Noelle - Summer 2007

Noelle is so special to me. She is at a great age and her little personality is really emerging. Here are a few interesting stories.

Noelle, at 7.5 months, is a computer whiz! Really! She grabbed the keyboard from me and in the span of less than 1-minute she (1) deleted an important e-mail, (2) initiated 3 PowerPoint presentations, (3) developed a rough draft of a title slide for one of the presentations, (4) made the cursor disappear, and (5) logged out as a user to complete her session. All this, while simultaneously testing the structural integrity of the keyboard. Amazing!

I went to pick up Noelle from the nursery a few weeks ago following Church service. A mother and daughter were peacefully caring for a few infants. The mother was walking Noelle around. When Noelle saw me, she immediately started crying. I'm thinking about saying, "She loves her Daddy - I don't know why she started crying when she saw me". Instead I say, "Oh Noelle" and I take her in my arms. She immediately starts to stop crying. I realize that she was overcome by emotion when she saw me, because she was in a strange environment with people she did not know and her Daddy came for her. It felt so good to comfort her, she had tears in her eyes and her breathing was still heavy from crying. I really cherished the moment.

Noelle outgrew her creaky bassinet, so we are in transition as far as sleeping arrangements go. So, Noelle is now sleeping at night in between us. Once she rolled to me and gently grabbed my face with both of her hands. She then rolled over to face her mommy for the same embrace. Sometimes she falls asleep gently holding her mommy's face with both her hands. Very sweet.

Misc. Noelle is so curious about the world and she loves to look at things. She is very fond of Athena and Athena likes to lick her feet. She really dislikes having her nose wiped. Connor is so abrupt with Noelle, and we are always concerned about her safety. His antics and actions often make her laugh. The growing bond between them is very evident. She usually greets Connor with a big grin and sometimes a little squeal. Connor is always saying, "I want to see Noelle!". He is quick to run to her side if she is crying. Noelle is starting to experiment more with sounds (na, na, na, na & ma, ma, ma, ma). Recently, I was standing over the kitchen table and she grabbed my shirt. I looked down and she was beaming up at me. Usually, she is looking at the object she is grabbing, so this was a special moment for me. She is gradually learning sign language and she will open and close her hands if she wants to nurse. She sometimes twirls her hands, and sometimes she will do this for me if I initiate the same motion. We smile at each other. Often she smiles at someone and then turns away shyly, sometimes nestling into mommy's shoulder.

Let Them Play!

(click on image for larger image)

Conner and Noelle's playground equipment finally arrived! This is a wonderful gift from C&N's Grandma and Grandpa. I believe our kids and many other children will enjoy this for many years. It makes our backyard so inviting. It is great for Connor because he has so much energy. He plays on it almost every day. Athena really enjoys the kids playing. She joins right in, and she has attempted to climb the ladder on a few occasions - all paws on rungs!

We learned about a tip to make the slides super slippery - baby powder! The kids get going really fast on the tall slide. If you are not quick to get your feet down at the bottom, you end up completing your sliding experience on the ground! The tall slide is fun for kids of all ages and I like to go down it once in a while.

The Sea Monkey Chronicles / Part I - It is Time

Sea Monkeys playfully swimming about their habitats bring joy to millions of people, young and old. Every minute of every day, someone, somewhere, is spending quality time with their Sea Monkeys. From my childhood in the early 70s, I recall the wonder, disappointment, wonder, disappointment, and finally lingering wonder associated with Sea Monkeys.

Sea Monkeys ad seen in many comic books during the 1970s

The experience for a child during the 70s went something like this… Wonder: You can’t believe you are going to have these Sea Monkeys as pets! The little Sea Monkey family looks so cute! Disappointment: You must wait 24 hours for the water conditioner to establish the habitat before you experience your “instant pets”. Wonder: You wonder if you can really see them, but finally you focus in on little creatures darting about - Cool! Disappointment: Although you have probably been told, you eventually learn first hand that the Sea Monkeys depicted on the package look nothing like the Sea Monkeys in your little aquarium. Wonder: Its fun to show your new little world to family and friends. You explain to them that it is silly of them to think that the Sea Monkeys would look like the cartoons on the package. Ultimately, the little aquarium gets a little fishy smelly, probably cloudy, and you wonder if they are still alive. Finally, the little aquarium somehow disappears.

It is time. According to my calculations, based loosely on Chaos Theory, I felt it was time for young Connor to experience the phenomena known as Sea Monkeys. Even as an adult, I was once again duped by slick marketing and cuteness. The classic Sea Monkey caricatures were gone from most of the packaging (relegated to the instruction booklet), but you now have the opportunity to raise your Sea Monkeys in new Mini Worlds! I chose The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys on the Moon! The kit includes a habitat with a moon landscape and adorable little aliens.

(to be continued)

Fishing with My Homies

Tellico TN

Bald River Falls (I like the name!)

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Several weekends ago, I went on a little fishing trip with some guys from my church small group, Scott S, Scott W, Bill, and Aaron. Aaron’s aunt was generous to let us stay at her cozy cabin in Tellico TN.

