instant gramming

July 24, 2010

100

Finally. I finally finished the "100 Days of Ellie" series. Ok, so there are a couple missing days-a few of which will have videos added soon, but nevermind that. I made it to day 100. On the sidebar you might notice a new photo of Ellise--if you click that it should direct you to all photos in the 100 Days series.

So, I've mostly been avoiding/ignoring this blog as I was so ashamed that these photos weren't getting added in a timely fashion. Now that I've finished, I'll keep posting good photos as they come up, but I hope to write more about all kinds of stuff.

Anyway, thanks for being patient. Stay cool,

D

July 23, 2010

100 Days of Ellie: Day 100!

100 Days of Ellie: Day 99

100 Days of Ellie: Day 97

100 Days of Ellie: Day 96

100 Days of Ellie: Day 95

100 Days of Ellie: Day 94

100 Days of Ellie: Day 92

100 Days of Ellie: Day 91

Ellie loves showers!

100 Days of Ellie: Day 89

100 Days of Ellie: Day 88

100 Days of Ellie: Day 87

100 Days of Ellie: Matt & Bre's Wedding edition

100 Days of Ellie: Day 86

100 Days of Ellie: Day 85

July 12, 2010

100 Days of Ellie: Day 76

This photo has everything to do with the outfit--which is actually really great and soft--but hilariously enough looks like a karate robe. Hence the set-up. I should also mention that we were working hard to get her excited for this photo--usually when provoked she starts kicking and flailing and we were hoping for a good judo-chop or judo-kick moment. We'll settle for this awesome smile

100 Days of Ellie: Day 75

100 Days of Ellie: Day 73

July 9, 2010

Big Things Going On

Massive, huge, monster-sized things have been culminating this week. Not the least of which includes the arrival of Miss Sophia Ann West (my niece!) on Tuesday, July 6 at 6:05pm (a minute early!), weighing in at 6 lbs 1 oz (an ounce too much!). J-k, j-k. I'm packing up the fam and cruising to Cincy this evening to meet the littlest bundle and take too many photos and otherwise irritate the sh*t out of her.

What else? Oh, new phones! Our busted, old hand-me-down phones were starting to fail and we decided to "embrace the present" as I put it, and get some Smart phones. Android Allys they are. Bringing the internet and a thousand widgets to my fingertips, among other things. A pretty handy way to stay abreast of the happenings surrounding our daughter and keeping us in touch with home when we are away from it.

What else, too? Lebron James. Bummer.

Umm... Ellie had her 3-month-iversary yesterday! C and I celebrated with Vendi caramel soy lattes and beer, respectively. Ellie drank a lot of breast milk. One of these days I'm going to have to cut her off that stuff. Daycare seems to be getting better each day, both for Ellie and the woman who is watching her. And today marks day 93 in the "100 Days of Ellie" series that has been so sporadic. This morning I uploaded a ton more photos from our camera and I plan to sort through them. My hope is to get it all on this blaugh before day 100...

Erm.... moments ago I broke down and bought myself some nice pants as an early birthday gift to myself. Expensive enough that I wouldn't let anyone else buy them for me. Hopefully they are as nice as promised. It was all I could do to keep myself from buying an additional pair of shorts and a second pair of pants. Lets try this first pair before I get so invested, ok?

Oh, and it's Friday. Woop woop

July 3, 2010

daily

about a month or more back our Mr. Coffee machine tapped out. This turned out to be my excuse to open up the french press given to me as a gift from my sister probably a year (two?) ago. While I'm still trying to figure out the proper ratio of grounds to water, I've managed to make some good cups of coffee (amidst some terrible ones). I love it because it makes me feel real old school. Like, a legit coffee connoisseur. Mais oui. Like, instead of wearing some swim trunks right now, I should be wearing some nice trousers. Anyway, this photo is an homage to my french pressing experience. Cin cin.

July 1, 2010

Video: fun with noises


Ellie_yelling from d strong on Vimeo.

The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
Confucius Chinese philosopher & reformer (551 BC - 479 BC)

This quote (minus the "superior" part) reflects well the latest tone of this blog, where I'm writing less about stuff that doesn't really matter and focusing in on stuff that does, like our amazing and adorable baby. Hopefully though I'll find time to branch out and include more of our home and family. Meanwhile I'm figuring out work, trying to keep on the bike as much as possible, trying to keep our garden alive, and working toward expanding our good life.

I guess I've been struggling to prove that I'm actually helping to manage all the work involved with taking care of Ellie, despite the fact that I feel like I'm constantly going-going-going, be it trying to satisfy my boss at work, making sure I'm available around the house, or trying to help clean or whatever. I guess I get so scatter-brained that I'm not really doing anything very well, but doing a lot of things mediocre. And this is something that I've always done. But in the face of a baby and a wife who needs help raising a baby, it's unacceptable. I guess I'm on my way up a learning curve, but I just hate being compared to the "average father" whose statistics in the field of fatherhood are apparently pretty dismal.

Yesterday I got to fulfill some of my homesteading desires by hauling wood from the dead tree that was cut down in our front yard, courtesy of our City. What logs aren't used by my father in law for woodworking, we'll chop into firewood. Something I value, but, again, doesn't really stack up in the world of helping to take care of an infant.