Voyages in Parenthood

Arlen Specter thinks the Eagles are vindictive toward T.O. Arlen should stick to single-bullet theories and getting better from his cancer treatments. Stay out of sports. And, you can't be mad at T.O. for what he did AND mad at the Eagles for the way they treated him for what he did to the team. Pick a side, any side. Why does our federal government need to spend money to find out if the Eagles were mean to T.O. or not?? Give it a break. It's over. So he doesn't play, he ain't losing any money sitting out these last 5 games. I wish I could make half as much as he will be for the next 5 weeks doin' nothin'. Everyone wants a piece of this T.O. stuff. I say, good riddance. Let's now concentrate on finishing out the season with a decent record and move on to next year.

Yeah, she's gonna be a redhead... Leda threw her first snit last night...and her second, third and fourth in succession! Wow, what an impressive display! Haven't a clue what precipitated it, but it was impressive. And funny! She's standing, babbling away, when all of a sudden, she's wailing and stomping her feet! The wailing almost got me, but then, the stomping of the feet...have you ever seen a 7 month old stomp their feet when they are mad...wow, that's funny! ;-) Then, she threw her head back and her body went limp and the screaming...wow, if I wasn't laughing so hard, I might have heard her! hehehe Brock came running into the room, "let me see, let me see," and she stopped. Brock wanted me to do whatever I had done to make her throw a snit so he could see it...Have no idea what I had done, she just threw a temper tantrum! At about this moment, she sat herself down and threw her little body onto the floor and kicked and screamed. We laughed! Dinner...

Wow, how time does fly! Our little girl turned 7 months old on Friday! We did recognize it, with all the packing and heading back to the city and touring the Spruce Goose and all. I just didn't blog it on time! In the past month, Leda has certainly grown. She's saying more now...she's even starting to use her tongue to make sounds. She'll be saying words sooner than we think! She is more expressive every day. We don't always know what she wants, but she's getting better at letting us know...when she wants up, she reaches to us...when she wants down, she pushes away from us. When she wants her "puffs" (treats after lunch/dinner) she pushes her bottle away and reaches for them. She's growing up so fast. She's still pulling herself across the floor, not yet crawling, but she does get herself into position. She can sit up by herself (although, she tends to do this when we aren't paying attention!) She can almost pull herself up to a stand! Soon...

Today, we flew home from Portland, through Chicago, to Philadelphia and the Duffer Dog! We got our wake-up call from Daniel at 3am, and we got up and got ourselves ready and the cab showed up around 4ish and we got to the airport with PLENTY of time to spare. Security at Portland was great...we got our own line and everything! That was great, so we didn't have to feel rushed to get ourselves put back together! We got Leda up right as the cab showed up, changed the diaper and strapped her in, but she woke up, sat in her seat quietly until we got to the gate, and then she wanted to stretch her legs a bit. She was very good natured, since we didn't get her to bed until 10 the night before and got her up after only 6 hours of sleep! We boarded the plane and Leda fell asleep! Didn't even stay awake long enough for breakfast! She slept for the good part of 2 hours and woke up, had a little breakfast, looked around, played, laughed and then strapped back in for the descent into Ch...

Today, we left the beach, but not before we spent a morning and early afternoon there! We awoke to a angry ocean and wind blown rain. It was actually nice! Not the kind of weather you'd go out in, but still, we are at the beach! Watching the waves roll in...wow! Uncle Wayne made us all omelets for breakfast, and then it was off to do laundry and clean up and pack up and build a few tables for the sanctuary. A stop for some lunch and we were all ready to go by around 2:30 or 3. Of course, we had to have a family photo before we left, and Aunt Joan's friend Mary showed up just in time! She took our family photo and off we went! (Claire will need to send me a copy of the family photo so I can post it!) We did get a little (very short) walk on the beach between rain squalls.... We headed off for Portland and a dinner on the Portland Spirit! On the way home, you will be happy to learn (actually, Granddaddy will be happy to learn...the rest of you probably won't care as much! h...

Other than missing Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" for the umpteenth time on Thanksgiving Day, we had a Great day! The weather changed today....we got that famous Oregon rain. But, you know what they say, a rainy day at the beach is better than any good day anywhere else! It was your typical Thanksgiving day. We watched the parade, hung out with the family, ate some food (all day eating!), walked the dogs, played games, watched some football and then "had a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat!" Brock and I joined Joan for a trip up the road to the Jesuit Retreat where there is a memorial to T.K. Brock and I hadn't seen it yet, and this was a good time to head up there, as Joan was dropping off flowers for the group. It's a beautiful, rustic retreat. It's on a hill above the ocean and they have a lot of unmolested land where you can go and spend some time being quite and reflecting. It's really a beautiful place and we are happy ...