Friday night we grilled steaks. Then we played a wide-open game of Monopoly – a sort of an anything goes Monopoly. There were alliances, immunity from paying rent, shared profits, and temporary holding property for a business partner in financial trouble, among other things. Very strange, but fun nonetheless. Bill laid low most of the game, initially working the railroads of all things, but somehow, he persevered and won! Go Bill!

Aaron was the true fisherman. He had the necessary skills and experience, plus he was also willing to get up at 4:30 AM to secure a good spot along the river and catch’em at daybreak! He did very well, catching numerous beautiful rainbow trout for our lunch. The rest of us slept in, so we really did not deserve to eat the fish Aaron caught! The trout marinated in sauce comprised of sherry, soy sauce, oil, and Cajun spices, while we were fishing mid-morning, except for Scott S, he went ATV'n. The fish were not biting mid-morning, still it was fun to be on the river. I have not fished a river in many years. We returned to grill the trout for lunch before packing up to come home. Thanks guys!

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Rainbow Trout

Karate Kid Fishing
(Tip: Choose a stable rock for this technique)

Scott's Big Catch

Museum Sign Near Tellico - What a Gem!

Thanks Scott W for providing several images for this epic post

Father's Day Thoughts

I think this day means more to me each year.

The past week and weekend seemed a little heavy, because I know we were thinking of Laura's dad. I miss my dad-in-law. Still, Father's Day can provide us with another opportunity to celebrate his life and legacy.

With a teenager about to enter his senior year in high school and Noelle just entering Size-3 Huggies Supreme, I consider myself more of a full-spectrum father (I just made that up!). Also, as I mature, I appreciate my father (and mother!) more and more! The point is.... I guess I don't have a point, just documenting some thoughts and feelings.

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Oh yeah, on Saturday, Connor and I shared the experience of riding a Waverunner! Connor liked the turns, but he was always telling me he wanted to "go the fastest ever"! Thanks friends, for sharing your Waverunners!

My Father's Day started with presents given to me by Laura, Connor, and Noelle. One gift was Adirondack chairs. Although they are everywhere now, the chairs still remind me of living in New England and also of our time spent in the Adirondack mountains and lakes. A cool present was a DVD set to include most of the episodes of Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. I was around 8 years old when the series was on television (1970). At Chelwood Elementary, I was occasionally called Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp (ha ha ha). I had to endure many poor impersonations of Lancelot Link's romantic interest, Mata Hairi, calling out for Lancelot. My Father's Day ended with diet Root Beer Floats and kids having difficulty getting to sleep!

Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp

Future Posts: Fishing with My Homies, Sea-Monkey Chronicles....

Robin's Sailboat - Part I

Ahoy, Mates! Earlier this week, Robin (my mother-in-law) purchased a small sailboat. I drove down to Georgia with her to pick it up. Driving there was fun - I enjoy driving a pick-up truck with a gangly stick-shift and it is always great to spend time with a family member, especially relatively rare one-on-one time. An added blessing was a spectacular rainbow seemingly rooted in the neighborhood where we were to pick up the sailboat!

Not the actual rainbow we experienced, but beautiful nonetheless

I don't mean to boast, but I've had some experience as ballast on a sailboat. For a couple of summers, I was ballast on on a ~30-ft sailboat, occasionally seen racing at Lake Pickwick (circa 1995). We usually (always?) came in last, but we had lots of fun. In fact, the boat's name,"Driftwood", sort of captured our approach to sailing. During one of those summers, I recall a fast midnight sail that was sooooo surrealistic. I recall motoring out to open water for sailing with Jimmy Hendrix blasting on the stereo. I recall extending myself from the bow, wind briskly blowing thru my hair and yelling, "I'm King of the World"...wait, I'm sorry, I think that might have been Leonardo DeCaprio in Titanic. My mind wanders again.... Anyway, despite my extensive experience as ballast, we need help with sailing! I am looking forward to learning. Robin's teenage son took a sailing class several years ago, so Captain Nic is currently our expert.

16.5 Capri (similar to Robin's Sailboat)

Robin's sailboat is a 16.5 ft Capri. I think this is a great size for learning! In future posts, I hope to show action photos of family & friends sailing and water-skiing with Robin's Sailboat.

Nobody Wants to See That

The other day Connor and I were in a convenience store and there was a man looking over the selection of beer in the refrigerated section. This guy was NOT wearing a shirt. He is a large man, some muscle, but he also has a belly that might be the byproduct of his current affection. Connor is standing about 8-feet from this guy and looking right at him. Connor says, "Daddy, why is this man not wearing his shirt"? I say, "I don't know, honey, maybe he left it in the car, let's go". Connor is still just standing there looking at this guy. The guy does not acknowledge Connor at all. I'm thinking this guy is simply ignoring Connor - that is fine with me. I am also wondering why it is taking him so long to pick out beer. Shirtless guys don't stand there and contemplate - they walk in and grab their usual six-pack! As Connor was finally turning to join me he says a phrase we sometimes say to him, "Nobody wants to see that". Thankfully, the guy was still ignoring Connor, appearing to contemplate beer instead.

What everybody wants to see is Noelle going mobile. Another milestone for baby Noelle: Escaping her floor blanket! She somehow rolled, squirmed, and scooted off of her floor blanket and over to a nearby backpack to teeth on a buckle. So, the days of her "staying put" are officially over.