The first year of life for children is full of constant development and changes – babies do new things every single day.  Realizing this, I decided to make a diary for each of my kids about their first year.  I would write in it from time to time to summarize all of their many changes, hoping some day they’ll enjoy reading them.  I was writing in my son’s Baby Diary the other day when it occurred to me that I should share it on my blog; especially since he’s been very crabby lately and it’s been really difficult for me to write blog posts with him in my arms.  He was born on July 11, 2008.

Christopher’s Diary:

7/16/08 – went to dr. checkup for your slight jaundice.  dr. said everything looked good and you weigh 7 lbs. 11 oz.
7/17/08 – Actually, since it was the 12:01 showing, it’s actually the 18th…  but your  first movie in the theater was the Dark Knight.  You barely stirred and did drink a bottle during the movie.  You didn’t make a peep.
7/19/08 – You attended your first stage play, the Music Man.  You were very good, except you pooped early in the show and were crabby and had to be taken out, but only for a few mins. so you could get your diaper changed
7/20/08 – umbilical cord stump falls off – you are 9 days old.
8/11/08 – You had your one month check-up today!  Everything looks good; you weigh 9 lbs. 14 oz. and are 22 in. long.  Your head circumference is 38.3 cm.  You didn’t cry at all while getting weighed and measured.
8/13/08 – You smiled at Mommy!
9/3/08 – In the past week, you’ve started “talking” back to me!  You smile really big when I smile at you and give you a big HI, and you smile at me every time you see me when you wake up.  When you were born, you could hardly see any lashes, but now your eyelashes are getting long and beautiful!  Your eyes are still a bright beautiful blue!
9/5/08 – You laughed for the first time – long and loud.  And it was during Daddy’s funny play, The Nerd.  You laughed at the part where they’re playing the ‘I’m going on a trip’ game.  I don’t know if you heard the other people laughing or it was just a coincidence, but it was SO cute!
9/12/08 – Today you had your 2 month dr appt.  You are 12 lbs 9 oz and 23.25 inches long.  Your head circumference is 44.5 cm.  You fussed a little as they were examining you, but you didn’t cry.  The dr said you have dry skin and we have to watch your ears to make sure formula isn’t going in there.
9/22/08 – For about a week now, you seem to recognize your bottle.  You’ll get extra excited when you see it and open your mouth.  Your big sister Disney calls you “Beeber”.  Your big sister Sammie loves to hold you and is always asking questions about newborn babies.  She calls them “born” babies.
10/16/08 – You are 3 months old, and you are starting to play with toys.  The other day I saw you “discovering” your hands, and ever since you’ve been grabbing things.  You know how to put your fist in your mouth.  You’re still spitting up a lot.  Not as much at a time as Disney did when she was a baby, but many times throughout the day.
11/5/08 – You’ve been playing with toys for awhile now; you can grab things and you try to draw them into your mouth.  You love making g sounds – ga, goo, ggg.  You are still a very happy little guy and smile at everyone, making their days!
12/4/08 – Time flies and you are almost 5 months old!  Disney used to call you Beeber, and the name stuck, so we call you that sometimes.  Disney now calls you Kipper.  You’ve had some crabby days, but most of the time, you’re still very smiley.  You’ve been experimenting with vocalizations and you LOVE to stand!  You do not bend at the waist!  We tried the tot wheels (walker) for the first time the other day, and you like it for short periods of time since you just hang in there – your feet don’t touch the floor yet.  Most of the time, you’re pretty good about sleeping at night, usually waking up only once.  But you also have bad nights where you won’t let Daddy sleep!  You like baths, and you’re really starting to like toys.  You play with the busybox on your crib, and try to eat EVERYTHING!  You might be teething because you try to knaw on everything.  You’ve been trying cereal and if your gums seem really sore, Mommy and Daddy have been giving you a treat – a dab of peanut butter on your pacifier.  You LOVE it!  You found your feet a few weeks ago, and you were trying to get your toes in your mouth.  We are excited to take you to see Santa pretty soon!

One of my friends and blogging buddy posted some notes on a game we played (click to read). These were written by they guy running the game, so they were an overall view, as if someone was watching the action. I was thinking of writing something like that from a player’s (character’s) point of view. Just not with that game. I’m thinking of a game I’m a bit more familiar with….

