Mark's blog

2006-12-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

This pony will soon be too small. Soren is able to dismount on his own and has begun to handle the reins.

You can pick your friends ...

The Getaway

2006-12-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Fiona started out as a happy child.

But then she met Soren and he told her tales of fun times beyond the fence.

One set of wheels, one shirt, one pair of pants -- they make their getaway.

The adorable pumpkin

2006-11-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Fiona was a pumpkin for Halloween. Next year we will have a family costume and everyone will dress up as part of a champion dodgeball team (but no spandex for me).

Fiona is very happy. Perhaps being the second child, she appreciates the attention that she gets because she doesn't get as much as the first born. She is quick to smile and giggle.

Soren found an easy way to meet women

2006-11-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

Soren is very comfortable on a horse. He can't wait to get his own pony, but is willing to share for now.

Soren's new pet

2006-09-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood is full of spiders. Soren spotted this large one on the ceiling. It was soon in a jar and on its way to the science table at preschool. Soren isn't afraid of spiders. Nor is he afraid to watch Harry Potter and he loves the large spiders and snake in the movies. He is afraid of vacuums, but only when they are switched on.

I believe I can fly

2006-09-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

Soren loves to fly high into the air. It is quite a workout.

2006-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Fiona continues to improve her commando crawl and is able to leave the room when her father isn't paying attention. Fortunately, Soren watches after her.

Soren with JJ. He rides, feeds and cleans up after JJ. We pretend that JJ is his horse to keep his mother from buying a pony for Soren.

Soren is still tall

2006-08-28T08:31:00.000-07:00

He is 42" tall and 35 months old. He is still skinny and enjoys racket sports. Anything that he can swing at a ball is a racket. He also enjoys throwing balls high until they get stuck on the roof.

Fiona has begun to crawl with her arms. She can get her hips off of the ground when she isn't moving, but has yet to crawl on her hands and knees. She loves to watch Soren and Soren loves to mimic her screams.

We are back

2006-08-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

The kids keep on growing up much too fast. Soren plays nice with Fiona and makes her laugh. His potty skills are superb. He is ready and willing to go to the bathroom anywhere and anytime whether standing or sitting. Recently he has been adding fertilizer to our lawn (not the grass that Fiona is on above). Fiona outgrew her bedside crib and has moved into a much larger one. Soren is about to move into a twin bed. Unprompted, he said 'I like horses'. I suspect brainwashing. Fortunately, he said 'I like baseball' the next day. We have begun to play baseball. He enjoys pitching more than hitting.

Oh, shoot!

2006-07-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Soren has begun to repeat what his parents say. Fortunately, he doesn't complete all of his consonants. You might hear him asking you to be quiet -- shhh.

Potty training

2006-07-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Soren: Papa, Papa. I did poop!
Papa: Where?
Soren: Outside

Sorry , no picture. But it was impressive. I am happy that Soren took the time to take down his pants. We just need to direct him towards his potty next time. He loves to play naked outside, and loves to go to the bathroom outside. Changing his clothes outside is a high-risk event. He is likely to take the opportunity to relieve himself.

Smiles on demand

2006-06-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

The kids

2006-06-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Soren is so good with Fiona. Sometimes he forgets that he has big feet and she it gentle, but he tries hard, makes her smile and replaces her pacifier when she drops it.

Got Milk?

2006-06-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

He learned this from his mother.

And now another interesting conversation.

Papa: Where is my Ipod?
Anon: I found it wrapped in the sheet.
<1>
Papa: Why doesn't my Ipod work? Where was the sheet?
Anon: Wrapped in the sheet in the washing machine.

More good news

2006-05-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

Soren has completed the cycle on his potty. We are so proud of him. Should we bronze the result?

Shelly drove me to work today. Soren was very talkative.

I want to work at Google.
I want to work at Google.
(Drive by In & Out hamburger palace)
Bye Papa.
I want fry.

No bees!

2006-05-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

Soren doesn't like live bees. He loves dead ones. When he sees a bee, he says 'die bee'. We have some large bees and wasps near our house. The cats hunt them when not being pursued by Soren.

