Because I'm a realist...

I'm very excited that the Cubs clinched the central division last night. I stayed up to watch the Brewers lose, allowing (in my opinion) the Cubs to back into the division series. If the Cubs had showed up in Florida at all, they would have clinched earlier in the week.

No way am I this excited:
Tribune Photo

The Cubs have been at this point four time during my life, and every time they've failed to deliver. They choked earlier this week in Florida, and have been inconsistent the whole year. I'm just waiting to see which Cubs team shows up for the playoffs.

If they make it to the World Series, I'll be excited. If.

A new toy...

I found a new online video tool last week through an ed tech blog that I read. Animoto is so easy to use...just upload your pictures, pick the music you want, and it does the rest! It will cut and add effects to your photos to match the music. You can do as many 30 second videos as you want for free, or you can pay $3 for a "full length" video, or pay $30 for an annual pass and create as many full length videos as you want!

Here's my first creation:

Balanced

We are so doing this with Rachel.

Fifteen Months

Dear Rachel,

Today you turn fifteen months old. This has been quite a month for you, so let's get started.



I'll mention the worst first. You have starting throwing huge, two-year-old-style temper tantrums. You are becoming very opinionated about what you want and don't want, and by God if you don't want something, you're going to let everyone within a 1/2 mile know about it. You'll start flailing your hands and arms, kicking your feet, and the other day, you even threw a toy at Miss Judy. She wasn't about to take any of that, and you got put in your first time out, ever, during which your promptly fell asleep. Your fits, we think, are still tied to being tired, hungry, poopy, etc. and aren't just because you're being a defiant little stinker...we hope.



The walking is getting better by the day. You're all over the place all by yourself now, and in fact there are times when you prefer walking to being carried, if only that would last forever...but I know it won't. Since you started standing up on your own, the progress has been amazing. You still look like a little drunkard every now and then, but you're not falling down quite as much, and you're not holding your hands over your head for balance as much anymore. You even looked like you wanted to run the other day, and I had to slow you down for fear you'd crack your chin. Again.



Your chatter is incredible, and I know there are words in there just dying to come out, but we still don't understand 95% of what you say. Every morning when I go into your room, you say the same thing to me, and I have yet to figure out what it is you're trying to tell me. You and I do play this little game, where I'll say "Rachel" and you'll respond with "Da-Da" or "Papa." It drives you mother crazy that you still won't say Mama, despite her spending 9 months hosting you in her womb.



You've also started saying your own name, we think, but it comes out sounding like "WEE shull" most of the time. There are times where you'll say it two or three times in a row before I realize what you're saying, and then when I say it back to you, so stop and say "Da-Da."



In addition to talking, you are signing things to us. You understand when we ask you to say more, please, and finished, what to sign so that you'll get what you want. It's really cool, and I don't quite understand why it is that you can say certain words, and imitate how some of our words sound (albeit without saying the actual word) but "more" and "please" are still just signs in your vocabulary. At least you know what they mean. I'm sure you understand a lot more than you actually let on, and some day soon, we're going to hear our own voices coming out of your mouth, and we're probably not going to like what we hear.

Love
Daddy

Three Decades

Today, Monica turned 30 years old. She asked me a few years back, after another friend's 30th birthday, what I thought we'd be doing on her 30th birthday. I told her we'd probably have a quiet dinner with the kids and go home early. It wasn't quite like that, but we were home before midnight.



Monica's birthday is almost over, but she still doesn't have a gift from her husband. Why, you ask? Because it's been that kind of day. The flowers I ordered for her (albeit same day) never made it to her, I left work late, and because I'm an eternal procrastinator didn't get her anything yet. We did get to have dinner together, sans child, and we did get to spend a few hot, sweaty hours...at First Friday.


What did you think I was going to say?


Happy 30th, Moni!

More video

Because she's just growing by leaps and bounds...

Another "too funny to pass up..."

This video was taken over the past couple of weeks. It's just too cute to leave on my hard drive. I had to share it with the world.

Oh yeah, and in the second part of the video, that's stray pieces of dog food she's playing with, just in case you couldn't tell.

Erin

Just in case ya'll were wondering, yes, we did get slammed with Tropical Storm Erin today. Since the center of the storm came on shore south of San Antonio, we got the rainy side. It started raining today around 6 AM and didn't stop until late in the afternoon.

Luckily, I had taken a half day off since Monica and Rachel are both not feeling well, and I came home from work at noon. The worst of the rain hit early in the afternoon. Overall, we got somewhere between 8-10 inches of rain. Other parts of the area got well over a foot.

It's funny, actually, because I'm not used to warm rain, but the rain today was warm, like a lukewarm shower. Usually, when it rains around here it's because a cold front is moving through and the rain is chilly.

