A longish video, but characteristic of Andrew.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Thermocuclear Explosions
This week's title is courtesy of Dan's most recent foray into audio books: Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear, in which one of the hero's nemeses designs a particularly dire form of cucumber that, well, explodes (apparently you can recognize these by the fall-out). For those of you who like your literature funny, quirky, and full of random references--pop culture and literary--Jasper Fforde is generally an entertaining read. You can try either his Nursery Crime series, including The Fourth Bear and The Big Over-Easy, or his Thursday Next series, including the Eyre Affair, etc. And appropriately, this has been a week of minor explosions--although the fallout hasn't been particularly cucumberish, it's contained just about everything else! Andrew had a minor bout of the stomach flu midweek, and today, just before we left Huntington after a potluck at church, Andrew had a blow-out of monumental proportions. (It nearly decimated the entire bathroom, and his father, who had to deal with the aftermath, was left standing shaken and weeping).
Andrew, of course, remains undaunted and unrepentant. (And of course, it's hard to stay upset with him too long--how can anyone maintain a hard-heart in the face of such obvious charm? We also like this picture because it proves that, at long last, Andrew is getting measurable amounts of hair on his head).
This week started out fairly promising, with news of my award (see post from April 23). I was invited to go to some kind of faculty forum luncheon the next day and sit at the head table. However, the professors who invited me had neglected to tell me that I would need a ticket to get in (apparently the faculty have to pay to attend). Luckily, they showed up soon after I did and were able to convince the ticket-taker at the door that I was with them. However, I continued to feel like an interloper for some time after that. (I was also mildly disturbed by the fact that, though I was ravenous, all the women at my table seemed to partake rather sparingly of salad, so I felt rather gluttonous when I contrasted my loaded plate with theirs. The public face of female eating still baffles me sometimes). Andrew visited his dad at lab while I was at the luncheon, and got to enjoy berries from a birthday cake.
In the afternoon, after Andrew's nap, I took him to the park (aside from today, Monday was the only nice day all week. The rest of the week it rained). Andrew loved it, as usual. He spent a full ten minutes chasing around a poor squirrel who only wanted to eat his nut in peace (Andrew followed him from tree to tree to tree). Eventually the squirrel learned that the only way to evade Andrew's persistent attention was to go in a direction Andrew couldn't follow: up the tree. I think Andrew seemed to be under a misapprehension as well--he seemed to think the squirrel was a fascinating subspecies of dog, as he kept pointing at it and saying "dee, dee."
I don't remember much about Tuesday; Dan went to Huntington in the evening as usual, this time to go bowling with the youth. As it was seventies themed, Dan showed up in a true late-seventies neon green t-shirt. (Actually, something is coming back to me about Tuesday--I must have blocked it out. Coming back from the babysitter's in the early afternoon, I gave Andrew a cracker. He proceeded to try and swallow it whole--with predictable results. Pretty much his whole lunch went all over the car-seat. Poor kid. He had to wait till we got home to get cleaned up. And then I had to clean up everything else. Not fun.)
Aside from being feverish and therefore rather clingy (he must get this from his mother) on Wednesday, Andrew was pretty good about being sick. He continued his regular activities--reading books, emptying out cupboards, trying to climb on furniture, etc. This week we also practiced fishing with part of his Christmas present from Bubby and Poppy. Andrew was fascinated by the magnet that allows the fishing pole to "hook" the fish--he made me attach the fish over, and over, and real the fish in so that he could push the button that released the line and made the fish fall off. And then we'd start up again.
After a marathon night on Thursday (Andrew didn't really settle down for the night until 10 p.m.--a full 3+ hours after his usual bedtime), he seemed to be feeling much better on Friday. In the middle of the day, we went to the YMCA and played in the open gym. There were two other little boys there, both a little over two. Andrew couldn't quite keep up with them, but he sure enjoyed following them around the gym and watching their every move with a fascinated eye. Miraculously (given his parents), he seems so far like a happy, well-adjusted, social little boy. (Of course, we still have years to cure him of that).
Dan has spent most of the week valiantly working on his project as he nears his May deadline (he has to get his material to Andy in a week if he's going to defend in June). Saturday, he went into lab early with the intention of staying late, if necessary, to conduct some important experiments. Unfortunately, the fates seemed to have conspired against him--shortly into his experiments that morning his equipment broke. C'est la vie. Andrew and I attempted to console ourselves in his absent by going to that giant of consumerism: Sam's club. Andrew particularly likes Sam's Club because they often offer food samples, which he joyfully devours. (He liked the french fry, meatball, petite quiche, rasperry Crystal Light, etc.)
And so we come to the end of the week, and with it, our blog.
(What aspiring Harry Potter fan doesn't want his own broomstick?)