Potty training

2006-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Soren used his Scotty Potty today.
... on his own
... for the first time
... and made a deposit in the potty

All this after one day of training. We are very excited. And now the celebration begins. Harry Potter returns (he was withheld during training)!

More talking

2006-05-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Father, Soren

Who is Hugh's momma?

HUGH'S MOMMA!

No, Ann is Hugh's Momma.

HUGH'S MOMMA!

Who is Hugh's Momma?

HUGH'S MOMMA!

A century apart (almost)

2006-05-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Fiona and her great-grandfather. She has been eating a lot lately. She is still a happy baby, smiles quickly and laughs sometimes.

Soren hates the camera's flash, so I have to suprise him to get pictures and don't always get his face in the picture.

Language development

2006-05-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Father, Soren

Who is a big boy?

I do.

You are.

I are.

Who is a big boy?

No one.

Who is a big boy?

I boy, I do.

--

He has picked up a lot of new words from Harry Potter (Harry, Potter, Hermione, stupefy, snake) and In & Out (french fry, shake).

He also runs around casting spells and will fall to the floor when hit by a stupefy spell. I am still working on the lie still so I can change your diaper spell. He is still working on holding onto the magic wand as he casts his spells, and sometimes it flies across the room and assists him in stupefying his opponent.

This little piggy

2006-04-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Soren's dinner

bacon
braised ox tail
ham
pork sausage
1 piece of rigatoni

The start of a career

2006-04-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Soren loves to dance. He is not so fond of doing it in a room fool of strangers, but is motivated when he there are balls to throw. This picture is from his weekly ballet class.

Pretty in pink again

2006-04-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

Once again Fiona is in her favorite place, the car seat. She loves to smile.

Check out that missing tooth.

2006-04-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

Soren is quite fond of the camera, but he cannot stand the flash.

Herding cats

2006-04-17T21:10:00.000-07:00

Try to get one baby and one toddler who dislikes the camera's flash (there goes his modeling career) to pose for a picture. He is trying so hard to not squint.

But then he gives in and squints.

Too many flashes. He had to close his eyes.

I turned off the flash and they both looked in my direction.

Such a sweet face.

Soren at work

2006-04-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Soren is a big help. He loves to play with water, and we have tricked him into think that running soapy water over dirty dishes is a game.

And he really loves steak. He ate most of this soon after the picture was taken.

He has been making some bad choices recently and I don't know what to do. He favors his right hand and ketchup. And his left-handed, mustard loving father is concerned. He is doing OK on other issues. We have been using Thomas the Train to shape his political views. It is narrarated by George Carlin and features stories about labor issues.

More skills

2006-04-08T15:02:00.000-07:00

Soren continues to make great progress. He can pick up a bug and put it back down without killing it. His mother is not thrilled when he brings bugs to her for analysis. He is also able to put the pacifier back into Fiona's mouth without upsetting her. Hopefully he is not carrying a bug when he does this. Finally, he says 'Thank you' all of the time, only he says it as 'T you'.

Even more smiles

2006-04-06T07:48:00.000-07:00

Improved communication skills

2006-04-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

Fiona has greatly improved communication skills. In addition to crying, she smiles.

We have a blueberry thief

2006-04-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Soren was caught with his hands in the blueberry box. He has a very good poker face.

Pictures of the birthday girl

2006-03-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Fiona at the age of 2 months doing what she does best.

2 months old!

2006-03-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

As you can see, Soren has no problems with horses. He feeds them, brushes them, fetches their food and cleans their hooves. He also fetches his own food when his parents are not attentive, and will get the carton of goat milk (and sometimes chocolate milk) from the refrigerator when he is thirsty.

Soren has made big strides. He is able to operate the DVD player to play his current favorites (Harry Potter, Finding Nemo, Thomas the Train). He has also begun to speak more and added the following to his vocabulary:

hummy (hummus)
Ha-ee Po-urr (Harry Potter without the consonants)
I wanna doit
My bike
More choc (more chocolate)

Happy birthday. Fiona is 2 months old and has started to smile. She is healthy and usually sleeps well (at least from my perspective). She used to go to sleep at night in her father's arms while he worked on the computer. Alas, her schedule has changed and she cries earlier in the day and is already asleep by the time father comes home.

