So, David's first birthday was a few weeks ago.  We had a fun little party for him during which he played with several other kids (or was played with by other kids, depending on your point of view) and ate almost an entire piece of carrot cake.  I've posted photos from the party as well as some more formal pictures we took on his actual birthday.

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The rain is amazing here.  It's been pouring off and on for days.  The lab is leaky, of course; we expect that in any rainstorm (though usually there's not as much water in the main level halls as there is this afternoon), but even the basement at home is getting wet!  It stayed perfectly dry all last year, including during the several weeks last ( Read more... )

Last Tuesday David started standing up, entirely on his own. He's done this for a few seconds before, but Tuesday he was really practicing it, even standing and clapping at one point. My mom says he took a step yesterday, but of course I wasn't looking and he hasn't done it again. Also yesterday he started saying "uh-oh" very deliberately, and ( Read more... )

So, today is our second anniversary.  Michael is out of state, helping his dad with a car project.  Typical.  He's been there over a week, but he's promised to be home this afternoon.  We'll see ( Read more... )

A few of you may have heard me comment about the poor quality of the water at work.  Poor, as in, technically safe to drink if you don't count the risk of gagging.  Tea was, if not impossible, highly impractical.  There was a hot water spout at the sink, but tea made with this water would develop a thick layer of scum on top.  I only tried that ( Read more... )

So, I decided on picasaweb for my own online photo album.  If I don't like it, I may still change to a different website!  Anyway, here it is:  http://picasaweb.google.com/GeniWest.  It's going to be something like a "best-of" collection rather than a place to put every single photo I take.  Hope you enjoy! 

So, as you all more or less know, I'm stuck on a rotating schedule and occasionally am required to work 7 midnight shifts in a row.  Today, or tonight, or whatever, is 2 of 7.  It's quite a stress on my system and on family life and all of that, and last time I had to do this David didn't have enough to eat, especially toward the end of the week.  ( Read more... )

David slept more than 6 hours last night.  This isn't quite a first, but it happens rarely enough to be a Big Deal.  He's also getting quite a bit more mobile.  When he sits in his swing now he often pushes himself up on his elbows to see what's happening.  A couple of days ago he scooted himself backwards while playing on the floor; I missed it ( ( Read more... )

For a while now David's been reaching for things and holding them for more than just a few seconds, but his coordination isn't all that great.  Yesterday I caught him waving his pacifier around, frowning in concentration, trying to get it into his mouth and repeatedly just barely missing.  He's been in a bad mood for a few days, probably not ( Read more... )

All right, I can't help posting (bragging?) about the baby...  David had a checkup on Monday, and he's in the 90th percentile for height.  No wonder none of his clothes have long enough legs!  He's been playing with noises, and seems interested in language.  Every so often, he looks at me intently with a little bit of a frown and very deliberately ( Read more... )