Of big brothers and babies

One of Jonathan's favorite things right now is to torment Matthew by calling him a baby. (He's a big brother...this is fully expected.) Friday morning in the car on the way to the sitter, the conversation in the back seat went something like this:

Jonathan: Matt's a baby.
Matthew: I'M. NOT. A BABY!!

Rinse, lather, and repeat a couple dozen times. Finally, a brief silence (taking a breath for air, perhaps), and then, from the middle seat, a small voice:

Graceanne: I a beebee.

1 score years

What were you doing February 3rd, 1989? Me? I had my first date with the man who would become my eternal companion and the father of my children. How is it possible that we've been together for 20 years? I'm not that old!! Heck, I wasn't even that old when I met him! (It was a week before my 19th birthday.) Anyway, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be on this journey through life with, and I'm looking forward to the next 2 or 3 score years ahead of us.

So okay, we have to go back to 1989 for just a minute (I do love me some YouTube). Here's a song I distinctly remember dancing with Mike to at one of the few "dances" that were held in the old Pub at IC. Apparently, this song is notable for being in the Guiness Book for the LONGEST note held by a Power Ballad/Pop song. I haven't actually verified that, but it's not too hard to believe.


(Love love LOVE the stylin' '80s looks on these guys!)

I have to admit it was a tossup between the Sheriff song and "Angel Eyes" by the Jeff Healy Band, which is a song I've heard Mike singing around the house on more than one occasion. But hey, it's my blog, and since the Jeff Healy song is sung from a guy's point of view, I went with Sheriff. If you're interested, here's a link to the other one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYz_LHKrgDY

Oh, and for the record, 3 years later, on this same day, we got engaged. I'll save the songs from 1992 for another time.

Random nuggets

Since Jill informed me that she's stalking me, I figured I'd better post SOMETHING to make it worth her while. =) This post is basically just recent observations about the kids.

I'm very amused by the way Matthew laughs when HE'S amused (which is different than when he laughs because he's being tickled). If he's trying to restrain himself, he sounds like "tee-hee!" Literally, he says "tee-hee." It's too funny. And I've caught Grace doing it too. When he's amused by a cartoon or something and he's letting it all hang out, he says something that sounds sort of like a very loud, nasally "He-yeah!" You have to be there.

Jonathan informed me this weekend that he wants a pet of his very own. The two cats apparently aren't cutting it for him. Every parent gets this request at some point, right? Well, he seems to want a fish, which is a personal pet I can get behind. BUT, I told him he needs to prove he's ready for pet ownership before I'll permit this, so it is now his responsibility to feed the cats every afternoon. I haven't quite decided what measure of success he needs to attain for me to decide he's proven his pet ownership worthiness, but it will definitely have to involve VERY LITTLE reminding on my part. Any advice in this area is welcome!

Since December, I have been trying to make a point of jotting down the new words I hear Grace say on the calendar in her room. Well, it's starting to get a little challenging. Just this past weekend, I think I recorded 3 or 4 new words and 2 or 3 phrases, including "go," "cheese," and "Can I see?" I think it's going to get to the point soon where I can't keep up. I've also heard her singing "Popcorn Popping," although no one else would recognize it as such, because her enunciation still leaves a bit to be desired. But I can tell by the tune, the repeated "p" sound, and the little wagging finger that goes along with the line "It wasn't really so." Dang she's cute.

A-blogging I will go

Okay, yeah, so it's been two weeks since I last posted. Call it the calm AFTER the storm. Essentially, the holidays are over and I'm thankfully not so busy anymore, and there just hasn't been much going on. Mike and I go to work, the kids go to school, and then we come home and veg. That's what January is for, right? Hibernation, as Matthew has been learning about in school. I'm sure things will pick up again in the not-so-distant future, but right now, there's really nothing exciting going on, and I think I'm pretty content with that. And hey, you can't complain about being content, right?

Happy New Year!!

Okay, I know it's New Year's Eve, but I had to include one last video of another of my favorite Christmas songs before the "Season" is over. I've always had a fondness for Harry Belafonte's "Mary's Boy Child," and last year I caught this version on the radio and just loved it. The video is awesome for its terrific disco cheesiness (it's from 1978 after all!), and I just love the Carribbean flavor of this version.



And for all you traditionalists out there, here's a little New Year's cheer:



Have a safe celebration tonight (and WARM, if you happen to be in WNY) and we wish you the best for 2009!

Christmas 2008

Because it's 11:00 at night and I'm tired, I'm going to save myself the trouble of uploading Christmas pictures here and just send y'all over to the ones I just put up on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77310&l=edcd6&id=1586911971

This album includes one of the best "Scared of Santa" pictures I've experienced. Rest assured Grace is not scarred for life from the experience (and neither is Santa, happily).

Hope everyone had a fun, festive, and fuss-free Christmas!

Christmas Multimedia

I couldn't let Christmas go by without a little multimedia offering of one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs. Even now, this song is the only one that consistently causes me to get a little choked up and teary every time I hear it (which is few and far between I'm afraid!). Hope you enjoy it.

Peace to all the world, and good will to men.