Camp Miksic

Ummmm,we seem to be stuck in warp drive.

2007-02-03T19:03:00.000-05:00

Soooo, it's February, is it? Weird... I thought maybe it was still 2006.

Ferris is a very happy little monster these days(as usual). Although as I'm writing this he IS wailing his heart out in his crib.
I'm not even sure where to start. He is a full fledged "big boy". He doesn't just walk, he runs! He drinks from a sippy cup. He signs, "food","all done", "more", "good-bye", "hi","no no"," bath", "sleep" and "please". He sort of says all of those words too...sort of.
His favorite animal is a cat. "meowwwwww" he mimics and bends down to hug Saatchi. If we are at a friends home and there is a cat involved, he spends more time with the cat than the other children.
Today was his first sledding experience. Lots of fun despite a face full of snow!
After sledding we headed home for a bath ( face hands towards body and rub hands up and down chest with palms open and fingers spread).
After that we threw on a little 50cent and Jay-Z. Ferris works pretty hard getting that "dirt" off his shoulder and bounces rhythmically as 50cent urges him to " go shorty, it's ya birf-day. we gonna partay like it's ya birf-day.." I will attempt to get video of this soon. There is nothing quite as funny as watching a small child "get down" to hip hop.

I'm sure there is plenty more to say, but I'm at a loss. Here are some recent photos.

Oh yeah! Ferris just finished his first week of daycare. Just 2 days a week. Just enough for me to get some work done without always feeling over-extended.
On the second day I dropped him off his face lit up as we pulled in the driveway and he signed "more, more" to me. When I returned to pick him up in the afternoon he glanced up from his activity, smiled, and went right back to playing.

This kid is so easy going.

Crap! It's been a whole year already?

2006-10-02T15:43:00.001-04:00

Hard to believe that October is already here again! Ferris will be turning one in just a week!

We've had a great summer. Lots of fun adventures, lots of new tricks up our sleeves!

I think the last post was from just before we went to WI to visit Bri's family and show the little man around.
The WI trip was a blast. Ferris was ridiculously good in the car for 1000mi. trip (2000 roundtrip) We hung out at his parents' cottage for several days and Ferris went on his first boat trip and finally met his awesome Aunt Dawn, Uncle Dave and cousin Michael...actually he met all his awesome extended family a few days later at a beautiful campground owned by Brian's cousins.
He successfully made it through Brian and David's annual business dinner, way past his bedtime( that lasted several hours) without falling asleep OR turning into "that screaming, fussy baby that those crazy parents brought to the nice restaurant at 8pm".
We all had a great time and I think we'll be heading back in the Spring to attend the annual Holidome reunion AND welcome a new cousin for Ferris!

Shortly after we arrived back from WI, Ferris and I packed an overnight bag and headed over to Boston to wait for his new cousin, Camden Latimer Helme to arrive. He's a real cutie.
New baby, of course, meant more visits from Grandmas and Grandpa and Aunt Katie. It’s always wonderful to see the family up here. We're pretty bummed that Michael, Katie and Camden will be leaving Boston later this month back to Texas, but that'll just give us another reason to visit Texas more often.
This Thursday we will be taking Ferris on his first flight...a little anxious about how he'll behave, but we'll be optimistic and hope for the best.
We're heading to Texas. This will be Ferris' first trip there and hopefully he'll get to meet some of our friends that weren't able to make it up here this past year.
It's kind of exciting that this trip also falls close to Ferris' first birthday so I'm sure we'll do a small celebration for him. It'll be great growing up with a birthday that always falls close to a holiday that isn't a big deal, like Thanksgiving, but still gets him a day off from school. :)

Hmmmm, major accomplishments from the past few months...

