You Go Back, Jack, and Do It Again...

Yeah, yeah, I know. Long time no blog. Well, for the two of you who still follow this thing (you know who you are), you have probably been wondering what it would take to get me posting regularly again. Well, truthfully, it would probably take another set of circumstances like the one that started this blog in the first place, waaaay back in October of 2005.

I'll let you mull that over for a minute....

Okay, time's up. Yes, you are correct, sir! We are indeed expecting again. We waited a bit longer to reveal the big news this time. I was presented with the big news very casually on Christmas Eve by the mother-to-be. She basically told me that I would have to wait until August for my big Christmas present. Of course the hint completely flew over my head at first, but then it circled back and smacked me in the back of the neck. "Really?" I said. "Yup," replied Margaret.
Of course I was bursting to tell someone, and Margaret ended up having to tell her sister during the big yard cleanup in January, lest she look lazy by not doing any heavy lifting. That in turn necessitated telling her mother. I let a few close friends know and then we told my father and his wife. Margaret wanted to write up a plan for maternity leave at work before telling everyone there, and so yesterday she dropped the news officially, leaving me free to tell the worl-, er, both of you.
So late August ought to be an interesting time. Nigel will be three in May, and while he really has no idea what is in store for him, we are trying to get him used to the idea of eventually having to share the spotlight. We'll touch mommy's stomach and say, "Nigel, do you want a baby?" Initially, he wasn't thrilled at the prospect. "No," he would say, in a very matter-of-fact way. Eventually he started playing along, kissing Margaret's belly and poking her navel. I think he thinks the baby is going to emerge from her belly button. Anytime we mention the baby now Nigel says "Sara," which is the name of one of the younger toddlers at his daycare. I'm guessing that when he realizes that he is going to have to compete for attention, he's going to be a bit upset. To fight that, we plan on keeping things as close to business as usual as possible. Nigel isn't going to get swept aside when the new baby makes his or her debut. He's my first born, and while I won't love him any more or any less than his sibling-to-be, we both will forever share the bond of being the oldest kid. He's also growing like a weed. He's already over three feet tall...and he is not yet three years old. I was similarly sized, and I suspect the not-so-little-anymore guy is going to be taller than me when all is said and done. It was awkward and tough growing up usually a foot or more taller than your classmates from kindergarten on. I have been taller than all of my teachers since third grade, and I hit six feet tall in sixth grade. I will do my best to help him adjust. He's a pretty resilient little dude though, so I think he'll be fine.

So there it is. We're gonna do this all over again. I could say that having been through this before that the second time might be a bit less exciting...and I would be a liar. We have the first sonogram on April 2, which just happens to be my birthday. I can't think of a better gift than to see my future son or daughter move for the first time.

UPDATE: April 2, 2009

Well, today is my birthday, and we did indeed get to see the little guy for the first time. Well, it was the first time for me, but Margaret had seen the fetus once previously at an appointment I had to miss because of work. We had the advantage this time of the doctor's office having one of those fancy 3D sonogram machines. First we saw and heard the little heart beating, then lo and behold, there it was in stunning 3D clarity. Bean 2: Electric Boogaloo (Margaret insists it be known that I take full responsibility for the in utero name. For late-comers to this blog, start from the beginning for the whole "Bean" explanation) appeared to be sucking its thumb. After some maneuvering by the tech, we were able to see Bean 2's sex...

Drum roll....

It appears that, unless the umbilical cord is arranged in a truly strange way, Nigel will have a little brother come August. It should only get more interesting from here on out...

Oh, and here are some pics taken by my phone. Not the clearest images, but you can make out the little guy sucking his thumb.






This might be the second time we are going through this, but I can honestly say that I am no less humbled.

It's a Beautiful Day

Wow, 2009 already. I tried to update the blog as often as I could last year, and I managed a whopping five entries the whole year. I'll try for six in '09. We have settled into the new house nicely, and the finishing touches continue. Margaret, her sister, and her brother-in-law worked on the yard today while I was at work. I was pretty amazed at how much they accomplished. It looks incredible. I'm sure that the neighbors are happy for the spruce-up. Christmas was a great time. Nigel once again made out like a bandit. He got a personal trampoline, some more Thomas the Tank Engine stuff, a drum set, and a lot of other cool stuff. I got Guitar Hero for our Wii, which I have been having a lot of fun with. I pretend to play guitar, and Nigel accompanies me on his drum kit.

"I had it made like a mountain range, with a snow-white pillow for my big fat head."

