Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Update: Eight Months!


(Photo) Eight months old! Posted by Hello

Dear Adrian;
This past month you have been channeling the spirit of Evil Knievil. You now lunge from furniture onto anything that will hold your weight, which causes me to have a million tiny heart attacks a day. To add to your death-defying repertoire, you have begun to pitch fits. Yes, at 8 months old, you are the expert at temper tantrums. I didn't think we'd have to deal with that just yet, but what do I know? I'm the woman who thought you'd crawl before you'd walk. You've decided that the whole crawling thing is definitely overrated, and you won't bother with it.

You've been a busy boy: learning how to wave, eating just about anything we'll give you (you have a deep love for plums and Thai food), and playing in the baby pool.

You're a water baby, through and through. You love to take a bath, play in the pool, or watch your Nana water her garden. We've resorted to bathing you when you're super grumpy in the evenings--it's as though the suds make you into a whole new kid.

The past few nights you've slept for 7 consecutive hours. I think you're just teasing me--you're not actually getting ready to sleep through the night yet. You've pulled this stunt twice before and I'm not falling for it this time, buddy. I've resigned myself to never sleeping through the night again. You are getting better about going to sleep, though. Now that your father and I have figured that you need to cry yourself to sleep, we let you. Way back when you couldn't even hold your head up, it seemed mean and cruel--now that we've made it a whole 8 months we realize it's crueler to keep you up and risk skipping a nap. That whole live-and-learn thing is really working out for us.

You've also developed a sense of the absurd, and when we play up to it you reward us with a full-belly laugh. Just this morning your Nana put your socks on your hands and you thought it was riotously funny. You also enjoy it when we try to squeeze our giant selves into your teeny tiny clothing. Not that it's that teeny-tiny--you now wear clothes for babies 18-24 months. We may have to start dressing you in toga-style bed sheets and tell everyone we're celebrating your Italian ancestry. How did you get so big?

We're a busy bunch with you around, and we look for all kinds of opportunities to take you places. You love to go out and see what there is to see. It doesn't matter how tired you are, you perk up instantly when we take you out of your car seat. The grocery store, the mall, restaurants, the zoo--all of it is the most exciting place you've ever been. You love to flirt with women--especially women with jewelry. You've retained your crow-like affinity for all things sparkly (which pleases me), and you're constantly trying to remove your Grandpa's jewelry. The rest of us find it hilarious, your Grandpa is a little less amused.

You may not remember the time we spent in Illinois, but I hope you remember that you're surrounded by people who love you.

Love,
Mama

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Do not attempt to adjust your screen

We believe that life needs more moments of the unusual and bizzare. For example, in the photos below you will see us wearing something on our heads that was originally designed to velcro to the back of a car seat and entertain small children. Adrian seems to enjoy it more as a hat. And I have to say that when he wears it, he looks like the Admiral of a psychedelic fleet.

(Photo) Anything can be a hat. Posted by Hello

(photo) Absurd. Posted by Hello

Thursday, June 23, 2005

Random, with love.

Hmmm.
So, I'm using this new Body Shop(TM) shampoo, and now my scalp feels funny. Not funny like I have a rash, but...funny. Like I've acquired someone else's scalp, underneath my hair.
You may be wondering how I know what my scalp feels like. Well, when I read, I run my fingers along my scalp. It's my nervous-reading-habit, so back off me, yo. That got me to thinking about the nervous habits of my family & friends. Like the guy who twirls his forelock when he reads...or the nailbiter...or the knuckle cracker...I used to know this girl in elementary school who would suck her toes when she watched a movie. (I can't type that without gagging. ew.ew.ew!)
Adrian crosses his feet at the ankles, when he's not rubbing them together like a cricket. I wonder if this is something that he'll carry on to adulthood or if he'll just wake up one day and stop.

(photo) Life's a beach! Posted by Hello

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Wednesday.

Hello to all!

