Friday – 07 September 2012
Today is Diana’s first birthday:
This little girl has come a long way since:
Sleeping through the night. Eating solid foods. Blowing raspberries. Dancing. Understanding a little sign language… and talking. Walking. Taking road trips.
It’s also been a lot of fun watching her personality develop, too. She’s a fun-loving girl who enjoys “reading” books – which usually turns into handing said book to Sara! or me to read to her. (And, yes, she does have a couple of favorites.) She is also pretty fond of her computer (at least the AlphaBaby application), too. She also seems to already have something of a soft spot for Will Smith’s music, as well. And she loves a good game of Chase/Hide-and-Seek.
Sara and I have been blessed with a fantastic couple of daughters. It’s been an amazing first year of parenthood and I’m looking forward to all the years of parenthood to come.
This is just another in a series of milestones that she’s hit. She’s been walking for the past couple of weeks. A step here. A step there. Crawling when she gets frustrated or loses her balance, but for the most part, she’s been having a ball figuring out how the whole “walking” thing works.
And, it seems as though Vanessa won’t be far behind.
Thursday – 23 August 2012
Man, I turn my back on this thing for a minute… and nearly two weeks go by!
To make up for it, here’s a little Team DiVa goodness for you:
Vanessa (l) and Diana
Yep, they’re in overalls that their grandparents bought them – and have been waiting for them to grow into – a few months ago. What you can’t exactly tell is that they are also wearing matching/coordinating t-shirts that their Aunt Galadriel bought them: Diana’s says “Copy,” where Vanessa’s says “Paste.”
These shirts, in fact.
The girls are doing well. Diana’s has trying out the whole “walking” thing; Vanessa has taken steps, as well… just not as frequently (or as daringly) as her big sister. They are also learning some sign language. So far, the big hits have been:
“Change,” as in “change your diaper” (although, we don’t get this one until afterwe ask if they need a change…)
“Water”
“Ball” has picked up some traction lately
and a sign that Vanessa has come up with for “excuse me,” which she seems to have picked up from something I do when I say it.
And, at this point, we are slightly over two weeks away from them turning one-year-old. Wow.
Sidenote 1: Last night, I started teaching the girls to shake their fists and scowl – although, so far, I’ve only getting smiles and smirks – when I say “DOOOM!” It’s pretty amusing.
Sidenote 2: I totally missed an opportunity to video Diana rocking out to Rage Against the Machine’s Renegades of Funk. BAH!!!
Stray Toasters
The Ravens came up with a big win in Preseason Week three tonight. 48-17 over the Jags.
The train room is coming along nicely. Walls are up and mudded. Ceiling went up – and was mudded – this past weekend. Just need to go back and sand and add a coat of topping compound on the ceiling… and then we’re ready for painting!
It seems that there’s some… static… between Paul Ryan and Twisted Sister over the use of We’re Not Going to Take It on the campaign trail. Okay, help me with a concept: How hard is it to call a band – or their designated agent – and ask permission to use it before making it part of your media presentation!? It’s not rocket surgery, is it?
Sunday – 12 August 2012
Another Pleasant Valley Day, although it’s a bit hazy. I’m not sure if that’s fully attributable to the recent fires, if it’s just the inversion kicking in again, or both. Still, it’s not a bad day.
Since it’s been claimed that I never post pictures of the girls smiling…
It seems as though Mountain Lion will work on my MacBook after all…
Now, I just have to decide if there are any features in it that I really need or want.
Thursday – 26 July 2012
It’s another NBN Thursday in the valley.
Were she alive, my maternal great-grandmother would have been 112 today.
Last night, Sara! and I watched In Time for Movie Date Night:
To be honest, it wasn’t bad. It reminded me quite a bit of Logan’s Run, but had enough of a twist to make – and keep – it interesting. I was also quite surprised to see [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED] in the movie, too.
