A little bit of random for Monday

I'm having a little trouble uploading photos to the site. So let me tell you about something that has been on my mind. I don't have a picture for this. A picture just wouldn't do it justice. We have had our minivan now for several months. Shortly after we got it, a green speck appeared on our windshield. It's the kind of green speck that is easy to pass off as the innards of some unfortunate bug...until it has been there for three months! We have had several heavy rainstorms during that time. At the end of each one, I am certain the speck of green goo will be gone. Each time I am disappointed...or maybe I am a little relieved. So now we have been working on some other theories. Perhaps a lightning bug had been injected with some hazardous waste before meeting its end on our KIA. Could it be related to Incredible Hulk hype? Hmmm. Maybe they are developing some sort of indestructible super goo at the University and a little eeked out and splashed onto our windshield.

Have any ideas of your own? I'll try to keep you updated on the status of our visitor. Oh, maybe that's it! It's an alien life form that has chosen to observe humans via the Creach family. Wow. Wouldn't they be surprised at how little we reflect the lives of most humans....

Head Injury Update

Okay, you all know the real story for my recent head wound, but I have decided to change it up a bit. I was inspired by Stephen Colbert.

Forehead bruised, Colbert fights `face violence'
By JAKE COYLE – 3 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — With a bruised forehead, Stephen Colbert has found a new cause celebre: fighting the glamorization of "face violence."
As he did after breaking his wrist last year, Colbert has transformed a real-life injury into a mock crusade. Colbert was injured Saturday, and while he's been cagey about the cause, he's made no attempt to hide the scarring between his eyebrows this week on "The Colbert Report."
In extreme close-up Monday, he detailed the wreckage: "What the hell is going on right here? What the hell did I do to myself on Saturday? I've got stitches up there and it looks like I'm growing a little map of Norway down the side of my face."
Colbert has declined to say how the injury happened. (His publicist and Comedy Central also declined to comment.) Instead, he has said what's important is his new responsibility to fight "face violence" in Hollywood films.
Last June, Colbert broke his wrist while running around his set before the taping of a show. The comedian went on to wage a months-long fight for "wrist awareness" and widely circulated "WristStrong" bracelets for the cause. (Proceeds for the $1 bracelets have gone to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a charity that assists injured service members and their families.)
This week, Colbert has joked that after the wrist injury, he pledged he would never break a fall with his hands.
Tuesday's guest, Will Smith, had a theory: "I think I know what happened to your face, `cause I can tell. Somebody kicked your ass, didn't they?"
Colbert has claimed it could have happened by smashing watermelons with his head or by "practicing for a walk-on role in Cirque du Soleil and overestimating the number of French Canadians my forehead would support."

Are we agreed? If anyone asks you what happened....I just overestimated the number of French Canadians my forehead would support. By the way, it easily supported nine.

Cracking me up

Okay, so it's not that difficult to do. I admit the fact. Still, Sophia absolutely cracks me up pretty much all the time. Here is the most recent example. This happened about 40 minutes ago. My laughter is even distracting to me, so apologies for that. At the beginning, she's saying "March, march." Then when you can't see where her drumsticks are, she's knick, knack paddywhack, drumming three on my knee....enjoy the crazy. I don't have the slightest idea where she gets it.

About Sophia

We have noticed with joy and heartache that our baby is no longer a baby. It seems awfully early to me, but I suppose she'll revert every now and then. We have that to look forward to. Lulu is no longer NuNu, and she isn't her constant companion either. There are many days LuLu just spends the whole day in bed - lazy thing, leaving me all alone. Gone, too, are the little, yellow Pooh books. Believe it or not, I have managed to keep track of them, but she has, at least temporarily, lost interest. The two finger suck is going away too. It is used much less often these days.

