when i try to describe having a baby to nonbreeders i use the following analogy: imagine waking up to find a 95 year old bed-ridden short-tempered lithuanian with insomnia in your living room. as a fellow human you are bound to compassion but the unintelligible screaming and bodily fluids will test you a bit. that being said, i have to point out that stella has really been a lot more flexible than we have. between the road trips, bicycle trailers and generalized mania that seems to characterize our life she has gotten very used to being strapped to something and bounced along to whatever's next. this short blog is a tribute to her spirit of adventure. i was idly flipping thr pictures tonight and realized that at least half of them were poor little stella tied to some type of moving contraption. this first shot is her in her car seat where she rides between the front two seat fo the van and sings to us while we drive.

swinging is always a good time. the faster the better it seems.
in the gulf of mexico, stella says "safety first, everybody".
strapped into the bike trailer. i thought she would enjoy the breeze of the open trailer on a nice evening until i realized that she was getting pelted with dirt from the back tire. "gritty" and "baby" are two words that mothers seem to object to when placed in the same sentence.
how did babies survive before plastic? this picture is plenty cute, but if you could see her impassioned but ineffectual kicking it'd break your heart. hopefully all of this nonsense kindles an adventurous spirit but if she grows up and decides to collect stamps i can't fault her.