Parenthood at it best

Adam and I are new parents...despite what it may seem we love our son Daniel, but lately he has been quite a handful. This image was taken while we were trying to get a casual family photo however Daniel was not in the mood that evening and we were not so successful in getting him to sit still....

Here is our one normal shot for the evening:

I think I read something about bribing kids with M&Ms when it comes to getting them to sit still. I guess I'll have to remember that next time.

Busy and Christmas Coming

The only time Daniel is this still is when he's watching "Charlie and Lola". We all watch it actually with sincere interest. If you get a moment you should check it out on YouTube it's an adorable 2D show about an English brother and sister who observe life in a simple and vastly imaginative scenario.

Anyway I realized I hadn't blogged in a while....has that become a useable verb now? Blogging? Weird, sometimes I really do wonder if we're headed for a 1984 generation. I've been caught up working more and now the holiday season is hitting and I really want to savor it this year and go to all the little "events" around town. Plus Daniel is able to be fascinated by lights and colors and music so I'm anxious to expose him to Christmas culture.

Speaking of Christmas, I was browsing through Target only a day after Halloween and they had already begun displaying their Christmas inventory. I became so excited looking at all the decorations and party hosting supplies. It was like a sugar rush and once I realized how much it would cost to do up a party with all of that stuff I crashed into disappointment knowing it wasn't something we could afford. It was not until a few days ago that I was humiliated by the biblical truth behind Christmas and actually desiring to celebrate Advent and the Nativity in place of the all the holly and the ivey. Plus you rarely come across a tasteful nativity scene so I wanted to think up a really unique display for our little apartment. Any suggestions are welcome...

Playground

I just wanted to show this great picture of Daniel on the slide at the playground. He really loved the thrill...I can see him already being a roller coaster fan.

Labor Day Launch

After much intermittent napping our Labor Day came to a close with a great bit of excitement as we watched Adam's rocket explode into the air. This was actually the second attempt to launch the rocket...

See Adam bought some model rocket materials shortly after his birthday. He spent two weekends carefully assembling the rocket with a few ingenious modifications including designing and building a launch pad and control pad.

Once the rocket was ready to launch we set out to an open location to try it out. This first attempt was met with the discovery of incompetent battery voltage. So Adam did some research and discovered he just needed MORE POWER!

Last night we set out to launch her again and this time with higher voltage control. Adam also brought bigger fuel cartridges by accident so the rocket was certainly geared for a big show. This video clip tells the rest...

Unfortunately, we were not able to recover the rocket as we're convinced it must have broken the atmosphere and is now orbiting somewhere in space...at least that's what we'd like to think.

Adam has felt both excitement and loss at the outcome of his first rocket launch. He has already made plans to build another and we will keep you posted as to the next appointment for launch.

Puppy Syndrome

The puppy killed my phone charger...

Domesticity at its best

This is us today

Average daily routine:

Wakie, go for swim lesson, come home and run around the apt., walk the pup

Eat some snacks, read some books, take a nap

While Daniel sleeps I....

work, walk the pup, do laundry, clean house, pay bills, maybe find time for a shower....do I sound bitter? I'm not. I feel pretty accomplished and I know my son is content.

When Daniel wakes up we eat some lunch then go outside either swimming, biking, or running errands (also part of my job).

Dinner time is quick once Adam gets home from work, eats, changes, then heads to class (2 days a week). I get Daniel ready for bed and WHEW! I usually clean up some more at this point, or work, or just sit and stare at the wall wondering where the day went.

I'm working on adapting to a new schedule...