Happy Apple

Have you ever seen a Happy Apple? I thought they were childhood staples. Turns out my in-laws had never heard of them until Niki was born, but now they know all about them. The Happy Apple is a round, red, hollow plastic apple about the size of a baby's head. It has rubber leaves on top, a big happy grin on the side, and a tiny bell inside, and like weebels, it never falls over. I used to love my Happy Apple. In fact, I can remember how much I loved my Happy Apple (and this is a toy for infants, people. That's some serious emotional imprinting. ).

So here is Niki with one of her Happy Apples. She has one at each of her grandparents' houses, though ironically none at home. My sister got some pictures of her interacting with it back in August or July (whenever all three of us were there last).



Look at those fascinated expressions. It's the perfect baby toy -- no small parts, cheerful expression, bright colors, not too much noise, hand-wipeable, unswipeable (if you have dogs), unbreakable (that one is twenty-seven years old), and cute -- and I believe you can find them on ebay for between $5 and $10. THis blog is not sponsored by the Happy Apple company in any way. :)

Hope.

Have you ever watched a rainbow grow?

I was eating breakfast this morning about the time the sun was coming over the trees and clouds were lighting up, and just above the trees was a glimpse of color. Then the light gathered into bands and began to climb.



I tried to get a panoramic shot of it, but I'm not that camera knowledgable, so you'll have to be content with half pictures.

Rainbows are symbols of hope, and it occurs to me that we could all use a rainbow these days. The economy is shaky. The election is less than satisfactory. The weather is destructive. North Korea is fussing again. But God is in control, and he puts his rainbow in the sky as a sign that he's not ready to destroy the earth yet.

Another gesture of hope I saw this morning was in my email: 40 Days for Life reports two babies saved on the first day. Praise the Lord. Here's to many more.

Love to you all.

I have been remiss.

It seems that after months of touting the fact that Niki never smiled at the camera, I have forgotten to mention that she now smiles for the camera. In fact, there are times when she really hams it up. I think that once she started moving, she found other things to be fascinated with, and so the camera became less intimidating. Still, I looked through two months worth of photos, and these are the only genuine smiles that I found. In each I think she's more pleased with her circumstances than she is with the fact that she's being photographed.


Case in point. Look at her beam with pride here. She's plainly not intimidated by the camera, but she's not like those babies who light up at the sight of a lense. (The music you hear in the background is the Narnia soundtrack. Odd juxtaposition, isn't it.)

This is a video of Niki "talking." She does this more and more. I know it's only a matter of time until this fades into real words (words which may be few and far between), so I try to capture as much as I can. Fact: there are some sounds that she will only be able to make during this period of her life. At this point, she could learn any language in the world without developing an accent. Aren't babies fascinating?

It's funny. I took these videos, and I have the real Niki on hand twenty-four hours a day, but I can still watch them over and over again. Are all mothers like this the first time around?

She's moving!

No, not crawling, but she is moving. Check it out.

The way to a dog's heart. . .

. . . is through his stomach, as demonstrated here.
I only left the room for a minute because Niki was more interested in her spoon than in the baby food. Then she started giggling, so I came back, and what do you know, Max was shamelessly licking off her hands. Of course, as soon as the food was gone, he became the epitome of aloof dignity again, but Niki didn't care. She was all starry-eyed and covered with applesauce.

In other news, the baby-proofing of the house continues. Today I began padding edged surfaces, and Niki began investigating the padding.

Doesn't do much for the decor, but it serves it's purpose.

Love to everyone. Bye bye.

Into everything.

Now that Niki can roll, she seems to be everywhere at once, and nothing is beyond her notice. She's gotten into the DVDs and ended up underneath the couch and into corners. She can't quite get under chairs yet because she hasn't figured out tha the legs aren't going to miraculously move out of her way, but I'm sure it will only a couple of weeks at the most before I see her peeking out from between my feet while I type. She point-blank refuses to stay on the blanket that I put down. "A little help here?"
"Look, Mom, isn't it wonderful?"

"At least I belong on the floor. What are you doing?"

She is very curious about tactile senses right now. She goes for every bit of wood she can find. She likes latches and tags and keyboards and camera wristbands too. And of course everything has to go in the mouth. You have no idea how difficult it is to type this right now because she's trying to take the keyboard out of my hands. "I just want to see how it works, honest." "Tastes good!"
"Let's see. What will happen if I pull this?"
"Hmm. I wonder what's in this movie?"

"Nothing healthy, just like I thought."

I keep the camera handy to catch her in all her escapades, but it seems like the best moments are always eluding me. I can't capture the satisfied look on her face when I scoop her up off the floor and lift her high in the air. I can't get the way her eyes fill with admiration when I hold her up so she can see the blades of the ceiling fan. She's fascinated by the ceiling fan. She thinks it's the greatest thing in the world to be up near it. She stares for a moment, and then she looks at me with this grin that says, "Isn't it wonderful that things like this exist?" I wish I could capture that expression.

And the look on her face when she looks at Max is one of noble suffering and unrequited love. She's so hopeful. It cracks me up. Max of course wants nothing to do with this little person that grabs ears and squeals and gets to take all the walks while he gets left behind. Meanwhile Niki is desperate for his attention. Her excitement when he gets near her reminds me of junior high girls squealing over their first crush. It's so pathetic. Babies have deep souls. They just don't have wide experience.

Perfect baby.

Grandma and Niki on Labor Day

We just got done with Niki's six month appointment. Boy, she's a big kid. 29.5 inches (100th percentile). 20 lbs., 13.3 oz., (99th percentile). Perfectly healthy. Perfectly happy. According to the doctor (the doctor, mind you), I've got a perfect kid.

Niki getting to know carrots. Niki getting to know Aunty Laura.

Niki with a carrot beard. Ain't she a mess?

Niki deciding that she's not sure about car travel.

She's so precious. She's learning so much. This afternoon, while I was talking to my mom, I think she picked up on three new things. She's sweet and happy and intelligent, and so, so precious. I look at her, and I see what people mean about people being made in the image of God. I look into her eyes, and I can see a bright, curious, happy soul. And I wonder how anyone could think that a baby is anything less than a person. Every baby killed by abortion is a bright soul like Niki.

Beginning September 24th, people around the country are going to join in 40 days of prayer and fasting and peaceful demonstration to see an end to abortion. They are not lobbying politicians or approaching customers. They wait for people to come to them, and they are seeing results. Please go to this site and listen to what David Bereit (40 Days for Life) has to say and then look for an organization near you. http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=127 Odds are there is one, and if not, you can still participate via the Internet.

We really can save lives.