2009-03-06 - 8:24 p.m.

...caution...or not....

It's exactly as blighty predicted. It took my child one day to learn to go down the stairs foot first. K called me at work to inform me that she went scrambling to the head of the stairs and then STOPPED. And then gingerly did a reverse breakdance move on her stomach, looking a bit like a 1980s fashion turtle as she spun slooowwwwlllyy around and put one. foot. down. and then the other. and then. the first. andthensheclimbedbackupasfastasshecould!

Repeat.

If I could only describe the self-satisfied look on this child's face. It looks about as satisfied as when she climbs into the oven drawer.

That's right.

You know that little drawer under the stove that normal people fill with pots and pans? Ours is normally filled with BABY.

Every time we turn around and see her sitting, um, in the stove, we look at each other and say, "we really should do something about this." Some things really do seem like taking relaxed parenting a bit too far.

***

This week I've had success with finishing up a pretty complicated section of a paper that I'm collaborating on. It's been a whole heckuva lotta fun, but complicated in that I wound up getting a result that I didn't anticipate - and one that doesn't match our climate model results. Now we have to go back and figure out why the data don't match the model...It's one of those painstaking moments of science that winds up being quite exciting when you finally figure out how to make the pieces fit together. I hope.

This week has also brought me three students. One of my masters students has declared that he definitely wants to go on for a Ph.D. (yay!), and I've accepted two more masters students, both from the eastern part of Canada. They both look like fabulous and interesting people, and will bring my total number of students up to 4 masters students and 2 Ph.D. students.

This week has also continued an ongoing saga with one of my students, with whom things are not working out. We do not communicate well. I have not been able to get him to respond to my requests, and although he seems like a lovely, intelligent fellow, he just doesn't seem to understand what I ask of him. I've gotten quite frustrated over this in the past semester, but now I'm just going to let it ride a bit. There is really only so much that I can do.

**

I have also finally put together the itinerary for our Germany/England/Upstate New York trip. We leave for The Continent on the 21st of April, and return to Vancouver on the 31st of May. We have an action packed adventure full of grandparents, colleagues, in-laws, and friends.. It's going to be exhausting and wonderful at the same time!