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:

Memorial Day Weekend Shots.

Memorial Day, etc.

We have a ton planned for this weekend - it all starts with a quick stop up at the B-Castle club for short order night - we won't stay for bingo afterwards. There are several new members that we've managed to bring into the club, so, hopefully us mid-thirty-to-mid-forty-somethings will take over the place - or at least be less of a minority. If MOJO cooperates, we'll head from the BC to a local establishment for more happy hour fun. Tomorrow brings two birthday parties, and Monday, we may try to hit the concert down on the river - All Beatles bands and music all weekend long!
MOJO reports: Her hair seems to be getting longer, especially in front of her ears; she had her first piece of chew toast a couple of days ago and seemed to enjoy it; she wants to throw everything now, including her pacifier; she is a carnivore this week, having tried a few meat baby foods; she still dances and makes her raspberry and trill noises; she is realizing what waving means and seems to do it more often; she prefers to sleep on her belly, with her legs hanging between the bars on her bed; her last day of PDO before summer break was Thursday; she gets a special visit with Auntie Chrissy this weekend; she gets to go on her very first beach trip in exactly one week from today. I'm sure I'm missing something monumental, but I will include it in the next entry.

Mojo throws.

Shamrock Challenge.

Sorry, I haven't made time to put up a new entry. More to come.

Happy Tuesday.

Mojo has no great news to report, other than spending time with Aunt Kathy, and Cousins A & G last night. She did take off her sock and earnestly offered it to Jezebel the super-cat this morning. She's cute, smart and considerate.
Oh yeah, our shamrock is doing ok. We're not quite up to the Shamrock Challenge standards, but we're hanging in there.

Maureen wants to hear from all of her fans out there - send us a little note to make sure we know you're still alive!

For now, adios amigos!

A Happy Mothersday.

Yesterday was a full day of celebrating mothers. This was especially important this year with little Mojo around. We started off the morning bringing a wide awake Mo into our bed, a bed with some not-so wide awake parents, and enjoying her quirky sense of humor. She still can't say "Mama", but it is clear she knows how to say "Hi Dad" and the raspberries are still abundant. We did not have to worry about Kristin heading off to an open house today - it was family fun day and that's exactly what we experienced.
Once CBS Sunday Morning, a personal favorite of the household, was over, we got dressed up, went to the "garden" to cut some fresh flowers, then went to the cemetery to see my Mother's grave. I think mother's day must be the busiest day of the year for a cemetery because the traffic was heavy down those narrow pathways.
This has always been a non-holiday for the past 19 years for me, up to now. When I think about it, my only regret with losing my mother is that she did not have a chance to hold and kiss on her grandchildren. She would have made a great, loving grandmother and her grand kids have been slighted for not being able to know that love. But I can't get swept up in feeling sorry for my loss, because I have gained so much these last few years.
Most importantly, I've gained the love of my life and an awesome mother for my child in Kristin. I was fortunate to find someone with a big heart, a great sense of humor, and someone who will not let me get too wrapped up in myself(she completes me?) We've had a rough few months adjusting to new responsibilities, but it's been great knowing that we have each other to lean on through these new challenges. And it is very evident that she is a wonderful mother. Mojo ADORES her.
But back to our day: we went to Target and met GMK and GPP - we shopped for our up-coming beach trip. I had a lot of fun with Paul - we convinced (?) the ladies that we NEEDED to buy a pavilion tent to keep Maureen out of the sun. We bought a few other "essentials" and then went to brunch. Following our excellent buffet meal (the type with a waffle station), we went to the zoo again to visit the baby elephant and the gorillas.
Needless to say, it was exhausting, but I think Kristin appreciated her day. It was a perfect day to celebrate our new family.

Princess Mojo.

We are working on trying to get Mojo to say Mama, but all she really wants to say is Dadda, pffftt, and non-descript jibberish. Yesterday she started throwing blocks - we see some athletic potential in her - perhaps she'll take more after mommy than daddy in that respect. She loves her big yellow balloon - it's the type with a rubberband attached so you can play paddleball with it. She will grab the rubberband and flail around for a bit. We made a movie to illustrate - we did not get a dime from Citi-Bank, by the way.

The photo shows Maureen sitting on the inflatable throne at Gus-boy's B-day party. The party was held at an indoor inflatable playground. Those playgrounds are truly designed for kids and not adults. I walked away from that place with a big strawberry on my arm and an ache in my bones. This is mothers day weekend and we are going to treat Kristin like a queen - we already gave her a mothers day gift; a gift that represents our love an respect for her - a four-drawer filing cabinet. Top of the line. Nothing is too good for my baby!

Raspberries.

Yes, Mojo can now make the raspberry noise as of the weekend. I'm not sure where she picked it up, but I like it!!

Video of the week: Little Bo Peep.

All dressed up.

It was a long, enjoyable weekend. Horses, family, friends and good food (love those ribs GPP!) We got to see Uncle Dolberry, APD and KMD, Aunt Chrissy and a host of other folks we didn't know before. Here are some shots of Mojo, all dressed up for a special party. She was the belle of the ball for sure.

Hi Daddy.

This morning was a normal Thursday “Daddy Day at the PDO” (as Mo and I call it) – basically one of the two days I take her in to daycare. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Kristin goes in to work early and I go in to work an hour late in order to get Mojo to “school” by 9 a.m. On these days, depending on when Maureen wakes up, I am the one who dresses her (I try hard, but sometimes I miss the mark on that one), feeds her breakfast (I do that pretty well) and packs her up for school.

