things i love wednesday: this video

i really hate beyonce, but this baby cracks me up. i can't wait till langley can dance like this...but she'll do it to far better music.

UPDATE: apparently that video isn't viewable anymore, but i'm leaving it up in case it ever becomes so again because it is fantastic.

random photo monday: dogs love RVs...as long as they have beds

champagne thursday: toast #47

it's been a long time since i've posted anything because the whitney family thought it would be a fabulous idea to drive to flagstaff last friday, in two cars with four dogs and a baby, rent an RV and camp out at the annual Pickin' in the Pines event until monday. because we're just that ridiculous. and here's what our weekend looked like:

we had to bundle LP up at night because it was freezing, even though we were able to turn the heat on for short stretches.

we got to the show saturday just in time for it to spontaneously hail. lucky for langley, her car seat and stroller canopies acted together to fully enclose her in a little bubble of protection.

and finally, we learned that she is not so much a fan of eating outside. the concept was completely lost on her.

more photos to come...

things i love wednesday: this guy

i saw this guy at the dreaded wal-mart the other night, and his hairstyle almost made the trip worthwhile. i couldn't snap a photo surreptitiously, but this is an artist's rendering my really sad drawing:

thank you, crazy-haired wal-mart guy, for turning an otherwise depressing shopping experience into a truly enjoyable evening.

random photo monday: clean wine glasses

ever since langley was born and we got this handy drying rack for her bottles, suddenly mama doesn't battle daddy for who is going to hand wash and dry the "good" wine glasses. why does it seem like less of a pain just because there's a rack to dry them on? and what would child protective services say about this practice?

things i love wednesday: uninterrupted sleep!!!!

that headline really did require four exclamation points because LANGLEY SLEPT FOR EIGHT STRAIGHT HOURS LAST NIGHT!!!! i've never felt such unadulterated joy and restfulness. god, i love that child! here's hoping we can repeat this phenomenon every now and then...

langley at three months: introducing special guest author papadog

Dear Pipes,

You were officially 3 months old yesterday and my how far you and I have come. Long gone are the baby burrito days, and you are now holding your head up, smiling and laughing, and you even recognize your mom and dad when you see us. It is so amazing to come into your room and have you look right at me and start to smile.

You and I have been spending quite a bit of time together. Mostly we see each other after 5 PM which unfortunately happens to be your fussy time. Lately we have started the 8 PM bath ritual which you absolutely love. After I have washed you all up, I put one hand behind your head and you just love to swim and float around the tub. The other great thing about this is that you come out pretty tired and ready for a little milk and then off to bed. We do not get to see each other again until between 2 and 3 AM. We hang out for your middle of the night feeding and watch movies off Netflix while you eat, or lately we watch CLE online so that your daddy can keep his law license. Recently we began watching Clockwork Orange, which I have never seen, and I immediately regretted watching it with you. I think the next movie will be a Pixar flick because we are rapidly approaching the time when everything is going to have to be Langley appropriate. This also causes me great concern considering that your daddy curses just about every other word. Please don’t hold it against me if your first word is fffff.....fudge......well, you know what I mean.

We are getting ready to transition your mom back to work full-time/part-time, and while I am really excited about having your mom back to take some of the load off me at work, I know she is not pleased to have to leave you. Luckily you have your Gran in town and she is going to take time off from work to take care of you on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Even with this handy arrangement it is likely that you will be at least partially raised in a criminal defense law office. I think you will have the opportunity to hear and see some pretty interesting things. I hope you will ask plenty of questions and that I will think of some way to explain things to you. I also picture you being a pretty talkative kid and can envision you giving repeat clients lectures about shoplifting, drinking and their continued drug use.

Oh, by the way - you had your first Red Sox jersey on the other day and then laid on the couch with me and watched your first Red Sox game. This was a very proud moment for me and you actually seemed to be pretty interested in the game. (Note from Mamadog: Puh-lease! She just likes the different colors on the giant TV screen. Once she realizes she's watching baseball, she'll be all "MOM!! Can I please hang out with YOU instead?!")

