The Boys Were Back in Town

I guess you really couldn't call it a reunion since, 1) I've never been to Alexandria before, and 2) this was the first time we'd laid eyes on each other, but it felt good to hang out with Christopher and Andrew.

And the Memories Continue

This past weekend was so big I can hardly remember it all!  The recollections that I shared earlier were certainly part of the story, more Mom's family.  But then there was Dad's family.  It's almost as if I've got two hemispheres in my brain, remembering different things!

I've got cousins!  I'd heard tell of rambunctious boy cousins with skinny jeans and skateboards.  Frankly, I was a little worried that I might be on the receiving end of some jabs, burps and farts.  As it turns out, though, Andrew and Christopher were most gracious.  They treated me like a piece of fine china.  After having experienced Dad giving me a bath, believe me their care was appreciated!

I also got to meet a nice lady named Sandy.  She's my godmother.  She was standing with us when the pastor guy doused me with the water.  Afterwords she spent lots of time making sure I was okay.  Very sweet.  Plus she gave me presents!

I live in the same house with my Mim and my Poppi, which is great because they love me a bunch.  But the neat thing about this weekend was that I got to see my Grandma and Grandpa who live far away.  That means I spent the weekend with all four of my grandparents!  That's a lot of grandparents!

Discovery

I made the neatest discovery the other day.  My tongue.  I can stick it out.  Daddy says I look like a frog and that it must be the flies in my tummy that make me cry.  That's just silly.  I'm just doing vocal exercises for choir.

Take me to the river

Road trip!

The whole family packed up and hit the road for Alexandria, MN last weekend to see Grandma and Grandpa. Mom, Dad and I went up on Friday and Mim, Poppi, Auntie Ninja  and our friend Lynx came up Saturday. I thought we were just going to visit Grandma and Grandpa and go to church, but then all the Worleys started rehearsing a song. They said it was for my baptism. Baptism?

I was told it was like the Dedication we did the previous weekend. Well, all right, just another opportunity for me to be the center of attention for an adoring public. Plus, Mom had a pretty sharp outfit for me to wear. Anyway, we're all up front in the church and the sacred words are being said, and I'm having a good time, nodding at all the things Mom and Dad are supposed to do for me and then...WHAT THE...water! The pastor starts ladleing water over my head. I wasn't ready for that, but handled it with a certain amount of grace, you might say. Afterwards, though, there was cake and presents!

You can see video of the Baptism ceremony here, and watch the song that Grandpa, Dad and Mom sang for me while Grandma played the piano here. Also, check out some of the photos below from the day.

Here I am mentally rehearsing my lines before the ceremony.

Here's Dad with my cake and our father and son motto.

Great. My auntie is a ninja and my cousin is a vampire!

I'm Dedicated

I have to admit, I'm a pretty dedicated guy. My philosophy is to keep things simple, so it's easy for me to focus on just a few things: sleeping, getting fed, pooping. Oh, and trying to get my way, I guess. Somewhere around the bottom of that list is updating this blog, but I apologize for not letting you know of a couple of big events from last weekend.

One, my great-grandma, Poppi's mom, came to see me for the first time, all the way from some place called Missouri. I couldn't find it on a map, I suppose someone will have to show me. On top of that, I got "dedicated" to God. That's a good thing, too, since I had a word or two with the Big Guy (not Poppi) right before He sent me here.

Everyone was there: Great-grandma, Poppi, Grandma Mim, Mom, Dad, Auntie Ninja...and a girl named Lynx. I thought that with a name like that she was also a blogger, but she says no. Anyway, it was a very nice ceremony, and very touching. I could have cried, but I didn't. If you weren't there, you can see for yourself here:

Monday

Goodness me, I do apologize.  It's  been days since I put fingers to keyboard.  I could come up with some snappy excuse (like a complete lack of hand-eye coordination, countless hours spent sleeping, restless bowels, milk binge), but I won't.  I just didn't write anything.  Full stop.

