Some Updates

In the three weeks since I last posted, Ren has developed a lot. She regularly smiles and notices everything around her now, and she "speaks up", making a lot of noises that aren't crying. She turns her head a lot to look at things she finds interesting, and even holds her head up for short stretches. She's still not really making shaped sounds. She's going to bed a little earlier at night and staying asleep (sometime between 9-10:30), only getting up once during the night. There's an hour every night when she's pretty upset right before bedtime, but generally she's very easy and a joy.

She's gotten very used to bath time. Last night we bathed her and she never made a sound the entire time.

I have a couple videos to post and a couple pictures this week. I've taken lots of videos, trying to demonstrate her noises, or fist sucking, or smiles, but it's frustratingly hard to do. Most of her activity is while she is in our arms, and other times it's like she senses the camera and decides to stop.

Here is a great video of Ren with the hiccups. It also features her kicking constantly. She'll be riding a bicycle soon, for sure!

Another Video of Ren with Mobile

This video is at an angle. I don't have any software to fix this. I think I'm recording about three videos for every one that's useable, but that's not the primary task of a digital camera, after all.

Just to let you know in advance, nothing happens in this video (unless you count a lot of flailing of arms and sticking out of the tongue). but she sure is cute, anyway.

A big first: Ren now will track large objects. In particular, my head. This is somehow greatly pleasing and amusing to me. I like to move my head to the left and watch her drift over to track me, then back to the right, and so forth. This entertains me for about an hour. But as I've said in other posts, we don't have cable.

Baby Bath Time

This is probably the best of the recent short vids I've made. I hope all y'all family enjoy.

Various Ren Pictures

Pictures of Ren are in high demand, so here are ten more. Included in this set are:

• A picture of Ren grasping and holding onto a rattle.
• Three pictures in the bath.
• Two mommy-cam pictures of Ren staring up (or sleeping) from a chest carrier.
• Three pictures of Ren waving and kicking all around on her changing table. I was trying to demonstrate how she's beginning to get very active. She wouldn't cooperate to capture a good video. These pictures include this one, BABY FU!!:

Also, I know I promised video...I'm working on it.

Ren in Bed with the Mobile

I promised a video. Here it is. This is a 30-second short of Ren in bed watching the mobile. It's quite underlit, I'm afraid. I hope you enjoy it.

A Whole Lotta Baby Pics

I promised pictures, so here are pictures. A whole lot of pictures. Included in this set:

• Baby Bath Time
• Some fun at Panera Bread, where we had to escape during an Open House
• A Buddhist study session we went to, where we brought the baby (thus rather distracting everyone from the study!)

Tomorrow: film!

Catching up, and some fun firsts

Okay, I haven't posted in a long time. People get busy, you know. Read my personal blog if you want to get an idea of what's going on.

I promise that in the next week I'll be posting lots of pictures, plus a new short (30 seconds) film!

In the meantime, a couple firsts.

For the first time, Ren is reacting negatively to noise. Previous to this, she's reacted positively, such as becoming soothed when hearing us sing to her or chant. Now when I cough or sneeze near her, she can wake up and start crying. I think the first example of this was at a Superbowl party. She cried when Hester returned the opening kickoff. Tragically, the rest of us cried for the remainder of the game.

Also for the first time she is noticing our existence. Both of us have observed her quieting down when one of us comes into her view. She won't turn her head or keep her attention on us yet.

It would appear also that Ren has spotted a ghost in our living room. Whenever we're on the living room sofa and she's facing us, she invariably keeps her gaze fixed above our right shoulders, at the corner of the room above the stairs. My theory is that she can see a ghost. Obviously someone was once hanged there, and is trying to get her to pass a message on to us. Too bad she can't speak.

The third first is that I've injured my own baby for the first time. I was sitting on the sofa groping for a bottle when I accidentally jammed my fingers right into her head. Poor Ren screamed and screamed. Clumsy daddy.