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Monday, June 30, 2008

Happy birthday in pictures

Autumn is two. I can't believe she's two, but she is. she's an absolute treat to hang around with, to talk to, to laugh with. She's developing a real personality. Like last night, when i put her to bed. She was laying in her crib when I said, can you give me a kiss goodnight. Immediate, she just kissed the air, letting me know that it was all I was getting. It made me laugh, and she makes us both laugh. Here she is at her party.

This was the party. Low-key, lots of kids. A little bit of finger food, and a cake made by mom that everyone agreed was outrageous.

Mom did a great job. Remember, that cake was made at home. It's fresh strawberries, fresh cream, creamy cake and lots of love.


Happy birthday peanut.


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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Daddy Time

Autumn has been such a good big sister these past few weeks, we decided to treat her to a special treat. Dad, Mom, Baby Gavin and Autumn took a trip to the Merry Go Round at the Boulevard Mall and then out for ice cream. It was a successful night for all....

Those of you familiar with Mary Poppins might remember the scene where the kids and Burt and Mary ride on the carousel. Well, Mary Poppins is Autumn's favorite video these days... so you can imagine her excitement when she and Dad rode on the merry-go-round!

a special moment at Gavin's first doctor's appointment.



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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Thank You Senator Dodd

Christopher Dodd speaking at an SEIU event.Image via WikipediaA while ago, I gave money to Senator Chris Dodd. It was, and remains, the only time I've ever given money to a politician that wasn't my mum.

I gave him money because he stood up and said enough. It's alleged that for five years (beginning before 9.11), major telecom companies like our former cell phone provider Verizon spied on Americans. Again, it's alleged.

For the last couple of years, instead of letting the courts sort out whether or not phone companies did spy on Americans at the request of the President, the President has sought to give them retroactive immunity. In their argument for immunity, they often suggest that nobody did anything wrong, but they still want immunity anyway.

Anyway, Senator Dodd, during his run for President, stood up and said enough. So i gave him some money. Well, it appears that the democratic majority in the house of representatives habven't had enough. They passed a bill that gives telecoms immunity.

(Side note: I was so frustrated with this mess that I left Verizon for CREDO. I am but one person, but when the woman on the phone asked me why I was leaving Verizon, I told her because of FISA and immunity, and she never said another word. Check out CREDO if you can.)

Anyway, this is a link to the speech Dodd gave last night. Early in the week I sent him an e-mail asking him to do this. I suspect many people did. Well, he did it.

If you want to understand what's at stake, watch it. This isn't a guy running for President anymore. This isn't a guy grandstanding. This is a Senator standing up for the constitution.

This is about time.


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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

For Autumn

long_graffiti.jpg (JPEG Image, 430x286 pixels)
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Eat Curry, Lose Weight? | Scientific Blogging

Remember, you are what you eat. So eat curry:

Turmeric, an Asian spice found in many curries, has a long history of use in reducing inflammation, healing wounds and relieving pain, but can it prevent diabetes? Since inflammation plays a big role in many diseases and is believed to be involved in onset of both obesity and Type 2 diabetes, Drew Tortoriello, M.D., an endocrinologist and research scientist at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at Columbia University Medical Center, and his colleagues were curious what effect the herb might have on diabetic mice.
Eat Curry, Lose Weight? | Scientific Blogging
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Euro 2008

If Spain beats the Russians, I will most-likely win the Euro Pool that I went in. I am currently in the lead, and I have 3 of the final four. The guy behind me also has three of the final four, but chances are good he didn't pick Turkey. So he has the same teams as me. The only possible difference that could make a difference is that one other semi final game. But I don't know.

Incidentally, Gavin slept well last night. And by well, I mean well for a 15 day old.


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Monday, June 23, 2008

RIP George




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Sunday, June 22, 2008

A few good shots

Even though this picture seems to suggest that Autumn doesn't love holding Gavin, she does. She loves kissing him, and doing it all "by self".



He, of course, just wants to eat and poop. So he doesn't mind a little fun posing.




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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ah sleep

How I miss thee. For close to a full year, I've enjoyed you, uninterrupted. Sure, there was a time, a few weeks before Gavin, where Autumn acted up and didn't sleep.

