under the sea

It's pretty impressive that, in her mere three and bit months on this planet, Schuyler has seen a manta ray. It took me as many decades. Sure she won't remember it but the mere fact is mildly impressive to her stupid Dad. I'd also like to thank the little girl for the greatest gift she has given us throughout these four months: sleep. Sure, the smiles and the giggling and complete lack of cynicism are mind blowingly cool but the sleep... oh, man... the sleep. [Knocks on wood] We read the horror stories and know that ours could still turn but this little amazing baby goes to bed after dinner and doesn't get up until just before 7am. Thank you, Schuyler. Thank you.

Schuyler Young 001

Young, Schuyler Young. She prefers her milk swirled, not shaken. She is the youngest member of MI5's crack squad of infant assassins, seen here in repose on the foredeck of a motor yacht in Atlantis. She is... Schuyler Young 001.

It takes a village

I don't think Schuyler will necessarily remember her trip to the Bahamas but her parents will not soon forget it. With the invaluable help of Schuyler's grandparents, Schuyler's Mum and Dad were given leave to remember what life was like before pumping schedules and poopy diapers. It turns out life was pretty good back then... you could shower when you wanted to, have a drink in the evening and even do your own #2 without fear of the baby finding a way to harm herself with a plush toy. We tried to leave her with Kim and Ward permanently but they kept returning her to us and, at one point, hinted that they might have to inform the police if we tried it again.

Our Number One Does A Number Two In Flight

En route to the Bahamas for an unforgettably good and amazing finale to a long strange summer, Schuyler decided to test her Dad's nimble, diaper changing fingers.

Goodbye Vermont

Schuyler had to say goodbye to Vermont on August 5. She enjoyed her trip so much that she is already dreaming of a white Christmas.

Sleeping on the job

Schuyler was caught napping on the job in her grandfather's office. We thought she might be too young for the "bring your granddaughter to work day" but this just proves it.

We are also wondering if this is indicative of her interest level in pursuing a career in the legal profession...

tubby

After an "incident", emergency bath procedures had to be invoked. Of course, knowing the limits of the grey tank attached to the kitchen sink, we were careful to restrict the water used. Strangely, she came away from the experience smelling lemon fresh and with none of the ugly spotting and hard to remove grease stains we find with regular detergent. Thanks, Dawn.





As an aside, i had no idea people actually ranted about dish soap: see below from Dawn detergent's website:

"Your "Advanced Power" product is GARBAGE ! I have used your original dawn product for donkey's years and it works great... I even wash my windows with it. This new stuff doesn't do it's job ! The way I see dishwashing is that the hot water is the bug exterminator and the dish soap is suppose to lift the grease. This new stuff leaves that grease... what am I paying for ...???"

The top of the tree

The paterfamilias of the Zalinger family dropped in and held the very bottom rung of the family tree. And we were honoured.

she can relate to that

Schuyler's time in Vermont was a whirlwind of family and a great leap forward in that she figured out that she can break fragile items nearby with deliberate hand movements.

A bunch of Aunts.

Kate showing off her multi-tasking skills.

The real "Tummy Time".

Cameron and Maeve

Big Men, Little Cars

While on tour in Vermont, Schuyler accepted an invitation to take in some of the local culture in the form of the Shriner's parade. This parade seemed to serve several purposes: raise awareness of the good work the Shriners do for sick kids; celebrate the VT vs. NH high school football match (in which Uncle Chris played as a senior); and careen past small children in hopped up little cars to the delight and endangerment of the crowd. Cousin Quinn added "I thought you said there would be candy?"

cousins

there's nothing like spending a long weekend with six children under the age of four to make you rethink expanding your family, however, when you see the next rung in the generational ladder all playing (and crying) together, it makes you feel that ineffable and transcendent connection to family old and new and awakens you to the sunny side of kinship.
Here are the cousins at work, play and otherwise being.

hair and eyes

in tonight's post we look into the future. Using cutting edge technology, we simulate what it would look like if Schuyler suddenly grew hair. We also have a reference post to capture her eye colour for posterity so we can compare it later.