Homeless Hole no More

So, we had a hole where the homeless people lived. But, it was not really their home, as, if they had a home, they would lose their identity. Anyways, late on night little while back, we saw this guy out there with an old lamp (like, a real lamp, with a shade, we think it is from the motel next door), out there fixing the light.

He was enjoying some inebriating beverage as he did so, and did a wonderful job locking up the hole. For those of you who don't remember the pictures of the hole (it was the post just before Jacob came), I am putting up pictures of before and after.

Stacey the Shooter

So, we went shooting today. I guess I learned an improtant thing. Stacey is dangerous behind the barrel of a gun. Beware.

My Pits

So, I have sensitive armpits*. It is not something I am proud of, but, it is my lot in life to have sensitive pits. When I was in high school this was a serious problem, as my pits had some serious problems with some regular deodorant.

So, one day, my mom bought me what she called "special" deodorant (Kevin also got "special deodorant, brand name Mitchum). It worked well. The brand my mom bought me was called Almay. I thought all was well and good, I wore my special deodorant and was able to go around, not smelling, and I didn't have irritated pits any more.

Then, one day, I got to reading the back of the deodorant container. It said "Safe enough to use, even right after shaving." I got to thinking--I didn't shave my armpits. Who shaves their armpits? At 16, I was proud to have what little hair I had. Then I realized--girls shave their armpits. My mom had bought me GIRLS' deodorant.

Well, I was finally convinced that it was unisex deodorant. I have lived under that guise for the last many years. Then, recently, Almay changed their container, from the one on the left, to the one on the right:

From manly blue to PINK AND PURPLE?!? And with decorative leaves, no less! This is definitely not special deodorant, and definitely not unisex, but rather, is straight up girls' deodorant. Sigh. No wonder I turned out as I did.

*Stacey does not agree with this. She pokes me in the armpit and says "look, they're not sensitive." She thinks it is the skin in my armpits that is sensitive. I make no distinction. That would be like my squirting lime juice in her eye, and when she says, "my eye hurts", I would say, "no, it is just your eyeball." Silly Stacey.

Trip to Virginia: Meeting Great-Grandma McKoy

While we were in Virginia, Jacob had the chance to meet my grandmother. We spent an hour with her at the Inova Care Center that she lives at, and while she never responded to us, I felt that she knew we were there visiting her. Her health has been failing for several months now, and it was hard to see her having aged so much in the 15 months since I had last seen her. It was very special to be there with her that day and to let her meet Jacob for the first time. She held his hand and mine for a while and so I took some special pictures.

Maestro Jacob!

Tonight I was witness to a most extraordinary event! Jacob was the youngest person to ever conduct the Klipp-Klapp Galopp, Opus 466, by Strauss II. He won't be two months until Tuesday, but he is so good at conducting that at some times he leads the orchestra with his fingers. He even gives some slight kicks to cue the percussion section. These are things they never taught me in MUS 135 when I learned the art of conducting, so I am thrilled for what my son can teach me. (Somewhere out there, Jeff is cringing as he remembers my textbook from a certain class, Music and the Family, which I took the semester we got engaged. The text, which I still own, is entitled Your Musical Child.) The piece seemed much shorter during filming as opposed to post-filming viewing, so consider yourselves warned as to the length of the song. Jacob made his mom proud tonight by displaying such musical amazingness, and he asked me to share this with you:

Toys

So, Stacey took the camera with her to VA, so I have not had a chance to do much posting. However, now that she is back, I can put something up. Of late, there have been many different scares about toys made overseas not being safe for children. Of great concern were some of the paints being used containing dangerous substances, invoking sickness and coma in little children. Well, with Jacob, we are taking no risk. I have taken it upon myself, as a caring father, to test every single toy before we give it to Jacob.

Trip to Virginia: Meeting Grandpa McKoy and some of Mom's old neighbors

Jacob got to meet his other grandpa last night for the first time. Unfortunately, he was quite hungry when they met, so he will have to endure further photo shoots with grandpa later on. Today there was a little party across the street from my parents' house where Jacob's birth was celebrated. He enjoyed meeting three ladies I grew up knowing, including Mrs. Boyd who hosted the gathering, and the adults enjoyed snacks and a cute, tasty banana cake from a bakery called Edibles Incredibles.

Trip to Virginia: Jacob's First Plane Ride!

On November 6th Jacob had his first experience with being inside an airport (he went to three!) and on a small CanadAir Regional Jet and a 757. He proved to be an excellent traveler, much to my delight. Actual conversation heard when exiting plane in Virginia: (I stand up with Jacob) Man in row behind us says to other man in row behind us: Hey, I didn't know we had a baby in front of us! Other man: Me neither! He was so well-behaved. Me: Thank you! Can you believe I took credit for Jacob's amazingness? Shameful! I suppose I was replying with what I thought he might say. Here he is in his first airport in Salt Lake City, waiting by Gate B9 to catch a quick flight to Denver. He was pretty happy since I had just changed one of his dirtiest diapers ever. Wow. Here we both are after having landed at Washington-Dulles. It was a long journey but we made it! I'll take him anywhere as my lap buddy, but next time we'll go when Daddy can come too!