Happy New Year!

I have never ever kept a New Year's Resolution. Most of them were impossible to keep. (No sinning for one year! Lose 75 pounds! Never get angry at anyone!)

The unintended consequence is that when I break a resolution, instead of saying to myself "that's ok, I'll start over tomorrow" I say "HA! I failed! So I should REALLY FAIL now! Instead of losing 75 pounds, I'll gain 30! Instead of never being angry, I'll start hating people!"

Counterproductive, no?

So, instead, I am following many bloggers and coming up with 101 things to do in 1001 days. These are (mostly) proactive (i.e. do this, rather than refrain from doing this). I also think I can accomplish these. And if I don't? Not the end of the world. It'll just make #101 easier.

So... starting Jan. 1, 2009 I have until September 29, 2011 to accomplish these things. I will mark them off as I accomplish them.

Which of these would be on your list? Which do you think are crazy? Which do you already do?

Health/Food
1. Go vegan for a whole week
2. Eat at least 3 (raw) fruits or vegetables every day for a week
3. Do 50 push in a row
4. Run another half-marathon
5. Eat only raw foods for an entire day
6. Get a full physical March 2009
7. Get back to my pre-baby weight
8. Do one unassisted pull/chin up
9. Go to the dentist
10. Work out at least three times a week for a month

Giving to Others
11. Do the Komen 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk October 2009
12. Smile at every person I make eye contact with for a day
13. Donate blood March 2009
14. Make a $100 donation to a local charity
15. Tip someone 100%
16. Cook a meal for a new mom June 2009
17. Give someone a “just because” gift
18. Write a letter to a grandparent
19. Volunteer at a soup kitchen / shelter
20. Translate for someone who needs it

Writing/Blogging
21. Post at least 3 book reviews (0/3)
22. Post an entry in Spanish (and its translation)
23. Post seven entries about being an attorney (1/7) January 2009
24. Write a letter to each family member telling them why I love them
25. Posts about M.P.’s namesakes
26. Publish an entry on my blog every day for 1 month (NaBloPoMo)
27. Handwrite a blog entry and scan it to the blog
28. Post an entry titled “Dear Body”
29. Post seven childhood memories that I want M.P. to know about (1/7) April 2009
30. Post about my journey of faith

Local To Huntsville/Northern Alabama
31. Attend a performance at the Flying Monkey
32. Go to Big Spring Jam
33. Feed the ducks at Big Spring Park with M.P.
34. Go to a free outdoor community event
35. Go to Early Works museum June 2009
36. Attend a non-mandatory lecture or seminar
37. See an exhibit at the art museum
38. Hike at Monte Sano
39. Hike in the Walls of Jericho
40. Go to a wine tasting

Travel / Vacation / Adventure
41. Travel out of the United States
42. Take another beach vacation
43. Go on a trip with girlfriends from high school
44. Ride a roller coaster
45. Travel by train in the United States
46. Travel somewhere I do not speak the language
47. Go to a museum outside of Huntsville
48. Ride a bike somewhere
49. Visit a national park
50. Visit out of state relatives

Trying New Things
51. Learn at least 50 (new) ASL signs January 2009
52. Bake bread
53. See my friend Susanna in an opera March 2009
54. Plant something in our flower beds

55. Sew something with my sewing machine June 2009
56. Do one thing that scares me January 2009
57. Build and launch a rocket with my husband
58. Fly a kite
59. Build a sandcastle
60. Join a club or civic organization

Home/Family Life
61. Frame and hang at least 10 family photos
62. Finish stripping the wallpaper in the master bathroom*January 2009
63. Paint master bathroom March 2009
64. Paint the dining room
65. Compile emergency supplies for home
66. Spend 24 hours alone with my husband
67. Wash the blinds/curtains
68. See all of IMDB.com’s top 100 movies (34/100)
69. See 5 foreign language films
70. Dance with my husband