Ferris started "cruising" the furniture and climbing our stairs in mid-June.
Clapping the hands came soon after.
He can dance and bop his head to music and he LOVES instruments and cans and boxes and the guitar...anything that makes noise. He's getting a mini acoustic guitar for his b-day.
He's a very good imitator. He makes grade A monster noises. He can successfully climb *down* the stairs now and climb off of furniture.
He can stand and take steps without any help, but god help you if you *try* to make him do either...you will get dead weight and nothing more.
He is excellent at turning the bath water on and off. Lucky for us we can just remove the faucet handles.
He's getting pretty good at feeding himself and he's not half bad with a fork or spoon.
He gives hugs and just started to give kisses.
He points at things. He babbles. He says "dada", "mama" and "baba", but for the most part *everything* is "dada"...unless he is crying, then it's all "MAMA MAMA".
Every now and then he sneaks in something like, "bye bye" or "hello", but they are so rare that we almost don't believe he actually said them....or maybe just that he didn't realize what he was saying...even when they were used in proper context.
He loves playing on the playground and going down slides. He loves to be tossed around like a ragdoll. The more precarious and dangerous the more he laughs.
He likes to play a peek-a-boo. he'll shut us in the bathroom with the lights off and then open the door for us to jump out and scare him. again, hysterical laughter.

my apologies for the sporadic posts and shaky camera work

2006-06-05T15:32:00.000-04:00

I’m really sorry I haven’t been doing the best job of keeping up with this blog. It is insane how quickly Ferris changes and develops and I simply can’t find the time to write about it all…and that wouldn’t be such a big deal except ( I’m surprised to learn) that there are actually other people that are as interested in hearing about Ferris as Brian and I are.
As a parent you kind of figure that people sort of humor you when you talk endlessly about your child, but no, there are actually some of you who genuinely look forward to endless ramblings and photos and videos of the young monkey. I mean, beyond relatives… we know you look forward these. Again, I am sorry for the stagnation.

So here we go with a couple of videos!

The first one was taken, sheesh, about a month or so ago.
Ferris the army crawling fool!

And this next one is recent. Ferris is well on his way to walking. He "cruises" the furniture now. Not quite 8 months yet and he's fiercly independent. It getting harder to feed him too. He'd prefer we just put food on his tray and allow him to feed himself.

A box full of toys

mobility: a parent's worst nightmare

2006-05-02T10:39:00.000-04:00

Ferris is mobile. slow, but mobile. He has mastered the army crawl, complete with grunting. We are in big trouble.
It is wonderful to watch him reach this major milestone, but now we must worry about baby-proofing our home...
Here, see for yourself.

army crawling fool

Ferris has also developed his own style of greeting. When anyone says, "hi" to him he wrinkles his nose and grins his big, gummy grin and flails his right arm wildly in a drunken version of a circle. It's pretty fabulous.

Picnics soothe the savage beast

2006-04-26T14:51:00.000-04:00

Today Ferris and I enjoyed our first picnic of the season….his first picnic, period.
It has been one of those days. I’ve had lots of work to do, he’s had lots of whining to do. As I was finishing up a wholesale order this morning Ferris was whining and whining and whining. In my head I am chanting “please be quiet, please be quiet, please be quiet…” to the same tempo…Okay, to be honest there might have been a mental “shut up” in there too.
Neither of us were having a great morning. Order complete, I decided to take the monkey to the park to have a picnic. I mean, isn’t that what being your own boss is all about?
I thought maybe the nice weather and change of scenery might calm him down, plus I’d get to test out new things, like grass, sand and cold water on the boy. So I dressed him up in his spiffy Brewers outfit and we headed up the hill to the park.
Normally, a person would get beat up around here for showing their allegiance to any team but the red sox….but I figured no one was going to mess with a baby…especially not one as tough and crazy as this kid. They'd totally get their asses whipped!

Anyways, the picnic was a success.

Eating outdoors? Success!
Bare feet on grass? Thrilling!
Bare feet on sand? Not so great.
Bare feet splashing in cold lake water? Fantastic!

Here’s a few pic.s of the occasion… (I’m starting to realize that I’m more like my mother than I thought. A picture of Ferris and me taken by me… It’s the only way I’ll ever have any pictures of us together. Just like it was in my family as a kid, the mommy(me) is the picture taker. Daddy, not so much.)

