UPS finally sent Simon's personality upgrade.
That's right, we have smiles!
(Warning: Smiles contained on said baby are inconsistent and do not indicate true affection or genuine pleasure in the moment.)
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
love hate?
Lately, David has been mean to Grandpa-Great (dad's dad). He pointedly does not give his great-grandfather hugs, tells him they are not friends or that he doesn't like him. Yesterday, I sternly rebuked him for this behavior so he ran to Grandpa-Great and hugged his knees. Grandpa picked him up, gave him a kiss and they were best buds. Granny Great asked me where he learned this "you are not my friend" stuff. Well, from some other kids he has played with, I guess. Jaime and I were discussing it last night. We don't think he means it or understands it. He has seen the behavior go unchecked in others, he assumes it is appropriate, and imitates it. As soon as I point out that it is inappropriate, he is happy to drop it.
This emotional disingenuousness extends to other places--such as crying. He has this fake cry he does when he is peeved that he is not getting his way. He curls his mouth down, squints, and moans. The fake is pretty easy to detect--it comes from nowhere without any build up, is absent of tears, and can disappear just as quickly--"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--hey, a bug!" The frequency of this fake crying has increased since he has observed the level of attention Simon gets for similar-sounding behavior.
Here is the problem--how much of his emotional signaling can I believe is tied to genuine emotion and how much of it is simply this parroting of other's behavior? Early Monday morning, he woke up crying (genuinely) and got out of bed and headed for our room. I headed him off at his bedroom door, herded him back to bed, laid down with him, and rubbed his back. He was snuggled right up against me. "Dad," he said.
"Yes, David"
"I love you."
So, am I touched by my son's expression of genuine love for me or do I assume that this is on par with telling his grandpa that they are not friends? (Actually, the answer to that one is pretty easy--I don't care. My boy told me that he loved me and I'm taking it, I don't care where it came from. I only wish I had recorded it to play back in 13 years.)
later, fans (genuine and otherwise)
This emotional disingenuousness extends to other places--such as crying. He has this fake cry he does when he is peeved that he is not getting his way. He curls his mouth down, squints, and moans. The fake is pretty easy to detect--it comes from nowhere without any build up, is absent of tears, and can disappear just as quickly--"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--hey, a bug!" The frequency of this fake crying has increased since he has observed the level of attention Simon gets for similar-sounding behavior.
Here is the problem--how much of his emotional signaling can I believe is tied to genuine emotion and how much of it is simply this parroting of other's behavior? Early Monday morning, he woke up crying (genuinely) and got out of bed and headed for our room. I headed him off at his bedroom door, herded him back to bed, laid down with him, and rubbed his back. He was snuggled right up against me. "Dad," he said.
"Yes, David"
"I love you."
So, am I touched by my son's expression of genuine love for me or do I assume that this is on par with telling his grandpa that they are not friends? (Actually, the answer to that one is pretty easy--I don't care. My boy told me that he loved me and I'm taking it, I don't care where it came from. I only wish I had recorded it to play back in 13 years.)
later, fans (genuine and otherwise)
Monday, October 16, 2006
nanoblomo
Val has convinced Ed to particpate with her in National Novel Writing Month. My question: "Who will raise their children?"
I calculated the amount of time that I would need to dedicate each day to produce the required number of words and subtracted the amount of time each day I have if I want to maintain my marriage. The answer is a negative integer. So until I have developed my space-time warping skills, NaNoWriMo is not for me (we could go into why I am not dedicating what little time I do have to writing novel I've begun, the other one I've outlined, and the two others I'm mentally gestating, but you are not my therapist).
Fussy to the rescue (via Laid Off Dad). She is challenging those of us in blogland to make November National Blog Writing Month. So I have taken up the challenge to post to this blog every day in November, wether I have something post-worthy or not--photos don't count. I want to be a writer not a photographer (not entirely true, ask my therapist). You may ask, "if you have the energy and content to post every day for a month, then why do you only post fortnightly? Again, not my therapist.
Later fans of foster parents of NaNoWriMo orphans.
Urchins of the literati
I calculated the amount of time that I would need to dedicate each day to produce the required number of words and subtracted the amount of time each day I have if I want to maintain my marriage. The answer is a negative integer. So until I have developed my space-time warping skills, NaNoWriMo is not for me (we could go into why I am not dedicating what little time I do have to writing novel I've begun, the other one I've outlined, and the two others I'm mentally gestating, but you are not my therapist).
Fussy to the rescue (via Laid Off Dad). She is challenging those of us in blogland to make November National Blog Writing Month. So I have taken up the challenge to post to this blog every day in November, wether I have something post-worthy or not--photos don't count. I want to be a writer not a photographer (not entirely true, ask my therapist). You may ask, "if you have the energy and content to post every day for a month, then why do you only post fortnightly? Again, not my therapist.
