Last week, someone at my office received a demo Flip Video Camera from a vendor, asking us to play around with it and see how it works. I was impress at how SMALL the thing is, and it shoots good footage. Rather than using iMovie to import and edit the clips, there's built-in "Flip Share" software that lets users edit and share their movies. While it's not as fancy as iMovie, the video greeting cards are really cool. Below are two samples of movies I took of Jake over the weekend, singing some of his favorite holiday songs.

Just click on the images to view:

When I first met Leah in 1996, she had two cats, Krizia and Chelsea. I grew to love them over the years, and suffered right along with Leah when Krizia passed away in 2003. And just yesterday, Chelsea was put to sleep. She was a great cat, filled with personality and humor, a kitty who always made me smile with her easy demeanor and ferocious purr.

Man, could she purr! I remember cracking Leah up when I came up with the phrase, "She's purring up the room again," and we'd often HEAR her coming before actually seeing her. That's just one of the things I'll miss about Chelsea. I tried to capture some of Chelsea's best moments through her 15 years. We'll miss her...
 

Click on the photo to see a larger version on Flickr.

Our dear friend Chelsea passed away on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008. She had been sick for quite some time, and was losing weight and having trouble breathing. Even though she must have been suffering, she still had her "purr motor" working until the very end.

She had one of the greatest purrs I've ever heard. She was a famous cat, too, appearing on Animal Planet's "Funniest Animals" doing her famous "carpet skooching" trick where I'd rub her back and she'd sneak along the floor like an infantry soldier. We also sent pictures of her to Stuff on my Cat, and the sunglasses photo appeared in 2006 under the title "Let's Roll."

We'll miss you Chelsea...and you'll always be with us.

 Hard to believe that I completely missed posting something on Jake's birthday. Time just seems to be flying by. Anyway, Jake's birthday was two weeks ago (!). We had a party at Cook Park Rec Center, with about 6 kids and 10 adults. It was fun. Here's a video of the event that I posted to Jake's blog. We made a little iMovie, and Jake provided the narration. Even though he's been 3 for just a few weeks, we can already tell that the "terrible two's" is nothing compared to the 3's. He continues to test his limits, and throws a more serious fit when he doesn't get his way. On the plus side, though, his sense of humor is becoming more sophisticated, and so is his vocabulary. Just today he told Leah to "stop freaking out" which cracked us up to no end. 

On the potty training front, he is just about finished with diapers. The only time he wears them now is at night. And even then, he'll often get up early in the morning, all by himself, and go potty. That's one HUGE weight off our shoulders, not having to deal with poopy diapers anymore. He even insists on sitting on the "big potty" and not the little insert seat we got for him. He likes to put his hands on either side of the bowl and turn around to admire his work while he's pooping. It's quite funny. Matter of fact, everything about Jake's pooping routine strikes me as funny. He'll sit on the toilet, and look at me, but he's not really looking at me, but more "through" me as he goes through his pushing. He begins to breathe more emphatically as I can tell he's trying to squeeze something out, and he gets this look on his face that becomes serious and distracted at the same time. This whole routine amuses the hell out of me!

In other news, Leah's Mom and Larry visited last weekend. They were in town from Thursday to Monday. We went out to eat at this great place on Friday night called Fruition, a tiny little French restaurant on Capitol Hill. The earliest we could reserve a table was at 9:00, so it was a late evening, but a great meal all the same. The rest of the weekend we took turns cooking at home. Joyce and Larry made a seafood pasta on Saturday, and Leah and I made a Moroccan themed dinner of bisteeya and chicken stew. Larry and I golfed at Wellshire on Saturday, and Sunday Leah hung out with Joyce and Larry while Jake and I stayed home and napped.

Leah has been sick for almost 10 days now, coughing and sneezing like crazy. We even had to take turns sleeping downstairs a few nights last week because her coughing continued through the night. She's still not 100%, and neither is Jake. So far, I'm the only one who hasn't gotten sick, and I'm hoping that I won't. 

