Friday Cute Shot

If You Are Also Small and Wiggly . . .

Lucy and Biscuit

In the last month and a half, Lu has become more and more aware of and interested in other living creatures, particularly animals and small children.  When we're out for a walk and we pass someone wth a baby or a puppy, Lucy will maneuver in the sling to get a better view and usually make a series of squeaking sounds in their direction, trying to catch a roving eye.

Several weeks ago Lucy met Biscuit, the delightful new puppy of our friends Erin and Eddie.

Lucy Meets Biscuit from Amber Broughton on Vimeo.

She has also expressed interest in our neighbor's dog, my brother's very patient cat Zeus, and a sweet little girl that we keep running into all over town.

We also had a great time a couple of weeks ago at our third birthing class reunion where Lu got a chance to touch the hands and faces of several other babies her age while the parents compared notes and strategies over beer.

Then last Friday was free day at the Portland Children's Museum, so we took Lucy over after work to check it out. We were afraid it would be really crowded because it was free, and there were a lot of kids there, but it wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. Plus, they have a special exhibit just for the under-three crowd called The Baby's Garden, and there weren't many babies in there.

But Lucy loved it! She was especially intrigued by all the other children, and how fast they could move. She would grab my hand and wobble over to some nice unsuspecting toddler a few months older and say hi ("aaah-aaaaaah!" in Lucy parlance), but before she could get much further in her attempt they would be gone. There was one boy playing at the fish table with Lucy that she just found fascinating, but her advances seemed to turn him shy--at one point she was kind of chasing him around with an orange plexiglas fish, just chattering away and not at all discouraged by his fleeing form. I think this kind of persistence will bode well for her later in life, assuming she can appropriately balance the fine line between exuberance and stalking.

For any Portland parents out there, I definitely recommend checking out the museum. Every first Friday is free from 4 to 8pm.

Happy Easter

In celebration of Easter this morning, Lucy rolled right over to the record cabinet and pulled out "Rite of Spring". Who knew we even know we had that record? I guess it was calling to her.

Then she put on her spring flower romper and read a book about lambs and ducks (the sheep speak her language--Baa Baa Baa!).

After that she broke out a package of new Easter hangers and waved at her reflection in the diaper pail.

Easter Wave from Amber Broughton on Vimeo.

Happy Easter!


P.S. For posterity, I'm supposed to record that Lucy did receive some Easter chocolate from her grandma which her parents promptly devoured and left no trace of for photographic evidence. So Lucy, know that you weren't stuck with just hangers on your first Easter. Thanks, Mom!

Friday Cute Shot

Indian Poker and Other Baby Games

 

Hop on Pop

When we first brought Lucy home, we were too busy figuring out how to feed her, hold her, change her, help her sleep, and try to find some time for ourselves to sleep to worry about much else. But after a couple of weeks when we started to get the hang of things, I wondered: what exactly do you do with a baby all day? How do you play with a tiny little baby? 

I asked, of course, my friend the internet, but all it had to tell me was read some books and try some baby yoga and massage. Those ideas worked fine, but as Lucy has grown we have found more and more games that we can all enjoy. So, in case anyone out there is in a similar boat, here are some fun games you might consider playing.

Indian Poker

How Much is that Baby in the Window?

Jailbreak

London Bridge