In this corner....

Amelia was rummaging around in my closet this morning while I was in the bedroom getting dressed. After a few minutes of getting her hands on any and every thing she could, she emerged wearing my boxing gloves. I'm fairly amazed that she recognized them as gloves and was able to put them on herself. I hope this isn't indicative of any form of natural talent that will lead her down a path to female boxing. That said, it might explain why I'm pretty sure I heard her humming "Eye of the Tiger" the other day while she was giving Sophie a pummeling.

Big Kid Table

Amelia has finally joined her mother and me at the big kid table for dinner. She may not look it here, but she was a happy little girl. Now, if only we can find a way to strap Sophie in a seat, we'd be a complete family.

Gator Dad

Yes, this makes me very, very happy.

One of these things doesn't belong...

As I pulled up to the intersection leaving the office today, there were six cars waiting their turns. A Lexus SUV, a Porsche SUV, two Mercedes SUVs, an Infiniti sport coupe, and a Toyota Corolla. Any guesses on which one I was in? Uhhhh, yeeeeeahh. That would be the Corolla. Yep, there I was driving my "skateboard" as my coworker calls it. It might not be the nicest car, but it is the one with Amelia's car seat, Elmo sunshade, and baggie of cereal snacks. As silly as it is, those little things serve as great reminders of why I work so hard and make it my favorite car in the lot.

Family Reunion

We just returned from spending the weekend at my family reunion. Other than the fact that I was drenched in sweat from the minimal effort it required to walk from the car to the picnic pavilion, it was a wonderful time. The vast majority of the invitees were able to make the trip. It had been a very long time since I had the opportunity to see many of the people there in any form of non-funeral setting. In most ways, that is a bitter shame. However, in the silver lining department, it made visiting with everyone and showing off/sharing Mia that much more special. Ultimately, more than the relived memories or the 10 years squeezed into 10 minute updates, it refreshed my faith in family and reminded me that one day I'll be one of the elder statesmen at a reunion and Amelia will be the one running around after her toddler. Until then, I'll just hope this same group can get together a few more times to celebrate while we are all still happy and healthy.

Poor Quality, Pure Fun

It wasn't all bad at dinner tonight (see post below). Amelia had a great time on the playground. Here is a terrible quality, soundless cell phone video (wow, I really sold that well) of her dancing and having a blast. At the end of the video, she is not crying, she is just shrieking out in joy.

The evolution of fear

Here is Amelia at dinner tonight once the Chick-Fil-A cow started walking around the restaurant...

Just enjoying delicious chicken-


What the...?!? Black, white, furry...must be a giant version of Sophie-


It's coming to eat me!!!-


I have my eye on you, Giant Dog Monster!



So, much like the clown, this was a dinner ending disaster for Amelia.

Divine?

Tonight, I had a very interesting encounter. After unsuccessfully trying to find a good home for some furniture that had previously been collecting dust in our garage, we gave in and called for a special pick up from our garbage company. I received a call at work from a neighbor saying one of the guys picking it up would like to take the furniture home after his shift, so they moved it back up to my garage. When I got home from work, the furniture was gone so I assumed all went as planned. However, later in the evening, a man showed up at the door to pick up the furniture. I apologized and told him it was gone when I got home and I had figured he had it. He was disappointed and said he was going to take it to an organization he is affiliated with that helps men recovering from substance abuse issues. I asked him a few questions about the organization and his role. He began telling me his story which is one of a former dealer and a former user. His escape after years of drug abuse was a result of being overcome by Christ. For him, it happened as if something washed over him and removed all cravings and desires. I shared with him that I had someone in my life touched by similar issues. I told him how much I respected what he was doing and how inspiring his story was to anyone who has ever seen the struggle. It was then that he said he realized what had happened - he was never supposed to get that furniture. It wasn't for him. The furniture was simply the mechanism God used to facilitate our meeting so we could share our stories. He then asked if he could pray for this person in my life. So, standing in the middle of my driveway in the dark, this man grabbed my hand and let out the most impassioned 5 minutes of prayer I have ever heard. God doesn't answer every prayer in the timeline or manner in which we hope. But, I assure you, this one was heard...by God...and likely a few of my neighbors. Was this a meeting of providence? Was this man some sort of angel? I suppose I may never know that answer. However, what I do know is I never thought putting out the trash could lead to such a fulfilling experience.