Arts, Crafts, and Music
71. Obtain a piece of original art for my home June 2009
72. Draw something
73. Sing somewhere other than church March 2009
74. Buy something handmade
75. See an author read from his or her work
76. Lean to play Claire de lune
77. Document a “day in my life” with photos August 2009
78. Play Fur Elise from memory
79. Join the church choir August 2009
80. Read a book on music

Monthly Challenges
81. One month without diet coke (holy cow, I can’t believe I wrote that)
82. Take a picture of M.P. every day and post it every day
83. Floss every day
84. Record total amount of money spent on food
85. One month without sweets/desserts
86. Photograph (and post) my outfits everyday
87. Take a picture of Dad every day and post it every day (if he’ll let me)
88. Spend at least 20 minutes outside every day
89. No gossip
90. Make my bed every day

Miscellaneous
91. Have no debt other than the mortgage February 2008
92. Read 3 books in Spanish
93. Vote in a local election
94. Read a book on special relativity
95. Plant something from seed
96. Attend a Book Club/ Readers Group
97. Read at least 3 non-fiction books
98. Eliminate plastic grocery bags
99. Have a conversation in Spanish
100. Try to pray without ceasing for one day

Last but not least
101. Make a new list of 101 Things by the time my 1001 days are done

Dear M.P. *EDITED*

You are six months old today! We celebrated by going to the doctor's office! You weigh 17 pounds, 2 ounces and are 27 inches tall! You are once again in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th percentile for weight.

You have several impressive new moves this month.

The first new thing you did this month was start sitting up without any help. There is something so adorable about a tiny person sitting all by themselves. I took this of you today to show off your skilz. It's so hard for me to believe that you are growing up.


You also rolled over from tummy to back (finally). For those who doubted that you really did it the first time, here's a video to prove your genius:



And here is an outtake:


You also do this completely crazy foot-slamming thing in your sleep that is going to drive your Dad and me crazy. You will be completely asleep, and for no apparent reason, raise your legs to a 90 degree angle, and then SLAM then down onto the crib as hard as you can. You do this over and over and over. Sometimes you settle back down, but often you wake yourself up with all of the violence. Your Birmingham Grandpa came to visit one night a few weeks ago and observed this strange phenomenon. The doctor said it is a form of sleep walking. Sleep... slamming, I guess? We just hope you grow out of it...

You are also a complete genius. Proof? Remember how Dad set up the B@by Einstein? Well, when he set it up, he didn't put the batteries into the part that makes noise. (Some day you will read this and nod your head knowingly because you will know that's just like your father). After many weeks of my nagging (some day you will read this and nod your head knowingly because that's just like your mother) he put the batteries in. You had never paid much attention to that part of the toy, but when you discovered it made noise? You wouldn't stop. You kept hitting it over and over and over. Dad was so impressed that he grabbed the video camera and recorded it. "She's so smart!" I can't tell you how often we say that to each other.

More proof? The language part of your brain is working really hard. (Hopefully you'll take after me on this one instead of Dad). When you wake up in the morning, you start having a *conversation* with yourself. It sounds like a conversation, except there are no words. But the ebb and flow of the sounds, the pauses and intonation all have the shape and form of a conversation. You also make various consonants. Your new favorite is "B." Last night you kept saying "Bah bah bah bah bah."

I tried to get you to say "Ba-by." Your Dad kept saying "Bah bah." Again, we hope you take after me on this one.

You are like your Dad in many ways (not just your appearance). I think you are a tinkerer. You love to hold your pacifier and turn it over and over with both hands. When you drop it, you know exactly where it has fallen. You look hysterical when doing this - like you are plotting world domination. Daddy really wants you to be an engineer, so I hope you keep this curiosity about the world.

