Now that Paloma has figured out how to sit up by herself, naptime has become increasingly interesting.
Generally, this is what we hope for at naptime:
But sometimes we get a surly little girl instead:
Or, a very grumpy little girl.
When I was working from home last week, it took me several hours (yes, HOURS) to convince her that an afternoon nap was worthwhile. Admittedly, her teeth have been bothering her (but no new ones yet!).
She didn't like being trapped in (jail) her crib one little bit.
Or maybe she did???
After all, in her crib she gets to hang out with Ella (the elephant), Yuri and Brilee Bear. Brilee Bear has a bell in her tail and we hear it jingling when Paloma wakes up from her nap - such a happy little sound!
Most of these photos were taken on that long, long, long afternoon. Can you tell that I have a new camera?
Howard is very, VERY excited about our new inflatable canoe. We have scheduled our first canoe trip for next weekend. We're thinking about leaving Semilla behind, because she gets a little wee bit excited about swimming in lakes - but Paloma is definitely coming along!
Unfortunately, the canoe hasn't arrived yet. Let's hope it gets here before we leave for Abiquiu Lake...
Fortunately, Paloma's life vest is already here!! As soon as it arrived, we ripped open the parcel and tried it on. She seems to like it.
Here she is, practising breaststroke.
It looks like fun, doesn't it?!
It's also very important to check that the life vest tastes good. (I think she gave it the thumbs up.)
Semilla is coping pretty well with the extra person in the house. She gives Paloma plenty of kisses and lets her pull on her tail. Now that Paloma is crawling, she is very intrigued by her new four-legged friend.
Paloma adores Semilla. She feeds her secret snacks from the high chair and looks around for her when we say "Where's Semilla?!" Paloma's little face lights up when she finds her.
And now they're really starting to play together. They both like to chase balls and play fetch.
Paloma likes to wake up at 5.30am. Sometimes she lets us sleep in until 5.45. I hope that she will sleep in a bit later in winter, when the sun doesn't come up so soon.
Here she is, at the breakfast table, looking a little like she should still be in bed. I'm not going to show you what I look like at that hour....
We just got back from Corkins 2010. The Brandenburg family has been visiting Corkins Lodge for about the past 35 years (!) - enjoying the great trout fishing in the Rio Brazos, gazing at the amazing views of the Brazos cliffs and (best of all) spending valuable time with old friends.
This was Paloma's first trip to Corkins, her first chance to go flyfishing, and her first time scrambling over rocks to get up a mountain.
Here she is, keenly observing Papa tying a fly:
Once the fly was set, it was time to go and catch some fish!
Fishing takes a lot of time, and a lot of patience. I didn't have much luck - I was too busy swatting mosquitoes and taking photos of the other two. Paloma also didn't have much luck. She got tired of fishing after a while....
The next day, we headed up the mountain and away from the river. Jim assured me that it was only half a mile to the bottom of the cliffs and we would be back in an hour. I packed a granola bar, one diaper, and a couple of bottles of water and away we went.
It may have been half a mile as-the-crow-flies, but crows don't have to fly back-and-forth across the creek, or under and over logs, or across fields of talus. Phew. It was quite a hike! It was wonderful, though, and I am quite glad it was further than predicted.
Howard did a remarkable job, carrying Paloma all the way. Again, she snoozed on his chest as we slipped across the rubble...
... but she did wake up occasionally to look around at the trees (green! shade! hooray!).
Our destination was a waterfall at the base of the Brazos cliffs. It was kind of dry, but still spectacular. Howard can remember going there in 1995 with Claire (his mom) and Yvonne (another Corkivarian) and showering under the waterfall. No such luck this year.
Paloma and I did have a close look at the trickle of waterfall and had quite an interesting discussion about the difference between lichen and moss.
Now we're all back in Albuquerque and Semilla has passed out on the floor after a very active weekend with Zia and Red (thanks to Adam and Stefani for taking such good care of our puppy this weekend!).
It was great seeing all of the Corkins folk again - see you again next year!!
