She Looked Straight At Me and I Looked Straight Back

Isla's pretty excited to catch her parents' eyes these days, and once she does, it's hard to look away again!

Non-English Tea

Ever since Nana's visit, sun tea has been a regular around here. Now you might wonder how one makes sun tea when it's cloudy and rainy in England, but that didn't deter Nana and it doesn't slow Crystal down much either. So out the jar goes in all sorts of weather. It might have even have been hailed on yesterday! Today was an alternative downpour of warm sunshine and cloudy downpours, but it somehow managed to become tea nonetheless.

Of course, the English take their tea hot, with milk. Iced tea is an oddly American (and Southern American at that) delicacy and people around here are happy to leave it all for us.

Ellie seems to have gained a bit of English taste. She took a look at the jar and declared, "I don't like sun tea." Crystal decided to probe. "Why not, Ellie?" Always ready with an explanation, Ellie replied, "Well, I'm not from Texas am I?" Oh my, Ellie — don't tell Papa!

  

Ellie made us a bit nervous by complaining about her knee hurting for a couple of days and then starting to limp around at playgroup today. Crystal rang the doctor at 10:40am and was given an appointment for 11:45am (socialized medicine is terrible for its long waiting lists, isn't it?). The doctor poked and prodded a little bit, took her temperature, and declared her fine. Ellie, always susceptible to the placebo effect, thinks this doctor is a miracle worker!

When everyone got home safely, I was talking to her about her medical adventure. I pointed out that Mummy is a doctor, too. Observing that Mummmy's poking and prodding didn't have the desired effect, Ellie pointed out, "Yeah...but she's not a very good one". Oh my.

Isla, ever full of smiles, has now discovered the joy of playing with Mummy's and Daddy's hands, not to mention the joy of sucking her thumb!

Crocodiles

I suppose different strategies are used by parents for different kids. Some probably “win” by means of physical force—you know, picking the child up and taking them out of trouble—. Sometimes I suppose distractions or bribes are the answer. But with Ellie, it usually comes down to a battle of wits. And she can be quite a formidable challenge with her creative argumentation.

Apparently this morning, Crystal caught her putting her feet on the dining room table while sitting in her high-chair (a definite no-no).

“Ellie, please take your feet off the table.”

“Ohhhh....awwight....[thoughtful pause—looks down]....but there are crocodiles down there!”

“Oh really?”

Looks again..... “Yes...blue ones!”

Well, uhhhh, given the alternatives, I guess it’s ok to leave your feet on the table then.

Tummy Time

 

Isla doing her "tummy time."

Bath Time

When Ellie was born, Crystal had a deep-down longing that Ellie would enjoy baths, because Crystal was really looking forward to bathing her. That dream was answered and Ellie from her first try at it has always loved baths.

Isla, on the other hand, isn’t so sure about this bath thing.


From the sounds pouring out of the bathroom, I would have guessed that Crystal had accidentally dropped her in the lobster pot the first time she gave Isla a bath. She’s since grown much more understanding, but you can see here at 6 weeks that she’s still a little apprehensive about the whole thing.

So when my lovely wife, who is not one to chase after the latest gottahavit gadget, told me that she thought a bucket would be the solution, who was I to argue? Of course, not any ol’ bucket, but a special baby bathing bucket.

She does certainly enjoy bath time now, though perhaps still with a little apprehension because she’s learned it is possible to slip down in the bucket and get a mouthful!

Not to be outdone, Ellie decided she needed to bathe in a bucket, too. But, as big sister things go, she gets a standard-issue bucket instead of a super-special baby-bathing bucket. It seems to do the trick...at least until you run out of room for all of your toys!

Of course, sometimes you have to ditch the bucket and return to freestyle-mode for bath time. You’ll thank me someday, Ellie, for modestly cropping this one!

Smiles

 

Isla has been flashing gorgeous smiles at us for weeks now. Here's a sample.

She Can Dream

Ellie adores her daddy and wants to be like him in almost every way. I was recently reminded of just how much as she inspected her petite little feet and legs and said longingly, "One day I will have big feet and loooong hairy legs just like Daddy's." Dream on, El, dream on.