Andrew, of course, remains undaunted and unrepentant. (And of course, it's hard to stay upset with him too long--how can anyone maintain a hard-heart in the face of such obvious charm? We also like this picture because it proves that, at long last, Andrew is getting measurable amounts of hair on his head).
This week started out fairly promising, with news of my award (see post from April 23). I was invited to go to some kind of faculty forum luncheon the next day and sit at the head table. However, the professors who invited me had neglected to tell me that I would need a ticket to get in (apparently the faculty have to pay to attend). Luckily, they showed up soon after I did and were able to convince the ticket-taker at the door that I was with them. However, I continued to feel like an interloper for some time after that. (I was also mildly disturbed by the fact that, though I was ravenous, all the women at my table seemed to partake rather sparingly of salad, so I felt rather gluttonous when I contrasted my loaded plate with theirs. The public face of female eating still baffles me sometimes). Andrew visited his dad at lab while I was at the luncheon, and got to enjoy berries from a birthday cake.
In the afternoon, after Andrew's nap, I took him to the park (aside from today, Monday was the only nice day all week. The rest of the week it rained). Andrew loved it, as usual. He spent a full ten minutes chasing around a poor squirrel who only wanted to eat his nut in peace (Andrew followed him from tree to tree to tree). Eventually the squirrel learned that the only way to evade Andrew's persistent attention was to go in a direction Andrew couldn't follow: up the tree. I think Andrew seemed to be under a misapprehension as well--he seemed to think the squirrel was a fascinating subspecies of dog, as he kept pointing at it and saying "dee, dee."
I don't remember much about Tuesday; Dan went to Huntington in the evening as usual, this time to go bowling with the youth. As it was seventies themed, Dan showed up in a true late-seventies neon green t-shirt. (Actually, something is coming back to me about Tuesday--I must have blocked it out. Coming back from the babysitter's in the early afternoon, I gave Andrew a cracker. He proceeded to try and swallow it whole--with predictable results. Pretty much his whole lunch went all over the car-seat. Poor kid. He had to wait till we got home to get cleaned up. And then I had to clean up everything else. Not fun.)
Aside from being feverish and therefore rather clingy (he must get this from his mother) on Wednesday, Andrew was pretty good about being sick. He continued his regular activities--reading books, emptying out cupboards, trying to climb on furniture, etc. This week we also practiced fishing with part of his Christmas present from Bubby and Poppy. Andrew was fascinated by the magnet that allows the fishing pole to "hook" the fish--he made me attach the fish over, and over, and real the fish in so that he could push the button that released the line and made the fish fall off. And then we'd start up again.
After a marathon night on Thursday (Andrew didn't really settle down for the night until 10 p.m.--a full 3+ hours after his usual bedtime), he seemed to be feeling much better on Friday. In the middle of the day, we went to the YMCA and played in the open gym. There were two other little boys there, both a little over two. Andrew couldn't quite keep up with them, but he sure enjoyed following them around the gym and watching their every move with a fascinated eye. Miraculously (given his parents), he seems so far like a happy, well-adjusted, social little boy. (Of course, we still have years to cure him of that).
Dan has spent most of the week valiantly working on his project as he nears his May deadline (he has to get his material to Andy in a week if he's going to defend in June). Saturday, he went into lab early with the intention of staying late, if necessary, to conduct some important experiments. Unfortunately, the fates seemed to have conspired against him--shortly into his experiments that morning his equipment broke. C'est la vie. Andrew and I attempted to console ourselves in his absent by going to that giant of consumerism: Sam's club. Andrew particularly likes Sam's Club because they often offer food samples, which he joyfully devours. (He liked the french fry, meatball, petite quiche, rasperry Crystal Light, etc.)
And so we come to the end of the week, and with it, our blog.
(What aspiring Harry Potter fan doesn't want his own broomstick?)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Addendum
Last night I attended the fifteenth-annual Kenneth Burke lecture (although I normally avoid all department and school related functions on Sunday, this is a pretty big deal for the rhetoric folks in our department, so I thought it behooved me to attend!) The lecture itself was pretty interesting (by Jackie Jones Royster, for anyone interested), but what was more to the point for me, I found out that I won the annual Burke prize for best essay in rhetoric (the contest is open to graduate students in rhetoric from both the English department and Communication Arts and Sciences)! For me, it was a moment of much-needed validation--I've been wondering for a while if I'm actually cut out for this grad stuff in rhetorical criticism. Apparently, at leat a few impartial judgest *think* that my work looks something like real rhetorical work is supposed to (the judge who announced the prize had several very nice things to say about my piece). Perhaps more to the point, the money ($200) won't hurt either!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Spring at Last
This week, as I'm sure you all know, started out pretty bleakly with news of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. It hit a little closer to home here, as one of the boys killed was local, the son of a Penn State employee. Penn State, like many universities across the country, has offered a show of solidarity with Virginia Tech, most recently by students at the annual Blue and White football game donning crimson and orange instead of the traditional blue and white. (Since more than enough has already been said in various news venues across the country, that's all we're going to say for now).