I am tired. Not for any other reason than it's just that time of day. And it's hot outside (but air conditioned inside!)
It's nearly the end of June, which is mind boggling. I can't figure out what happened to the first half of this month. There's not much new to report here, Aaron's done a few more interviews and things are proceeding as things are wont to do. When we're ready to move and everything's sorted out, I'll let you know more, Internet. But for now, don't be all up in my piece, yo.
That last line was a direct influence of watching that VH1 special on HipHop...I don't actually talk like that due to the fact that I'm a tiny white girl who can't pull off that sort of thing. I'm no Gwen Stefani by any stretch of the imagination. Speaking of whom, is it just my imagination or has she just gotten weirder and weirder? Anybody know what's with her Asian girl posse? They appeared out of nowhere.
And how was that for sidetracked? It's easy to do,when you spend ALL DAY with someone who's attention span is at most 30 seconds long. No, not Aaron--good guess though.
Adrian really likes remote controls so we thought we'd be clever and get him his own. Yeah, we're not as smart as we think we are. Adrian is only interested in the remote controls that we use. That's the one thing parenthood has reliably shown me: I'm not as smart as I think I am. It's a humbling lesson to learn every few days.

On a completely unrelated note, take a look at the photos I've posted for today. It's nice to be surrounded by such lovliness on a daily basis.

Also, I wanted to let you know that for my birthday in 6 years, I get to have a party with a moon bounce. Aaron said so last night. (See, that's why I love him so)

(photo) Poppies Posted by Hello

(photo) The hosta garden. Posted by Hello

Monday, June 20, 2005

Pirana Baby


(Photo) Don't let the hat fool you. Posted by Hello

Houcha-Muhgowcha!
My baby is a biter!
Specifically, he bites me while nursing. It's making me jumpy and inclined to not nurse him more than 3 times a day (morning, nap, and bedtime). He thinks it's all in good fun, because he smiles while he does it. (Stinker!)
I'm just grateful he doesn't have any teeth yet.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Sunday Afternoon


(Photo) This is Iowa. Posted by Hello

This past Sunday we (Aaron, Adrian, myself, and Grandparents Flecker) went to Tabor Home Vineyards in Iowa for "Summer Blues in the Vineyard". Nina (Aaron's mom) packed us a giant picnic lunch, with massive sandwiches, tasty angel food cake*, china plates, silverware, and a tablecloth. It was fun, but I still can't shake the oddity of listening to the blues at a vineyard. Adrian seemed to enjoy himself, from tasting grass to sampling angel food cake to dancing on picnic tables. He's a wild man.

* Now, back to the angel food cake. Nina and I picked up the cake at the store on Saturday, and I was so concerned about the cake that I dreamt about it Saturday night. That's right, I dream of cake. I dreamt that strange people had just invited themselves over for breakfast and had eaten the whole thing before I had even gotten out of bed. And I wondered to myself, What kind of world are we living in where people will just show up at your house and eat all of your cake?
What kind of world, indeed.

(Photo) Tabor Home Vineyards Posted by Hello

(Photo) Grass is tasty. Posted by Hello

(photo) Picnic at the Vineyard. Posted by Hello

Monday, June 13, 2005

Click and see!

Hey everybody!

Here's a cute film of Adrian on a swing. It's under 30 seconds, but chock full of chubby baby goodness. Click here to view. It loops back to the begining and plays all over again, so if you've been watching it for 5 minutes you've seen the same footage 10 times.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Messy, messy!


(Photo) Creamed spinach wins. Posted by Hello

In keeping with last month's theme of "I do it myself"; Adrian is now wearing more than he is eating. Which is okay until it's time to clean up. The boy who loves bathtime is the same boy who HATES to have his face wiped down after a meal. Figure that one out, if you can.
We've been keeping busy this week: lunch at the Olive Garden, dinner at Ducky's Lagoon, trips to the farmer's market, and the Left Bank Art Fair. Adrian is a real charmer in public--people are always asking "is he always this good?" I find that to be a very silly question. What makes a baby "bad"? Larceny? Arson? Meglomania? It's clearly a very fuzzy concept. The things that define "bad" adults are actions that babies are incapable of undertaking. If I get mugged by a 7-month old, I'll be sure to let you know.

(Photo) Dinner at Ducky's. Posted by Hello

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Hooray!

Hello World!

We got cable internet hooked up today! And that means that I can start to bombard you with photos again. Below are some images from our trip to the Farmer's Market.
Enjoy!
(It's great to be back!)

(Photo) The Timmerman Company Posted by Hello

(Photo) Farmer's Market, May 28 Posted by Hello

(photo) So this is a farmer's market, eh? Posted by Hello