Breaking news.

This photo was just sent in, showing Maureen pulling herself up on a toy this afternoon. I guess we really need to start baby-proofing the house. Way to go Mo!

Swim meet.

It was a big step for me as we went to see cousin A swim in a meet for her country club last night. Big step you ask? I spent my teen and young adult years working for a country club in the golf shop and the cart barn was on the other side of the swimming pool. Swim meet days were pure torture for those of us trying to work in an atmosphere of mayhem. Just imagine wet, screaming kids running amok with little to no supervision. We were constantly shooing spoiled kids off the golf carts and away from the driving range. Where were their parents? Either on the golf course, or sitting by the pool slowly getting sloshed off their double martinis.
Apparently Kristin has fond memories of swim meets because she was a pool rat growing up. Last night was a walk down memory lane for both of us in very different ways. She was having the time of her life reminiscing with old country club cronies. As usual, Maureen was a hit with Kristin's old gang - using her top shelf material of So Big - she killed. I was happy to see that Kristin was having such fun. We enjoyed watching cousin A swim - she needs a little fine-tuning on technique, but she was anxious to race, was not nervous at all, and was very proud of her purple ribbon. And we were all proud of her. Kristin said she cried because she was so excited for A. The whole experience was not as traumatic for me as I thought it would be, though a double martini would have been a welcome addition.

ADDED COMMENTARY: I am, in no way, stating that Kristin was a spoiled brat when swimming for her country club, nor am I implying that her parents were drunk or neglectful during their swim meets.

Ordinary weekend.

Yet another weekend has come and gone and Mojo keeps on trucking. Friday night was happy hour with the regular crew. Saturday was kicked off by a walk to the farmer's market - it was extra special because this was the first time this year that Kristin was able to join us because didn't have any real estate meetings that day. We ran a few errands, visited great grandpa Doc at the Nursing Home and then Kristin and I got to go out on a date in the early evening. Aunt Erin, Uncle Joe, Erin's boyfriend Jeff and Grandpa Joe came over to sit with Mo so we could go see a movie - the new Angelina Jolie movie about Daniel Pearl (I forgot the name, but it was a good movie.) We even got to duck in to a local restaurant for an appetizer and a drink. Sunday was a big real estate day for Kristin, so mo and I stayed at home and watched the rain come down. We gave Maureen a new baby doll because she seemed interested in her cousin Abbey's doll. We expected a great response, but she was luke-warm about the whole thing. She may not be in that nurturing stage yet. At this point, she liked to chew on the doll's toes, but that's about it. Grandparents P & K get back from Italy this week and we are all anxious to hear how the trip went.

8 1/2 month report.

We are nearing the nine month mark with Miss Mojo and it's hard to imagine life without her. It is hard to chronicle what is different in her life right now, but here's a shot. First off, the picture shows how big our baby is: she's SOOOOO big. Kristin taught her the tried and true game and she will stretch her arms high over her head and scrunch up her face in the most serious manner while doing it. We are in the midst of establishing bedtime boundaries - trying to get her to fall asleep in her bed and not in Kristin's arms. We've had a few crocodile tears, but last night was better than the night before. We make a point to comfort her periodically through the trauma - I think I get more upset than she does to tell the truth.

Maureen has been experiencing summer fun with Aunt Kathy and family - all reports tell that they have a routine on Maureen days of going to the library for story time, to the pet store to window shop and then to McDonalds. Though she's too young to fully participate in the McDonald's experience, I think she gets a kick out of watching cousins A & G in the playland.

We also have to report the introduction of Oaty-oats (you know them as Cheerios) to her diet. She is really focused on getting the hand-eye coordination down in order to get those little Os in her mouth. Sometimes she is triumphant and then has to focus on getting the Cheerio wet enought to avoid having it lodge in the back of her throat. I have a feeling we'll be finding Oaty-oats here and there for the next ten years.

Last night we went out to the extreme east end to visit our friend's new Gelato shop, Gelato Gilberto. We strongly encourage all residents of this city and visitors to the area to make the trip for some authentic Italian Gelato - it is super-yummy.

Aunt Erin's babysitting team will be watching Mojo this Saturday in the early evening so we can go out and do something fun. We are up for suggestions for a three to four hour date (keep it clean folks.)

Fathers day images.

Dia de Padre means Father's Day, in Spanish!

All in all, it was a great father’s day weekend (I get 2 days!) Father’s day eve, we went to a Catholic Church picnic – leave it to the Catholics to have two beer trucks, and black jack and showdown poker tents. I played on $6 for about 20 minutes before busting in the blackjack tent. But it’s for a good cause, I suppose. We went with Courtney (long time fan of AOOSFB) and Mike, and, of course, encountered cousins Joey and Bobby F. We managed to walk away with an award winning cake and a big red ball for MOJO. The evening was capped by a nice dinner at the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Though they have a glaring B rating from the Health Department, we always take our chances and usually have a great experience.

Prior to leaving for the picnic, Maureen and I were looking through some bags of used baby clothes our friend Nancy P brought us, and we were both surprised to find a Spanish Speaking Elmo doll. Upon first sight, MOJO stiffened her whole body and nearly hyper-ventilated with excitement. She was freaking, even though she’s never seen an episode of Sesame Street in her life. It was the best thing that ever happened to her. EVER!!

On Sunday, we had a leisure Fathers Day morning, ate cake – our major prize – for breakfast, watched CBS Sunday morning, and I was even able to work the crossword puzzle. Ah, that’s life!! My family came over at 4pm for Father’s Day dinner - it was a pleasant evening, the food was great, and the Cards won their baseball game in the NCAA tournament. Some Argentine won the US Open, though Tiger made a respectable attempt. I feel very lucky to be a father – the fact that our baby is the best baby ever makes things even better.

Road trip compilation.

Before our road trip to North Carolina, I sent out an email to close friends and family requesting they send a digital file of their favorite (or an appropriate) road trip song for a compilation for our travels. I got some good responses, and I tried to add in some suggested titles that were not accompanied by a digital file. Some I added myself to complete a full length CD. Here’s the play list I ended up with, in no way a top 20 list:


We gotta get out of this place – The Animals
Let’s go for a ride – Cracker
King of the road – Roger Miller
Highway to Hell – Hayseed Dixie version
Mammaw drives the bus – Government Cheese
Rock n’ Roll stew – Traffic
Tennessee plates – John Hiatt and the Guilty Dogs
I get a kick out of you – Frank Sinatra
Texarkana – REM
The Car Song – The Cat Empire
Route 66 – Chuck Berry
Maureen – Nick Lowe
Life is a highway – Rascal Flatts version
Ramblin’ man – The Allman Brothers
The songs of the 50 states – John Linnell (of They Might Be Giants)
Highway patrol – Junior Brown
Miles from our home – Cowboy Junkies
Can’t hardly wait – the Replacements
Coast of Carolina – Jimmy Buffett
All the way home - Nigel Tufnel/David St. Hubbins
Bonus Track: Highway to Hell (AC/DC version)


It was a fun little experiment.

North Carolina vacation.

I'm sorry the sight was dead for a week. We were away on vacation from last Friday through yesterday to North Carolina. This was Maureen's first major vacation and major road trip and she handled it like a pro. I think she got a bit spoiled - she was the center of attention for the whole week. Here are some photographed highlights: