She’s really starting to like getting a bath. She smiled through the whole process this time around.
FYI: The yellow thing I’m holding is a spray shower head covered with a washcloth to diffuse the flow and keep it from spraying all over the place. Hey, it works!
Eliza has had three fussy days/nights in a row, which is highly unusual for her. She’s usually a very peaceful, calm baby who is rather routine-oriented already. But for the last few days, she has been grumpy, refusing to nap, and crying as soon as we put her in her crib at night. After doing some reading, it seems like this might be a classic growth spurt. Apparently, they often happen around 3 weeks and again at 6 weeks. I remember the last one, and she was similarly fussy. It has been a rough few nights, but she should pass through it soon and hopefully return to her “old” self. On the positive side, she is smiling and cooing a lot more now. This is supposedly a big couple of weeks in terms of development; I can’t wait to see what each day brings. I just wish the nights would go back to normal!
This picture doesn’t need words. Pure happiness. And a curious puppy. Life is wonderful right now!
Eliza is starting to wear some outfits that are sized 0-3 months. Finally starting to outgrow the newborn sized things! She’s also starting to smile just a little bit. It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. Her eyes simply light up when she’s happy. What makes her happy? Playing with her dad, listening to mom whistle, her Baby Einstein crib toy, staring at the ceiling fan in her room.
I’ve kept up with the recent Orson Scott Card controversy in libraryland, and I respect nearly everyone who has taken a strong stance against the decision by the YALSA to award OSC the Margaret A. Edwards award for adolescent literature for 2008.
But.
I’m not sold on the controversy here.
There is no denying that OSC is a homophobe…no, that’s probably not strong enough. “Fear of homosexuality” doesn’t approach his views. OSC is a heterosexist bigot, based on his own words, and does not deserve either our respect or our patience. But the two works that are being honored, Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow, are not homophobic. They don’t seem to speak with the same voice as OSC in interviews. They portray strong, smart kids doing incredible things, and should stand above and beyond the idiocies of the author.
The award is given, according to the description online, in order to:
…recognizes an author’s work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.
The works do just that.
The author can be an idiot…hell, it could probably be argued that most artists of any sort are damaged in some significant way. Insanity, adultery, substance abuse, and yes, crazy beliefs…all crop up in the pantheon of artists. Just because the author is nuts doesn’t mean that the work is nuts.
Would I give OSC an award? No. Would I honor the work? Yes, I would. It’s a fine line, but otherwise I find myself having to question every piece of art by examination of the artist.
A nice visit from Nana, Pop, Aunt Jenna, and cousin Parker today. Eliza slept most of the time and when she wasn’t asleep, she was eating. But Nana got to help give her a bath, and that was quite fun. Nana is like a sedative for the babies. She touches them, and they’re out. Too bad she can’t be here at midnight.
In other news, my first week of school went pretty well. I still have a hard time focusing, though. When I’m away from her, I think about her. I miss her. I wonder how things are going. It’ll get easier, won’t it?
…so that I could order a few of these.
To celebrate the birth of a baby in a way that makes it feel like the kid’s right there in your arms, a rice shop in the southwestern Japanese city of Kita-Kyushu will send out a customized dakigokochi, a roughly baby-shaped bag of high-grade rice to everyone on your birth announcement list. The bag will be printed with the kid’s picture, stats, and a greeting–and it will weigh the same as the kid did at birth.
One of the million reasons that I love Japanese culture. Wish I had a rice bag o’ Eliza!
It’s off to work mom goes. (Yes, new parents tend to talk about themselves in the third person.)
Do I have to go?? Yes. Do I want to? No. Eliza will be exactly one month old the same day I go back to work. It doesn’t seem fair. Why are maternity leave policies in this country so horrible (or non-existent)? I could have had the semester off, sure, UNPAID. That didn’t make sense with diapers, wipes, and formula to buy. Oh well. I guess going back to work will make me treasure spending time with her even more than I do already.
Romero! The Living Dead!
As most of you know that have been reading for any length of time, I’m a huge sucker for zombies. Romero is the king of the zombie film, so this is a must-see for me. I’m a little worried about it coming out near Cloverfield, which takes the first-person-Blair-Witch style storytelling to a major motion picture, and it looks like this might be seen as a rip off. In any case, Romero + zombie = The Win.
I’m four weeks old today!
