ChattaBaby

Our timing is a bit off

I have a whole series of these photos. I think the flash is extra bright when set on portrait mode. So today I took Sarah to the professionals at JC Penney. We began on the wrong foot, but we wiped some tears away, gave her a fake present to hold and ended up getting some gorgeous Christmas shots. Yes, I am already "in the spirit." I even bought Sarah that singing/piano-playing snowman at Hallmark on Monday. I'd get a tree today if I thought it would last until Christmas (we're not too attentive with the watering part.)

There's no hiding that belly

I think we've seen the Elmo's world with the chameleon one too many times because now Pippin is trying to meld into her surroundings. We could have the fastest hide-and-seek games ever.

Look

Somebody made SF out of Jell-O.

hey, throw me that knife.

Every Christmas I used to get a Guiness Book of World Records, the contents of which changed very little from year to year. This realization led to a book every other year or so, which suited everyone just fine. I remember a particular record for "joggling", a hybrid of juggling and jogging. It was held by the Guiness rennaissance man, Ashrita Furman who, oddly enough, holds the record for most world records. (noteable - he climbed Mt Fuji on a pogo stick...bad ass)

Sarah is a joggler. Metphorically speaking, of course. Sarah is a knife-joggler. It is only when I engage in some self-serving activity (i.e making a sandwich, using the potty, checking fantasy scores) that she knife-joggles. Yesterday she:

• spilled 2 glasses of Diet Coke that I stupidly left on the floor.

• pried the top of of her sippy and spilled her milk under the couch

• climbed on the couch to trampoline jump

• colored on the wall with a green crayon.

• colored on the TV screen with blue crayon.

• opened a tube of Crest toothpaste and used its contents to moisturize her hands

• pulled off the AC vent cover

• pulled out her hair clip (with wads of hair) 5 or 6 times.

TV is my only reprieve. Thank heavens for Sprout (24 hour PBS children's programming). Now, back to work, where I can get some rest.

The spam has got to go

I've been trying to clean it up as much as I can, but ew. Where does it come from?

Oh well. There's nothing I have to write about right now except to say that out 80 degree weather is over. It is cold. I have two pairs of socks on and all I want to do is crawl into bed, although I know that moving around and getting my blood pumping is what I need to do.

Simma Don Nah

Cantankerous babies. I have not only learned to tolerate them, I have begun to love them. When someone else's baby or toddler fusses it makes me feel normal. It takes the pressure off of me as a parent to control Sarah's moods and behaviors in public places. When I was in college I imagine I was not to pleased to sit down to read quietly in a coffee shop, only to be distracted by little scampers and squalls.

This is the topic of the NY Times article, At Center of a Clash, Rowdy Children in Coffee Shops by Jodi Wilgoren. It is a tale of a shop owner that has laid down the law in regards to children behavior and etiquette in his business. 'A Taste of Heaven', a coffee shop owned by Dan McCauley had begun to experience a clientel shift, creating an environment "where toddlers have been known to sprawl between tables and hurl themselves at display cases for sport". Concerned that he would begin to lose some of his quieter customers he posted a sign that read "children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices when coming to A Taste of Heaven".

Mothers were offended by this and quickly spread word through their network of a boycott. To this I say SHEEESH. Obviously, there are appropriate modes of behavior for all environments. I have no problem with a business owner wanting to control the environment of his/her business. Read the article and tell me what you think.

I am inclined to side with Mr. McCauley when he labels these protesting parents as "former cheerleaders and beauty queens" who "have a very strong sense of entitlement."

Baby heaven

Shot through the arm and Flu's to blame

Seasonal flu kills an average of 36,000 Americans every year. It sends some 200,000 to the hospital. Both good reasons to take advantage of our respective employers on-site flu shots.

Last night we sat on the couch and rubbed our freshly inoculated arms, drank some beer and watched some great television.

Sidenote - Megan's shot was produced by the folks at Sanofi-Aventis, who are responsible for the majority of the market with 60 million doses manufactured. Mine was of the GlaxoSmithKline variety, one of 8 million produced. Naturally, we will keep you updated as to who's shot will prove to be superior.

Tergat wins NYC Marathon

A marathon with a photo-finish. How bout that. Congratulations to all who participated, especially these folks.

Let me clear my throat

Yes, it's been way too long since I have written anything. And it's terrible that so many things have happened that I wanted to write about but have passed by undocumented.

However, I can't glance over Sarah's First Beach Vacation. I had high expectations for this, and was not disappointed. When we went to the beach for the first time, I held Sarah's hand as we walked off the steps onto the sand. And as I tugged on her arm to keep moving, I glanced back to see her frozen in place, fruitlessly trying to brush the sand off her feet. She acclimated quickly, though, and pretty soon was standing in a hole dug by grandpa saying "castle, castle." Her favorite actvitiy in the water was "Ring around the Rosy," a clever choice by Nana.

And while there we got to hang with the Tinsleys, wonderful people we never get to see enough of. Brenna, 10 months, was crawling (and drooling) everywhere and saying "duck. quack quack." Amazing stuff.

Halloween, of course, was also highly anticipated. We didn't mess around: We went to the biggest celebration around, The Cleveland (Tenn.) Block Party. Such an occasion even called for two costumes for Sarah: She was a cheerleader until the sun went down and she was transformed into a pink poodle. The trick-or-treating was the best part (especially now since I am the only one willing to eat Sarah's candy). And as Gpa said, we had six adults handy to escort the one little cheerleader, and we needed them all.

But now, after all those exciting weeks, we have a few normal weeks to catch our breath before the craziness of the holidays hits. It's nice to look at my calendar and see some empty days, which mean morning walks down the block (our weather has been mid-70's-amazing!) and 1 o'clock naps. I wouldn't trade these past two weeks for anything, but it's nice to slow things down a bit..