The New Zoo Review

We went to the Lehigh Valley Zoo this afternoon. It was a crisp spring day and we threaded our way over wooded hills alongside a river, through a nature preserve to the humble zoo. Mixed in with the prairie dogs, goats, and falcons were a couple of camels chewing the spring grass, ostriches sashaying around their pens, and river otters gliding through the water on their backs.

Although the zoo is small, it is in a beautiful place and the people there were friendly. There were many children wandering around with Easter baskets, fresh from an egg hunt. It was a treat to see how excited Celeste was by the animals.

Here's Celeste smiling with a goat:



Don't you love the way that the kid with the glasses is sizing up that goat? I'm not sure who won that staring contest but it was a showdown.


Here she is screeching about an ostrich:

After the zoo, we stopped for lunch at a diner. We had forgotten how much fun real diners are with their glowing pie carousels, watery coffee, Americanized Greek food, and sassy elderly waitresses. This one had Pennsylvania Dutch food thrown into the mix for good measure.



It's feeling like spring time with our little sprout and I am beginning to accept that we live in the Lehigh Valley.

California Dream Vacation

We found the best place to go for a quick end of Spring Break get-away. The place has great food, lively guests, and the innkeeper has commandeered a stroller, a carseat, a pack-n-play, a high chair, and arranged a wood-paneled nursery complete with soft baby blankets, diapers, and alcohol-free baby wipes. Set in the intense sunshine of Southern California, the inn is staffed by baby boomers and members of "the greatest generation," who are always ready with a funny anecdote, an impromptu dance party, or a stanza or 12 of relevant Elizabethan poetry. The multi-generational staff are always happy to hold your baby for you and seem to think that she is as amazingly wonderful as you do.

What is this shangri-la that I type about? Why my parents home in Fullerton, California.

Peter and I visited last weekend with Celeste and had a relaxing visit. My mom and dad could not have been more welcoming. I especially enjoyed spending time with my grandparents Sheila and Paul and Aunt Jenny and Uncle Galen as well as my cousins Emily and Carrie. We also saw several of my parents friends. Everyone acted delighted to see little Celeste, and she thrived on all of the attention.

Hanging with Granny Lou

Almost 8 months

I cannot believe how quickly time is dissolving in front of me these days. The climb up to 6 months with Celeste felt like heading up the biggest hill of a roller coaster, where you can hear the clicking of the car on the tracks and you can slowly see the ground below shrinking into a miniature train set village. Now I feel like we are free-falling down the track with everything blurring around us while our stomachs drop and we laugh like simpletons. The months are flying by. I keep picturing those old-fashioned movies where they show calendar pages peeling off and fluttering out of focus.

Clothing is being quickly outgrown. Car seat and stroller straps are constantly needing to be adjusted. Celeste astounds us with new skills and new ways of communicating every day. As I type this entry, Celeste has just rolled from sitting to being on her belly and is reaching for a toy that is on the far corner of the blanket that she was sitting on. She has now flipped herself over and is exploring the pattern of the carpet that the blanket is on. She is smiling at me slyly. I don't think she has moved that far on her own before. Nearly every waking moment brings this sort of adventure.

Since I last wrote many things have happened. Shortly after Valentine's Day we had a sweet visit with my mom and dad. They enjoyed Celeste's new levels of interactivity and interest in making other people smile. We enjoyed their love and interest in tickling her and holding her.

Celeste and Pablo have a blossoming relationship. We are continually amazed at Pablo's quiet sweetness. He has been tolerating much backwards-petting and tail-pulling. His reward for this is that he gets to give Celeste hand and face licks and illicit joyful baby gurgles. She is the only family member who is not repulsed by his trout breathe. They make a good pair.