Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Understanding the plot

I've never been confused by movies or TV shows with plot lines involving a child's kidnapping, or a terrorist threatening a child.

It's a staple of any hostage-related story line, or about two-thirds of any season of "24."

I've watched programs like that, never really sensing the emotions the stories are meant to trigger. I had never felt the sensation of a parent's instinct to protect being used like a blunt object against the head.

But I really realized only recently -- thanks in part to the cutest little fella to ever grace the planet -- just how agonizing any sort of threat can be to your child.

Tomorrow our little hero will have the tiniest of procedures done on the tiniest of ears. Having tubes put in his ears isn't neurosurgery. We understand that. But the notion of it being a minor, 30-minute surgery doesn't change the fact that it's still a surgery. I still don't want my smiling little Cap'n to go through anything adverse.

Heck, we agonize over immunization shots. Now he's going to have a doctor that slightly resembles Vincent Price cut a hole in his ear drum. Who can rest easy?

We know, however, that all will be well. And in the end, our hero will prove that he is, indeed, heroic.

That's a plot line that I'll be glad to see unfold.

Here's a few of the greatest hits from the past week:

























Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Made a girl cry

There is really no question that Quinn is a boy. He's got all the right parts.

But he proved to Daddy last Saturday that he is, indeed, all boy.

That's the day Cap'n Quinn made a little girl cry.

It might seem onerous that the little girl happened to be the 9-month-old daughter of Daddy's boss. But this wasn't a malicious encounter.

The good cap'n and young Nora were playing together on the floor at a party. She enjoyed grabbing his pacifier, which was tethered to his shirt. He enjoyed grabbing the straps of her pretty sun dress and pulling. She could see the enjoyment in that, and out came the tears.

But while Nora cried, Quinn laughed. He thought it was pretty funny, which isn't something Daddy encourages. But mischievous boys will be mischievous boys.

He's had a tough week since then, though I'm sure it has nothing to do with any bad Karma. This culprit is another ear infection that left him with enough crust on his eyes to cover a pie. That's gross, but it really seemed like that.

Our little hero is just about a week away from having tubes in his ears, so hopefully we won't have these problems anymore.

Mommy and Daddy haven't been good at wielding the camera in the presence of His Eternal Cuteness. So instead, we offer one picture of Quinn and this picture of Quinn's big Cousin Axel, who at age 2 is already forming his own garage band. He's the lead singer.









Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Quinn beef on toast

There's a freedom in mobility. Even if it's limited to, say, hobbling a few inches forward. It's still better than not moving at all, right?

Perhaps that's why Daddy is so eager for young Cap'n Quinn to develop some form of forward movement. Daddy would prefer crawling before walking, but that's just because he's a purist. He also likes it when ballplayers hit without batting gloves. This is the same thing, only on all fours. And no bat.

Lately, Quinn has shown some initiative in the mobility department. Daddy likes to hold some bait out in front of him. And by bait, we mean a spoon or a toy cup, as opposed to nightcrawlers or leaches, which is what Daddy has come to otherwise know as bait.

The wee Cap'n will see this bait and make valiant efforts to reach forward. From his belly, he can get up on his knees and up on his hands -- just never at the same time. Mommy and Daddy like to set him in his new walker. Tonight, Daddy put a spoon in front of him and got our little hero to walk forward to grab it. There's a video of that below. And there's no wobbliness in the video this time, since Mommy took it and she's better than Daddy at having a steady hand.

Speaking of Mommy, she is continuing her quest to help Quinn with some culinary exploration. Today, it was toast and Cheerios, though not at the same time. He has learned how to pick up the food with his hands, and he's a champion chewer. He still needs to get the hang of comfortably swalling larger pieces of food, but he handles it pretty well for a rookie.

So raise your glasses to that.

I think we just toasted toast. How convenient.

Here's a few videos to get you through the day. Or the next 10 minutes. Whichever.

(By the way, Daddy realized after watching video No. 2 that he appears to be slightly balding on top. He asks that you not notice. Thank you in advance.)




Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Totally tubular

First, the bad news.

A very dry-humored doctor who could be played by Vincent Price if Vincent Price were alive and there were a need to portray this doctor in a film agreed that the wee Cap'n Quinn should have tubes put in his water-logged ears.

It'll happen in about two weeks or so, though the exact date is to be determined.

So we've got that going for us -- and the Vincent Price look-a-like, which could be worse. He could look like Bela Lugosi.

Quinn celebrated his first Fourth of July by going to bed well before any fireworks were ignited. Or at least before any government sanctioned fireworks "extravaganzas" started. Yet, as Daddy writes this blog, the weather is looking more grim, the wind is blowing, the sky is gray and hazy, and it's been raining off and on. There's a chance nobody may get a fireworks "extrava-whatever."

That still won't stop the do-it-yourselfers from scaring the kibble out of poor Dexie the Wonderdog.

Here's to a happy Independence Day to you all. And to celebrate, look at some pictures and a couple videos: