I haven't been blogging much about Johann. That's because Johann doesn't do much. He has recently started being at least a little interesting and not just a blob that requires the holder to be standing.
Now when you talk to him or smile at him, he gets this huge smile on his face. It is like looking at perfect happiness. At those times, he is a little blob of joy.
I just bought Final Fantasy X-2 at my local used game shop. It's an RPG so I don't have to constantly be pressing buttons. It's a lot like an interactive movie. This allows me to hold Johann in the rocking chair and play.
He seems to enjoy it. He watches the game while he's awake (and I sing to him sometimes) and then he goes to sleep. He has slept many hours since I got that game.
It's a win-win. He gets some daddy time and some good rest, Arial gets a break and I don't feel guilty for playing a game that is basically a big time suck.
mwz
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
Drummer or Pickpocket
Normally, we have child gates up that keep Frances out of the kitchen and therefor out of the stairs. But the other day, we had people looking at our house (we are selling) and we took them down.
Frances used that opportunity to go to the basement by herself. I was unloading groceries at the time so I let her go. We have a decent basement with not much danger. By the time I finished with the groceries, I could hear her drumming.
I went down to have a look and she had crawled up on the chair (I don't have a stool) and was playing. What I really thought was impressive though was that she had put on her ear protection (a pair of noise reduction ear muffs). I was so proud.
Yesterday, I took Frances up to take her nap. I often nap with her since it settles her down and lets me take a nap. This time though, she was a little more hyper and was bouncing on the bed a bit more than usual.
She lay down and I thought that she had calmed down, so I went to sleep.
When I woke, she was playing with something. I looked over and it was a bunch of cards. After putting on my glasses, I recognized them as cards from my wallet. I felt for my wallet and sure enough, it was gone.
Frances had removed it after I had fallen asleep and I didn't notice at all.
So, if she can't cut it as a drummer, she can always turn to a life of crime. I think she could be quite good at it.
mwz
Frances used that opportunity to go to the basement by herself. I was unloading groceries at the time so I let her go. We have a decent basement with not much danger. By the time I finished with the groceries, I could hear her drumming.
I went down to have a look and she had crawled up on the chair (I don't have a stool) and was playing. What I really thought was impressive though was that she had put on her ear protection (a pair of noise reduction ear muffs). I was so proud.
Yesterday, I took Frances up to take her nap. I often nap with her since it settles her down and lets me take a nap. This time though, she was a little more hyper and was bouncing on the bed a bit more than usual.
She lay down and I thought that she had calmed down, so I went to sleep.
When I woke, she was playing with something. I looked over and it was a bunch of cards. After putting on my glasses, I recognized them as cards from my wallet. I felt for my wallet and sure enough, it was gone.
Frances had removed it after I had fallen asleep and I didn't notice at all.
So, if she can't cut it as a drummer, she can always turn to a life of crime. I think she could be quite good at it.
mwz
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Fourth of July Weekend Part 2
On the fourth itself, I took Frances to see fireworks with a friend of ours... I'll call him Bob. Arial stayed home because she didn't want to have to feed Johann out in public (and she told me that she didn't really want to see fireworks anyway... and that she likes the burnt part as well as the crust...). Bob's wife is very pregnant and didn't want to deal with the whole adventure.
So us three went downtown for fireworks looking like a gay couple with our adopted daughter (as Bob pointed out). We managed to find a parking spot on the street that was free in the evenings.
We walked to a place where we could see the fireworks and found a spot on the grass, the very wet grass and lay down our blankets. The water instantly soaked through one of the blankets where ever we put weight on it but the other was water resistant so it took a little bit for our pants to get soaked.
Frances started off pretty good. I didn't really bring much for her to play with. There were a couple books in the diaper bag but that was about it. Soon she was up and doing laps around us which was fine. The only part I didn't like was when she would go behind the stroller and there would be a little bit that I couldn't see her. I pushed over the stroller and that solved that.
