Shameless plug

The Harbor Children's Center in Boothbay Harbor is in the middle of a major fundraiser to try to raise enough money to install a sprinkler system in their building. If enough money is not raised, the center with be forced to close. I am begging, pleading for people's help by purchasing a raffle ticket or ten. The prize list is extensive and impressive.

Buying a ticket will change your life, not only will you be in my good graces but you will also be the recipient of good karma. Surely your wildest dreams will come true. Here are three testimonials from happy customers.

Marcus G.: "Since buying my ticket last week, not only has my wife's black eye gone away but I've suddenly been able to grow facial hair. Thanks Harbor Children's Center!"

Terri M.: "Ever since trying your fabulous raffle tickets, my husband has started eating vegetable that aren't fried in bacon grease. Harbor Children's Center has saved our marriage!"

Sue M.: "I used the HCC raffle tickets to train my dog to not eat $100 worth of vitamins while I'm away at work. So really, the tickets paid for themselves."

As you can see, by buying HCC raffle tickets, your not only helping the cute little kids, you're also helping yourself. At the end of the day you need to ask yourself one simple question "Do I HATE children?" . If your answer is yes, than by all means, don't buy a ticket. If the answer is "No, I love children, especially in a hollandaise sauce" than see me, I've got what you're looking for.

"Please mister, don't leave me out in the cold."

Tickets are 1 for a buck or 6 for $5. If you want to help, shoot me an e-mail at chiddong@hotmail.com

Thanks

Play date

On Monday, while Tina was at work, Kevin brought Calia up so that the girls could get together. B was a bit shy and fussy while Calia was there (we later found out she had a raging ear infection and just wasn't showing the signs yet) but the girls did have a good time together and only once did tempers flare. I had put apples and animal crackers out for the girls to snack on and since animal crackers are the closest thing to red meat that Brynna eats, she quickly grabbed them all, clutching them in both hands and between her arms and chest and refused to let Calia have any. The girl has such a grip that I even had a hard time prying a few away for Calia. Who says toddlers don't share well?


Playing with the ball machine together. They worked together to gather the balls before firing it up each time.


Meeting of the minds.



Snack time - pre animal crackers.


Calia taking interest in B's talking broom. Funny, before Monday, Brynna didn't pay much attention to it but after Calia played with it, B has had it out daily since.

Brynna's new face

Do you ever wonder whats going on in your little one's mind? Like when B spends 20 minutes taking crayons out of and then putting them back into the box or when she stops everything if she happens to see a clump of dirt on the floor, picks it up and holds it in the air as if to say "mimi jo wouldn't approve of how you keep your house!" until we take it and dispose of it. She will then, of course, go about destroying the rest of the house as if THAT is ok as long as the small piece of paper is taken care of. Well, B often whips out a new funny face to put on display for a week or two before moving on to the next. The current face is what I like to call "What you talking bout Willis?" To be clear, this is not a shot in the middle of her saying something, she'll actually hold this pose for a few minutes. Jeff says she's goofy like her father, I say she's a creative genius who can entertain herself with funny faces and noises like her father. Genius and insanity are easily confused.

I'm a little pony

Marcy and I keep Brynna's rocking horse over next to the fireplace hearth because we just can handle having yet one more freaking toy in the middle of the living room floor. You have to draw the line somewhere. When Brynna wants to use it though, she wants it in the middle of the room. Instead of either pushing or pulling it into place, she prefers to pick it up all He-Man-Baby style and carry it to the middle of the room. Strangely enough, she also does this with her Dora car and Elmo car. She'll carry it to where she wants to use them and then sit on it and ride around. She's a smart one.

Lift with the knees

From Feb 2007

Here are a couple pics from Marcy while playing with her new camera.

From Feb 2007

From Feb 2007

Sled at your own risk!

Here are some pics from this weekend of Chancy "helping" Darren get off of his tube after sledding. (If you click on the "my pictures" caption below the photos you can go to the web album and if you scoot through them fast enough its sort of like a video)

Step one: establish contact.

Step two: go for the groin.

From My Pictures

Step three: fight off all defenses.

From My Pictures

The victor.

From My Pictures

First time sliding

"We're going sledding as soon as mommy blows up the tube."

"Here, let me do it. You're too slow!"

Success!

From My Pictures

Too much sugar maybe?

From My Pictures

Dancing with the stars.

Brynna shows her moves. Junior high dances here she comes.

sea smoke

Another sea smoke pic from Marcy. Personally, I like the composition.

