anna holds forth

love objects

I had several. A blanket I remember through a haze of thirty-plus years as white with light blue bear-creatures. I think it somehow fit into the hand with the thumb-sucking thumb, and was rubbed softly back and forth across the bridge of the nose while the other hand was busy twirling hair into knots. Ithink it disintegrated completely. After that was Bear, beloved and eyeless. And Elefante, cream colored calico with a skinny trunk, stuffed with saran wrap. And George, the red track-suit wearing monkey that I bought myself at the Ben Franklin with $11 worth of stockpiled allowance.

My little brother's first love objects were an assortment of die-cast tractors and a plastic hammer he carried around in a bag. At night he'd take each tractor out and lay it on the pillow so his head was surrounded and protected. He'd name them as he laid them down. Allis Chalmers, John Deere, and the attachable anhydrous ammonia tank. The hammer was clutched in his fist all night.

Anna's daddy had a blanket with a "special place" with a hole for the thumb to fit through and thus peg the blanket to the face whilst thumb-sucking.

As for Anna, she'll choose her own at some point.

Love object - early practice at loving something selflessly, completely, sweetly, desperately enough to pitch fits over. How about you? What love object did you carry and suck on and sleep with and rub into dust? What blanket or piggy or bunny or scrap of old shirt? Do you still have it? Do tell.

uncle willis visits

No, Willis, no! Don't eat the baby!

anna fix of the day for far-flung relations

(and yes, those are bunny slippers)

sleep:

the silver lining of the fussy cloud.

witching hour

Anna Jane's tips for fighting the evening fussies:
1. Get someone to stick you in the sling so tight you can barely move.
2. Take a tour of the (very few) rooms in your house.
3. Make several passes in front of the bookshelves. Oooooh, the books. Pretty.
4. Books not interesting. Get someone to sing. Anything. Loudly.
5. Stare at the fussy baby in the mirror. Who is she? What's she mad about, anyway?
6. Suck your thumb continuously.
7. Bounce rapidly.
8. Change positions.
9. Go outside and walk up and down by the park. Look at the streetlights.
10. Take off all of those bunchy clothes.
11. Bathe.
12. Sit in the vibrating seat. Vibrate.
13. Have someone blow raspberries on your belly.
14. Eat.
15. Listen to the vacuum cleaner.
16. Get someone to lift you up and make airplane noises.
17. Any strange noises will do, really.
18. Repeat.

snow day!

Babe in the woods. . .