Virg the horse whisperer

Actually, whispering is one of the things Virg is not doing right now. Virg has reached two new milestones. He's standing (woo hoo!), and he's finding his voice. I'm positive he's already found it, but Virg is still searching. Some people may ask "Why is your baby screaming?" I then have to politely correct them and say "Virg does not scream, he screeches. There's a difference." A scream is associated with something that makes Virg upset. A screech is just his way of saying "AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Can you here me now?

Everyone loves a good book

Lately Virg has really been into reading the "Bedtime Peekaboo!" book and "Animals in the Country" book. Daddy tries to read with inflection and feeling, but Virg usually has to give him pointers. "No, no Daddy! Read this line over again, and this time make me believe you are a squirrel with a big fluffy tail!" One of these days Daddy will get it right, but until then Virg is in control of what page we are on and when we can turn the page. "Oh, did you think we were done with that page? I think not! Let's start at the beginning."

When I signal you, then you can say "Peekaboo," but not before.

Happy Daddy Day (or "D"-day)

Mommy has taken over the blog for once to say a few things in recognition of Father's Day. It was hard to get Daddy off the computer long enough to compose this blog entry, but Mommy insisted. So Daddy agreed and is milling about until it's posted.

Time flies when you're the daddy of a newborn. It's hard to believe that Daddy is already pushing the one year mark in his new role. He seems to be hitting his stride at this point, with a lot of help from Coach Virg. Important note, all those books Daddy received at the baby shower about everything a daddy needs to know during the first year, the do's and don'ts of basic baby care, baby boot camp, and how to keep baby alive while mommy is out seem to have paid off is spades. Thanks to all of you who contributed.

As the mommy reflects on the subject, a few telling facts come to mind:

1. "Daddy" was Virg's 2nd word.


2. Virg's 1st word was "hi."


3. Virg's 3rd word was "uh oh!"

What does this tell us? You be the judge.

Day 1 - Hello there, Big Guy. What's going on here and who put you in charge!


Month 2 - You're getting it Daddy, but don't get too cocky! I'm watching you...


Month 10 - Sweet!! This is more like it.

Farmer Virg

President Obama has brought back the 'Victory Garden' to the white house lawn. Grown totally organic with local school children getting an opportunity to help with the gardening. We must follow in our president's footsteps and put our child to work in the garden as well. Virg is growing his family some squash, tomatoes, zucchini, and a bunch of wild flowers. An excellent side benefit is that when society collapses, we'll have food. All we need now is a small cache of weapons and we could be a militia. A family that is paranoid together, stays together.

Vegetables grown with love

(and a hint of societal collapse paranoia)

Sign of the Virg

So, apparently Virg has been learning sign language at day care. He just had a conversation with me at breakfast. First he screamed really really loud. I said to him in a quiet voice, "Virg, it's time to talk softly". To which Virg signed, "No". But what he really meant was. "No Daddy, you are mistaken. This is not the time to talk softly." He can also sign for 'more', 'milk', 'yes', 'up', and 'potty'. Unfortunately, Daddy does not know all of these signs. So now whenever Virg makes any hand movement Daddy turns to Mommy and says - "What does that mean? Is he talking to me?"

Signing at the speed of light.

Memorial Day Hike

Tiger Mountain. There are more trees up there then you can shake a stick at, and there's no shortage of shaking sticks either. In fact, you'll probably need two shaking sticks and use both hands for the amount of stick shaking required to adequately 'shake stick' at the trees on Tiger Mountain. I think we got pretty comprehensive coverage with Mommy, Daddy, and Virg shaking sticks, but, just like the Louvre in Paris, you can't get to all of it in one day.

So many trees, so little time.

Virg - The duck hunter

Crikey! Be very still. It's hard to see from this distance, but just over Virg's shoulder is a wild mother duck with duckling. Ain't she a beaut! Mommy says duckling are the cuties baby animal in the universe (other then Virg). I'm not a nature expert, but I think wild ducks have been known to grab grown men at the waters edge and drag them to a watery doom clutched in their ferocious beaks. Blimey! That can't be good. Let's poke them with a stick!

Look at that gorgeous Sheila with her ankle biters in the billabong!