I'll never...

One of my favorite James Bond movies suggested that you "never say never again" and I have proved that twice in the last week. My first was entering a movie theater at 9'oclock in the morning, something that just doesn't feel right to begin with, and then when confronted with Elmo and about 30 moms it felt even less so. It would appear I am one of the few and proud dads that can make an Elmo run on a random Wednesday morning. Then a week later I find myself playing the "where's your belly button, now where's my belly button" game in seat 20C of a regional jet streaking home on a Monday morning surrounded by 90 business professionals all headed to the capital for a busy work week. It turns out, both for Sydney and I, this is a whole new world of experiences.

Carry Me

To be honest, we probably pick her up too much when she should be walking around, but if this face is looking up at you, what choice do you really have? :)

Precocious?

I don't know if it's possible for a 16 month old to be sassy, but this picture was taken moments after I specifically indicated that, "We don't try to eat the floor and we don't lick the handle on your play baby stroller." Mmmmm...stroller handle.

Bring a Friend!

After her first visit, Sydney couldn't wait to bring a friend to the farm park, so Natalie accompanied her. For some reason, the theme song to Laverne and Shirley comes to mind when I look at this picture. Shortly after, a cow almost digested most of Natalie's shirt and it's unlikely she'll be back for some time without counseling. (Photo Credit to Maggie)

Animals

We recently took Sydney to a farm park where she was enthralled with the pigs, horses, goats and cows. She howled when a goat stuck it's tongue out and we're still not sure if she was afraid or was laughing hysterically.

Scholarship

It's never to early to start looking so Maggie and I took in Harvard Square while visiting Boston this weekend (without Sydney and during which we slept as much as possible!). We wanted to bring back pictures so she knows what Harvard looks like and we've started spelling out the word scholarship with her bath letters because we sure as hell can't afford it. I'm not even sure what it costs but as they say, "If you have to ask...." :)

Smiley

I just love a picture with a couple of big smiles.

Rock Concert

With some vacation I was finally able to join Maggie and Sydney for a Mr. Knickknack concert. There we listened to 45 minutes of what all seemed to be variations on the either the alphabet song or a song where he just pointed at children and said "You!", and they would look around confused thinking, "Me?!". Sydney clapped and had a good time pining over all the other children's toys, and watching while up on on my shoulders.

Splashing

This girl loves water and loves to splash. I caught this one outside the other day while she proceeded to soak herself and the blanket (b/c she won't stand on grass :) ) and right before she actually tried to crawl into the water part thinking that it looked like a perfectly good place for bath time.

Camping?

You might ask yourself what a picture of three guys camping would be doing on Sydney's blog. But a closer look reveals three dad's who look a bit tired after a night out in the wild under the stars. After a couple days of fishing and a night around a campfire, why no smiles? Three dads who had a night away from diapers and pureed bananas and bath time. Three dads whose only care was how rear the steak was off the grill and how good the fish were biting. But yet, no smiles. The reason is that apparently some other family nearby couldn't bear a night out without their little one, and so, on cue at 5:30 in the morning a baby started crying. I thought maybe it was my imagination and I had become so used to it that I was hearing things. It couldn't possibly be. There it was again though, louder and screaming and I woke up realizing it was actually a baby. I couldn't believe it. Only our luck and I don't think any of us really slept all that well the rest of the morning. So then here's the picture, probably caught a moment before we were actually smiling, but a better representation of what each of was thinking right about this time.

Round and Round

Her face belies the fun she's having going round and round on the carousel. Now if she even senses a carousel nearby it becomes a mighty struggle to hold her.

What's that...up in the air?

I swear that a moment earlier she was staring at the sky and pointing at something, but of course I think she's starting to pick up a sense of humor and left me looking....well, up.

Thing One and Thing Two

"I will pick up the hook.

You will see something new.
Two things. And I call them

Thing One and Thing Two.

These Things will not bite you.

They want to have fun."

Then, out of her locks came

Thing Two and Thing One!

Her hands popped up

They sprouted and grew

What were these things?

in her new hairdo.

These things should not be

In this hair! Make them go!