Who ever tells you this part of the country is wet and ugly, don't EVER listen. We've had the BEST weather this week (as, for some reason, Brock and I always do when we visit here.) Today was NO exception. We woke early today (well, Leda and I woke around 6am, Daddy got to sleep in a little) and got our breakfast with Uncle Bobby. Little by little, the rest of the house awoke and joined us. After a little nap (for Leda) and some showers, we all sat down to a pancake breakfast made by Sarah and Claire and then we all went for a long walk on the beach. The dogs LOVED the freedom to run anywhere and at any speed they chose, because we had the WHOLE beach to ourselves. Did I take a camera with me...NO! Duh! Oh well, I will have the day in my memory always. It was a nice relaxing walk with the family. We had Uncle Dan and his dog Drake, Aunt Joan and her dog Finnegan (Finny), Aunt Claire and her dog Teegan, Uncle Bobby, Sarah, Scott, Daddy and Mommy and Leda. After our walk, Leda ne...

Today, we headed west to the Beach! We LOVE the Beach! A scant two hour ride, with the first half hour NOT going so well (Leda screamed for a little bit, before she finally fell asleep), we passed the Spruce Goose* and reached our final destination - Neskowin, Oregon. The beach here is big, it is separated by a stream that flows out of the mountains and into the ocean, at the point the two come together there is a 'rock' in the middle. There used to be a forest here on the beach, so at low tide, you can see the stumps of the trees that were here long before any people. After we got here and unpacked the cars, we headed down for a walk on the beach. It was a beautiful and warm day! We had deep dish pizza, made by Uncle Wayne and Sarah, for dinner and we are so exhausted, we are going to bed. We have a big day tomorrow, playing on the beach! *On route 18, on the way to the beach, the Spruce Goose is housed in a BEAUTIFUL hanger...the last time we were here, it was just a hanger, ...

Monday, Day three of our trip to Portland, found us all going separate ways for the day. Brock had lunch with Wayne and Daniel, Sarah, Claire and Joan went off shopping, Bobby was working and Leda, Scott and I stayed at home. Leda and Scotty played for a good part of the morning, until she got pretty cranky, just after lunch, and she went down for a nap. The afternoon was pretty quiet...played with Leda, had lunch, everyone came home and we all got ready to go to the Holiday party for the Portland Spirit. It was being held at a club downtown. So we all got dressed up (well, a little dressed up) and headed on down. Leda had a great time! She was so excited and so happy to be there! We had a hard time pulling her away! We had a great time! Leda looked extremely cute in her Holiday outfit!

Our first full day in Portland. The Lilly's were off to Seattle to visit with Bobby's sister and we had no plans! Dan showed up in the late morning and we all of a sudden had a plan...we were going to Vancouver (WA) to pick up Dan's dog, Drake, and then we were going for a ride up the Gorge and around to the Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood! Sounded like a plan! So off we went. Drake was at Dan's employee's house - this house was beautiful! They are currently remodeling the house and the are doing a wonderful job. From there, we headed up the Columbia River Gorge - what a beautiful ride. The wind blows so hard and fast here that it's the capital of wind surfers. It's also extremely beautiful. We stopped at Multnomah Falls ...what a beautiful place, albeit, very cold! The wind was blowing so hard, the wind chill had to be below freezing! We bundled Leda up and took a walk over to the falls. Leda had started to get a little bored with sitting in her car seat, w...

We left home at the ungodly hour of 5 AM for the Philly airport so we could park the car and get vanned to the airport with all our stuff! And, there was a LOT of stuff! We did get to the airport. We got our bags checked, got our boarding passes and then it was off to the gate to sit and wait...and hope they would change our seats so that we were all sitting together. When I booked the flight, the best I could do was a window for Leda and a middle for me and a middle for Brock, across the aisle from us. So, some poor soul was gonna have to sit next to me, taking care of a child that we had no idea how she would react to this 4.5 hour flight to Denver! The gate attendant said he would try and do what he could for us, but couldn't guarantee getting us together...also, we asked for the bulkhead, but apparently they don't put families there anymore because they apparently charge more for those seats now! Bummer! Well, we loaded onto the plane, got in our seats and this nice man cam...

