Birthday Fun

Kaylynn's birthday was on a Thursday this year. I took the day off of school and we played at home for the morning. Her daddy had a final that night so we drove him downtown for his test. We had a fun time.

We began our evening doing a little Christmas shopping at Bebe Verde. Very fun store on Alabama! We had dinner at Ruggles Green (a place I had been wanting to try) and Kaylynn enjoyed some butternut squash!

With a full belly, we ventured out to the Children's Museum. They usually close at 6pm, but from 5-8 it's the Free Thursdays. Needless to say, Kaylynn had a great time! She crawled around for 1.5 hrs straight, was zonked out in the car ride home, and didn't even wake up when Daddy got her out of the car.

From top left, she's playing with a ball drop, sitting on the walking ramp (oxymoron?), practicing her standing skills, locking the door, out cold on Daddy, and driving the red truck.

I'd say it was a successful birthday!

Cruel & Unusual Punishment

Ok, just one more. I was doing a quick scan through the pictures and I found this one. She will hate us for this one day, I know. But, come on folks. This is funny stuff!

The best part...I am fairly certain that there was a tiny turd in that diaper. I can't remember...seems like that would be something that would happen to us.

A Year in Pictures

I'm behind in blogging, I know. I've got birthday pictures (as in, the actual day), birthday party pictures, Christmas pictures, & pictures of family fun in the hanger. It just takes time. Hey, the good news is that, as we speak, I am taking them off my camera and putting them on the computer. We're headed to East Texas tomorrow until Saturday morning, so hopefully I'll have some time to get things posted.

Until then, enjoy "A Year in Pictures" of our beautiful girl. I had a copy of each one printed and I draped them across the window, behind where Sweet Girl was to receive her carrot cake cupcake (which were sooo good. I'm still thinking about them.)

Christmas in Pictures

Kaylynn's 2nd Christmas was celebrated in Houston this year. Well, Conroe. Same difference (how's that for an oxymoron!) Anywho, we celebrated at Grandma & Grandpap Frink's house, after Santa visited her at our home. We had fun with Gigi, Auntie Melissa & Uncle Angelo, her cousin Anthony, Uncle Mike & Aunt Donna, Donna's parents Hui & Daoming, & Grams & Doon-doon. It was a wonderfully relaxing day, full of fun and good food!

Merry Christmas...

...from your local vonFrinkenhagen's!

**photo courtesy of Brittani Louise Photography**

Many Faces

With the end of finals came the end of an era. The von Frinkenhagen beard was no more. But while the beard disappeared, the many faces of the von Frinkenhagen emerged.

The beard's last meal.

The goatee with the long sideburns.

The full length man-choo.

The Pat "I-coach-my-team-down-to-the-level-of-my-opponents" Hill. (No, I'm not bitter than I have started 1-4 this bowl season. I LOVE watching teams not show up to the game.)

The Colt McCoy/Jason Giambi 'stache.

My favorite one of all. I call it "The Linda".

Birthday Fun

We celebrated Kaylynn's birthday party December 19, 2009. We invited family and close friends to the shin dig. Kaylynn (as well as I) enjoyed carrot cake cupcakes and she was more than spoiled with fun toys and cute clothes!

Just a tip for the future first birthday-ers out there...wait to have the party until AFTER your baby has their 12 month check-up. That MMR shot can be a beast. Kaylynn wasn't in her best mood (though her cranky moods aren't THAT cranky) due to fever and a rash from the shot. :( Despite this, she put on a smile, blew out her candle (she actually blew it out by herself!), and had a fun time with everyone!