Frances' shorts were a little loose and they kept slipping down. She was fine when she stood still, but she wasn't doing much of that. I dug through the diaper bag looking for a safety pin but didn't find one. Finally, after some thought, I removed the shoelace from one of my shoes and tied it around her like a belt. That worked great but it made it a little more difficult trying to keep my shoe on while chasing after her.
She grew bored again (since it's a long time to wait for a little girl). So, I opened up umbrella and gave it to her. She held it wonderfully and started walking around. It seemed like since Frances was under the protection of the umbrella that she had more courage because pretty soon she was walking in a straight line away from our blankets.
I followed and tried to guide her back but it was pretty difficult. From my viewing angle above, I could only see the umbrella and not the direction that Frances was actually pointing. So I would think that she was going the right way only to realize that she was facing left. Plus, I couldn't actually touch her to guide. I could only guide the umbrella itself.
Eventually, I got her back and we had juice bags, but only one since we had just had an incident. Well, actually Frances had like one and a half since she finished hers pretty quick and then grabbed Bob's. Of course Bob didn't want to upset her, so he just let her have it. I didn't see it or I would have stopped her (I was working on getting my own straw in. I didn't have many juice boxes growing up so it is a bit of a challenge for me).
After juice, she went back to running circles around us, occasionally crouching down to say "Set! Go!" before running again.
When the first fireworks went up, I tried to get her to come back to me. She didn't listen and kept running... until she saw them. Then, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the sky in awe.
I grabbed her and set her on my lap. We spent about five minutes watching fireworks and saying "ooo". Then she got bored again. I can't really blame her, I had gotten bored of the fireworks too. So she got up and slowly walked towards the fireworks, like she was testing her boundaries. She finally stopped about 10 feet in front of us. A couple times, I grabbed her and brought her back to the blanket but she would just hop up and go back to the same spot. So I gave up and let her stand there (I think she thought she had to say "ooo" if she was with me and she was tired of that).
Then, she started circling again but this time she went as wide as possible, coming closer than I liked to the other people around us. But she didn't seem to be bothering them, so I let her continue. Occasionally, she would swing in closer to me to kinda check in and then go back to the races.
When the finally started, she stopped running and came over to me and we watched the end together.
All in all it was a good time. We saw fireworks, no one got lost and Frances was asleep in her car seat pretty much by the time I got the car started.
mwz
So us three went downtown for fireworks looking like a gay couple with our adopted daughter (as Bob pointed out). We managed to find a parking spot on the street that was free in the evenings.
We walked to a place where we could see the fireworks and found a spot on the grass, the very wet grass and lay down our blankets. The water instantly soaked through one of the blankets where ever we put weight on it but the other was water resistant so it took a little bit for our pants to get soaked.
Frances started off pretty good. I didn't really bring much for her to play with. There were a couple books in the diaper bag but that was about it. Soon she was up and doing laps around us which was fine. The only part I didn't like was when she would go behind the stroller and there would be a little bit that I couldn't see her. I pushed over the stroller and that solved that.
Frances' shorts were a little loose and they kept slipping down. She was fine when she stood still, but she wasn't doing much of that. I dug through the diaper bag looking for a safety pin but didn't find one. Finally, after some thought, I removed the shoelace from one of my shoes and tied it around her like a belt. That worked great but it made it a little more difficult trying to keep my shoe on while chasing after her.
She grew bored again (since it's a long time to wait for a little girl). So, I opened up umbrella and gave it to her. She held it wonderfully and started walking around. It seemed like since Frances was under the protection of the umbrella that she had more courage because pretty soon she was walking in a straight line away from our blankets.
I followed and tried to guide her back but it was pretty difficult. From my viewing angle above, I could only see the umbrella and not the direction that Frances was actually pointing. So I would think that she was going the right way only to realize that she was facing left. Plus, I couldn't actually touch her to guide. I could only guide the umbrella itself.
Eventually, I got her back and we had juice bags, but only one since we had just had an incident. Well, actually Frances had like one and a half since she finished hers pretty quick and then grabbed Bob's. Of course Bob didn't want to upset her, so he just let her have it. I didn't see it or I would have stopped her (I was working on getting my own straw in. I didn't have many juice boxes growing up so it is a bit of a challenge for me).
