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Thursday, April 26, 2001

And what was the first song, you ask?

Why, "On top of spaghetti", of course. What would you have picked?
8:52:00 PM

Everyone has their own special early childhood memories that they cherish -- something unique about growing up that they always remember.

In Paul's case, those memories have a soundtrack, an entire repertoire of simple silly songs that the family sang. Not just the usual children's songs, but also holiday songs, folk songs, and even the occasional sea shanty.

There were songs for every occasion:

• winding down for a half hour every evening,
• passing time during long road trips,
• holidays,
• seasons,
• you name it.

As a kid, it wasn't even something you thought about. It just happened. Dad (aka Farfar) would get out his guitar and start singing a song he'd taught himself early that morning.

Of course, in the early years it probably sounded pretty horrible. (The Von Trapps? Hardly!) Farfar's guitar playing was self-taught, and with the exception of Rob's perfect pitch, none of the kids were particularly musical to start out with. But who cared? The songs were fun.



Fast forward to today, when what should arrive in the mail?

Oh, just the best birthday present ever! Yep, thanks to the Internet, credit cards, and a cool little bookstore in semi-rural Ohio, Paul is now the proud owner of an original 1964 Grosset and Dunlap edition of the very same songbook his family used growing up.
8:52:00 PM

From the milestones-you-dread department.

Today Maya figured out how to climb up into an adult-sized chair all by herself, taking advantage of a nearby stool. She was quickly moved back to the floor, in hopes that she wouldn't realize what she'd accomplished. Still, it's only a matter of time now ...

(Visions of plummeting doom.)
8:51:00 PM

Tuesday, April 24, 2001

Thirsty, Maya?




You still need a bit more practice with that empty mug, but you're getting the hang of it!
4:02:00 PM

Also that morning, a trio of shimmering jewels:



Maybe it was just the shrink-wrap, but these bottle caps didn't look anywhere near this good in the store.
1:31:00 AM

Rub a dub dub, two kids in a tub.




What, you were expecting laundry in there?
1:30:00 AM

Sunday, April 08, 2001

Another March milestone. It's been a month since Maya discovered why they're called ladder-back chairs.



If only that monkey could climb as well as she thinks she can, we'd all be in serious trouble. In the mean time, we've had to do some rearranging.
12:22:00 AM

More milestones from March. Bryn pulls up to standing:




Clockwise from upper left:

• 3/1: The very first time
• 3/7: Daddy, lower my crib, too!
• 3/9: Who needs both hands?
• 3/9: Bryn, how do these new skills make you feel?

Ecstatic, of course, because it means that...



... I'm now on an equal footing when it comes to competing for toys.
12:13:00 AM

Wednesday, April 04, 2001

Well, this is a milestone we weren't looking forward to, but thankfully it seems to be behind us now. Two nights ago Daddy and Bryn came down with some sort of stomach flu. Daddy only tossed his cookies twice -- which was plenty, thank you very much -- but poor Bryn took over a dozen tries to get her stomach completely emptied. Blech.
8:22:00 PM

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