avablog

Wow. Just…wow.

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Leah’s such a romantic. Today she booked a room for us at the Captain Merry in East Dubuque, IL for our anniversary. It looks like a really cool place. I think I’ve already picked out what I’m having for dinner; who could pass up a ribeye/antelope combo? I don’t get enough antelope. EDIT: Forget what […]

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OK. Deep, dark parental admission time: I never really wanted to have a boy. And I’m not sure why not. It’s not that I was hoping we wouldn’t have a boy. I was indifferent as to the matter of sex when our baby was growing in Leah’s womb; I just wanted the baby to be […]

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This is the 7,000th image I’ve uploaded to flickr: Coulda been better, coulda been worse. Over half of those images are of Ava, so if you’re not on my friends or family list or otherwise connected, you’re missing out.

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Just buy the Planet Earth DVDs already, would you? What are you waiting for? I could go on and on about the videography, the production values, the wildlife scenes, the score, etc., but probably the best testimonial I can muster is that Leah actually endured (and even appeared rapt by) a long segment that featured […]

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I’m looking forward to next month. There’s a lot going on. I’ve always looked forward to September, as it’s my birth month (go Virgo, it’s your birthday). But over the last couple years I’ve managed to heighten September’s importance through sheer determination and shrewd strategic planning. First was the wedding: September 6th. Then the baby: […]

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Now Ava’s streak is going in the other direction. Two bedtime accidents in a row! I got her to go potty twice last night right before bed, but she still had an accident. It doesn’t seem right to put her back into pull-ups now, after she had been doing so well, and I guess it’s […]

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So I’m lying with Ava last night at bedtime after reading her a couple books, and of course I doze off. Must’ve been around 9:30 or so. Some time later, I awoke in a clammy start in her little single bed and felt the side of my t-shirt. Wet. Did her water bottle leak? I […]

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It’s not something I created, but I figured it was time for an overhaul. Stick with me. There’s some changes need to be made, and I’ll make them as quickly as I can. — The Management PS — The header image is a small shout out to my dear SIL, who’s in the middle of […]

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How could I have missed posting about this until now? The night of Sunday, August 12, 2007, Ava slept all night in her big girl underpants for the first time and woke up the next morning dry as a bone (same as the sheets).  It was quite a milestone, and Ava was thrilled as we […]

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Kind Reader: I appreciate your patience during our prolonged absence. I anticipate our vacation will be just the thing to allow me to attack this blog with renewed vigor as summer draws to a close. On the drive to Decorah on Sunday, we stopped at a rest area to have a stretch. There was a […]

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We’re heading home on Sunday and will arrive back in I.C. on Monday. I understand it’s been very hot, muggy, and rainy in Iowa City while we’ve been gone. Makes me hesitant to mention it’s been about 80, dry, and sunny here every day. If it makes you feel any better, I’m sure I’ll have […]

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We’re on our way north, which is fine with me.  The temps here down below look like they’re going to continue to climb into the 90s over the next week, while it’s going to be in the upper 60s where we’ll be on Tuesday.  Rain, maybe, but who cares? Marital issue:  We arrived in Decorah […]

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“Wait staff who don’t write down my order.” Clue for said wait staff: Any admiration you might engender in me with your ability to “remember” my order at the table is totally trumped by my having to eat a cajun shrimp po’ boy instead of the Cuban pork sandwich I ordered. Save the showmanship for […]

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Ava talks. And talks and talks and talks. She has a pretty good vocabulary (I don’t have anything to measure it against, but it seems impressive to me for a three-year-old), and her pronunciation is surprisingly sharp (Leah noted with due parental affection last evening how cute it is that Ava pronounces “belly” as “bewwy”).

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