Instant Yard

I took half a day off work today to finish a couple of projects around the house.

Monica and I bought a new stove over the weekend, and it was delivered today. I wanted to make sure that someone was home when they delivered it, which was my original reason for taking the half day.

Also over the weekend, I put fill dirt down in our side yard, with the intent of getting sod to cover it so our yard wouldn't keep washing away when it rained. This is phase two of the larger landscaping project (phase one was the gutters). Since I had a couple of hours before the stove would be delivered, I decided to go get sod to put down in the side yard.

I only thought briefly about how much a full pallet of sod might weigh, and figured it couldn't be much more than the dirt I had carried in. I couldn't have been more wrong.



I worked most of the afternoon and ended up dirty and sweaty. But it was the perfect day to do it because it wasn't too hot outside.

The HGTV before shot...



...and after.



From the other side, before...



...and after.



Not bad for a day's work.

Month Ten

Dear Rachel,

Today you turn 10 months old. Just two more months and you'll have been with us for a year!



Things are moving very quickly now. Actually, you're moving very quickly now. Once you started crawling, you picked up speed fast. NOw, we turn around and you're in another room, or in the dog's food bowl, or playing with the garbage can. You get into all kinds of stuff you aren't supposed to, and most of the time you listen when we tell you "not for Rachel," but sometimes, you try our last nerve.



Your new thing now is standing up. You stand up in your bed. You crawl to the window sill and stand up, you grab the open dishwasher door and stand up, you pull yourself up on the footstool, which promptly slides out from under you. I'm sure you're going to have lots of bumps and bruises in the coming months as you learn to stand and walk better. It has been so cool, though, to see you go from pulling yourself up on wobbly legs in your bed to standing with confidence (while holding onto something) in the past few weeks.



One of the other things you've started doing this month is "Sooo Big!" You love doing it and seeing if we'll respond appropriately. But I can't get you to sign "more" for more food. You are quite the independent one, I tell you.



There has been an awful lot of The Crying Game this past month, except with you, it's more like the Screaming Like Someone Is PUlling My Fingernails Out Game. We used to be able to tell your different cries, like when you were hungry, when you were hurt, when you were mad. They're all blending into the same cry now, which is an ear-piercing scream. I now know why parents lose their hearing.



The crying started in earnest when we got back from Illinois. You did an amazing job on the trip, considering how long you were in your car seat, but when we got home, you decided that you didn't like going to bed anymore. Your mother and I fussed and worried for a week, then decided that we were just going to let you cry. Over the course of a week, you gradually got back into your old pattern of going to bed when we put you down and not fussing. It was a hard week, but I'm glad we did it.



When we went to Illinois, Grandma and Grandpa introduced you to swings. You love it, and unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to take you to swing since we've been back. We need to go to the park soon!



You got to see your Great Grandma Jean for just the second time in your life, and you gave her to love she deserved for being such a wonderful Great Grandma. I wish you could Grandma Connie, Grandpa Rick, and Grandma Jean more often. I know they love you, and miss you so much.





You are becoming more gentle with the dog, petting instead of pulling his ears, and he appreciates it. What he doesn't appreciate is when you play with his food or water. He has growled at you a couple of times, and I'm worried that one day he will snap and you (rightfully so). We've disciplined him when he growls, but he is certainly trying to tell you what is off limits. We also try to make sure you know that you're not to play with his dishes, but you know how that goes. In one ear and out the other.



You are eating more and more solids, and we've enjoyed watching you try new foods. Especially when we were in Illinois and Grandpa Rick let you eat part of his cheeseburger. You dove right into it! There isn't really anything you don't like (yet), but chicken certainly seems to be a favorite. Since you've gotten two new teeth just in the past couple of days, I'm sure we'll be trying even more new things with you this month!



As always, you are growing up entirely too fast for us...but we're enjoying every second!

Love,
Daddy

And now, a published photographer...

When it rains, it pours.

I keep wondering when it's all going to end.

Here I am, 35 years old, and have very rarely gotten accolades for anything I do. Yet within one week short week early in 2007, I get all kinds of recognition.

I had my second photo in a week make the top 500 on Flickr, this one from the big thunderstorm that rolled in Friday night:



And not only did this one make the top 500 for Saturday, it cracked the top 200, which I'm very excited about.

Then tonight, Monica and I come home from dinner and I find an email waiting for me from the Virginia Quarterly Review letting me know that a picture I took on our honeymoon of the US-Mexico border is going to be used in this article, which also happens to be the top article their home page as of today (maybe not by the time you read this).

In case you're lazy and don't want to check out the article, here's the picture:



Because I publish my photos under a creative commons license, they don't have to pay me anything, they simply have to attribute the photo to me, which is fine by me.