But today is a new day!  Even though it's almost over.  And it was a fine day indeed.  I met my uncle Chris for the first time and he briefly cured my hiccups.  Nice guy.  I went on a walk around Lake Como with my parents.  Dad kept making rude remarks about the awful stench.  I swear it was the lake and not me!  And now I'm home, everything is rosy and swell, and I'm feelin' a powerful urge to close my eyes.

Splish-splash

Yes, I know that it wasn't that long ago when my head was "under water" non-stop. That doesn't mean, however, that I enjoy having my head close to water now. In particular, those early shampoos were quite stressful and I'm afraid I was a bit pointed in my protests. I like to think, however, that I've matured since those early days.

Take my last shampoo, for example. Now, I could have gotten a bit huffy when I heard the water running and when Mom picked me up, just as I have before. The thing is, I originally didn't know that Mom was a professional. Once I remembered that she'd been to beauty school and had a lot of practice in washing hair it was all cool. We both enjoyed it, and someone took a picture after my first "fuss-free" bath.

It was great, and now I'm really interested in meeting a certain Mr. Henri.

Naps

Mom and Dad really seem to be hung up on napping these days.  Not their own, but mine.  I wake up from a nap and before I can down a bit of milk, kick back and relax a bit, they're putting me back to bed.  I like a good nap as much as the next guy, but it's getting a bit ridiculous.  So periodically I've been hinting at my displeasure.  You'd think an hour of shouting bloody murder would get the point across, but they just smile, burp me, kiss me, and put me back.  Hard-headed people.

Thank you for your support

I guess I've really arrived as a blogger now that I've received my first link. Not only that, but it appears that I'm also being put forward as a candidate to be the next mayor of the MOB. I suppose I'd actually have to join the MOB in order to be official, though there's a good chance I've been grandfathered in, so to speak.

I don't know if MOB Mayor is a post I want to pursue, but I'll form an exploratory committe to look into it. One of the first things I want them to explore is if I have any relations in the Dayton family who can bankroll my campaign. I can, however, produce a birth certificate.

What do you think of this photo for a campaign poster? I think I look rather Churchillian, if I say so myself.

My comment policy

It was brought to my attention that the identity protocols for would-be commenters on this blog were sub-optimal, and may have kept well-meaning folks from sharing their insight.

I checked things out and, sure enough, the original set-up sucked. (I'm told that word means something is bad, but sucking seems like a pretty good thing from my perspective. Oh well.) Anyway, once I realized there was a problem, I had my people take care of it pretty darn tout de suite, let me tell you. Now, should you care to comment, there will be less foofaraw.

Carry on.

I get MOBbed!

The way it was explained to me, many members of the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers (MOB) used to meet to play trivia at Keegan's Irish Pub, and Poppi and Daddy first met each other there. That eventually led to Daddy meeting Mommy, then Mommy and Daddy getting married, and that led to me getting here. I'm not sure exactly how all that works, but apparently there was no question that I was going to make my public debut at the MOB summer party last night, which also happened to be at Keegan's.

Ok, I can roll with that. Since I had an audience and it's an Irish pub I delivered my rendition of "Oh Danny Boy". Mom and Grandma Mim like it.

Baby's got pipes!

It was an interesting evening. I got to meet Mitch, Joel Rosenberg, Mr & Mrs  Dilettante, Uncle Strommie and Margaret and many more. I'd like to say I read all their blogs, but really, I only have time to pay attention to this blog in between eating, sleeping and, well, pooping.

Ok, let's get this baby off the ground!

Hey, take me over there! It looks like Mommy has some ribs.

Actually, it looks like Daddy has some ribs, too. Mine!

Tidbits

Wow, today the weirdest thing had happened.  This lady came over (that's not too weird) and kept pointing this flashy thing at me.  *click* *click* *click*.  I was trying to take a nap and she just kept pestering me.  I thought about driving her off with a nice volley of nuclear crying, but decided to go the softer route: I acted all cute and sleepy.  Eventually she got the point and cleared out. 