But that passed. And it was a blip on an otherwise good year full of sleep. With the little dude, the sleep party is over.

This, of course, isn't news. We had rough nights with Autumn, so we knew there would be every night like this. Still, the sudden and complete end of uninterrupted sleep is now taking it's toll.

worse still, dad spent 5 hours in a car yesterday driving to and fro Syracuse. And tomorrow, I'll spend 5 hours in a place flying to Charlotte and back.

Gonna be a long week.

On a separate note, you might also note the little widget on the left hand side of this blog that counts down Autumn's birthday. If you would like to add a birthday wish to Autumn, you can do so in the comments on Saturday, or you can send me something and I'll post it to her for her. It's up to you.


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Monday, June 16, 2008

This little piggy -- Autumn and Gavin



Our little kids.



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Um, hello




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Snappy Comebacks to Rude Breastfeeding Remarks

Sometimes people seem compelled to ask you questions and make observations about things that are really none of their business. Breastfeeding is one of those things. Here are a few tips for dealing with unwanted input.Here’s a little head’s up for you: from the moment you become pregnant until your “child” retires, people are going to offer their advice. You can’t necessarily control what they say, but you can control how you react and what you say.Here are a few scenarios for you to think about and decide how you might respond.
Snappy Comebacks to Rude Breastfeeding Remarks - Type-A Mom
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This little piggy


This little piggy, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Autumn playing this little piggy. We have video, stay tuned.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Dad and Gavin


Dad and Gavin, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Here we are

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Gavin Created

Multi media dad.




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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Dad and Gavin


Dad and Gavin, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Autumn Cassidy


Autumn Cassidy, originally uploaded by MRHames.

This is to get a sense of the two of them. This was Autumn at 5 days.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Gavin is sleeping


Gavin is sleeping, originally uploaded by MRHames.

He sleeps a lot. That's a good thing.

Monday, June 09, 2008

Autumn kissing Gavin


Autumn kissing Gavin, originally uploaded by MRHames.

This is the first kiss of many.

Gavin


Gavin, originally uploaded by MRHames.

Not much else to say

Autumn meets Gavin

She's getting really good at saying 'Baby Gavin'.

Also good at giving him a kiss, but you'll see that later.





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Sunday, June 08, 2008

Roger Federer speaks French at French Open

French Open (tennis)Image via WikipediaSeems obvious that he would be speaking French at the French Open. But I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone who can speak English speak another language altogether. And it made me wonder: usually, people speak English for the TV audience. But what if the US audience isn't as important to success anymore? I hate to get all political, but 7 years of the Bush has impacted a lot of things. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I've never seen this. The European Union is a powerful entity, and speaking French in France is respecting it.

In the US, unless there's an American in the final, this isn't that compelling. Even though it really is very compelling. It's the 3rd straight final of two of the best players of our generation. It was fun to watch.

I think I am reading too much into it. I need a nap.

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Boys are different

They kept telling us not tow worry about his scrotum. It was, and this is no exaggeration, the size of a major league baseball. Apparently, it fills with fluids in the womb. It was a little freaky.

Eventually though, it goes down. Now, after almost two days, it's a little bigger than a golf ball. But it's still in the way when changing a diaper. You have to move it all around to get access to the poop.

While we're on the topic of his package, today they clip it. He goes under the knife to be circumcised. We'll keep you posted.

Oh, and so far, he hasn't peed on us.



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Friday, June 06, 2008

Gavin Mathew Hames

At 9:38AM, they pulled Gavin out of his mom's belly. But before we get into that, you should hear about last night.

Since we knew the 'section' was scheduled for 9:00AM, we decided to use a gift certificate and have a fancy meal. Things were fine. Until dessert. That's when the contractions began.

Some narly ones as well. The kind that knocked Rhona for a loop. When she told me that we were going to have to get the dessert to go, I knew the contractions were badies. This is her favorite dessert of all time. This is the dessert that she savors. She doesn't take it home.