2006-04-19T10:27:00.000-04:00

2 new videos and a product endorsement

2006-03-28T12:42:00.000-05:00

So, ferris is rapidly approaching the big "6"....months! It's pretty hard for me to wrap my brain around that one. 6 months, poof! life is scary sometimes.
i wish i had more time to post videos and write about the funny little day-to-day things he does. i wish me and bri had a million dollars to put in a travel account and fly family out to see us whenever they wanted. i won't hold my breathe though.
i think we're just going to have to continue to do what we do...try to find time in the future for trips. trips and parenting and working. i miss being a kid sometimes. you don't plan anything. you don't have to schedule the next year of your life into a week here or there. you just exist and go with the flow. i'm sure that is why time moves so slowly as a child. as adults we squeeze every last drop out of time. it's exhausting...for us and for time. no wonder it just whizzes by.
ANYWAYS, the main reason i'm writing this post is to show 2 new videos of the young man. by "new" i mean a few weeks old.
first we have a small video of the monkey in the zoo. i forgot that if i recorded vertically i wouldn't be able to rotate the video for the web....so crank your necks to the left and enjoy.

happy caged monkey

this next on is of ferris sitting up by himself...maybe it would be more accurate to say "not falling over while sitting and playing"
not falling over while sitting and playing

i think it's safe to say that ferris' journey in full body realization is complete. next step, mastering the body. he's working on his babbling. he does this funny happy scream that reminds me of the howard dean. it's priceless.

part 2
the product endorsement:
Some friends of ours recently introduced us to a great children's album and dvd. "they might be giants, here come the abc's"

if you have children and you actually play children's albums for them, you know that those repetitive and annoying songs have a vicious way of getting stuck in your head. you catch yourself singing while driving to the bank or the grocery store.

if any of our friends with children are reading this, you should get this album. the greatest thing about it is that it isn't really much of a departure from their usual albums. they have a sound and writing style that lends itself well to children's songs. Plus, the lyrics are slightly more intelligent than most children's songs so your brain won't turn into mushy pudding after several listens.

a sample from a personal favorite:
"c is for conifer"
"if you see a tree in the shape of an elephant,
or in the shape of a dog...
it's probably a shrub, a conifer shrub,
pruned into that shape by someone.....
most with cones for seeds. most with needles for leaves...c is for conifers, my kind of trees...."

it's not exactly profound, but a damn sight better than "baby beluga".

back to nyc

2006-03-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

so we spent another weekend down in NYC. this time for Freya's birthday. she's 6 now!!! i simply can't believe it. her hands used to be so small and as we walked with brian, gunnar and ferris to catch the subway i thought about how big her hand felt in mine.
it was a quick visit, but we managed to pack a lot of action in.
Saturday morning we woke up and took buster to the dog park for his very first time. it probably sounds ridiculous to say, "the look on his face..." BUT the look on his face was priceless! pure ecstasy. an open run of land with 20 or 30 dogs running free. i'm not sure that i've ever seen our dog so happy. he simply ran and ran and followed the other dogs around. it felt great to be there. just like we used to do with george (may he rest in piece).
it was a gorgeous day. maybe in the 60s and sunny. incredible. i know i say it all the time. i LOVE the city.
this was a second trip for ferris, but he was so much more alert and aware of everything. he didn't sleep all day. the subway, the trains, the dogs, he people....everything! he was simply fascinated by it all. never scared, just fascinated. Every time someone talked to him he'd smile with his wrinkled nose and start babbling.
the faces must have been so interesting, too. MA is very, uh, vanilla. this was the first time he's been surrounded by other ethnicities. it doesn't get much more diverse than a mahattan bound subway car. ferris even witnessed his first typical-homeless-crazy-person-damning-us-all-to-hell, a loud disheveled black man warning us of the end....you know, "the end". this is a ho-hum, dime a dozen event in the city, but something you never see in small town massachusetts...unless you attend some of the churches, i guess.
We picked gunnar and freya up from ANOTHER b-day party and grabbed a quick slice of pizza before heading to freya's karate festivities. the kids had a blast and ferris managed to catch a quick nap amidst all the excitement.
i'm a little scared that i'll blink and ferris will suddenly be grown up. he so much fun right now...not that he won't be when he's older, but i don't want it to move so quickly.

