Making a Splash

The bathtub is one of the only containment apparatuses – e.g., high chair, car seat, bike trailer, Pack ‘n Play – that keeps Reed happy for a prolonged period. In fact, the ten minutes or so – a prolonged period in our household – that we spend sitting by him on the tile floor of the bathroom is that rare stretch when we can stretch out and rest our child-chasing legs.

To Go Far from Fargo

Beni’s father made the long trek from his home in North Dakota to meet his grandson and spend some time with us. Aunt Liz also made her way down, and together we celebrated Reed’s birthday early.

It's All Good in the Hood

The son, peeking over the horizon.

Conducting a Sit-in

Beni signed us up for the parent-child lap-sit program at the library. We’d hoped that Reed would lap up the activities – listening to songs and stories, playing with the other children – and to that end, it was a success. (He just didn’t spend much time up on our lap – the dude is more mobile than a cell phone.) Here we are in a brief moment of peace.

Lifted Spirits

I *heart* holding those who have a hold of my heart

The workdays in the spring are often long and sometimes tedious, and so this pick-them-up was a real pick-me-up for me. The kids dropped by the office this afternoon, giving me ample reason to emerge from my lair of paper stacks, phone lines, and computer wires.

Park & Recreation

Temperature in the mid-50s. Slight to no wind. Sun so bright it’ll make you squint.

A perfect day for the park. Happy children. Relaxed parents. Bliss.

The Eagle Has Landed

This particular bald eagle is bound to the ground – his wings are clipped. He and his folically challenged friend reside at our local zoo. Color me red, white, and blue: I always feel the urge to belt out the “Star-Spangled Banner” or “America the Beautiful” (but not this song) whenever we pass by these majestic creatures.

Upright Citizen

Reed is one step – well, several chair-aided steps – closer to bipedalism. He pushed a child chair across the kitchen tiles this evening, an event I was able to capture in moving-picture format, complete with narration from his big sister.

Chairman from chris k on Vimeo.

Non-Evil Eye

Back in my day, this type of colorful craft was a called a Jesus eye – at least that’s what I recall a Sunday-school teacher calling something similar in appearance. But thou shall not close a skeptical eye on my childhood remembrances, particularly those from my brief church-attending period. What I do remember from then was my inability to remember even the most basic facts. To this day, I can picture the looks of incredulity on the faces of my Sunday-schoolmates and teachers when I announced “Jonah” as my J-word choice for the “woman in the Bible” Scattergories category.

Step-by-Step Process

My parents made a big stinky of my taking of my first steps today. So everyone: I took my first steps today. (And made a big stinky.)

Spring Break? (Yes, It Has Broken.)

While we’re still a couple weeks away from the vernal equinox, spring-like weather has broken out where we live, which means our spirit and Vitamin D levels receive a boost from the extended time outside. On this day, the kids rode around on and in various vehicles in the driveway, and we also took a family stroll around our neighborhood.

Hand-to-Hand Combat

You need not be in a meditative state to ponder the sounds (and sights) of one’s hands clapping.

Show of Hands from chris k on Vimeo.

Have a Familiar Ring (or Ten)

Olivia went rings-of-Saturn big when displaying all the plastic jewelry she procured following the smashing apart of the piñata at Maddi’s birthday party.

Coffee Hour

"Coffeehousing" has a negative connotation in the Scrabble world, where it means to throw off your opponent via verbal deception, but we spent the morning outside that world, and so coffeehousing to us meant a pleasant breakfast at a local shop with friends. Reed spent most of the time in his mother’s arms, where he kept an eye on Olivia to make sure that she wasn’t poking at his pancake platter.

Conference Room

This afternoon we met with Olivia’s kindergarten teacher for Round Two of parent-teacher conferences. My favorite part (besides hearing that our daughter has adjusted well socially and is making good academic progress, of course)? Sitting for the meeting in the pint-sized chairs with their tennis-ball feet that the children use on a school-day-to-day basis. I actually felt tall for a change.