After juice, she went back to running circles around us, occasionally crouching down to say "Set! Go!" before running again.
When the first fireworks went up, I tried to get her to come back to me. She didn't listen and kept running... until she saw them. Then, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the sky in awe.
I grabbed her and set her on my lap. We spent about five minutes watching fireworks and saying "ooo". Then she got bored again. I can't really blame her, I had gotten bored of the fireworks too. So she got up and slowly walked towards the fireworks, like she was testing her boundaries. She finally stopped about 10 feet in front of us. A couple times, I grabbed her and brought her back to the blanket but she would just hop up and go back to the same spot. So I gave up and let her stand there (I think she thought she had to say "ooo" if she was with me and she was tired of that).
Then, she started circling again but this time she went as wide as possible, coming closer than I liked to the other people around us. But she didn't seem to be bothering them, so I let her continue. Occasionally, she would swing in closer to me to kinda check in and then go back to the races.
When the finally started, she stopped running and came over to me and we watched the end together.
All in all it was a good time. We saw fireworks, no one got lost and Frances was asleep in her car seat pretty much by the time I got the car started.
mwz
Friday, July 07, 2006
Fourth of July Weekend Part 1
We had a mildly interesting weekend.
On Saturday, we decided to go to a drive-in movie. We used to do this when we just had Frances but this was the first attempt with Johann. The movies we went to see were Cars and Nacho Libre.
As is our tradition, we picked up some juice boxes and snacks (cheese puffs and pretzels on this occasion) on the way. It's kinda fun to eat junk food and watch movies (we don't normally get that kind of snack food).
Things were going pretty well other than the car side speakers didn't really work, so we had to use the radio. Frances was having fun sitting in the front seat having juice and eating cheese puffs. Johann was having an okay time sleeping on Arial.
Unfortunately, halfway through Cars, a flaw in our parenting skills became apparent. I was holding Johann and Arial had Frances. I heard some sort of commotion and looked over at the other two in time to see a gush of liquid flow from Frances' mouth onto Arial.
I guess we let Frances have to much junk food and juice.
Frances was obviously scared, so we tried to comfort her (while not spreading the vomit). After a little bit of discussion, I went to the bathroom for paper towels. I could only find toilet paper (and the hand driers were attached to the walls pretty well). So, we cleaned up as much as we could with a large wad of toilet paper.
Then we stripped off Frances' puky clothes and put both of the kids into their car seats. It was a warm night but we gave Frances a blanket anyway. And we left.
Everyone but Johann got a bath/shower that night. While Arial was in the shower, I held both Frances and Johann and rocked in a chair. Frances seemed so pathetic, laying on my chest. I said, "I love you sweetheart" and in this tiny, little voice, she said "too" (which is how she says "I love you, too"). It was the most heartbreaking and heartwarming thing I've ever heard.
She got her bath and fell asleep right away after being put to bed. The next morning she was none the worse for wear. She slept a little longer in the morning but it was like nothing had happened.
She's a tough little girl. (On a side note, she scrapped her knee bloody today but she didn't cry. She was a little unhappy when it happened but for the most part, she didn't let it interrupt her play. She didn't even seem to be that phased when I cleaned up the wound. She is a tough little girl.)
mwz
On Saturday, we decided to go to a drive-in movie. We used to do this when we just had Frances but this was the first attempt with Johann. The movies we went to see were Cars and Nacho Libre.
As is our tradition, we picked up some juice boxes and snacks (cheese puffs and pretzels on this occasion) on the way. It's kinda fun to eat junk food and watch movies (we don't normally get that kind of snack food).
Things were going pretty well other than the car side speakers didn't really work, so we had to use the radio. Frances was having fun sitting in the front seat having juice and eating cheese puffs. Johann was having an okay time sleeping on Arial.
