Little stringbean

Here's a song I like to sing to Melina (to the tune of "Little Boxes"):

Little stringbean on a trellis
Little stringbean full of little beans
And you're growing, and you're growing
And you're growing
Extra long.

Today Melina met two other babies about her own age. We had them all laid out together on a blanket. Very cute!

Not sleeping through the night

Well, the sleeping through the night phase didn't last long. Last night Miss M. woke up at 2:00, 4:00, and about 6:30 to eat. What's up with that? I guess babies do this occasionally even after they've been sleeping well. I hope it doesn't last. Luckily I can feed her lying down now, so it's not quite so disruptive.

Melina's First Real Camping Trip

We went to Olallie Lake last weekend for Melina's first real camping trip. We've been going to Olallie Lake for several years now. The second time we went, a forest fire was sparked by lightning and we had to evacuate. Now the burned forest is starting to recover, mostly with grasses and small huckleberry bushes. Olallie means berry, and it really is huckleberry heaven. There are probably 10 different varieties of huckleberries, all with slightly different flavors.

Anyway, it was very hot during the daytime and very cold at night. Surprisingly cold. The first night I spent most of the night hovering over Melina to make sure she didn't freeze to death. She was wearing a terrycloth sleeper, two layers of fleece sleep sacks, and a cotton/wool hat. I pulled her into the sleeping bag with me, but then I was worried about suffocating her and it was impossible to change position or turn over, so I didn't sleep at all. Melina slept like a log.

The second night was a little warmer. We swaddled M. and then put her in a fleece sleepsack. She slept like a log again, and this time I got a little sleep too.

We went hiking on Saturday. Olallie Lake has some wonderful hiking. Lots of small alpine lakes with easy trails lined by huckleberry bushes. Definitely a good place to hike with a kid.

Little laughs

Melina laughed for the first time on August 16 - I mean a real recognizable laugh, not just a squeal. Two local kids had come over to see her, and they were making clicking sounds with their mouths and bobbing their heads up and down. Melina broke out laughing - kind of a creaky laugh, like the laugh of someone who hasn't laughed in many years (or who has never laughed at all!). She's done it a few times since, and I think it will be more common now. She was laughing at her reflection in the mirror this morning.