Photo collage L-R, then T-B:
With Mommy & Daddy singing "Happy Birthday"
Kaylynn with Grams & Grandpa (Doon-Doon...long story, but he might have a silly name) Moore
Kaylynn with Grandma & Grandpap Frink
Kaylynn with Great Uncle Bob (my uncle) and cousins Caleb & Jacob (my cousin's boys)
Middle: Kaylynn, Mommy, & Daddy opening the best gift ever - Fridge Farm!!!
Kaylynn & The Godfather & Jenno
Kaylynn & her cousin The Panda (Mike & Donna's panda...funny story there)
Kaylynn overtired and not yet enjoying her rocking panda (she does now!)
Kaylynn, Grandma Frink, & Gigi (Great-Grandma O'Donnell...Brian's Grandma)
Teal icing on the face. Not too into cake.
Kaylynn & Mommy & Daddy

Party in the House!

Tomorrow!

Moon Sausage

As many of you don't know, I became a member of 94.5, The Buzz's Fresh Out of Bed, Head to Head hall of fame back in September. Briefly, the Fresh Out of Bed, Head to Head challenge is a trivia game that pits two people against each other on the phone. The DJ asks questions and the first person to say their name has the chance to answer. The first person to get two questions correct is the winner and moves on to the next day to play someone else. If you win 5 days in a row, you become a member of the hall of fame for that year.

The benefit of being a hall of famer is getting to come back at the end of the year in the tournament of champions. All of the hall of famers for a year are put in a bracket (similar to March Madness) in a winner-take-all format. The hall of famers are whiddled down until there is only one person - the champion.

Anyway, I am a member of the 2009 hall of fame and I have made it to the championship game (tomorrow morning). To get to the championship game, I had to beat a guy named Matt. The first question we received was "Which Houston football legend has a sausage named after him." Matt got in there first (by saying his name - there are no buzzers; I said nothing because I had no idea). Matt's guess was Warren Moon. Now, I heard Matt say something, but I couldn't understand him. Warren Moon was wrong so I got a chance to answer the question. My answer: Warren Moon.

It was incorrect for Matt and it was incorrect for me. And of course the DJ let us hear about it. And then my friends and brother let me hear about it. It does make me laugh when I read the emails that say "WARREN MOON?!?!".

I'm not entirely sure why I wrote this post. I think it's because I really just wanted to have a post named Moon Sausage. It might also be because I'm hedging my bets by making a post after my semi-finals match just in case I can't pull off the upset tomorrow. Whatever the reason, this post is done. I'm going to get my beauty sleep, wake up in the morning, eat my Earl Campbell sausage, and try to defeat Shane.

WARREN MOON!!!

The Joy of Kids

I'm finding it hard to focus on my notes for my last final, so I figured I'd write a quick (in Brian terms) post on a couple of amusing things that happened over the weekend.

The first occurred while we were giving Kaylynn a bath on Saturday night. She has these foam shapes that she plays with in the bathtub (they are made by Boon) - and when I say plays, I mean chews on. They are pretty cool in that they stick to the side of the tub when they are wet. We have been showing her this for a couple of weeks and she has been trying to put them on there herself. However, she never understood that she needed to move her fingers out of the way.

Well, on Saturday night, I put one of the shapes on the tub wall and then took it off. Right after I took it off, she pushed it out of my hand onto the tub wall. I thought this was pretty cool. But then she took it off the tub wall herself, stuck it in her mouth, and the put it back on the tub wall herself. Hayley and I were so excited that we started cheering and clapping. Here's the funny part. It scared the crap out of Kaylynn (not literally, fortunately). She was so startled that she didn't know what to do. So she just started clapping with a look of fear on her face. It was priceless.

The second amusing event took place yesterday afternoon. Our neighbor has three kids. I don't know the ages of the two oldest ones, but the youngest is a little over a year old. Anyway, the middle child is a boy who has a crush on Hayley. I'm not making that up. He came to the door one time because he kicked his ball over the fence and asked Hayley to get it. Before she did so, he said she was pretty. I still need to kick his @ss to show him what's up.

Anyway, he came to the door yesterday and I answered. He said he kicked his ball over and asked if I could get it. I said sure thing. (Incidentally, he didn't tell me I was pretty). Shortly after I had come back inside (and I mean within about 15 seconds), I heard another knock. He did it again. So I went back and got the ball again (still no mention of me being pretty) and then came back inside.