I'm just excited that people are finding my photos interesting!

I would walk 500 miles

Since March is over, we're going back to basic black.

This month's banner is up and it reflects Fiesta which takes place this month, when people feel the need to dress stupid and go out in public.

Yesterday, our family did the Race for the Cure. We had to get up earlier than we normally do during the week, and walked over three miles, but it's all for a good cause.

There were over 25,000 people downtown walking and running to help find a cure for breast cancer. We were happy to be a part of it.

Interestingness

It's all just coming up roses around here.

Except for that part about Rachel screaming herself to sleep every night, but I'll get to that on the 9th when I berate her for causing us so much trouble write her monthly newsletter.

Anyway, the creative Scott is striking it big. First the documentary, and now this.

One of my photos made the "explore" set on Flickr.

In case you're not familiar, the "explore" set is the top 500 photos uploaded on any given day. It can change, but just to have one of my photos in there is really cool.

This one is currently on page 43 of 50, so it's definitely not the most interesting picture from Sunday, but just being in the top 500 is an honor!

And the winner is...

I make movies.

To me, this is no big deal. It's just something I do.

I like playing with audio and video, and I like making stuff for the family to watch. I teach teachers how to do it, and it's fun...a hobby, like photography.

Last summer, my Uncle Jeff approached me about helping him put together a video about some Minneapolis Moline tractors that our family once owned. The tractors were experimental, meaning that they were never in production, and the fact that our family owned them was a pretty big deal.

I told him I'd love to help out.

Over the past 9 months or so, he's provided me with photos of the tractors, and video interviews with my Great Aunts. I started picking up steam in February, putting together the story and script, and I worked a lot on it in the weeks before spring break. Over the break, I worked a bunch to finish it up because Jeff wanted to submit it for a big Minneapolis Moline collectors convention which was this weekend.

But it's really all about Jeff. Without his work over the past several years uncovering this story, this documentary never could have been made. He has done all of the legwork, all of the research...I just put it together in the 10 minute nugget you'll see below.

I found out last week that the video was going to receive an award. It got a preservation award from the Minneapolis Moline Collectors Club.

It's funny, because I've never really received an award for anything I've done for fun. I once submitted a photo to an art show, but didn't win anything for it. I just did this to preserve a part of our family's history, and here it wins an award.

So here it is...my award-winning documentary. I guess I'll have to put that on my resume.

Spitting Image

So, in case you don't check out my latest photos from Flickr over there on the right side, you really need to see this.

Last night, Monica pointed out this old picture of her with her mother. As soon as I looked at it, I started laughing. I couldn't believe how much the little girl in that picture looked like the little girl in the next room.

The photo she pointed out to me was the one on the lower left.

And we're back...

I think that driving to Illinois this last time was the cure for driving to Illinois ever again.

In other words, we're flying the next time.

Our trip back wasn't bad, but the trip up...my oh my.

We left on Friday night, which was planned, but what wasn't planned was that it would take us damn near 20 hours to get to mom and dad's.

This is usually a 17 hour drive. I've made it in 15 1/2 hours before.

Not 20.

We left around 6:30 and we expected to hit traffic in Austin. That was around 8 PM. Then at 10, we came to a standstill outside of Hillsboro (not even to Dallas yet) and traveled at anywhere between 10-30 mph for the next 10 miles because there was construction. But there wasn't any construction actually going on...just reconfigured lanes which evidently confused EVERYONE who was driving north.

Around midnight, we had finally made it through Dallas, and were traveling at a pretty good clip. Then, suddenly, everything stopped. I was trying to see what was going on, but it wasn't until we had sat for almost 45 minutes that we saw all 5 lanes of the expressway were being forced off onto the access road.

After we got past that (now 6+ hours into our trip) we headed up the road some more trying desperately to get out of Texas. Then at 1 AM, the road was closed again, this time in Sherman, Texas, just south of the Texas-Oklahoma border. This one was really big because they even had the access road closed...an air life helicopter was sitting on it. So we had to traverse through Sherman to get back on the expressway.

We finally made it out of Texas 7 hours into our trip. This portion of the drive usually only takes 6 hours max.

And so went the rest of our trip. Between having to stop in BF Misery (or Missouri) to sleep so I didn't run off the road, and having to rescue a runaway truck that some kid forgot to put in gear, WHILE keeping Sparky's leash in my hand, it was one hell of an adventure.

But we made it there, and we made it back. Grandma Connie and Grandpa Rick enjoyed having their granddaughter around, and Sparky enjoyed playing with Rhett.

We had a great week, and enjoyed visiting with the folks we saw and I'm sorry that we didn't get to see everyone, but when you're traveling with a 9 month old, everything is on a tight schedule. We had a limited amount of time at each of our destinations, and the only days we didn't travel somewhere were Monday and Thursday. Every other day we were on the road for at least 4 hours. I think our next trip is going to be just to Bloomington.

And have I mentioned that we're flying?

Month Nine

Dear Rachel,

Today you are 9 months old. You've now officially been in the world longer than you were inside mommy.



What a month. You started crawling. Except for us it has been more like: HOLY CRAP! YOU STARTED CRAWLING! You have no idea how much this has turned our lives upside down.



We think it's hysterical now that you can go after the dog, but we've had to completely rearrange the house because there was all kinds of stuff that wasn't kid frienly just lying around. For instance, we had to put our collection of razor sharp Ginsu Knives up high so you wouldn't be tempted to swallow one, or slice off Sparky's tail. Same thing for our stash of dynamite.



Of course, along with the crawling comes you pretending not to understand when we tell you no. And, OH the Humanity if we ever tell you no and pull you away from something we don't want you doing, like sticking your entire arm into the VCR. Being told no is something you don't like very much and we've gotten used to your little fits when we take you away from your mischief. We just sit there and laugh maniacally at you and wring our hands...bwah ha ha ha. You mom also makes fun of you when you throw fits and starts mocking your crying. Just remember, when we're 80 and in diapers, it was your mother who tortured you.



I guess we've been telling you no quite a bit because one of your 'things' this month was to start shaking your head back and forth violently. You don't know what it means yet because you do it all the time. "Hi Rachel" (shakes head no). "Do you want food?" (shakes head no, then opens mouth).



You are starting to make different noises with your mouth. Last night, when I got home, I swear I heard you say "Hi Daddy." It really sounded like it. And how cool would that be if you actually did say it? Of course, your mother is devestated because she carried you around for nine months, and This Is The Thanks She Gets? You'll never hear the end of it.



Your eating patterns are pretty well established, and you've started eating some different solids. One of your favorite things is Wagon Wheels, which are like little airy snacks that melt in your mouth. You hold onto them and suck on them until they melt, and usually, you end up with more than half in your mouth. Of course, the parts that don't end up in your mouth end up everywhere else, and if we don't catch them right away, they harden again into little crusty nuggets that the dog tries to lick off you.



Speaking of the dog, he's figured out that being under your high chair at dinner is a gold mine. You're not feeding yourself quite yet, so he hasn't discovered the full potential of dropped baby food that is sure to come along after we give you a weapon spoon and let you have at it on your own.



You went to Austin again this month, and got to meet your friend Annika for the first time. YOu also managed to pick up a cold, which lead to a sinus infection, which lead to your first time being on anitbiotics, which lead to us finding out you're allergic to them because you were pooping everywhere. That incident lead to us realizing that your doctor wasn't part of mommy's insurance anymore so we had to switch doctors. Now you're fine, and we just had your 9 month appointment this morning. YOu got a glowing review from your new doctor, and by the way, I love how quickly we're in and out of these appointments. Less than 30 minutes for this one.



This evening, we're leaving on our first real road trip with you. You'll be making your second visit to Illinois, but your first really long trip in the car. In order to pull this off, Mommy and I are going Old School and driving through the night, like I used to do when I was in college. Except I'm not in college anymore, and I haven't pulled an all-nighter in years. But you'll be asleep and I'd rather make the drive when you're asleep instead of making you sit in a car seat during the time you'd normally be awake and moving around.



If you're (not) lucky, you may actually get to see snow for the first time in your life. Grandma Connie and Grandpa Rick are looking forward to seeing you, and they've already bought you a bunch of stuff because that's what Grandparents do...they spoil the grandkids rotten, then give them back to their parents who have to deal with the aftermath.



Then they sit back and laugh maniacally and wring their hands...bwah ha ha ha.



We love you very much.

Love
Daddy

Goings on in the extended family

Congratulations to my cousin, Ben. He was recently promoted to Sergeant, and his mom, my Aunt Linda, got on a plane to go see him. This is a Big Deal, and judging from the photo of the two of them together, she made it out to Washington, DC just fine.


Congratulations, Sgt. Carter!

Sick baby

Rachel has been sick for the past few days. Actually, the past couple of weeks.

But it's been really bad this week.

I won't go into details here, but let's just say it's been stinky.

The only problem is that she isn't running a fever or acting like she's sick. She's as playful and happy as ever, which makes it all the more strange when things come leaking out of her.

OK, I said I wouldn't go into details, so I won't.

The worst part about all of this is that we found out last week our pediatrician is no longer part of Monica's insurance network. Or rather, because Northside ISD decided to switch insurance carriers, and they do that sort of thing in December, we have to switch doctors.

And that's really hard to do when you have a sick child. During flu season.

