Just pictures.

I don't really have a rhyme or reason for this post. Mostly, I just wanted to post some more pictures of Niki.
I mean, why wouldn't I want to show off a face light that?

Or antics like this? (See, Mom, it's still too big. :) )

Here she's trying to catch sunshine. She still likes my shoes, as you can see. Don't worry, I disinfected them before I let her chew on them. She also likes my hair, and books,And the odd assortment of boxes, plates, milk jugs, garbage cans, ladders, and other household items that she really shouldn't be getting into.
It being election season, I deemed it appropriate to show off some of Niki's patriotism.

Definitely pro-military (that's Daddy's sailor hat or "dixie cup," as the servicemen call them). She's probably a Republican (hee-hee).
This video is kind of dark because it was taken in the dark. Niki was playing with the flashlight, and she had figured out that the light at the end of the flashlight was connected with the spot of light on the wall. I thought it showed significant cognitive development.

Boy, she really is into everything, isn't she? And she's not even crawling yet!

Day 30, a reflection

It's Day 30 of the 40 Days for Life campaign this fall. This morning's reflection really struck me, so I thought I would pass it on, with my own notes.

DAY 30 INTENTION

That those tempted to abort may understand that their child is already present, and already a real person.

SCRIPTURE

And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said,"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.--

Luke 1:41-44

REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone

Jesus not only loves unborn children -- He was onehimself! Think about this for a moment. We often hear people speak of a pregnant mother by saying, "She's expecting a child." Now if one is expecting a package, the package is not yet there. As reflected in our verse for today, however, this is not the case with the mother.Her gift is already there. The pregnant woman, a mother already, does not have a child "on the way,"but has a child, already present and in full possession of his or her human rights, starting withthe right to life.

It's true, you know. The person is present from the moment of conception. The gender of the child, every inherited trait from eye color to athletic proclivity is present from the moment the sperm nuzzles into the egg and their DNAs merge.

I remembering lifting Niki one day and realizing how much bigger she is now than she was then. As I reflected on the fact that she would always be moving forward in her development, I got a brief glimpse of how far back her development went, and I saw that it had always been her in my womb. "There was never a point when she went from being "baby" to being Niki. She was always my Niki, slowly adding piece by piece in the same gradual ascendance that I now get to watch outside the womb. Her dimpled chin, her blue eyes, her happy nature were present even before the ultrasound could show me how long her legs were.

As I watch Niki develop new skills and understanding I marvel at how much development has already taken place.

PRAYER
Jesus, open my eyes to your presence in the life of every child. Open my heart to joy in the birth of every child, a birth that reflects the joy of your own birth in Bethlehem. As you shared life in the womb of Mary, so now send your protection upon every child still in the womb,and grant to their mothers the strength and joy that comes from welcoming the gift of life. We pray through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Amen.

Now, as it's day 30 of 40 Days for Life, it's also ten days from the election, and I also got this little bit of unfirmation in my email this morning. Now I know that abortion is not the only poignant issue in this election, but it is an issue, and at this website below is a video detailing ecah candidate's stance on abortion in his own words.

http://americaschoicenow.com/

Another video

One more, just for kicks.

Look quick -- she's growing fast.

Seth's in Japan this week, so I'm going to try to post as much as possible. It seems like Niki is doing something new every five minutes, so I have lots to post. I wish that blogger would let me load video and pictures at the same time, but such is not to be. I guess this will be an all day post.

This video shows Niki's latest attempts at crawling. She isn't quite locomoting on all fours, but she sure manages to get around. She has three primary means of movement : rolling, a kind of caterpillar-like crawl in which she rolls onto her elbow in order to elevate her behind and get up on her knees, and this forward scooting that I haven't seen before today. I've put baby gates on the bathroom door and the laundry room, and I'm taking a second look at everything within two feet of the floor because there's no stopping this kid, and once she really starts crawling, she'll probably do it behind my back.