These pictures are from Culebra Creek, which runs close to our house (but not too close). Normally during the summer, it's a dry creek bed. Maybe a trickle of water running through. Today, it was way out of it's banks. The houses in the background are about 15-20 feet above the lowest point in the creek bed. The trees in the middle are fully grown.



And this road has been flooded out so many times this summer, I can't even count them all anymore. This is the first time I've ever seen the water this close to the barricades, though.



Everyone here is OK...our house sits about 100 feet above the creek (and almost a mile away). Just a lot of water, but the winds had died down by the time the storm had made it this far inland. We had some gusts, but nothing too big.

Fourteen Months

Dear Rachel,

I am perfectly aware that it is two days past your fourteenth month. I've been very busy. Cut me a break.



So the big news of the month, as the whole world has already seen, is that you started walking. Except you haven't taken to it quite as quickly as we thought you would. We figured you'd be running around the house within a week of that video, but you've just kind of stalled. You'll still take a few steps here and there, but you really prefer to hold onto someone's hand, and if no one is around, you'll crawl. Maybe the two face-plants you took have deterred you from walking on your own. We'll keep trying, though.



Your talking has started to sound more and more like actual conversations rather than random babbling, and we're starting to be able to make out more words. About a week ago, you picked up a piece of Mama's power cord for her laptop, a small black box that's about the same size as our phone, put it to your ear and said, "Hello?" and proceeded to talk into the box in a tone similar to the one we use when we're on the phone.



You imitate us a lot now. Every sound we make, you try to make, too. When I sneeze, you make a little cough that sounds like my sneeze. You have stared helping us put away dishes, and you want to help us put our shoes on, even when we're not going anywhere. You'll hold the dog's leash when we go for a walk, and you've learned to burp just like me!



Bathtime has become an adventure, as you like to put your face in, and you've started drinking your bath water out of a cup we use to wet your hair. You are also learning how to wash yourself, and I can't wait until you're completely self-sufficient in the bath.



I probably should have let your mother write this month's letter, since she's been with you the whole month. I started back to work a few weeks ago, and I've been working really long days. Thankfully, I go back to normal hours next week, and you start going to Miss Judy's full time again next week. I'm looking forward to spending more time with you after I get home, and I'm sure Mama is looking forward to a week of being able to get things done.



We love you very much.

Love
Daddy

Like a drunken sailor...

Yep, it's happened. Check out the video below. WHAT?! VIDEO?! Yes, yes, I know, I've been slacking on posting videos.

Of Thunderstorm and Sniffles

In case you haven't been paying attention, it's been raining in San Antonio for, oh, about 3 months now.

Oh wait. In New York or Los Angeles that's a news story. Because we're flooding like crazy, we only get a quicky 30 second mention every two weeks or so.

"And coming up after the break, we're going to do an in-depth story about steam tunnels. What they are, who maintains them, how New York is kept alive by them, and why they break. By the way, all of south Texas just slipped into the Gulf of Mexico. We'll get back to the steam tunnels right after this."

So, yes, it continues to rain here. We've almost received our total average rainfall for the year, and this morning, we had some particularly nasty thunderstorms come through. Lightning, thunder, the whole nine yards.

Rachel, as usual, slept through the entire thing.

But God forbid, I actually got up to go to the bathroom, and getting back into bed, I sniffled, which evidently was enough to wake up my daughter.

No matter that I'd been up for two hours already listening to the thunder and rain, which woke me up, a freakin' freight train could probably hit our house and she'd be fine, but if she hears someone moving around that's all she wrote.

Where does she get that from?

Tell everyone you know!

There are 15 days left to vote for photos for the newest issue of JPG Magazine. One of the categories is "family" and I submitted this photo for the magazine:


If it gets enough votes, it will appear in the magazine. You can vote for it here. Thanks for your support!

Seven Hundrend Thirty Days

Sorry, Rachel, but your thirteen month newsletter isn't getting top billing today.

Two years ago today, Monica and I were married.

As Moni likes to tell me, "I'm the winner!"

I cannot believe how much things have changed in two years. I'm sure I'll probably say that every year until I meet my maker, but really, how much more could things change?

In two years, we've bought a new house, had a child, both gotten new cars, and I got a new job.

I can't wait to see what the next year will bring. Maybe more fish?

Thirteen Months

Dear Rachel,

Today you turn thirteen months old.

You've had quite a busy debut into your second year of life. It started with a bang when your birthday party turned out to be one huge incubator for illness. We still don't know for sure what caused it, but at least 9 people got sick that were at the party, including you. It broke my heart to see you throwing up so much. You had no idea what was happening to you, and in between puking, you were still your normal, happy self. You're quite the trooper.