 

National Toboggan Championships

Every year, the Camden Snow Bowl holds the National Toboggan Championships. How is it that they have the national championships you ask? Simple, they were the first to name it that. Clever bastards those Camden folk. Anyway, for one weekend each winter people get liquored up, stuff themselves onto a wooden toboggan and plummet down a wooded, ice filled chute onto the pond below where they almost always flip and cartwheel before coming to rest. Sometimes taking out a druken spectator or two in the process. This year in the two hours that Marcy and I were there, we witnessed two such events. Survival of the fittest if you ask me. If you're dumb enough to get in the way of a 500lb wooden rocket traveling at 30 mph, you deserve to be taken out at the knees.

Anyway, my buddy JMA Joe was "competing" again this year on a four man team. Unfortunately, B got cold before Joe did his first run but I'm sure it was 10 seconds of spectating delight. It seemed to me though that it was the other festivities that drew the most people. Based on the shanty town that had sprouted up on the ice, many people were there mostly for the drinking and the racing was simply a momentary diversion.

Here be the pics.

Stupid blogger dumped most of our pics from the event but here are some that survived.

Shanty town.

B, JMA Joe and myself. Apparently I've been working out because my jaw is jacked.The finish chute on the pond.

The naked dancing beauties.

A cracked open skull.

Airborn!

Elvis

What can your baby do?

Every child has something that she is good at. For some toddlers its physical abilites, others verbal, some learn things at a quick rate. Brynna has a skill that will serve her well throughout her life. She can blow bubbles at will.

check it.

Say Cheese!

These pics are of Brynna enthusiatically saying "Cheese!" Photogenic huh?

The rambling begins

In the last month or so, B-Girls vocabulary has exploded. Most words aren't recognizeable to the untrained ear but if you spend enough time with her you begin to understand Brynna babble. For example, "yo-ya" is yogurt (which, by the way, she'll literally stop doing anything that she's doing and run to her highchair if you offer it).

She has also started to use multi-word sentences. Her most common are "hi mama/dada", thank you or "ting to" (which she usually uses unprompted now), help please or "hep pese". Quite honestly, we can't get her to shut up.



Ripping it up (yet again) on the trike. She's still not totally sure how to pedal but she's getting there.



















Giving loves to "he of the giant schnoze".

yikes

How would you like to come home to this face everyday? She's going to have trouble finding a man...

 

You can thank Kevin for this.

Random B-girl Pictures

The week after Christmas, Marcy's brother (Lance) and his family came up from South Carolina for a visit. This was Brynna's first time meeting her Uncle Lance, Aunt Kelly and cousin Bryan. To celebrate, Mimi Jo and Papa Don threw a big family shindig New Year's weekend. Staying true to form, B was most interested in her much older cousin Bryan (a senior in high school!) and would readily give him kisses while holding out on the rest of her family. Below are a few pictures from the party.

Dakota's cracker is bigger than mine!

Bryan, hoping for snow during their visit, spent the evening shoveling a small strip of ice over and over again.

B with her Uncle Lance. This was towards the end of the party. They were both ready for a nap.

The following weekend B and Marcy headed to a local toy store in Boothbay Harbor with Jen and her 3 daughters. It is a pretty cool place, lots of creative toys plus an indoor playground complete with slides, a mini ball pit, tunnels and even a cafe for the parents.

Fyi- it may look like Marcy is pulling B's shirt up in the pic but my guess is that its Brynna's baby beer belly that is doing the work. She has several shirts that she can no longer wear because her belly peaks out of the bottom.

Later The Nelsons met up with The Brownes. It had been a while since the girls had seen each other. They were a little shy of one another at first bit were soon cooking together in Calia's kitchen.

Enjoying a snack on Marcy's legs while hamming it up for the camera.

Cheese!

catching up

Here is another vid for your viewing pleasure. It was of a walk B, Marcy and Chance made to the back of the property. B walked the whole way up herself and "threw" the tennis ball for Chance on a couple of occasions. via the video, you can also capture a glimpse of the brilliance of our dog. Nothing like barking at a tennis ball expecting something to happen.

This song haunts my dreams!

Grammie and Grampie Lucas gave B this cute (but obnoxious) rocking horse for christmas. Unfortunately for us Brynna actually likes to ride it and has figured out how to get it to play music. Its a cute but extremely annoying song which, after you've heard it once, would take an exorcism to remove from your brain. Watch the video with extreme caution.

The Newest Galvin

We received word last night that the long awaited little Galvin has arrived. Congratulations on the birth of Elsa! We can't wait to meet her.