Adventures in Body Parts with the Polo Bunches

My right hand was hurting a few days ago. It was sore from clutching the NEW CAMERA we finally bought after saving for these past few months! It's amazing. I'm, by far, no expert so have enlisted myself in a self-taught crash course in photography 101, which, in a nutshell is me messing with all the manual settings and taking a load of pictures until I eventually get one or two that are decent enough to keep. Alex is much more knowledgeable. He's taken photography courses and knows all about aperture, speed, lighting... blah blah blah. He tries to give me quick mini lessons when he has a free minute, but that doesn't happen too often. I'm loving it, though, despite the hundreds of recycle bin bound shots and the hand and finger pain.

Ari is no longer the only mischevious little rascal. Bella has been promoted.

Besides my snap-happy fingers, other body parts in our family have noteworthy news. Arabella's legs (but mostly arms) have been working full-force this week. She has reached what some may refer to as the "crawling" stage. I see it more as "slithering." She's still not got the strength to be up on her knees, but that hasn't stopped her. She's already all over the place, and it's totally freakin' me out. I got up early this morning and "baby-proofed" the living room. Basically, I just rearranged the furniture so I could place our heater safely behind the liquor cabinet (so if it ever gets too chaotic, I'll have a warm, safe haven to drown out my sorrows. Just kidding!) and moved all the electronics back so she can't get her little fingers on all the buttons. She's obsessed with the computer mouse and seems to be gravitationally drawn to every cable in sight.

Alex's fingers also deserve honorable mention, particularly his ring finger. Last Saturday, after a busy night at The Bohemian, Alex was washing a glass that had been the happy home to the famous "Bohemian Cocktail" when it suddenly shattered in his hand. When he finally got home, several hours and three stitches later, he had a woeful story to tell me and an appointment for a tetanus booster shot. FUN TIMES!

Like a dutiful, snap-happy student, I didn't miss this opportunity

Lastly, this week's bodily adventures would not be complete if we failed to mention Bella's poor little gums. Just this morning I felt the ridges of her first tooth! It must have poked through last night. It's about time. I swear to god, she's been teething for the past four months. There's one more little bump where her next tooth should be pushing through within the next few days (I hope). I'm counting on that, at least, for some well-deserved relief, and maybe, if we're lucky, some longer sleep stretches!