Unfortunately, halfway through Cars, a flaw in our parenting skills became apparent. I was holding Johann and Arial had Frances. I heard some sort of commotion and looked over at the other two in time to see a gush of liquid flow from Frances' mouth onto Arial.
I guess we let Frances have to much junk food and juice.
Frances was obviously scared, so we tried to comfort her (while not spreading the vomit). After a little bit of discussion, I went to the bathroom for paper towels. I could only find toilet paper (and the hand driers were attached to the walls pretty well). So, we cleaned up as much as we could with a large wad of toilet paper.
Then we stripped off Frances' puky clothes and put both of the kids into their car seats. It was a warm night but we gave Frances a blanket anyway. And we left.
Everyone but Johann got a bath/shower that night. While Arial was in the shower, I held both Frances and Johann and rocked in a chair. Frances seemed so pathetic, laying on my chest. I said, "I love you sweetheart" and in this tiny, little voice, she said "too" (which is how she says "I love you, too"). It was the most heartbreaking and heartwarming thing I've ever heard.
She got her bath and fell asleep right away after being put to bed. The next morning she was none the worse for wear. She slept a little longer in the morning but it was like nothing had happened.
She's a tough little girl. (On a side note, she scrapped her knee bloody today but she didn't cry. She was a little unhappy when it happened but for the most part, she didn't let it interrupt her play. She didn't even seem to be that phased when I cleaned up the wound. She is a tough little girl.)
mwz
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Tchsoo
It was late in the day today and I was working in my office when Frances came running up the stairs. She seemed very excited. I assumed that Arial had sent her up to tell me that supper was ready as she does occasionally now.
I turned in my chair and waited for her to say "ready" but instead Frances said, "tchsoo" and she ran past me to my desk. She held her arms up reaching for something and said, "tchsoo" again. Usually when she does this, she wants to tap on the keyboard or move the mouse around but this time she wasn't pointed at either of those.
I looked to where she was pointed and saw the tissue box. She has never asked me for a tissue specifically but sometimes she likes to play with them if they are within reach.
So I asked, "tissue?" and she said "Yes".
So I gave her one expecting her to wipe her face or pretend to clean my desk but instead she ran back down stairs. I was still unsure about the status of supper so I followed her. To my surprise, Frances ran over to Johann who was happily laying on the floor and started wiping under his face.
Apparently, he had quietly spit up and Arial hadn't noticed. Frances apparently did see it and decided to clean it up herself. She did a pretty good job of it too.
I guess my little girl has grown up to the point where she can be actually helpful.
mwz
I turned in my chair and waited for her to say "ready" but instead Frances said, "tchsoo" and she ran past me to my desk. She held her arms up reaching for something and said, "tchsoo" again. Usually when she does this, she wants to tap on the keyboard or move the mouse around but this time she wasn't pointed at either of those.
I looked to where she was pointed and saw the tissue box. She has never asked me for a tissue specifically but sometimes she likes to play with them if they are within reach.
So I asked, "tissue?" and she said "Yes".
So I gave her one expecting her to wipe her face or pretend to clean my desk but instead she ran back down stairs. I was still unsure about the status of supper so I followed her. To my surprise, Frances ran over to Johann who was happily laying on the floor and started wiping under his face.
Apparently, he had quietly spit up and Arial hadn't noticed. Frances apparently did see it and decided to clean it up herself. She did a pretty good job of it too.
I guess my little girl has grown up to the point where she can be actually helpful.
mwz
Thursday, June 08, 2006
eMusic 1
I have taken the plunge into the world of online music purchasing. I didn't go to iTunes because their files have digital rights management (DRM) associated with them, meaning that they are crippled so you can't copy them anywhere you want (admittedly, Apple lets you copy the songs a bunch of times before they quite working but when a computer only lasts ~4 years, I will run out of copies in my lifetime and I don't want to buy the same songs over and over and over).