**Edited to add - Dad says he will be very happy if you are an engineer, but that he wants you to do whatever makes you happy.**

You also have one of my unfortunate characteristics - you get really frustrated when things don't go the way you plan. Mostly this happens when you are playing with some object and it refuses to do... whatever it is you want it to do. You want to bend matter with your mind. When you inevitably fail, you get visibly angry. You tense every muscle in your body, become rigid and even start to shake a little. Then you scream. It kind of frightens folks who aren't used to being around you. The doctor said today "we call that a tantrum." Oh boy.

I wish that I could tell you that some day you would be able to bend matter with your mind. But it's very unlikely that you will. And I hope that you learn to persevere without getting quite so frustrated - although that failing very clearly comes from me.

I don't want you to think that you are anything other than delightful. I really can't remember what Dad and I did before we had you. We play with you, talk to you, read to you and laugh with you. When you're asleep, we talk about you. You are such a joy. We love you so much!

....

Totally random aside - I know two more real life bloggers who are now tagged! Nana and my cousin over at Baby Got Blog. Go write seven interesting/random/boring/normal things about yourselves. Now!

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with family. As I mentioned, it started the weekend before with a trip down to the Birmingham Harpers. M.P. got to see her great grandpa, and great uncle and all of her aunts and uncles.

On Christmas morning, M.P. helped open her presents from mommy and daddy. She got an adorable lady bug dress (complete with matching shoes and socks) and a pink coat from daddy. She got a twirly little girl dress for next Christmas and a couple of spring outfits from her mommy. She gave Dad a chess set in hopes that he will play with her someday. In the meantime I've been playing him in chess. He says I'm improving - it only took four games for me to make him move his king!


We then went to my grandparents for breakfast. Oh the food. My grandmother (one of M.P.'s namesakes) cooked up so much food, I thought I would topple over. M.P. got another good haul there, including lots of clothes, sign language DVDs, toys, a beautiful ornament, etc.

We came back to the house and I started cooking. We had my parents and grandparents over for lunch, along with a family friend. I think the food turned out well - especially considering I don't often cook for 7 adults.

On Saturday we headed over to Geraldine to see Dad's cousins and their children. I hadn't met several of them, and it was great for M.P. to have a chance to meet all of her little cousins.

All in all it was a wonderful first Christmas!

Happy Birthday Uncle B!

I know it's late, so M.P. wanted to tell you Happy Birthday instead of just holding a sign!

You're her favorite tallest uncle!

Merry Christmas Eve

Huntsville Mammaw & Grandpa, Dad, M.P. and I went to my parents' church for their Christmas Eve service, then to Cantina Loredo for dinner (yummy) and then drove through the Huntsville Botanical Gardens to watch the Galaxy of Lights. M.P. was very well-behaved for church and dinner, but was not impressed by the lights at all. She screamed her head off.



I've been preparing for hosting Christmas lunch at my house tomorrow. I can't wait for M.P.'s first Christmas! I think her Dad got pretty excited and actually bought her some clothes. I can't wait to see what he picked out.



In other news, I have been tagged by my friend and former co-worker. This means I am supposed to list seven weird/normal/interesting things about myself.



1. I would be a very good teacher. I have an ability to figure out what is confusing people and explain things to them. I have tutored Spanish for pay, and all of my students were always pleased. If I could start my life over, I would become a teacher.


2. I am proficient in Spanish. I majored in Spanish in college - which really means that I studied literature. I have a pretty decent accent - waiters ask me if I speak Spanish at Mexican restaurants because of my pronunciation. I lived in a house where you were only allowed to speak Spanish my senior year of college. Unfortunately I'm losing my vocabulary. I have travelled to the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru. I'm dying to go to Spain.


3. I ran a half-marathon. I'm not a runner. I'm an anti-runner couch potato. But in law school I got inspired, and I trained with Dad. I never fell in love with running, but I didn't hate it. Maybe some day I'll get back into running.


4. I can burp on cue. That fact got me a part in a play in high school.


5. I am a horrible swimmer. I can prevent myself from drowning, but ask me to get from one side of the pool to the other? Be prepared to laugh and wait about 15 minutes.

