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Well, it finally happened. Sam is mobile. Early in April my wife and I went down to visit my Mom and spend a little time watching her fawn all over Sam. Before we left, Sam started crawling.
It took her a while to get started, mainly because we kept putting her in these cute and comfy outfits made from velour or other materials that made her slippery, so she'd get on the floor in a crawling position, start the motion, and start crawling... And get nowhere. She really looked like a puppy on a treadmill. She also had this tendency to kick out her left leg in a funny way that impeded her "get up and go," making it more of a "get up and flop." It was goofy, but also kind of odd.
We started helping her out a bit, even playing with her legs like I used to play with my AT-AT walker toy as a kid. The AT-AT is the big elephant-like tank in Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back in the snow battle, and the toy was about 18 inches tall, and had to be manipulated by two people in tandem to make it walk, each working two legs. My wife did just that, working Sam's legs in such a way as to show her the proper way to crawl. The look on her face was one of utter confusion, and was totally priceless. Unfortunately, I wish I had three hands, in order to have another hand free to take a picture of her face as we worked her legs. We were also lucky that Sam's head was not armed with twin Ion cannons.
Eventually, Sam had things down enough, and while at my mom's there was enough "open road" and good textured surface (a big mat in the dining room) to give Sam some crawling space, her favorite toy, and... Zoom!
Not only has she not stopped, she is now "furniture walking," climbing stairs, and dancing. (Well, as close to dancing as a ten-month-old baby can get.) If I have time next month, I may just post video of Sam dancing. Sam has taken over as much of the house as we can allow. We luckily only have a single level apartment, with a single shallow step up landing, but she still is a little explorer.
Her favorite thing is to go crawling out and climb that single step, crawl up to the front door, and pat it, all the while looking at us with a smile on her face as if to say, "I'm ready!" (I wonder if the door were not locked if she'd be in California by now...)
Another thing she's doing - which is a little stranger - is crawling up to me and grabbing my big toe. If I could figure out why, I would. Sam at ten months has already developed a handful of quirks that are all her own, so I'm just chalking this up to that.
Basically, my wife and I have begun the new phase of our life: the chase. The good thing is that as we follow Sam around, we don't have that obnoxious Benny Hill music playing in our heads. Although, now that I've brought it up...
All we can hope for is that our nights are far more restful than they have been. (Keep it clean - that's not what I meant. Considering the surgeries my wife has had to go through since Sam was born, I'm lucky my wife lets me shake her hand!)
Who am I kidding. Now that Sam is mobile, we'll be sleeping with one eye open, watching to make sure she doesn't climb out of her crib.
I'm sure that's next week's milestone.
Cue the Benny Hill music.
If You Can't Hear This, Listen Closely
I replied to an email to someone who subscribes to Earthlink, and the Earthlink spam watch thingy sent me a notice that they would send the email once I had filled out a form. Fine, no worries. I don't mind - anything to help negate spam in everyone's inbox. However, as I filled out the form, I noticed this one line at the bottom of the form:
"Visually impaired? Click here."
Excuse me?
If I were blind, wouldn't I have either (a) someone helping me with the internet, or (b) a program reading this stuff to me anyway?
Another Introduction to Solid Food - For Daddy!
Late in the month I picked up a virus going around that had me spending as much time in the bathroom as I did in bed. Let me just say that I can think of little worse than having Immodium being your only "solid food" for nearly three days. Apparently, this is one of two viruses making its way around DC, the other being strep throat. I'm lucky, since Sam picked up neither of these. I will say that I almost did a happy dance when a golf ball sized baked potato stayed in...
But Is It a Dry Ice?
Congratulations to Bill Thomas, formerly a University of Nebraska-Omaha Sophomore, on being signed by the Phoenix Coyotes late in the season. Thomas played in 8 games for the Wayne Gretzky-led Coyotes and scored 3 points (one goal and two assists). Thomas signed a free agent contract with the Coyotes after leading the UNO Mavericks to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance with friend and linemate Scott Parse, who was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award this year. Thomas' first NHL goal came against the Dallas Stars against former Pittsburgh Penguin goaltender Johan Hedburg. (Thomas is a Pitsburgh native.) Sammy is very happy to see her cousin Bill playing hockey, and is learning all she can about her new favorite sport.
Thomas is one of many new American-born kids bringing a new flavor to the NHL, one that hearkens back to the style of play hockey fans remember from players like Ron Francis: players who loved the game and cared more for it, their families, communities and teammates than their publicity. The result was a solid career, solid contribution, and solid people. Francis (like Steve Yzerman today) never sought the limelight, and scored well over 1,000 points in a long and well-respected career. Thomas and others have every opportunity to raise the quality of the game of hockey and raise the level of respect for USA Hockey. One thing is for sure: in his short but growing time on the ice in those eight games, Thomas showed an ice awareness far beyond his experience, and a potential to be a special player on the ice. I wouldn't be surprised to see Thomas, Parse, and Hobey winner Matt Carle in four years playing for an Olympic medal.
Foxed Out? (Because "Snow Job" was just too easy...)
So... Tony Snow of Fox News is the new White House Press Secretary? Gee. How ever will he handle the requirements of dodging the issues? Where - oh - where might he have received that kind of training?
Gee.
PHOTO TIME!
We managed to get to a signing at our neighborhood Borders to visit an old friend (her book will be next month's pick), and Sam charmed the staff and got a balloon.
Sammy, in her newfound crawling discovery of the house, has discovered... laundry!
Some of the next few photos (okay... Few dozen...) may not have captions, they're just some great photos that I'm calling "The Many Faces of Sammy."
Many of you know that my wife's father died a few years ago from cancer. Our daughter is named for him, and she was born, ironically, under the sign of Cancer. Recently, we sat Sam in her Grandfather's old chair...
And now... FOOD PHOTOS!
Coming soon... A surprise post of Sammy's new trick!
See y'all later...
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