After a week of being sick, we took you to the ER on the night the Spurs won the NBA Championship. You were in there for about 6 hours, and stayed awake the whole time. You were given an IV to get your fluids back up to par, but it took the nurses quite a while to find a good vein, and you screamed your head off the entire time they were trying to get the needle in you. I don't blame you, I would have too.

After you were done being sick, your appetite came back with a vengeance. It's incredible how much you've been eating. Every morning, you'll eat a whole banana, an entire slice of toast and at least one cup of milk. Lunch is whatever we happen to give you, but you eat almost as much as your mother at one sitting. Dinner is the same way, AND you have a snack in the afternoon, too! I don't know where you're putting all of it, but when your body is finished with it, it's most definitely coming out the other end.

You got to see your Grandpa Rick and Grandma Connie twice this month. They came down for your birthday, and we went to visit them at the end of the month. That means you got to go for your second trip in a plane this month. It was a lot different than when you rode in the plane last year. That time, you slept the entire trip. This time, we couldn't get you to go to sleep for anything. You were actually very good on the plane. You only let loose a couple of screams when we tried to keep you from doing things you so desperately wanted to do, like play with the laptop of the guy sitting next to Mommy, or sticking your hand in between the seats to touch the people behind us. You really enjoyed looking out the window as we were flying. In addition to your Grandparents, you also got to see your Great-Grandmas and a lot of your Great Aunts and Uncles who haven't seen you for a while.

Back to your Grandparents. They spoil you rotten. They bought you all kinds of fun toys that you played with the entire time we were up there. They gave you lots of love, and I'm sure they miss you. You loved crawling all over their house, and up and down the step to their sun room. Their dog, Rhett, was much more willing to be around you this year. Last year, he didn't even want to be in the same room as you. This year, he let you pet him. You got to go for your first boat ride on Grandpa Rick's boat, and you seemed to enjoy it, except for the big life jacket you had to wear.

You absolutely LOVE the water. I took you swimming for the first time at your friend Annika's house up in Austin, and you loved it. You started putting your face in the water the second we got in the pool. We've taken you to the local pool a couple of times now, and you just laugh and scream with delight every time we put you in the water. We might actually have to get a real pool. You have a kiddie pool and Grandma and Grandpa got one for you at their house too, and you got this huge smile every time we put you in it.

You dance every time you hear music now, and sometimes when you don't. Judy taught you how to dance a couple of months ago and you do it by swinging your arms and trying to snap your fingers. It's very cute. Now, Grandpa Rick has taught you how to stomp your foot while you're dancing too, except Grandpa Rick doesn't have any rhythm, so your stomps are completely out of sync with the music. That's OK, we've got plenty of time to fix that.

You're also walking all over the place now, with a little help. You will take a finger and stand up and do this drunken sailor walk, with a huge grin on your face because you know you're doing something special. You'll also hold onto objects and push them in front of you. You have a walker here at home that you like to do that with, and you had one in Illinois, too. But your favorite way to walk is pushing my recliner around by the foot rest with me in it. You look like a pony ride at the fair, just walking around in circles, but you love it. I have no doubt that you'll be walking on your own before too much longer.

You've also started communicating a lot more with us. You've started signing the word 'more' and you'll sign 'finished' when you're done eating. When you're thirsty, you'll say 'Ahhhh,' because evidently that's the sound daddy makes when he drinks a beer, and it clicked in your brain that that is the sound you make when you drink. You also still making barking sounds when you hear a dog, and meow sounds when you hear a cat, but you also have a new sound for the dog: you pant, like he does when we're on a walk. Your first real word, though, seems to be 'Hi' because you say it all the time. You'll babble all kinds of other stuff that we don't quite understand, but HI is the one things that comes through loud and clear.

Finally, you got your first haircut this month! The hair in the middle of your head has been there for a year and it was the longest on your head. It was also hanging in your eyes and getting food stuck in it all the time. We decided to cut your bangs so that you didn't have to keep pushing it back.

Your second year has stared off great...we can't wait to see what else you'll learn next. We love you very much.

Love,
Daddy

Too funny not to share

towel head
Originally uploaded by ScottRL.

Rachel and I went swimming after Monica has left for class today. On the way home, I gave Rachel a towel to hold onto since it was a bit chilly for her. She got really quiet as we got close to home, and at a stoplight, I turned around to see if she had fallen asleep, and was greeted with this sight. I laughed really hard for a minute, then decided that I had to take a picture.

We're all better now, but...