The rest of the week passed fairly innocuously for us. Andrew and I celebrated the advent of nice weather (finally!) by going to the park. Andrew was thrilled to be out of doors and quite enamored of his matching blue soccer ball, although he couldn't quite figure out what to do with it aside from carry it around (or be carried with it--and I discovered that a wriggling toddler trying to hold a soccer ball is NOT the easiest thing to carry).
Dan and I continue to plug away at our respective projects, with varying degrees of success. I think this week was reasonably productive for both of us. Thursday night I went to Enrichment (one of the smaller ones) where they were working on a series of service projects (making stuffed bears for the emergency room and cutting out squares for "I-Spy" quilts for an upcoming Stake Women's Day). It was nice to get out and get some conversation, even if I had to coerce our neighbors into coming over to sit in our front room while Andrew slept (Dan had to work that night).
This weekend, in an attempt to broaden Andrew's horizon, I took him to the local YMCA and we went swimming. I figure this was fairly heroic, because I'm not the biggest fan of appearing in public in a swim suit! After an initial period of terror (I don't think Andrew knew what to do with all the water, and he seemed to be afraid that I might let go of him), Andrew settled in to enjoy splashing around in the therapy pool for about twenty minutes or so (after which the pool closed early for some unaccountable reason). I think it helped when we decided to take advantage of the YMCA's offer of an infant life preserver, as Andrew seemed less afraid of the water after he realized he wasn't going to sink.
As usual, we close our blog not with words of wisdom but with pictures of Andrew (which are probably better!) Below, you see Andrew laying on top of our pile of newspapers.
Andrew also discovered his belly-button this week. Normally we put him in a onesie, but one day he had an accident shortly before bath time, so I didn't bother putting him in a clean onesie. He seemed fascinated by the texture of bare skin. And every time I asked him where his belly was, he pulled up his shirt and showed me! (Note: Justin and Lia, Andrew's not quite got the dimensions of, say, Callie LaDuke, but he's getting there! We couldn't be prouder.)
Finally, for the doting grandparents and others who follow this sort of stuff--Andrew currently seems to be working on cutting four of his molars at once (no wonder he's been somewhat whiny lately!). At least one of them has finally broken the surface--we await word on the others. And on that note of suspense, we leave you, once more, to wait with bated breath for our next installment of life in Andrew's world.
The rest of the week passed fairly innocuously for us. Andrew and I celebrated the advent of nice weather (finally!) by going to the park. Andrew was thrilled to be out of doors and quite enamored of his matching blue soccer ball, although he couldn't quite figure out what to do with it aside from carry it around (or be carried with it--and I discovered that a wriggling toddler trying to hold a soccer ball is NOT the easiest thing to carry).
Dan and I continue to plug away at our respective projects, with varying degrees of success. I think this week was reasonably productive for both of us. Thursday night I went to Enrichment (one of the smaller ones) where they were working on a series of service projects (making stuffed bears for the emergency room and cutting out squares for "I-Spy" quilts for an upcoming Stake Women's Day). It was nice to get out and get some conversation, even if I had to coerce our neighbors into coming over to sit in our front room while Andrew slept (Dan had to work that night).
This weekend, in an attempt to broaden Andrew's horizon, I took him to the local YMCA and we went swimming. I figure this was fairly heroic, because I'm not the biggest fan of appearing in public in a swim suit! After an initial period of terror (I don't think Andrew knew what to do with all the water, and he seemed to be afraid that I might let go of him), Andrew settled in to enjoy splashing around in the therapy pool for about twenty minutes or so (after which the pool closed early for some unaccountable reason). I think it helped when we decided to take advantage of the YMCA's offer of an infant life preserver, as Andrew seemed less afraid of the water after he realized he wasn't going to sink.
As usual, we close our blog not with words of wisdom but with pictures of Andrew (which are probably better!) Below, you see Andrew laying on top of our pile of newspapers.
Andrew also discovered his belly-button this week. Normally we put him in a onesie, but one day he had an accident shortly before bath time, so I didn't bother putting him in a clean onesie. He seemed fascinated by the texture of bare skin. And every time I asked him where his belly was, he pulled up his shirt and showed me! (Note: Justin and Lia, Andrew's not quite got the dimensions of, say, Callie LaDuke, but he's getting there! We couldn't be prouder.)