To keep you updated on my procrastination, there's also some new videos from Halloween on Jake's blog:

• Lord Jacob the Jubilant
• Fun with PhotoBooth

I should really be more consistent posting to this blog. I find myself finding excuses not to write, much like what I do when it comes to going to work out at the gym. I've created a Twitter account, thinking that if I only posted short entries, I'd do it more often, but that hasn't happened either. Not familiar with Twitter? It's a condensed version of blogging, with all posts restricted to 140 characters or less. Here's my lame account so far. The cool thing about it, though, is that you can follow other people's posts, creating a personal network of people who have similar interests. Most of the people I'm following are leading figures in education technology.

Tonight Barack Obama just clinched the presidency. As I was hoping, he's going to not only win the 270 electoral votes needed, but he's going to exceed that number by a LARGE margin. The impact of this election is going to be felt around the world, and I truly feel it's for the better. He seems like a very thoughtful, intelligent leader who's going to bring back our reputation in the world, and here at home. The loud minority of right wing, out-of-touch, paranoid people can now fade into the background, and maybe they could try listening to what the majority is saying for a change. Instead of griping about everything that could go wrong, how about accepting the fact that he's now our president, and working TOGETHER to bring about some real CHANGE in this country?? There's no use staying bitter. It's not healthy.

For tonight, the people have spoken....

So much to write, so little time to get it all posted.  Let's see, we'll start with the biggest news for this old Philly boy:
We've waited 28 years for this to happen again. And for a team that has existed for 126 years, with only one other World Series win to show for it in 1980, this has been a long time coming.I remember the last (and only other) time the Phils won the Series, I was 15 years old, in 10th grade. They beat the KC Royals that year. And then there was '93, and I remember it vividly, watching Mitch Williams give up the Series-ending home run to Joe Carter. Heartbreaking. And there was last summer, when the Phillies played in Denver on the verge of losing their 10,000th game in franchise history, only to eek out a win on the last day of the series, so they left Denver at number 9,999.

And now the city can celebrate at 25 year drought from a championship in ANY sport. The last team to win it all was the '83 Sixers. I was living in Philly at the time, attending Temple University. Yep, I've lived and died with the Phillies ever since i was a little boy. Dad used to take us to the Vet with tickets through Sloan Cheverolet. We had great box seats on the first base side, and would go to at least 3-4 games every summer.

Lots of good baseball memories with the Phillies:
- Trying to get Hank Aaron to autography my baseball, only to have some unknown Braves player grab my ball instead, and I was stuck with a worthless souvenir. I think I was 8 or 9 years old.
- Seeing a bench-clearing brawl on Richis Ashburn Hat Day, against the Cincinnati Reds. I went with my friend Rich from The Garden of Earthly Delights. I must have been 16 or so at the time.
- 1980 World Series team had Pete Rose playing for us, and I was never a big Pete Rose fan, but was feeling "forced" to root for him, since he was now a Phillie player.

Yes, that's the new phrase around here. But it comes with the good news that Jake is finally potty trained. It started with us trying to get him to pee in the potty. He's been pretty good at making it to the toilet while he stands up on a little stool his grandpa made for him, and letting it flow. Getting him to do the pooping in the potty was a little more complicated. We've been using this little "mini-potty" that he'd sit on from time to time, but usually he just went in his diaper. Once Jake started wearing his "Big Boy Undies" he was more open to trying the potty. So one day he announced, "There's something in my butt," to which we rushed him to the little potty, and lo and behold, he made a dookie in the potty, causing all three of us to dance and celebrate like he'd just won an award. In order to continue this behavior, we decided to entice Jakey with a mystery prize for every time he poops in the potty. We bought a bunch of Hot Wheels cars, and wrapped them up to make a big production out of it. Now, every time he poops in the potty, he asks for his present. Jake calls his new collection his "Poop Cars" since he's gotten them for pooping in the potty. It's pretty funny.

And the good news is that now he's starting to sit on the actual toilet to poop, as we attach his mini-seat to the bowl so he doesn't fall in. This makes cleanup SO MUCH easier! All this is happening when he's about one month from his 3rd birthday. I guess that's fairly normal. Our little boy continues to grown up.

