avablog

Fire up your VCDVRs for Friday night, as The IT Crowd is making its triumphant return to the BBC. Catch it before NBC ruins it forever….

Maybe we’ve been going about this name business all wrong. Did you know “Ava” means “bird-like?” Now that we’re thinking about names again, I’ve been considering how Ava is like a bird. She’s not, really. I don’t think we ever really made the bird connection in the first place, we just liked the name. And we thought it was relatively rare. There were 91 babies named Ava in 2003, the year before our daughter was born; that was the 28th most popular name. 2004? 116 and 18th place. 2005? 188 for 5th. 260 and 2nd place in 2006, and last year, all the way to the top spot with 281 baby girls named Ava in Iowa.
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From our stroll out at Squire Point yesterday afternoon. It got kind of cold and nasty, but Ava had fun. Can’t say the same for Leah….

Leah and I had an ultrasound appoint this morning as part of the genetic screening they do now. Our technician was very bubbly and friendly, which, as those of you who know Leah understand, perfectly suits my wife’s personality. We marveled at all the detail we could see on the little baby growing in Leah’s belly, and we asked a fair number of questions about how on Earth anyone can possibly make out some of the things they make out in those images. Thankfully, the news from the ultrasound was good for us and our little sprout. Everything’s measuring normally, and the little heart is beating away at 154 bpm.
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The local farmers market moved indoors today for a special holiday edition. It was pretty neat. The weather outside was trending frightful, so it was nice to browse the stands in the comfort of a heated space. As it turns out, it’s the same venue where Ava has her swimming lessons. After acquiring her bag of cinnamon kettle korn, she set up camp on the bench outside the pool area and regaled passers by with tales of her aquatic exploits. Seen here mid-regale:

Fetus Cookie Cutter

The need inside you
I see it showin’
Whoa, the seed inside ya
Baby, do you feel it growin’
Are you happy you know it
That you’re Havin’ my baby

–P. Anka

Believe it or not, I really do try to keep my opinions to myself when I determine they might hurt someone else’s feelings. I know, I know. “Bulls*#t!,” you say. But it’s true. That said, this just weirds me the heck out. WAY out. I feel like I should apologize for that, but I can’t do it.

We do miss her old daycare, on occasion.

They tell me this is an image of the foetus inside Leah. Sorta looks like a little ghost to me.

I gotta get another blog set up…maybe after next week; we have a couple appointments coming up.

No, not ours, silly. Baby Bowlus/Edelen, of course! Leah, Ava, and Grandma Georgie ditched me last night to go visit the new bundle of joy, whose name is Alice. Though you can’t tell it so much from this picture, I’m assured she’s just as beautiful as her mother is:

Not surprisingly, Ava was thrilled with the newborn. She’s as excited as ever to have a little sister (a little brother, not so much). I’m beginning to think that another girl in the house would be a suitable punishment — or at least a real good start on one — for all my past sins.

Actually recommending that Leah go buy something from Old Navy? Am I daft?! I think not:

Charley Harper Illustrated Tees for Baby

So. Cool. I wish they had them in my size. They’re gorgeous.

Via DaddyTypes.

…how difficult it would be just to know all the time that everything’s going to be all right? I mean, we can put a man on the moon and recreate the Big Bang underground in Switzerland, but I can’t rest easy in the knowledge that the little baby growing in my wife’s belly is going to make it through the next six months without incident. Stupid science and nature. Maybe the world really is only 6,000 years old, and dinosaurs and humans used to live together like on Land of the Lost.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

I love it when the Internet does my Christmas shopping for me.

Merry Christmas, Leah!

My friend Mark and I took a photo walk today. The idea’s simple: Grab a camera and walk around. Sounds easy, yes? We started out downtown, then took a drive west of town to a junkyard I’ve been wanting to shoot for years. I learned two things today: There’s a lot more graffiti in my town than you might think, and I could spend a day taking pictures of junk automobiles. The Flickr set holding my portion of the adventure is here. And a sample, for those looking to save some time:

Ava made a tiger mask at school and has had great fun wearing it and growling at us. She has claws, too.

We broke the news about the new baby to Ava this morning. We figured if you all knew, she may as well know, too. She was excited but didn’t seem quite sure what to make of the revelation. After Leah got out her baby book and showed Ava pictures of what the fetus looks like now, I took Ava aside for a chat. I explained that we didn’t know if she was going to have a little brother or little sister. Her countenance fell a bit when I mentioned the word “brother.” She seemed pretty certain that it was going to be a little girl. Leah and I tried to explain the virtues of each scenario, but I don’t think we did much to sway Ava from her preference. Too many “mean” boys at preschool these days, I guess.
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Leah insists that her current wardrobe is no longer adequate to effectively conceal the action going on in her belly, so, in lieu of an entirely new wardrobe, I give you “Palmberg/Klevar Child #2:”

Mark your calendars: May 28

I wonder how difficult it is to run two blogs off the same virtual domain. We can’t very well have the new kid going through life blogless, now, can we?

I was unloading groceries in the driveway the other day when the neighbor across the street yelled me down. He’d seen the Obama sign in my front yard and wondered if I’d have any interest in taking a look at the t-shirts he was selling out of the back of his car. I’ve always been a sucker for a t-shirt sold out of the back of a car, so I walked over to see his goods.
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Received while at her Gramary’s on Saturday afternoon.

There had been little jewels stuck to each nail, too, but those didn’t make it to Sunday, when this picture was taken.

What a gorgeous weekend. I guess there won’t be too many more like this before the snow flies.

Stay golden.