better than before, i think

I replaced a window screen for the first time this morning. I'm not a real "handy" type, but I figured this couldn't be that bad, and whether or not I did a great job, it would certainly be better than the mosquito-attracting tears in pretty much all of our screens. I don't think our new screen could be described as a "great" job, but it should be serviceable, and I'm pretty sure the fact that I pulled the mesh way too tight, and thus have a screen frame that is more saddle-shaped than planar, can be overcome by a simple application of brute force to get the screen to fit into the window frame again. Or maybe I'll be doing this one over again.

So the first screen is done -- eight more to go! Guess I'm going to need to get some more mesh, seeing as I've used up Kirk's entire supply.

an update on the furry one

We haven't heard a lot from Griffin lately. He used to be featured quite prominently in this space until the arrival of "The Pink Thing," which I'm pretty sure is how he thinks of Robin. He's probably starting to think of her as "The Squirming Thing," or perhaps "The Stinky Thing" as her diapers are becoming more aromatic these days.

Look, see how even when it's supposed to be about Griffin it turns into another Robin post?

Anyway, Griffin is doing fine. He's four-and-a-half years old, so we expect that any day now he will start calming down as he reaches middle age. Any day now. Any. Day. Now. Actually he is somewhat less ridiculously active now, but not really what I would call sedate. He is a strange mix of fearless and cowardly; he'll stand his ground against any of the big dogs in the dog park but is thoroughly intimidated by my cousin's pug, and while raging thunderstorms are no cause for alarm, the sound of someone chewing gum is terrifying. He is not about to win any awards for Guard Dog Of The Year, as sometimes it's not until a visitor calls out, "Hello," that he realizes that someone has come in.

But he's as affectionate as ever and will happily settle in for a good twenty-minute licking session (only one way to hit that million-lick mark, after all). Watching him run through the park at top speed after a stick is to watch pure joy. And there's no greeting quite as enthusiastic as when you come into our house.

the eight-month check in

So here's a little snapshot of life with Robin these days.

• Robin generally sleeps through the night now, which Mommy and Daddy are over. The. Moon. About. She goes to bed about 9 pm and sleeps until sometime between 7 and 8 am. She sometimes wakes up and entertains herself in her crib for a while before she starts hollering to get out. We aren't swaddling her anymore.
• We mainly use cloth diapers, but disposables when we go out. Cloth is not as much work as I thought it would be, though now that she's not exclusively breast-fed things can be a little messier than they used to be.
• Robin is a bit of an unpredictable eater. We feed her twice a day -- usually some kind of baby cereal mixed with formula and either a pureed fruit (in the morning) or vegetable (in the evening). She particularly likes bananas, peaches and butternut squash. She doesn't like peas and isn't crazy about carrots, but if we catch her at just the right moment she'll eat them anyway. Sometimes, though, we catch her at the wrong moment and she just isn't gonna eat.
  
• Robin is a professional sitter now and can get herself up on all fours from her tummy, but she hasn't quite figured out crawling yet. If she tries to go forward, she ends up doing a faceplant. I'm pretty sure her view on the matter is, "Crawling is for the birds -- it hurts my face too much!" She can lie on her tummy and slowly inch herself backwards, but it's pretty random. Fortunately for us she doesn't set any land speed records yet.
• Robin likes to stand. A lot. She needs a lot of help with balance, but she's plenty strong enough to stand and even jump.
• Robin is very good at manipulating her soother into her mouth. When it starts going in backwards, she knows exactly how to turn it to get it right. She likes to pull her soother out of Daddy's mouth to put it in her own; sometimes she even gives it back!
• Robin really likes water. She plays in the tub till the water's stone cold, and had a great time in the pool in Cuba.
• Robin's favourite toys these days are non-toys, especially cups. She was entertained for about fifteen minutes on the flight to Cuba by an unopened package of snack mix.
• Robin is generally pretty easy-going and good-natured. She was up at 4 am to leave for Cuba, but was happy as a clam all the way there, even though she only slept for about 45 minutes. She charmed the pants off strangers in Cuba with her big smiles for anyone who made eye contact. She isn't really making strange these days unless she's tired. We are teaching her to wave hello and goodbye; right now she sometimes sticks her hand out but doesn't really move it. Very endearing nonetheless.
• Robin is getting to be a cuddle-bum, especially with Andy and I.