You must know that one of the best things about you is mornings when you are sleepy but not quite ready to go to sleep on your own, and you fall asleep on my chest. I lay in the bed with the covers wrapped around the two of us and Mommy and all the dogs are in the bed too and you just lay quietly and sleep.

You went on your first trip to Las Vegas and did really well on the drive and also loved staying in the hotel room. We are being pretty ambitious for your next outing and taking you to Flagstaff for a weekend of camping in an RV with all four dogs at Pickin’ in the Pines bluegrass festival. You are a pretty adventurous and portable little tike, and I think you are up to this challenge.

You have been the greatest little baby even when you drive me to the breaking point and the verge of insanity with your high pitched screams. I could not be happier to have you in our life and can’t wait to see what you will do next. I love you.

Love, Daddy

champagne thursday: toast #46

yesterday, bryan and i celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. and how did we celebrate? did we take my mom up on her offer to watch the baby while we went out to a nice, romantic dinner? oh no, no. we spent it with someone who decided to have an attack of the fusses during a business outing that made it impossible for me to want to drop her off at gran's house in such a state. but she looked like this when she was doing it, so how could we be mad?

random photo monday: what everybody's thinking

our thanks to anicca for the perfect onesie...

things i love wednesday: father/daughter bonding

i walked in on this scene the other day and had to shoot some photos of bryan commiserating with LP.

random photo monday: sweet babydog

this photo just kills me.

random photo monday: naughty water

we volunteer at a local no-kill dog shelter, and the last time i worked a shift there, i found this sitting on a chair in the breezeway.

langley at two months

dear little boognish,

last sunday you turned eight weeks old, and your grandparents were here to witness it. i swear, in just the one week they were visiting, you managed to become a completely different baby than the week before. you’re smiling on purpose more often, you’re cooing, and sweet jesus, are you gaining control of that bobble head of yours. we barely have to support it anymore - you just wobble it all around like a little champ. it’s incredible. we even started putting you in your bumbo, although we have to keep our hands at the ready in case you decide to try to whip your head around a bit too much.

a few days after your two-month milestone, we took you out on the lake on a pontoon boat. with malichai. and five adults who were drinking alcohol. i know! we are crazy. about five minutes in, we thought we’d made possibly the worst decision of our lives, but once we got out on the open water, you seemed pretty cool with the whole situation. there you were, just hanging out on a boat in your diaper, lounging in your bassinet and taking bottles from whoever wasn’t swimming with the dog at the moment. your dad took you into the lake with him, although thankfully he didn’t try to make you swim. but you seemed to enjoy getting your feet wet and having water dripped on you a bit. later, you even let us go to a restaurant and eat lunch without making a scene. you were truly a great little traveler, which stands to reason considering your mother’s childhood and the fact that you were forced onto several cramped planes, including some rather scary turboprop planes, while you were cooking in the womb just so your mama could go see a band play in virginia.

the past few weeks, you have grown increasingly interested in the ceiling in general and ceiling fans in particular. your grandpa decided this must be because you are an alien from a planet far away where ceiling fans are your gods. whenever you would start to fuss, grandpa would just carry you into the living room and point out the fan, and there the two of you would worship for a good half hour. i think maybe grandpa’s been hanging out with your dad and me a bit too long, making up ridiculous back stories like that. i can’t even imagine the things you will try to tell your classmates and teachers someday. i have a feeling we might spend a lot of time in parent-teacher conferences trying to explain why our daughter told susie that her barbie doll was once a taiwanese hooker with a major heroin addiction but later went on to teach blind lepers how to make lace doilies for aged carnies in retirement homes. i hope those teachers have a great sense of humor!

love,

mamadog

ps - you’re wearing some of your six-month clothes already. please stop growing up so fast!

champagne thursday: toast #45

ah, the grandparents. they've given bryan and me a nice little vacation by coming out for a visit and doing so much with the baby. things like tiring her out to the point that she sleeps for 7 1/2 hours straight, without so much as a peep.

random photo monday: aiko's haircut

aiko was shorn like a sheep the other day, and she's never been happier...until her dad used that phrase, and her poor little ears perked up and she looked all expectant, and we realized that she still remembered the word for her favorite toy when she was a puppy. her guts-ripped-out-many-many-moons-ago favorite toy. sorry, aiko.