Jake is also becoming a big fan of They Might Be Giants. I got him a DVD on eBay called "Here Come the ABC's" which he absolutely LOVES! Check out their website to see some samples. It's also really helping him learn his letters and numbers. And the best part is that the music is catchy and edgy enough that we like listening to it, too.

In other (quickly becoming outdated) news, I posted some pictures I took during the DNC. CLICK HERE to view them.

There's also another new edition to my photo page from a recent trip to the mountains to see the fall colors. CLICK HERE to see them.

I've been slacking with this blog, and haven't been keeping up with all the events that have been happening. Let's see, since August 5th we went camping, and the Democratic Nat's Convention took place, among other things.

Camping was fun. This was our first and only camping trip of the season. We went with Leah's high school friend Dale and her husband Scott, son Connor, and dog Otis. I had made reservations back in May at Golden Gate Canyon State Park. August 22-24 was the first weekend they had available. I wanted to go to the Aspen Meadows campground, since we camped there before, and I knew it's a "tents only" campground. I also wanted to get one of the hike-in sites that are about 100 yds from the parking lot. This way it's more private and there's no road traffic to keep you awake. It was a god time! Jake did well sleeping in the tent. The first night (Friday) he refused to sleep with us on the air mattress. Instead, he wedged himself at our feet, between the mattress and the zipper door. It didn't seem comfortable, and we kep checking on him during the night, but that's where he wanted to be. The second night he fell asleep on Leah's lap by the campfire, so he was easily transferred into our sleeping bag, right between us. Other highlights of the trip was a short hike around Panoram Point, skipping rocks at Dude's Fishing Hole, playing guitar around the fire, surviving short but intense rainstorm, and watching Otis maxing and relaxing around the fire. Here's some pictures from the trip.

The following week the Democratic Convention came to town. The news completely consumed the media and newspapers. I took a half day on Thursday, the same day Obama was set to give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field in front of 75,000 people. I wanted to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event, since it's not every day that the National Convention takes place in your home town. I was somewhat disappointed to see so few protestors and rallies. From how the media reported it, downtown was a hotbed of police confrontations with protestors, but I saw none of it. What I did see was lots of people trying to sell stuff like buttons, t-shirts, hats, pins, posters, etc. When I was there on Thursday, I saw more capitalism on display than activism. Oh well, it was a historic week all the same.

My, how time flies! Last entry we were all set to move, with our house under contract. Well, things have changed. Let's recap, along with other events of the past month:

No More Contract: The same day we were about to submit an offer for the 2nd house on our list (Jefferson Ave) we found out that our buyer had his loan denied, forcing him to back out of the contract for our house. Now we are back where we started in April, having to put our home back up for sale, and keeping the place clean every day for the possibility that we'll have a showing. It's been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, going from being in "moving mode" to having to come to grips with the possibility that we're going to have to wait until 2009 to see our house.

Police at Red Rocks: On July 22nd, Leah and I celebrated our 4th anniversary two days early by seeing The Police and Elvis Costello at Red Rocks. The last time we saw a Red Rocks show was when The Dead played there in 2003 (I think it was 2003). It was a GREAT concert! Sting sounded great, and Elvis was good, too, although he only played a 45-minute set with no encore. And unlike the last five times I've seen Elvis, dating back to the 80's in Philly, he didn't wear red shoes. Great concert!

4th Anniversary: Two days after our official anniversary (July 24th) we celebrated a second time by going out to a nice dinner downtown. Leah found this cool restaurant near the Denver Performing Arts Center, downstairs at the Curtis Hotel, called The Corner Office. The place had a very retro atmosphere featuring art deco and a combination of vintage and modern design. The menu was unique, too, with everything from mexican to asian to twists on popular favorites, like lobster mac and cheese. We sipped on martinis and soaked up the atmosphere. Good times!

Flying Daddy Breaks the Bed: Two weekends ago, Jake and I were playing on the bed. I started doing "flying Daddy" where I'd jump on the bed, pretending to crush Jake, only to move my arms and legs out of the way at the last minute. I learned that our bed is not built for flying Daddy tricks, and on my third jump I heard a loud CRACK and wound up breaking the entire side rail of the bed. It was completely shattered, and I was overcome with my own stupidity for thinking that the bed could hold my fat ass. We immediately went to a furniture store and bought a new bed frame. And this time, I got the 5-year warranty, so if something like this happens again (which it WON'T!) we'll be covered for repairs or replacement.