P.S. By the way, I went on my first elevator yesterday. Not exactly a laugh riot, but I wasn't going to try the roller coaster just yet.

P.P.S. Doggone it, I hate it when I request service and get ignored.  It chaps my hide.

Are you going to eat that?

They put me on the scale again today.

I didn't just tip it, I darn near tipped it over.

I'm now at 10 pounds, 9 ounces -- up 10 ounces from last week.

And they won't even let me have bacon yet!

Hunger

Guest Post by Dad

Baby Moose has graciously allowed me to share some thoughts on his blog.  Today: Hunger.

When he is hungry Baby Moose does not get angry or demanding.  Not right away at any rate.  The surest sign of hunger is that he will hit his face.  Yep, he hits his face as if to say, "I want me some food and here's where I want it!"  At first it seemed a bit strange, but now I'm grateful for the clear signal.

If ignored for too long he will start getting indignant.  This isn't a point of no return, however.  If sung to he will settle down again and maybe even fall asleep if the melody is sweet.

On the other hand, giving him kisses just makes him angrier.  "I don't want your affection.  I want food.  And for the love of Pete, make it snappy!"  Obviously we try to avoid any "angry elf" situations. 

So there you go, that's the nutshell of hunger.

---------------------

P.S. Here are the words to one of those delaying tactic songs.  Lyrical inspiration: Auntie Ninja.

Feed me num nums foolish mortal.  Feed me num nums or you die.

I have had enough of waiting.  You don't need to ask why.

Give me something for my belly or I'll kick you in the shin.

Feed me num nums foolish mortal.  Put the milk right in.

Author, author!

This blogging thing is pretty easy. So easy, in fact, that I'm considering writing a book. I just have to decide whether it's going to be all about me, or just mostly about me. I'll let you know what I decide. For now, however, I'm greatly encouraged that I've already got an author photo picked out for the back cover.

Rush Limbaugh, eat your heart out!

Reading comprehension

I've been told that it is not common for newly-born babies to pick up the whole reading/writing/blogging thing as quickly as I have. I don't know what to say about that, since I only have my own experience to date to go on. I'm also aware that I still have much to learn.

For example, I'm discovering that many words look and sound the same, but that meaning can change based on context. I've also learned that something that looks or sounds good in writing might not be as appealing in practice. For example:

Ok, "butt paste" sounds kind of gross, but it feels SO good. "Butt rub" sounds as if it would feel good, but -- trust me -- it's not the same. Why would they even take a chance of confusing someone like that?

Motorcycle (grand)mamas

I only know two grandmas so far, but I have to say that mine are pretty cool. I admit, it's a small sample size, so tell me: does your grandmother do this?

If this is what my grandmothers are like, I can't wait to meet my GREAT-grandmothers!

Musical tastes

Okay, Dad is what the old-timers call "a card." Today during a - um - wardrobe change, he starts singing "Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap." Feh.

If you're going to go all AC/DC, grandma and me prefer "For Those About to Rock."

I blame the deep-dish pizza

Another car trip today, this time to see the mid-wife. She put me on the scale and I'm up one pound and two ounces since I was born 9 days ago! I've already outgrown some of my onesies before I've even had a chance to wear them!

I don't get it - dad and I both get up to eat in the middle of the night, and he never gains an ounce!

The Sunday Drive

Today was another day of firsts.  First, they took me through "the door."  I went blind like I was back in my old apartment, except this time it was from brightness.  I can't say that I much cared for that.

Then Mom and Dad took me on a "Sunday drive."  They tied me into a seat and turned me backwards so that I couldn't see where I was going.  Were they trying to get me lost?  They needn't have worried; my sense of direction is basically nil at this point and I can get lost on the top of our bed.  No matter. 

Then we went into another house with other people.  There sure seem to be a lot of people around.  And they are new every day.  Some of them hold me and some just look.  The littler ones look nervous.  It's funny though, even the littler ones are huge.  I sure am small.