"That's ME?"

Yes, Mommy. That's you. More specifically, that's what the Bean is doing to you.

Another day off, another trip to the local zoo. M. had a lovely time sketching macaques, lions, kangaroos... but did notice that her lap is getting smaller.

Feeding the llama was a great excuse to get her so stand sideways to the camera.

And, in case anyone thinks it might simply have been the cut of her shirt:

Happy Holidays to all!

Being Consistent

Okay, so with all of the kvetching we've done about color and gender roles, you would think that we'd bring the same considerations to our blog. But up until today, brown has ruled the day. Now, I have nothing against brown - it's the color of coffee, after all, and coffee is good. In addition, most of the gender-neutral baby clothes that we find in big box stores ends up in some shade of brown/yellow. Some of it's quite nice, too, with lions and giraffes. But it does get a little... monochromatic.

So it's time to add some blog zip! The patterns at the top of the page are from the fabrics that have a prominent place in the nursery. Then I just got color happy. (It's spring. It's time for color.)

But I'd like to hear back from y'all - are any of the colors too hard to read? Too distracting? Or did I not go far enough? ;)

When it rains, it pours

And this is the best rain of all, on a sunny day:

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize gay marriage -- and the first to do so with a legislature's vote.

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law.

It's now the fourth state to permit same-sex marriage. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. Their approval of gay marriage came from the courts.

Indeed!

Rainy Day

First of all, for Auntie Jen and Uncle Spaghetti (don't worry, Sam, we don't mean you), finished eggs:

Mommy continued her creative streak during today's downpours. These, fortunately for me, were edible creations! Channeling her Armenian side, voilà! homemade (even the crust) lahmajune. Also tahini cake and Grandma Bartucca's fried meatballs. (Tasty, but apparently not photogenic.)

By the time I got home, soaked to the skin, the house smelled awesome.

Another result of the rain: the Red Sox home opener against Tampa Bay will be tomorrow, weather permitting, rather than today. Bummer of a way to come back from Spring Training, no? But it's okay, Bean - we'll have plenty of opportunity this year to cheer our team. (Not a word, Poppy. Not one word.)

Such Culchah!

Yesterday, our local museum was having its annual flower and art show - as always, a fabulous time. This year, Mommy gave the Bean a first lesson in art appreciation - and yes, Bean, in visual art, it does rather help to be able to see it. (Still, you couldn't ask for a better teacher!)

Later, with borrowed tools from the mother of one of M.'s students, we had a cultural lesson of a more hands-on nature, learning to make pysanky, or Ukranian Easter Eggs.

Mommy even managed to wrest the camera away from me for a few minutes.

Bubbles emerging where we least expect them

"It is a risky business to hope," writes Madeleine L'Engle. Truer words are not often spoken. To hope is to open the heart to possibility, and an open heart is all-the-more-easily broken. Bean, my sweet child, I wish for you the ability to hope and to love without heartbreak; as your mother, I would spare you that hurt. More than that, though, I would wish you continued hope, continued love, even during the breaking. I would wish your heart openness even after you become conscious of the risk.

Because just as the heart must be open to experience hope, so it must be open to experience joy. And what rejoicing is in so many hopeful hearts today, as word comes from such an unexpected quarter to nourish the hope. Another bubble has formed, this time in Iowa - how long it will last, whether it will be durable, is anyone's guess. But for right now, little Bean, I can feel all the more confidence bringing you into this world, where love can still rule the day.

Three Cheers for Iowa! (are you listening, California? Rhode Island?)

Still a bouncing baby, but a little less than before

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

No jokes about falling off of trucks, please - us or the Bean! I do have to wonder at the comparison. A turnip? Not exactly the most popular veggie. Why not a potato, I ask you? Or an orange?

This does mark the week when the fruit and veg analogy begins to fall apart a little bit: it's a cute idea, but there are fairly few examples of veg that are both the right length and the right weight. So this week, we begin alternating between the two, which rather messes with my head. (This week a turnip, next week a bell pepper? What's up with that?)

In other news, this is also a peak time fore hearing development. So Mommy and I have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory out loud. We're really just big kids at heart, ourselves.