Chew on This: Food for Thought – Adventures in Parenting
As a parent, I’m always happy when Diana and Vanessa hit developmental milestones. One such achievement happened a few months back when the girls figured out how to roll from their backs to their stomachs. Sara! and I were delighted at this… um… “turn of events.” However, as the girls started making other advancements, we seemed to forget about the rolling over. Until recently. The girls have taken it upon themselves to remind us just how big a deal that barrel rolls are…
…when we are changing their diapers.
Vanessa is especially adept at this. Just as you get the loaded diaper open and bear witness the havok within, she decides that it’s time to roll to her left. This usually results in a lot of under-the-breath expletives. And the thought processes – and physical gymnastics – of “How do I keep this from getting on everything?!”
So far, nothing has gotten to the point where we’ve had to call in Damage Control or Utah Disaster Kleen-up, but there have been a couple of instances where it’s taken both of us to get from dirty diaper to a clean one.
But, they’re still cute kids and I wouldn’t trade the experience/adventure for anything.
Reading time is still reading time… even if your book is upside-down.
Stray Toasters
In exactly two weeks, the Ravens’ preseason begins. Selah.
If you’re in the Salt Lake Metro area this weekend and looking for something to do, you should check out the Salt City Steamfest:
Over the past few nights, Sara! and I have watched a few episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It’s been entertaining, I must say. Dated, sure… but kind of fun.
One of last night’s episodes was the series finale. It featured potential buyers coming to look at the Banks house. One couple was the Jeffersons – yes, these Jeffersons– with the late Sherman Helmsley, who just passed away the other day. And, as much as I loved him as George Jefferson, I will forever remember him for this:
Wednesday – 18 July 2012
It’s midweek, which means that it must be “New Comics Day,” as well as “Movie Date Night.” Win-Win.
It’s apparently also been a week since I posted here. (Although, I did do a quick post on Four-Color Coverage last Friday…)
This post is really just a quick hit of a couple of highlights from the past week. So…
Sara!, Team DiVa, and I participated in the 2012 “Run Through the Lavender” 5k on Saturday: Sara and Diana (pre-race) Vanessa and me (pre-race)Post-race
And, yes, we did make mini-race bibs for the girls this time. (It may become a new tradition.) Considering that Sara! did the race last year when she was seven-months pregnant, our overall paces were faster than our 2011 times. We still walked the course, but beat my time by almost 15 minutes… even with a co-runner -walker strapped to my chest.)
My favorite picture from the weekend:
Diana, mugging for the camera…
We have confirmation that three-of-six grandparents will be here for the girls’ first birthday!
The girls are starting to let go of things after they stand. We’ve seen them stand, unsupported, for upwards of ten seconds. I fear that walking isn’t too far away…
There has been a good deal of progress made in the train room. Drywall is up, and it’s been taped and mudded. We need to go over things with topping compound and then it’s on to painting!
I’m Ivory Soap-sure that there was at least one other thing that I wanted to mention, but it eludes me. So… I’ll wrap up here.
Thursday night, we packed up Team DiVa and drove to Idaho. This marked the girls’ third road trip in three-and-a-half months. We went for a memorial service for Sara!’s grandfather.
We also unlocked a few achievements on the trip:
Achievement Unlocked: #TeamDiVa‘s First National Park/Monument +10 Points
Achievement Unlocked: #TeamDiVa‘s First Trip to Redfish Lake
Achievement Unlocked: Add “Idaho” to the “States I’ve Bowled In” list. +10 points
All-in-all, it was a good trip… a little tiring, due to its whirlwind nature, but good. And the girls traveled well, once again.
I will most likely post more pictures of the weekend later. But for now…
Friday – 29 June 2012
I don’t think that most people need something incredibly cute to get their Friday going… because, well, it’s Friday. That, in and of itself, is a cause celebre.
But, for those of you who could use a morning pick-me-up, I have just the thing for you:
Team DiVa Adventures – “Baby”
[FMP]http://echopulse.net/teamdiva/Vanessa%20-%20Baby.m4v[/FMP]
That’s right: Vanessa has a new word: “Baby.”