We missed the Spurs winning the Championship. Rachel continued to be sick after four days, so we decided to take her to the ER. We waited almost two hours to get in, then another four hours to get Rachel her IV and start feeling better. She stayed awake the entire time (I would too if people held me down to stick a needle in my arm...) and it threw off her sleep pattern for a couple of days, but she is doing much better now.

Oh yeah, and she picked up a cold while we were in the hospital.

I looked all over last week for the transfer cable for my phone, but didn't find it until I cleaned out the garage this week.


Rachel with her first IV


Playing Peek-A-Boo with the puke tray. Classic.

Ick

First of all, I want to apologize to anyone who became sick after attending Rachel's party on Saturday. Everyone in the Laleman clan was laid up for the remainder of the weekend too.

It appears, at this point, that it had something to do with the hamburgers we served. If you came to the party and became ill, could you please let me know. We're trying to narrow it down, and I've contacted the Texas Health Department. Hopefully we'll get some resolution to this and find out what it was that made so many people sick.

Even if you didn't eat a burger, but still got sick, please let me know.

Again, we're very sorry, and we hope it doesn't deter anyone from coming to any of Rachel's birthday parties in the future!

Month Twelve

Dear Rachel,

Today, you turn one year old.

This is a big milestone for you, albeit one that you won't remember. It's also a milestone for your mommy and me, because a year ago, we didn't know anything about being parents. We still don't know much, but we think we've done a pretty good job with you so far.



You're going to have a big party today, and your Grandpa Rick and Grandma Connie even flew down from Illinois to see you on your birthday. Lots of our family and friends are going to come over and help us celebrate.



This past month has been one of steady progression for you. You're furniture surfing all the time now, and have even started going between furniture that's close enough to each other. You pull yourself up and anything that doesn't move, including the kitchen cabinets (which you just love to open and bang shut), the windows in the living room, walls, your closet doors, and your parents if we happen to be standing still. It's just a matter of time before you start standing on your own, and from there, walking. Then we're in big trouble.



You've gotten completely off the bottle in the last month, and it wasn't a gradual thing. One day you took it, the next day you screamed like I'd poked your eye out when I tried to give it to you. From then on, it's been sippy cups the whole way. Now, instead of laying in my lap in the morning drinking your bottle, you sit in your high chair and eat.



Speaking of which, you're feeding yourself now. While that gives us more time to eat ourselves, it actually makes more work for us with the mess you produce. Pretty much everything has to go on your tray so you can pick it up, but occasionally you'll let us give you things on a spoon or fork. With this new found freedom, you've also become very picky about what you want to eat, and fruits and veggies are not part of what you like to eat.



You are starting to communicate with us more, and you talk all the time...it's just that we don't understand what you're saying. You make noises in response to certain words or phrases, like when you see your milk, you'll go "Ahhhhhh" the same sound you make when you drink it. You'll bark (AH! AH!) when you hear the dog or we say his name, and I swear I heard you say "I love you" when I said that it to you last week. Maria heard it too, so I know I wasn't hallucinating. You also do things in response to certain words, like giving kisses (which I just love getting from you) and doing "ojitos." Your newest thing is imitating what you hear. We went for a walk the other day and the dog was panting, and you started panting just like him!



We can't believe that you've been with us for a whole year, and we're really looking forward to the next year. You'll learn to walk and run, talk and be able to tell us what you're feeling, and start to take care of yourself more. We never knew our lives could be so full.

We love you so much. Happy birthday, mija!

Dinger

Monica's NEW CAR! has a BIG DENT in the side, thanks to our neighbor (who happens to work at the same school as Monica). Evidently, she was mowing her yard, and didn't bother to check for rocks before she started mowing. Her mower managed to throw a mighty chunk of south Texas Limestone right into the rear driver's side door.



Luckily, she told Monica about it right away, and her (our neighbor's) insurance is going to take care of the whole thing.

Because I need to keep up with my sister...

You know, I've been crazy busy this month. I can't believe it's almost the end of May and I've only made three posts. I'm sure ya'll are getting bored seeing the same old thing every time you visit Laleblog...and my sister has four posts for the month, so I need to step it up.

Speaking of my sister, she's about to become very famous. She's signed up to be a part of Bill Waldman's 365 portraits. She'll do her photo shoot tomorrow (her birthday...Happy Birthday sis), and her picture should be up Tuesday morning.

I also realized recently that it's been quite a while since I took Rachel's picture. Or posted video. I don't have any new video to post (I've shot some, but haven't had the time to pull in down yet) and we went to take pictures of the little one yesterday so we'd have a recent picture for her birthday invitations.

Rachel is learning to walk, and while she started off none too happy about going place on two feet - in fact, she cried every time we tried to get her to do it - she's getting a lot better at it...and she doesn't cry so much anymore.