid -- and I have no idea how old I was, but that song was on the radio, so what is that? 1978? 1979? That makes me 8- or 9-ish -- I had to go to bed, but I would read after my parents shut the door ...with a flashlight? That seems like such a cliche; I'm not sure I didn't invent that detail. Anyway, I remember that the song was on the radio, and I went over to my bookshelves to get a book. The bookshelves were a hutch on top of my dresser, overstuffed with books, and this was apparently in the days before earthquake-proofing by strapping furniture to walls. The book I choose was wedged in there pretty tight, so I started yanking on it to pull it out but it was SO tightly wedged that the whole hutch started toppling forward. It kept on tipping and tipping, and as it did books started falling down on my head and I was (unsuccessfully) trying to keep it upright, but I couldn't call for my parents because they'd be mad.

So that's one of my few childhood memories -- books raining down on me, "Hot Blooded" on the radio.

I've been in a young adult book phase, re-reading some of my favorites. Do you know "The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler?" "A Wrinkle in Time," of course, and all the L'Engle books? Recently one of my favorite bloggers, Julia, has been put on bedrest awaiting the birth of her twins, and she asked her (thousands) of readers for book recommendations. I was so friggin' excited! A book list, made of books recommended for a writer who I enjoy so very very much -- it's like a birthday gift for me. I've been working my way through her comments with my Amazon wishlist open in another window, building building building my future bedside table stack. If any of you want to share the joy, here's her post. A lot of people recommended the Amber Spyglass series; I've never read those. Good? They're on my Amazon list now.

Goofball

This is Lucy's turtle-face; you've seen it before. I think her mouth looks just like a snapping turtle. She makes it often; most frequently when she's upside-down. And she's often upside-down; this girl loves to fling herself backwards like she is in this photo -- adorable, when we're holding her and prepared. Less adorable when she's just sitting on the ground and thumps her little noggin on the hard floor.

Just felt the need to explain that, because while it may look like she's terrified in this picture, in fact she's having a blast.

Know what's all of the sudden not so fun, though? Riding in the car. Crap! She used to be great with car rides, but now, for the past week, she cries. What's up with that? Music doesn't help...me wrenching my arm around to pop cereal in her mouth as I drive does, but: ouch! And also: dangerous! Any ideas? I hate it.

Cavities

So my goofy friend Debbra recently bragged about the joys of a sweet dog and caramel corn and I, in an apparently whiny and pitiful comment, bemoaned the dearth of caramel corn in my life.

Yesterday when I got back to my desk from an afternoon meeting, I found this (you can't tell from the photo, but it's about 700 pounds' worth). Dentists of Oregon, be prepared. I'll be calling soon.

13

Happy 13-month birthday, little lovebug. It's been a great month. You're so friggin' happy almost all the time! You've hit a few more developmental milestones this month, the best and worst of which is mobility. You do this incredibly funny belly-scoot, as if you're working your way through a minefield under barbed wire fencing -- our little trooper. More things you do:

• 1-2-3-up! Love that game -- you sit, I hold your hands, I say "1-2-3-up!" and you smile a wide wide smile and hoist yourself to standing. So fun.
  
• That might be your first word, too. You say something that sounds deliberately like "up." Not sure, though.
  
• You clap so much better with your feet than with your hands -- seriously, you can make your feet meet every time, but your hands just flail around madly most of the time. But: just a few weeks ago, you got the hang of clapping with your hands, too -- usually after we roll the big green ball successfully back and forth to each other. Yay!
  
• You love to watch your dad dance -- you think it's the funniest thing ever (and empiracly speaking, you're right -- he looks like a huge geek, and you love it!).
  
• Self esteem not an issue for you, beautiful chicklet. You still love yourself -- when you see your reflection in a mirror, you giggle and flirt with yourself and if you're close enough, you make out with your reflection like ... well, like a 16-year-old version of yourself after a high-school dance, but let's not think about that right now. Here's proof (whoops. looks like I posted that video from youtube in a different blog entry. You've got smart readers, though, LittleLu -- I bet they'll figure it out.)
  
• I'm pretty sure you know what a book is. When I ask if you want to read one, you look right to the nearest and reach for it. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.
• You're good at sharing -- when we play with our buddy Frances, you let her take toys (or food -- even when it's stuck to your face, you let her grab it off) and don't fuss. Good thing -- Frances is kinda scary sometimes! And we love her.
  

Again and again and again, I love you, baby. You're the best.

Lucy still so vain

The Frankenstein lurch

So we have a bet: I think she's going to be "walking" within the next three weeks; Matthew thinks...well, not soon. We've got $10 riding on it, so come on, Kid -- get those feet going! (Although it's not a big deal, since I'm winning our $10 "hair-will-darken-no-it-won't" bet.) Right now, she has many "walk" steps...good normal ones -- the ones that made me willing to risk my hard-earned cash on her -- but then also crazy Frankenstein stiff, lurchy, mostly-sideways steps. And, when she really wants to get where she's going, she makes the cutest tiny-but-fast steps that make me laugh every time.

In other news:

• Dog-n-fiction lovers: I read a great book that I really enjoyed called "Walking in Circles Before Laying Down" -- very funny and oddly moving (and light -- an easy read).
• I really need a haircut.
• A lot of you have asked where I get the Kid's very cute clothes. A lot of them are hand-me-downs, but I also like Black Wagon, or The Retro Baby, or Grow, or Etsy, my favorite for handmade cool stuff.
• My favorite kids' book of late (she won't like it for quite some time, but I love it and really, that's pretty important, right?): Never Tease a Weasel. My favorite rhyme: "You can make a turkey perky in a pair of high-heeled shoes."
• Fun with Matthew's Mac's PhotoBooth function: