A Crystal and a Baby, a study of light refraction, reflection and dispersion.

 I visited my Grand-son for a week in November, when he was three months old.  I noticed he was attracted to light and shadows. He would turn his head and concentrate on where the light was shining on the wall.  He was also curious about the windows in his home which let in a lot of sunlight.

So, for one of his Christmas gifts, I decided to buy him a crystal.  I thought maybe it could be hung in one of the windows and create rainbows when the sun shone in.  I have to admit, I'm a Nan who likes to give gifts that might be less conventional than others.  

As it happened,  I was able to visit him again in February when he was five months old.  One day I hung the crystal from my finger close to where he was lying.  Beautiful rainbows appeared and he was obviously attentive and curious.

He was definitely noticing the rainbows around him and his eyes were tracking as they moved around him on the floor and on the wall.

His mom brought it out another day and he was so focussed and interested.  Shiny light, rainbows, reflection, and movement were all captivating his attention

He was able to reach out and grasp it and get a closer look.  

Here he is at eight months old. He can hold the crystal himself and move it to create his own magic!  

From an Early Childhood Educator's point of view, I was thrilled with his interest, scientific curiosity and exploration with this "un"toy.  He is strengthening his visual tracking skills, learning about movement and is fascinated by the light and rainbow the crystal created.

I anticipate that he will enjoy his crystal for a long time.  As he matures he will be able to understand more completely the correlation between the sun and the crystal and how the rainbows are created.

His engineer Daddy might have already explained the concept of light refraction to him, so he is well ahead of the game!

A Child is Born. A Miracle.

This post is long overdue.

Our family was blessed with a miracle recently.  September 6, 2018.  Myles Elliot was born.

  I believe that all babies are miracles. A definition of a miracle is:

 a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

   

This beautiful little boy was born following four losses and struggles with infertility.  All four losses included doctor and/or hospital visits. Medication, injections, pokes and prods, speculation, doubts and fears, and tears. 

 Many tears. 

And prayers. Many prayers.

My daughter found she was pregnant with him when she and her family were moving to a new house.  She was feeling nauseous and low and behold the pregnancy test showed positive.  The doctors tracked this pregnancy closely and day by day, month by month he stayed healthy and strong.  His mama and dad faced each day bravely, courageously, so afraid to be hopeful and yet realizing this pregnancy was different from previous ones.

I got to fly out to stay with them right around his due date.  A few days later, it was time.  Nothing about his delivery was easy. One thing I learned was that watching and supporting your daughter through her delivery is way harder than delivering my own three children was.  It was hard!  Through it all, what sustained me was Myles's steady, strong heartbeat.  He never wavered, he was not stressed.  After about forty hours he was delivered by c-section and there he was!  A miracle. 

Incredible.  Rejoicing. Celebrating new life.

Thank you to all of you who were our prayer team.  Our prayer warriors. We needed you. Each one.

Brand new.  With Daddy. 

Counting fingers and toes.

Our life is better with you in it!

Precious baby.