Double Feature: B vs.M & Mr. Giggles

2006-03-01T09:32:00.000-05:00

Okee dokee,here it is. A double feature for the Ferris freaks and fans.

baby vs. monkey-watch the human infant battle for dominance in his natural environment.

*notice buster running away in fear!

"mr. giggles"-uhhhhh, that kinda says it all.

have i mentioned before that i love being a mom? it is really really really wonderful.
ferris continues to grow...at least developmentally. He is a tiny peanut. just 11&1/2 pounds at his 4 month check-up. however, he is strong, happy and perfectly healthy. i'm sure the cereal is bulking him up a bit now.
he has discovered his feet and they are fascinating! he can sit up for a few seconds before rolling onto his face AND he can talk! well, he can spray raspberries at you, but we call it talking.
i'm not sure what else to report.
all is well with our little family. brian continues to enjoy his "real" job. i think he's even getting a raise in a month or two, but you know what Biggie said, "mo' money mo' problems." just kidding... i think that only applies when you are talking "rap star" dollars. he obviously knew what he was talkling about though. R.I.P. Biggie.
a raise is a great thing.
focoloco is just about launch a new site...i've been saying this for like 6 months, but now it's true. it's exciting and terrifying. my dad bought into the company and we were finally able to make some changes we'd been dreaming of since focoloco started 3 years ago. colored shirts and one pieces, organics, outsourcing our transfers so i no longer have to print and cut out every single one. i'm excited. i'm ready to be aggressive with promoting the company. i'm ready to take on the responsibility of being a competent business woman. not that i'm completely incompetent now....but i always feel like i'm close to it. if only for lack of effort and organization.
yup, that about covers it. enjoy the double feature.

i love this picture...

2006-02-14T17:33:00.000-05:00

ferris and brian watching Meet the Press on Sunday morning.

first foods...before we know it he'll be off to college.

2006-02-14T16:23:00.000-05:00

okay friends and family, this video is for you....no, this *experience* is for you. our very own low budget form of imax. you'll feel like you are right there with us as ferris takes his first spoonful of food!

what the!...heyyyyyy, this stuff is goo-ood.

the only problem i've noticed so far is that ferris doesn't seem to think i can refill the spoon with acceptable diligence. huh, no patience. i wonder where he gets that from?

the other big news....this one has me giddy. ferris no longer screams when we put him to bed!!! no words can really express the sheer floaty joy i feel being able to lay him down at night not dreading the screamfest that usually follows. i don't know what the faeries have been whispering to him, but i owe them a sugarcube or whatever it is that faeries like. or maybe it wasn't the faeries.... maybe ferris has experienced some sort of "baptism by fire" and achieved inner zen through prolonged screaming and unrest. oh, and in case you were thinking that the food may be the source of newfound zen at night...the zen came first.

progress in full body realization and other adventures

2006-02-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

ferris is moving forward in his quest for full body realization. not only does he know that he has two hands, but he can actually reach for and hold objects now. he is also very aware of feet and legs. he kick, kick, kicks them all over the place. he can scoot around on his back by wildly kicking his legs around. he loves to stand. i think if fatigue didn't get in the way he would just stand all day long. ferris is also making progress with rolling over. he can do it, just not all the time. it's still somewhat of a happy accident. he has, however, discovered that his head is a powerful tool of momentum. he throws it to one side and lets its weight pull the rest of his body over. clever boy. it's hard to believe that once upon a time we were all able to impress those around us with these pure and simple accomplishments. how wonderful.

it has been a wild few weeks for the young lad. his granddad, my dad, came up for a weekend visit and our friend mike was here at the same time with his lovely lady friend, sara. once again brian and i were able to go out to dinner sans diaper bag and hip accessory.
it's always great to have visitors. always a bit sad when they leave.