Fun at Lakeside: When Leah was in Cincinnati in late June, Jake and I went to Lakeside Amusement Park. This year Lakeside is celebrating its 100th year. We went a second time in July, when they were having a $1.00 unlimited ride pass for kids under 12. Jake had a great time in KiddieLand. He also had his first official ice cream cone, as I schooled him on the finer points of how to eat a cone without spilling. Here's some photos from our two visits to Lakeside, CLICK HERE to view.

Corel Painter: I just bought some new software for my Mac called Corel Painter Essentials. It has a feature called "Auto Photo Painting" where you can select a photo and let the software autmatically turn it into a painting. I can choose oil painting, watercolor, chalk, colored pencil, and more. CLICK HERE to see some samples I created from some of my favorite photos.

New Bike: Back in early June, right when summer break officially began, I used my "economic stimulus" money to get a new bicycle. After doing lots of research and test riding at various bike shops, I wound up getting a "performance hybrid" from Specialized called a Sirrus Sport. It's got thin tires like a road bike, but with a (lightweight) mountain bike  frame that makes for a quick, smooth ride around town. It feels good to enjoy riding a bike again!

Our search for a house continues. To update, our house is officially under contract, so we are all set with selling our house on Bails Place. However, we still haven't found a house to move into yet. We've looked at lots of homes over the past month, and we've narrowed it down to three. They are listed in order of preference:

1. 9140 E. Eastman Ave: This house looks like a barn from the outside, but the inside is absolutely beautiful! It's got a great kitchen, hardwood floors and carpet, and the place is split into four levels. When we looked at it today, it was as if a surprise was around every corner, making the place seem MUCH bigger on the inside. The price is listed at $319,00, which is $19,000 above what we can spend, so we're hoping they can come down in price. If not, we have other options.
2. 7453 E. Jefferson Dr: This house is in a great neighborhood, right behind Tamarac Square, and features some unique architecture. It needs some work to update it to a more modern era (a little old lady lived their into her 80's, and the house shows it in some places), but Leah and I both love the style and openness of the interior. The price went down from $319,000 to $312,000, but that's still out of our price range, and we're hoping they might come down in price if we make an offer, which would mean the Eastman house fell through.
   
3. 2231 S. Poplar St: This house needs the least amount of work (other than some yard work, cutting trees, putting up fences, etc.) and has new windows, remodeled kitchen and bathrooms, and new siding. The price is $299,000, which is in our price range. It's just that the neighborhood is much more "urban" and surrounded by businesses. Leah and I can see ourselves living in the area, just maybe not as long as the other two houses.

CLICK HERE to view a Google Map of the three house that are at the top of our list, to give you an idea of how far they are from each other.

Has it been over a month already? The older we get, the faster time seems to pass. The last entry was when our house was first listed in the market, and I'm happy to say that since then our house is now under contract. We've had an appraisal, inspection, and signed all the necessary papers to have the house ready to be sold. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to take Jake to daycare in the morning, and then our realtor, Leah and myself will look at LOTS of houses. Now that we know we have a buyer, it makes the process of finding a house more real. The three zip codes we're looking at are in 80224, 80231, and 80237.

In Jake news, the "Good Hand" has been one our newest games. What is the goon hand, you ask? If you look in the UrbanDictionary.com, you find the following definition:

Taking a firm grip of the meaty underside of a woman's upper arm, making it easy to muscle her around. Most times uttering "you're making a scene" into the woman's ear.

However, I think the "goon hand" comes from Mafia movies, where the "goons" for the big boss want to escort someone out of a public place without making a scene. The technique is the same as described above, but the gender isn't limited to women, but instead applies to any "goombah" that needs to meet with the Boss. As for Jake, the goon hand has morphed into a game where I chase him around the house with my hand out, trying to get close enough to grab him under the arm, while he squeals with delight. He'll say, "Daddy, give me the goon hand," and I'll make a claw-like motion with my hand and start chasing him. Great fun!