:: knock knock knock ::

He did it again. Only this time, when I went back there, he threw the ball back over to me as soon as I threw it to him. I tossed it back over and then he kicked it over. I know he wanted to play catch with someone, and normally I'm the guy to do it. But I had one final to go and was in a motivated mood so I definitely had to take advantage.

So I came back inside only to hear another knock at the door. This time when I opened it, I said "Did you kick it over again?" He said, "Nope, I tricked you. OWNED!!!" and ran away. Yes, I was annoyed when I heard the knock, but I couldn't help laughing at this. I told him I'd get even somehow.

Alright, time to study up...for my appearance this morning on the radio.

Yum! It's 'Goud'a

We love you Babybel!

If I Only Had A Brain

As I sit here at 3:17 AM, I have decided that law school finals would be much, much easier if I only had a brain. I took my third final last night and it, like the others, was no cake walk. Unfortunately, things have not quite gone the way I had hoped this round. I would venture to say that it has been more taxing this semester than it was last year when Hayley was pregnant!

I took my first final last week. I was as prepared as I was going to be. The final was Ethics. The test was 40 short answer giving hypothetical situations that we "discussed" in class (i.e. the professor read a situation from the book, said the rules didn't help us much, and then stated that the situation wouldn't arise half the time in real life). I started the computer program that is used to type the exam. Unfortunately, it decided it didn't want to work. It gave me an error message and sent my computer into a loop where it restarted, showed the error message, shut down, and restarted. Time to grab the pencil and get writing! The problem is, I don't write fast.

I was pretty happy that my second final wasn't taken on the computer. After the debacle in the first final, I didn't want to be worrying about computer problems. Unfortunately, I had other problems to worry about. In my mind, the professor messed up the fact pattern to the biggest problem on the exam. He gave this long scenario about a guy name Jackson Michaels that created a will. The exam said that the will was drafted and signed by Jackson and witnessed by two others. He then said "after Howard signed the will, it was taken to two other individuals to sign as witnesses to validate the will". I hit panic mode. Who the hell is Howard? And what happened to the first two witnesses? Didn't they sign? This made quite the different in the problem. If they did sign, everything passed under the will. If they didn't, it passed by state law. Since you can't ask the professor for clarification during the exam (they are not in the room; they aren't even supposed to be in the building), I took a guess on just what the heck the professor meant. Cross your fingers!

And then there's last night. Here's where I had my scarecrow moment. Before I went downtown to take the exam, I tested the computer software to make sure it worked. At first it didn't. But then I fiddled with it and got it to work. We're good to go.

I mentioned to Hayley on the way downtown that I wasn't completely with it. I'm tired. No, I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted. Here's some context. A song came on the radio (it was the 4 o'clock flashback). I said, "man, this sounds like Soul Asylum". After the song was over, the DJ said it was Soul Asylum and I got pissed. I was like, "man, I thought I nailed that one. I was sure I had it right". After 10 seconds I realized that I was right. I had said Soul Asylum.

Unfortunately, this spaciness carried over to the final (it was Corporations). I had everything set up and ready to go. I started the software, selected the Agency and Partnerships file, and entered the password that was given by the proctor.

Invalid password.

What? You've got to be kidding me. Are you serious? Maybe I typed it wrong. Let's try again.

Invalid password.

At this point, the blood is boiling. I'm hating ExamSoft and their stupid program that works for everyone but me. I asked the proctor if the password was correct and she said it was. Everyone else in the classroom said it was correct and was working for them.

Time to bust out the pen!

Here were the thoughts running through my head the first 5 minutes of the exam (note this has been cleaned up...A LOT): "Oh man, someone at ExamSoft is going to have quite the bad day tomorrow. They're going to get a chewin'. Brian, get back to the exam. Seriously, what the hell kind of program is this?!?!?! It doesn't even work! I'm 0-2. Brian, get back to the exam. Wait until I tell Hayley, she's going to be pissed too! And on my daughter's birthday! Brian, get back to the exam. What if ExamSoft can't fix it? I can't be writing my exam for Moore's class tomorrow. Brian, get back to the exam. I'm tired of this crap. Brian, get back to the exam."

Here's the problem. I'm a slow reader, writer, talker, and story-teller (can you tell???). I figure I'm at a distinct disadvantage when taking an exam that everyone else can type because they can type much, much faster than I can write. This generally means they get more information down which yields the possibility for more points. Yeah, I wrote 11 double-spaced pages yesterday, but I could have written much, much more. And what pisses me off most is that the exam wasn't that bad. I was more prepared than I thought and I feel that I could have done really well. But alas.

So as I get out of the exam all pissed off, I get in the car and listen to how much fun my baby girl had at the Children's Museum yesterday. I don't have time to detail what all she did, but she supposedly had a great time. And it made me feel so much better. Who cares about the exam.

Then Hayley asked me how it went. And I got angry again. I was explaining to her what happened and I said, "The software messed up again. I went in, clicked on the drop-down box, selected the Agency & Partn...holy sh*t."

To anyone that has been reading this, they will have noticed that I said last night's exam was Corporations. I also said earlier that I selected the Agency & Partnerships exam file. No wonder the frickin' password didn't work. I'm a dufus and I picked the wrong file. If I only had a brain, I would have someone else to blame this on. But I must take the hit for being an idiot this time around.

Happy 1st Birthday, Kaylynn Noelle!

Dear Sweet Girl,

Well, you've we've (we, Goose, we) made it through your first trip around the sun! You are an entire year old- one whole finger! I don't even know where to begin. I think that your Daddy and I can both honestly say that this year with you has been the best year we've ever had and we wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world!

I mentioned earlier this week that it seems that you grew up all of a sudden over the weekend. Since then, you've learned how to eat from a snack cup. It took all of 1 day to learn that you could get puffs at your leisure while sitting in the stroller. You love your puffs, if you didn't know that already. I mean L-O-V-E them! Even more so than oatmeal, which says something, because you really love oatmeal, too. You've taken to doing some furniture cruising, especially if there is a pen or some other object that I don't want you playing with in sight (a pen, my phone, the big remote...)

We're still rocking along with just two teeth. It doesn't prevent you from eating though. You are the best little eater. There hasn't been anything that you've turned away. In the beginning you weren't such a fan of pureed green beans, but now you love them. You'll happily eat tofu, barley/mushrooms, broccoli, and all kinds of things that most kids dislike. You loved eating turkey for the first time on Thanksgiving and took to the "allergeric" berries easily. I am hoping this means that you won't end up being a picky eater, like I was when I was little. Take after your Daddy - he loves all food!

I've said this a million times, I know, but I think you are the happiest baby (yikes, toddler, now)ever! You wave at almost everyone you see (unless it's a stranger with facial hair...but who can blame you, it's scary!) You're also so sweet. You love to give me sweet kisses and once you start, you just keep on giving them. When you play with your stuffed animals, you give them sweet kisses, too. Sometimes it looks like you're biting their noses, but I know it's a kiss. :)

You've recently learned that music is awesome! You start bouncing your arms up and down or in and out - it's the cutest thing! I first saw you do that Thanksgiving weekend, as you found a fun toy that played "La Cucharacha" and you enjoyed listening to Joe play his guitar and sing for us up in Mt. Pleasant.

While we've loved this year with you, there is so much to look forward to! New facing carseat, standing on your own, walking, more words, potty training, eating with a fork and spoon, no more formula, and convincing your Daddy that you need a sibling! We can't wait to experience more "firsts" with you!

Kaylynn, we love you more than you will ever know (actually, one day, when you have your own little girl, you'll know exactly how much we love you!) I hope you had fun this year. Enjoy the ride

Love,
Mommy

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This weekend, Kaylynn and I braved the snow (insert ::laugh:: here) and drove out to Fredericksburg for Will's 2nd birthday party.

