Once again we’ve posted a lot of pictures and videos with little or no commentary. Frankly it is just hard to concentrate and commit time to actually putting what we see into words. The only way to alleviate this is to start a post and then pick at it here and there from home, work or phone. The big problem is that I am completely unstructured. My writing is closer to stream-of-consciousness than anything else. I think this is why I abandoned the lofty hope of being an author oh-so-many-years-ago. So in saying this, I must impress on the future generations reading this; When learning about outlines in school, pay attention. It will pay off.
The twelve week mark has passed, as has the 3 month mark. To me anyway, it seems that this last week or ten days has brought about floods of new discoveries. Little Arwen is laughing more readily and has discovered the joys of hands and feet. We also suspect, perhaps to our dismay, that she is starting to grow a tooth. There is no truly empirical evidence to support this, but she is biting to one side quite a bit.
She is a drool machine and loves to yell. Not cry, not scream, but yell. When you look at her face, it’s almost as if she feigns crying. This usually occurs when she wants attention or is bored with whatever environment she’s in at the time. I find it all very amusing. How quickly do we learn through stimulus and response, how to manipulate our situation.
Last week spyMommy introduced Arwen to the household favorite fruit, banana. She loves it. It’s not given in any consequential quantities, but just enough for her to get a taste. It’s earlier than we originally planned, but planning something is a good way to have it no come to pass. So say we all.
An email spyMommy forwarded to me suggested that now, more than before, speech is very important. It suggested that from now on we read to her. Usually at home when it’s just her and I, I will read while she plays or watches one of her videos. I suppose I will start devoting a small block of time to read aloud to her. Granted the books I am currently reading at home (The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Cell by Stephen King) are hardly what one would consider children’s reading, but I think the article probably referred to the development of speech structure… so the choice of content is moot. (?)
Arwen experienced her first Halloween this past weekend. There was no Trick-or-Treating involved, but we visited our friends the Boltzes for a bit. spyMommy dressed up as Queen Amidala, I was Anakin Skywalker and Arwen was Leia Organa. I liked the idea of family themed costumes, however short-lived it was.
At this gathering I was asked if I was going to home-school. My schedule certainly allows for it, and I would love nothing more than for Arwen to get a real education. Not some 12 year course in social dysfunction. The problem is that I am a horrible teacher. The knowledge I have, I take for granted. I have this horrible habit of assuming that we are filled with certain universal truths and an aptitude for logic. This applies especially to mathematics, besides reading the only thing truly worth understanding. I’ve got a couple years to work on this, hopefully I can evolve.
In closing, if anyone out there has an English translation of Gilgamesh in ebook form, I’d love to get a copy. Afterall, what better first book for a child than THE first book. If all else fails I’ll buy a paper copy.