Monday, September 04, 2006
How the time does fly
This is the Vermont faction checking in after a prolonged absence. It occurred to me that it has been about a month since I posted an entry other than a comment on this blog which my bro has so graciously shared with me. Initially I thought that I would be able to post wise and witty observations (a la my bro) in August. I should explain that Linda took the little one to California for most of August to introduce her to her west coast relatives. I had envisioned 3 weeks of leisure in which I could compose the aforementioned entries, and had even started a list of favorite books in that regard. Alas, it was not to be. Between crises at work (being without an assistant for the 4th time in a year) and projects at home (sanding and refinishing floors, building garden boxes, etc.) the blog time just never seemed to arrive. I am sure that that violates many rules of blogging.
In any case, for three weeks I went through newborn withdrawal, which was pretty bad. The fact that I got to sleep through the night for three weeks was not a consolation. Then Linda and Evelyn, who is 3 1/2 months old, came back and the change in the little one was simply amazing. In three short weeks she mastered holding her head up. A seemingly simple task but ever so important. Now she can follow things with her head as well as her eyes, and has learned to coordinate her head and eye movements (one of those simple things that I never even thought a lot about until I watched her do it). This skill of course makes it much easier to carry her around since we don't have to support her head anymore. We also get quite a kick noticing which parts of her environment catch her interest. She still loves looking at trees. And, of course, now that she can support her head it is a lot safer to play airplane with her, something she REALLY likes.
She has also learned to grab things with her fingers (but not her thumbs yet). This allowed her to actually play with toys. Of course, since she can't sit or crawl yet we have to bring the rattles, etc. to her but at least now she can grab them (and put them in her mouth of course). Prior to this time 'playing' with something pretty much involved Linda or I waving an item in front of her while she watched it. Her control of her little arms is still tenuous so grabbing something most often involves quite a few attempts before success is achieved.
It is so amazing watching her discover her abilities one by one. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything! Of course she still doesn't sleep through the night. A 3-4 hour stretch is considered a good night at this point, except for the first few nights back from CA when she didn't sleep for more than 90 minutes at a time for days. That was quite the challenge.
In any case, for three weeks I went through newborn withdrawal, which was pretty bad. The fact that I got to sleep through the night for three weeks was not a consolation. Then Linda and Evelyn, who is 3 1/2 months old, came back and the change in the little one was simply amazing. In three short weeks she mastered holding her head up. A seemingly simple task but ever so important. Now she can follow things with her head as well as her eyes, and has learned to coordinate her head and eye movements (one of those simple things that I never even thought a lot about until I watched her do it). This skill of course makes it much easier to carry her around since we don't have to support her head anymore. We also get quite a kick noticing which parts of her environment catch her interest. She still loves looking at trees. And, of course, now that she can support her head it is a lot safer to play airplane with her, something she REALLY likes.
She has also learned to grab things with her fingers (but not her thumbs yet). This allowed her to actually play with toys. Of course, since she can't sit or crawl yet we have to bring the rattles, etc. to her but at least now she can grab them (and put them in her mouth of course). Prior to this time 'playing' with something pretty much involved Linda or I waving an item in front of her while she watched it. Her control of her little arms is still tenuous so grabbing something most often involves quite a few attempts before success is achieved.
It is so amazing watching her discover her abilities one by one. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything! Of course she still doesn't sleep through the night. A 3-4 hour stretch is considered a good night at this point, except for the first few nights back from CA when she didn't sleep for more than 90 minutes at a time for days. That was quite the challenge.
Labels: Northern Bro
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