Between this and the girls’ crawling (1, 2), I am constantly reminded of this song, by Bobby McFerrin:
Tuesday – 26 June 2012
I want to go on the record as saying that having twins who are crawling and cruising is:
Fun,
Entertaining, and
A little tiring
Often, they both head in the same vector. However, those times when they don’t…? Let’s just say that I’m getting an inkling of what it’s like to be an NHL goaltender.
Over the weekend, we made a day trip to Cedar City to see my brother-in-law, John, who spent a week in Las Vegas. Being so relatively close, we decided to meet for lunch before he headed back to Baltimore and give him a chance to meet his nieces:
Diana, hanging out with Uncle John
Vanessa and Uncle John
Diana and John hit it off almost immediately; Vanessa decided to scope him out a bit before deciding that he was alright.
Sara! and I figured that it would be “a while” before Vanessa followed in her sister’s proverbial footsteps. After all, she has seemed fairly content to either sit where she is or (as is more often the case) have someone carry her to her destination.
Thursday – 21 June 2012
As I’ve noted, Diana and Vanessa have hit the “cruising” phase – toddling while holding on to people or things – in their “learning to get around on our own” development. It’s been fun watching them as they explore. On the other hand, both girls have more or less eschewed crawling.
Diana and Vanessa have both shown a fascination with my watches, to the point of even trying to eat them… while I’m still wearing them. My LEGO watch is particularly attractive to them as it is brightly colored.
This morning, while Diana was cruising around the coffee table, she spotted the LEGO watch. I tossed it to the other side of the room, near the girls’ car seats. A few minutes later, I had to sit Diana down so that I could do something. What I hadn’t counted on was that she would glance around and see the watch… and go after it. But, she did. With gusto.
Of course, I needed to prove that it wasn’t a fluke happenstance. So, I moved the watch – which didn’t please the little miss – and then moved her. The results:
Wednesday – 20 June 2012
The summer solstice has arrived.
And it’s new comics Wednesday.
And it’s Pasta and Movie Date Night.
Quite frankly, I think that sounds like “Win” all the way around.
Yesterday was a good day. With the able assistance of Dave and Steve, I was able to pick up some drywall – twelve sheets of it – get it home, bring it in (through a basement window that Steve removed) and put it in place for hanging. All told, it took a little over an hour-and-a-half, including the time it took to attach and detach Dave’s trailer to his Jeep. I offer up a huge “Thank you” to Steve and Dave for their time and effort. And, I’m counting drywall-schlepping as yesterday’s workout, to boot!
Chew on This: Food for Thought
This is a series of blog posts from a local woman (with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which is important to the story), who encountered less-than-stellar – and more importantly, less-than-decent – treatment when she attempted to go shopping with her guide dog this past week:
Tuesday – 19 June 2012
This morning, Sector 2814 (at least the portion of it that contains our living room) is being protected by two members of the Justice League:
Vanessa, as a rookie Green Lantern
Diana, as Batgirl-in-Training (complete with her own… um… Bat-saucer)
Shortly after these pictures were taken, the mini-Leaguers decided to do some combat training (also known as: “Using Daddy as a climbing toy”). Since they are both cruising – and not always wanting to go in the same direction – this taxed my abilities to keep both of them in arm’s reach. Fortunately, Bonne was here to help keep up with them.
Monday – 18 June 2012
This will be a brief post, but there are two important things that bear noting:
Today is my sister-in-law, Melissa’s, birthday.
(c) 2011 – Amanda Nelson Photography
This is particularly important because for the past two years, I neglected to mention it… leading to two instances of “Melissa Kelly Week.”
The debris from the gazebo tear-down has been removed, courtesy of the SL County dumpster that was placed just across the street from the house… and some very welcome help from my father-in-law. I’m qualifying it as today’s workout.
Stray Toasters
Okay, okay… we’ll throw a couple of these in, too:
