curls?

Not a lot of hair, but some curls going on back there. 

A universe of 4 and a half words

Erika speaks. Kind of. The variety and frequency of her audible output grows everyday. As if she's making her way around an orchestra trying each instrument. Every day it's like "hey! what else can my mouth do!?"
Words so far: Daddy, Mama, Ball, woof-woof, and Na'NAY-nay.
That last one being short for mommy goodness with a focus on milk.
She says "eeeeee..." a lot while kicking her legs to vary the intensity, but I haven't decoded that one yet. I suspect it refers to the way Bernake is handling the fed. When I told her that uncle Greenspan stepped down, she was all "EEEEE...!!"

It's got me thinking a lot about the chinese room. At what point does mimicry count as intelligence? Perhaps brains do cause minds?

We'll find out later.

Visiting the Seattle Center Children's Musem

 

Das Basement?

The Library has several children's books donated by the German Language Association. This is a page from one with the theme "things in the basement". How many things in the picture creep you out?? Let's start with an easy one: the human bone hanging on the wall? What's up with that? 

Cupcake re-virused

So we got off lightly with the flu, now Erika has a bad cold - runny nose and cough. She is not a happy camper at all. She is very fond of reading books, though, and we have to go through the pages of at least 20 books per day. She takes this activity very seriously. On the other hand, I am re-purposing the sacred "boppy" from being a customized breast feeding pillow, to being a neck support in a chair that is too soft. When cupcake gets situated, you pick up whatever is in reach and make due. 

Cupcake restored

The flu passed. I think we got off relatively easy this time. Here we see Erika completely absorbed in television. Not that we plan on having her hooked on the evil glowing box, but it kinda helps out that she can watch it on her own. In case you didn't know, there is a 24-hour network for the pre-school crowd called the Sprout Network. Taken in moderate doses, it works wonders. She is glued to whatever they are showing at the time. On the other hand, I have had just about enough of cute little talking mice/dogs/cats with British accents to last for a life time, but Erika seems to enjoy it all.

Barfy Cupcake

Erika got post-nasal drip last Sunday. Then she got the stomach flu. As we all know, the perfect time to toss cookies and change bedsheets and clothes is 1:51am which is just what she did last night. In between boughts of crying and throwing up, she has long stretches of happiness and babble which lead you to think that she is not going to suddenly cry and throw up on you again.

I don't think she gets sick like we do. She is not merely lying around with barely the energy to change the channel from the Gilligan's Island marathon. She has plenty of energy and enthusiasm for several hours, and then a brief period of crying, barfy sickness. I've written too much already. I'll leave you to imagine the diaper situation.