Dungeons and Dragons… My Son-in-Law’s campaign. But first a background of the character whose story will be told.

A short history of Calinth Knight of Deinir

Calinth of some temple in some town was orphaned at an early age and raised on the temple grounds. The Clerics there were good to him, and taught him their ways. All there thought he would grow to become a priest in that temple.

When Calinth reached the age of 11, the town and temple were attacked by a large band of orcs. Calinth was weeding and hoeing the small herb patch behind the living area when he was attacked. He drove his hoe blade deep into the head of the first orc, and then picked up the orc’s sword and shield. He was able to make it to the Temple stairs by fighting his way there. Cut and bloody, he fought side by side with the holy warriors of the temple. Both clerics and knights were side by side to prevent the orcs from the worship area.

A great knight was knocked down by what could only have been an Ogre. (as seen by the eyes of an 11 year old. Actually just a very large orc.) Calinth jumped into the path of the Orc’s sword, blocking the killing blow with his shield. This blow broke his arm and threw him over the downed knight. The Orc was furious that his blow was stopped. He raised his battle ax high over his head to kill both of the temple defenders. Calinth saw his chance to save both himself and the knight under him. He pushed his sword up just under the Orc’s breast plate with all his might. After that blow he passed out.

The next day he found himself in the infirmary, with the knight standing over him.

“I am Bahoson, and would like you to be my squire. I am a Paladin of this temple and I think you are also called to serve.”

A warm feeling went over Calinth at that time. His arm was no longer sore. He felt a peace he had not known before. Yes, he would do that. He would be whatever a squire was.

Years passed, and Calinth learned the ways of the sword. He learned the ways of all that is right and good. In his 18th year, he became a knight in his own right. In his 22nd year, he saw the injustice of his own service. His master, mentor and friend, Bahoson, was driven out of town by a corrupt and power hungry official. Rumor has it, that Bahoson was assassinated on the outskirts of town. The law of the land and his calling prevented Calinth from interfering. A priest in the temple told him of “another way”, and he was given directions to look for Kandomere in some other town. This started him on the path of the Grey Guard. There were all kinds of evil, corruption and chaos in the world, and now Calinth had a path to follow that could fight these problems at the closest source.

Calinth traveled far and wide fighting evil at its most foul. On the way back home from a successful campaign, he stopped at a strange Inn for a light noon meal. In the middle of town far from any sea, a large ship stood. The ship itself looked as though it could sail at any minute, except for the doors cut into its hull. Here is where Calinth’s next adventure begins…

There are times I remember going up to Ann Arbor for radiation treatments. I didn’t get to many of them, because I was trying to make sure the girls had as normal of life at home as possible. Her parents, my oldest sister and I all took her up for the treatments.

My memory is of one day. We were in the waiting room until the staff was ready for her. My dear wife started talking to another patient, laughing, joking and smiling about what they were both going to face. The other patient came in feeling quite down, and left with a very big thank you and smile. I’ve often wondered what happened to the other patients we met.

I’m not sure, but I imagine that this happened more than just on my trips to Ann Arbor. It was her way of dealing with the stress. Sometimes she seemed just so tired, but she found time to laugh when she could. After her death, I receive multiple cards from the doctors and nurses that knew her during her hospital stay and treatment. I had multiple comments on how infectious her laugh and smile were.

Today, I miss that laugh and the smile. There are many things I wanted to do that year. One was to get a video camera to record some family history. I did not get the camera at that time. It took me until after she died to finally get that stupid camera. And what do I do? My first taping, I misplace the tapes. My daughters were in their first play at the playhouse. I put those tapes someplace safe. So far, I’ve only found 1 of 2. I haven’t even played it through yet. Not even sure which act I have.

It was my hope to get some of our history recorded before we lose it. I don’t have a recording of her laugh. I do have pictures of the smile. As my memory fades, I lose the sounds of her voice. After 5 years I guess that is the hardest thing. Forgetting more each day. The memories are still there, but they have lost the warm vibrant colors of years gone by. Each day they fade just a little more.

I miss that laugh.