Anyway, I decided to go with eMusic (www.emusic.com). They have non-DRM'd mp3s that I can keep forever. They also have an interesting business model. You buy a subscription and each month you get a certain number of songs. For $10 I am getting 40 songs a month. Of course if I forget to use my downloads, I lose them but that is how they make money. (BTW, if anyone is interested in eMusic (and you know me), let me know and I can "refer" you meaning that not only do you get a free trial, but I get some free music too. Be aware that the 4 major label's don't like eMusic, so it only has indie records.)
So, I've decided that each month I would write about what I downloaded and why (and maybe a quick review if I've listened to it enough). They have a bunch of free tracks that I might occasionally download but I'm not going to write about them because generally they aren't that interesting.
I know that reading about music is pretty lame but I'll stick in links to eMusic where you can sample the songs at least.
50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean
The first time I heard 50 Foot Wave (fronted by Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses) I was a little bit skeptical. Ms Hersh's voice has grown pretty rough but soon I discovered the music was really good. 50 Foot Wave is like Throwing Muses turned into a punk band. Now I kinda like her gravely voice, it seems like it fits the music. Golden Ocean is darn good.
Kristin Hersh - The Grotto
Kristin Hersh is a musical genius. She is a the female Bob Mould (but without the embarrassing electronica mid-life crisis). Between her work with Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, she has put together some really pretty, solo, acoustic albums. This is the third that I've heard ("Hips and Makers" and "Strange Angels" are the other two) and all three are beautiful. She has such an interesting sense for music.
Tanya Donelly - Whiskey Tango Ghosts
Every band that Tanya Donelly has been in has had at least one great album. Throwing Muses' (Real Ramona), the Breeders' Pod and Safari and Belly's Star are all incredible. I also quite liked her first solo album "Love Songs for Underdogs". I've listened through this album a couple times and nothing has really grabbed me yet. It seems very... adult, like maybe I'll like it when I'm older. I'm sure that in three years, I will re-discover it and absolutely love it. But for now, it is pretty but just kinda blah.
Juliana Hatfield - Made in China
Juliana Hatfield is very prolific and yet all of her albums are solid. She is a pretty safe bet for an album full of songs that I'll like and that is pretty much what I got with Made in China. If you are interested in her, check out her album, Beautiful Creatures, it's my favorite of her solo albums.
Dr. Frank - Eight Little Songs
Dr. Frank is from the punk band Mr. T Experience. I really like their later stuff as well as the other solo album of his that I have. His lyrics are usually pretty clever and the music is usually fun. This album is no exception. It is pretty much eight interesting and catchy little songs.
Well, that's all I got for my trial period. I'll do more when I get them.
mwz
Anyway, I decided to go with eMusic (www.emusic.com). They have non-DRM'd mp3s that I can keep forever. They also have an interesting business model. You buy a subscription and each month you get a certain number of songs. For $10 I am getting 40 songs a month. Of course if I forget to use my downloads, I lose them but that is how they make money. (BTW, if anyone is interested in eMusic (and you know me), let me know and I can "refer" you meaning that not only do you get a free trial, but I get some free music too. Be aware that the 4 major label's don't like eMusic, so it only has indie records.)
So, I've decided that each month I would write about what I downloaded and why (and maybe a quick review if I've listened to it enough). They have a bunch of free tracks that I might occasionally download but I'm not going to write about them because generally they aren't that interesting.
I know that reading about music is pretty lame but I'll stick in links to eMusic where you can sample the songs at least.
50 Foot Wave - Golden Ocean
The first time I heard 50 Foot Wave (fronted by Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses) I was a little bit skeptical. Ms Hersh's voice has grown pretty rough but soon I discovered the music was really good. 50 Foot Wave is like Throwing Muses turned into a punk band. Now I kinda like her gravely voice, it seems like it fits the music. Golden Ocean is darn good.
Kristin Hersh - The Grotto
Kristin Hersh is a musical genius. She is a the female Bob Mould (but without the embarrassing electronica mid-life crisis). Between her work with Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave, she has put together some really pretty, solo, acoustic albums. This is the third that I've heard ("Hips and Makers" and "Strange Angels" are the other two) and all three are beautiful. She has such an interesting sense for music.