Jake is also developing a very specific taste in music. I love seeing how much he likes listening to music. There's certain bands, however, that really get him going. It started with Nelly Furtado and Fergie when Jake was 1, and now he's into Talking Heads and They Might Be Giants. Leah noticed that every time a Talking Heads song would come on the radio, Jake would begin dancing around and getting down with his bad self. And recently, I've begun singing They Might Be Giants to him on the changing table, Doctor Worm in particular. Once I played the real song on the iPod, we both started singing and dancing all over the house. After many of Jake's "Again! Again!" requests, Doctor Worm and Older are now in heavy rotation in our house. I hope you check out the two links above to see YouTube videos for each song, performed by They Might Be Giants.

There have been so many times that I've wished I had a video camera to capture some of Jake's best moments of pure joy and dancing. However, I also know that the memories will last forever, and how I imagine these moments are often better than the actual moments.

And speaking of moments, Leah got me a great Father's Day present: a photo shoot featuring Jake in his Phillies outfit. Check out PHOTO SHOOT #1 and PHOTO SHOOT #2 to see the full session and large versions I scanned and added some Photoshop effects.

This has been a busy couple of weeks.

Opening Day: It started on April 4th, with tickets to Opening Day. My friends Matthew and Spatz go to Opening Day every year, and when they can remember to get me a ticket, I sometimes get to join them. This year, Spatz remembered me, and since Opening Day fell during my Spring Break, it was a done deal all the way. The buzz around Coors Field was different from years past, since this year the Rockies were beginning the season as the National League Champs. Even though the Rockies lost, it was a good day nonetheless.

Professional Development: In an effort to try to acquire more credits so I can get a pay increase, I signed up for two classes offered through Diane Morrison Consulting. One course was called "Digital Photography" and the other "Writing with Focused Intent. The photography class was a good one, since it helped me learn how to use my digital camera, and become more familiar with its features. Here's a sample of using macros and focus points for a professional-looking result. To view more sample photos I took from this class, CLICK HERE.

Passover: Last weekend Leah and I hosted Passover Seder for 13 of our friends. The crowd consisted of mostly the St. Patty's Dinner folks, plus my friend Fred, Bonnie, and Shelby. Luckily, Fred is a fellow MOT ("member of the tribe") so I wasn't the only Jew in the house. Everyone contributed a kosher for Passover dish to the meal, and a good time was had by all. The wine was flowing, along with the matzoh ball soup, brisket, salad, potato pancakes, spinach-artichoke casserole, mushroom onion kugel, and more. For most of the attendees, this was their first Passover, so it was a new experience and exposure to Jewish tradition. Good times!

Phillies vs Rockies: The Phillies came to town two days later, their only appearance in Denver of the season. This was the first two-game series I can recall, since usually they play 3 or 4 games when a visiting team comes to town. But I was prepared, and made sure I got tickets to both games, even though it meant missing my second week in a row of softball (I was teaching a class for CCSD the week before). Monday night's game I went with Matthew and sat 7 rows behind home plate, thanks to Brian from softball, who manages to save me one of his season tickets for the Phillies, since he knows I want to see them every time they come to Denver. The second night I went with my Dad and Jake, and we sat in Club Level. I got these seats from StubHub, since April weather tends to be cold, and I wanted to make sure Jakey could have a shelter close by if needed. I was so proud riding the train with my son, as we wore matching Phillies jerseys (thanks, Matthew!). It was also a momentous occasion because this was the first time that three generations of Solomons attended a Phillies game together. 
Once the game started, Jake couldn't sit still, and I wound up walking him up and down the stairs from the Club Mezzanine and back to the seats again and again. We left after singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" after Jake wore me out! The good news, though, is that the Phillies came from behind to beat the Rockies in the 9th inning, making it a nice little 2-game sweep.

Kraftwerk: The day after the Phillies series, Leah and I met up with Matthew and Spatz at the Filmore Auditiorium downtown to see one of my favorite bands from the 80's: Kraftwerk. Being the nerd that I am, I bought tickets to this show the day they went on sale, even though it was only 3/4 sold out the night of the show, and Matthew and Spatz wound up getting free tickets while I paid almost $100 for ours. Oh well, it was worth it, especially when considering that Kraftwerk is only playing FOUR dates in the United States. Check out their website, it's pretty cool.

