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April 07, 2008
Back to the Baby
If I've learned anything this past few weeks, it's that people like babies. The tracking software tells me that the seven days following Alden's birth yielded the highest traffic in Barnstorming history by a factor of three. It is worth noting that yesterday, April 6, was the Barnstorming's two-year birthday. For a blast from the past, go back to the very beginning and have a look at the barn before we started taking all of the junk out.
As for the present, I know I've been keeping you all from glimpses of the baby these past few days. You'll be glad to know that my need to self-promote has been well sated by the past few entries, and now I'm ready to catch you up on Alden, who has had a rather eventful week.
For example, poor little sucker learned the hard way that Robbi won't share an ice cream cone with anyone, not even her own child.
Which compelled Alden to try her hardest to summon the dark powers of Lucifer.
Things got ugly for a while, but eventually Robbi and Alden decided to call a truce and have a nap together.
Later that day a package arrived from our friends Garet and Matt, and the lobbying for college allegiance officially began.
Alden has the burden of being related to no fewer than five graduates of Williams College (father, mother, grandfather, and two others whose exact relationship I lack the genealogical vocabulary to describe) and will invariably be inundated with Williams propaganda throughout her life.
"Why not start now then?" said Grandpa Bob.
Apparently Alden will be influenced not only by people who went to Williams but also by small plush bears in Eph garb.
Last Thursday, Alden made her first trip to the pediatrician.
We learned that she is in good health, and that she had gained a full 11 ounces in one week since leaving the hospital. The nurses complimented mom and baby both on the good work. I was given no share of the credit.
Later that day, the college lobbying began from another direction.
My mother, Duke grad and former Duke cheerleader, was the culprit.
Also included in the day's mail was a fuzzy bear, which promptly attacked and subdued Alden, to the satisfaction of both.
Friday brought a visit from the democratic family Westbrook. According to their egalitarian ways, each got a chance to hold the baby.
Barbara
Jennifer
Kira
And Matt
After examining the child, the Westbrooks concurred that Alden is an agreeable sort of baby. As a result, they rewarded her with a treasure from the Westbrook Easter egg cache, modified slightly for our child.
What cannot be appreciated by this photo is that the egg sits on a pedestal that is, in fact, a fossilized shark vertebral disk more than five million years old. Matt found the fossil at a phosphate mine in Aurora, North Carolina. When we registered for a five million year old vertebral disk, I honestly hadn't imagined that someone would be able to find one. Way to go, family Westbrook!
On Friday night, Chestertown was hopping with festivity. We strapped Alden into the Snugli and headed out on the town.
There was a poetry festival at Bookplate. Alden joined me as I read a Yehuda Amichai poem. Afterward, we went to the Massoni gallery to see the opening of Marcy Dunn Ramsey's show. Marcy is an amazing artist who is best known for capturing the beauty of the Eastern Shore's marshes. She was also Robbi's first art teacher. It seemed fitting then, that Alden should own one of Marcy's paintings. This quiet work, Afternoon Tea, was the gift of our benefactress Carla Massoni.
We are hoping that Alden will eventually cultivate at least a bit more enthusiasm for art.
My mom, Alden's other grandmother, paid a visit this weekend.
Alden insisted on donning the pink Duke bib to please her.
Mom, Alden, and I were discussing the prospects for next year's Blue Devil team when Alden fell asleep mid-cheer, as if realizing that the off-season is long and that she'll need to rest up to be ready for full fandom come November.
But then I told her that the University of North Carolina and the hated Tyler Hansbrough had been ousted from the tournament by the University of Kansas and she perked right up.
For a two-week-old, the kid's sure got her priorities straight.
Posted by bogenamp at April 7, 2008 01:27 PM