12.23.2006
tree at last?
There is a Christmas treelet--two-and-a-half feet tall at its highest point--here at RC HQ, and I have mixed feelings about it. It's only here for the visiting cousins, who come by it naturally, and it was purchased at the Whole Foods, but it has the feeling of a slippery slope about it.
Also, there is a mini-creche on the bookcase. (The Irish visitors call it a "crib," and they call Baby's crib a "cot," and their "creche" is a daycare center. Follow?)
To the miniature Waterford crystal dove and maid-a-milking already on the tree I have added my own ornaments (a Grinch, from a preview showing of the Jim Carrey film; a small plastic lobster; a Homer Simpson action figure--in his Stonecutters outfit). I guess I'm trying to secular it up a little. And I am sort of counting on Baby not to remember that we had a tree this year, so that by the time we figure out our tree policy she hasn't already copped on that she could demand one, by right of her half-Catholicism.
For that, I guess we can wait until she's a teenager.
Also, there is a mini-creche on the bookcase. (The Irish visitors call it a "crib," and they call Baby's crib a "cot," and their "creche" is a daycare center. Follow?)
To the miniature Waterford crystal dove and maid-a-milking already on the tree I have added my own ornaments (a Grinch, from a preview showing of the Jim Carrey film; a small plastic lobster; a Homer Simpson action figure--in his Stonecutters outfit). I guess I'm trying to secular it up a little. And I am sort of counting on Baby not to remember that we had a tree this year, so that by the time we figure out our tree policy she hasn't already copped on that she could demand one, by right of her half-Catholicism.
For that, I guess we can wait until she's a teenager.
12.22.2006
omigod!
Why didn't anyone tell me that the new season of Campus Ladies had already begun?
12.13.2006
baby talk
Babble, the new hipster parenting website from the Nerve people, has launched.
12.12.2006
true story: the creature needs to spend more time with grown-ups
As we walked around the neighborhood today, Baby pointed and grunted and I named objects as indicated. Street light! Fire hydrant! Leaves! Palimpsest!
(It wasn't really a palimpsest, to be fair--it was more like a rubbed-out stripe of paint on the sidewalk, probably marking a gas line. But still.)
UPDATE: You'd think that it would be impossible to stick a pink-and-green-flower baby barette in your hair--you know, as a way to show a 16-month-old how barettes work--and then forget about it until you were in the checkout line at the supermarket. But still.
(It wasn't really a palimpsest, to be fair--it was more like a rubbed-out stripe of paint on the sidewalk, probably marking a gas line. But still.)
UPDATE: You'd think that it would be impossible to stick a pink-and-green-flower baby barette in your hair--you know, as a way to show a 16-month-old how barettes work--and then forget about it until you were in the checkout line at the supermarket. But still.
not that i care, but...
For those of you who were concerned about the situation, Kate Hudson has finally cut that kid's hair.
12.11.2006
what's in a word
How can you tell when a baby has said her first word? There are so many false starts: the mamas and dadas that don't actually signify anything in particular, the claims of various relatives that they heard her say "tomato," really she did! (No, she didn't.)
In one sense, Baby said her first "word" in her first month of life: She had a particular sound she would make when she wanted milk--I would call it a phoneme if I hadn't gotten that B- in Linguistics. It was a completely distinct "ging" that happened to be the exact same sound I made as a baby, when I wanted milk. She said "ging" for the purpose of communication, and it was effective for that purpose. A word, but clearly not a word.
In terms of true English speech, then, there are two contenders. Husband is voting for "eye," which she says while pointing to her eye, so it's definitely legit. It's clearly first, but I prefer the more recent "apple," because it is so cute, and also it's two whole syllables, and she says it with such glee and pride.
The backstory here is that no one can remember what my first word was--apart from that "ging." So I really want to get this thing right.
In one sense, Baby said her first "word" in her first month of life: She had a particular sound she would make when she wanted milk--I would call it a phoneme if I hadn't gotten that B- in Linguistics. It was a completely distinct "ging" that happened to be the exact same sound I made as a baby, when I wanted milk. She said "ging" for the purpose of communication, and it was effective for that purpose. A word, but clearly not a word.
In terms of true English speech, then, there are two contenders. Husband is voting for "eye," which she says while pointing to her eye, so it's definitely legit. It's clearly first, but I prefer the more recent "apple," because it is so cute, and also it's two whole syllables, and she says it with such glee and pride.
The backstory here is that no one can remember what my first word was--apart from that "ging." So I really want to get this thing right.
reader response
The Creature cares what you think! For example, reader J cautions that our kvelling of last week may have been a bit premature. And he's right, but gosh! we did get excited when we read the headlines. So, a belated caveat to the kvell: Once the rabbis catch up on the sodomy angle, we'll get our naches on.
12.06.2006
the creature is kvelling
12.04.2006
"groaning and travailing"
At the "Answers in Genesis" website, there's an essay occasioned by my most recent book review.
