On Mommy and Daddy's Bed

6 Months, 27 Days

I Can Eat My Shoe!

Yes, Aletheia is well into the "if it's in my hand, it's in my mouth" phase.

6 Months, 25 Days

I Can Take My Shoe Off!

6 Months, 25 Days

In the Big People's Tub

Aletheia took her first bath in a real tub this week. At first she was a little leery of the new surroundings, but then she discovered splashing. The splashes aren't big enough to cause a problem, yet, but she sure loves watching what happens when she slams her hands into the water. Good times.

6 Months, 24 Days

Tonsillectomy

I'm on my way to the surgery center for a tonsillectomy--a procedure that I understand is better done at 4 than 34, but better at 34 than 68. That may slow me down for a few days. But there'll be an update as soon as we can do one.

Mountain Girl

I've been wanting to get a picture of Aletheia with our local mountains as a backdrop for a while now, but I finally made time to do it today. The weather was clear and sunny, but some snow was still visible on the peaks. I couldn't decide which of these shots I liked better, so (lucky you!) you get them both. Makes up for missing an update yesterday.





6 Months, 21 Days

A Few Too Many Swigs of the Bottle

I think this one's going in the back of her high school year book.

6 Months, 17 Days

Aletheia and her Pawpaw

Here's Pawpaw with his "sugar booger." I guess that's a good thing.

5 Months, 8 Days

Getting Ready in the Morning

6 Months, 15 Days

Video: Aletheia Laughing At Memaw

The things we do to make babies laugh. But if this doesn't cheer you up, I don't know what will.

6 Months, 8 Days

An Aletheia and Her Memaw

6 Months, 8 Days

What Is This Stuff?

This picture was taken on the morning of January 6th, our first snowy day of the year (probably the only snowy day of the year here in the desert). Not the best picture we've ever taken, but worth preserving a glimpse of Aletheia's first genuine wintery experience. She was definitely interested in taking a look at the bright covering to everything. This time next year she can get out there and run around in it.

6 Months, 3 Days

I hear she's been a little fussy this week. Probably because she misses me.

Worn Out

It's early, early Wednesday. I haven't seen Aletheia since Sunday. That's the longest I've been away from her in her life. I won't see her until late Friday.

I'm away at the university for my doctoral work all week.

It hasn't been that hard to be away from her, because I've been busy doing interesting work, and I'm getting to reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and I have access to a genuine theological library for the first time in months. But still...

I miss the kid. Which is a weird experience, because I am, by nature, completely independent and self-sufficient. Introvert, loner, not-a-people-person. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the Unabomber. I just thrive pretty well all by myself. Especially in a real library. My wife and I dated long distance our entire relationship, and the seperations drove her crazy. Didn't bother me. I thought it was the best, easiest relationship I'd ever had.

You people-persons, small-talkers, glad-handers, for whom five minutes of silent downtime seems like something the Geneva Conventions should ban won't get this at all. I know. I really don't get you, either. But, anyway, the point is that I'm still up at half-past midnight, and I really ought to be writing something about the downsides of the Constantinian church, but I'm a little distracted thinking I wish I could have a couple of minutes with Allie. I called her tonight, and apparently she lit up and started listening intently when she heard my voice, but she's not exactly able to respond.

On the other hand, unlike less industrious dads, I have a whole picture-filled blog to review. So good on me.

This picture is a quiet moment from Friday, when she drifted off while sitting on my lap.

6 Months, 2 Days

Much Better Than Peas

Aletheia loved licking this chocolate mint. Yeah, I know--I'm an irresponsible parent. But I think of it as exposing her to a variety of gustatory experiences. Her mom gives her smooshed peas, I give her sugary chocolate candy. In the end: balance. And I get to be her favorite parent.

5 Months, 2 Days

Visualize Whirled Peas

Aletheia got her first taste of vegetables today--peas. Clearly, not a hit. She had been opening wide for her rice cereal and oatmeal, but was not interested in getting more of the icky green stuff. Later in the day I gave her a taste of something she liked much better. The next post will reveal what it was.

5 Months, 2 Days

I Thought This Was Funny

Someone dropped by this blog on December 18th after searching yahoo for "pictures of the world's prettiest girl." (We are, at the moment, the #1 hit if you search for that phrase. That really cracks me up. According to yahoo, if you want to see the world's prettiest girl, you've come to the right place.) I wonder if this is what they had in mind? Came back on the 20th, so maybe so. Hello, New Jersey web surfer, whoever you are. Maybe someone who had been here before but didn't bookmark it and forgot how to spell Aletheia. Maybe someone looking for Miss Universe pictures. I love these little mysteries.

Across Four Generations

Here's another picture from our Christmas trip to see my grandparents. It was taken on the 19th, when Aletheia was 5 months and 16 days old.

When I look at photographs like this, I often think that someday Aletheia will be the great-grandmother in a picture someone else is taking, some future descendant that I may never know, or will know only as a very small child. Someday she'll cuddle with her grandkids, and then her great-grandkids. Someday all those children will know about me is what Aletheia can remember, and what she can put into words.

That's not a morbid thought. It's the way things go. This little girl will be the matriarch in her own family, at the end of a life full of her own dreams, loves, adventures. And marked by her owns fears, failures, and disappointments. None of us escape that. She will carry the story of our family forward, adding her own chapter. Maybe--who knows?--this blog will still be up, and she can drop by and re-read what her father wrote about her, and revisit the images from the first years of her life. I hope, kiddo, if you are reading this with your own grandkids far off in some future time, that you still have reason to smile as often as you did when you were a baby. I hope that your life has been more fulfilling than frustrating. And I hope that your mom and I propelled you into your future more than we held you back from what lay ahead. We had the very best of intentions.

(And isn't it weird to look at these images from a time you can't remember but that we will never forget?)

Our Baby is Half a Year Old!

Today is Aletheia's six month birthday. I'm busy cramming for a doctoral class, so we didn't really celebrate, but Allie didn't seem to mind. This shot was taken in our new living room, where she was playing with her Sesame Street toy. It has levers and buttons and wheels to pull, push and turn, making little characters pop up. After her mom showed her how it worked, Aletheia got the hang of it and started pressing down on the button that makes Elmo pop out of his yellow box, closing the lid on him, and then doing it again. As previously mentioned, she is the world's smartest baby girl.

For the curious: now you can see what our new carpet looks like. And also my DVD and CD players, and associated wiring. I need something to fill that space, so feel free to mail me an Xbox.

Here's an overhead view of the same scene:

First Picture of 2007

Taken in our backyard this evening.
5 Months, 29 Days

Note: Somehow, upgrading my Blogger account has messed up my settings, and I can't find a way to center this picture like I normally do. Not sure what the problem is.