Wednesday 30 December 2009

Oh What Fun it is to Ride...

In a one-HOSS open sleigh!


Bells on belt buckles ring, making spirits bright...

Note the rather (ok, somewhat) lifelike pose of our warmly-dressed little guy!

Out with the Old, In with the New

Well, as the old year draws to a close, we have a sad farewell to say.

A Eugoogoly for Chris' Bathrobe, may it rest in peace.

(1984-2009)
Dear Bathrobe, you saw Chris
Through thick and thin
Through puberty
And post-partying
For so, so long
You've held on true
But sorry, dude,
Your time is through.
Yes, your math is correct. His bathrobe was 25 years old. To put it in even more perspective, we played cards with some friends on Sunday night, who were both younger than his bathrobe. Chris FINALLY received a snazzy new one from his mom for Christmas. (Yay! THANK YOU, ANN!)


Anyhoo, it was a sad day, yadda yadda yadda. I voted for a burial at sea, but we didn't think the plumbing could handle it.


WAITAMINUTE! WHAT IS THIS???



Oh dear, it's a Random Foot Check (RFC).

You may want to catch your breath, have a bit of a seat, etc, and watch this amusing and appropriate video. Here it goes again, indeed.
Indeed.

After many weeks of valiantly trying to keep the new belly under wraps, I was outed at the gym! I attempted the indignant/hurt new mother routine (what are you saying? I've been working so hard to lose my baby belly, and you're calling me fat?), but she saw right through me. Rats. I suppose it was crazy to think that I could hide this, though!

So, here's the belly at 17 weeks. Yep. Woo.

Sunday 27 December 2009

Huffmas in the Hat!

Hey, what time is it???

We were up bright and early for Vaughn's first Christmas, and full of pip and vinegar!

Well, one of us was, anyway!



Santa brought Vaughn a sled.
"Um... so I sit in this, like so. And uh... wheeee?"

We opened up a big box from Grandma and Grunkle Visger: Ahhh! Much better!

All dressed up for Christmas, with a renewed sense of elf-esteem and elf-confidence.

A George-in-the-Box from Grandma and Grandpa Power...

"Mommy, hurry up and put my toy together! Um...and put on some makeup, too..."




So much to see, so much new to play with... it's hard, being this spoiled!
Good thing he has good elf-control.


The stockings and presents all opened, and a long day of playing and feasting later (Daddy made an amazing turkey dinner!), everyone's still smiling.
Merry Christmas!




Tuesday 22 December 2009

Vaughn's first haircut

Snif...snif...




Well, my little fluffy duck was getting too fluffy. His floppy bangs were always in his eyes (and always full of food), he had little wings around his ears, and if you put him in a stocking cap, he did a pretty good impression of Relic. Not good.




So, I finally talked Chris into taking him to his barber (note that Chris is freshly coiffed, too!), and aside from the tears (mine), it was a great experience. Vaughn was calm, collected, and curious as always, and seemed to think the whole thing was pretty neat.


My baby is now a little boy! Waaaah!
(and of COURSE I got some clippings for his baby book)




A before shot of his bathtime fauxhawk - note the extreme length and awesomeness.









After - he can still rock a fauxhawk, but it's more dignified and mature, non?








Speaking of baths, here's a bath from happier, hairier times:


snif.

11 months - All ready for Christmas!




With Mommy back at work, it's been a hectic holiday season, but we've managed to decorate the house, get our baking done, and send out some Christmas cards, most of which are in the mail. I promise. (heh heh - like the use of the "royal we"?)

The V-man went to a breakfast with Santa event at the end of November, and delighted the jolly old elf with his attitude - he was the only little one in our group to smile for a picture - either he's just a laid-back, relaxed little guy, or he knows whose good books to stay in!

His new tricks, acquired this month, include:

  • Blowing bubbles in the bathtub (about 75% success rate, failure being indicated by coughing, sputtering, and grinning)

  • Waving bye-bye (awwww)

  • Pointing to what he wants (mostly food, of course; he is a Huff!)

  • Bringing us books to read to him

  • Climbing a full flight of stairs (eek)

  • Turning around to wiggle off the sofa feet-first

  • "Driving" his train and firetruck - he rolls them back and forth on their wheels

He's vocalizing a lot more, and makes a lot of "da!" noises, plus imitating tones as well. And of course, he eats anything and everything you give him! Gotta keep those cheeks pinchable!


We've had a few rough weeks with various bugs, but everyone's recovering nicely now...and nothing keeps Vaughn down for long -- Mommy and Daddy seem to get hit much harder, for some reason! I just love this picture - everyone was feeling under the weather, and we got a nice, cuddly day out of both of my resident boys-that-can't-sit-still. I don't expect this to happen ever again, but am glad I caught it on film!

Uncle Rob and Uncle Ryan came down for a lovely visit (unfortunately, it was on the lethargic weekend!) and we tried to stay upright for them as much as we could. Vaughn perked up for them on Sunday, though, and had a great time! He loves his uncles!


We're definitely excited for his first Christmas, and for our first, quiet (ish) Christmas as a little family.

Merry Christmas to all, and a healthy, happy holiday season!

Monday 7 December 2009

Cranky Book Review: Captain Corelli, You Broke My Heart!

Uh oh. She’s back.

I had given a copy of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin to Chris for our first anniversary (Paper! Genius!), since he chose a passage from it as a reading at our wedding. (I also gave him a collection of Ogden Nash poems, since we also had the Tin Wedding Whistle read (my choice). I think the two pieces offered quite a nice contrast to each other: one is sweet and sombre, and the other is goofy and playful… does anyone else see the parallels?) The book has a lovely inscription from me inside the front cover…twice. There are no reliable witnesses, but at least one of them (and possibly both) were written after a day of wine tasting in Sonoma, and possibly after dinner, as well, which required another full bottle of wine and probably an opening cocktail or so…and maybe a glass of wine before bed, too. (Let’s call those the Good Old Days, hmm?)


Anyhoo, Chris took his time in reading it, but really enjoyed it, and said that he thought I would, too. So it recently made its way to the top of the pile on my bedside table (which currently features The Abs Diet and Joy Fielding’s Lost, to give you an idea of what’s coming up).

Well. I wanted to like it, so desperately.

Let’s start with the good. Louis de Bernières can write; there’s no doubt about that. His turns of phrase are beautiful and apt. His observations are humorous and lifelike, and the characters (for the most part) likeable and honourable (oh, Carlos!). In every book I read, I dog-ear a page or two with a memorable passage that catches my attention; this book is full of them. It was a powerful, moving ride of highs and lows, and I alternated between laughing out loud and crying.

But, the story. Sigh. It’s a love story, sort of, but mostly a story about the Second World War and how it affects the people on a Greek island. It depicts Italians and Greek and Germans and English, the good and the monsters and the fools of all of them, but shows everyone as human, which must have been hard at times. Without having looked anything up, I’ll assume that it’s also historically accurate. BUT, historical accuracy aside, I hate when bad things keep happening to good people. Repeatedly. To really, really good and kind people. Yes, yes, war is hell. And yes, that Greek island went through a lot, over many years. But what about the love story? What about karma? What about happy endings?

As Chris says, it WAS a happy ending. Not to spoil it for anyone, but for me, a happy ending would have come about 40 years before it did. I found that its “happy” ending was ironic; “bittersweet” doesn’t cover it, because there was so much more bitter than sweet. I guess it’s a good sign that I identified so much with the main character that I was angry/bitter/cheated FOR her, and still am, about a month after having finished it, but still!

/end rant

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