chair

Dad's wood carving skills are coming in handy. This is some of his earlier work -- the stuff he's making now is obviously much more advanced.

crawling (forward!)

The kid has finally turned it in the right direction. Heres the documentation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6n7F1Hvm-g

this crib can't hold the Bear . . .

crawling (backwards)

Alden has the itch to move -- until crawling forwards pans out, this is an O.K. substitute.

Enjoy the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdGCbdwD9q0

water sports

Alden's current crew (parents and Grandparents Feldman) spent the weekend on Whidbey Island -- on a house on the beach. Alden found himself rocking some water sports. After being entirely immobilized in a life jacket, we struck out on a small rowboat in the sound. This was fun for 4 minutes, and then the combination of the immobility and sun in the face caused some frustration. Back on land, Alden was so overjoyed, he tackled Grandma Lois' face with a wet smooch. Later that night, after putting the kid down in his travel tent, we sat on the porch and watched the sunset reflect on the western side of Mt Baker. Dad reminisced on the epic (if not a little wayward) climb he and Grampa Tim took up that hill exactly two years prior. Lots of good memories on this island, to say the least . . .

exploring Whidbey

We got to spend a few sunny days on Whidbey Island -- celebrating the wedding anniversaries of Fred/Lois and us. Among other activites, Alden got to see the farm animals that are regular stars in his board books. This proved to be fun, other than a little frightening when the litter of piglets suddenly freaked out and ran to our end of the pen.

Grandpa Fred found a rug shop in Langley that floored him, so to speak. When showed to the private Mafrash room, Fred began to feel dizzy, and by the time he left the store he and Lois found themselves the proud owners of the beauty seen below, from 19th century Kyrgestan. Elizabeth didn't use a conditioner, and the island humidity took its toll on her hair (far below.)

Grandparents!

stink face

Alden has recently added the Stink Face to his repetoire. Despite the proximity to a scowl, the Stink Face usually has nothing to do with feeling sour, and usually comes during festive times. Elizabeth calls it the Bonjour Face, as he could be saying "bonjour" with this expression. These two were caught on recently arrived Grandpa Fred's lap (more on the grandparents' arrival soon) -- certainly a festive time. ..

The Real Deal

It's hard to tell from this photo, but if you look very, very closely, you might just notice something slightly new. Something different. Some unmistakable change not about Alden, but about Carl. Is it new glasses? A new haircut? A new wristwatch? Nope. What you see above, for the very first time on this blog, is a real live pediatrician. Not a med student, not a resident, but the real thing. Congratulations, Carl! You made it to the end of residency!

what spatula?