We went for a walk down memory lane this week, visiting the Markham Nature Park & Arboretum, where I went once a week to a Science Center as part of my gifted/talented curriculum in 6th grade biology. We learned about all kinds of stuff related to biology there, but the things that I most recall are going for bird-watching walks in the arboretum, and learning about and observing simple organisms like paramecia, hydrae, and amoebae under a microscope after collecting them from a small pond in front of the science center. I still remember how cool it was to see the cilia moving on the outside of a paramecium... I've been wanting to go back there for a long time, and it was a beautiful place for a walk, but a very cold and windy day, so unfortunately, we didn't stay very long. I hope Arianna will have such a cool experience learning about biology as I did when I was 12.

I typically feed Arianna around 11PM and she usually goes down less than half an hour later. On New Year's Eve, though, I thought it would be fun for us to celebrate as a family, so we delayed her feeding and Ania stayed up. Midnight was indeed a pleasant family moment, but we'd made the mistake of not listening to Ari's cues, and had encouraged her to finish the bottle even though she'd given signs she was done. Well, we had hugs and kisses for the New Year, then Ari surprised us with a large spit up to remind us that her body knows what's best, and we should really heed its signals. That didn't spoil our fun though; we were really happy to welcome 2008 with our lovely baby girl!

Ari greeted the new year with her typical happiness and sunny demeanor, and watching her wake up (still somewhat perplexed at the world) and seeing her smile was a really pleasant start to the year!

Dave joined us for our traditional New Year's Day walk around the Lafayette Reservoir, then later we went for dinner with the family at Mom & Dad's — the food was delicious, and Ari enjoyed being held and getting lots of love from everyone!

Milestones & Metrics

• Ari celebrates her first New Year, and is awake with us for the change
• Begins working on sitting upright (she prefers to stand)
• She's enjoying her hands more and more
• How Arianna looks this week: