avablog

So far, the coolest thing about having Emmett in the house is how much more I’ve come to appreciate Ava.

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I was reminded today that there haven’t been any posts to this blog in five days. And I was like, “Really?” But I see it’s true. Why would MySQL lie?

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Before I left the house this morning, I made Ava pinky promise that she’d give her mom a break today. It’s Leah’s first day home solo with both kids, and I’m sure it’ll be trying.

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Whew. This morning was a doozy. Ava was insistent that she didn’t want to go to school, and Emmett’s fussiness from last night carried over into the daylight. At one point, both kids (weird…”both kids”) were crying away downstairs, Emmett on my lap and Ava to her mom on the sofa in the TV room. […]

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I’d always considered Ava a tiny little thing. Until recently. I held her on my lap this morning for some cuddles before leaving for work, and she seemed downright huge. It was really odd to have that big hunk of kid on my legs after toting Emmett around on my forearm last night for some […]

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My sweet, sweet Ava. This has been a tough couple weeks for our little girl. It’s wonderful to watch you with your new little brother, how you kiss his brow and pat his head. We can’t wait to watch you two grow up together.

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I took a couple pictures of Leah on her due date yesterday, and Ava insisted on getting in on the action. I never dissuade her from having her picture taken. I really like how this one turned out, even if it’s miles away from the shot Leah would’ve preferred I take of our lovely little […]

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There’s not much I enjoy more than taking a stroll through the yard this time of year to see what’s going on with the garden. I try to include Ava as much as possible; watering plants, pulling weeds, dead heading. The usual. So I was eager to grab the video camera today as I ran […]

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Ava and I were sitting together on the porch yesterday, watching the rain and listening to birds while she munched on a popsicle (no, Firefox, I’m not going to capitalize “popsicle.” Grab a kleenex to wipe your tears).

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It was a great day for running through the sprinkler and then cuddling in a warm, dry towel on the porch and eating a lime popsicle. Here’s what that last part looks like:

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I took this shot a while ago and just got around to posting it. I planted this tree when we moved into our house, the thinking being that Ava and the tree could grow up together. Anyway, unlike Ava, the tree is planted in violation of city ordinances, so mum’s the word, OK? Thanks.

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Cynthia posted on her blog today about our mutual hair stylist Katie (and I’m using the royal “our” here; all my “styling” is done standing up in the laundry room with hair clippers). Katie’s great. Ava lights up for her like she does for few others. I had my videocam along this evening at the […]

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Out typical Sunday lately usually involves a trip — ordinarily on foot — to Lou Henri for breakfast. Their huevos diablo is really everything a man could want in a breakfast, particularly when ordered with a side of their insanely golden hash browns and a cup of joe. Ava orders the Mickey cakes, seen here:

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Recently Ava uttered her first words of ill will towards her unborn sibling. “Here we go,” I thought. I’d been expecting this, if only because it makes sense to me that a young child with direct and uninterrupted access to her parents’ time and love might well find the introduction of a competitor for those […]

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I took my XTi along on a short family walk last night; it felt like I hadn’t picked it up in months. But a few shots reinvigorated my love for the thing.

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Go ahead, hit the “HD” button and then launch it full screen.

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That was one of the most amazing weekends, weather-wise, ever. Wow. Would’ve been difficult to order a better one. We did our usual stuff: Farmer’s Market, Java House, yard work, long walks. My DSLR was on loan to a friend on Saturday, so I shot with my trusty Canon A620 all weekend. Gosh, that’s a […]

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My new wetware pal Danny came to town over the weekend for a soggy, slightly chilly visit. We had a small grilling session at a nearby park on Saturday afternoon, which was lots of fun. Especially nice was that all the kids were in famous spirits; it would’ve been really nice to have had Danny”s […]

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On NPR this morning, they were covering reactions to President Obama’s recent trip to the Middle East. Most accounts consider it a disappointing visit. But I wondered at this effort to fit the square peg of Democracy into the round hole of thousands of years of theocracy and sectarian struggle.

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Nice, mostly relaxing weekend at home. Here’s Ava as we prepared for our weekly walk downtown to coffee:

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