ferris also went on his first adventure to the big city! it sounds very silly, but i'd never felt twinges of heartache and longing for an actual place before we moved away from brooklyn. people, yes, but the location itself, no. i love our life here in massachusetts, but i will always consider brooklyn as one of the loves in my life. i hope over the years we will be able to expose ferris to all of the incredible adventures to be had in brooklyn and nyc... and all you really need is your two feet and a metro pass. even walking to your destination is its own adventure.
it was ridiculously wonderful to see everyone there. ferris has so many rad "aunts" and "uncles" there, many that he'd never even met until this past weekend. we celebrated "uncle" erik's and daddy brian's birthdays with a kegger. i can't tell you how long it has been since brian and i attended a kegger. perhaps it was our wedding. ferris had a blast and was surprisingly serene being passed from person to person to person.
we had the opportunity to eat at a couple of our old favorites, noting that you get better service when you bring a baby. ferris even stopped for a pint at a bar to visit the bartender, his "uncle" tim. we hit the bar just as it was opening...no noise...no people...no i.d. required for underage little boys. tim had to cut ferris off after only half a pint... ferris was slurring his words pretty badly. (kidding, totally kidding)

here are some pics. and somewhere below should be a link to video of the kiddo attemptng to roll over. enjoy.

so close! alas, he is defeated.

new video: monkey boy standing

2006-01-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

here's a little clip of the young man doing his new "thing". 3months old yesterday!

he stands....he falls

2006 already? when did that happen?

2006-01-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

wow, one week of 2006 almost gone already... i can't believe how quickly this past month went by... filled with adventure, of course.
not the i'm-calling-in-sick-to-work-tomorrow-so-let's-go-ape shit-tonight! kind of adventures of our past, but the holy-cow!-i think-ferris-just-laughed and ooooooooh-our-first-dinner-without-the-baby kind of adventures of our present and future decade or so.

my mom came up to stay with us for christmas allowing brian and i to go out to dinner by ourselves for the first time since ferris arrived. it was nice and peaceful. the quiet, the calm. no nail biting suspense over whether the angry badger(ferris) would awake from his quiet sleep in the middle of dinner. no sipping a glass of wine while wondering if people are looking at you thinking, "what an awful mother!" or " a glass of wine now and then never hurt anyone, not even a breastfed baby." not that anyone in the restaurant really cares or is paying attention, but these sort of thoughts still go through my head. it's a weird awkwardness akin to that self-consciousness that was crippling in junior high.
brian and i actually got to have a conversation AND i got to bring a purse NOT a diaper bag.
how cool is that?

christmas eve was spent at our neighbors house pigging out on wonderful fatty foods....christmas morning was spent mostly in the bathroom in agony.
food poisoning? who knows, maybe just a case of 24hour stomach flu. whatever it was it sucked, big time.
my mother and i spent all day groaning and sleeping trying to fight off fevers, vomiting and other pleasant things. brian had the pleasure of taking care of all of us. he is an awesome human.
despite the sickness we managed to have a good time opening presents around the tree....in the pictures you can't really tell the difference between sick(me) and tired(brian). Our first christmas together as a family and it already looks like we've been woken up at some ungodly hour. this year we wake up for boob juice demands, in a few years it'll be to open the presents.
ferris made out like a bandit. lots of great books, toys and clothes. one of his favorites, the stocking he received from his awesome aunt dawn. that must have taken her forever to make. (see pic.s below)
my little brother and his girlfriend came over from Boston the next day to hang out, exchange gifts and eat some yummy, non-tainted lasagna. mike and katie are expecting a monkey of their very own in July! a cousin for ferris!
below there is a picture of my mom, mike and katie by the tree...just so you can put a face with a name.
the pictures of the cute kids holding ferris are of gunnar and freya. i can't believe how big they've gotten! gunnar is almost 10 and freya will be 6 in march. for those of you not familiar with these wonderful monkeys, they are the kids i used to nanny for in manhattan. it's wild to see them holding my very own little monkey. i remember when freya wasn't much older than ferris is now. gunnar was just a little toot too.... i remember walking him to school, playing punch bug (and punch silver honda civic or pt cruiser).
their looney family came up to visit for the new year. we hit the museums and candle pin bowling. we always have a great time with them when they come to visit. 3 kids and 4 bigger kids playing together.
we spent new year's eve in cabin in vermont with another family they know. the cabin was" a house on a hill with cars in front and lights on, you can't miss it. " these were part of our directions to get there. i'm guessing they didn't consider the possibility of lights being on and cars being parked at all those other houses on the same hill.
we rang in the new year with a hearty, "oh, it's already new year? anyways, it's your turn, we only need a few more to win (in taboo)."
it was a new year's eve unlike any i can remember....of course for past decade or so my memory of new year's eves has been a bit fuzzy and filled with holes.

some holiday pictures

2006-01-04T15:20:00.000-05:00

not a creature was stirring....

