Snowy Days

Ok, ok...I know this post is a week late, but I have excuse...I mean, reasons! Yeah, that's it! That's the ticket! All kidding aside (well, at least for the remainder of this sentence), it has been a busy week as I start teaching a class next week and am getting all my prep done as early as I can. I taught the same course last spring, so I'm in much better shape than when I started from scratch back then. However, it's always nerve wracking to have 20 or so students looking to you to guide them to no less than a C after it's all said and done.

I also must report that my beloved New England Patriots were bounced from the playoffs on Sunday, but the 3 Super Bowl trophies they've won over the last 5 years does offset some of the pain. ;) While many fans are lamenting the loss and ready to break up the team, the team improved from its results in 2005 and with so many teams vying for two spots in the big game you have to be happy with getting to the final four. There's always next year!

The pictures in this post are from December and I had plenty of shots from which to choose. While the boy was around for the previous winter, his first real encounter with snow came with a visit to my parents. They live about 1,600 feet higher in elevation than where we live, so they had a good amount of the white stuff to do some sledding. I basically pulled him back and forth in the street and he had a grand old time as you can probably tell in this last shot.

Speaking of snow, we're already making up for all that we missed in December and the beginning of January. Driving has been a challenge for my wife on her way to work as the lake effect snow machine is really cranking it out. As I predicted a few posts ago, I'm very glad it's here actually as my allergies were driving me nuts. The skiers are loving this weather no doubt and hopefully we'll get the boy back on the slopes (at least the ones on my in-law's lawn) before it melts.

Jason Jones: Great Dad?

Due to the ice storm here in the east, I'll keep my entry tonight extremely brief and post the boy's December pictures tomorrow, assuming we have power. :)

This is the Daily Show segment I referred to in an earlier post about being a new dad that I was trying to find. My wife and I found it hilarious at the time, so hopefully it isn't stale after a few months time.

Enjoy!

Sunday, Lazy Sunday

It's been a lazy weekend here and that's not at all a bad thing. We're supposedly getting a big storm over the next 24 hours and the only question is the condition of the precipitation that we're going to get. It could be anywhere from sleet, to freezing rain, to heavy snow. At times like this you just make sure you have enough milk for the boy and prepare for the worst...and then nothing usually happens. ;)

The pictures in this post are from November when the boy really went through a growth spurt. He also began using words more purposefully rather than just random sounds all the time. His favorite has been "Mmmmmm" when he eats which I guess doesn't really count as a word, but let's just say that he's clearly expressing an emotional state. Much to his mother's delight (and mine) he actually likes to clean up after himself, although as soon as he's done putting things away he just gets them out again. So, we just have to time it correctly and we're good.

This week has been about giving the boy some new foods to try. We wanted him to have a steady course of foods for awhile to settle him into a routine, but we bought pineapple, watermelon, yogurt, and some different cereals so he could experiment. So far he likes everything we give him (still not crazy about carrots) and even gave me a dirty look when I took away his yogurt dish the other day. Tonight's new item? Kiwi!

The boy's best gift this Christmas was a family pass to the local museum that has recently undergone a large renovation. We checked it out earlier in the summer, but now we can go pretty much anytime we want which is very cool. We also get member only previews of new exhibits which this month includes some local Buddhists creating a sand mandala. As for regular programs, there's a toddler book club that I hope will be fun for myself and the boy. Our local library doesn't have any programs he can attend which I think is really stupid, but we're going to try some other libraries in the area too.

Right now I'm getting distracted by the Pats-Chargers game, so I'll leave it at that for now and post the boy's pictures from December tomorrow. However, if I don't make sure someone sends us a Saint Bernard with the barrel around his neck! By the way, what do they put in those barrels anyway? Water? Cocoa? Whiskey? Antifreeze? We'll consider that our Depends Adult Undergarments Question of the Week! Answer correctly and you won't win anything but the satisfaction of answering a really silly question.

P.S. I just noticed how crazed the boy looks in these pictures, but in reality he's just a total ham for a camera. Although, given many of the other pictures I've posted I'm guessing most of you probably figured that out already. He does have some calm moments too...mostly when he's asleep. ;)

Natal Americans: A Growing Problem? :)

This video segment from The Daily Show aired on Tuesday night with correspondents Samantha Bee and Jason Jones. It's called "Baby Talk" and seems like it might become a regular segment. Part of the joke is that they are married in real life and had a baby earlier in the year. Their first segment a few months back was about dads just before Sam came back from her maternity leave and was absolutely hilarious. I will have to track that clip down, but here I present the first installment of what I hope will be a regular feature:

It's possible some may not find the jokes about obesity to be funny, but I think it points out the excess of parents who feed their baby unhealthy foods as well as those that worry about it far too much. So, it takes "the middle way" which is of special significance to me and I just think it's pretty funny. :)

The Holidays: Afterword

Note: I've been trying to upload this post for about a day now, but for some reason I couldn't get it to spell check or upload photos. So, I hope it was worth the wait! :)

It's been another long lull in my posting, so I've already broken my 1st New Year's resolution to post more often. That means 2007 is already tainted, but I think I still have time to turn it around. ;) The big news is that we finally got a good batch of snow today after too many days of nothing but yellowing grass. The ski areas have been hit hard, although some were able to make snow since it was cold enough at night. Even though it can be a pain, I really did miss the snow and got a taste of what it might be like if we ever moved someplace without it. I could certainly live without snow, but there is something about truly experiencing all four seasons that leaves me with a feeling of comfort.

Speaking of snow, my wife and I got some great pictures of the boy over the holidays which I am eager to post, but I'll take some time over the next few days to post a few from October, November, and December first. The pictures in this post are from October and I can't believe how much he has grown. The boy is almost exactly 18 months old now and he's really developing a personality. Any ambivalence he had about saying "yes" and "no" from my last post is gone as he definitely asserts his independence. It's gotten to the point that he whines a bit when he doesn't get his way, but it certainly isn't defiant whatsoever. After a minute or a so he's always back to his normal self.

The holidays were a chore, which is kind of a shame, but as I have said to others I wouldn't have it any other way than to experience this time of year with the boy. So, in the end it was a good time, just very different from when it was only my wife and I. Everything takes longer because you have more stuff that needs to travel with you at all times. Just going down to see my in-laws who live 30 minutes away is tiring, so you can probably imagine my thoughts on visiting my own parents who live 5 and a half hours away. Yikes!

In other news, I actually won my fantasy football league which still shocks me three weeks later. Maybe it was because I didn't think about it as much as someone who plays it every year or maybe it was just dumb luck, but winning something always boosts the ego, albeit in a healthy way...unless you start laying down money on the stuff which is pretty ridiculous. The greatest aspect was that I connected with a few other stay at home dads and that's the real reason I joined in the first place.

If I can get back on track with posts, I'll get the boy's most recent pictures up by Monday, but anyone can feel free to bug me about it if I don't make my own deadline. I hope everyone's holidays were safe and happy!