December 2006 Archives

We're still figuring things out, this whole family-of-four thing. But thankfully, our out-of-town guests have gotten out of our town, I'm enjoying a five-day stretch of No Work and the house is slowly getting back into order. Our Sunday school class is killing us with kindness. Incoming! Whoooooooooooooosh! Another attack casserole! We're celebrating a late Christmas with my family Saturday, which should be, um, interesting as always. The usual stuff.

To wrap up 2006 - all in all a pretty good year when you look back from a distance and kind of squint a bit - I offer you 12 thoughts and observations.

1. I attended one holiday college football bowl game and realized that instead of souvenir footballs, I really wish they'd toss souvenir nachos into the stands. Especially around the third quarter when I'm hungry but hemmed in by fellow bowl-goers.

2. There is such a thing as too much Christmas.

3. Do people really mean it when they say "Happy holidays" and "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year"? And can those things be quantified? Kind of like when we ask someone, "How are you doing?" Do we really want to know?

4. We've noticed an alarming trend in our neighborhood. There are at least three homes near ours that are vacant. It's like the family vaporized overnight. Whether they're running from extended family or bill collectors, it's kind of sad.

5. In one yard a few blocks from here that was bedecked for Christmas, there was Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus at the end of the walkway. Behind them, on the porch, there was one of those animated/singing Santas. Guess the jolly old elf was one of the wise men or something.

6. Instead of making some vague New Year's resolution about improving my fitness, I'm setting a goal. I'm going to participate in the endurance bicycle ride of the Hotter'N Hell 100 in Wichita Falls. I figure I've got eight or so months to train. I'm not only going to show up, I'm going to finish it.

7. Should I have a garage sale or just dump all our crap off at Goodwill?

8. Out of all the gifts the Cutlet got for Christmas/birthday this year, his favorite seems to be a red Radio Flyer wagon from the late 1970s that was the Petite Filet's.

9. I think I'm ready to start looking for a new job. I had to hang up on somebody this week, and I'm not proud of it. He deserved it, but still ... gotta be something better out there.

10. Even at younger than three weeks old, our little one is developing a personality of his own. He has already peed on my more often than his 4-year-old brother has in four years.

11. Wish I'd been recording video when it came to the Cutlet's birthday cake. We started singing "Happy Birthday" to him and he got all shy and said he didn't want to have a birthday. When we were over, he blew out the candles and touched his tongue to the side of the cake. Such a boy.

12. Next year, we're having Christmas at somebody else's house.

The stores have been having "last-minute sales" for the past three weeks. Don't they know that only now do rational human beings consider the next few days last-minute? Brace yourselves, too, because you know as soon as Christmas stuff is cleared out, you'll start seeing ads for Valentine's Day, quickly followed by Easter and chased by Mother's Day. Oh, and throw President's Day in there, too; that "holiday" is when a lot of electronic goodies are closed out to make way for the newest gadgets in the spring.

Presents are great. Most of us love to get them, especially fun things. But some of the greatest gifts are free. Little moments. Fleeting minutes. Mundane-yet-special events that, even if I'd paused to take a photo, could not be captured. I mean things like the Cutlet helping me rake leaves last week (wearing shorts and cowboy boots!), using a little rake I have for him and pushing his toy mower over the piles to help mulch them. The Petite Filet melting every time our new son coos. All of us together, healthy, usually happy, secure in each other.

It might not be family for you that pushes that button. The button that makes you feel warm, safe and loved. But whatever it is, and I'm guessing it's not "stuff," I hope you're able to savor it. Not just for a day, week or month. Every minute you can stand to stand still. Time is our greatest gift. Let us all spend it a little more wisely, starting right now.

God bless you.

It's rare that I'll go to a full-service, sit-down, laminated-menu restaurant by myself anymore. It's either me and the fam, a co-worker or two, or a coupla buddies chowing down together. But Tuesday night I needed to buy some gift cards for my work-peeps at a predominant family bar & grill, so I decided to grab a little din-din there as well before having to cover a city council meeting.

When you're by yourself ...

OK, so the little guy already does have a name. But it's time to refer to him here with an appropriate moniker. "Kid No. 2" just doesn't give him justice, seeing as he is The Gatekeeper of Peace and Sleep in our house right now (peace and sleep not always being found in the wee hours).

So, what'll it be? We've got a T-bone, a Petite Filet and a Cutlet. What shall we call this little fella?

Our newest arrival will be joining us in our humble home later today (yikes!). I'll have to remember to feed the dog well before he does. Everything is still going really well; thanks to all who've sent kind words the past few days. Now, are you ready to melt a little bit more?

Other than some initial protest, our second child burst into the world looking rather healthy and acting kind of happy. At birth, he tipped the scale at 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and stretched the measuring tape by 20.5 inches.

The Petite Filet is doing well, and I am, too. The Cutlet is bouncing-off-the-walls happy about his little brother. We'll have to find out the dog's reaction in a few days when our bundle comes home.

I will most definitely have more photos tomorrow. The above one was taken with our old, crummy digital point-and-suck, but I'll be hefting the heavy artillery tomorrow. That is, if the spare bed in the hospital room doesn't kill me.

Our hearts got bigger the moment we saw him.

Thanks to all for the lovely wishes, and have a wonderful night.

Dearest Critter,

We can't wait to meet you on Monday. It's been a looooooong nine months, especially for your momma. Not that it's been easy on me, either. I've been plenty busy making room in our house for you. But don't worry, it was definitely a labor of love.

So strange how you can love someone so much before meeting them. I've felt you kick, seen a few fuzzy pictures of you. But we're connected, little dude. If you're anything like your big brother, you're going to look a lot like me when you first pop out, and then off-and-on resemble me or your mom, sometimes all at the same time. But of course, it goes way beyond what you look like. You're going to complete our little family. We're going to love you no matter what.

And it's obvious we're going to have to retake that photo. You're in it, more or less, as you were growing and forming in your momma's tummy when it was taken. But you'll really be in it next time. Remind me, if you will, to dust the frame next time I take a picture of a picture.

Anxiously awaiting your arrival!

Love,
Daddy

P.S.
As you'll have a camera pointed for much of your life, you might want to know some of the technical details. It was taken with a Canon Digital Rebel (6.3 mp), using my 28-108 USM zoom. The camera's mounted on a tripod and I, a mere seconds beforehand, had used my wireless remote to trip the shutter. The Speedlight is pointed toward the ceiling, which seems to provide a more even, natural-looking lighting. I uploaded the pics to my laptop and zapped them over to Walmart.com, where they were printed in about an hour. Maybe this is too much for you to learn at this point. Uh, just say cheese.

We spent our next-to-last weekend as a three-person family working on the house, getting ready for Person No. 4 and having a little fun. I swear the Cutlet looks like he was Photoshopped into that photo, but he was actually there. We took a train ride on "The North Pole Express," meant to evoke the Polar Express without violating copyright laws. The train ride itself was great, if not a little annoying that we passengers were coerced to sing carols by a manic-depressive elf.

Before that, it was a matter of sitting through an on-key-yet-boring-what's-the-point preteen singer whose claim to fame is having been a regular on "Barney and Friends" since she was knee-high to a talent agent. Then some older dude told a "true story of Santa Claus" in a monotone. By this time, the natives were restless. I guess the organizers figured we parents would feel our money was well spent if they squeezed enough life out of us before letting us get on the train. Little kids do not need this experience, as most, including ours, just wanted to ride the rails.

True to form, we couldn't leave without buying a toy train for our little guy. But then, who am I to mind? As the tasteless joke goes ... What do breasts and toy trains have in common?