Finally, for the doting grandparents and others who follow this sort of stuff--Andrew currently seems to be working on cutting four of his molars at once (no wonder he's been somewhat whiny lately!). At least one of them has finally broken the surface--we await word on the others. And on that note of suspense, we leave you, once more, to wait with bated breath for our next installment of life in Andrew's world.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Another week in Andrew's world
If our lives pass with monotonous similarities between days, at least for Andrew every day seems to bring some new delight. His newest accomplishments include mastering the art of opening ziploc bags, which means that we now have to keep all diaper bags out of reach, otherwise in unguarded moments we wind up with cheerios, diapers, and diaper wipes strewn artistically across the room. He continues to test the limits of his world, opening the dishwasher (and trying to empty it--whether clean or dirty--by flinging dishes on the floor in wild abandon until we stop him. Luckily, he doesn't usually get very far). On Tuesday, he got to meet a new friend (Olivia Trauntvein), since our usual Tuesday morning babysitter was sick. He was apparently pretty good for Olivia's mom, Lori, but both Olivia's parents marvelled at how strong Andrew was (since he managed to open some drawers that are pretty sticky). Lori commented that, when Olivia tries to get her parents to move out of the way, her little pushes are pretty ineffective. Andrew's pushes, however, counted for something! Steph (Andrew's usual babysitter), has said that Andrew's one of the most curious little boys she knows--a polite way for saying that he's a little busy body who can't be still and is never happier than when he's getting into something he probably shouldn't.
For the grownups, however, this week has mostly been more of the same. Dan was solo with the young men in Huntington this week--apparently they had a nice planning session for what the boys want to do this spring (mostly some form of "ball"--volleyball, soccer, basketball, etc.). Andrew and I alternated between running around the house (me in pursuit) because of the weather, or escaping the house by shopping or going to the YMCA. I think Andrew enjoys the novelty of being with other little kids and playing with toys that aren't his. He's also figured out that most days when we go to the YMCA, one of the gyms is specifically set up with toys and balls for little kids (Wednesdays and Fridays around noon they have an open gym, especially in the winter when the weather keeps kids inside). Friday, when we went, Andrew's eyes lit up and he started beaming as soon as it was clear what our destination was. He happily ran (well, walked as quickly as he could--he's not quite running) from one end of the gym to the other. Occasionally he picked up balls and carried them around, but mostly he just liked the freedom to move. It will definitely be nice to get outside more when the weather warms up. (Luckily, we seem to have evaded the threatened 3-6 inches of snow this weekend; the weather doesn't seem to be quite cold enough).
I suppose there were a couple of things that marked this week as a little out of the ordinary. Dan has been working on a new project with one of the postdocs in his lab--they finally figured out how to make this particular project work--and he tells me somewhat ruefully that in the six years he's been at PSU, this is the first project Andy's gotten really excited about--in the first twenty-four hours or so after hearing about the project, Andy called him at least once and emailed him several times. Well, at least maybe Andy's interest will help the project get completed faster!
This week has also been good for me, in terms of my shopping addiction. (Dan's not watching me type this, so I can talk about it! I know at least a couple readers might be interested). This week was Gymboree's big sale, where they cleared out all of their winter stuff. I won't bore you with all the details, but I did get a beautiful gray wool dress coat for Andrew for $8! (It was originally $50+). And yard sale season has officially started, which makes me no end of happy. (Justin, you're entitled to all sorts of snide reflections on the grammar of that particular sentence, but please keep them to yourself!) This weekend was a big rummage sale at the Agricultural Arena (the location gives you some sense of the scope)--it was sort of like the book sale held there every year in May, only with toys, clothes, and furniture instead of books. (And therefore not nearly as compelling to me. Besides, I have to temper my desire for bargains with the realization that we are moving this summer and Dan will kill me if I buy too much junk!). The sale itself wasn't that exciting, but I stopped by a yardsale on the way home and got Andrew a beautiful wood child-size rocking chair for $10. (It's a little strange, as I get older, to find myself so much in charity with my mother and her own obsesion with bargains!)
Saturday was a busy day for all of us. I returned from my shopping expeditions just in time to put Andrew down for his nap and say goodbye to Dan, who was off to Altoona to help with a stake primary activity (the young men and women had been conscripted to help, so, because of his calling with the young men in Huntington, Dan felt obligated to go). The activity, which involved children arriving to a "Missionary Training Center" (they'd received a call to France, Mexico, or Japan earlier in the week), flying to their host country, and learning a little bit of the local culture, was apparently a big success.
While Dan was out getting culture with children, Andrew and I went to the YMCA once again, this time for their "Healthy Kids Day." I think the activity was geared for older children--Andrew couldn't care less about most of the activities, like face-painting and scavenger hunts. (I tried to get his height and weight measured at the Geisinger stop, one of the local medical groups, but he wasn't terribly cooperative. He did get on the scales, finally--and with his clothes, jacket and shoes on he was a good 30 lbs. No wonder he's getting harder to carry!) He was also rather disappointed that his favorite gym was devoted to grown-ups with tables and brochures, and big kids rock climbing or playing musical chairs. (Neither of which were options for him). But, the cloud did have one silver lining--outside the YMCA was parked a firetruck, and the attendant firemen were offering free rides in the lift/ladder. So we got to go up in the lift and look down over the parking lot. It was pretty cool, although I have to confess to a spasm of acrophobia while we were up. I'm not sure Andrew knew exactly what was going on. But he liked the plastic fireman's helmet the firemen gave him.
