Family Matters, Week of 5-16-05

Has it been a week already? Sure it has. Now I present to you some of those great fam updates you enjoy:

Annie

My precious daughter will be turning 3 years old in just a few weeks (June 8th, FYI) and I am still shocked (and awed) by how much she knows, has grown, is capable of, and accomplished. Note the phrase “is capable of” because she is capable of quite a lot. I know I only get to focus on the kids once a week, so I’ll try my best not to dwell in the negatives.

Firstly, she has an amazing grasp on language and her sentences get more complex every day. Again, minutia alert, but how cool is it to hear her use adverbs and correct participles? Pretty damn. The funniest part is when she is certain a word is one thing, but is really another. True argument from yesterday afternoon:

“I wanna watch some carcoons,” she says.

“Cartoons, babe.”

“No, carcoons. I wanna watch some carcoons please.”

“Honey, it’s cartoons. Cartoons. Say it for me.”

“Carcoons.”

“No, cartoons.”

“Cartoons?”

“Yes, excellent job Annie!”

(under her breath) “Carcoons…”

And so it goes. For the record she loved the circus and I’m glad we imposed the No Spending Cash at the Circus rule, because we would’ve been in deep financial trouble. $8 Snow Cones, $20 Light Spinner Toys? Yeah, I know.

Abby

Abby has only gotten cuter and better with communication as the weeks pour on. I could’ve sworn I heard a “Mine!” when Annie was in the midst of stealing one of her toys, but on the flip side she’s developed an adversity to food. Well, not food in general, more like her food. She’ll eat your food all the live long day. Hers? Notsomuch.

Nevertheless, she’s a little bundle of curiosity and we do our best to stop those bad habits passed down from her big sister, which recently includes picking up small electronic objects and hurling them. This speaks nothing of her DVD affection, tearing into my collection like the little discs are going to rot from the inside. Nary a day goes by when I don’t see her sprawled on the floor, surrounded by films. Cute stuff, I tell ya.

Ericka (her blog)

Ericka, once again, comes through on the baking homefront as she came home last night with perfectly made icing roses. They were truly spectactular, and it’s great to hear her so excited about her progress. Apparently the instructor there decorated an entire cake in 20 minutes, “Unheard of,” in the amateur world. Of course, my baby will be doing that in no time (in 19:58 or less, natch), and I get to eat it.

Ericka has also impressed with her walks with the kids in the afternoon. She’s actually thinking of trying some sort of dog walking service to earn some cash while she strolls around the apartment complex. We’ll see how that all shakes out. Until then its baked goods of all sorts, icing of the highest quality (that she now knows how to make from scratch…yes, any flavor), and homecooked meals. There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

Etc

First, a quick shout out to my friend Jon and his great new blog about his fitness goals. Excellent reading, and it screams for an update (and pictures!). Any fitness/better health blogs, particularly when they focus on one person, should have some high quality images to help show progress and keep people involved. Just a tip, keep it up Jon!

On the musical front I’ve found some amazing stuff I’d like to share. Saybia is a Denmark band who are described as One of Denmark’s biggest rock bands, a misnomer of the highest level. These guys are about as hard rock as Coldplay, and feature some of the best songwriting I’ve heard since I found Snow Patrol. The Second You Sleep, their first record, is an absolute powerhouse of songwriting and mood. Their second record, These are the Days hasn’t sunk in yet, so no opinions, I’m still too enamored with the first.

I’d also like to point people towards The Postal Service, who I found just by happenstance (and an Amazon.com Favorites listing), but recognized immediately from the promos for Grey’s Anatomy. The song “From Such Great Heights” is available for a free download, and I suggest you go take a listen. Yes, the whole thing is there, not a 30 second clip. There are two amazing tracks on the record, Great Heights and the first track, entitled “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”. Either will fill your days with glorious and cool beats, and when was that ever a bad thing?

Lastly I’ve got a book coming from O’Reilly that I can’t wait to absorb and share. More on that As It Develops. See ya tomorrow.

And I am finally seeing
Why I was the one worth leaving

Tags: Family Story Erwin Annie Abby Ericka Evan