A new week

It's Monday again. Seems to happen every week about the same time. Next year when I'm working 2/3 time, I hope Monday won't make an appearance until Tuesday or Wednesday.

Here are some pictures from the weekend. CP and A2P2 came on Friday evening and were joined by Annie, Tannie, and Miley for supper on Saturday. To the best of my knowledge, a good time was had by all.

Angie fed and burped Miles...

...and Grandpa fed and burped Miles.

Miles got sleepy after all that eating and burping.

Charlie hypnotized Miles into a deeeeep sleeeep.

Looks like some self-hypnosis, too.Dang, my foot mysteriously appeared in a photo once again.
I hate it when that happens.

It's finally Saturday

It's Saturday morning, it's sunny, and I'm in the sun room not quite believing it's finally warm enough to be out here. Now if I could only think of something interesting to write. Here's something: The best part of the past week for Paco/Dad/Grandpa and me was time spent with Miles the first couple of days Annie/Mommy went back to work after maternity leave. I can't imagine a better reason not to go to work for a day and a half this week than playing with Miley, reading to him, watching him kick, and listening to him coo and squeal. I even got to go to ECFE with Annie and Miles, where Annie learned baby massage techniques. Miles was really into it--especially the "snake hugs" on his little legs and the butterfly massage across his tummy. He was a happy boy afterward.
I had coffee this morning with Nicole Henrich, a high school classmate of Charlie's and a student of mine when she was a fifth grader. She went to Gustavus and was in a Children's Lit class I taught during her senior year. She's a physical therapist now. Nice to catch up with her and to talk with Fran, her mom, whom I worked with at South Elementary quite some time ago.

Angie and Charlie are here today. They ran a race in Mankato this morning, and now Angie is playing basketball in an alumni game at GAC. Wow, I'm a real sloth by comparison. Miley and his parents are coming later today for a short visit so Miley can see his auntie and uncle.

This picture is for you, Tanner. Apparently you've been waiting to see a shot of the new tv, which you'll probably get to see in person before you read this. Photo disclaimer: My camera battery died right after I took this shot, so it's not the best. However, you do get to see a guy sporting a hairstyle similar to Miley's. Nice remote, too, eh?

Flatter is better

It's official. We've entered the modern age. When our rotund little kitchen tv was new, it was stylin' with its white body and curved top. Larry/Paco/Grandpa would be able to tell you the day, date, and year he bought it, but we'll have to wonder, since he's on an after-dark run to the car wash (the lineup was fierce today, so he gave up and decided to outwit the crowds by washing the car after they'd all gone home). We're now the proud owners of our first flat-screen TV, a 19" Westinghouse model that fits in the location of the previous set. It's flat, it's thin, it's clear and sharp and so far it's in color ALL the time, instead of only when it feels like it.

The last time we made a leap of this magnitude out of the dark ages was to buy a microwave oven. We were the last people in town to own one, I'm sure. We still have it, too.

On another note, kiddies, the sun room was usable today! Bright and cheery, warm and comfy. So comfy, in fact, that I took a late afternoon siesta. Dad/Paco/Grandpa woke me up a couple of times to remind me that I said I'd make Darla's Cranberry Almond Chicken, which Angie raved about on her website. Her raves are seconded at our house. It's lip-smackin' good. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Angie!

Scalp treatment

This photo speaks for itself. Let me introduce you to Katie Jo, stylist and on-site comedian at Liv Aveda in Mankato. Katie is recently engaged , so she's not in the running to answer Miley's personal ad (see Life in O-Town). Annie and I visit Katie Jo regularly; Elisabeth and Angie know her, too. Now Miles is a customer. Up until last week, the lack of visible hair in some of Miles' photos was because of his beautiful cellophane blondeness. Actually, that's still the reason. Even though Katie Jo wrangled her razor, comb, and scissors, she was only pretending to give Miles a super-skinhead cut. But, he's a Grimmius boy, so it won't be long before he meets a local Owatonna barber who will get to know him by name.

Miles is a pampered kiddo; bottle AND "haircut" simultaneously...

Special thanks to A2P2 for downloading this picture, which went from my phone to her phone to her computer to my computer to this blog! Whew! Miley gets around!

Got noodles?

Ah, the world of pasta! Larry/Dad/Paco prides himself on his forays into food shopping, and his ability to track down elusive foodstuffs. I can't say he always gets it right, but it isn't for lack of trying. No doubt it's related to that hunter-gatherer instinct we women admire so much. Cough.

Back to pasta. I put ditalini on the shopping list today, to use in soup. If you aren't fluent in Italian, ditalini means "little ditals". Since "ditals" is Italian for "details", the more accurate translation would be "stuff nobody pays any attention to." I digress. Here is a picture of a mess-o-ditalini:

Dad/Larry/Grandpa suggested I congratulate him on his success at finding this type of pasta today at Cub Foods. That seemed a bit much, so I asked if he had difficulty finding it. I had suggested that Barilla might make it, which they do, but apparently Cub doesn't carry it. Dad said, "Well, you know they have five different brands of pasta at Cub!" I guess I was supposed to be shocked by the news. It seems like a guy could automatically eliminate reading the names of pasta on all the long spaghetti-type packages, and pretty much exclude pastas shaped like shells or ribbons. The good news is he'll be able to find it next time, if Da Vinci pasta is still available at Cub. For pictures and descriptions of pasta of all kinds, check out The Nibble website, where you'll also find out what "ditalini" actually means in English.

