popping the whalie

Today's new trick: Fern has learned to pull down on the squeaky whale in her boat and let it go, popping it up over the mast. Endless entertainment! (At least it is when daddy's not distracting her with the camera!)

File Under : video

experiencing the playground

We took a long walk today in the stroller, down to Peet's in the Castro and then back through the playground, where we hung out for over an hour, a stroller outing of two hours. As always, F.E. was pretty interested in the park. It's not really a "look-at-me-I'm-smiling" kind of happy interest; it would be better to describe her as fascinated, constantly looking around her and taking things in.

Today, Fern was specifically interested in people. There were a lot there today (summer break, I guess), of a wider variety of ages than usual. She also continued a trend of enjoying being on her own; that is to say, not being held, but sitting or propping by herself. That's a bit of a challenge, however, since she can't balance herself in any position, and moreover I only had the small blanket with me. (She's never left my arms or the stroller in the park before.) I wound up sitting on the ground with Fern between my legs, supported but not held. She was happy and just watched people around her for at least 20 minutes until she got hungry.

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I find myself often wanting to blog when I want to document an experience like this, but without any pictures or otherwise interesting tidbits. In those cases, I'm just going to post on the blog, but not send out the mass e-mail.

File Under : outing

tummy time!

For the first time today, F.E. actually got excited about her tummy time! Whether it's because infants are all put down to sleep on their backs these days, as some say, or for her own unfathomable reasons, Fern has generally objected to being placed on her belly, even when we provide entertainments and distractions aplenty. We've been practicing for weeks, holding her on her belly, or letting her use a pillow or a rolled blanket to help her prop up a bit, but she still showed no real enthusiasm until today. Yay!

There are quite a few photos of this particular success (way too many, probably); we've been working on this for a long time!

Related Photos on Flickr : "tummy time"
File Under : expressions, tummytime

visiting the girls

Just a quick shot of a visit to Jeanne's place; she and and her three girls have been friends of ours for over ten years. Fittingly, Marisa (the youngest of the three, but don't say I told you) dolled Fern up with her very first barrette! Here, she says hi to her new buddy, who looks strangely bewildered by the attention...

As a side note, congratulations are in order for all three of the girls: Marisa for graduating from middle school and turning 15, Angelina for turning 17 (old enough to go see an R-rated movie!), and Francesca for graduating from high school (she'll be heading off to San Francisco State in the fall!). Great job, all of you!

Related Photos on Flickr : Angelina, Francesa, Jeanne, Marisa
File Under : Angelina, Francesa, Jeanne, Marisa

a visit from Uncle Greg and Grandma Linda

Fern got another visit from her Uncle Greg and Grandma Linda this weekend. We went to the zoo again, but we were having too much fun to take pictures! We got some others during the weekend, though: here are some choice examples!

Related Photos on Flickr : Greg, Linda
File Under : Greg, Linda