the ups and downs, as lived by Zoralee

a new game with Uncle Dan

You are seeing there actual distress that the bouncing horsey needed a break.

She hung there on his leg for quite a while. It was a little embarrassing.

eating a treat of processed cheese with Grandma Rena

being told by Mama that that's enough of the crap-ola

(I LOVE this new "o" mouth. It's almost worth her getting sad.)

egg intrigue

fear of approaching chickens

(these shots were taken a couple weeks ago - I happily report their relationship is improving)

I mentioned that Zoralee had the measles. At least, that's the best we could figure from the flow charts in the old medical books my mom raised us kids on. Those flow charts are rad! Brought back some good memories too, of searching through to try and find naked people. Sure, they usually had some sort of disease, deformity, or broken or missing part, but if you weren't used to seeing much nudity, hey hey.

*

Anyway, Zoralee had several days of an up and down fever, and I initially thought she could be teething harder than usual. But as soon as the fever died down, little pink bumps appeared on her head, neck, and torso. She had teensy white dots on her tongue too, like flecks of salt. All of this was classic measles. She was needy and fussy, and wanted to nurse lots and eat less solid food. The body bumps stayed for a few days, and one or two migrated to her legs; they weren't especially bright and didn't seem to bother her or itch. Then it was over. She has recuperated beautifully, and I am thankful.

Today Zoralee has a bright red mark below her eye and several tiny red scratches, from falling on the icy path leading to the chicken coop. Maybe she had seen one too many winter sports crashes and wanted to feel the pain herself. She'd landed on her bum, then sort of konked over onto her face from there, into the tiny razor-like crystals that the snow has become with all the melting and freezing. But, like a true Olympian, no amount of falling keeps her from the ice.

And speaking of falling, I shall end on this NEWS FLASH of an up: I think I witnessed Zoralee falling in love today. She wasn't going to sleep for her afternoon nap very easily by nursing, so I asked if she wanted her kitty. After a moment of pondering, she shook her head yes. Keep in mind that Zoralee has not formed an attachment to any specific item whatsoever, including pacifiers, bottles, blankets, toys, or dolls. When I tucked her kitty into bed and put the blanket over them both, she looked at it with fresh eyes. She nuzzled and kissed it, and then hung on to it while she stared up at the window in a serious lovestruck delirium. Then she cuddled it a bit more, looked into its eyes, and smiled.

This is later, after we'd given up on the nap.

(As time goes by, we'll see if this is true love or a one nap stand.)