It has not been a good couple of weeks.

NEWS FLASH!

You know it's big news in the Laleman household if there's two posts in one day...



Click here for the Quicktime version of the video.

Old School

So I finally spent the $20 and got an adapter ring so I can use Mom's old screw-mount lenses from her old Pentax 35mm camera on my shiny Pentax *istDL digital camera. They fit perfectly, and after messing with some of the settings I was able to shoot some pictures.

Because the old lenses were made before anyone even though about auto focus, I have to set everything manually on the camera, which is nice because it gets me back to my photographic roots, so to speak.

The 50mm lens, the old standard, is great because it has a huge focus range and an aperture range of 1.8-16, so it can let in a lot more light than my zoom lenses, which means I can shoot at a faster shutter speed in lower light.

If all of this is Greek to you, just check out the pictures of Rachel and Sparky I took this morning. I love they way they came out...there's just something about those old lenses that make pictures look better!

Happy Valentime's Day

Judy, our wonderful day care provider, took a couple of pictures today of Rachel and Ryan, the other child she watches. Monica likes to say that Ryan is Rachel's boyfriend, but I think the scratch on his cheek, courtesy of my daughter, proves otherwise.


Ryan's mom bought Rachel the Valentine's outfit she's wearing in the pictures.

New Video!

It's been a while, I know, but I finally put together some clips from the last few months so ya'll can see what Rachel is up to now.


Click here to see the movie

If you have trouble seeing the video, you may need to upgrade to the newest version of Quicktime.

Month Eight

Dear Rachel,

Today you turn 8 months old. You're almost to the point where you've spend more time outside of your mother than you spend inside of her.



You've become very vocal in the past month, and you've started making consonant sounds and having some inflection to your voice. It's been easy to see in your face when you're excited, and now it's easy to hear in your voice when you're excited. It's also easy to hear when you're not happy.



That not happy thing doesn't happen a lot, but it almost always happens around dinner time. When we stop feeding you before you're ready, or your bottle is empty before you're ready for it to be, you make sure to let us know. Usually we distract you with something shiny to make you forget about it.



You eat so fast that I'm worried your tummy doesn't have enough time to tell you that you're not hungry any more. When we feed you solids, as soon as I pull the spoon out of your mouth, you pop it back open again, ready for the next spoonfull. You've also started letting us know vocally that you're ready for the more with a loud "AH" every time you open your mouth. You can't get enough, and you eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. I'm hoping that this is a sign that you're not going to be a picky eater.



You've become much more mobile lately too, and even though you're not crawling yet, it doesn't take you long to go from one side of the room to the other. You twist yourself around, stretch out, and roll to get where you want to go. A couple of weeks ago, I sat you down in front of the mirrors on your closet doors to play for a bit, and when I came back you had turned yourself around and scooted about 5 feet across the rooms so you could play with a pile of plastic hangers, because evidently they're much more interesting than the toys we've purchased for you.



You've learned how to get yourself off your stomach, which is really cool for me to watch, and even cooler now that we don't have to worry about you getting angry that you're on your tummy and don't know what to do about it. You will get up on your hands and push yourself backward with your legs splayed out to either side. Eventually, you'll end up in the splits, walking your torso upright with your hands. When you've reached a point that you're upright enough, you'll swing your legs forward and sit up straight.



The other fun thing you've started to do is to crawl backward. You really look like you want to start crawling forward, but you just haven't gotten it down yet. You will lean forward with your left leg tucked under you and your right leg out to the side. When you get far enough forward, your right leg kicks out behind you, but your left leg keeps getting stuck. If we put you on your tummy with both legs behind you, you'll get up on your hands and start pushing yourself backward. You've figured out how to alternate hands, but you're pushing on them, rather than pulling, so you go backward. It's really funny to watch.



You're getting more and more curious about the world around you. You figured out how to pull up the corner of the rug in the living room last week, and now it's one of your favorite things to do. You'll pull it up, look underneath, and put it back down. Again, and again, and again, and again. When we're holding you and you hear the dog, you'll look around whoever is holding you to see where he is.



Speaking of the dog, I swear I heard you say "dog" the other day. Not Mamma, or Dada...your first words are Abba and Dog. Just remember, kid, Abba and Dog are not paying for your college tuition.



Mommy had to go and buy you some new clothes this month, too. Those 3-6 month things just weren't fitting anymore. We strung out those pants and onesies as long as we could. The pants were still fitting pretty well around your waist because you continue to be in the 50th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for height. So you had capri pants that weren't meant to be capri pants, but it was working until it got cold.



You're growing more and more every day, and your mother and I are excited to see how much you grow and how much you learn in the coming month. We both love you very much.

Love
Daddy