I Birthed an Alien

You're a sweet boy Arlo.

Arlo: No, I'm not.

I'm NOT!!

(pause)

Arlo: (growling low) I'm a spaaaace alien......

Arlo turned TWO!!!!

We are driving back from Arlo's birthday dinner.

I got a joke for you dad.

Dave:What's your joke Arlo?

BUTT!!!

He's the most verbal two year old I've ever met.
He loves cars and trucks and climbing and rock music.
("I want rock and roll mom" he tells me in the car.)

He's funny and devious and so damn cute I could eat him
up!

Summer Vacation

More Birthday Pics

More pics from Auggie's Spiderman Dinosaur Luau Birthday Party

FOUR!!!

Party pictures to come.

Cousins!

Christmas Pictures (Finally!)

Gotta Have Goals

Ok, the goal is to have Christmas pictures edited and into a video by the end of the month.
One month isn't horrible, right?

I am starting to make some progress...

Here are a few.

Some Fall Pics of My Boys

Happy Birthday

Today I visited with you.
We sat in your tobacco stained living room, you on your pallette
and I in the rocking chair.
The light filtered in through the smoke that wafted
up above you. We sat without speaking for long periods of
time, taking turns picking out songs and listening on the stereo.
I looked at the knobs I'd touched so many times.  Those gold
colored stereo knobs.  I wonder when it was that I last touched them?
Periodically a song would end and we'd sit in that silence.
"Wonderful" you said quietly after hearing a new song you loved.
I knew you would.

I miss you.  I miss your measured voice on the answering machine
that I called so many times after you died in order to just hear your voice.
I miss your hands putting a Pall Mall in that old silver ashtray.
I miss coming over and feeling stress melt away because in that space
that you created I could be myself.

All too often I hear music and think of you.  Sometimes it's a song
I knew you loved and other times it's a song and I think to myself
"Did he know that one?"
"Shit, I hope so"

I know I'm a little late, but I know you wouldn't mind.
Happy Birthday.


I'm sorry I have to go now. The dog pooped on the floor, the baby
is throwing food and dinner isn't yet started.
I'll see you again soon, in a rare moment of quiet, when I can
close my eyes and listen to the music.

The Song Phase

We've reached the phase where Auggie makes up songs about everything.
I can hear him singing first thing in the morning.  It gets louder and louder
the longer he stays in bed.  This morning we are driving to pre-school.
Arlo sits in the back like a demented drunken mini me screaming HI to
every car that goes by.  Auggie sings at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS.

HEY MOM, THAT SONG IS CALLED I CAN'T FIND MY MOM
AND DAD.

Me: Oh, so it's a sad song...

NOPE!  IT'S A HAPPY SONG!!!

Oh.

Dancing

Dancing in Auggie's room.

Halloween

ONE!!

He's one.

He's charming.

He's energetic.

He's persistent.

Determined, but with a smile.

We've watched him go from newborn, to smiling infant, to crawling baby, 

to suddenly a Frankenstein walking almost toddler.

He's impossibly snuggly and just cracks me up. 

Who thought the year would possibly go this fast?

Keep On Going

We are standing on the jetty screaming "KEEP GOING"
"GO!!!"
"COME ON MONIQUE, DON'T QUIT"

We are watching Monique struggle through the swim portion of
the Hammerman Triathlon.  She kicks ass on the bike and run,
but keeps hitting a wall on the swim despite her training.  She's alternately
swimming and stopping and we can see she's psyching herself out.
Sometimes it's all mental.

Stacey:  Am I doing this?
Me:  I think you are.
Stacey:  I don't have anything else to wear.
Me:  I'll watch your stuff and give you my tank top.

Stacey peels off her backpack, lays it on the beach,
and puts her camera on top.
She looks up at me and grins her wide wide smile, takes
a deep breath and wades into the water.  She's fully dressed
and laughingly mutters "Great, I have purple underwear on"

She swims out to Monique and I hear her say firmly
"Put. Your. Face. In. The. Water. and Swim"

The other athletes are out of the water and I can imagine
it is disheartening, but Monique swims.  Stacey swims
along side her and the guy in the kayak has paddled up
next to her.  I hear him chiming in too- "You can do it!!, keep
going!"   When she occasionally stops, Stacey alternates
encouraging words with strings of curses and it seems to
work.

And
Monique
Did
It!!

She runs out of the water as I frantically click the
shutter on my camera.  We are the only spectators
left on the beach and I'm jumping up and down
wildly cheering.
Auggie is jumping up and down
too. Monique runs up the beach, up the
stairs to transition.

Stacey wades out of the water, a little bedraggled, shirt dripping,
purple underwear showing, grinning from ear to ear
and laughs WHAT ABOUT MY PICTURE??


Last out of the water by about 20 minutes, M. kicked
ASS on the bike and was only a few minutes behind.
She kicked double ass on the run and came in ahead
of a handful of people (impressive)

The moral of this story is that I know some amazing,
strong and lovely women.  The three of us couldn't
be more different, but we met training for our first
triathlon, and have found lots of common ground.

These are women that would I would trust to
 'hold the rope'.



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