After the excitement of the Healthy Kids day, we decided to celebrate our new-found knowledge of healthy living by going to the mall and getting ice cream. Andrew ate almost as much of it as I did. We arrived home shortly after Dan returned from Altoona, put Andrew down for a second nap, and then I left again for the baby shower of a good friend, Megan Baylis. Her husband Steve was Dan's roommate for a while before we were married, and we've been around to witness the whole courtship, marriage, etc. It's kind of fun to watch the process. (Perhaps more to the point, Steve told Megan after they were married that they couldn't have a kid until we did, because we'd been married longer. When we announced at the Hanscom's, a little while later, that we were expecting Andrew, Megan turned triumphantly to Steve and said, "See, the Eves are pregnant. Now we can have a baby too!" I think she was mostly kidding at the time, but clearly, now they are having a baby).
And of course, no weekly posting is complete without the obligatory Andrew shots (we post these mostly for the grandparents, and, of course, Jacob, who always wants to see what Andrew is doing--even if he is still scared of Andrew from Christmas!)
Andrew's newest taste in chairs:
Andrew's cottage cheese coiffure:
This week, Andrew also got in touch with his masculine side (in more ways than one!) by "helping" me with the housework. (He's slowly getting over his fear of vacuum cleaner, in part because of one of his new yard sale acquisitions, a toy vacuum).
This last, which we hope works (and we apologize for its being sideways!) is a short clip of Andrew "dancing" to the Monk themesong.
For the grownups, however, this week has mostly been more of the same. Dan was solo with the young men in Huntington this week--apparently they had a nice planning session for what the boys want to do this spring (mostly some form of "ball"--volleyball, soccer, basketball, etc.). Andrew and I alternated between running around the house (me in pursuit) because of the weather, or escaping the house by shopping or going to the YMCA. I think Andrew enjoys the novelty of being with other little kids and playing with toys that aren't his. He's also figured out that most days when we go to the YMCA, one of the gyms is specifically set up with toys and balls for little kids (Wednesdays and Fridays around noon they have an open gym, especially in the winter when the weather keeps kids inside). Friday, when we went, Andrew's eyes lit up and he started beaming as soon as it was clear what our destination was. He happily ran (well, walked as quickly as he could--he's not quite running) from one end of the gym to the other. Occasionally he picked up balls and carried them around, but mostly he just liked the freedom to move. It will definitely be nice to get outside more when the weather warms up. (Luckily, we seem to have evaded the threatened 3-6 inches of snow this weekend; the weather doesn't seem to be quite cold enough).
I suppose there were a couple of things that marked this week as a little out of the ordinary. Dan has been working on a new project with one of the postdocs in his lab--they finally figured out how to make this particular project work--and he tells me somewhat ruefully that in the six years he's been at PSU, this is the first project Andy's gotten really excited about--in the first twenty-four hours or so after hearing about the project, Andy called him at least once and emailed him several times. Well, at least maybe Andy's interest will help the project get completed faster!
This week has also been good for me, in terms of my shopping addiction. (Dan's not watching me type this, so I can talk about it! I know at least a couple readers might be interested). This week was Gymboree's big sale, where they cleared out all of their winter stuff. I won't bore you with all the details, but I did get a beautiful gray wool dress coat for Andrew for $8! (It was originally $50+). And yard sale season has officially started, which makes me no end of happy. (Justin, you're entitled to all sorts of snide reflections on the grammar of that particular sentence, but please keep them to yourself!) This weekend was a big rummage sale at the Agricultural Arena (the location gives you some sense of the scope)--it was sort of like the book sale held there every year in May, only with toys, clothes, and furniture instead of books. (And therefore not nearly as compelling to me. Besides, I have to temper my desire for bargains with the realization that we are moving this summer and Dan will kill me if I buy too much junk!). The sale itself wasn't that exciting, but I stopped by a yardsale on the way home and got Andrew a beautiful wood child-size rocking chair for $10. (It's a little strange, as I get older, to find myself so much in charity with my mother and her own obsesion with bargains!)
Saturday was a busy day for all of us. I returned from my shopping expeditions just in time to put Andrew down for his nap and say goodbye to Dan, who was off to Altoona to help with a stake primary activity (the young men and women had been conscripted to help, so, because of his calling with the young men in Huntington, Dan felt obligated to go). The activity, which involved children arriving to a "Missionary Training Center" (they'd received a call to France, Mexico, or Japan earlier in the week), flying to their host country, and learning a little bit of the local culture, was apparently a big success.
