Friday, February 08, 2002
At 6-months, Annie is still not sleeping through the night, usually waking up at least once, if not twice, during the night.
Knowing that Vanessa at the same age was sleeping during the night, we decided to consult Penelope Leach's excellent book.
For our situation, what it came down to was: go in and comfort Annie when she wakes, reassuring her that we're still here, but not taking her out of the crib. And due to the fact that if she smelled breast-milk from her Mother, this job fell to me.
The first night was a bit rocky -- in part because I had forgotten to leave the baby after she had calmed down -- but once I got it right, she fell asleep soon after. The second night was a treat -- all I had to do was go in her room once to reassure her, and she fell right back asleep. Sweet! Now, I am just hoping that this is a continuing trend...
Taking Vanessa for an Extended Swim
Yesterday I woke up early, and hence started work early from home. Now usually on Thursdays I take Vanessa to her swimming lesson at 5pm, but it's only a half-hour in the pool. So today I left for the pool early with Vanessa in tow, and we ended up spending several hours at the Birchmount Community Centre, swimming, having an early dinner, then heading back in the water for her lesson.
Vanessa made me proud during her swimming lesson -- wearing goggles and a life jacket, she did several firsts: she put her head fully underwater, she went into the deep end (though not being able to touch the bottom of the pool freaked her out a little bit), and she is getting more relaxed about floating.
On the way back we stopped by the hockey arena next door, and she enjoyed watching the end of a hockey game playing there. She also wanted to stick around while the Zamboni was redoing the ice. I think she really enjoys watching the game, though perhaps it's simply a delay tactic (she usually goes straight to bed after we get home).
Preview of Peter Pan II
I picked up Vanessa from school on Wednesday afternoon, as Erika was doing some much-needed grocery shopping. On the way back, on a lark, I went into the local Smithsbooks store with her. I found a remaindered copy of Galileo's Daughter which I picked up. Vanessa was glued to the kids' book section, and since she only visits bookstores with me (her Mother, being dyslexic, has little love for bookstores), and since I was buying a book for myself, I let her choose a book she wanted (as long as it wasn't too expensive). She ended up choosing the storybook based on Disney's upcoming Peter Pan II: Return to Never Land. I ended up reading it to her that evening.
The book is essentially a potted summary of the movie. Basic story is [spoiler warning]: Wendy's daughter Jane is kidnapped by Capt. Hook, mistaking her for her now grown-up Mother. He brings her back to Neverland to trap Peter Pan, who of course foils his plan. Peter brings her to the Lost Boys, who want her to play with them -- but Jane feels she's all grown up (she lives in WWII-era London and doesn't believe her mother's stories about Never Land) and doesn't like playing childish games. Soon she falls in with a plan of Hook's to trap Peter Pan. Jane begins to have fun, she becomes a kid again, and she decides not to join in with Hook’s plan. But it inevitably works anyways and Peter Pan and the Lost Boys are all captured. In the end, the good guys win (of course), and Jane returns home to London, in time to see her father return from the War, and she can remain the child she is. Uh-hunh.
Disney seems to be continuing its formula of using strong female characters in its ersatz sequels (Lion King II, Little Mermaid II, Lady and the Tramp II and so on) – a trend which is also evidenced in many of its more recent features. Basically, the story in this case is of a “grown-up” girl who learns how to be a child, arguably a reverse of the original Peter Pan story, where the original Darling children resist the urge not to grow up. In theory this sounds like a good idea, and the story is suitably updated to appeal to today’s kids, but somehow the whole thing rings hollow. Going by the book (and the previews I’ve seen so far) the animation seems “cheap” (release-to-video grade for Disney) and it seems as though the sequel has gutted much of the magic of the original movie (and book), making it too escapist, making Neverland not so much a place of mythic children’s dreams (wouldn’t you like to fly? ;-) but an expensive amusement park. I also find it amusing that there’s no sign (in the book at least) of the highly politically-incorrect Indian tribe depicted in the original Peter Pan movie.
Still, Vanessa enjoyed the story, and I bet she’ll want to see the movie when it comes out. Ultimately, I’m not the critic who matters when it comes to Disney’s box-office receipts. ;-)
Using the Palm Portable Keyboard
Along with getting the Palm Vx from Michael, he also had some related Palm gear, one of which was a portable, collapsible keyboard. I ended up writing much of today’s Blog entry on the train into work this morning. I’ve been using it on other occasions too, primarily writing notes for future Computer Paper book reviews and articles.
I like the keyboard, and my writing output on the Palm has certainly increased since I started using it. My only real problem with it is the fact that it needs some sort of solid support underneath the keyboard. So far I’ve been using the Uncle Tungsten book as a brace for the keyboard on my lap. Without a book (or something equally flat and stiff underneath it) I couldn’t use the keyboard at all effectively.
This was an obvious deficiency when I first got the keyboard from Michael, but he said that he used it effectively on many plane flights. But the commuter train I take, unlike almost all planes, doesn’t have collapsible shelves built into the seat in front of it.
I’ll keep the keyboard, but I wish Palm had gone the extra step and made the keyboard stiff when it needs to be. I’ll just have to bring along a hardcover book with me whenever I want to use it while traveling.
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