Ida vs. Weak Neck Muscles

Not many posts lately due to the beginning of school. A much-anticipated documentation--Ida with her new Nanny--has not yet been accomplished. This nanny, who I suspect is very photogenic, is also very quick. And she even said she's not unamenable to being photographed for this purpose. So stay tuned. Also, Cousin Elsie is on her way across the country right now and will appear maybe tomorrow. At last! So there's much to anticipate here in PDX and also on the blog (they are connected but not the same).

Meanwhile, I'm showing how Ida can lift up her head while on her stomach. She's pretty impressed with herself.

Ida loves this darn book

Ida Walks!

Talk about miraculous! She got these Canadian shoes and started walking up and down the counter!



It's true that her big diapers make her look like a Hottentot, but really she is normally proportioned (except for her small, flat head) (and her short arms)

Ida Manhandles Favorite Things

Mr. Orange Rabbit



and "lovey blanket"...



...due to blog confidentiality agreement, I cannot reveal which sibling and/or one-time East High cheerleader are responsible for these fine things.

*Ida's said her first two words! "Aboo" and "Agoo"

Ida vs. the Needle and the Numbers: Four Month Check-Up

"I'm four days older than four months," Ida said, "too late to go to the doctors for those shots and all." Nice try, pants-wearer...



Ida is gigantic. 14.4 pounds (sans diaper)=65%; 27 inches=95th percentile! And her head size is only 35th percentile, and flat on the right side. So she's going to be tall, solid, and have a small, flat head. Excellent. At this point I, Pete, asked Ida's doctor about Ida's short arms.



I told her I feared Ida had a potential Geefle/Gonk situation in her future, as her arms barely stretch above her head. If she ever wanted any nectarines, she'd need someone to cooperate with her.

The doctor pretended not to hear my question or concern. And Ida was having a great time in that hospital room!



Inviting all comers to blow on her exposed belly:



Amid all this joviality, the needles came into play, and then (as Neil Young would have it) the damage was done:



Fortunately, fierce mother Ella quickly pushed the attendant aside and pulled the troubled she-cub to her breast.

Ida vs. the Green Rhino and the Yellow Horse

She loves these guys, she hates these guys...



There are several more violent kicking/action shots, but they are too obscene and I've not yet figured out the black box technique (any tips, Arthur?).

Blueberries!

Developmental Update 7

Under the right circumstances...



Ida can turn herself over,



but only to her right.

Ella's Reappearance and Follicular Resurrection

Some have wished for more photos of Ella, and I can't blame them. Who wouldn't want to be married to this delightful swarthy for 9 years?



In these photos she is teaching her she-cub how to read. Notice that Ida's hair has begun to recover already from the harsh styling so many despised...



By later in the day, as she tried out a cool borrowed swing, she was looking downright feral once again:



True, these photos are relentlessly domestic, kind of repetitive. Not all of us are on a never-ending vacation, I guess. Sigh.

Another Fantasy; Ida vs. Blow Dryer

Some of us are into having Ida's hair be as messy as possible. Some others wonder if it might be nice if it were a little more under control. People like this bring out the blow dryer and they say, "Well, it looks a little boyish, I guess":



and "her new hairdo makes her very...happy."

One Recent Fantasy

"So," I was just saying to Ida, "soon we'll get you a BMX bike, with some stunt pegs on the back hub, and then I'll ride around on the back, standing up. Then, once we get the training wheels off, you can start in on the trickier stuff."

Weekend

Ida got her first (slight) cold; it made her very tired.

Ida's New Ride vs. Stinging Wasps!

Ida is actually not spoiled, though she does have four strollers. Here's her "new," single jogging stroller:



She is in fact too young to be in a jogging stroller going at high speeds, but we don't care! She waves her arms around and shrieks with joy, then pouts when we slow down to a walk.

Many of you have been concerned about my knee; the truth is, I can now jog again, like a young father. However, the other day I was strutting along thinking that my knee was feeling pretty good and then a bolt of pain struck my knee. A wasp! In the ensuing days my knee swoll right up. And then the next day I was riding my bike along when BAM a wasp stung me right under the eye! I am being punished for being evil, perhaps.