FOR SALE: Finally, the biggest news of the month is that our house is now officially for sale. We signed the papers on Friday, and have had four showings over the weekend. We have been working hard to keep the house looking "show-ready" at all times. We've taken down all personal photos, painted, and moved out a bunch of furniture into storage, which really makes the house look nice. CLICK HERE to view the official listing or take a VIRTUAL TOUR. With a little power of positive thinking and visualization of ideal circumstances, we hope to be in a new house by the 4th of July.

During the week of my Spring Break, March 31-April 4, Jake contracted some kind of stomach virus at daycare. One of the other kids was sick earlier this week, and it caught up to Jake by Wednesday night. He threw up several times, starting at 8:00 PM, and it didn't let up until early Friday morning. It lasted a little longer than the usual 24 hours, so Leah took him to the doctor on Friday afternoon, where she told us it's a case of mild dehydration, and it's not that serious. Whew!

The poor little guy was groggy all day Thursday, dry heaving and not being able to keep anything down, even the pedialyte drinks we were trying to give him to stay hydrated. By Friday morning, he showed signs of improvement, starting to make more "false alarm" trips to the bathroom instead of the real thing. Jake began overdramatizing his sickness to the fullest. He'd whisper his needs as if he was too pooped to talk, and his declarations of, "Gotta throw up again," were heard more often, with less results.

These photos feature two of these false alarm trips. The pose, however, is one that immediately makes me think that this is merely the first of MANY trips like this to the toilet Jake will make during his life. Brings back some fond memories I have of getting sick myself, both as a child and as an adult, and for different reasons!

It's been a busy couple of days. First, my brother Bob came for a brief visit on his way home from a medical conference in Portland. He stopped in Denver on Wednesday and Thursday, and left Friday morning. He spend Wednesday night with us, and Thursday night with Mom and Dad in Boulder. Bob and I skied on Thursday afternoon at Eldora, the closest ski area to Boulder. The last time we skied together I was 12 years old, when we skied at this tiny place called Bell Mountain in New Jersey. Bob had never skied in Colorado before. We had a half-day pass, so we were on the slopes from 1:00-3:30. I then dropped him off in Boulder, and I came back to Denver in time to play softball Thursday night in North Jeffco. We lost 23-0, and it was obvious that the guys were all a little rusty after not playing for four months.

Meanwhile, while Bob was out riding his Brompton Bike (see photo), Jake and I were doing "tricks" on the bed, like we do every day. He was trying to step on my face, and his foot slipped and he slammed into the headboard behind me. I knew from the THUMP that it was serious. I immediately grabbed him as he began to wail. And then the blood started flowing...and flowing. I took him to the bathroom and Leah got him some towels, which quickly turned red. When we were able to calm him down enough to look at his wound, a nice little gash was visible. Luckily, brother Bob is a doctor, and when he returned from his bike ride, he told us he's going to either need a stitch or two, or maybe some dermabond to help close the wound. After Leah calmed down, she took Jake to Children's Hospital emergency room while Bob and I headed to Eldora. Jake handled the whole experience surprisingly well, and told us, "I feel better now" after the first 10-15 minutes of getting wounded. He was a trooper at the hospital, too, Leah said, and he thanked the doctors for helping his boo-boo. Instead of stitches, he got some dermabond, which needs to stay on his face for 10 days until the cut closes. We can't wet his face for 3-4 days while the bond does its thing.



Now that the incident is over, we're all relieved that he recovered so quicky, and he's very proud of his boo-boo. He was showing everyone at daycare on Friday, telling them, "I fell off the bed!" Here's a photo, and a link to my Flickr account where you can see more images of Jake's first war wound.

P.S. I found a FREE tool that allows users to upload their photos from iPhoto to Flickr: FFXporter. Try it out, it's easy!

Once again, friend gathered to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, only this year we met a few days before March 17th. Since St. Patty's falls on a Monday this year, getting together on a Saturday seemed like a better idea. Leah and I hosted in '06 and '07, and this year our friends Bob and Vanessa (and Madeline) graciously offered their home.

