A False Dichotomy

Are you the kind of person that would buy this onesie for a baby boy? Or are you the kind of person that would buy this one? (It is a shame some people won't get this joke. It is funny.)

Caleb Loves To Bathe...

... and he loves his fish, too. Who else in our house likes to bathe? Mary does. She passed that gene to Caleb. Guess who else has it?

The other night, Mary went out and Joshua blew out a diaper. I decided to bathe him and get him ready for bed. After he had taken a leisurely bath, I went to pull him out of the tub. The moment I took him out of the water, he started to scream. It was not the "I'm hungry" scream and it was not the "I'm a little bummed out" scream. It was the "I'm not getting what I want and I am mad" scream. He thought I was ending his bath way too early. I guess we have another one that could sit in the tub all night and day, if he had his way.

Cousin Clara Chronicles

On March 3rd, Oliver, Kristin, and Clara visited us. (They came for the baby blessing and I am just now posting.) Here are a couple of pictures of the cousins. They really hit it off, though we could not get them all to look at the camera at the same time. Caleb had a GREAT time. He loves Uncle Oliver. In fact, he calls Oliver "Uncle". (Caleb has other uncles, but there is only one "Uncle".) Oliver had only been here a few minutes before he was playing "Arabian Nights" (from Aladdin) on the piano for Caleb. It is Caleb and Oliver's special song. We all sing along at the top of our lungs. The smile on Caleb's face was radiant. I think Caleb trailed Oliver around for most of their visit. Though he had to say good night to them, he tried to be with them first thing in the morning. Caleb would try to be with them even when Clara was sleeping. Thank you, Oliver and Kristin, for watching out for Caleb!

They arrived on March 3rd, Oliver's birthday. Now, Oliver believes in big parties and only trusts himself to throw the appropriate size and style party. We could not throw a big party, but we (really Grace) did show some signs of welcome. For decorations, Dale blew up 30+ balloons and Sally bought a dozen helium balloons. (Dale was overzealous in the balloon inflation department and we had balloons haphazardly popping throughout the next day. [Can I tell you how much Clara and Joshua liked that?] I know you are shocked that Dale could be overzealous about anything, but you will have to trust me.)

For a cake, we got a huge chocolate cake from Costco. Then we "decorated" it with 8 fresh cannolis from Mike's Pastry. I have to admit that it was a great way to do a cake. I believe it was Mary's idea. It might not have been an Oliver party, but it was a nice start if nothing else.

After everyone else left for the weekend, they stayed for a couple of extra days. We hung out together, baked cookies, and had a great dinner. (Don't worry, it was during restaurant week so it was more reasonably priced. Fun to be out and pretending like we are adults. The Mudricks came along with, as well. Oliver really needs to do the food write-up.) It was great for them to be here and we had a great time together.

Lastly, here are some pictures. Clara was hungry and Grace and Caleb were jumping in and out of the picture. If nothing else, they are realistic.

Paternity Leave Is Over

With Joshua's birth it has been almost two months since I last played basketball. This unexpectedly long break was due to an untimely series of sprained ankles just before his birth. I schedule about a month of "paternity leave" from basketball after each child's birth. This allows me to get in the way at home and prove myself a sufficient nuisance until Mary "persuades" me to go play again. Mary recently encouraged me to get back to hooping.

My paternity leave officially ended tonight. I was out on the court sucking wind, jogging slowly down on offense, and chucking bricks from everywhere.

Boy did it feel good.

Blessing Joshua

We were excited that we had a number of visitors for Joshua's baby blessing. (The blessing actually happened on March 4. I am just now getting around to blogging about it.) My mom was staying with us and Dad came to town for five days. The children loved having them around. We all played, went out to eat, and had fun together.

Jerry and Bonnie (Mary's parents) came to town for a couple of days, as well. We went downtown, ate, and talked a lot while they were here. Grace and Caleb loved having all the grandparents here. They did not hurt for attention. Oliver and Kristin also stayed with us, but there has to be a separate post with cousins pictures, so you have to wait for those stories.

Additionally, the Nordstroms (good friends), Marci (second cousin) and Matt, and Bryce (second cousin-in-law, if there is such a thing) were able to make it to church for Joshua's blessing. The Mudricks (good friends) came over after church for lunch. It was great to see everyone. The blessing went well and we did not even bounce Joshua. I have a pet peeve about the bouncing and I cannot figure out the purpose of it.

Unfortunately, we were lame and did not get everyone together for a picture. But when we got home, we took pictures of Mary and myself with Joshua. (Notice the balloon in the background to celebrate Oliver's birthday. We did not get enough pictures of the birthday celebration, so this will have to do.)

Joshua Update

Here are some pictures I should have posted by now. We have been busy, but elated with Joshua. He is starting to get on a schedule. We hope he will be on a reasonable schedule soon.

Joshua and his blanket. Our children love their blankets. Some pictures of Joshua sleeping in his bouncy seat or on the futon. Caleb is getting a lot better with Joshua. Joshua fell asleep with Grace while they were laying on our bed. Look at those cheeks!