2005-12-16T08:54:00.000-05:00

except for the mice that inhabit our house.
the death toll is currently two.
i have mixed emotions about our battle with the mice. i like mice. hell, i used to have around 60 of them when i was a kid. started off with two, ended up with 60...in under a year.
this is my main concern...i've got no problem with a mouse or two living in our crawl spaces, raising their little family. you can't knock'em for wanting to survive this winter.
but a few turns into many very quickly. and they scurry across the kitchen counters where we cook and prepare food. this thought makes my skin crawl a little. the first two put up a good fight. they cleaned out one trap of its bait 3 times, were killed(we thought) once, escaped the trap before we could dispose of them, and then, finally were killed 'for real'. how does one survive a neck/head crushing by a spring loaded metal bar?
so, sadly, we have begun the battle.
saatchi, the cat, has proved herself to be a disappointment so far. today i caught her playing with(aka torturing) a mouse. chasing it, catching it, carrying it to a new spot then releasing it to repeat this process. i would love it if our cat took care of the mouse problem for us, but honestly, a quick snap of a trap across the neck is more humane than being toyed with for hours....so i saved the little guy from saatchi's clutches and released him into our shed. a fact brian will probably be a bit pissed about....like i said, i'm torn about this mouse conflict.
tonight we will be setting more traps... if the mice choose to walk into them, so be it.

30 seconds in the life of Ferris Alastair Miksic. Now with even MORE action!!

2005-12-09T07:56:00.000-05:00

another snibble of the action packed life of Ferris!

Eureka!!

2005-12-07T08:30:00.000-05:00

Ferris has found a fist. His right fist and only a fist. We're not sure if he actually has any conscious control over it yet, but he certainly looks like he's trying to make something happen, like a little freak trying to bend a spoon using only the power of his mind.
This is the young man's latest major accomplishment. He is completely absorbed by the flailing ball of flesh waving in front of him. So now he is aware of 2 areas of his body. His right fist and his tumultuous belly. Oh, 3 body parts, I almost forgot the most important one, his mouth. We look forward to full body realization. How weird it must be to not have control of your body, to not even know that it is there to be controlled.
December has been good to us so far. We spent the last weekend getting our Christmas tree and finally putting the house back in order. We went with our friends, Dan and Sarah, out to a tree farm in Pownal, Vermont and picked our tree and chopped it down with an ax... my mother (jokingly, i hope) asked if the tree screamed.
I kind of wonder, is cutting down a tree that is grown as a crop for this specific purpose any worse than ravaging a crop of lettuce? Okay, so there is the whole water and energy waste that comes with growing the tree for so many years, just to decorate it for a month and then mulch it. Or maybe the problem is that it's being grown for decoration instead of food, like the botanical equivalent of a moose head hanging above the mantle.
I don't know, but I don't feel terribly torn up about it. It is a tradition that I love. One of the best parts of Christmas. Hey, it's a big step forward from sacrificing livestock and loved ones in annual celebrations.