Well, we're officially in the house. We have spent the last few nights here, and man, it is so nice to be home. This is what we've been working toward. We had a king-sized bed delivered a few weeks ago, and it is quite possibly the most comfortable bed ever. It's like sleeping on a cloud. Nigel inevitably ends up with us, especially considering his crib hasn't yet been moved down from Awendaw. We all fit just fine on the giant comfy bed.

Nigel also loves the Love Sac we inherited from our friend, Kathy. It's a giant foam filled beanbag, big enough for two or three. Nigel lies on it to watch videos.

I had a chance over the July 4th weekend to see both the Dave Matthews Band and Tom Waits. The DMB was at the local baseball stadium, and was really good. I had seen DMB about 15 years ago and was underwhelmed, but apparently that was an off night. They were definitely on at the stadium show. They even did covers of songs by Peter Gabriel and Neil Young.




Tom Waits required a drive to Atlanta, but believe me, it was totally worth it. I've been wanting to see Waits for years, and the show was at the Fox Theatre, which is easily the nicest venue in which I've ever attended a concert.

This is just the entrance from the street...




The show I attended was recently posted in its entirety at npr.org. Tom Waits' music is definitely a sound where either you love it or hate it. I personally love his voice, and live he was mesmerizing.

Sha-la-la-la-la, I'm goin' home...

...Well, almost. Yeah, yeah, I know it's been since March since my last post, and I know I said that I was going to post more frequently, but hey, between raising a now 2-year-old and finishing a house, the free time hasn't exactly been flowing like water. Today was a very big day though. Today we were handed the keys and certificate of occupancy for our house. That's right, after months of waiting and preparation, we're moving in....just as soon as we get a fence put in to contain our dog. That fence cannot get built fast enough. I am ready to move in and get things back to normal. We are living in Awendaw, at my mother-in-law's, and while I am extremely thankful for her letting us stay with her, the fact is that we're spending about $100 a week or more on gas.

Nigel continues to grow and learn. It is amazing how quickly he is growing. We recently celebrated his second birthday with a "Toot-Toot" party. Toot-Toot is Nigel's name for Thomas the Tank Engine, with which he has become enamored. The party theme was, of course, all about Thomas, including a balloon



a t-shirt...



a cake...



and an actual train set...



Also, unrelated to the whole "toot-toot" thing, he got a Big Wheel, something every kid should have...



Look at him. He's saying, "Yeah, that's how I roll."

Our House Is A Very, Very, Very Fine House

Once again, I've been slack at updating the blog, so without a lot of words, here are some updated pictures of Nigel, as well as the house. We're nearing completion, and should hopefully be moving in soon.

It's hard to believe that our overgrown lot has gone from this...


To this...



To this...



To this...



It has a lot more space than we had imagined...



This will be a family room once finished, with a huge bay window...



The kitchen sink is in place...



This is the guest bath. Margaret and her sister, Stephanie, did the tile on this one...



As well as the master bath, on which I helped...

Bang Your Head...

Okay, so as promised, here is post numero dos. The subtitle should be "How We Spent Our New Year's Eve." We had gone down to Marion Square downtown to check out the free New Year's Eve festivities. Initially, we had fun running around in the park, and Nigel really liked the lights.








After walking down King St. to grab some dinner, we walked back up to hear a brass horn and organ concert at a church across the street from Marion Square. We had no sooner sat down , when Nigel took a plunge off the bench, hitting the corner of a hymnal rack on the way down. There was a lot of wailing, and a lot more blood. We ran back to a restroom to get some cold water on the cut and see how bad it was, and once we saw the damage, I went running for the car, which was parked about 3 blocks away. Anyone who knows me knows that running is not a normal part of my physical activity, but I made it to the car pretty quickly and drove back to the church, where Margaret was waiting with Nigel. He was no longer crying, thanks to a nice woman who had given him a cup of orange juice. The gash on his forehead was still pretty nasty though, so we drove to the nearest emergency room. It was almost an hour from the time we checked in until we were finally seen, and I really had to hand it to Nigel for keeping it together, even when we were freaking out. When we were finally seen by a doctor, it was determined that stitches would be necessary. Now came the fun part, which involved myself and two male nurses holding Nigel down while they administered the stitches. Yes, they did give him plenty to numb the pain, but that didn't mean the kid was going to be happy with a stranger messing with his forehead. It took all our strength to hold the little guy down. He's big for a nineteen-month-old, but...he's a nineteen-month-old. We managed to hold him down, got him home to bed, and the next day he looked like this...