I feel her pain

I got to work today and saw the mound of work waiting for me. It made me feel like Mia did in her high chair last night. Yes, my job is basically a giant, creepy clown that lurks behind me bringing daily terror. I mean, other than that, I love it.

Who isn't afraid?

Amelia had a rough time at dinner tonight. In terms of standard issue dinner problems, she acted as if we were trying to feed her dirty socks. I won't go into what we were feeding her, but I assure you our favorite Mexican restaurant does not have dirty socks on the menu. However, they do, apparently, employ the services of a clown (of course I'm assuming he was an employed clown and not just a drunk guy walking around the restaurant) for their Kids Eat Free night. This brings me to Amelia's rough time...she clearly is afraid of clowns. I can't say I blame her as most people I know are afraid of clowns. Let's face it, they're weird. We all know there are lakes of tears behind those painted on smiles. Those smiles must not fool Amelia because each time she saw the clown, she started crying and trying to climb out of her high chair. Throughout all of dinner, she continually checked over her shoulder to see if he was behind her. By the time we were done eating, I had her sitting next to me on the inside of the booth protected from the big, bad balloon-animal-making monster. I felt terrible for her and thought it was adorable at the same time. Hopefully, in time, she'll outgrow some of the fears she is currently stockpiling. Although, I'm okay with her holding onto a healthy concern for all middle-aged men walking around in makeup.

Part of your own list?

I just watched a film called "The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made". It is essentially a documentary about terrible movies. However, I would kindly like to submit "The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made" as one of the worst films ever made. I would say it was THE worst film if I hadn't seen a movie called Gerry. Perhaps it would have been more interesting if they didn't showcase 50 b-list films (including a kung-fu movie starring 1 armless fighter and 1 legless fighter) that nobody has ever heard of. Sure, they may have all been terrible movies, but lists like this are only relevant if people can relate to the entries on the list. People's Most Beautiful list isn't really just a list of good looking people. It is a list of good looking FAMOUS people - hence, why people buy it. Now, why would I watch such a lame movie and then stoop even lower by blogging about it? Well, because I'm equal parts bored as hell and too mentally tired to think. Meggan has done her usual crashing on the couch. There is nothing on television. And I have read/worked/thought far too much at the office this week to want to do anything remotely productive tonight. If we were still in New York, I could go on a walk and people watch. However, here, I would be walking a LONG time before I saw anyone other than myself. Thus, I am left with very few options...and if I didn't blog about it, I'd be suffering alone.

One of my favorite parts of our trip to New York was getting to see the various neighborhoods. I wasn't nearly as interested in seeing the "sights" of New York as I was in just getting a general feel of the vibe of the city. Within a matter of a block or two, everything can change. You can move from Wall Street to Canal Street in a matter of minutes - proving the brilliant duality of New York, both streets so very different, yet both bursting at the seams with hustlers with the same ultimate goal. While I'm not sure Meggan and I really fit in any of areas of New York, I would have to say if we were forced to move there, and found a couple million dollars, we'd move to the picture below.

NYC

I'll save the flight talk for another post. Tonight, I wanted to talk about an actual relaxing part of New York. Relaxation is not, nor should it be, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of New York. In fact, I would say it is the least relaxing city I have ever been to. That said, we were lucky enough to spend a little time in both Central Park and Bryant Park. In this time, we saw artists, homeless people, pick-up ping pong games, some form of zen-like ringleader speaking to a crowd, teenagers partaking in likely not-so-medicinal marijuana, a group of middle-aged people who meet for the sole purpose of speaking french, and many, many more things. These two parks were not only beautiful, but were unique from any I had ever been in. While I would never recommend going to New York City because of the nature, I would strongly suggest soaking it up as much as possible if you are ever in the area.