gobble gobble

2005-11-28T14:41:00.000-05:00

Well, the vacation is over, but it was a really bitchin' weekend. I have a ton of photos to put together as some point, but for now i'll just share a few of them. brian's best friend, gerg, also ferris's "godfather", was in town to eat some turkey this year and we had my brother, his girlfriend and some of our wonderful nyc friends up for the holiday. i think it's safe to say that a great time was had by everyone. it felt really good to have the house full of friends for a few days. i think ferris had a great time too... spitting up on people, crying, taking baths and blowing through outfits 3 or 4 times a day.
thanksgiving is such a wonderful time when we can have such kick-ass friends to share it with. on thanksgiving day the ladies and mr. ferris sat and watched football while the guys cooked the t-day meal. we didn't *just* watch football, we also made some turkey artwork to add to the overall feel of the occassion. the meal was drool-a-rific...even though we forgot about the cranberries until everyone was already stuffed. and the pies are still sitting our fridge because no one had room for them that night...i think the alcohol took up too much space in all of our bellies.(no worries, mom, ferris was drinking alcohol-free, pre-pumped milk)
once again the neighbors were treated to a fabulously shameless dance party. someday we might put up blinds, but we really don't care if our neighbors see us acting like idiots. sadly, no neighbors joined in on our dance-a-thon. it felt really great to let loose a little and party. ands to see that becoming parents hadn't changed the event in any sort of a negative way. it just made it better and more special. besides the young man, i'm sure many of the participants are still recovering.
it gave brian and me a warm fuzzzy feeling finally introducing the little monster to so many of our close friends. he keeps changing! now he giggles in his sleep and coos at people. he can happily watch faces and objects for about an hour. he also smiles when he sees me. it is such a simple thing, but it just feels amazing!
( i'm still trying to figure out how to arrange the layout of photos in this...not going so well so far)

Videos of the righteous dude

2005-11-21T14:24:00.000-05:00

hey friends and family,

never thought i'd be writing a blog....but i guess we never imagined we'd be raising a family so far away from all of our friends and family either. y'all should *totally* move closer to us! ;)
brian and i decided this would be an easy way for us post pictures and videos of the young monkey in progress. it totally sucks that all his grannys, gramps, aunts, uncles and honorary family can't watch him grow and change like we can.
i guess you really aren't missing out on much right now since he really doesn't *do* anything yet. somehow he's terribly entertaining. little things like watching him sleep or giggle are wildly entertaining....at least to me and brian.
right now we're getting ready for thanksgiving. we're having our first large group of guests since ferris was born...actually, since last february around brian's 30th b-day. we thought we'd be keeping it small, but we'll still end up with about 10 of us at the dinner table...+ 1 monkey...and 3 dogs. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out. we had a blast last year.

overall, things are pretty good. brian gave me a little palm pilot thingy for my birthday. i desperately needed this. i can no longer remember anything for more than a few seconds..including what day it is. this is definitely a result of my brain being asked to multi-task beyond it's capacity. so now i have this handy little gadget to remember everything for me and tell me when to "do" and what to "do". this is a huge load off my mind!
the weather here is getting colder, but now we've got 2 cars (thanks, dad) so we can both get out and about once winter really hits us. i think we've managed quite well not to become shut-ins. we've been out to eat with ferris about 4 times and he's been to 2 museums, a gallery opening and a few walks in the woods in the 6 weeks he's been with us. i can't imagine *not* getting out of the house every now and then. we'd be insane. all baby, no play make suzy and brian something something...
we met a couple at the gallery opening who had a 9 month old. they told us they didn't leave their home for the first 4 months...not even to buy groceries. (shudder) grocery shopping is a wonderful diversion from being in the house. making orders while trying to breastfeed at the same time can be a bit draining. i'm sure in time i'll be able to multi-task like a master, but not today and probably not tomorrow either.
brian seems to be enjoying his job at laurin publishing. he tells me he enjoys flicking things at his office roommate, brian...especially since the other brian isn't very good at flicking these objects back at him. they both seem very amused by simple things. that is totally the best way to make an office job tolerable. i remember at my internship in dallas we used to hide envelopes of parmesan cheese in each others offices. i was the mail shlep so i'd just stick it at the bottom of peoples mail piles....no one ever actually opened their mountains of mail. he he he he
okay, that's it for now. for those of you that don't enjoy lots of pictures of babies, ignore the e-mails you get from me with links to this blog....for the rest of you crazy people, indulge yourself in lots of pictures our baby doing absolutely nothing...AND video of him doing absolutely nothing!
Ferris getting psyched up to take a bath!

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2004-08-16T12:32:00.000-04:00

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