He has already had the stitches removed, and we have been assured that the scar won't be bad at all. Nigel seems blissfully unaware that he sustained a head wound, which is just the way I hope to keep it. He even gained the respect of his older cousins, all of whom have made repeated ER visits. Nigel has joined the club. We knew stitches would happen at some point, we had just hoped that it would be later. Still, it could have been much worse.

We also visited the Festival of Lights after Christmas, and had a chance to recreate a photo from last year. Here's Nigel in January of 2007...



and in January of this year...



Man, that kid grew fast.

Christmas is the Time to Say...

Well, considering that it is now January 6, it appears we made it through the holidays relatively unscathed. I say "relatively" because, well, why don't we give that story its own blog entry. Today will be a "two-fer" and believe you me, the second installment will be worth it.
Christmas was a good time. I had to work from 8am to noon, but fortunately Nigel is not yet totally aware of what Christmas is all about, so waiting until I got home to open the presents was no big deal. As a matter of fact, the kid really took his time opening his gifts - he was still doing so on New Year's Day. He'd open a gift,



and immediately want to play with whatever was inside,



and so an hour or so later he'd open another.



When all was said and done, the kid made out like a bandit once again. He got a Radio Flier push car,



various trucks,



noisemakers and instruments,



and even a tent we found at IKEA.




Oh, and with mommy and daddy being ever hopeful, he also got a potty seat, which he promptly used, although not for it's intended purpose.



We also got Margaret's mother a Roomba robot (or as she says, "row-but") vacuum cleaner.



It was from all of her kids, and the thing is pretty darn nifty, it even knows when its battery is running low and returns to its charging station. My mother-in-law, who used to vacuum daily, now watches the "row-but" vacuum daily instead. She really seems to like it.

Prior to Christmas arriving, we went to the Charleston and Mt. Pleasant Christmas parades.



Nigel enjoyed both, despite the fact that his view of the Charleston parade largely consisted of this:



This large woman kept standing in front of him (he was in his stroller), and when she wasn't blocking his view, my father's wife was. He seemed to have a good time nonetheless. Like every other Christmas parade in existence, these events give just about anyone the chance to show off their holiday spirit, which brings me to my problem with these things. There are things that belong in a Christmas parade, and things that don't.
I found myself turning to Margaret and muttering "Nothing says Christmas like (insert inappropriate item here)." So, in honor of the dueling Christmas parades, here is a sampling of some of the best (worst?) selections.

Nothing says Christmas like The Family Guy. Sure, I'm a fan of the show, but Stewie doesn't exactly scream family friendly yuletide fun...



Nothing says Christmas like King Tut...



Nothing says Christmas like jackbooted paramilitary teenagers...



Nothing says Christmas like Popeye the Sailor Man on a shrimp trawler...well, blow me down...





Nothing says Christmas like a giant life jacket with a face...



Nothing says Christmas like a freakin' HEARSE. Merry Christmas, kiddies! Bring out your dead!



Nothing says Christmas like scary hobo clowns. The one on the left looks like a member of Insane Clown Posse. Happy holidays, Juggalos!



Nothing says Christmas like belly dancers. I actually had no problem personally with this entry, yaknowwhutimean?



Nothing says Christmas like a stork administering the "bad touch" to a baby. So, so wrong...



Nothing says Christmas like a TV lawyer waving a baseball bat with the word "Justice" carved into it. The fact that there is a kid riding along with "Extreme Akim" doing the same is even worse.



Nothing says Christmas like Batman...



Nothing says Christmas like a giant symbol of backward racist hatred. Hey rebel-folk, there is presumably a time and place for everything, including presumably a time and place to wave your giant Confederate flag. A Christmas parade isn't one of them. You lost the war, get over it.



Nothing says Christmas like The Jungle Book...



Nothing says Christmas like whatever the hell "Sippin' Sisters of the Hood" is...



Nothing says Christmas like a father and son team dressed as toilets....



Nothing says Christmas like Spiderman....



Nothing says Christmas like a bunch of idiots sitting on a parade float playing Wii...



Nothing says Christmas like an ice cream truck in December. I am almost able to let this one slide though, since it was nearly 80 degrees here the week before Christmas.



Nothing says Christmas like Mr. Rooter...



Despite the strange entries, we had a good time at both parades.

Oh, and on the home front, our house was delivered a couple of weeks before Christmas. It's still being set up, but we should hopefully be in by early February. Here are some photos of the day it was delivered.