Home Again

Ahh, we are back home from our trip to New York City. While there were definitely some high points, there is no place like home. I'll load some pictures on here over the next few days and talk all about our trip. For tonight, I simply wanted to share how I looked when I first arrived and how I looked after a day in NYC.

La Guardia Airport


Central Park

Out of Office

We are still in New York, so I won't have much time to post on here. However, I hopefully will have a few pictures once we get home and a few stories of what I think of the Big Apple. I will say there are certainly some great things about this place...and some things I wouldn't deal with on a daily basis for any amount of money.

Who is it for?

As someone who has their own blog,I always find it interesting to see what other people blog about. I know blogs are essentially diaries on the web. However, I think there are really only two kinds of bloggers. There are the bloggers who don't push to have the whole world read their blog, myself included. For me, it is a great forum to share Amelia's growth with those who love her and anyone else who wants a 2 minute diversion from their daily routine. The other group are bloggers who do all they can to become famous/paid bloggers. I think that's great as well. It just doesn't fit with my schedule. However, in either of these scenarios, there is still a readership. So, make no mistake, nobody blogs without wanting someone to read it - doing so would be the same as hanging a painting in the forest. If someone just wants to get out their thoughts, there are a hundred mechanisms to do so that don't include the most populous forum in the world. The reason I was thinking of this tonight is because of the glut of blogs out there in which the blogger rants about their children. I am not referring to joking about how wild your child is. I am talking about damagingly negative commentary. These blogs even include those written by people with the very serious condition of postpartum depression. Some are extremely interesting reads. Additionally, it is probably very cathartic to write these blogs. I hope the bloggers dealing with depression and any other personal issues really find a sense of healing in the writing. What I can't figure out, though, is what are they going to tell their children when they get older? Like I said, blogs are not journals you write in and store under your bed. They have readership and for the most part, that readership can consist of anyone with Internet access. The entire originating purpose of this blog was to give Amelia something to look back on later in life. I can't imagine Mia reading through posts that say I hate her, that she's ruined my life, or any other things that exist on some blogs. Perhaps I can't imagine that because I can't process having those thoughts. My only hope is that if the children who are the subjects of those blogs ever read them, their parents use that time to talk about emotions, expression, love, and growth. Otherwise, the whole thing seems selfish, shortsighted, and basically the opposite of all things "parent".

Wild Woman

Here are two videos(of very marginal quality) from Discovery Place that will clue you in on Amelia's wild side... the first is of Mia doing a drum solo... the second is her seeing very large bears and rather than being afraid, she barks at them like a dog.

Discovery Place

Sweet Dreams

Please God, allow my daughter to peacefully sleep through the constant pounding of fireworks and the likely occasional barking by Sophie. It's not that I don't love the 4th, because I do. It's just that I will love it much more next year when Amelia can manage to stay awake until it's dark outside.

Discovered

Our trip to Discovery Place was a complete success. Amelia played about as hard as a kid can play. So, we are all pretty beat right now. For tonight, here are a few pictures. Tomorrow, I'll try to get the rest and maybe a video if we have any good ones.

Time for Discovery

Tomorrow will be a big wild card for us. We are taking Amelia to Discovery Place, an interactive science type museum. They have some pretty entertaining things for little people Mia's age. However, these days, we have no way of knowing how Amelia act and/or react to being there. There are probably equal chances that she will either run around laughing and having a great time or be afraid of everything and scream the whole day. She has a tendency to take both to an uncontrolled extreme. Hopefully, we will get lucky and this will become her new favorite adventure. Otherwise, I apologize in advance to the other patrons.