Ducut Christmas

Ale meets her new cousin, Kazik! Her Uncle Robert has the new daddy daze going on...

Grandpa and our Santita...

the whole family...
Team Ducut Cousins: Heaven, Kazik, Ariel, Mona Lisa, Justin, Alejandra
Santa's three oompa-lumpian cherubs finish up the last toy for delivery....

Baby Jesus couldn't make the Nativity in Lilliput so Alejandra was sent instead...

family time

Ale cuddles with refresh bear as she and Big Daddy catch a few winks...

Our little red-cheeks Santita sits with us next to the Ducut Christmas tree...

the many sounds of Ale...

Music to the ears...

eggplantsnowsuitgirldoesminnesotawinter

We visited my sister, Emily, and family in St. Paul just before Christmas... timing it perfectly to taste the coolest climes of the season... one morning it was -8 ˚F. Ale inherited her cousins' eggplant snow suit and, suitably bundled, got her first romps in the snow with Moira, Fiona, and Maeve...

snuggly warm inside

We "warmed up" with a few zooms down the front lawn and a little snow surfing in the backyard...



We finished off this day with a handful of snowsled flights down the local hill that gifted Ale with two silver-dollar red cheek circles.

los primeros pasos

Ale is walking! She took her first steps in late November but was content to continue cruising until mid-December when she finally discovered the interstitial dimension... The next video clips document her transition...


She first appropriated random objects as her walking assistants... here she demonstrates the utility of the laundry basket...




This was the night we "discovered" that Ale was ready to put together a few steps into a rapid prance towards us...



Here she puts all these elements together: sideways assisted walking, forward assisted walking, unassisted steps and the classic look of her "Night of the Living Dead" Zombie walk...


una bonita caminata...

greeting her instrumentatious friends

Ale meters her vertical progress against the sonorous altitudes of Big Mama's djembe... looks like someone better get a bigger drum!

A little evening strum-fest learning folksy love songs with Big Mama...

Binh and Diem serenade Ale with a little Friday night improv... which quickly morphed into a jam session with Big Mama and Ninong Jonny...