lewis and clark

Never mind that it has been a few months since my last post. I figured you would all rather see us than read about us, and we had a lovely time seeing many of you on our Utah trip. So much has happened for Eole in the meantime, and I’m glad many of you got to witness it. I felt like Eole really leaped forward (and not just with that worm crawl) in her progress while in Utah. Here are some highlights: As far as her motor skills, little Oca mastered what it has taken mommy 30 years to master: yoga plank position and down-ward dog. This was a really big step in what I hope (only sorta because I don’t own any baby gates yet) will be real crawling. Papa Dave taught Eole how to waive within a day of our arrival. Eole also daily demonstrated her pincher (pointer finger and thumb grasp) abilities. We saw so much of these little exploratory digits going out for adventures that Nana Anne named them Lewis and Clark.

the horseman known as Zorro

Do you know what I like about my husband? Many things. Here is one in particular: the really strange way out there never heard of before movies that he loves and makes me watch. I'll admit, I fall asleep mid-way through most. But he recently introduced me to a gem, Zorro: The Gay Blade. If you have never heard of this before, don't feel bad as it took Netflix three months to ship it to us. This is the fantastic tale of Don Diego's twin sons taking up their deceased father's mask of Zorro. One son sticks with the traditional black costume while the other- how shall we say- more flamboyant son goes with plum, avocado and gold colored costumes replete with feathers and beads. "Two pence, four pence, six pence, a peso. All for Zorro stand up and say so!"

World Traveler

Apologies for our lack of blogging in the past month! As many of you know, we went to England with Grandma Janet and Grandpa Ed in April. We would never bore you with all the delightful details, but want to share some highlights from our trip:

Eole and Daddy loved standing on the Prime Meridian line at Greenwich. Mommy took Daddy and Eole to one of her favorite places: the Peter Pan Statue in Hyde Park. However, Mommy and Daddy took precautions to hold on tight to Eole's stroller and to NOT talk about all the grand things she would become when she grows up so that she wouldn't run away with the fairies to Never, Never Land. Mommy and Daddy loved all the tasty pub food, even though some of it even resembled Eole's mushy peas. Speaking of peas, we took a break from the commotion of the city to rest on the grass of Kensington Gardens. Eole was enjoying some mushy peas when a curious golden retriever came trotting up and licked the pea mush off her face. While Eole thought this whole affair terrifying, Mommy and Daddy had a good laugh. Mommy took Eole and Daddy to Hamleys, the greatest toy store on earth. Daddy may have even
had more fun in the toy store than Eole. And finally, we mustn't leave out the episode where our baby girl showed a new skill. We were riding on the busy tube line at rush hour with Eole sitting on Daddy's lap. Daddy was busy talking with Mommy, and so neither one noticed when Eole reached her little fingers into the pocket of a man standing nearby. The man, believing that he was being pick-pocketed (as indeed he was) whirled around to confront his tiny nemesis and we all started
laughing when we saw the guilty Eole with a fist full of papers from the man's pocket. All in all, we had a delightful time.

not abandoned...

I realize that the last few pictures and video clips have all featured Eole on the playmat. In case you think I carelessly abandon my baby to live out her days on the mat, I have posted the below clip to prove you wrong: I also abandon my baby to her bouncy seat. I figure since we've been slow at learning to crawl, maybe we should just go ahead and get a head start on walking, right? So bouncy seat it is. She has recently discovered the beloved turtle on the bouncy seat. Let the below clip be a warning to all you bald turtles, or bald turtle-looking folks. You might want to stay clear of our baby girl for a while.

scooting along

I received some concerned emails and messages about Eole's delayed motor skills, so I am happy to report that we are finally begining to chug along. While we are still not really great at rolling from our tummy to our back, we have, in one short week, become a pro, or at least a semi-pro, at rolling from our back to our tummy. And while we aren't attempting to crawl on our hands and knees, we are very good at scooting around on our back. In fact, a couple of times now I have put Eole on her playmat and only mintues later, I find that she has scooted off the mat and under one of our rocking chairs (see clip below). I'm not sure what fascinates her about this secret world of "underchair." Is it the fact that Mommy and Daddy are forbidden access? Is she now considering a career working under car chassis?

attempting to roll...

... attempting to rollover on our playmat we had an unfortunate collapsing incident. No babies were harmed, however.

the silver lining

Eole had her 6 month appointment with the doctor last week where it was confirmed that she takes after her mom's side of the family. In other words, she is "severely deficient in her gross motor skills." She should be rolling all over the place and sitting on her own. I thought rolling counted if you whipped the blanket out from under her; apparently it doesn't. We all know where this is going to lead: having a mortal fear of P.E. and being picked last for all sports teams. Yes, it's a tough reality that I am passing on to my offspring. But where there is weakness in one area, nature will compensate with a strength in another. Eole is very verbally advanced. I think we all remember that she said her first phrase (not even first word, mind you, but a whole phrase) when she was 2 weeks old: "ohhhh gollly." Now we have moved on to "dummmmb maaaa" Dumb Ma? Well, I'll take what I can get. She also likes to interrupt mommy and daddy's conversations with her own opinion on the topic: "blah, blah, blah, blah-" which is even said in that exasperated tone of a bored teenager. Daddy's afraid that, although smart as a whip, our girl will be so weak that she'll be forever confined to a wheelchair or crutches. He thinks we have mollycoddled her by holding her too much. This is what he says everyday as he interrupts tummy time to cuddle his baby girl.