CLICK HERE for photos from this year and last.

Once again, the liquor and limericks were flowing. As the designated "archivist" for the limericks, I would like to present this year's installments:
(WARNING - explicit language)
 

I've been meaning to post something about the "Wayback Machine" for quite some time. It's a very cool way to go back in time and find out how a website has changed over time. It works with any site, just enter a URL and you can view each time the site was changed. I did it for my own site, JoelSolomon.com, and it went back over 6 years. Hard to believe I've had that site since 2002. I've learned a lot, and the design has gone through several transformations as I continue to learn new tricks about web design. CLICK HERE to see for yourself.

Little Mr. Jake is growing up so FAST! He's a walking, talking, machine these days! Leah and I have been noticing how our baby translators are finely tuned and can make sense of the many words and phrases Jake's been uttering.  Here are a few of my favorites, with phonetic spelling included to most closely resemble how Jake says them:

1) Mobby-do-it: This is an easy one. He's trying to say, "Let me do it" but it often gets clumped in with other phrases. For example, "Mobby-up" or "Mobby feed cats", stuff like that. It just sounds so damn CUTE when Jake says it!

2) Doin' Daddy bidness: Many months ago, when Jake was first starting to eat at the kitchen table without his high chair, he wanted to climb up on my chair. I remember saying to him, "What? You trying to get in my business, mister?!?" Ever since, when Jake is done eating at his chair, he'll declare, "Do Daddy bidness" and walk to my side of the table and up on my lap and to see what I'm eating. Mommy gets 'da bidness' too. It's gotten to the point where we both are just waiting for Jake to get in our business after dinner.

3) Princeth: This is Jake's way to say "Princess" and it gets used any time he's wearing a special robe or funny hat, or necklace. He'll see a lady with a hair accessory, point, and say, "Look! A princeth!" He doesn't quite have the S's and TH's down yet, much to our amusement. When we went to the NY Deli on Christmas Day, the waitress had ribbons in her hair. Jake said she looked like a princess, and from then on she was smitten. She brought him a special cookie, some extra goodies, and generally made Jake feel like a king.

4) What's dat?: Ah, the eternal question being asked by toddlers everywhere. Jake just loves to ask this question, or he'll say, "Lookadis!" and hold something up that he just pulled out of a drawer or bag. He wants to know it all and wants to know it NOW!

5) Dat's a old dude: This morning, Jake was giving me 'da bidness' as I was reading the sports section of the paper, and pointed to a picture. I beat him to it, and asked him, "What's dat?" Without missing a beat, he says, "Dat's a old dude!" I think I said that one time when we were reading the newspaper and looking at some old politician. Guess it stuck!

Good article in the NY Times that analyzes the current state of the Democratic race after Super Tuesday.

Blogged with Flock

I attended the Democratic Caucus this evening. Here are the notes I took during the event:

Tonight we experienced something with the weather that Leah and I both have not seen before. We were watching TV, and I kept seeing flashes of light outside. At first I thought it was an ambulance or police car or something. It turned out to be lightning! And when we went upstairs to get a better look, we saw it was snowing pretty hard outside. Thunder and lightning AND snow??!?! Weird. Maybe in the mountains this might be more common, but here in Denver, I don't think I've seen that before.

And speaking of weather, I wanted to write about a question that I recently got answered, and that's been on my mind ever since I moved out here, back in 1987. One of my favorite parts of the local TV weather forecast is the chart that lists the record high and low temperatures for today's date. It's interesting to see just how wide a range of temperatures we have in Colorado.

It got me to thinking...on what single date was there the largest difference between the record high and record low temps? I've always thought it would probably be February or March, since it can be really cold some years and really warm other years. I decided to write an email to Mike Nelson, the weatherman for KMGH channel 7 (used to be on  KUSA channel 9). This was back in the summer. About 3 weeks later, I received a reply, but not an answer. Mike did put me in touch with someone at the National Climate Control Center in Boulder.

Finally, after almost 3 months of inquiry and waiting for replies from various sources, I got my answer.