Hey,

The boy is sleeping in his swing after a long, long night for Mommy. Daddy went through a 45-minute routine of changing diaper, walking and singing and looking at things, attempting a bottle-feeding and lots of hoppity Pop until the unhappy little man fell asleep. I think he's just overtired and not sure how to deal with it.

Noah is doing a neat new thing this week - he's tracking objects with his head and eyes. Just this morning I saw the strongest evidence of it, as we stood by the front picture window. Junior fixed his gaze on something out the window (a particular contrast, and not necessarily an object, I think). As Daddy swung gently from side to side, Noah's head moved to keep looking at whatever it was that interested him. It's so fun to watch him learn all of these things. And they're all little behaviors that we, as adults, so take for granted that it's a surprise to see them emerge for the first time.

It's still 10 below zero outside as I drink my cold (it was warm before Noah and I started trying to fall asleep) coffee at the desk, looking out our office window onto a bright, clear sky and early-morning sunshine. Island music is on the radio and making me think warm Hawaii thoughts. Here is what this chilly, sunny, lazy Sunday morning looks like.

Our new home office is very comfortable and has nice natural light. It's the last room in the house to still have its original paneling intact, and we decided to keep it that way for a cozy "den" feeling. Desk is under the 6-foot by 3-foot casement windows, which are at ground level along the front walk. A comfy recliner sits in one corner, under a reading lamp from Donna's grandparents' house. It's the first time we've had a workable place set up to actually get schoolwork or work work done at the house, which is really great.

There he goes agian - off to try another feeding...

Mike