Dashed Crackers

Bug and I usually spend the Fourth of July watching an amazing display of fireworks from our lawn. It is not a municipal display, nor is it put on by a state sanctioned operation. As far as we can tell, its a couple of unknown neighbors five miles down the valley from us who smuggle the visual explosives in on a trailer from South Carolina under the cover of darkness . Tonight, there were no rockets. One of a few things might have happened. The weather might be a factor ( its currently pouring); their trailer might have broken down; their trailer might have blown up; after years of being successfully eluded by this group of Independence Day upstarts, the sherriff might have learned of the launch sight and finally subverted the exercise.

Whatever the reason, we settled for a peaceful evening of the William Tell Overture and Le Marseillaise via radio....instead. Tua slept through the whole piece....even the crashing cymbals at the end.

just like old times....

Sweet Corn

Tua's first sweet corn...well, sort of. We told her the best sweet corn is back in Illinois AND she doesn't have any teeth yet, but she wouldn't wait.

Bears

The Bugeci in June

The Bucharest-Budapest Line

At Pelsior Palace (Hapsburgs Castle in the Bugeci)

About a year ago, Bug and I took two weeks and travelled to Eastern Europe. We met up with good friends of ours in Hungary. After three days of touring the city, the four of us boarded a train at Kerlegy station in Budapest bound for the Carpathian mountains in Romania. We spent one great day hiking around the vast conifiered peaks of the Bugeci range and then departed after having made the mistake of assuming that Bucharest, our next port of call, would hold far greater excitment.

I was scrolling the headlines tonight and was pulled in by the story of a bear attack in a section of the Bugeci range.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/24/international/i141546D38.DTL

This particular collection of peaks and valleys is indeed vast and I will not presume that the incident took place near where our steps had traced. Though from my recollection, the only wildlife I can remember coming into contact with were the stray dogs that followed us from the train station up into the hills.

Swim Lessons

Yesterday I went swimming with Tua. I brought down all the provisions except the bottom of her swimsuit, which is coming in the mail soon. Actually, we could have stuck any baby in the picture as you can't really tell her identity with all her sun protection. In the first picture, Seth's youngest brother Jim is testing out Tua's swim toy since she wasn't quite ready for it. She really liked the water and started kicking her feet, as seen in the picture. I'm sure this isn't the only posting of swimming we will do for the summer!

The Crib Sessions

There are several points in the life of your child during which it is important to recognize that the gradual changes in their personality have culminated into a new chapter. Over the last week, Tua has begun to enjoy among other things, our company. She hasn't said as much, but we can see it her persistant wakeful energy, her warm smile as she catches our attention, and her definitive dismay if we fall away from view. All these facets are as new to Tua as they are to us. This collection of shots were taken just before bed tonight. She loves to lean against the sides of her crib and animate a dialogue with whoever might be standing in reach.

Mission Accomplished

I finally got Tua laughing repetitively today. I will hopefully post a video of our game "Drop the Ball" to prove it. She was practicing sitting up on her own when I showed her the ball and she really liked it. I laid her down on her back and would drop the ball (very soft) from about 2 feet and catch it right before it would land on her tummy. For some reason, she giggled then came peels of laughter with screeching and everything. Quite fun. I had no idea how entertaining a baby could be.

Family Shots

Seth's grandparents were up last week. Here are some photos from the visit. Tua's cousin Pascal is nearly walking these days.