Three weeks old.

2006-02-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

Caring for a newborn is hard work. Even Soren is tired.

But Fiona is holding up well. She can sleep anywhere.

Except when the paparazzi bother her.

Pretty in pink again

2006-02-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Fiona is much better at posing for pictures when she is asleep.

Look at what Tonka just delivered. Soren loves trucks and tractors.

Pretty in pink.

2006-02-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Fiona at rest gives her parents a few minutes of freedom. Mom has gone off to see her horses, and dad has gone to the computer. Fiona has more than enough pink clothing (hint). I try to swaddle her, but she must at least one arm free.

Body by goat milk.

2006-02-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

Soren loves to drink goat milk. He is also fond of potatoes, eggs, yogurt, cereal, bananas, apples, chicken and steak.

Cheese!

2006-02-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

Soren doesn't like the camera's flash.

Fiona's nest

2006-02-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

Fiona loves to sleep in her baby sling.

Muscles

2006-02-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

Mullet -- check.
Muscle tee -- check.
Pickup truck -- check.
Ballet lessons?

Desert

2006-02-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

Soren loves desert. He doesn't mind leaving a bit of chocolate or whipped cream on his face as proof. Today he showed his mom that he can climb one of the trees at the park. Boy was Mom thrilled by that. He is able to get between 4-8 feet off of the ground. He is very good at climbing once he figures out where the hand holds are. And on the theme of good parenting, he is holding a candle lighter in his right hand. It is safe because the end is full of whipped cream.

The indoctrination begins.

2006-02-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

Fiona received a pretty pink jumper. Note the horses. Fiona had another checkup today. She gained 1/2 of a pound in the last week.

The mutual admiration society.

2006-02-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

I can't stop looking at you. No, I can't stop looking at you.

The babysitter.

2006-02-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

The new babysitter dislikes the camera's flash. But he really wants to help out with his sister. She doesn't mind.

Soren just got back from gym class. Tomorrow he goes to ballet. He is a bit too energetic for his teacher. She isn't fond of his head first dives off of the padded structures. Today he learned to hang from a bar and flip over a bar. He had potatoes for lunch, steak for dinner and oatmeal cookies in between.

How did she fit in there?

2006-02-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

Fiona at 6 days with her mother. Last week at this time she was on the inside, dancing and kicking. I still can't believe it.

Day 5 progress

2006-02-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Fiona has begun to relax her feet and legs. Her legs are frequently pulled up to her chest, or locked out straight. This makes changing her diaper difficult. If you press on her knees when her legs are pulled in, they straighten and then quickly snap back up to her belly.

She is much less red and the swelling in her face has gone down. Who does she resemble?

Soren at the park with Hugh, his best friend.

Expert medical care

2006-01-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Fiona with Harriet Palmer, the midwife who delivered Fiona at our house and cared for Shelly for the last 5 months. She was wonderful, talented, calm and confident.

Fiona with her pediatrician, Dr. Sonneman. Fiona had her first checkup. Everything is OK. Fiona is also wearing pink for the first time. Dr. Sonneman also cares for Soren. We are very happy with Dr. Sonneman, but we rarely get to see her. Soren has been very healthy.

Puppy returns

2006-01-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Soren's favorite puppy disappeared several months ago. It reappeared the day after Fiona arrived. We are still not sure where puppy went, but Soren should sleep easier now.

This puppy tried to replace Soren's lost puppy. It was rejected by Soren. Perhaps Fiona will find a place for it.

The big brother.

2006-01-29T11:41:00.000-08:00

Soren is so excited to be a big brother (and he is big, 39", 38 pounds). He wants to hold Fiona all of the time and is usually willing to help care for her. He is very good at fetching things.

She has arrived.

2006-01-29T11:36:00.000-08:00

Fiona has arrived. She was delivered at home by a midwife on Friday. Fiona and Shelly are healthy. She is 20 inches long and weighs 8 pounds, 9 ounces. She is much chubbier than Soren was at birth.