6. I won at the state level of Bible drill. Bible drill consists of key passages (the name of a key passage is given (i.e. Fruits of the Spirit) and the drillers must find it and be prepared to read a requested verse), Bible verse memorization (a reference is given and you must provide the verse), Bible verse completion (the opening words of a verse are given and you must complete it), and book drills (a book of the Bible is found and you have 10-20 seconds to find it; if called upon you must provide (without peeking) the name of the book before and after it).

7. I love mindless repetitive tasks. I would love to work at a factory attaching the same widgets all day long. My favorite part of sending Christmas cards is sticking the stamps on all of the envelopes.

I'm supposed to tag 7 people, but I only have 2 real life blogger friends. So Valerie and Manu, you have been tagged.

Confessions of a working mom

One of my deepest darkest fears as a working mom is that I will miss M.P.'s "firsts." She has been so close to rolling over for several months now, and I just knew I would walk in one day and one of the daycare ladies would casually tell me "oh, M.P. rolled over today."

That thought kept me forcing torture tummy time on M.P. I wanted to see it. I didn't want anyone else to see that first.

I have today off. I'll be spending it finishing up last minute shopping, doing some pre-cooking, and hanging out with the pumpkin head.

We had both finished our breakfasts and I needed to ... use the facilities.

I put M.P. tummy-side-down, as I try to do all the time at home, and went to take care of business.

I came out, and M.P. was staring at me. ON HER BACK.

I missed it! And not because I was at work, but because I was in the bathroom!!!

Of course now she refuses to perform her trick. I've had the video camera out all morning with no luck.

I'll try again this afternoon.

Congratulations M.P. I knew you could do it. Sorry I missed it! I promise to never use the potty again. Or... something like that.

I love you!

The Birmingham Harpers

I love my in-laws.



Dad is the oldest of four - Dad, Aunt C., Uncle B, and then Uncle J.



I am an only child.



Things just work differently in a household that had four children, than a house with one.



The first time I went to the Harpers and all of the kids were home, I was completely overwhelmed. Communication occurs at the Harpers through sheer force of will and repetition. I am fairly certain that I was the only one who was actually listening to what everyone was saying (simultaneously) and was constantly being a messenger from one family member to the other.


And then there's the phone. When the phone rings at the Harpers, no one moves a muscle. All act as though they hear nothing, and make no movement towards answering the phone. Their reasoning is that there is only a one in six chance that the phone is for them. In fact, I have seen fights break out over who is closer (and therefore must answer) the phone while the phone is ringing. Once they do answer, there is an immediate "Hang on... (covers phone) Mooooooommmm!!!"


I once saw some hapless person call the house three times in a row because they were hung up on the first two times. Turns out "Mooooooommm" wasn't home. The kid that answered the phone just kept hanging up when enough time had passed because they assumed "Mooooommm" had answered it. I finally told the kid "Your mom is over at your grandpa's house."


I couldn't understand how the kid didn't know that she was at Grandpa's, since I was sitting next to them five minutes earlier when she announced that she was going to Grandpa's.


I do not have the ability to ignore an entire conversation. If someone is talking, I listen to them. That is not true of the Harpers.

Example: at Thanksgiving this year I was riding in the car with Uncle B (who was driving), Dad, and Aunt C. Uncle B was trying to get Dad to do something with his I-Phone. Dad wanted to play a game on it. Aunt C wanted to know the name of the song that had just played. Thus, this was the conversation (occurring simultaneously):


Aunt C: What's the name of that song?



Uncle B: Press the button on the top left and then slide it over to the right...



Dad: Do you still have that helicopter game?



Uncle B: No, you have to go home first and then press..



Aunt C: What's the name of that song that just played?



Dad: Am I still on the top score?



Aunt C: Dad, look up the name of that song.



Uncle B: Ok now do you see where it says "playlist"?



Dad: Oh, I am still on the top score, awesome!



Aunt C: Is that song called "Oh Christmas?"



