Update

Things have been going great for Rosalind over the last few weeks. She is really trying hard to roll over, twisting her trunk and moving her legs over but is in no hurry to actually plop herself over. 'What is my motivation?' she keeps asking me. To be honest, I am not sure either. She has strong legs and does a pretty good imitation of the walk John Travolta perfected in Staying Alive. Nice.

Rosalind discovered a new way to get the cats very excited. Learning how to use one's vocal cords seems to be a process of innovation and elimination. So, she moved from grunts, coos, ahhs, and similar sounds to a high pitched, loud eee sound that is remarkably similar to two cats fighting. Not the hissing, but more the screeching you hear. She modulates the sounds, so it seems like she is still trying to communicate a series of ideas to us. The cats understand perfectly and coming running into the room to either observe the fight or (hopefully, I think) to join in. It is nice to keep Maya and Chasca on their toes.

Mom is very supportive, but Dad wants to encourage her to try volume reduction as the next learning step.

Rosalind also had her immunizations on the 19th. Gabby and I think they doubled since we were kids, at least the 4 month ones. We are grateful, in advance, for the rotavirus vaccine but the side effects are perilously close to an episode of the disease. The medical assistant who delivered the shots also had a remarkable technique - 4 shots in less than 30 seconds. Don't get your hand in the way.

Hope all of you out there are doing great.

You're my only hope.

On the top is a picture of Princess Leia from the original Star Wars (1977, now called 'A New Hope') when she is presented as a hologram from R2D2, importuning Obi-wan Kenobi for his help.

On the bottom is Rosalind, freshly bathed, sporting the same general look. I wonder if she is looking for old Ben Kenobi?

Listen, wiseguys.

I've learned a lot in my 4 months on this earth. And, just to make one thing perfectly clear, never trust a person with an empty bottle. If that bottle's empty, see, then they shouldn't be in front of you, waving it about. Instead, they might be moving themselves quickly to fill it. Capisce?

Another thing I know: speak softly and carry a big stick. I don't spend a lot of time yelling, as some others might, but instead I use my powers - some might call it cuteness; myself, I prefer the term charisma - to enunciate precisely what I want and wait for it to be brought to me. This technique tends to keep everybody on the up and up. Of course, when I do need to make myself heard, I am not above giving a bit of a shout. You don't want them to think you don't have it in you.

Well, it is a hard life, being the one in the family to hold all of the power. Sometimes the folks need a bit of correction, if you know what I mean. Others may not be able to handle this kind of responsibility.

But me - I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.