Later fans of foster parents of NaNoWriMo orphans.
Urchins of the literati
Saturday, October 14, 2006
i'm a pro, so you can print
You can now purchase prints of photos that you see on this blog.
Most of the photos that will be posted from today forward (including the two below) will be loaded in a file size that allows you to buy prints from Flickr's photo-finishing service or download large-sized images that you can print elsewhere. I will attempt to go backwards and upload new, larger versions of older photos as I have time (ha!).
How?
First, you have to get your own Flickr account. Regrettably, this means that you also have to get a yahoo account (sbcglobal is a Yahoo account).
How do you know if the photo is suitable for printing? Click on it. Above the photo is a series of little icons. One shows a magnifying glass and says "ALL SIZES." Click on it, then pick the original size. If it is HUGE, like, larger than your screen, then is a suitable resolution for printing.
Go back and click "order prints." Or your can just download the big size image and print it wherever you want.
Call with questions.
enjoy, photo-emulsion fans
Most of the photos that will be posted from today forward (including the two below) will be loaded in a file size that allows you to buy prints from Flickr's photo-finishing service or download large-sized images that you can print elsewhere. I will attempt to go backwards and upload new, larger versions of older photos as I have time (ha!).
How?
First, you have to get your own Flickr account. Regrettably, this means that you also have to get a yahoo account (sbcglobal is a Yahoo account).
How do you know if the photo is suitable for printing? Click on it. Above the photo is a series of little icons. One shows a magnifying glass and says "ALL SIZES." Click on it, then pick the original size. If it is HUGE, like, larger than your screen, then is a suitable resolution for printing.
Go back and click "order prints." Or your can just download the big size image and print it wherever you want.
Call with questions.
enjoy, photo-emulsion fans
new photos
I did a photo shoot with David a Simon last week but new security measures are getting in the way of me posting to this blog. So click through this thumbnail to see some gorgeous photos.
Steve, Mr. Potato Head, David
Grandpa Steve rushed in from Colorado to play with David. Click through the photo to see a couple more shots.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
fish omelet
David often gets up and around in the morning before Jaime does or while she is in the shower. Usually, he is ok, but he can get into things. One time he came upstairs with a bottle of lemon juice and a bottle of soy sauce saying that he wanted a drink. A couple of days ago, he had two eggs in one hand and the "Finding Nemo" dvd in the other.
stop panicking
So the Barium swallow went predictably well. Like the rattle in your car that you only hear until you go to the shop,he didn't spit up or show anything abnormal. Nevertheless, Jaime managed to rangle some anti-reflux meds out of our doctor. Suddenly, we are experiencing a barf drought at chez sdjj. It's going to wreck our entire barf-based economy. We're going to have to apply for barf subsidies from the department of barficulture.
ahem.
They weighed and measured him. He is 22 inches long and weighs 9 lbs, 10 oz.
His weight puts him in the 22nd percentile for his age, the same percentage as women who test too high for levels of mercury.
Simon is definitely more an "infant" now rather than "new born." He's looking around, cooing, holding up his head and responding to the world. He will sit on my lap looking around, I'll move my face into his line of site, and his expression will change, like "oh hi, where did you come from?" This evening, I fed him a bottle for the first time. It was bonding and all, but doesn't seem the same without getting barfed on.
In other news, David and I hit the gym(nastics school) again this evening and were informed that a boy who jumps as well as he does should also be standing on one foot unassisted. So, when we got home, I tied one foot to his waist and told him he could have a glass of chocolate milk just as soon has he can get into the kitchen and get it. I'm confident that his monopedalism will improve by next week.
I'll be sure to report on his progress.
Later, mercury fans.
ahem.
They weighed and measured him. He is 22 inches long and weighs 9 lbs, 10 oz.
His weight puts him in the 22nd percentile for his age, the same percentage as women who test too high for levels of mercury.
Simon is definitely more an "infant" now rather than "new born." He's looking around, cooing, holding up his head and responding to the world. He will sit on my lap looking around, I'll move my face into his line of site, and his expression will change, like "oh hi, where did you come from?" This evening, I fed him a bottle for the first time. It was bonding and all, but doesn't seem the same without getting barfed on.
In other news, David and I hit the gym(nastics school) again this evening and were informed that a boy who jumps as well as he does should also be standing on one foot unassisted. So, when we got home, I tied one foot to his waist and told him he could have a glass of chocolate milk just as soon has he can get into the kitchen and get it. I'm confident that his monopedalism will improve by next week.
I'll be sure to report on his progress.
Later, mercury fans.
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