tumbledry

Stuff from December, 2015

This is the archive of tumbledry happenings that occurred on December, 2015.

Chasing the Cat

Noticing Dad

An Astronaut and 2 Aliens

An Astronaut and 2 Aliens

Essie the Alien

Essie the Alien

Two Pumpkins

Listen to Ess say “pumpkin”.

Excited

Excited

She saw Nannie coming down the stairs. Shot this in color, but I really liked the conversion to black and white.

Smile

Smile

Fall Sunset

Fall Sunset

Hiding

Hiding

All I saw was Essie’s feet around this corner until I realized she was “hiding” from me. This is what she looked like when I “found” her.

Catapult Game

Brushing Essie’s Teeth

Brushing Essie’s Teeth

Brushing Marge’s Teeth

Brushing Marge’s Teeth

An Essie-Sized Poäng

An Essie-Sized Poäng

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Sunny Outside

It’s a sunny 42° outside and Mykala graciously extended what was already a long week of parenting through this morning so I could go workout at Lifetime. I came back and jumped into the unfolding morning: Marge had juice spilled on her and Mykala had already washed her; she was damp and drying. Ess had dismantled a few areas of the house, and was ready to play more. Mykala had to leave. With the cutest little repetition of “bye” you could possibly imagine, Essie wished Mykala well, and then it was the two of us.

Continued

Making Christmas

A seven foot white pine Christmas tree, grown at the Kroeger’s family tree farm from which you pick it up, freshly cut for you, baled, and drilled plumb for a tree stand is $59, which I believe is an excellent deal. We went to get ours yesterday and marveled at the difference a year makes with Essie. Last year, Ess was in the Björn, reacting a tiny bit to things, and generally kind of just along for the ride. This year she is 16 months old and far more interactive: riding on my back in the Kelty, reaching out at trees she likes, drinking sips of apple juice in the warming house, beaming at people she sees. The long-needled trees like our white pine feel soft to the hand, and, as with anything she feels that is thick and soft, Ess says “maoww”, meaning that it feels just like her cat at home.

Continued

Sexism

This post marks the beginning of a new theme here, one to which I’ve given little attention in the past, and one that, shamefully, I’ve only really begun to understand with the birth of Essie. It begins with a story…

We took Ess along to see Out on a Limb’s Nutcracker show at the Rosedale Mall. Mykala was occupied running the music, so Ess was my charge for the evening. Just the sight of her mama, without the ability to run over and get a hug was a challenge for Essie, so after feeding her, she and I began doing circuitous laps around the first level of the mall, biding our time, on each lap showing Ess the dancers while avoiding sightings of Mykala.

Continued

Another Sunrise

Another Sunrise

First Text

I just received my first text message ever from Essie. It read:

Aripop
Cfunbi cb blllpv. Y bhg j

I’m optimistic that future messages from her will make more sense. You know, after she learns to talk.

Hen House

Hen House

So, Emily and Nick very kindly got us tickets to the Blenders’ holiday show. We went there on a couples date, and stopped at Hen House for brunch beforehand. I was waiting at the table while Mykala waited at the door for Emily and Nick to park their car in the downtown Minneapolis maze. While sitting there, I noticed the nice logo of the restaurant, and being a very new iPhone owner, I thought it was super cool to be able to attach this picture to a text message and send it along. I clearly did not think this through all the way, because Mykala later pointed out how incredibly rude it was to send a picture of nice hot coffee while our friends froze in the outdoors trying to park. I regret the error.

Box Rides

I like everything in this video except the “Young Living” on the side of the box. I hate Young Living. I do love Essie, though.

At the Birchwood Christmas Party

At the Birchwood Christmas Party

Painting Christmas Ornaments

Dante

Dante

Dante Fiero the dragon loves Yule Logs, televised or otherwise.