Very, very busy.
But life is very, very good.
New:
1. Loves to stand up every chance she gets.
2.Difficult to tell yet whether she'll be a true lefty or not. Becca and I are crossing our fingers, just hoping we have a southpaw on our hands. When I say we, I mean me. Apparently Magsley's buddy Dylan, senior by over a year, is showing signs of favoritism with the left hand. I'm just hoping it will rub off on her. We can all hope. And pray.
3. I have been trying my whole life to be a lefty. I secretly wanted to break my right arm when I was younger, like Bob Cousy, so I would be forced to use only my left. Unfortunately I was a little too cowardly to ever break it intentionally, and (also unfortunately) I never had it happen by accident either. So here I am, pretty much a southpaw in a rightie's body.
4. As of last week, Magdelana has figured out how to jam her fist into her mouth. Answer to everybody's question: BOTH fists. Which means she's probably ambidextrous.
YES! I knew it.
Becca's 28th.
A lovely evening, capped with Jamey's surprise return from Germany.
September. A very busy month. Celebrated our fifth anniversary a few days ago. Hiked Beacon Rock with the little red big-cheeked bug.
Loves to wobble on her feet. Very anxious to be moving independently of her parents. Fortunately, genetics should prevent her from being mobile for a few more months. Still quite the fan of drooling, smiling, and tooting.
Every week's a little more fun.
Listening:
Herb Alpert
Mates of State
Jimmy Eat World
Becca's first full day back to work. M and I strapping it on our own for a bit. Actually, she's zonked in her seat next to me, so I actually am getting some work done.
Two months + two days old.
New:
1. Got three shots yesterday. Becca and I couldn't watch. Feels like betrayal. Would have almost been better if she screamed. Instead, she just sobbed. There's no conscious long-term memory at this age. Right?
2. 11 pounds, 7 oz. Puts her in the 75th percentile for weight. No idea whether it's something to brag about or not but it's great to see her filling out.
Very cute.
3. Lifting and keeping her head up for 10-15 seconds. Gets very frustrated with herself, and at whoever is watching, at not being able to stay up longer.
Quite cute.
4. Talking. A lot. And drooling. A lot. I will be very sad when she stops slobbering all over everything, including my clean polos. I'm all for crushing social stigma boundaries but I suppose we'll have to let her rediscover drooling on her own, later on in life, if she so desires.
So cute.
5. Has the most Cleopatra-like poses. Arms crossed, tucked under her chin, or dainty little digits pointing askew like Ms. Hepburn taking tea. Regalness personified. Like she's in a permanent photo-shoot and can't decide whether she wants to be Confucius or Cheryl Tiegs.
Utterly cute.
Listening:
1. Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat
2. David Bowie
3. Jack Johnson Curious George sndtrk
4. Jessie Sykes Like, Love, Lust & The Open Halls of the Soul
5. Vive Voce
Girl knows how to work a diaper. Model of cinematic efficiency. Filled with the playing-it-straight facial expressiveness of Charlie Chaplin and scored by the quiet thunders of a squeaky freight train aurally colliding with a cute little tenor foghorn. Wants it changed in the next ten seconds or there will be shrieking involved. Shrieking that is heartbreaking yet comical in its complete intensity and earnestness. Does not like wet or soiled diapers, to use the most euphemistic term possible. Apparently a certain brother-in-law of mine once enjoyed the warmth that full diapers provided and would become quite irate when clean fresh ones were forced upon him.
Not Magdelana. She wants hers clean and she wants them that way ten minutes ago.
Donald Jr. made the comment that "Trumps don't do diapers."
Aside from the fact that he's an idiot for at least 23 other reasons, I would like to comment that it's sad. Sad that he's missing out on a great opportunity to be a cool dude to his kid. Cool in the way that MacArthur must have felt returning to the Phillipines.
He got to do that only once. Unless Maggie is an aberration, a two-month old provides many diaper-changing opportunities over the course of a day. And night. And the sloppy grin she reciprocates for a clean diaper is completely worth it.
A lot of things in life are complicated. Changing my daughter's diaper is not. I get to be a very cool dude in her eyes for doing something amazingly simple. She may not ever consciously remember, but somewhere seeping into her memory bank has to be the recognition that her dad is the funny-haired guy making her life better. I'd be an idiot not to seize that bonding opportunity. Smelly, pungent, visually disgusting? Sure. But in a moment of brutal self-assessment let's just say I don't always have the most beautific odor either.
Listening:
Man From Snowy River Soundtrack
Cat Stevens Teaser and the Firecat
Sondre Lerche Faces Down
Luna Romantica
