Blocks

The video says it all. =)

Fo' Shizzle, it Fizzled

Forecast During Weekend:
6 inches of snow minimum, a foot or more likely.

Updated Forecast on Monday:
3 inches of snow, 1/2 inch of ice (WIDESPREAD PANIC!)

Actual precipitation:
Inch of snow, maybe two. 2-3 inches of sleet. Little ice.

Bummer....I guess I'll go into work, since webmail's not working...

Crawling

[If the video doesn't load for you, click the "Google Video" button and go to Google Video to view it directly. Be sure to choose "Original Size" for the video - at full screen it's quite fuzzy.]

Recent Pics

Click below for a web album....

02-10-07

Progress towards Independency

Amelia started two new things this week:

1) Truly crawling. She can really go. She doesn't crawl just to crawl - there must be a purpose (a book, toy in the crib, my computer on the floor, something). Once she starts crawling to explore, we're toast.

2) Babbling words. Or, more like babbling one word - the most important word - DA-DA-DA-DA-DA. Pretty much anything boils down to da-da-da-da-da. Ask her to say Ma-Ma, and she says Da-Da. (haha!)

Videos of both to be posted shortly.

Talk about Growth!!

"Since 2000, the county has issued more than 35,000 building permits for apartments, townhouses and single-family homes. During that period, the county has added 100,000 residents, increasing its population by 59 percent, according to a University of Virginia study released last month."

That's where we live and work, btw.  :)

TOOTH!!

Yes, you read correctly. After 8+ months of waiting, lil' Mia has finally broken a tooth. Of course, it had to come one day after Grandma and Aunt Abby left!!

Here's a crude picture, but you can barely see it coming through (with a little help from Photoshop)....

We had a great time with Grandma and Aunt Abby. Two of the best pictures!!



And of course, some fun on the sofa with Daddy!

(I'm very ticklish on my neck!)

Starched

I noticed a rather odd phrase in the cleaning directions for my boxer shorts.

"Warm iron"

Now, I don't know about you, but [FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!] if someone wants his boxers ironed, I think he has a bit more to worry about than getting his undergarments pressed.

Been Post'd, Part Deux (plot twist!)

For the second time in two weeks, I've been in the Washington Post. This time, thankfully, I wasn't directly quoted. In fact, I wasn't even in the main article.

Background: The Post has been doing a year-long investigation of all emails/communications of the Board of Supervisors in Loudoun County, VA. Obviously, this was a difficult task, as my office alone had over 22,000 emails (something like that). As a result, they wrote this article.

While thankfully (and not surprisingly) my boss had done nothing improper in her capacity, she had fallen out of favor with some of her colleagues. The email found at this link will show you how much they dislike(d) her (start at the bottom of the email). And that's where I come in.

As one of my friends put it: "It was weird to read an article online and click a link about a friend's boss, only to have another friend's name mentioned in that email."

It is kinda surreal, actually, but all in a day's work.

Finally SNOW!!

It's January, and Oklahoma has already had two blizzards, and we are finally getting our first snow.

Just a couple inches, mind you, but enough to get excited about.

Mia doesn't quite know what to think...

Buns of Steel

You wouldn't expect something as integral to our daily lives as a toilet-seat to be made of cheap material. Nonetheless, I managed to break ours yesterday. Just split. Looks like it's cheap particle board.

Or, maybe it's those Godiva chocolates I found on my boss's desk that I keep eating....

I've been Post'd

I get my first quote in the Washington Post, and what do you know, but it sounds like I'm a 3rd grade student who doesn't know proper grammar.

"Where you have more interchanges, things work more quickly and there are going to be less accidents," Davis said. "It's pretty obvious that the more you keep traffic flowing, the less crashes there'll be."

Sounds pretty nice, except for the "less accidents" and "less crashes." I don't think I actually said that, probably her own words of my words....bummer.

Link.

Christmas Update

So, I've been a little busy watching great football games, but I finally made time to put up some pictures from our Christmas trip. We actually ended up taking more video than photos, but I left our video camera AC adapter in Savannah, so I'll wait for that to arrive before creating some short films for viewing.

For now - check out here to view our photos!!

Three's a crowd

From a friend / work colleague who just had a third child (names removed to protect the unaware):

"We can confirm (with the third child just being born), that zone is much harder than man-to-man. We're seriously outnumbered."

I just had to laugh....

