GPoD: 10.22.2005

Aw, cut it out, gramps!

GPoD: 10.21.2005

Graham discovered his tongue today. Hey--this thing is pretty cool. In and out, in and out . . . .

GPoD: 10.20.2005

Here is Graham reacting, with some credulity it must be admitted, to one of his Grandma's more fantastic tales. We're going to have to work on Graham's critical listening skills.

GPoD: 10.19.2005

Here is Graham reading from one of his favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He's a pretty hungry little bug himself.

Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta to attend the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference--high times! I'm roadtripping with two of my fellow students, and I'll be back on Sunday. Atlanta is nothing to get all that excited about, but there's a good crop of interesting papers on the program, and lots of opportunity for meeting other folks in my field. And, there is the distinct possibility that I may experience my first eight-hour(-plus?) stretch of uninterrupted sleep since . . . oh, let me see . . . August 3rd, 2005, I believe it was. That alone should be worth the trek. Of course, I'm sure I'll be missing my little buddy before I even hit the interstate, but I've given him permission to call as much as he likes. And his grandma and grandpa Slinger are in town to help ease the separation anxiety, so hopefully all will be well.

GPoD: 10.18.2005

Graham is rather sullen this morning. This despite a vigorous romp around the Duluth Room in his new rugby suit (one of mummy's great finds garage saleing this weekend). Frankly, I think he's beginning to regard his parents as paparazzi--when he's not being fed.

A Walk in the Park

Today we took Graham for a hike at the Eno State Park. It was a beautiful fall day--the sort of day that makes one almost forget one isn't in Minnesota any more--and we were intrepid hikers. We packed water and granola (cruchy folk that we are) and hit the trail for a brisk hike of several miles along the river. Unfortunately, we didn't reckon on Graham's bladder. I was carrying him in his Snuggly, when all of a sudden I felt a warm, moist sensation spreading spreading slowly across my torso. This at the furtherst point in our trek from the car. Needless to say, the return hike was a good deal more vigorous than the first leg. Graham slept through the entire adventure, an impish grin fixed on his little face. Gotcha, dad.

The GrahamCam: Bobblehead Baby

Here is some fun footage of Graham sitting up and looking around. He still needs some help in maintaining an upright posture and his neck control needs some work, but we're making great strides.

On Soccer and Jihad

I've never been a great fan of soccer--at least not since I was cut from the team in the eighth grade--but the fatwa against the sport recently delivered by an excitable Saudi cleric seems a bit over the top to me. No boundary lines, no shorts or numbered jerseys, no crossbars on the goal posts, no spectators--all these are to be shunned as the corrupt practices of Jews, Christians, and polytheists. Still, I found the recommendation against excessive celebration after scoring to be of some merit: "You should spit in the face of whoever puts the ball between the posts or uprights and then runs in order to get his friends to follow him and hug him like players in America or France do, and you should punish and reprimand him, for what is the relationship between celebrating, hugging and kissing and the sports that you are practicing?" Good question. One can only presume that American football games are not broadcast in Saudi Arabia; what would this fellow make of the NFL's endzone dances? Maybe a dose of such puritanical rigor would be good thing for our professional athletes. I, for one, think that the sight of a swarm of angry mujahideen storming the field to experctorate on those grand-standing thugs would be a wholly edifying spectacle. (A translation of the complete text of the fatwa is printed in the New York Times)

Here you see a photo of our new secret weapon in the war against infant insomnia. This was a great find--on eBay, nonetheless--the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium. It has little plastic fish that swim around in a tank of water with lights and quiet, gentle music. Very mesmerizing, apparently. It keeps him quiet for about five minutes; then we have to go back into the room as quietly as ever can be and turn it back on. The photo is a little blurry here because the room is almost pitch-black and the camera is set to the slowest possible shutter speed. Ssshhh...