Anyway, for all of Thursday night, we experienced debilitating contractions about every 8 minutes. Meaning, we got no sleep. In the morning, we thought perhaps the little dude was gonna make it under the wire. That he really was coming out. But no. She wasn't dilating, so in they went. And out he came. Happy, as you can see:

He's a trip. With Autumn, there's aren't any random parts that can simply pee all over the place at any given time. With Gavin, that's on the table. In fact, immediately upon being placed on the table, we peed on the nurse:

"Plumbing works" she said, wiping the pee off her shirt.

He's little (although big), and awesome. We're gonna have some fun. And we promise more pictures.





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Wednesday, June 04, 2008

The gauntlet is down

Little buddy, little buddy. You've got 36 hours to come out on your own. Your mom and I would love to meet you today, or tomorrow, but we will meet you Friday morning a little after 9:00AM. That's when they're coming in for you.

So think about it. Join us soon, okay buddy?


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For Rhona




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NASA - Sunset on Mars

NASA - Sunset on Mars

Holy freakin' cool. What a cool shot that is.
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Why waiting sucks

Each morning, you think this is the day. And at the end of the day, there's a palpable sense of disappointment. It's not something we want to be with the little fella. We know that he'll come out when he's good and ready (or when we're good and ready to start the process on his behalf).

But still. When countless people tell you that the second one always comes early, even being on time feels late. So late feels otherworldly late.

For about a week now (almost mirroring the lateness), Autumn hasn't been sleeping well. When we put her down, she's taken to throwing everything out of her crib, and then crying for the very things she tossed out of her crib.

Pillow goes to the floor, and seconds later, she's crying for her pillow. So, on Monday night I asked her what was up. She cried: "Baby coming."

Now, you can take that one of two ways.

The first, she's pissed off that a baby is coming. She's acting out to get attention because the baby is coming to knock her off the only child pedestal. And that just might be the right answer to the nightly kerfuffle.

But there's another way to look at things (hint, there always is another way to look at things).

Autumn doesn't often use words like when, where, what. Sure, she says things like "Wha dat?", and "Where Mommy?". But what is she was actually saying "Baby coming?" as in,
"when's baby coming?"

She's a clever girl. And I think she can sense the impatience of her mommy and daddy. And that impatience is leading to frustration (at times). And perhaps she's then feeding off the frustration we're experiencing. She doesn't know how to verbalize this frustration, so she uses the action she has come to associate this feeling: namely, tossing things.

When thought of this way, we're a complete unit waiting on a little boy. Buddy, we can't wait to meet ya.


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Monday, June 02, 2008

Come out, come out, wherever you are

Actually, little dude, I know where you are. You're still in your mum's belly. You were due to come out on Friday, and it's now Monday. We'd love to meet you. And we'd love to introduce you to Autumn. I think you'll like her, she's gonna be a great Big Sister.

So, quick muckin' about and get out. Okay.

Dad.


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Sunday, June 01, 2008

Top ten favorite things Autumn says

#10: "Boobie". When Autumn gets a bobo, she sometimes calls it a boobie. I gotta little boobie, she'll say, pointing to her elbow.


#9: "So Pretty". Put a dress on her and she'll tell you that she's so pretty. She usually is so pretty, so it works.


#8: "Hite dere". If you point to a cow in a picture and ask Autumn, "Where is the cow?", she'll point to it and say right there.


#7: "Outside". The first no-binky rule we made was no binky's outside. When she says no binky's outside, she really emphasizes the outside part.


#6: "Airplane!" She never just says Airplane. She always screams it.


#5: "By self". We have a little independent peanut. She likes to do things "by self."


#4: "Watch this". Daddy watch this. Mommy watch this. Anytime she's up to no good, she's kind enough to tell us to watch. Also, when jumping on bed.


#3: "I'm okay". If she takes a little tumble, she gets up and says I'm okay, almost under her breath.

#2: "Oh my god". A few times, when changing a diaper, I said oh my god. It was the kind of poopy that justifies an oh my god. She picked it up though.


#1: "Autumn". Just about everything here she starts with Autumn. Autumn so pretty. Autumn by self. She speaks in the third person, which is kind of cool.

Of course, there are many more. When she says Daddy, I melt. When she says Daddy I love you, it's simply the greatest thing. She also says mommy, and I love you mommy enough to bring a tear to your eye. And some days, like little toddlers, she says some of the funniest things. But this is my list of the things she says rather consistently.



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