First Haircut

No ... he's not a grand wizard of the KKK ... it's just a cute post-bath shot before his haircut.

For those of you who care, I ran the Austin Marathon today in a disappointing time of 3:20. Disappointing mainly because I was feeling great through 8 miles and then developed a blister on my right heels and then my left foot. I'm an idiot as I wore shoes that I've had for over a month, but never ran more than 7 miles in. This threw my stride off and eventually caused me to start limping by the 13 mile mark. It was all downhill from there as I kolesared (walked) multiple times and kolesared (whined) like a little kid. Still, I finished and have a cheesy finisher's shirt and medal. Next marathon is Burlington, Vermont in May. Hopefully I'll be able to redeem myself in my former state.

So the bigger news is that we finally cut Anderson's hair. It was getting so long that it was going into his eyes: people were asking if he was Jerry Garcia. Or liked Cherry Garcia ice cream. It was hard to tell for certain. Regardless, this was a sign that he was looking like a hippie and we cut his hair.

Natalie broke out the scissors and the event was recorded for posterity. To his credit, he didn't cry and pretty much smiled throughout. One of the daycare people said that Anderson is the happiest baby she's ever seen, so either we're doing something right or he's got some extra happiness genes. Either way, we'll take it.

Natalie, who is sick with some viral syndrome, holding locks of Anderson's hair.

My feet hurt and I'm going to quit writing so I can soak (and sulk) for a while.

Troubles with "Sleepy Sleepy Time"

If you use your imagination you can see the tooth on his lower gum ...

A few of things before I get to Anderson.

First, I'll be running the Austin Marathon tomorrow. You can follow me by going to www.mychiptime.com and putting in my race/bib number (5076). This will allow you to see me fall apart on the hills and in the wind. I'll try to do an update after the race to tell you all how horrible it was.

Next, I find it interesting that Hillary Clinton's support is from non-educated, working class people and immigrants. I'm not sure how much a person who can write her campaign a check for $5 million understands the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart. Oh ... she used to be on the corporate board of Wal-Mart for 6 years, so I guess she understands. But she gave back a $5000 contribution from Wal-Mart because she doesn't agree with the company's practices. Wouldn't you like to see her tax returns? Good luck ... she won't release them. Obama has.

Now to Anderson. He indeed has a tooth now, and it's razor-sharp and he's learning to bite. And he's reached that developmental milestone of being able to flip onto his stomach from his back.

You'd think that would be a great thing. But ... well, see for yourself.

Hmm ... should he sleep comfortably and peacefully in this position?
Nope ... but he looks comfortable. Initially.
But then he realizes that he can't turn back over. Have I mentioned in the past that he hates "tummy time" more than anything else?

It all goes downhill from here. Crying. Sobbing. Wailing. Wishing he never came out of the womb. Finally, submission and loss of consciousness ....

Perhaps a tooth?

Anderson after contemplating solutions for global warming ...

Natalie and I at Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan, shortly before being pregnant. We were there for her brother's wedding and just developed these pictures from a disposable camera. Of note, Anderson seems to like cookies. Hmmm ...

Anderson is grumpy. But first, a couple of observations and insights into my character.

As I was dropping off Anderson at daycare, I drove by a middle school on the way and saw a gym class. Middle school kids - probably 12 years old or so - and the future was clear as day. The kids were outside and doing a loop around a grass field. About a third were running/jogging, while the remainder were walking. In the back were the obese kids. And you could just see them in 30 years. These are the kids that will likely be morbidly obese and draining the country of its resources (although a European study says obesity actually saves society money because they die at an early age) and not contributing to society. The kids running will be the go-getters, I suspect. Just a guess, but it would be a great longitudinal study to do.

Next, I've noticed that I get an odd sense of accomplishment when I get to the end of a container of deodorant, or when I reach the end of a tube of toothpaste. Bizarre, but true. Some measure their life in years, while I measure mine in units of "Right Guard". Does anyone else get this odd satisfaction? Sad, and perhaps a reflection that I need to do more in my life before the next container is used.

So Anderson has been having a rough go of it lately. First, his ear infections are now on their third round of antibiotics. The first two didn't taste terrible (I think he actually liked the augmentin) but this one must taste like yak urine. He gags and contorts his body whenever we give it. I think he's secretly plotting our deaths for this one. In addition, he's been drooling profusely and has the beginnings of a tooth coming in. Good for him. Bad for Natalie, who is still breast-feeding. It's good to be a guy. Natalie wants to continue breast-feeding until the beginning of May, when we will be returning from a trip to Slovakia (and Prague and Paris.) Good luck ...

Here's some more Anderson pictures, including some when Natalie's dad (Amadeus) came to visit.

An argument against evolution

Anderson attempting to eat bananas ...

We're still getting settled in here and decided, since the avocado experiment went so well (see previous post), that we would try a new food ... bananas. I would be rather happy to be Gilligan marooned on an island with a stash of banana and pineapple trees. So I figured Anderson would be okay with it as well. It's mushy, sweet and everything babies should like.

He looked at me as if I were poisoning him when the first spoon hit his mouth. Some crying ensued, but then he seemed to actually like it for a while, going as far to grab my hand and pull it in. Then the meltdown began. A whimper. A cry. A scream and banana spewing across the room. I yelled for Natalie to come out of the shower. Not to help, but to take the picture you see above. That's a slurry of banana, snot and tears on his face. Classic.

Other news. Our friends Nieta and Steve had their 2nd baby a few days ago. I don't think Ian was born in a Buick, but it's quite possible that he was, as Nieta had a very short labor. Don't know the details yet.

And Diana (Natalie's sister) finally got engaged. She's been waiting for this for a long time and assumed that it was essentially a given that she and Aaron would be getting married. They live together and have a veritable Noah's ark of pets that they parent. Freaky animal people? No ... they're both vets. Anyway, Aaron asked Natalie's parents for permission in October (I didn't ... they probably would have said no) but just asked the question a week ago. This is how it wenmt, according to Natalie: (Guy kudos to him)

As they were driving by a nice church before he proposed, Diana mentioned, "That would be a great church to get married in."

Aaron's response? "Or we could go bicycling!"

Cold. And brilliant. A+ on the set-up and being able to deadpan that one.

Here are some happy Anderson pictures ...

Bath time with his Winnie the Pooh towel.

Inner thought: "I'm smiling because I can't see how effeminate my outfit is."