Monday, March 30, 2009

Our Sasquatch enters the Marines

Daniel has been asking for a haircut for...oh... about a month and a half.

Unfortunately for him, I like his hair longer (it waves and curls adorably) and am also a very reluctant barber. Mostly, I am reluctant because I don't have much experience and am not confident what the results will be; which doesn't help make me enthusiastic at the prospect of another haircut. I also know that when I finish, Dan will very kindly and politely point out where I can improve. If possible, I do so on the spot... leading to much mental conflict on my part as I fight with myself to not get defensive because I can see his point (or points)..... but don't like having them stated out loud like that. It's a good exercise in self control, patience, and kindness (for both of us).

In addition to these reasons, the haircuts I administer usually reflect the mood I am in when I give them. Daniel has learned to always check how I am feeling emotionally with him before he asks for a haircut. Smart man.

So enough background info. Here are the pics.

Before (Sasquatch Extraordinaire):



After (Macho Marine):

Short = greater time before another haircut is needed = I like it!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Un-edentulous to the eighth degree

James has finally sprouted his eighth tooth. We wondered why he was more needy than usual on Monday but chalked it up to the general Monday-ness of the day. We gave him lots of love and attention and that seemed to do the trick. Then yesterday, Alana pointed out to us that he has eight teeth. The eighth is freshly cut and not as tall as the others but it is definitely there. I'm not sure we would have noticed if she hadn't been so observant. Bad parents! Thanks, Alana.

In addition to now having a matching set of bottom and top teeth, James has been learning to talk and gesture. He has been pointing for some time and we encourage by repeating words and pointing too. He has now said Daddy (daa-deeee), Mama, Hello (hi-o), and Bye (ba-ee). Daniel got a thrill when James pointed directly at him and said 'Daa-deeee'. We are now working on animals, animal sounds, and the parts of the body. He seems to be a little confused when we say 'nose'. I guess it looks like we are telling our face 'No!', a word James is becoming familiar with, especially as he has learned to climb on top of my sewing table. Sigh.....

For those who might be wondering, 'edentulous' means toothless.

Friday, March 20, 2009

A treat for Daniel


A flood of work and a notice that a special offer was about to expire soon caused me to request a purchase order from Charity to get Adobe CS4. It just came in the mail today and I am so excited. I think I am more excited than when I got Starcraft back in 199somethingorother. I use PS/AI/Dreamweaver daily. I don't know where my copy of Starcraft is, but I hear there's a sequel.

I must admit, part of my motive for this post is to show off to my sister-in-law Melissa, who is a very gifted photographer and has an awesome DSLR that I've been pining over for years. Here is a free plug for her site, Blueprints Photography, so that she doesn't think I am rubbing it in too much.

Now back to work...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Growth Spurt

James must be growing. He has been sleeping more. Yesterday was a day of rest indeed.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Lost (again) in NJ


The last detour sign I saw happened to be the very first, which said, "Bridge out, follow Amwell Rd detour signs", with an arrow turning right. So right I went. Wrong!

I think there are only two compass headings in NJ. There are roads that lead to New York City, and roads that form concentric circles around New York City. I thought if I drive long enough, I would run into one of New Jersey's 13.2 billion miles of interstate highways (and parking lots). I am still trying to wrap my brain around this one: I was heading due east, made a right hand turn, and then made a left to end up going west.

So I tried to call Charity to see if she could lo-jack me.

I say , "I am on route 602." She replies, "There are no numbered roads on the map." I discover that the major road up ahead has no street name like the other five before it. Then my call is dropped and I start the cycle all over.

Most fortunately, James was asleep for the hour long tour.

Finally, I see a road sign and discover that I was heading in the exact direction away from home, well, I should say the exact direction away from New York, which happened to be on the far side of home. So, Charity was my lifeline and told me how to shimmy across the back roads to get to the one special highway that was paved through my neck of the woods.

I am beginning to think that the whole purpose of Jersey "jug handles" is to create a place for lost and out of state drivers to burn gas and wait for divine intervention--kind of like those frogs in a shallow tide pool waiting for the rainy season. But I digress.

So, I got home and Charity had a wonderful dinner waiting for me. She is the best. Lessons learned: When lost, Charity makes all wrong turns right.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Green monster

James is learning to reach for things that we thought were out of his reach. Yesterday was one of those days where I turned my back for a second and James begins massacring defenseless green peas in his highchair. And while I was attending to him, the butternut squash soup started to scorch And when I attended to that, James one upped and decided he needed a rather expedient diaper change. And when I was doing hazmat containment in the bathroom, my client calls and wants an engineering drawing made. And so it went ... 'til about 2 am for me.

But he sure is cute, isn't he-






Sunday, March 1, 2009

Hiking NJ

We decided to go hiking this weekend. A friend of ours knows the trails and offered to show us the way, so we bundled James up and set off around noon yesterday. We had thought to put James in his cocoon of a stroller but he would have none of it.
So out of the stroller he came and we carried him. I had the song from 'Sound of Music' playing in my head as we hiked as a family; one pushing the stroller with diaper bag and the other carrying the heavy child. "Over every mountain, cross every stream, follow every rainbow....." Except this is New Jersey and although where we hiked IS considered a 'mountain' I don't think it really counts after having lived near the Rockies. It did have some nice swinging vines though and I made Daniel try one out for good measure.

Despite not being a mountain, I did get a nice workout going up and down the hills. On the biggest, I was carrying James and giving myself a mental pep-talk to make it to the crest of the hill from which, supposedly, you can see the skyline of New York City. I made it to the crest to discover it was only a dip and there was a good deal more hill to go. Mentally crushed, I traded James for a stroller; which doesn't usually spontaneously throw its weight to one side and is therefore easier to take up any size hill.

It was steeper than it looks!

We made it to the top of the hill and enjoyed the view and the rest. James received his first diaper change in the wild where the wind blows cold. It was traumatic for all concerned but happily he will not remember it and stroller fabric can be washed. Ahhhhh.... nature.

By the end of our hike James had fallen asleep in my arms and didn't even wake up upon being deposited in his car seat.

Our friend, Reed, showed us some more trails close by which we are planning to try soon.