Halloween...sharp fangs and R.U.S.'s (rodents of unusual size)

Much to her daddy's dismay, Eva is wearing a panda bear costume for her first Halloween. Since I have been obsessed the past year with keeping track of Mei Lan, the cutest panda cub at the Atlanta Zoo (see http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.php4), I just couldn't resist this costume. Aaron thinks pandas are just "big rodents" because they are more closely related to the raccoon family than bears. He is seriously twisted sometimes.... As you can see from the picture, Eva doesn't know a panda isn't really a bear from the best baby bear growl with clawing action I've ever seen. This is the only picture of her razor sharp bottom teeth. Those babies are probably going to put an end to the breastfeeding soon...ouch!

Eva did the cutest thing the other day I just have to tell you about. It melted my heart really even though it involved her crying. Have you ever played the game with your dog where one person pretends to hit the other one just to get a rise out of the dog? Well, Aaron jumped on top of me in front of Eva and pretended to be beating me up. She didn't seem to mind until I pretended to cry and then she became hysterical. I felt so bad for tricking her like that but at the same time, I have to admit it was a wonderful feeling. This little person, not even seven months old, already loves me so much. I love it! Those of you with kids probably understand what I mean. For those of you without, it was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. I guess that makes me a little twisted too.

Walkabout

Now that I'm a mom, I probably get more exercise than I did when I was going to the gym religiously. Eva weighs in a little over 20 pounds at her six month checkup which is a substantial sack of potatoes to carry around all day. She is recently more active, sitting up by herself and scooting around the floor on her belly. Everything within reach goes directly in the mouth! Gone are the days when she could be left unattended in a chair or on the floor.


Trooper Housing

Eva and I go walking most days. Not for exercise but just to get out of the house. We take the usual loop from trooper housing to the post office, around the airport, trooper post, hospital, grocery store and back home. That is about one mile. The time it takes to bundle up is usually longer than the walk lasts. There are some great things to see though.


The ocean DOES freeze over here. The ice is almost to Kotzebue, about a mile out now, and the seals are very close to shore. We saw at least 100 within 20 yards from the Bayside restaurant this week. We've heard that hasn't happened in years.



A seal peeking his head out

Shore Drive in Kotz. The white house on the right is the grocery market and further down the beach you can see where the barges bring everything in that isn't flown.