Pictures
drorzel | October 20, 2008From this weekend's visit home, a picture of my father and me, with our respective babies:
You recognize SteelyKid, I hope. The fuzzy yellow guy is Bodie, my parents' new Labrador Retriever puppy. Bodie is one day older than SteelyKid, and true to his Labrador breeding, he's a born experimentalist, running around the house giving everything an exploratory bite or two. You can even see him eying SteelyKid:
He's thinking "I could totally eat that."
And, of course, as a puppy, he maintains an unassailable dignity at all times, even when sleeping:
OK, maybe not so much with the dignity thing.
drorzel | October 12, 2008Why I love New England:
That's the maple tree on the line between our house and the neighbors'. It's always one of the first trees to turn, and it's always spectacular when it does.
It's particularly striking when Emmy and I set off for our morning walk and the back yard is still in shadow, but like most things involving cool lighting effects, it's hard to get a picture of:
This is about the best I've been able to do with it. It's much more impressive in person.
drorzel | September 28, 2008SteelyKid has a new friend, courtesy of my sister:
It's a shlumpy google-eyed dragon, stuffed with pure awesome. I'm dubbing this guy "Wellington," for family-historical reasons. A side shot (with extra bonus baby in the mirror) is below the fold:
In case I didn't mention it before, he's awesome. Thanks, Erin.
drorzel | September 25, 2008Behold, the incredible expanding baby:
The "Smart Cookie" onesie she's wearing was also featured in the Week 4 picture, and now, it basically doesn't fit her any more (it's not fully buttoned under the blanket). We've already had to retire a couple of boxes of little-baby clothes, and she never did get to wear some of her newborn-sized outfits.
There are definite advances in other areas, too. She's awake and alert for longer periods, now (as you can see in the picture), and somewhat more frequently. She's also greatly expanded the range of little baby noises she makes, to include a bunch of…
drorzel | September 20, 2008SteelyKid is much too young for cartoons, but it's not to early to celebrate the weekend with a riot of bright colors and stylized animal shapes:
We had a really good morning of "Happy Awake Baby" (as opposed to "Happy Sleeping Baby" or "Screaming Awake Baby," which are more common), and she had a grand old time wiggling around and making gurgly noises in her little "play gym." This was aided somewhat by the absence of the dog, who spent the night at the vet's after having a messed-up nail removed-- that play gym is full of things that squeak and rattle and are generally indistinguishable…
drorzel | September 13, 2008Well, I'm back...
I was away for SteelyKid's 5-week birthday, but Kate was good enough to get the bison picture for the week. I got in late last night, and only got a bleary half-hour of baby-calming in at 2:30am, but even that was enough to reconfirm that she's the cutest baby in the universe.
While I was away, Kate and my parents (who came up to help with SteelyKid-- the canonization paperwork is in the mail) purchased a couple of crib mirrors, and she has apparently decided that these are the most fascinating thing in the entire world. I can't wait to see it.
I'll have a lot to say about…
drorzel | August 25, 2008Seen tonight, as we were leaving for our evening walk:
That is, I believe, one of the neighborhood red-tailed hawks, having killed a rabbit in our next-door neighbor's back yard. I might be wrong about the "red-tailed hawk" part, but it's definitely a bird of prey that killed a rabbit next door. Emmy is incredibly jealous.
I got a bunch of pictures, most of them blurred because the light was low, but there's also this good "Whaddaya think you're lookin' at?" shot:
It was remarkably calm, and just sat there posing for several minutes, until the neighbor's oldest son came out and threw…
drorzel | August 24, 2008Curious Baby says "I wonder what happens when I press this?"
She's going to end up a scientist, like her old man...
drorzel | August 21, 2008We had a pediatrician appointment yesterday, at which it was declared that SteelyKid is in excellent health. She gained 8 ounces in the last week, or 1/16th of her weight (she was 8lbs even last week, and 8lbs 8oz this week). To put that in perspective, for me to make an equivalent change, I would need to gain more than 15 lbs in one week.
Here's this week's picture with Appa for scale (for the record, Appa is 23 inches from nose to tail):
We had put her in the "Smart Cookie" onesie that I picked up as a counter to all the frilly pink things we've been sent, but she spit up on it before I…
drorzel | July 26, 2008It was a lovely afternoon at Chateau Steelypips. I sat in the back yard reading a biography of Ernest Rutherford (about which more tomorrow), while Emmy guarded against intrusions of various sorts: squirrels, inferior dogs out for walks, the next-door neighbors' kids.
There comes a time, though, when no matter how nice it may be outside, you just want to go inside and take a nap:
It's so hard to be the Queen of Niskayuna.
grrlscientist | July 24, 2008tags: Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 22, 2008tags: Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Snowy Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, at Galveston, East Beach, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 15 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 20, 2008tags: Sanderling, Calidris alba, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Sanderlings, Calidris alba, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400 .
grrlscientist | July 19, 2008tags: Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 18, 2008tags: peeps, shorebirds, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Identify these peeps -- photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 17, 2008tags: Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Western Sandpiper, Calidris mauri, and Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla (foreground), at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 16, 2008tags: Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Western Sandpipers, Calidris mauri, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 15, 2008tags: Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Semipalmated Sandpipers, Calidris pusilla, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 13, 2008tags: Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Black-necked Stilt chick, Himantopus mexicanus, at Bolivar Peninsula, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/1000s f/1.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | July 12, 2008tags: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Killdeer chick, Charadrius vociferus, at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 June 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/2000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.