Uncle B: Now just press "play random." Do you see that?



Me: :::head explodes all over car:::


When I watch home movies of the Harpers from when they are younger, I wonder how my lovely mother-in-law didn't completely go crazy. The videos of Christmas show four siblings fighting, yelling, playing, whining, jumping, falling, crying, laughing, while my mother-in-law calmly walks through the din picking up crumpled wrapping paper and throwing it away. She is like an angel floating through a war zone, removed from the destruction around her.

This past weekend we went to the Harpers' house for an early Christmas. As we were leaving, Uncle J was downstairs talking to me and Dad. Uncle B was upstairs. About every 60 seconds, Uncle B would yell down from upstairs "Hey J!"

Uncle J continued talking. Then a few more moments would pass "J! J! Hey J!"

Uncle J contined talking.

"Hey J, come here real quick."

No response.

Finally I said "J, your brother B wants you."

"Oh, I know," he replied.



On the drive back to Huntsville, I told Dad how much I enjoy his family. I'm not being sarcastic at all. I do love them very much. Sometimes the sheer volume of things going on around me can be overwhelming, but I love every minute of it.

There's never a dull moment at the Harpers.

Prizes

Last week Dad's work had an awards ceremony. There was a dinner at the Davidson Center (which houses the Saturn V rocket) at the Space and Rocket Center. There were probably around 300 engineers and their spouses filling about half of the center.

After dinner, the company's president announced the awards. In front of that whole crowd of people, Dad's name got called! The award was for saving "the Customer" (NASA) $500,000. Dad got a plaque, a really cool crystal ball clock and... a check! (The check actually came later). The plaque read something like "In recognition of Dad Harper's contribution to the N-stage test by adjusting the load bearing cells to accommodate the nodes of pressure more efficiently thereby eliminating the need for tribbles." Or something like that.

A few more awards were read off, and then there was another name I recognized. It was my high school Physics teacher!

Mr. K was one of those teachers that made physics fun. We had a semester-long project of building a rocket. We tested the force of the engine we would use with a force meter. Without the help of calculus, we calculated the area under the curve to arrive at velocity. Repeated the process to arrive at an estimation of the height.

Mr. K built a wind tunnel and we used it to estimate the drag on the rocket.

At the end of the semester each student built a rocket, weighed it, and then had to estimate (through hand calculations using our previous force and drag calculations) what height it would attain.

Then we launched them and using cameras, compared our results to our estimates.

I swear, if it weren't for calculus, Mr. K would have turned me into an engineer.

I managed to catch up with him after the ceremony, and said "You may not remember me..." and he interrupted with "Of course.. MommyAttorney! How are you?"

I told him that while I didn't become an engineer, I did the next best thing.

I married one.

Cheese!

Somehow this is a great pose for the two of us.

Make a Joyful Noise

On Tuesday night I went with Huntsville Grandpa to my absolute favorite Christmas event in Huntsville - the Sing Along Messiah at Weatherly Heights Baptist Church. For a choir geek, like me, it is positively heavenly.

...

I grew up singing in choir. Church choir, school choir, Alabama All State Choir, choir competitions, ensemble competitions, a capella groups, and my favorite - Entropy - the "band" formed with three close friends. And yes, we chose the name Entropy because we thought that "randomization in the universe" was really cool. Or maybe I chose it because I was that nerdy.

We have all gone our separate ways, but two are pursuing musical careers - one just getting back to music and the other well established. The third is in medical school, and I, of course, am a lawyer.

My love of music comes from Huntsville Grandpa (my dad). He is an excellent tenor. He has been performing my whole life (and long before) - singing solos in the church choir. He went on a USO tour (before my parents were married). He taught me how to sing harmony. He encouraged during the days of piano lessons, even when I hated it and wanted to quit. On the millions of trips to basketball and soccer games, we sang together. Usually my friend (the one in med school) would be in the car, and we would make three part harmony.