I usually enjoy watching Barbara Walters and her announcing of the 10 Most Fascinating People of the Year.  I usually am surprised to find out who the most fascinating person of the year is; however, aside from a few this year was far from surprising and even less fascinating.  I’m sorry, but Rush Limbaugh just does not make me stop and listen to his political views on the radio… and his pick for Republican Presidential candidate in 2012?  None other than another political figure who made the list, Sarah Palin.  Which led to another person on the list, former Saturday Night Live cast member, Tina Fey whose characature of the former vice-presidential candidate may or may not have been a factor in the Democrats assuming the White House.

Not all of the figures in tonight’s special were from the political arena.  Four of them were on primarily to promote their new movies coming soon to a theatre near you.  Will Smith was promoting Seven Pounds.  Tom Cruise (who seems to be on most of Bawa Wawa’s specials) promoted Valkyrie.  And don’t forget the current “it girl” amongst the tween set: Miley Cyrus and coming soon… Hannah Montana The Movie (I guess the movie this fall was a concert film).  Frank Langella (whom I most recall portraying Perry White in Superman Returns … although I know he has been in a host of other roles) is reprising his Tony winning role in the film version of Frost/Nixon.

In previous years, I have often noticed that Ms. Walters usually lists people whom she has interviewed earlier in the year and recently for that matter.  Within the last month, she has interviewed both this year’s top person and the world’s first “man” to give birth.  As for the top person, it does NOT take much of a genius to figure that out.  During the last fifteen minutes, I was just saying “Come on already.”  Although, I thought the most fascinating person on the show was Olympic gold medal record-breaker Michael Phelps.

At least The Office did not disappoint.

Bypass theater ticket lines. Buy movie tickets in advance at Fandango.com. Read reviews and find showtimes for any movie in the U.S.

Well, I just got off the phone after talking to my ‘lil sister. She was wondering about a movie she saw some time during the 60’s on Television. Not knowing the title of the movie, or any actors that stared in it will make it difficult if not impossible to find out anything about it.

Story line as far as we know:

Some guy (could be a prince) has to find a blue rose to save the girl (could be a princess) from certain death. Evil guy tries to stop good guy from finding rose to save girl. Eventually rose is found, girl is saved, everyone (except the evil guy) lives happily ever after.

So far I’ve found a movie called The Blue Rose, made in 2007. Not that one. Another movie, with the same title was a silent film made in 1913. Not that one either.

I’m leaning toward a movie called The Thief of Bagdad, but since I don’t remember it, this may not be the one. It was released in 1961, and I’m not sure how long it would take to make it to TV. The plot summary (you have to dig for it) is almost exactly what I was told. This movie was a remake of one made in 1940. One should really check this one out for the names of the characters. You could almost call Disney Studios, Thieves of the Thieves of Bagdad. And one more movie with the same title, but I’m sure ‘lil Sister would have remembered this one, since it starred Douglas Fairbanks as the Thief.

If it isn’t one of these movies, I will have to continue my search at a later date.

Tonight, I was invited to attend a dress rehearsal for the theatre’s poduction of Don’t Hug Me.  I won’t go into much detail plot wise for those readers who anticipate attending one of the performances with in the next two weekends.  As with any rehearsal there were some minor guffaws; however, for the most part (quite happily) the show is ready to have an audience of more than 4 (with a 5th who missed the first act).  There is an instant chemistry portrayed on stage between all the characters.  The husband and wife owners of the Bunyan tavern;  the engaged couple; and the fly-by-night karaoke (THERE’S THAT WORD AGAIN) salesman.  Hilarity ensues with each goofy tune performed by all of the characters.  I’m not sure if Minnesotan’s actually use phrases such as “for pukin in the ice box” or not but each of them just made me roar.  A true feeling of frigidness was also conveyed by each actor.  You could actually sense that it is the coldest day of the year in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota.  So for a few hours of pure fun an hilarious antics, be sure to check out Don’t Hug Me.  Yah, For Sure, You Betcha.

Everyone who has been reading my blog since I started it in the beginning of 2008 knows my disdain for the 2-hour delay so frequently used at my daughter’s school.  Well, it’s that time of year again – Tuesday was our first 2-hour delay of the school year.  It’s not like I want the buses to go out on the slippery country roads and endanger kids and drivers; it’s just that the delay throws off the entire family for the whole day!  If there was some way to effectively implement the delay for those who would have trouble getting to the school in poor weather conditions, I think that would be a good solution.  However, it’s obvious that would lead to kids falling behind other kids and such, so it’s obvious why they don’t do that.  But 2-hour delays frustrate me nonetheless.