Museum of Picture Book Art

We enjoyed the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. The children loved the small "art studio". The studio had paper and crayons, markers, wire pieces (shown here), a light table, a magnet board, and a station to weave fabrics and paper together. Lots of activities to distract the children. Our children enjoy making art, especially Grace. In the entry way of the museum there were four large paintings. The colors were striking and I had to take pictures since we were allowed to do it in this part of the musuem. Caleb and I wore our orange shirts to the museum. I love orange. Caleb loves that orange shirt. It has three monkeys and the words "monkey see, monkey do, monkey get in trouble too" on it. Yeah for orange. Caleb took this picture of me with some interesting lines and colors in it. It is always interesting to see how his pictures turn out.

From the Observation Deck (Updated)

Naming Rights
We are still trying to figure out what to call Joshua. For the most part, he goes by Joshua. We have the occasional Josh thrown in there, but I think we like Joshua more. Other names we have tried: Squashua Joshua, Squish-Squash Josh, Joshu-wee (Caleb's nickname), Chubby Bug (Because Grace says, "He has chubby cheeks and is a cutie bug."), Ua (my anti-Josh campaign), and Hua (Oliver's anti-Josh campaign). Maybe one of these days I can post a picture.

Night of the Living Dead
The other night I got up and took Caleb to the bathroom. He was screaming for me and Mary was nursing Joshua. Mary told me to go and get him. I got him and took him to the bathroom. Then I went back to bed. I don't remember doing it at all. We won't even mention how Mary has rediscovered her talent for falling asleep at anytime almost anywhere. You have to love the side effects of having a new baby in the home.

Words, Words, Words
After a recent viewing of "Parent Trap" (Lindsay Lohan edition), Grace started saying, "You gave me a fright" when someone startled her. Also, she has picked up on the term "in fact". The other day she answered my question by saying, "I don't want to do that, in fact." (In fact, I have no idea where she picked that one up.)

Malapropisms
Thermonitor — 1) A device used to ascertain the temperature of a conversation you are monitoring from afar. 2) What Grace calls "the (baby) monitor".
Extra Case — 1) Why people keep their old briefcases. 2) What Caleb says instead of "just in case".
My Dear, Dear, Dear — 1) Something Sally would say when talking to someone she holds dear. 2) Something Caleb would now say when talking to someone he holds dear. (This is funny to hear. Not quite as funny as Grace using "my lands" or "oh, my stars" after living with Sally, but still really funny.)

The Consummate Bachelor
I saw a man in Costco carrying two purchases: one video game and a case of Cup of Noddle soup.

Ode to the (Not So) Modern Family
On the same Costco Trip, I saw a father and two sons. The father led the way while chatting on his Bluetooth headset. His older son carried a red hayfork. The younger one sported a raccoon skin hat and carried an old rifle.

Department of Rhetorical Questions Department
Speaking of Costco, if you volunteered to help the Girl Scouts sell cookies would there be a better place to hang out on a Saturday morning than in front of Costco? But if you did, would you have to sell them by the case? And would the price be based on $3.80/box instead of $4.00/box?

I'm Serious!
I love the company slogans. On the way to work, I saw a woman carrying a shoulder bag with the slogan "Serious Nucleic Acid Purification". I thought to myself, "Thank goodness they are serious. Is there anything worse than not-so-serious nucleic acid purification?"

When I Run a Marketing Department...
I am not going to run an ad featuring "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes like Wendy's. Sometimes you have to stay away from the baggage even if it isn't true. (But for someone in marketing that might be the hook they want or need.) Let's stay away from marketing messages anyway, so I don't have to write about Snickers or Victoria's Secret advertising.

What's in a Name?
But I have to mention the "Victoria's Secret Beauty" stores. I am glad I did not have to name that venture. I would have come up with "Victoria's Readily Apparent Beauty". But that just isn't as catchy, is it?

My Cheatin' Heart

Aunt Kristin, Grandma, Grandpa, Caleb and I were playing Chutes and Ladders last Sunday. Caleb likes to play (and win) games. During the game, he had not had a chance to go up a ladder and was approaching the longest ladder on the board.

First he was 5 squares away. We all said, "Caleb if you spin a 5, you can go up the ladder."

He spun a 2 and was upset. We consoled him by saying, "Next turn you can spin a 3."

Next turn he spun another 2 and was sad. We said, "Don't worry, you can still spin a 1 and go up the long ladder."

He waited until it was his turn and asked, "Now, I need a 1, right?"

We said, "Yes."

So he spun and got a 3. Since that is not a a 1, he spun again and got a 6. Then a 2. Then a 5. He wanted a 1 and would not stop until he got it.

Grace was watching and she stopped the spinner on 1 so Caleb could get the number he wanted.

Caleb said, "No, Grace don't do that!"

Grace replied, "Caleb, I am trying to help you get a 1."

Caleb said, "But Grace, that's CHEATING!"