While Dan was out getting culture with children, Andrew and I went to the YMCA once again, this time for their "Healthy Kids Day." I think the activity was geared for older children--Andrew couldn't care less about most of the activities, like face-painting and scavenger hunts. (I tried to get his height and weight measured at the Geisinger stop, one of the local medical groups, but he wasn't terribly cooperative. He did get on the scales, finally--and with his clothes, jacket and shoes on he was a good 30 lbs. No wonder he's getting harder to carry!) He was also rather disappointed that his favorite gym was devoted to grown-ups with tables and brochures, and big kids rock climbing or playing musical chairs. (Neither of which were options for him). But, the cloud did have one silver lining--outside the YMCA was parked a firetruck, and the attendant firemen were offering free rides in the lift/ladder. So we got to go up in the lift and look down over the parking lot. It was pretty cool, although I have to confess to a spasm of acrophobia while we were up. I'm not sure Andrew knew exactly what was going on. But he liked the plastic fireman's helmet the firemen gave him.
After the excitement of the Healthy Kids day, we decided to celebrate our new-found knowledge of healthy living by going to the mall and getting ice cream. Andrew ate almost as much of it as I did. We arrived home shortly after Dan returned from Altoona, put Andrew down for a second nap, and then I left again for the baby shower of a good friend, Megan Baylis. Her husband Steve was Dan's roommate for a while before we were married, and we've been around to witness the whole courtship, marriage, etc. It's kind of fun to watch the process. (Perhaps more to the point, Steve told Megan after they were married that they couldn't have a kid until we did, because we'd been married longer. When we announced at the Hanscom's, a little while later, that we were expecting Andrew, Megan turned triumphantly to Steve and said, "See, the Eves are pregnant. Now we can have a baby too!" I think she was mostly kidding at the time, but clearly, now they are having a baby).
And of course, no weekly posting is complete without the obligatory Andrew shots (we post these mostly for the grandparents, and, of course, Jacob, who always wants to see what Andrew is doing--even if he is still scared of Andrew from Christmas!)
Andrew's newest taste in chairs:
Andrew's cottage cheese coiffure:
This week, Andrew also got in touch with his masculine side (in more ways than one!) by "helping" me with the housework. (He's slowly getting over his fear of vacuum cleaner, in part because of one of his new yard sale acquisitions, a toy vacuum).
This last, which we hope works (and we apologize for its being sideways!) is a short clip of Andrew "dancing" to the Monk themesong.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Easter Sunday
Happy Easter! We hope all our fair readers had a wonderful Easter--and one that, ideally, was warmer than ours. We woke up to two inches of snow this morning. :(
This week has been fairly busy for us. After getting over colds at the beginning of the week, Dan was back to the grindstone that (we hope!) will lead to his graduation later this summer. I had the last two of my writing workshops for the writing center this week, on writing dissertation and thesis proposals. I think they went fairly well, but I'm glad to be done (at least until we start up the summer workshops!). Outside of school and work, we haven't done much, aside from trying to keep up with the crazy weather. After being in the seventies at the beginning of the week, we've been having snow flurries for the last four days. Not that much of this fazes Andrew in any sense. Here's a shot of him kicking back in his chair. (I had to laugh--he sat there for perhaps five full minutes with the sippy cup dangling from his teeth while he tried to get the animals out of the Little People silo).
Yesterday was probably the busiest day of the week. I started off the day with a short-lived attempt to go to one of the first yard-sales of the season. (Despite the alluring advertisement, there wasn't much there for us, and it was too cold for Andrew or I to stay long). After Andrew's morning nap, he and I rushed to the church for the ward Easter brunch. (Dan spent most of the day in lab). I was sure we would have missed most of breakfast, as we were about twenty minutes late. However, we arrived to find that brunch had not even started! We stayed for breakfast and the Easter egg hunt (although technically Andrew's not nursery age, so he was there on sufferance). Although he had been fascinated by the plastic eggs I got out for him earlier in the week, he couldn't quite get the hang of picking up eggs. Generally he would pick up the first one he found and was so excited by that one that he couldn't be bothered to go after any others. Here he is with the two eggs he found at the church. Doesn't he look excited?
Of course, just to make sure Andrew got the full egg-sperience (sorry, could n't resist!) of egg hunting, Dan and I also took him to the city-wide Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the Centre County Parks and Recreation. This was actually a pretty incredible spectacle--several hundred parents and children lined up in the bitter cold to gather the 7800 + eggs some incredibly generous people had spent the time to stuff with candy.
I don't think Andrew entirely understood what we were waiting for, but he was pretty game. As soon as the countdown was over, he trotted over to the eggs on the grass, squatted down, and started picking them up. (Of course, once he finished picking up the ones that were within his immediate vicinity, he was pretty much done).
