i'm checkin it out

the title of this post is from a talking heads song called 'cities.' the pictures preceding this post will not be commented on in it. i think they speak for themselves. let the record show that eve did not drink from this bottle. she just acted like she really wanted to.

for the longest time, 'cities' was zoe's theme song, especially the lines, 'i'm checkin' it out, i'm checkin' it out, i got it figured out.' eve has appropriated the majority of our attention, interest, and time, and with those she has even taken over zoe's song. while it still applies to that first, and species-speaking, real pups, it can also now be sung with and for our newest little pups.

eve has been figuring things out from the moment she left the womb (and probably earlier than that, if we're going to be picky about it). as many of you know, a baby is tested in five areas one minute and five minutes after she is born. each area (skin color, muscle tone, heart rate, respiration and 'reflex irritability) is allotted two possible points, for a perfect score of ten. this is the apgar test. you can read about it on wikipedia.

eve got 9 and 9 on her apgars, which is pretty damn great and shows me that she is a good studier without being prodded. the nurses told us that it's really rare to get a 10 because most all babies lose a point in the skin color section, due to the bluish or purplish tint to their tiny fingers and toes. given my deathly cold hands and feet, this little eve didn't have a chance of being pink to the tips of her fingers and toes.

so when they told us her scores, i was happy and quiet, and ted immediately said, 'what's the best score? why didn't she get that?' don't worry, he's not going to become some grade-grubbing terror of a parent. he just thought she was absolutely perfect and was not pleased to find disagreement within the first few minutes of eve's life. after hearing the reasoning behind her scores, he decided that 9 wasn't so bad and proceeded to tell everyone he met how great were her scores.

i tell you this because i was recently reminded of ted's capacity to harbor and express pride and wonderment in his daughter and at the same time maintain a critical observational distance to her actions. this amazes and amuses me. last night, at the end of a cruel cycle of vomiting and nursing, ted was changing eve's diaper for what seemed like the billionth time that day, and i was applying packing tape to the kitchen faucet to prevent it from leaking any more (not to worry; we've got a plumber on the way to solve the problem in a more professional manner). he walked into the kitchen, carrying a naked, pink, and screaming eve. as i turn around and take in this sight that will inevitably end in messiness, ted tells me that eve reminded him at this moment of when she was first born, between the two apgar tests--tiny, pink, and full of piss and vinegar. as it turns out last night, she was full of some other things instead, which she promptly emptied onto her papa. good old ted didn't even flinch--he just laughed and realized that he was asking to be pooped on. quite right.

eventually, all of us were in clean clothes, the faucet was quiet for the night, and everyone slept until 3. and then again until 6. it's really not such a bad life, even when eve regresses to her new, new, newborn behaviors.