Tuesday, September 26, 2006

my three arms and other mysteries of eating

Kristin was struggling to get Fern into her highchair last night and had some trouble, so she she asked me how I manage it during the day. Highchair resistance is a pretty new thing for Fern, that flailing and stiffening of legs that makes them impossible to thread through the chair's leg holes.

I know I've managed to get her seated despite protests, but I honestly have no idea how. So I just told Kristin that I used "my third arm," and that seemed to work. I'm not exactly sure where that third arm comes from, I probably use that third arm at least a few times a day.

The other food mystery is why the food on the bib or the tray (a small amount of smear and spit) tastes better to Boubaby* than the food in the spoon (an unlimited amount of whatever she wants). It never fails: we're feeding her, but the bib, unless it's absolutely spotless (which is rare, obviously) is the focus of attention. Maybe it's that sugar-flavored detergent we use.


*Yeah, we came up with another nickname. At the wedding, I misheard someone saying something nice about Fern -- to me, it sounded like "caribou." (Beats me what it actually was...) But Caribou... what a cool nickname! So now it's Caribou Baby, or just Boubaby for short. Nom du jour.

If you're keeping score, then, it's: Fern Bean Cariboubaby Effie Elena. I think I might have left one out, too.

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Wednesday, September 20, 2006

dog days at Crissy Field

Fern and I met Jacquie and her dogs for lunch down at Crissy Field today; we grabbed sandwiches and hung out on the lawn behind the marine sanctuary building, where both of us used to work. The dogs were brilliant, despite Fern's habit of grabbing handfuls of skin and hair and pulling on them.

Fern also grabbed Bailey's leash a couple of times as the dog sauntered by; I'm not sure she realized how small the hand was holding her, but she obediently stopped and sat, all the same. Fern may be little, but she's definitely an alpha!

Sadly, we didn't get any pictures with Jacquie herself! What were we thinking? I've got to get better at providing full documentation!

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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Fernie Four-Tooth

Fern's got four teeth! There was a bad day or so while that last one cut through (the upper right, visible here!), but we are now officially a symmetrical square, two incisors on top and two on the bottom.

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Friday, September 08, 2006

adventures in Tennessee!

This weekend, the whole family flew to Luke & Morgan's wedding in Monteagle, Tennessee. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the actual festivities, but I did get a couple of Fern. In the first, I'd turned my back for just a second to prepare Fern's food; when I looked back, she'd managed to snag one of the wedding favors from the kitchen counter. Yes, indeed, that is a tiny bottle of Jack Daniel's, a local favorite there. (Monteagle's only a quick hop away from the distillery.)

Fern mostly hung out with one or the other of us; she came along to some of the festivities, or I stayed with her when Kristin went off to do girl stuff. For the ceremony and reception itself, though, Fern stayed with cousin Kamryn and her grandparents on Mark's side, Mike and Linda. Unfortunately, the travel plus her newly budding separation anxiety combined to make her not very good company while we were gone, despite all the efforts of Mark's folks and Kamryn (who kept bringing Fern toys and patting her on the arm, we're told). So we beat an early retreat from the dinner, and we're happy to say that Fern perked up immediately!

Another exciting development: Fern didn't cry at all on the return flight, and not much more than that on the way out, either. After just three airplane trips, it seems she's getting to be a seasoned traveler!

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Monday, September 04, 2006

Golden Gate Park outing

We took advantage of the nice weather and the holiday weekend to stroll down toward the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. Our agenda included a trial run for our new baby carrier, an Ergo, which in theory provides more back support than Sven did. (You can see Fern in the new carrier at right; Fern is clearly not convinced that it's an improvement.) Mostly, Fern prefers to be out right now, in the stroller at the very least, but rolling around on the floor best of all.


Golden Gate Park outing, with mom

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Sunday, September 03, 2006

Bishop's Ranch for Labor Day

Every year over the Labor Day weekend, Kristin's church visits Bishop's Ranch up north, so we headed up there on Sunday to see some of our old friends. Justin and Jason, as you can see, are growing up pretty fast (and so is Fern!). Jon, sadly, didn't make the photo call -- we were having too much fun playing to get the camera out much!

With Jason and Jane at Bishop's Ranch
Kristin and Fern with Jason and Jane at Bishop's Ranch

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