This little boy's vocabulary has really taken off and I loved hearing him play the "repeater" all weekend (he'll say anything you ask him to say.) If you ask him how old he is, he replied "dos" and you say "dos what?". His response is "dos anos!" That's "two years" for you non-Spanish speakers out there. I especially missed him when I was unloading my dishwasher this morning, because he is such a little helper! He will empty the dishwasher, handing the plates, silverware, cups, etc. to you and then telling you where it goes. He's also very cautious, as he'll warn you that "it's heavy."

Friday night was the annual Christmas parade. It was probably 20-something degrees out (it was definitely below freezing, not sure of the acutal temperature.) Very cold! Kaylynn and I bundled up under our Aggie quilt (which is fun to have around in Longhorn country.) They decorate all kinds of floats with Christmas lights, so it was very pretty.

Saturday, we partied like it was 2009, celebrating Will's 2nd birthday and Eric's 30th. Jenno & I took the kids out to see Santa at the St. Nikolaus's Markt (yes, markt, it's German.) It wasn't your traditional Santa - it was St. Nikolaus. Kaylynn wasn't too keen on him, she's not a huge fan of facial hair (hint, hint, Daddy...) She didn't end up crying though, just a little wimpering and then all of a sudden she saw a light and pointed at it, resulting in the photo below:

After Will opened his presents on Saturday, the big kids (ages, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11) were on the floor playing with Will's new toys, and Kaylynn just crawled right on over and pushed her way through to play, too. She wasn't afraid of taking toys from someone else (guess we need to work on sharing) or having them taken back from her. The kids looked out for her, making sure she wasn't stepped on, but she wasn't treated like a baby either. It was almost like she was just another kid, such a big girl.

It's funny. I feel like Kaylynn grew up over the weekend. When we got back home last night, she was playing on the floor with one of her abacus type toys (you know, the ones with the beads and move-y things on it) and she was content playing there by herself for a good half-hour. Brian said, "I don't want to jinx things, but she hasn't gotten fussy or wanted to be held in a while." Usually, she'd rather you hold her or be on the floor with her, but it was like she was a big girl all of a sudden. It may change back this week, who knows. I guess my baby girl is officially a toddler.

This is a big week in the vonFrinkenhagen casa. Kaylynn FIRST birthday is Thursday. I am taking the day off and have a fun day planned. We're going to spend the morning at home, just playing and napping. Then we're going to drive her Daddy downtown to take his final. She and I are going to do some Christmas shopping, eating dinner, and playing at the Children's Museum (taking her back to that car she loved so much) before picking him back up after his test. I imagine she'll take a good snooze on the way home. :)

Endangered

I'm worried. I'm very, very worried. Finals hell week is here and I feel that the beard is an endangered species, certain to become extinct by the middle of next week, if not sooner.

We've got a Christmas party to go to on Saturday morning and said endangered beard is making me "look like a bum". I'm not sure I can show up at the party with the beard. I fear that its demise may come sooner than I wanted.

I do not think there's anything I can do to save it. To power me through, I'm going to focus on the times we had together. So many hours we spent in the office - alone. So many hours we spent "learning" the ins and outs of property law, corporate law, and - most recently - estate law. So many hours were spent itching and scratching and wondering just why in the hell the peach fuzz was so sharp.

So many hours together. And yet, in a few days our time will end. So much time is spent saving endangered animals. What about the endangered beards? Where are the efforts to stave off the girlfriends, employers, and others from killing the beard?

No, I do not think I can make a difference in saving endangered beards. I will resign myself to my memories.

How Much?

Ever heard the song "How Much Is That Doggie in the von Frinkenhagen's House?" Well, if you haven't, it goes something like this:

How much is that doggie in the von Frinkenhagen House?
The one that stinks like crap?

Yeah, that's our dog. And the answer is that he's free. Anyone want a dog?