"They should not be here

When my father is not!

Take them out! Take them out!"

Waved the cute little tot.

(My take on Cat and the Hat, pigtails style....and Maggie gets the photo credits on this one!)

Little Friends

Sydney is already building her network of friends and we were lucky enough to have one of her North Carolina friends stop by this weekend! Here's a happy Syndey after a fun play date, and a tired Mom after the drive from North Carolina :)

Lauren - Day Three

After getting all the first visits out of the way, things were a little calmer when we stopped by yesterday. Lauren was crying a little here and there but Mike was a natural and had her pressed tight in his arms which she loved. Sydney has yet to meet her little cousin (due to a runny nose), but I showed her these photos from the visit.

Meanwhile

Meanwhile, our runny nosed bundle of joy was exploring the waiting room and discovered this big horse that kept her busy for at least 10 minutes, an eternity in the attention span of a one year old.

New Baby Lauren

Now that Mike has put some incredible photos up at the link below, I can share a couple I caught the first night!

Link To Mike's Photos

Cousin Lauren

Beautiful little Lauren was born on July 17th at 5:10p. It was Sydney's first time becoming a cousin and my first time becoming an uncle! We're both terribly excited and made this little video of our journey to the hospital.

PS..As always there some sound so be careful

Walking! Almost...

With our backs sore from walking bent over holding those two little precious hands we love, we've been trying to get her to do a little on her own. So last Saturday night standing on the beach she took a falling step in mom's direction, and then Sunday at a picnic stop on our 11 hour drive back to DC, she took a full four steps and is on the verge of a breakthrough. We were convinced this was going to happen at daycare so to have her take her first steps in front of us was a joy. This is a picture from outside the church where we picnicked. I couldn't get the actual steps as I was too busy clapping and cheering her on.

Now for another momentous move, she's moving on up to to the next room at daycare this week and today was her first time sleeping on a cot. Yes, a cot. Our little baby girl without rails. It's enough to make us faint and I think Maggie almost did leaving the center today.

Until Next Time

As with everything, she waved goodbye to the beach like a beauty queen and turned her sights to the exciting eleven hour drive ahead. It was a fun week and here are some parting photos from the last day.

Morning Rise

Before all the people, before the umbrellas....before the brightness of the sun and before the smooth sand is disturbed, there is the sunrise beach with only a few motivated souls walking and waking up. This is the beach Sydney likes and she finally got her turn to play in the sand without hoards of children running around her and the sun glaring in her eyes. She waved at passing runners and all the dogs out on their morning walk and made lots of friends in the process. Here are a few pics courtesy of Tom Priddy so I could actually be in some photos for a change :)

Beach Day!

Our second day here provided the sun and fun we were hoping for, so off to the beach we went. We had everything to make it a fun day for little one including a pop up tent to keep her out of the sun, but all the toys couldn't keep her from being a little concerned about all the action of the waves crashing and wind blowing and people talking. It was a lot for those little senses to take!

Sharks and Rays and Fishies, Oh my!

A rainy start to our beach week gave us a good excuse to take Sydney out for her first aquarium visit which she loved. We stepped onto a conveyor belt and traveled through a tube in the huge tank so the fish were all around and she couldn't stop pointing at them. Especially the big sharks!

Big Chair

In many ways Sydney wants to mimic the grown ups and points to the food we're eating, the cups we drink from and the big people chairs we sit in. We couldn't resist when we saw this one and she just loves lounging in her own chair now with her favorite pal of the week, Monkey.

Beaches

It's almost here we keep telling her. No, not like the Florida Keys of February we explain, with it's rocky shoreline and reef laden waters. No, this is the real beach she is about to experience. The wide, hot on your feet, shell scattered beach. The lay in a hammock under the cottage beach. The relax and do nothing beach. The picnic at sunset beach. The why don't we live here all the time beach. The South Carolina beach. Of course she won't really understand what we mean until she digs her own heels into the sand a few inches and feels that coolness below. She won't understand until she feels the breeze just as the sun sets behind a never ending ocean. But soon she will and I'm sure she'll never want to leave. It should make for some good pictures :)