My 2-year-old gets frightened or crabby if we do things differently from our normal routine.  So when there’s a 2-hour-delay, she sleeps in until after 10 and wakes up disoriented, hungry and crabby.  I guess I could wake her, but I figure if she’s sleeping in then she needs the sleep – and it will pay off for me later in the day because her daily pre-naptime intensity won’t be quite as demanding as usual.  So Tuesday’s delay was caused by snow, which meant that my 4-year-old wanted to play in it all day (no preschool today).  But of course she wants someone to play with, and I’m not comfortable letting my 2 and 4-year-olds play outside by themselves of course.  And on Tuesday it was too cold to take the baby out with us…  So we were all stuck inside and my middle two have a rivalry going on, which means that they fight over everything and constantly; Tuesday being no exception because why would it be?  Hopefully the salt shortage there is for the roads this winter won’t lead to more school delays – our first one did not go smoothly!

Since it’s something I had never before tried, I’ve been dabbling in role playing games for a few months.  We’ve met with a small group twice to play “Call of Cthulu”, and it was a fun experience.  Here is a link to my blog post about the game – it reads like a novel, but keep in mind that all the action took place during two afternoons.  You begin a game by deciding characteristics you will attribute to your character, and rolling the dice to determine others.  There was a host, and he guided us through the game; telling us when to roll what dice and what events were occurring as a result of our decisions.  We are going to meet another time this Saturday for another scenario in this same game – hopefully we’ll get to keep our same characters since I got a lot of lucky rolls – so my character had lots of strong areas.  Here is the post-game wrap-up for the two sessions we already played.  My character is named Grace O’Conner, and she is a zookeeper at The Franklin Park Zoo in Boston.  The year is 1925.

(Wrap up from the original Call of C’thulhu scenario “Haunter in the Hills.”)

Within days of returning to Boston, Jason Carthage and Grace O’Conner had contacted each other and Ms. Dorothy Morgan and borrowed the diary they’d found in the Adams place. Each of the two had read it and both later wished they hadn’t.

The very meticulous diary had very little written in it towards the beginning and the earliest dates were from 1910. Most were about mundane things such as Dr. Adams’ move to the home in the Vermont Mountains and dealing with the folk in the area, including Dr. Haylett. There were some entries about Dr. Adams’ research but little until 1919, when he noted that he had suddenly found more and more proof that there are things in the hills that simply SHOULD NOT BE.

He made some notes about the research he was doing, including mentioning a certain book in the Moretown Memorial Library called “Legends of New England” by Eli Davenport and noting “some of the answers are there.” The journal alleged that he kept the main bulk of his research elsewhere.

Entries continued to get more disturbing and weird until May of 1922 when they took a change for the macabre. Without going into detail, Adams noted that he purchased several large dogs and hastily had a kennel constructed for them. He wrote “The dogs seem to hate the things. I hope they can warn me of their approach. I fear that they will not be able to protect me.”

He wrote more and more that the “things” were watching all the time and he feared he may have unintentionally gotten their notice with his investigations. He noted that they could easily conquer the earth but had not tried so far because he felt they had not needed to. They didn’t want to bother and could get what they wanted without it.

He also wrote that the town of Moretown was within the things’ grip and noted that he learned that some of the people in the town, and even elsewhere in Washington County, worked with these things, these “fungi,” either willfully or against their will.

By June, he noted that the house was now constantly watched and the that things were growing more bold, though they seemed to prefer the darkest of nights: those that were overcast or without a large moon. By the end of that month, he wrote that he saw the things’ prints around the house nightly and that he must often replace the dogs that were killed fighting them.

In July, he wrote that an attempt to stop him on his way to Moretown almost worked. A sign on Moretown Mountain Road detoured him to a dead end and the barking of the large dogs he had with him alerted him to the presence of the things. He noted on the 10th of July that the dogs again alerted him to something near the road as he drove.

In August, others seemed to have joined the mix. Adams noted continually getting new dogs and wrote that on Aug. 3, a bullet crashed through a window of his house, narrowly missing him.

