California Child

_______________Drying By Red Door___________

Atticus may be from Seattle but he has definitely taken to this California living. He spends every day in and around his pool, either swimming or throwing items in it. He has inherited a love for all things sunny from his mother.

I on the other hand, being reared in Tucson, have had enough sunshine. Sure, I enjoy a sunny day at the beach or baseball game as much as the next guy, but give me some crisp autumn air with leaves swirling in the sky and the promise of football greeting me every Sunday morning. That is what I crave.

I wonder how Atticus will react to his pool freezing over. I can't find out soon enough.

Shhh! Someone is Having a Birthday...

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We hope that you have a swell birthday and enjoy this warm summer day.

Love,
Atticus & Co.

Eggs Ham

A favorite book has emerged amongst stiff competition. Green Eggs and Ham, or Egg Ham as Atticus calls it, is now required reading before bed. I assume everyone is familiar with this Dr. Seuss classic, so I'll spare you the summary.

I am especially happy with Atticus being able to fill in any blanks or pauses we leave while reading aloud with the correct verbiage, i.e. house, mouse, dark, tree, and so on. He's quite sharp that boy, and he will read it here or there, he will read it anywhere.

Atticus @ The Grove Shopping Center

Additions to Site

I've tweaked the ol' blog a little this morning:

*many of you are probably wondering why much of the text is so large in the sidebar, that is because I am using fonts that you don't have- to solve this I have included a link on the bottom right that has many free and safe downloads to help you view this site better

*I have added a permanent link to the photo album of our continuing trips to Disneyland during its 50th celebration- it is under the videos

*our good friend Champ has joined the ranks of blogger and I have linked to his page as well

Loves that corn!

Happy Birthday Disneyland!

This is how a goofball spends his day @ Disneyland- smiles and candy. The golden ears were handed out free to all guests upon entering the park.
Atticus learned all kinds of new words on this trip. He was very keen on "ride" and wanted to go on every one: pooh ride, pirate (also a new word) ride, fish ride, train ride. Another new word that he got to use often but didn't care for was "wait". Not a favorite.

July 17th, 2005, was the actual birthday of Disneyland. It was pretty packed with over 80,000 smiling, tired, golden ears wearing people. Aunt Tiffy, or TT Pooh Pooh, as Atticus calls her, was there with us. We saw some old friends and had a few laughs. It was a lot of fun.

Took a quick look to see how the pictures of Atticus were holding up. Lookin' good!

The ladies were all over Atticus. Get used to it Son, it's a family curse.

Yes, those are LEGOS. Very impressive.

Pictures w/ Friends

Jen & Atticus
Dave & Atticus
Atticus Posing
Here are some of the pics that Jen took of the visit that she and Dave made to see us.

Tidbits

Not much new in our little world. Atticus is talking more and more. Our friend Jen took some great photos over this past weekend and I'll post them in the next couple of days. Aunt TT is coming for a visit. We will be going to see the mouse on Disneyland's actual 50th birthday. I don't know if there will be anything crazy there or not, we shall see.

Love & Mercy @ LIVE8

I haven't seen the feed yet of Brian Wilson playing in Berlin as part of the LIVE 8 concerts yesterday, but I hope that he played his song Love & Mercy. I assume my reasoning is obvious. Despite the evils of this world, of which there are a terrible many, there is still much good. My son, who is healthy and happy, he is the best kind of good- innocent, pure and inspiring. He inspires me to take heed of the world's injustice and fight for ways to bring it peace. Love & mercy.
Don't forget that while we sit in our air conditioned homes or sip umbrella garnished drinks poolside on warm summer days that someone is dying. A child is dying. Everyday 30,000 children die from the plague of poverty. That is one every three seconds!
We fight lots of evils, but this one is actually beatable. Children should not die from wanting. Lend your support to encourage the G8 to be what it claims- great.


http://www.one.org/

New Pics

As you can see, Atticus went in to Kiddie Kandids at the local mall and posed for some pictures. I think that they came out pretty nice.
We haven't gone in for professional shots since he was 4 months old. Kids sure change in twenty months!

I know that I promised some images and video from Atticus' birthday bash, but I have not heard back from all parties as to whether or not it is okay to post their kids on this site. I guess I will email them again for their permission.

In other news...not much. Atticus is talking more, putting words together like, "please Daddy" and "more juice please." Stuff like that. Very cute. He is also talking more on the telephone now that he has put faces to the names we are always trying to pound into him. A favorite of his callers is when they ask for a hug and he holds the phone to his cheek and says, "ahhh."

Happy Birthday Atticus!!!

Well, it's here. The boy is 2. Amazing how time flies, as they say, and you know- they're right. It has been a wonderful begining, and as happy as he has made us thus far, I can't wait for what lies ahead.

Happy birthday Atticus. I love you.
Dad

PS-above is a video from last year. I'll add this years next week sometime!

MAKE LEGAL POSTAGE FROM YOUR PHOTOS!

It's true! The above site will make U.S.P.S. approved stamps from your photos. Of course they will cost a little more than your normal postage, but I think it is worth it. There are some things you can't use, namely brand names and nudity- which rules out most of you, but a picture of your kid on a stamp is also cool.


In other news...
*You may have noticed some slight changes in the look of this blog. I am slowly teaching HTML to myself and will apply it as I go.
*There are now videos available on the right side of this page. The music involved is listed by artist with each video title. The music is paid for and I am not making a profit off of it, but I'm still not sure of the legality. I figure it's free publicity for the artist- buy some CD's so they are cool with it.

serious boy 

happy boy 

NOTES ON THE BOY

*It's almost here. Atticus will be two. He is already more boy than baby. It's funny how time flies, cliche as it may be.
*Today he said "Nana", clearly and repeatedly. His vocabulary has increased ten-fold. His behavior, barring the influence of hunger and exhaustion, is that of a fun-loving yet well-mannered child.
*He just ran in the door with his arms wide open yelling for me and wanting to be held. I've yet to find anything sweeter than that little boy.