You may have noticed that there have not been many photos lately. I apologize for that. The reason is that (as I may have mentioned before) I forgot to pack my computer cable when I left the U.S., so haven't been able to edit my photos.

Today I decided to bring in the memory card so I could at least post a few of the more recent photos. I know, of course, that there are certain of my readers - I'm not naming names but they're probably doting grandparents - who read my usual posts and think "Enough about you! We want to hear about Milo!"

So here's your Milo update:

Everyone here is surprised by what a laid-back little baby Milo is. He'll flirt with anyone, and rarely fusses. Don't worry, we know how lucky we are, and that it probably won't last. He's happy enough playing on his own for good stretches. He's pretty stable sitting up, but every once in a while still wobbles over. He also likes to knock over piles of blocks. And of course chewing things still provides hours of entertainment.

He likes to chatter away now. Mostly ba's and ma's. A few stuttering wuh-wuhs. And he does this odd little fish-out-of-water think where he opens and shuts his mouth in an exaggerated way, just for kicks. No teeth yet. No locomotion either. He tries to push his little butt up to crawl, but ends up just moving himself around in circles.

Today's his first doctor's appointment here in Malawi. We're hoping to find out what we need to do about malaria, as that's really my main concern. In preparation for the rainy season we'll be having the house fumigated soon, and the window screens repaired, and our bed-nets re-treated.

People always ask us if he sleeps through the night. We just laugh. In the last week we've made real progress though. He wakes twice a night, instead of every 3 hours. He still wakes up at 11PM and 4AM, but Jorge and I trade off on those, so I do manage to get about 6-7 hours in a row now. It's enough.

Also, Milo is an authentic little African baby now. My coworkers came over last week and gave me a chitenje to carry him around in. I love it. It's way more comfortable than a crappy Baby Bjorn, and only costs a couple dollars!

If you're wondering why Milo is all red-faced, it's because Jorge got bored and played Rambo with him during the day. The red is from a red marker. It's meant to be blood from Milo being pretend-shot in the face.

I'm losing hope of Milo being a sensitive, bookish child.