For Miriam

My sister Miriam, bless her heart, requested recent photos of Milo, and who am I to say no? So I brought some in today to post. But first you have to sit through one my life updates...

Well, the office is back up and running. There are still a few problems; the fridge is kaput, which is a problem because I keep Milo's milk in there. But otherwise I am impressed with how quickly the Ministry of Health got everything fixed.

You may also notice that I am posting when I said I would not. The training I was meant to facilitate this week had to be postponed until next week. Really, the reason is government bureaucracy, but don't tell my colleagues I said that. So I'm here in Lilongwe for the week. Tomorrow is a holiday (Mother's Day) so I get to stay home. And here's the exciting bit - Milo turns 6 months tomorrow, and I'm finally going to let him have a bit of solid food! Deep down I'm kind of hoping he rejects it, and looks at me as if to say, "But mommy, your milk is so much better than this crap!"

Everyone we know went away over the weekend - there was a big music festival, the Lake of Stars, out at the lake. It's one big weekend-long party with lots of music and camping and beer. The kind of thing that is a lot more fun without an infant who goes to sleep at 7. (Milo's such a party pooper). So we stayed home like the squares that we now are.

In other news, I have a new ambition: To become an expert cake-baker. I already hold the titles for Best Brownies in Malawi and Most Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies. Really, there have been multiple challengers, but none have even come close. But some occasions just call for a nice cake, and I have never really excelled at cake-making. So this weekend I started with a basic butter cake with buttercream frosting. Yum. Next week I'll do a chocolate cake. Maybe someday I'll try a jelly roll or sacher torte, but let's not get too crazy here folks. But I am open to suggestions! What do you think I should learn to bake?

And this brings me to my other project, which is in direct conflict with the great cake bake-off: Losing the rest of the baby weight. I have just ONE POUND to lose before I get back to where I was before I got pregnant! Then I suppose I will have to get rid of the insulation pounds I put on in preparation for pregnancy (Gotta have that cushioning for the baby, you know. It's what all the super-moms are doing.) But still, Yay!

OK, onto the pics:

So here's Milo, almost 6 months old. And still no hair.

Seriously, is he not just the cutest child ever? How on Earth did I create such a being?
Already excited about soccer.
But more excited about chewing.

He likes to knock over the blocks, if only he can reach them
Peek-a-boo!