Two babies to smooch in one week!

Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpa and I got in some Miley time on Wednesday evening and today. It was a great opportunity for us to give him the inside scoop on Hannah, and to catch up on what he’d been up to while we were in NC. One thing he’d been up to is getting bigger! Eleven weeks ago he was puny by comparison.

Miles loves to fly

Annie and Miles stayed overnight, leaving Tanner at home to enjoy a night of sleep without interruptions, so Annie could a work-related teleconference at the Nicollet County Courthouse this morning. Apparently whoever was in charge forgot to set up the teleconference, because no one knew anything about it when Annie arrived. So, instead of learning about an aspect of health promotions, she and Miles promoted their own health and well-being by taking a nap together. Seems like a good trade-off to me! Miles slept like a log last night—a 7.5 hour stretch! Grandpa figured he needed a nap this morning because he was worn out from all that sleeping.

Miles looks over the new photo album Grandpa's cousin Linda
sent home with us when we were in North Carolina.
Miles knows just which pictures of himself his mommy should
put in the album.

Occasionally Miles becomes hypnotized by his adorable right fist.
Tucked under Mommy's arm...where is she taking me this time??

Later in the day Miles, Annie and I had lunch at Dunn Bros. in Mankato. Well, Annie and I had lunch (thanks for treating me, Annie!) and Miles laid on his blanket on the table and talked to us and to several other customers who stopped by to check out the baby. Then it was off to Aveda for a haircut for Annie. Katie Jo, our favorite stylist, just got engaged and she was all “Oh my god…” and “Like, it's about time!”. It's a wonder Annie doesn't have to wear a hat for the next several months; Katie Jo spent more time looking at her engagement ring than at what her scissors were doing.

Thanks for coming to visit, Miles. Grandpa and I loved seeing you. We wish your daddy, your aunties, uncles, and cousin HBear were all here, too!

We're back

Five days is not enough play time with Hannah-Bear. She got to know us, and how to manipulate us as only an eight month old can do. Actually, I'm going to take back the word "manipulate" and change it to "mesmerize". That little girl has charm by the truck load (although some of her loads aren't all that charming, should you wonder). She kept us fully mesmerized the entire time we were in Chapel Hill. Mommy and Daddy trusted us to be Hannah's daycare teachers on Friday and Monday. Hannah took us on field trips to A Southern Season, shops on Franklin Street, and through the UNC campus. For a baby, she was quite competent at showing us around.

Here's Hannah-Bear. Da da da da da...

Look at this big girl, standing on sturdy legs!

We went on several outings with Hannah's parents, too, mostly having to do with food. Friday night was Mama Dip's night. A person would imagine that an 8-month old wouldn't have much interest in genuine Southern food. Imagine differently. Hannah is now the poster child for Mama Dip's Vegetable Plate. Gotta love those sweet potatoes, peas, mashed potatoes, baked apples, corn bread, and biscuits. She tried it all, and not a closed-mouth rejection all evening. She'd have eaten the fried chicken her daddy and grandpa enjoyed if she'd been able to reach across the table. Sadly, there are no photos to commemorate Hannah's initiation into Southern country cooking. What's the matter with us??

On Saturday, Dad/Grandpa/Paco's cousin Linda met us for lunch at South Point Mall in Durham at a great little restaurant in Nordstrom's, called Bistro. We enjoy catching up Linda on our trips to Chapel Hill; Larry/Dad/Paco/Grandpa and Linda have seen and talked with each other more in the past three years than in the previous fifty! Once again, Hannah was interested in food and conversation. Such a social baby girl!

New hat for next winter

The piece-de-resistance, of course was the Stupor Bowl on Sunday evening. Evan, I've been told, began planning his orgiastic food fest for Super Bowl XLII the day after Super Bowl XLI. Roman numerals aside, Evan puts on an XXL snack display. He's the only guy I know whose two cans of Pringles and can of Easy Cheese have back-ups. The Seven Layer Dip Evan designed actually had eight layers, and provided enough leftovers for next football season. Same with the guac. Oh my goodness, it was delicioso! Apparently the Giants won the game. It's hard to pay attention after hours of appetizers and beer.

Mommy and Hannah

Familiar scene: fingers in mouth,
schmat in hand, on Grandpa's chest

I haven't mentioned the beautiful weather yet, so I will now. The weather was beautiful. Ha ha! 60's and even near 70 by the afternoon. Mostly sunny. Ahhhh! We wish other relatives had been there with us as well (when I mentioned this to Charlie on our stop to see him and Angie on our way home last night, Dad/Paco/Larry said, "But where would everyone sleep?" Oh lordy.). Since you weren't, here are some photos that can serve as a substitute.

Warm, sunny, no snow, a baby to hug...Time to leave for the airport, so Grandpa explains

the basic principles of aerodynamics to Hannah.

Thanks E, E, & h for a happy and fun visit.
We miss all three of you!

p.s. Here's a short video clip of an even shorter subject...you'll have to bend to the side to watch it. Even though I rotated the clip, it won't upload vertically. It only lasts a couple of seconds, so I doubt you'll get a crick in your neck while watching. I sound like Joyce LaMont on the clip. Or maybe I'm thinking of Sue Zellickson. Yup, Sue Z. it is..what an annoying voice!