Of course, lest you think our entire Easter celebration was an entirely frivolous egg-oriented consumption, let me assure you it was not (although that was certainly a lot of yesterday's experience). I've been trying to talk to Andrew a little bit all week about the Easter story (although I don't think he understands much). Earlier I got him a little book about Easter. As we were driving home from the store in the car I asked him if he had a book about Jesus and he repeated "Jee," "Jee," which I chose to interpret as assent. And this morning he and I watched the church's video about The Lamb of God. Andrew seemed particularly interested in the nativity (likely because of the baby).
Of course, we did get Andrew an Easter outfit, with the de-rigeur sweater vest (all the rage with the young children these days, we're told).
At church today, our choir performed for the first time and actually did quite well, if I say so myself. We sang "O Savior Thou Who Wearest a Crown" (the Bach arrangement always gives me chills--but the good kind!) and "That Easter Morn." After church, we had dinner with our friends, the Sturgeons, whose daughter Gabi is one of Andrew's favorite (and only!) playmates. Good food, good company, good times. We cut short our visit, however, to get our drooping boy home in time (barely) for bedtime.
And this brings us to the end of our Easter festivities. If we were in Hungary, we would still have one more day for the celebration: the Monday following Easter is typically a day for the "locsolas" (from the verb "locsolni," which means literally "to sprinkle," as in flowers). As I remember it, it's a typical Hungarian custom for young men and boys to "sprinkle" the women of their acquintance--with water, if you were lucky; with cheap (and smelly) perfume if you weren't so lucky. (I think it stems from the idea that young women were like flowers). In return for this favor, women are supposed to give their visitors some sort of present (money for young boys; liquor for older men). Since I don't have the liquor or the loose change (much less the desire to be coated in variegated smells), it's just as well that tomorrow, for us, is simply another work day!
This week has been fairly busy for us. After getting over colds at the beginning of the week, Dan was back to the grindstone that (we hope!) will lead to his graduation later this summer. I had the last two of my writing workshops for the writing center this week, on writing dissertation and thesis proposals. I think they went fairly well, but I'm glad to be done (at least until we start up the summer workshops!). Outside of school and work, we haven't done much, aside from trying to keep up with the crazy weather. After being in the seventies at the beginning of the week, we've been having snow flurries for the last four days. Not that much of this fazes Andrew in any sense. Here's a shot of him kicking back in his chair. (I had to laugh--he sat there for perhaps five full minutes with the sippy cup dangling from his teeth while he tried to get the animals out of the Little People silo).
Yesterday was probably the busiest day of the week. I started off the day with a short-lived attempt to go to one of the first yard-sales of the season. (Despite the alluring advertisement, there wasn't much there for us, and it was too cold for Andrew or I to stay long). After Andrew's morning nap, he and I rushed to the church for the ward Easter brunch. (Dan spent most of the day in lab). I was sure we would have missed most of breakfast, as we were about twenty minutes late. However, we arrived to find that brunch had not even started! We stayed for breakfast and the Easter egg hunt (although technically Andrew's not nursery age, so he was there on sufferance). Although he had been fascinated by the plastic eggs I got out for him earlier in the week, he couldn't quite get the hang of picking up eggs. Generally he would pick up the first one he found and was so excited by that one that he couldn't be bothered to go after any others. Here he is with the two eggs he found at the church. Doesn't he look excited?
Of course, just to make sure Andrew got the full egg-sperience (sorry, could n't resist!) of egg hunting, Dan and I also took him to the city-wide Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the Centre County Parks and Recreation. This was actually a pretty incredible spectacle--several hundred parents and children lined up in the bitter cold to gather the 7800 + eggs some incredibly generous people had spent the time to stuff with candy.
I don't think Andrew entirely understood what we were waiting for, but he was pretty game. As soon as the countdown was over, he trotted over to the eggs on the grass, squatted down, and started picking them up. (Of course, once he finished picking up the ones that were within his immediate vicinity, he was pretty much done).
Of course, lest you think our entire Easter celebration was an entirely frivolous egg-oriented consumption, let me assure you it was not (although that was certainly a lot of yesterday's experience). I've been trying to talk to Andrew a little bit all week about the Easter story (although I don't think he understands much). Earlier I got him a little book about Easter. As we were driving home from the store in the car I asked him if he had a book about Jesus and he repeated "Jee," "Jee," which I chose to interpret as assent. And this morning he and I watched the church's video about The Lamb of God. Andrew seemed particularly interested in the nativity (likely because of the baby).
Of course, we did get Andrew an Easter outfit, with the de-rigeur sweater vest (all the rage with the young children these days, we're told).
At church today, our choir performed for the first time and actually did quite well, if I say so myself. We sang "O Savior Thou Who Wearest a Crown" (the Bach arrangement always gives me chills--but the good kind!) and "That Easter Morn." After church, we had dinner with our friends, the Sturgeons, whose daughter Gabi is one of Andrew's favorite (and only!) playmates. Good food, good company, good times. We cut short our visit, however, to get our drooping boy home in time (barely) for bedtime.
