Cheerios underfoot: an Elaine update

We are in the process of turning a corner, as Elaine begins her finger-food stage. We can pretty much give her a pile of Cheerios, chopped bananas, chopped avocados, or stewed apple chunks and she'll gamely attempt the all-important pincer maneuver. It's a pretty complex task, actually. Anyone who's played one of those crane games, where the grabber gets a stuffed animal and has to hold on as it is hoisted up and moved to a far corner of the box, can understand. Often she picks up the item with her right hand and does a transfer to the left, then examines her acquisition as if it was a rare jewel before attempting to stuff it, and most of her hand, into her mouth. It's kind of heartbreaking to see the little Cheerio escape just as she chomps down onto her hand.

We also can play a little chase game of sorts. Despite my best efforts to not make a big deal out of it, she knows that I really don't want her messing with electrical cords. So now, when she's not confined to the baby jail, she crawls around casually until she gets near the tangle of cords connected to my computer. Usually, I begin to pay closer attention at this point. Then, with a mischievous squeal, she sprint-crawls towards her quarry, lunging at the last instant before I sweep her into the air. Then, I place her back on the floor, facing back into the living room, and drop to all fours myself, saying, "I'm gonna getcha!". Another squeal, and laughter as she streaks away from me. Man, those laughs are great.

A bit of good news regarding my time. We met another nice couple, thanks to the board gaming hobby, and they are in a similar situation as us. Josh works a lot, and Megan is trying to finish up her Ph.D while staying at home with a 7 month-old. Madeleine and Elaine get along wonderfully, and are completely cute together. Best of all, Madeleine really likes me, and Elaine really likes Megan. So we're going to swap babysitting duties a few times a week to give each other nice blocks of time to get some work done. This is a huge relief.

Finally, the Vagabond Gingered Dark Ale (recipe in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing) turned out great. Well-carbonated, bitter coffee flavor with sweet malt, slight hoppiness on the nose, medium-bodied, and a clean, dry finish. Absolutely no sourness or mustiness. And it's only going to get better over time (although it's our only brew right now, so it probably won't last long!).