Not only does he stink like a dog, but he stinks like my brother. Here I am, minding my own business, studying for my exam when I get hit with a SBD. Not only was it an SBD, but it was a lingering SBD. I turned the fan on high but all it seemed to do was whirl the stench around the office.

So I take the dog outside to take care of business. But what you don't know about our dog is that he's special. He can't do anything alone. That includes going to the bathroom. You have to be out there with him for him to go. And even then, when he's got the whole backyard to do his thing, he pees on the house. Or he takes a dump 5 feet away from you.

Only this time, he didn't take a dump. Why? Because it's raining. I had to chase him out in the yard only for him to stare at me like I was stupid. "What Brian? You want me to take a dump just because I have completely stunk up your office? But it's raining, Brian. I don't want to."

Well, I don't want to smell him. So he can fart away in his kennel until he decides it's time to rock the deuce.

Oh, and Grandma and Grandpa Moore - the kennel is still in your room. I made sure to shut the door and turn off the fan. That way, you'll have the pleasure of experiencing what I am experiencing. And yes, I do know that I'm the best son-in-law in the world.

Inherently Hopeless

I'm officially over a week in now. My first final is two days away. Tomorrow starts the hardcore studying (i.e. cramming and taking advantage of the short-term memory that I have, only to dump the material the next day to make room for my next final's information).

You'll be happy to hear that I have showered since my last post...once. I can't say that I've changed my clothes though. And I'm not sure the flea and tick stuff worked - my face itches like crazy.

But I'm plowing ahead. Today has focused on agency principles (mainly inherent agency power). I have determined it is inherently hopeless to try to understand it. I have read my notes (it didn't take long since I didn't understand what the hell the professor was talking about at the time) and re-read the relevant case. I remember this case well because it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Briefly, there was a lady that was trying to get damages for a breached contract. The contract was with a mortgage company (who sold the loan off to the federal government without telling the lady) who serviced the loan and then went bankrupt (like so many mortgage companies these days...only this took place in the '90s). The federal government was going after the lady's house (or the monetary equivalent, which she, like so many these days...only this took place in the '90s, didn't have the money to pay for). Ultimately, the court applied the concept of inherent agency power to declare that the woman won under agency principles.

The thing that makes me laugh about the case is that the court specifically said it did not understand inherent agency power. The thing that makes me cry about the case is that the lady didn't actually win. Let's say she won the battle but lose the war. The court turned around in the very next paragraph and said that the federal government is immune from an agent's unauthorized actions. As such, the lady loses.

Where was I going with this? (remember that short-term memory I was talking about? I may be in trouble...) Oh, yeah. I figure that if a judge can't understand the concept, I shouldn't have to understand it either. That's a pretty good theory in my book since I don't actually understand it. I've consulted my notes (which weren't helpful), consulted a free outline (which didn't help because they didn't understand it either), went so far as to consult the Restatement (which, as the court itself stated was "unhelpful"), and re-read the case.

I think I'll chalk this one up to the "hope it's not in an essay" category and move on. Oh look! It's 9:30. Guess it's time to go watch the rest of the game.

Gobble! Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving, blogworld!

We've got our turkey, smoked courtesy of Christ Church United Methodist! We've got our green beans, ala Grady Spears cookbook (so good, try them!!) We've got our potatoes, ala mom. We've got our Sweet Girl, ala Mom and Dad. And lastly, we've got Fightin' Texas Aggie Football tonight!

Have a blessed day, giving thanks, eating good food, and spending time with your loved ones!

It's Been...

...four days. Only four frickin’ days?

Yep, the law school study-a-thon is four days in the works and one thing is clear: I AM SICK OF STUDYING!!! The fact that four days has passed me by is alarming for three reasons. First, I’ve only concentrated on one subject – professional responsibility – and I’m still nowhere near where I need to be. Second, I’ve spent approximately four days trying to figure out how to not take the exams (now or in the future). I think I’ve determined it’s not possible to get a law degree without graduating from law school. And to graduate from law school, I need to take (and pass) the exams. Third, I cleaned the kitchen this morning. The fact that I would prefer to clean than to do something else shows something is wrong.