Anyway, I try to prepare everything ahead of time before Mo wakes up. We have the super-duper TV monitor set up in the Kitchen so I know when she is awake and ready to get out of bed. This morning, she started stirring but was not upset so I let her stay for a while as I prepared her breakfast. She was doing a great job entertaining herself, making cooing noises and her trademark trill noise. Finally I finished the preparation and went upstairs to get her ready for a long day.

I got to her crib and she gave me her usual, heart-warming smile. I picked her up immediately, and the first thing out of her mouth was “Hi Dadda”. Clear as day. I believe this was not an accident, and it truly started my day off right. The rest of the morning was all smiles, and she greeted her favorite day care teacher with enthusiasm.

Today is the big parade downtown and Kristin has been working hard, preparing for the Girl Scouts’ participation. She will be shuttling Mojo out to her grandparents (P&K) prior to heading to the parade, and I’ll have to pick her up when I get off work. Kristin and I will be spending the day at the track tomorrow, and Aunt Katheigh will in charge of Mojo at that time. We hope she handles the shifting back and forth gracefully; she’s recently developed separation anxiety. We pray that she is becomes more comfortable staying with the family – we shall see this week.

Yesterday's photo.

100th post and still going.

This is my 100th post and I haven't given up yet. The adventures keep on rolling. We were able to have family togetherness day yesterday as we went to the Art Fair in the park, and ended the day at a baby shower for our friend Nancy. The weather was gorgeous - we did our best to protect Mojo from the sun, though we need to keep our sunscreen with us at all times.
We think Maureen is learning that she wants Mommy and Daddy around her at all times, and she's starting to get upset, even if we leave the room for a split second. She doesn't have a problem with day care because it's part of the routine. It's just when she has a baby sitter that she starts to break down (sorry Karen.) This will be a big week - Kristin is in charge of the Girl Scout's in the big parade, I will be going to the track on Wednesday (for work), we'll be back out at the track on Friday (for fun) and Saturday will be spent at various locations in the city. As I mentioned, the Dolberry family will be coming to town, as well as Auntie Chrissy - we hope to get a chance to be with all of them when possible.
Five and a half more weeks until vacation - I'm wishing my life away!!
Here are some pictures from my Birthday Week (yes, I get a week - what about it?), and from PDO Family Fun Night (which was a hoot.)

Video of the week: Bouncy Swing

Sweet Potatoes for a Sweetheart!

Yesterday, Maureen transitioned from fruit to vegetables, though Kristin started her with sweet potatoes, which really aren’t vegetables, but the next logical step into new foods. Mo really didn’t notice the change.

She came to my work yesterday afternoon, at closing time because we needed to do the big child-swap - Kristin had some real estate appointments in the early evening. I don’t think Mo was impressed by the office though I’m not sure what she was expecting. We left work and went to my dad’s house and hung out with him, Uncle Joe and Aunt Erin. Mojo had a great time playing with the little rubber squeeze ball, clapping and kicking grandpa with excitement. She was too cute.

Tomorrow night is the PDO Fun Night. Perhaps I’ll have some photos or a video to share this week.

Editorial note: Papa Sparky is a bit disappointed with his blogging counterparts – it’s been a long time since their last entries. Come on folks, stop working so hard and start sharing. Peace!

Baby Elephant at the Zoo.

It was a fun weekend. The biggest news is that Maureen now knows how to clap. It happened all of the sudden, and looks like it will continue for a long time. She knows that if she claps, we will pay attention to her, and applaud her for applauding. See photo below.

Earth Day was spent at the zoo - trying to get as much out of our membership as possible. We were able to see the new baby elephant - see video of the week above. This time, cousin Claire stayed awake, and Maureen slept through most of the trip. I am hyper sensitive to Mo being exposed to the sun, so we had her blanket draped over her stroller and baby-sunblock #30 on her little arms and legs. The directions say "not for internal use" so we did not put screen on her hands and feet (yes, she puts her toes in her mouth!)

We are anxious to see Uncle Dolberry, KMD and APD next weekend, as they are coming in for our dear city's big event - first Saturday in May. We will be busy a big part of the next two weeks with parties and events. This Thursday is the Parents Day Out Family Fun Night, where Your's Truely will be playing ukulele in the PDO band. We're playing all time classics like Shake your Sillies Out and Oh My Goodness Look at this Mess (my personal favorite).

Kristin gets her cast off today (she had carpal tunnel surgery over two weeks ago) and we are very excited. She has had a difficult time dealing with one hand for the most part - worst part of all is that Dad was in charge of doing all the dishes, among various other jobs. Not that it mattered! But seriously, we are all looking forward to her being pain free in her wrist for a long time to come.

Or else...

Video of the Week: Feeding Frenzy

One more quick entry:

This photo corresponds with yesterday's entry.

6 month photo

Here's Maureen's 6-month photo, taken last week.

Just a test.

This is just a test to see how the AbbeyGus, Dolberry and/or CarrieGabe bloggers respond. Just keep pushing that Tech Button.

Tummy time.

The latest in Maureen's bag of tricks is rolling over in bed and sleeping on her stomach - new last night. We knew the night would come, because she has been sleeping on her side, with her neck crooked back. All it took was a little more umph and bam, on her stomach.
She is gaining a great deal of strength - she can prop herself up with her arms when she's on her stomach, and she can also get her knees under her while on her stomach. She's not yet able to coordinate the two to start crawling, though. But it's only a matter of time.

Baby of the Week.

Our little baby is baby of the week in this Week's Voice Tribune society section. This is a huge honor. Go out and buy a few copies, she can be found on page B-18, slightly above the fold.

Caption says: Maureen Lally, at 6 months, is the daughter of Tim and Kristin Lally. Her Grandparents are Joe Lally Jr. and the late Alma Lally, and Paul and Karen Dolwick.

I couldn't sum it up any better!

Photo of the day - Happy Girl.