The four of us - my Entropy group - started singing together in the school choir in middle school. When we get together now (which isn't as often as I'd like) we can still sing songs that we sang in 7th grade. I never had a soloist voice, but I can read music, sing harmony, and, given enough practice, sing most performance music. What I lacked in talent I made up for in hard work.

Every choir I sang in was rather small. I went to a small school, so there were times when the choir did not have more than 8 voices. The opportunity to sing such great chorale music as Messiah did not seem likely.

...

My father discovered the sing along when I was in high school. We sat next to each other (Alto & Tenor) defying the orders to sit by section.

Now you may have in your mind that the sing along would be horribly amateurish and full of musical errors. In fact, there is a complete and very talented orchestra. There are professional soloists to perform the solo parts. The audience/choir sings the choruses of Part I (the Christmas section) and finishes with the "Hallelujah Chorus."

And while the musicality is not perfect - it's not bad either. People are there because they LOVE the music. Most of them know it well. I always see more than one person singing quite confidently without a score.

As my Dad and I settled in and prepared to sing the first time (from our own complete scores - my Dad got us each one for Christmas) I thought about the stories surrounding Messiah. Handel was broke when he started writing it and completed it in only 24 days. Upon completing the work, he allegedly said "I do believe I have seen all of Heaven before me, and the great God Himself," causing many to believe he was divinely inspired.

I didn't sing much that first sing along. My voice cracked and tears ran down my face - a trait I inherited from my father: crying during beautiful music. A form of Stendhal Syndrome, perhaps. Although I had listened to Messiah countless times, until I participated in a large choir, I had not fully appreciated Handel's skill in causing the music to give life to the scripture.

The choir becomes the multitude of angels appearing before the shephards. The music embodies the flames of the Refiner's fire.

This time, I didn't cry until "Hallelujah."

...

I hope that M.P. will grow to love music. She has musicians on both sides of her family, and I play piano with her on my lap nearly every night.

Maybe some day we'll go to the Sing Along as complete scofflaws - an Alto, Tenor and.. Soprano.. sitting next to each other.

And maybe she'll be able to sing without crying.

Happy Birthday!

It is Birmingham Grandma's birthday today!

(I know, I'm late, but it's STILL today).

M.P. wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday.



And she wanted to eat the sign.

Ways I have felt like a complete jerk (today)

4. Complain about Alabama losing when, hello? Do you remember the past several season? 12-1? What are you complaining about?

3. Complain about my job. Hello - lawyers are losing their jobs left and right. And the economy is terrible. And guess what? You're really lucky to have a job.

2. Realize - all those thank you notes that you need to write? Yeah, you really need to write them. It's getting completely ridiculous now and you don't look very grateful. Even though you are.

And the #1 way to feel like a jerk???

1. Stand up your grandmother (!) for lunch. Just completely forget and work through lunch until your mom calls and says "Were you supposed to go to lunch with your grandmother?" two hours after you were supposed to

**Vowing to do better tomorrow**

On Marriage

First of all, Dad did a great job on the hijacked post - you should definitely check out his handiwork.

I've been thinking a lot about marriage and motherhood, and it started by reading this post. If you don't have time to read - here's some of her points that I found myself nodding my head to:

We [mothers] know where every last item in the house is, and everyone relies on us to find what they’ve misplaced.

...

We keep track of how often our kids poop.

...

When we’re downstairs, we think about what we need to bring with us on our next trip upstairs. When we’re upstairs, we think about what we need to bring with us on our next trip downstairs.

It never stops. We never stop thinking about what’s next on the agenda - and we do it all for the well-being of our kids.

...

I saw a lot of myself in her post. I do think about, plan, and unconsciously organize the minutia of M.P.'s, Dad's and my lives. There's always a plan. Always the next thing that needs to be done.

An argument broke out in the comment section of that post about whether men (specifically fathers) need to be more appreciative of what their wives do. Some men pointed out that women obsess over drudgery and that it just isn't all that important to them (comments such as - don't scrub the toilet and see if the sky falls).

I can't speak in generalities about "mothers" and "fathers," only about "MommyAttorney" and "Dad."

I take on a lot of the traditional roles in our house. I do most of the cooking and meal planning (when it gets done), laundry (when it gets done), buying groceries/ diapers/formula/wipes, keeping track of the social calendar, buying birthday and Christmas presents, doing the dishes, cleaning up, decorating, etc. I also make sure the monthly bills are paid. In the interest of full disclosure, I have a maid come once a week. She vacuums, dusts, scrubs toilets, mops the kitchen floor, wipes down counters, etc.

Dad does a lot of the traditional male roles. He takes out the garbage and recycling, mows the lawn, fixes broken things, cooks the occasional meal, empties the dishwasher when asked, takes care of the cars. He is in charge of all investments - retirement and M.P.'s college fund.

When M.P. was born, Dad took on a lot more responsibilities. The first few weeks of her life, I don't think I changed a single diaper. He knew I was physically exhausted and beat up, so he did everything he could to make things easier on me. He also delighted in his daughter. He absolutely lit up with pride. Poopy diapers and lack of sleep and a crying wife didn't phase him. He showed unconditional support and love.

We made it through those first few weeks as a team. When one of us was out our breaking point, the other would step in.

I think in marriage, it's easy for one spouse to feel (or actually be) unappreciated.

It is perfectly natural for me to be constantly *thinking* and *planning.* It's instinctive and reflexive. It is neither of those things for Dad. Does that make the planning and work I do more valuable than the work he does? No. Does that make us view our world differently? Yes.

For me marriage works when both of us recognize the work that the other does. Even if that work doesn't seem all that important to us. And we also have to realize that just because certain things are very important to one of us, doesn't mean that they are important to the other. So would the sky fall if house wasn't picked up? No. Does that mean that the time I spend cleaning up shouldn't be valued by Dad? Absolutely not.

We're not perfect, and we get frustrated with each other. But we're a team. We strive to make our home and our little family as happy and full of joy and love as we can.

So thanks Dad, for all you do.

HIJACKED!

Ok, not really "hijacked", but more like "hacked". This is M.P.'s dad, and I'm usually just a reader (as I like to know what's going on with my family, cause I'm socially oblivious 94% of the time), but today I am hacking in from a top secret computer near the earth's core to say a few things of my own. Usually I'm just quoted through MommyAttorney's typing (which is a good thing, because she's a good speller, and half the words I say are actually misspelled).

Today I'm going to outline my hopes and dreams for M.P. More specifically, I'm going to tell her what she can and can't be when she grows up.

For starters:


No, you can not be a formula one racer! At least not until you're older... and then only at the local go cart track. Until then, you're stuck with your car seat and fake steering wheel. I have to admit, you look like you're handling that corner pretty well.

Next up:


Deep sea diver? Hm, well, ok, but only if you use post 1850 technology. Where did you get that brass 12 bolt helmet? I think that's an antique. And how did you get your hand in there? That suit is way too big for you. Right now you should be in clothes that say "3 to 6 months" on the tag. The tag on that says "ages 6 and up", so you need to wait a few years. How about something else, like:

Totally awesome. Well, a career as an astronaut can be kind of dangerous, but it would be totally cool. So you have my "ok" for a career as an astronaut, so long as you're riding one of the launch vehicles I work on. I'll just make sure it's extra safe. Just don't spit up in the helmet. And no trips to Mars, cause you'd be gone for 2+ years.

And just in case you're thinking about this:

No way! First of all, you should be blocking 56! If you want to play ball, you've got some learnin' to do. But seriously, I mighted be talked into letting you play college football, especially if there's a scholarship involved. But I don't want you hanging out with those NFL players. They have a propensity to end up in jail and shooting themselves in the leg.