"Put your money in the bank"

We're still on vacation for the holidays, and were prepared to leave for home tomorrow (Sunday, the 31st). This afternoon we got a call from my uncle that my dad's dad had passed away. This is not even a month after my mom's dad passed away.

We had the opportunity to visit "Pop" over the holidays - he has been in an Alzheimer's care facility for at least a few years now, and we had Christmas lunch with him by the fireplace. He was not very responsive during our visit, and it was pretty evident that he might not have much longer.

We remember Pop for a lot of things:

√ His service in the war flying glider planes. The purpose of a glider pilot was to fly behind enemy lines and become an infantryman. Thankfully, Patton overran his goal in France and Pop's mission was aborted (and led to a leisure trip to Paris, if I recall correctly).

√ His dedication to his family. Pop and Mimi were married for 61 years as of December 26th. I went with Mimi to visit Pop on their anniversary, and it was enjoyable to watch her love on him, though he didn't know her or understand the significance of the day. He cared deeply for his children and grandchildren, and I know he would have adored his three great-granddaughters, if he had been able to know them.

√ His sentimentality (if that's a word). Pop would never let an opportunity pass for a story about the past, a remembrance of an old friend, or a simple hug. He loved to hold us in his lap when we were children, and I always cherished those moments.

√ His slow pace. One time, Chris and I ventured to Wendy's for a dinner. Pop ordered his chili, we got our meals, and we sat down. He said, "Boys, just because it's fast food doesn't mean you have to eat it fast." And there we sat in Wendy's for no less than an hour. That's hard for two boys probably 13 and 10, or somewhere around those ages.

√ His financial prowess. "Put your money in the bank" was a favorite saying of his. Pop grew up one of 9 children, had begun working in a mill as a young boy, went off to war, came back with barely anything, got his degree and master's, taught accounting, began a small accounting firm, lived modestly, and invested wisely. Mimi still lives in the house they built in 1951.

√ His love for the Scriptures and hymns. Pop always enjoyed Psalm 23 as his favorite passage, and you couldn't get away without him humming "In the Garden" or "Amazing Grace." On numerous trips to visit him after his mind had all but faded away, even when he couldn't complete a full sentence, once we'd start singing hymns, he'd hum, sing, and often cry along with us. We knew how much they meant to him, and they touched his heart till the very end.

One last story - Angela, Abby, my dad, and I went to visit Pop while we were in Savannah for my mom's dad's funeral. While there, we sang some Christmas hymns and then I prayed. After the prayer, we all said we loved him, and each gave him a kiss. When I got to him, I could tell he was trying to say something, so I paused and waited. He said, "That was a good one" and that was all. It was the only thing he had said the entire time we were visiting, and I knew it was the singing that gave him joy.

We loved Pop dearly, and his mind has been gone from us for many years. Now his body, too, has faded away, and we will recall with great love and joy the man he was and the legacy he has left with each one of us.

A Merry [Downpour'd] Christmas

Obviously, we have many stories to share and have had a wonderful time with family. We woke up Christmas morning to torrential rain and tornado watches. Oh, and it was 70 degrees at 8 am.

Besides all the presents, time with family, and great food - we are most grateful this year that our baby girl is feeling much, much better. She's been converting to formula and it has greatly improved her weight, sleeping patterns, and her overall demeanor. In fact, she has been the happiest little girl of late.

We look forward to showing lots of great pictures and tales of big toes in the mouth (both at the same time!).

Faster x2

Upon a successful Christmas shopping trip for myself (see below), I got home and jumped online, to see about the clubs I had just bought (do you ever do that - where you investigate your purchases after you purchase them!!??).

To my surprise/excitement/dismay, the clubs were $50 cheaper online, with free shipping and no tax (small wonder!*). I called up the store, and they said they don't honor the website prices, so I'd have to return the clubs and then order them online.

Willing to save $70, I packed them up before church and then hit the mall after church. I lugged the box in, made my case to the "Front End Lead" (I'd hate to see the "back end lead"!) and after some discussions with his boss via walkie, he decided just to give me a $50 gift card to the store (they couldn't rebate the tax, no worries).

I have to give it to Dick's Sporting Goods - they're pretty good folk. AND, I just got in the mail a $10 gift card w/ purchase of - you guessed it - $50. So, I can go spend my "free" money and get not $50, but $60 out of it! Merry Christmas!