Those are all things she isn't doing any more. Something she is doing - speaking in sentences! She has quite a way of turning a phrase, and we really enjoy it. When it's time for nap or bed at night, her newest thing is to say, "I don't go bed any more." She is also getting more and more creative. Today she had a friend named Bobby sitting on the swing with her. Among other things, she told me Bobby was funny. Then again, so is Sophia. She tells me that very often. She has known for a long time that being funny is important to us. (We'll deal with the consequences of that if she turns out to be less amusing down the road.) Anyway, yesterday, as she was repeatedly pushing the boundaries and having the consequences consistently raised, she just came back with "I so funny." I finally got her to agree that it isn't funny when we don't listen, but the look on her face told me she was not entirely convinced. The truth is, she's right and she knows it. I just have to stick by my guns. For once in my life, I can't fully appreciate (at least openly) the humor of a situation! Darn.

Anyway, all that to say Sophia is growing up. I'm sure you all saw it coming, but you could have let me in on it! That's not really true. Of course every parent tried, but I didn't listen. Well, now I realize. The days can be long, but time is flying!

Restful Indeed

Our weekend was so restful that the feeling kind of carried into the week for me. We spent the weekend enjoying Sophia's current phase of chatter and perpetual motion. We enjoyed parks, walks, naps and lots of playing at home. I cannot think of a better way to spend my time.

Sophia decided it would be fun to try on Daddy's shirt, then the hat just seemed like the natural next step. Needless to say, she got a good laugh, so it was continued for quite a while.

Sunday night, we tried the Concert in the Park at Shelter Gardens, but I had forgotten her "Apple Juicies" in the car, so we had to return practically before we got in. Not too quickly for her to stare at the firemen and get a chance to sit in the firetruck. Erick was more than a little jealous, and he told her so.

You can see a pattern here in the pictures. Perhaps the weekend was so restful for me because Sophia was a bit of a daddy's girl. She just loved hanging out with him and making him laugh. It is always a pleasure for me to see that...not to mention enjoy the rest it offers me.

A good time was had by all

At least I'm willing to believe that's true. Everyone seemed to have a good time at the work party, so who am I to question their authenticity? Sophia was up until 11:30. There, I just said it. One thing I had not anticipated was that other children have much later bedtimes than she does. There were three other kids present until 11:30, and it would have been impossible to put Sophia to bed while they were there. Of course there were other options for us, but honestly, she was having far too much fun! She wouldn't leave my side for about 40 minutes around 8:00 (her usual bedtime), but by 8:45, she didn't want anything to do with being held. That was partly due to the fact that she fell in love with a boy. Yep. At the tender age of 21 months, Sophia fell hard. His name is Jim. He's 3 1/2 with blond curly hair to be a near perfect match to Sophia's. The feeling was clearly mutual. They just provided the cutest show of chasing, hugging, kissing and performing for each other. Every time Sophia got out of sight, Jim would run to his mom and say, "Mommy! Where is Sophia?!" with all the urgency he could muster. She was never hiding too well. We tried to get pictures of the show, but they would skitter away. The best I could get was this shot of Kate (Jim's mom) reading to Sophia with Jim keeping watch.


Anyway, that was just one aspect of the great evening. All of the kids behaved beautifully. There were eight all told. It's pretty impressive to have eight kids in our house and not have anyone go crazy. Erick did a great job keeping the grill going and everyone fed. The adults managed to have some good conversation and enjoy socializing. The evening was intended as a welcome to the firm and (back) to Columbia for our friends the Bacons. That was, I hope, accomplished. So the evening was a complete success.

I didn't take the time to get any photos of the event. I gave all the kids disposable cameras to play with, so that should be interesting... Here is Sophia helping me clean up today.

Another Distraction

We're preparing to host a party tonight for the attorneys from his firm. Nice people, but it's still pressure, right? Anyway, I've been busy with that. Here's a picture of Sophia's newest pasttime. When we get home from an outing, she inevitably says, "Down in van, please." Then I allow her to play in the van while I leave the door open, checking on her frequently. It's pretty funny. I always remember to check my flashers and wipers after she has had a play session.

Update on the party tomorrow...maybe.