I had a flashback this morning (and no, it didn't have anything to do with drugs). I was on the way into work and the radio played Piano Man (Billy Joel)...I haven't heard that song in a long time. For some reason, it triggered a REALLY OLD memory. When I was in 6th grade, I attended a middle school that was attached to a high school (J.R. Fugett in West Chester). In the middle of the two buildings was the Auditorium. This is where the Talent Show was held.... I only attended one year at this school...the following summer, while I was at girl scout camp, my mother moved us from West Chester to Fraser. Why my mother insisted on moving when I went away, I am unsure...at least I knew about it (she also moved, out of state, the week I left for College!) I participated in the Talent show. I vaguely remember being in a chorus of girls who danced to A Chorus Line's "One." For some reason, I remember a top hat. I don't remember if we sang or anything else, just the ha...

Still feel bad about not calling my niece on her first birthday, but not THAT bad any more...her Mom knows why! (it'll be OUR little secret, right, Aimee? Just a little something-something between sisters, right? hehehehe) (anyone wants to know, call me! haha...just kidding! ;-)

Sami, forgive me... In my attempt to be more prompt with presents and cards, I have now, apparently, subconsciously, decided that all Happy Birthday calls MUST BE LATE!! Sorry, Sami...We DO love you and hope you had a GREAT day yesterday, regardless that your Aunt didn't call. (thank god she's only one...she'll never remember this...of course, her mother will probably remind her EVERY YEAR for the rest of our lives that I forgot to call her for her first birthday. World's Worst Aunt!) Okay Family, this is it...the cards, they will be late from now on...I apparently need them to remind me to call! ;-) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sami, one day late! We love you!

Please! Just get over it... Start Rant: There's this jerk (who, mind you, isn't alone) who has the nerve to say that McNabb needs to leave Philly because he needs a fan base who will support him better. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? We have supported him GREAT over the years. Sure, we Philly fans can be a little outspoken, a little ticked off when we lose, but we are not the horrible fans that booed Santa Claus. Give me a break.... By the way...yeah, Eagles fans booed Santa...but Santa wasn't really what they were booing...the Eagles SUCKED BIG TIME back then...the boos were more for the team management! Here's the real story! (I also heard a long time ago, that it was around the time that Santa took the field that there was an announcement that ticket prices were going to be raised the following year...duh...I'd boo too!) Yeah, Philly fans are big and bad...but remember...there are almost 6 million people in the Greater Philadelphia area. Only 50,000 to 68,000 fans are ...

Did anyone know that Chicago STILL had a football team??? And how about them Bengals?? (exploring my options for the playoffs...because my Boys more than likely ain't gonna make it!) Seriously, I totally forgot that Chicago had a football team! I mean, didn't they like totally disappear after the 80s??

Not exactly sure what is with our kid, but she tends to wake up in the middle of the night and talk to herself. Or the binkys. Considering it's just her, a blanket and one or two binkys at any one time in the crib, chances are good that she's not talking to the cat or the dog. Then again, the cat could be sitting there, in the middle of the room, conspiring with the child while we sleep, blissfully unawares! We've gotten to the point that when Leda makes a sound in the middle of the night, we tend to "wait-it-out." Meaning, Brock continues to sleep (and sometime snore, depending on which way he's laying at the moment) and I lay there and attempt to determine if it REALLY all that important that I get up out of bed and risk going into her room. Most nights, she doesn't make a sound (or, we just don't hear a darned thing!) Very rarely, she cries out in the middle of the night, but this is usually one quick cry out, and then nothing...these are the ones t...

Do you know how much I HATE Monday Night Football? I mean, it's completely unfair to those of us on the East Coast to have to watch MNF until the wee hours of the morning and THEN have to get up and go to work on time. Couple that with a VERY DISAPPOINTING loss...oh, you don't EVEN want to come into my office today! (at least until I've had my second cup of coffee!) What a complete waste of good sleeping time. Hey, the first 55 minutes...AWESOME. The last 5 minutes...what the HECK was that?? Did aliens land somewhere in the last minutes of that game and take over the Eagles? I mean, it was about Midnight when all heck broke loose, so maybe that had something to do with it? Well, that was just darned disappointing. I even thought to myself...Self, you can't go to sleep yet...I don't care if we are up 13 points...there's still 8 minutes left in this game and you know if you go to sleep, something bad will happen.... ...so, I forfeited about an hour of sleep (actua...