Tanya Donelly - Whiskey Tango Ghosts
Every band that Tanya Donelly has been in has had at least one great album. Throwing Muses' (Real Ramona), the Breeders' Pod and Safari and Belly's Star are all incredible. I also quite liked her first solo album "Love Songs for Underdogs". I've listened through this album a couple times and nothing has really grabbed me yet. It seems very... adult, like maybe I'll like it when I'm older. I'm sure that in three years, I will re-discover it and absolutely love it. But for now, it is pretty but just kinda blah.
Juliana Hatfield - Made in China
Juliana Hatfield is very prolific and yet all of her albums are solid. She is a pretty safe bet for an album full of songs that I'll like and that is pretty much what I got with Made in China. If you are interested in her, check out her album, Beautiful Creatures, it's my favorite of her solo albums.
Dr. Frank - Eight Little Songs
Dr. Frank is from the punk band Mr. T Experience. I really like their later stuff as well as the other solo album of his that I have. His lyrics are usually pretty clever and the music is usually fun. This album is no exception. It is pretty much eight interesting and catchy little songs.
Well, that's all I got for my trial period. I'll do more when I get them.
mwz
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
At a Wedding
About a month or so ago we went to a friend's wedding. Frances had a great time at the reception.
There was another little boy there who was a couple months younger than Frances. Of course people were trying to pair the two. Some of them even tried to get them to kiss before I put a stop to it. Fortunately, he was very shy (other wise I would have had to beat him up for hitting on my daughter). But Frances danced with him for as long as he had the courage.
Repeatedly, the boy's grandmother (I'm assuming) suggested that they dance on the dance floor together. I thought that was a little bit odd since the first dance hadn't even happened. I thought that would be a bit rude to try to take the spotlight from the wedding couple, so I ignored her.
When the boy was taken away (back to their table I assume), Frances grabbed my hand and started leading me. She took me right to the dance floor, which I thought was amazing since we hadn't been near it all night and no one was dancing (as I said it was to early). But she led me right to it.
She danced with another older girl for a bit and then we respectfully stood off to the side during the special dances.
But when those dances were done, she wanted right back on the floor. She danced and danced and loved every minute. It was amazing to see how much energy she could exert for such a long time. Song after song she danced and not just a slow rocking kind of dance. This was a full out jump around kind of dance.
We made her take breaks but after an hour or two she was beat. She still wanted to dance but it mostly amounted to staggering around in a large circle. We decided that it was a little dangerous with her walking between people who didn't necessarily see her. So we called it a night.
She had a blast at the wedding reception and was asleep by the end of the mile drive back to where we were staying. She slept very well that night.
mwz
There was another little boy there who was a couple months younger than Frances. Of course people were trying to pair the two. Some of them even tried to get them to kiss before I put a stop to it. Fortunately, he was very shy (other wise I would have had to beat him up for hitting on my daughter). But Frances danced with him for as long as he had the courage.
Repeatedly, the boy's grandmother (I'm assuming) suggested that they dance on the dance floor together. I thought that was a little bit odd since the first dance hadn't even happened. I thought that would be a bit rude to try to take the spotlight from the wedding couple, so I ignored her.
When the boy was taken away (back to their table I assume), Frances grabbed my hand and started leading me. She took me right to the dance floor, which I thought was amazing since we hadn't been near it all night and no one was dancing (as I said it was to early). But she led me right to it.
She danced with another older girl for a bit and then we respectfully stood off to the side during the special dances.
But when those dances were done, she wanted right back on the floor. She danced and danced and loved every minute. It was amazing to see how much energy she could exert for such a long time. Song after song she danced and not just a slow rocking kind of dance. This was a full out jump around kind of dance.
We made her take breaks but after an hour or two she was beat. She still wanted to dance but it mostly amounted to staggering around in a large circle. We decided that it was a little dangerous with her walking between people who didn't necessarily see her. So we called it a night.
She had a blast at the wedding reception and was asleep by the end of the mile drive back to where we were staying. She slept very well that night.
mwz
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