Madeline, All Smiles

Well, I couldn't help it. Just after getting my little girl in the apartment this afternoon, I glanced her way and she was grinning at me like a lunatic. I got the camera -- yes, the broken one -- and beat on it until it agreed to work for me. I managed to squeeze off a couple of shots, one of which follows:

Baby smiles are soooooo goofy, but they're so damn infectious. They make you live for the next one, and the next one, and the next one. I can't wait until she starts laughing...

Camera RIP

Alas, our digital camera has given up the ghost. We've been giving it the gentle treatment for the past couple of months, given that the lense has a moody habit of not extending or retracting fully. Now, the little shutter that closes to protect the lens from our greasy grimy fingers refuses to open or shut completely.

Hence, no new pictures.

There are a couple still on the camera from when it was still (more or less) functional, so I'll gather those up and post the ones that are worth keeping.

As far as news is concerned, Amy is back to work as of last Monday. So far, she's really happy to be back.

Stephen is talking and talking and talking. He's a little parrot boy. He'll say just about anything you ask him to say. He might not get it right, but it's definitely recognizable. He's also very knowledgeable about lots of things, things I wouldn't expect him to know. Garlic, for example. I showed him a bulb yesterday and asked him what it was. "Gar-lick!" he answered. I was amazed.

He's also able to identify about 99% of the alphabet. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't remember learning my letters until age 5 or thereabouts. I've made him some flash cards with index cards and a magic marker, and I quiz him every so often. He's only familiar with capital letters so far, but I plan to work on lower case letters, numbers, and shapes pretty soon.

As to Madeline, she's growing and growing and growing. She's definitely got some meat on her bones now. She raises her head really well, is very attentive, and she even smiles at us every so often. Her next check-up is later this week. I'll be sure to post her current attribute scores.

There's nothing new in my world, unless you count my haircut. I visited a local salon a week ago, and the girl who cut my hair took a large divot out of my hair. Being that I wear glasses, and being that I wasn't wearing them during the haircut, I didn't notice the imperfection until I was driving away and admiring my hair in the rear-view mirror. Admiration turned to horror in an instant.

I wasn't prepared to go back to the same place and throw a tantrum. God knows, I'd get the same girl, and she'd end up shaving my head completely. I turned, instead, to another hair cutting place on the way home, and they set me up well enough. Granted, they had to cut my hair shorter than it's ever been in order to "repair" the damage. I feel like a shorn sheep. Or Sampson. I should've checked to make sure the girl's name wasn't Delilah before I sat in that darn chair.

Once again, I apologize for the lack of new photos. We'll be buying a new camera within the next month or so, I reckon. We've had one readily available for far too long to give up the convenience of it.

Six Years

As of yesterday, Amy and I have been married for six years. Prior to that, we'd been together for nine. Between our days of sin and married bliss, we've spent nearly fifteen years together.

So, here's to another fifteen years, eh?

Far Too Quiet

I admit, it's been too quiet around here. With one child, it wasn't nearly as hard to get out the old web log and update on a somewhat regular basis. With two, it's much more difficult. When one of them is sleeping or occupied, the other is invariably needy. I can only imagine how it would be if there were only one of us to care for two small children. My heart goes out to single parents, everywhere.

Amy, Stephen, and Madeline at Home
Over the past couple of weeks, Madeline has grown quite a bit. She's well over eight pounds in weight, and is two inches longer than she was when she was born. At the moment, she's going through a growth spurt: a fussy, restless period wherein she demands to be fed more often, and tends to eat much more than usual at each sitting. I expect she'll continue to grow at an increased rate.

Madeline, Awake and Alert
Stephen is reveling in the role of a two year-old big brother. I might be biased, but I think he's pretty well-behaved for a terrible twoist. He still says "no" at just about every opportunity, but it's often more an expression of disdain rather than an outright denial of our demands. He's also picked up the word "mine," which is often second only to "no" on his short list of words to say.

Stephen, Asserting His Authority
Still, it's nice that we can finally communicate verbally. The conversations aren't detailed, but he's putting two and three word sentences together with ease. Samples include, "I got it!" "How going?" "Happy kitty!" and "Clean poopie!" (the latter in relation to my question, "What do you do with paper towels?"). Last weekend, the boy and I went on a day trip to San Diego. After making our purchases, we dropped into a coffee shop and shared a cold drink. It was nice to be out with him, and I think he appreciated being able to go somewhere that wasn't our apartment. Getting outside is important.

"Did I say you could take my picture?"
With that in mind, we drove by Stage Coach Park on the way home. Stage Coach is a nice place to play, though it can get a little bit crowded. Stephen likes to go down slides, so long as they aren't enclosed, and he likes to run around in the sand and meet other kids. On this occasion, there was a family flying a dragon-shaped kite, and Stephen decided that he wanted to be a part of the fun. Well, long story made short, he nearly clotheslined himself on their kite string, and I had to remove him bodily from the area before he made a nuisance of himself. He was displeased, but got over it relatively quickly.

To Stephen, Slides Are a Means to an End
Last Saturday night was game night, and we had some folks over for the fun. Stephen enjoys interacting with everyone, especially his uncle Adam and our friend Alex. Still, it's bed time for him once everyone arrives, which leaves us to watch Madeline while he winds down and goes to sleep. The night was uneventful, with both kids sleeping the majority of the time.

Adam Clowns, Amy Ignores the Camera
This weekend is busy. Today, being Sunday, we've been invited to a baby shower for a friend of mine that I know from a previous job. Karla is due in May, and she's counting on the gender of the baby to be a surprise. As I understand it, her husband knows what they're having, but she doesn't. I don't think I could've handled such a burden.

Madeline Lounges on a Warm Spring Day
Yesterday, being Saturday, was Stephen's cousin Emalee's third birthday. We celebrated at Emalee's grandpa's house. There were a lot of toys present, and Stephen showed a lot of interest in the sandbox and the squirt guns. The festivities included a huge inflatable jumper for the kids to play in, a pinata, as well as cake and ice cream.

His Jumping Done, Stephen Indicates Which Way Is Out
It was nice to see my cousins and other relations, and the weather was gorgeous. Plus, we got to show off Madeline (who got a little too much sun on her chubby cheeks, poor baby). Stephen paid more attention to the squirt guns than anything, but he's a boy...can't say as I blame him for being action-oriented.

"Ah, a phased plasma rifle in the forty watt range."
Well, that's enough for now. More later, I'm sure. I'll try to make the posts more regularly, say each and every Sunday, but I can't make promises until my schedule becomes more predictable.