Well, that about wraps where I stand on 4 careers. But seriously, you can be anything you want to be. I just reserve the right to encourage you away from things like "human canonball" and "explosives expert". I'll still love you no matter what...

(so long as you're not an Auburn or USC fan)

Thanksgiving

This was first M.P.'s thanksgiving on the outside, as I like to say. We went down to the see the Birmingham Harpers (my in-laws). I failed to get any shots of the actual Turkey-day, but here are some in and around that day.

Uncle B giving M.P. a bottle


Sleeping off the turkey.

(Just kidding about the turkey)

Hanging out with a new friend C. C. is the daughter of one of Dad's best friends. She was born just three weeks before M.P.

I seriously considered making this our Christmas card picture.

We had a wonderful time with family and Dad's high school friends. We followed the time-honored American tradition of eating too much and watching football. I'm thankful for all of my blessings, but especially Dad and M.P. My life would be so dull without them!

Putting a baby to sleep

*Note - all times are A.M.

3:45 Crying on the monitor.

3:47 Make bottle.

3:48 Give bottle to baby.

3:58 Baby asleep, bottle empty, put baby down in crib.

3:59 Baby looking at you suspiciously. Put pacifier in baby's mouth. Walk to bedroom and hope for the best.

4:01 Hopes dashed. Baby obviously awake and talking to herself. And slamming her feet onto the crib like a drum. Go back and pick baby up and rock her.

4:10 Both asleep in rocking chair. Walk noiselessly to the crib, slowly put baby down. Lean awkwardly over crib to restrain violent baby flailing. Turn on noise machine. Hold back-breaking position for a full three minutes.

4:13 Baby smiling at you.

4:14 Change diaper - maybe the wetness is keeping baby awake.

4:17 Rock baby to sleep.

4:23 Baby asleep, but you know better. Keep rocking.

4:28 Carefully lower baby into crib. Restrain both of her arms and legs for several violent convulsions. Hit noise machine button with your nose.

4:29 Baby has gotten hand free and grabbed pacifier and is talking to it.

4:30 Rocking again.

4:40 Repeat actions from 4:28, but continue holding arms and legs.

4:43 Slowly release baby's arms and legs, moving at a pace so slow it makes the movement of the earth's tectonic plates look like an Olympic sprint.

4:44 Control your breathing lest the sound of it wake the baby. Back out of the room, facing the baby the entire time. Regret that your body's collision with air molecules makes a sound. Say a wordless prayer for success.

4:45 Success!

6:00 Baby cheerfully talking on the monitor.

Dear M.P.

Yesterday, on Sunday, you turned five months old. We celebrated by going to church and picking out a Christmas tree. It was really cold, so we only stayed out long enough to snap this quick picture.


You and I came back inside the car to warm up while Dad tied the tree down to the roof of the car. Dad had to drape the twine across you for just 20 seconds while he tied it down. In those 20 seconds you managed to grab the twine and suck on it enough that when he pulled it taut, drool went flying.

You are getting into grabbing things and putting them in your mouth. That includes toys, your bib, my hair, my face, my lip, and anything else within reach. Including grandpa's drink:


You are very very observant. When we eat, you watch every bite go from the plate to the fork to our mouths. It's very cute. We tried giving you some solid food - a bit of avocado - a couple of weeks ago. You were unimpressed. You liked to smear it around, but as soon as it hit your mouth, your tongue shoved it out. That's ok. We'll try again next month.

You love to laugh and smile and giggle. Dad had you in absolute stitches, and I managed to catch it on film. Usually you see the camera come out and are suddenly mesmerized and quit smiling. You were too overjoyed to notice the camera this time.


You still aren't rolling over and you still despise tummy time, although we've had some luck distracting you during it. You got yourself half rolled a week or so ago, and we went crazy. We pulled out the video camera and jumped and cheered you on. But you got stuck - your head was looking up, but your legs were still down. You didn't find your predicament all that funny, but Daddy and I did.

You make us laugh every day.

We love you so much.