Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas and It's Lead-Up


It's a white Christmas here in the South and it's bringing a blessed calm to the 646--though it must be said that the clam is greatly aided Sarah's success in the daily struggle of "how to get Hannah to sleep?" It turns out the girl is more responsive to vigor than subtlety. She prolly gets that from me. So as she naps past feeding time, I'm seizing the opportunity to update this blog. 

The Food-Tree continues, as does our overwhelming gratitude to those who keep bringing us food. The big winner this week is our friend Nancy who figured that we'd be ready for some snacky-noshy things. So she brought us Pimento Cheese! While she claims to make a mean pimento cheese herself (a claim I hope she will substantiate at a later date) she was a crunched for time as any of us and so fell back on the until-recently-ever-dependable Five Points Deli, an establishment which has just closed its doors after 18 years of success. While correlation is not causation, one must wonder how we ended up with the last batch of pimento cheese ever to leave those hallowed grounds. What knocked Sarah's socks off, though, was the accompaniment. Nancy brought with her a key lime pie, courtesy of Mr. Jonathan Klein. Jonathan, you had me at, "My Little Peroni!"

The future Dr. Riley wields the pimento cheese prize.

Also gracing  us with their presence this week were select members of the Bennett clan. Brooklyn resident Bennett, whose first name I forget, brought his son, Lucian, and mother, Grandma Mimi, over for an afternoon at the 646. It was a great visit- plenty of time to catch up and discuss and marvel at the growth at the next generation. Still, watching him drive away reawakened the sadness of having my dearest and closest scattered to the four winds.

Bennett- still tres chic in white socks.
And yes, my mother- Grandma Kushi/ Dr. Cumberland- is here until the 2nd. Here we see her meet her granddaughter (in my favorite hat) for the first time.


It's been wonderful having her here to share our first Christmas at the 646.

Our first tree, presents and all. The stockings may or may not actually be my socks.

However, it is my guess that if you're reading this you really just want more pictures of Hannah Mo. Here we go.

Ah!

Ooh!

The Roly-Poly & the Glo-Worm

Sadly, time waits for no man... or woman, as the case may be. My world's-foremost-authority anthropologist Mom has some story translations to keep rocking through and my college professor wife has a Federal Tax Accounting class (um, yuck) to prep. And I am working on this blog. Here's what our kitchen table looks like.




Friday, December 17, 2010

Busy times at the 646

Too much going on these days to keep it all documented.
Dad was here for a couple of days to meet his new granddaughter, I graduated from college, and Hannah id charting news levels in her vocal capacity. These each deserve their own post-- I hope I'll get the time...um... sometime.

Until then:






More soon. Gotta go- the baby is stirring.

Monday, December 6, 2010

A Nice Afternoon

Hannah Mo, kickin' it bouncy seat-style. Love those pants!

So, I'd mentioned in an earlier post that we're settling into a nice routine here at the 646. Yeah... not so much. Everything changes: the growing, the feeding, the sleeping, the trying to get things done.
But we have our fun. And now that I am done with school- oh yeah, I finished college last week- I get to be around the house helping out a lot more. And our friends have organized a food-tree for us. That means that every other day (or every day last week) some kind soul(s) bring us dinner. How cool is that?! Precious minutes are gained when dinner vanishes from the to-do list.

Hannah has smiled at me twice. It's amazing how powerful that small gesture can be, melting away all frustration and weariness, no matter how much there is to do or what time of the day/night it may be. And no, it's not gas she's expressing. It's pure, unadulterated affection for her father, a not-soft, man who provides no sustenance and smells nothing like mommy. I have no doubt.

Anyhow, the afternoons of late have been mild enough to spend a little time outside. Two days ago, Sarah, Hannah, and I happened to be out front when some of our dear friends happened by with their littluns.

The two Simpson girls reenact the good ol' days.

Keeper:"Hmm- I can catch a chipmunk. I can eat a squirrel. Now, this red thing..."


Keeper's prey, blind to the danger he is in, is delighted.

 

 
Hope saves her son from mortal peril in the nick of time.



Meanwhile, a young visitor to the 646 (who looks nothing like his father) tried to figure out why people kept taking pictures of him.

Finally, young Morris does his best Sean Penn, and tells the camera to clear out.
By the time Mr. Penn realized what was about to happen, it was too late!