We had a good weekend. It was beautiful here, sunny and on the side of more warm than cold (in the 60s). We didn't do a whole lot. Brock worked on Sat in Philly, so Leda and I went down to have lunch with him. An old friend, Stan Peters, was working with Brock on Saturday, so, thus the reason we went down. We had invited him to dinner, but he was heading home on Sat night (he lives in NC). So, Leda got to meet Stan. I think she liked him! ;-) And, later, when she's older and can sit in the front seat, we'll let Stan take her for a ride in a race car, just like he did for me (of course, I was like 20 when I went for my first ride in a race car - actually, I think, if I remember correctly, Gene R. (I will mutilate his last name if I try to spell it as it sounds, so, we'll just go with Gene R.) took me for my first ride in a race car...Gene went MUCH faster than Stan, AND ignored the rules and took me down the ENTIRE front straight at Summit Point...That's not a knoc...

This morning, Leda woke up at 6 am...one half hour before she's really allowed to wake up! ;-) Actually she wakes up around 6 am most every day, but she usually just talks quietly to herself or plays and may fall back to sleep but we don't usually go into her room until sometime between 6:30 and 7. This morning, however, she started crying and didn't want to be left alone, so I brought her into my bed with me for a little relaxing time before we actually had to get up! As we lay there in the dark, Leda talking away and playing with "Mr. Binky" (the pacifier), I was trying to relax until the alarm would go off. It was about 5-10 minutes into this relaxing time that I realized.... I WILL BE WAKING UP AT 6AM (ish) ON CHRISTMAS DAY!!!!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOO! I finally have a cohort in crime to get up and get working on Christmas EARLY IN THE MORNING!!!! And, this will probably go on for MANY YEARS!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOO And, warning to all you family members out there who ...

I am a little worried about some things that Leda does...I am probably overreacting, but, since I haven't spent a TON of time with babies, I am not sure if this is normal! Brock says she will grow out of it, but will she? She grabs at us and twists! She will grab my lips and twist them in her little hands and smile and laugh when she does it! We don't encourage the activity, believe me. But we do let her explore. I guess she doesn't yet understand that it hurts and that she shouldn't do it, although we tell her all the time. Yes, I know, she's 6 months old. Does she REALLY comprehend that it hurts? All she knows is there's a reaction - she doesn't know that the reaction is bad yet, right? I tell her that she really isn't allowed to pull hair until she has some of her own so we can pull back. Yes, I probably AM the worst mother in the world! (I wouldn't pull HARD!) Anyway, do all babies do this? Is it just part of their exploration? Do they all have t...

Matt Lauer was in Drubrovnik, Croatia today for his last spot for the Where in the World series... We've decided, we REALLY need to go to Drubrovnik...What an awesome place! Its on the Adriatic Sea and it's beautiful. So, when Leda's a little older, I think we will do an Italian/Greece/Croatia trip. That would be REALLY cool. And, maybe, if I am lucky, one of my OTHER obessions will be in town...Goran Visnjic (Luka Kovac on ER)! Yum! ;-)

Old Obsession...24 New Obsession...Lost I didn't even start watching Lost until this summer...I got hooked...now, plan whole week around Wed at 9PM. Did the same with 24, until the moved it to Mondays(?) last year. Didn't even watch last year. (or, did it move FROM Mondays to another day? Huh, can't seem to care!) Now, I am praying that ABC doesn't move Lost...it seems that when a show gets moved to another timeslot, I lose the ability to care! Seriously, I need to know how that hatch got on that island and what happen to Jack's wife. Geez! And, I gotta figure out how not to get creeped out by that creepy kid, Walt!

Football players, that it... I dated a tight-end in high school...and that and his first name, Bob, are the only things I can remember about him*...Isn't that sad? One other thing I can remember about this guy...and it really wasn't about the guy exactly....I had asked my Grandfather Cunningham (who taught me everything I needed to know about football) what a tight-end was, he slapped his butt and smiled! ;-) Anyway, WOOO HOOO, My boy Chad (Lewis) is coming back to the team ! *Okay, so he was like my first "serious" boyfriend - I was ninth grade and for the life of me, I can't remember if he was a junior or a senior...all I can remember is he was on the football team, he lived down the road from us in the same apartment complex and he had a sister named Debbie...I remember all of this NOW because I have spent the past 20 or so minutes trying to remember his freaking name! which, I think is Keane, but not completely sure!) And this post really was supposed to be ab...

