avablog

It seemed like a good idea at the time. We were all upstairs, bathing and feeding and getting ready for bed. I took Emmett into Ava’s room and sat with him for a bit. He kept craning his neck to see the big ladybug nightlight Ava keeps on her bed. So I set Emmett on the bed in a seated position and watched as he manhandled the ladybug for a bit. He’s really getting this sitting thing down.
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As I type this, Ava is off at her first sleepover at her friend Aaron’s house. Leah’s taking it pretty well, especially after Ava dismissed her almost completely offhand when Leah dropped Ava off. The event seemed auspicious enough that I should take a picture of it, so I did.*

* I know. You’re saying, “What event, pray, is inauspicious enough that you not take a picture of it?” I hear ya.

Lamest post title ever? Probably so. I figure you should be used to it by now.

Leah’s just back from the doctor’s office with Emmett, who has his very first ear infection. His big sis, you may recall, was positively plagued by them in her first year or so of life. Then she got tubes put in and hasn’t suffered an ear infection since. Our pediatrician tells us we’ll have to wait until Emmett gets at least a couple infections before thinking about getting him tubes; that’s going to be a long wait if this winter shapes up to be anything like Ava’s first winter. Feh. Kids. What’re you gonna do? If only I could quit smoking at home, we probably wouldn’t have this problem.

Gosh, I hope this isn’t too lousy….

Part of this set.

My dearest little one:

Life isn’t fair, is it? Here we’ve spent hours and days writing odes of love to your sister, and all we’ve given you are some lousy “moment of cuteness” photo posts! I think this brief Emmett update is long overdue.
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But I somehow manage to carry on.

Emmett and Leah (and Ava, again) are still home sick today. When I went home for lunch yesterday, I got some pictures of the boy with my 100mm macro lens. They turned out OK.

Make popcorn. This is how we always used to make popcorn when I was little, before air poppers and microwaveable bags. Ava and I popped some yesterday and then tucked in to watch Willy Wonka (Wilder Willy Wonka, not Depp Willy Wonka). Actually, Leah and Ava tucked in to watch the movie while I walked Emmett around in the Baby Ba-jorn.

If I were shooting film, would I be more responsible with my shot selection? Maybe. Money is a big motivator. Let’s hope I never have to find out.

Leah keeps threatening me she’s going to set up an appointment at Flash for a family portrait. I hate Flash. I might as well get that out there right now. Anyway, I’m telling her not to do it, that I’ll take the shots. She’s unconvinced. So I set up a little studio in the living room this afternoon and imposed on the kids — who’re both sick — to sit for some shots for me. Witness:

Now, it’s one thing to get these two in a shot, and a complete other thing to get us all in a shot. But I’m emboldened. I have to take a lint roller to my backdrop, but other than that, I’m ready to go….

Oh, lastly: I’ll never tell what I had to do to get these smiles.

Sometimes I get a picture of Ava I love more than others. Last night I came across one of those. Dunno if it’s the pose, or the look on her face, or what, but this image just speaks to me.

I wonder if there’s a costume in the world that could be less scary than this one. Maybe a cotton ball costume. That said, if you do happen to have some strong fear of cows, please, avert thine eyes now.

I took this shot the other day on a lark. Sometimes pictures just show up on my laptop and I have no idea where they came from.

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Lots and lots of cuteness going around this weekend. Kinda like the flu, only I can’t seem to catch it. A couple choice shots for your enjoyment. First, our big girl:

Next, the NKOTB:

All together now:

Sometimes, when I’m contemplating a blog post (which, honest, occurs much more frequently than the posting here suggests), I wonder if I dare delve as deeply into cliche as I have a mind to. I quietly debate the merits of cliche. And as you long-time readers know, I almost never pull myself out of this nosedive before I begin typing. Why should today be any different….
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Emmett’s turn. Also from this past weekend in Madison, this time at the Riley Tavern.

We spent the weekend in Madison with Leah’s sister and her husband. Had lots of fun, as usual, but didn’t end up getting as many photos as I would’ve liked. When isn’t that the case?

OK, so Emmett was clearly caught unawares on the first go here, but it didn’t take him long to come around.

This is our boy.

It was my favorite marble, out of all the treasured ones I kept in that faded denim bag with the red drawstring. It was one of my “shooter” marbles, and it was clear, with a beautiful blue swirl frozen inside the glass like smoke. I loved to hold it, rolling the smooth, pure-blue beauty of it against my palms. At the time, I couldn’t imagine that any other shade of blue would ever be so lovely.
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Fine, fine. Chalk up my failed experiment to hubris (Danny’s too good a person to say, “I told you so”), but I’ve merged anonymark and avablog into this blog now, which may or may not remain under its present name. anonymark has a redirect in effect, but you may as well delete that bookmark, if ya have it. Enjoy!