The following week, there were more shots outside of the house on darkened nights and he found several of the dogs dead the following morning. He noted that he found more of the claw prints in the road as well as the footprints of men. He wrote that the phone lines had been cut and were dead.

The following day, he reported going to Montpelier and purchasing several more large dogs and a large-caliber rifle as well as supplies.

The next several entries noted the numerous cloudy nights and the exchange of gunfire that happened nightly. He wrote that there were at least three men in the group against him along with the numerous claw prints. He feared that he was trapped in the house and wrote that he is loathe to leave his home to the things.

On Aug. 20, he noted that the things called to him the night before in horrible buzzing voices, telling him things he dared not put down and making promises he feared they would keep. He mentions that the things want to take him to Yuggoth and beyond, something he dreaded. He wrote that he recognized one of the men that who was with the things: Erik Bartlett was among them.

The entries continued with the horrors of the night, of buzzing noises that made him feel lethargic, and sparks of light that burst against the house when he looked out the windows and left blackened burned marks.

The last entry, dated Sept. 6, noted:

“I will try to leave this place tomorrow. With the full moon, perhaps I can get as far as Northfield or even Montpelier, where I might take a train east to Boston or even Dover though I wish to leave these haunted hills. I only hope they let me go. I will leave this journal hidden here in the event of my demise. I fear that if the fungi do not get me, their human servants will.

“The things’ lair must be on the west face of Chase Mountain. There is a large cave there, covered with a great boulder too heavy for anyone to move. However, erosion has left a place where a man might wiggle though. That must be where they are.”

Both of them remembered the Montpelier newspaper article from the next day. Dr. Adams had attacked a man in Montpelier but had been stopped by police and returned home.

There is NOTHING in the world like a GREAT song.  One of the best was a hit single from the final album of the duo Simon and Garfunkel.  Name any singer and I bet he/she has at the very least performed it if not recorded a cover version of it.  Strangely enough, I ATTEMPTED to do a karaoke (there’s that word again… truely frightening) version at a cousin’s wedding.  When I feel weary, small, and tears are in MY eyes, I often think upon this song and it is like a warm blanket.  Click here to read the history of the song and see the list of artists who have recorded the masterpiece.

When you’re weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
I’m on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

When you’re down and out,
When you’re on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part.
When darkness comes
And pains is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Sail on silver girl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine.
All your dreams are on their way.
See how they shine.
If you need a friend
I’m sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.

Well I spent most of the day at the optometrist today to have a series of tests run. The Dr. found something that concerned him in my last visit, so I had to undergo a testing for glaucoma today. First there were pictures of the retina (those were cool) and then a series of pressure tests every 45 minutes. Numbing drops and the blue light coming toward my eye…. Now my eyes are sore and tired. I’m not sure if that is from all the prodding or effects of the numbing drops. I was told I may have discomfort this evening. Good news is that I don’t have to worry about glaucoma yet, but they will keep an eye on it in yearly testing. It’s hell getting older.

Now for the fun part.. The blue light coming at my eye caused me to think many a strange thought. After seeing it for the umpteenth time, I was imagining alien examinations, eyes that go “POP!”, CSI probing and the like. My multitude of voices were wanting to be heard, but since the Dr. was a bit concerned I felt levity in the situation was a bit out of place.

But now I can let that come out…

Imagine Bullwinkle (wow, Bullwinkle is in the spell check dictionary!!!) sitting in the chair. “Hey Rocky, why all the blue lights?” “I can’t feel my eyeballs anymore, Rocky”. “Where’d everybody go? Who turned out the lights?”

Or Stitch? “Blue Punch Buggy!!” “Stitch be good, take blue light away now.”

Or JarJar Binks (Yeah!!, not in spell check)… “Weesa gonna die heere.”

Some unnamed voice… “Go ahead strap me in. Turn on the juice. Say good bye to my Ma and Pa.”

Forget the imagination, why shouldn’t you be able to hear my thoughts….

some unnamed voice
jarjar
stitch
bullwinkle
The funny thing is, they are all me.

Strange I thought of a lot more sitting in the chair, but seem to have forgotten most since I’ve been home….

Well, looking at the screen doesn’t seem to be helping much, so that should do it for a bit.