And this brings us to the end of our Easter festivities. If we were in Hungary, we would still have one more day for the celebration: the Monday following Easter is typically a day for the "locsolas" (from the verb "locsolni," which means literally "to sprinkle," as in flowers). As I remember it, it's a typical Hungarian custom for young men and boys to "sprinkle" the women of their acquintance--with water, if you were lucky; with cheap (and smelly) perfume if you weren't so lucky. (I think it stems from the idea that young women were like flowers). In return for this favor, women are supposed to give their visitors some sort of present (money for young boys; liquor for older men). Since I don't have the liquor or the loose change (much less the desire to be coated in variegated smells), it's just as well that tomorrow, for us, is simply another work day!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Palm Sunday
I wish I could say that this has been a quiet and contemplative week for us. Unfortunately, although it has been quiet, it has not been as contemplative. (Mostly, I think we've been contemplating the insides of our eyelids). Although we enjoyed General Conference (as much as you can with a toddler climbing on you), we've all been smitten to varying degrees with some sort of insidious cold. Today, I think all three of us spent the time between conference sessions sleeping!
Dan returned safely on Tuesday, for which we are grateful! (The most dangerous part of his trip was probably returning the rental car to the airport, as we drove through one of Pennsylvania's short, but intense, deluges of rain). Andrew was suitably excited to see his dad; he immediately got entangled in Dan's poster for the conference and then couldn't extricate himself.
Aside from Dan's return, and all of us getting sick, there isn't much of note to report this week. I played hookey Thursday night and went to the Relief Society dinner and service auction. It was nice to get out of the house and see many of my friends.
Dan and I have also been working our way through the recent BBC production of Charles Dickens' Bleak House (screenwriter Andrew Davies, of Pride and Prejudice and Wives and Daughters fame). We have thoroughly enjoyed it so far (we've seen five or six hours of the eight hour series), and would definitely recommend it to our Anglophile friends, particularly those who like a good period piece and/or Dickens. (Bubby, you know we mean you! Although Justin and Lia would probably enjoy it, too).
To make up for our lack of erudite and scintillating prose, we offer, instead, a smorgasbord of Andrew pictures. Feeding him often makes for photo-worthy shots. This week, Andrew has become a connoisseur of hummus, although I couldn't convince him to eat the crackers that were dipped in it as well. He insisted on sucking the hummus off the crackers and dropping the crackers, uneaten, to his tray. If I'd let him, he would have simply stuck his fingers in the container. (Although he certainly looks like he's tried to do just that in the photo below).
I'm not quite sure why I'm so fascinated with the little curls at the back of Andrew's head. Here, I tried to get a better shot than the one I posted last week. 
Dan call's this last photo Andrew's superstar pose. We'd like you all to appreciate the jumpsuit I picked up at a yardsale that summer (Andrew could hardly keep the pants on, but he looks pretty snazzy).
Dan returned safely on Tuesday, for which we are grateful! (The most dangerous part of his trip was probably returning the rental car to the airport, as we drove through one of Pennsylvania's short, but intense, deluges of rain). Andrew was suitably excited to see his dad; he immediately got entangled in Dan's poster for the conference and then couldn't extricate himself.
Aside from Dan's return, and all of us getting sick, there isn't much of note to report this week. I played hookey Thursday night and went to the Relief Society dinner and service auction. It was nice to get out of the house and see many of my friends.
Dan and I have also been working our way through the recent BBC production of Charles Dickens' Bleak House (screenwriter Andrew Davies, of Pride and Prejudice and Wives and Daughters fame). We have thoroughly enjoyed it so far (we've seen five or six hours of the eight hour series), and would definitely recommend it to our Anglophile friends, particularly those who like a good period piece and/or Dickens. (Bubby, you know we mean you! Although Justin and Lia would probably enjoy it, too).
To make up for our lack of erudite and scintillating prose, we offer, instead, a smorgasbord of Andrew pictures. Feeding him often makes for photo-worthy shots. This week, Andrew has become a connoisseur of hummus, although I couldn't convince him to eat the crackers that were dipped in it as well. He insisted on sucking the hummus off the crackers and dropping the crackers, uneaten, to his tray. If I'd let him, he would have simply stuck his fingers in the container. (Although he certainly looks like he's tried to do just that in the photo below).
I'm not quite sure why I'm so fascinated with the little curls at the back of Andrew's head. Here, I tried to get a better shot than the one I posted last week.
Here's one of Andrew trying to shut himself in the cupboard.
What you can't tell in this picture is that Andrew actually has a little hat in his hands. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to put the hat on his head. I just liked the pose--he's got a nice contraposto thing going on.
Dan call's this last photo Andrew's superstar pose. We'd like you all to appreciate the jumpsuit I picked up at a yardsale that summer (Andrew could hardly keep the pants on, but he looks pretty snazzy).
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