* "Small Wonder" comes from a road trip that Ang and I took to Philly, and all throughout Delaware there were billboards/signs promoting the state with the slogan "Small Wonder." Ang and I thought it was so silly and lame that we began exclaiming it at anything we thought slightly amazing. It's one of those "had-to-be-there" inside jokes which I'm desperately trying to explain to the world - and getting nowhere with it....

Faster than a Speeding Bullet

Ang - the sweetheart she is - got me a gift card for a sporting goods store so that I could buy myself a 3-wood for Christmas. Since she and Mia are out of town, I decided to brave the last minute shoppers and headed out to the mall. [Overall, not a bad experience, actually.]

After playing golf with my cousin and uncle over Labor Day, my cousin noted that I'd probably be better off with a new set of irons than a 3-wood, as my irons are my Grandaddy Mac's old clubs (probably at least 20-30 years old, heavy as a brick, and very unforgiving).

I asked the sales assoc. what a good set of irons would be, and he asked if I needed just irons, or a complete golf set. I said just the irons at first, but then remarked that I didn't have a good 3-wood or 5-wood. For the same price as the irons he took me to, he also showed me a full set that were just as good and had everything I needed. I asked if I could hit a couple clubs in the practice area, and he said sure.

Well, sure enough, I pull out the 3-wood, and what do I do but smack it 225 yards (that's a lot, for me). Not too shabby. Then, I pick up the 6-iron, and lo and behold - I hit it 174 yards (I've never even hit my current 3-iron that far). I was sold.

I consulted with Ang, who was on her way to Brian's graduation (yeah, Brian!) and she agreed that I could purchase the set. Now, I have an extra bag, which I may sell on eBay, but I'm ready to play golf (considering it's going to be in the upper-60's tomorrow). Any takers??

My baby is more fireproof than your baby!

While I applaud society's (in general) and as a result our government's efforts to protect the lives and interests of its citizens, it is with great humor, accompanied by disdain and annoyance, that I come across the stating-the-obvious warnings I find on labels, coffee cups, etc. - everywhere it seems.

Take for instance the standard disposable coffee cup at your local Starbuck's: typically printed at the bottom of said cup is the sentence, "Warning: this beverage you are about to enjoy is extremely hot." THANK YOU, Mr. Coffee Cup Printer Man. Usually when I order a cup of coffee, unless I specifically ask for iced coffee, I expect that it will be hot. But just in case there was any doubt...

What breaks the mold is the "guide to children's sleepwear," which I found recently in Macy's at the check-out counter and also on specially marked tags throughout the children's apparel department. On this guide I read: "The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sets national safety standards for children's sleepwear that are designed to protect children from burn injuries if they come in contact with an open flame, such as a candle or stove burner. Do not let your children sleep in clothing that does not meet the CPSC sleepwear standards."

OK. Soooo...in other words, when I tuck my little baby into bed at night next to the burning candle and hot plate in her room I'll be sure to put her into jammies that meet the CPSC sleepwear standards so that once her jammies light up and I remove them these flame resistant garments will most likely not continue to burn! These will also prove very useful when I move her crib into the kitchen next to the stove.

These warnings scream: you as a common, possibly somewhat educated populace, despite whatever you may say or do probably have either no common sense, are too busy to use what common sense you have, or better yet, have become so sophisticated in employing your common sense that if we don't print this warning you will sue us for liability, negligence, or some other such fuzzy legality that when it really comes down to it was your own fault for not using your common sense!

~ posted by Ang (actually by Dan, but Ang left it as an edit and then went out of town)

A Brave New World

No, I haven't been reading Aldous Huxley. This another story of our brave little girl.

Today, lil' Mia, at only 11 lbs 6 oz, had to get an endoscopy. That involved being put to sleep with general anesthesia, having a camera plunged down her throat, and waking up with a weird lady trying to feed her sugar water out of a bottle! YIKES!

The Doc was really great, he even did this on a 7-week old the other day. Anyway, he saw no visible signs of any problems (except a little irritation of the duodenum), and we'll hear back about the biopsy in 7-10 days. Our little one woke up a little groggy, but after eating and resting in her car seat, and then a good nap, she was no worse for the wear.

Thankfully, we didn't see this, but apparently they couldn't find a vein for the IV in her feet or arms, so the IV ended being put in her forehead. Poor thing!