Owens is done...just announced by the Eagles...Andy Reid just announced that Owens is suspended for 4 games without pay (GOOD!!) and will NOT return to the Eagles after the suspension. Good Riddance. Now, if we could find a running game, maybe we could salvage the season a bit! Sami's definitely gonna need a new jersey...her Mommy and I am thinking we will go defensive...Kearse or Dawkins...too bad Hugh Douglas doesn't play anymore! (word is, he and T.O. had a "little" altercation last week, one of the reasons T.O. was suspended!)

...will be... "T.O. Sucks!" Ah, thought I was gonna say Redskins, didn't ya? Well, don't worry, there's plenty of time for that! Besides, at the rate the Eagles are going this season, Leda will be able to recite all the NFL teams before she says "dada" or "mama." Nope, T.O. Sucks...what a big baby. We are so much better off with out him - seriously, if you are gonna suck, you might as well suck without all the mouthing off, ya know? And, THAT, will be the last word from me on T.O. because he ain't worth any more. (And, I've gotta go and find another freaking jersey for Sami, because she deserves better!) Now, if only McNabb would go and get that darn surgery and let us suck to our best suckatude! ;-) I'm SO looking forward to the 2006 season! (unless they do something to get me excited about this season, but don't seem much chance of that at this moment) And, don't get me wrong...love my Eagles. But I don't see us winni...

We received a TON of clothes from Jennifer a week ago and throughout the week, we (I) dug through all the boxes to see what there was (and to sort out the clothes that Leda can't fit into anymore!) We found a bunch of hats, and knowing that Brock has particular preferences to hats (specifically, the ones he'd hate altogether) I decided to have a little fun. We tried on a couple, and showed Daddy... I only got pictures of two...take a close look, because you will NEVER see these hats again! ;-) Kill me now, but I kinda like the red one...Nope, will NOT subject my child to the red hat, no matter how cute it is! NO berets for Leda!

Well, yesterday was fun! We were up early (6:30ish), played around, had a nap around 9ish, got up, played outside...wow, it was SOOO nice here yesterday - upper 70s at least!...had a quick nap around 12:30ish, got up, ate lunch, packed up, and went and had our picture taken! As you can see, Leda wore something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than what I was fretting over! We decided to do just a regular old picture, instead of a Christmas picture! Our sitting was at 2pm - yep, nap time. So we were crossing our fingers (and toes) and hoping that she would last! I did things in public (well, in front of the photographer - not sure how many people passing by in the store saw/heard me) to make this kid smile that would have had me crawling in a hole and never coming out again about a year ago! I sang, I talked baby talk, I made a complete idiot out of myself. And, you know what Leda did? She sat there with an odd look on her face - kinda like, "Mom, what the HECK are you doing...do you know you ...

Add something else to my christmas list...need a good cowboy-like boot...in brown/light brown. Something like this (maybe NOT so many rhinestones!) Now, everyone fight nice over this, okay? UPDATE: Guess size would be helpful, huh? 8!

Yep, we take Leda to Sears tomorrow to get her first portrait! I was hoping to do this at 6 months, but I just didn't schedule it fast enough. So, instead, we are doing it at 6 months, 2 weeks! I am having a horrible time trying to decide what to dress her in...should I dress her in the little "santa" like dress I bought, the scottie/westie outfit or just a plain "fall" like outfit I got for Thanksgiving (which might be a little big on her anyway!) I figured I would do a "christmas" theme, since we are so close to christmas, but would also like something a little more day-to-day. Oh well, I've got until 1:30PM tomorrow to decide (the shoot is at 2!) Now, let's just hope that Leda doesn't throw the biggest hissy fit of her young life tomorrow at 2...that's nap time! Yep, Mommy isn't too smart some times! ;-)

Leda met with Dr. Myers this morning...He pronounced her very healthy - and big! She's officially 18lbs 2oz (95th percentile for weight) and 29 inches (!!! - off the charts for length!) and 18cm head circumference - off the charts again! Doc says she's big, but her head and her weight and her length all match, so nothing to worry about! So, we gained almost 2 pounds and 4 inches in the past two months (along with 5 teeth!) Wow! Four more shots, and she did MUCH better this time - Daddy held her! She cried for a minute but nothing like the bloody murder she screamed last time! Next appt - January! And she only gets one shot then! Of course, we have to go back to get our flu shots within the month - Daddy got his, Mommy wimped out! ;-) (Updated - got percentile wrong for weight and height - it's fixed now!)