She does most of her accomplishments when I'm not looking, and the camera still possesses the capacity to stop her in her tracks, so I don't have a lot of video, but I do have a lot of pictures. She smiles now and seems pleased when I take a picture, but if I want video, I have to make sure she hasn't seen me.

As you can see, she's really starting to get into everything. She has a special fondness for my shoes. I suppose they feel good on her teeth (yes, teeth plural. There's another one coming beside the first. I saw it today.)When she first started trying to crawl, I worried that our hardwood floors might be slowing her down because she couldn't develop any traction, so I attempted to make kneepads out of duct tape for her. First-time mother's folly, I know, but she's cute in them. In solid foods, we have taken a step backwards. The only thing she'll eat right now is barley cereal. She won't each peaches, which just doesn't seem right, or peas or beans or applesauce or any of the good stuff. In fact, sometime I think she likes dinnertime just for the high chair and the spoon. But there's no doubt that she does indeed like dinnertime.
To be fair, I suppose I should post a couple videos or pictures of her crying, just so Daddy gets a full picture, but really, why would any mother in her right mind take a video of that? And what father would keep the recording? Tis not exactly something we listen to for kicks. The real thing is enough.

Football season.

Seth once asked me how I would feel if our daughter wanted to go out for her highschool football team. I said that as long as she could make the team under her own power, I didn't mind. I think that somewhere deep inside of me, Niki heard us. See, the football serves as her doorstop. I figure she can't hurt her head or choke on it, and it won't roll on its own (it's a little flat). And one day this past week, she achieved a good solid grip on it . . . And now she's ready to play.

Praying.

Today I went down to the abortion clinic to pray with the people who stand vigil there every Wednesday. I think I was expecting nose-to-nose confrontation or angel revelations or people walking out with tears in their eyes thanking us for changing their minds just in time.

None of that happened. It was all very quiet. We just stood and prayed. People drove in and out and past. Some honked to show encouragement, and some honked to distract us. Some smiled. One carload of teenagers shouted, "Let God be the judge, you -------------" as they drove past, and I'm afraid I shouted back, "He will judge. That's the point." It takes practice to turn the other cheek and stay silent in the face of persecution.

But we prayed. The others there were all Catholic and prayed the rosary. I brought Niki in her stroller, and we hung the "Choose Life" sign off the front of it. I thought it was a nice juxtaposition. She sucked on the strings. They probably weren't the cleanest things in the world. I saw five cars pull into the Planned Parenthood parking lot, one woman come out of the clinic after an abortion, one clinic worker get in her car and leave nonchalantly, like she worked at the library or something equally innocent, and one car pull in and then pull back out again without stopping.

I remember being internally astonished at how commonplace everything seemed, and yet inside that building babies were dying. I saw a woman shuffle slowly out of the clinic, walking like a woman who has a bladder infection or something equally unpleasant. Her boyfriend helped her into the car and they drove away. When they got there that afternoon, they were parents. When they left, they weren't anymore. There was a general malaise over their behavior, but they didn't seem to realize the magnitude of what they had done! Of course they didn't realize; if they had known, they wouldn't have done it. At least, I hope they wouldn't have. It all seemed so impossible, and yet it was happening right in front of me. I felt again the great gap that is between us and the world and marked how deep God's grace goes. Murder took place in that building, and yet He can still bring redemption.

After about an hour, Niki started getting fussy, so we left. I remember feeling disappointed that I hadn't seen anything accomplished. I was expecting spiritual fireworks, and I didn't even get lighter fluid. Then God showed me that the nature of this conflict is a slow boil, not a microwave reheat. Evil this well-entrenched doesn't go away in a day. This wasn't a spiritual field trip where I could dangle my toes in the abyss and then skip back to catechism; it was a battlefield, and we can't quit the field until the battle is won. This is a long haul, but it's a necessary one, and seeing it through to the end will be a great victory.