Above is a picture that shows my condition 4 days in. Take note of a couple of things:

1. I am growing my finals beard (which supposedly will help me get through this). I am slightly worried that it will not actually help. I am also worried it will not make it through finals (I think I may have to make a trip down to the office to wrap up some stuff that won’t get wrapped up otherwise).

2. Consistent with the beard growth, I have broken out the flea and tick treatment (located next to my computer. And yes, it is necessary. See the comment below regarding my outfit for the next few weeks). There is now the distinct scent, nay, stench of peppermint and cinnamon (which oddly enough smells like pine when combined) lingering throughout the house.

3. Yes, I am using Hayley’s boppy – generally reserved for breastfeeding mothers – as a book prop. It makes it easier to highlight passages that someone (other than me) finds important.

4. I am wearing my 1988 Tecmo Bowl championship t-shirt. For the next few weeks, I will be a champion. (I am also wearing my flannel pants...and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.)

5. I am smiling for the picture. At this moment in time, that is my happy face.

Four days down, 20 days to go.

Birthday Preview

Mark your calendars folks. The cake smashing will take place on Dec. 19th at 1pm. You know you want to be there!!

I'm so stinking excited about Kaylynn's birthday party! Let it be known that I have NO IDEA how to throw a birthday party. I don't know about party favors, games, foods, etc. I don't know what to do. But what I DO know how to do is make uber cute party invitations and stickers on photoshop (I can make yours!!) and come up with fun, clever (in my own humble opinion) sayings/theme for the party. I really want to show everything to you (the whole two readers that actually exist) but, I feel as though I should have some sort of element suspense. But if I don't share, you might not get it, and then I have to explain later, then my fun, clever sayings aren't so fun anymore. Does that make sense? No?

Just watch this video. That way you'll have some idea of what I'm talking about.

Finished!

I finally finished this jacket! Now, it looks nothing like the one that is on the site of Heidi & Finn, but that's ok, because I MADE IT! It'll look a lot cuter on Sweet Girl than on Pink Bear. I promise! Actually, I don't promise, I just hope that when Kaylynn wears it, she doesn't look like a Jedi Warrior (or Hans Solo...I don't know, I didn't care for Star Wars.)

11 Months already!

Dearest Kaylynn,

11 months have come and 11 months have gone. It is hard to believe that your will be a whole year old in a few weeks! Time flies too fast!

This month you have been a busy bee! You went back to Ohio to visit GiGi, Auntie Melissa, Uncle Angelo, and Cousin Anthony! We had a great time!

You saw Anthony standing, so you decided it would be the cool thing to do. Now you stand all the time. You prefer crawling though. Sometimes you forget that you don't have complete balance, and will stand for a few seconds by yourself before you grab on to me or the couch.

We are drinking from a cup now for your bottles! We still have the bottles, in case a cup is dirty, but you'd drink out of it each time if it is given to you. You're becoming more independent, that's for sure.

Though independent, you'd rather someone play with you. Most times you get angry if we're not on the floor with you or you aren't in our laps. Sometimes when I'm on the floor playing with you, you crawl into my lap for some snuggles. I love those times!

The new game is handing us invisible things. You like to share your toys with us, but now you've started giving us things that don't exist. Tonight, after your bath, you acted like you took a bow out of your hair and gave it to Daddy. Then did it again, and again. It's hilarious!

Speaking of bows...you've decided that they taste better than they look. You can no longer be left unsupervised with bows on (aka, in your carseat). Mommy got quite a scare when you started hacking on one while she was driving. Not fun! Since your hair is so long, we've had to do the "Pebbles" style ponytail to keep your hair out of your face. It's just a phase, it'll soon be so long that you won't need it. Mommy isn't cutting bangs for you.

Each month keeps getting more fun! We love hearing you laugh when you get Eskimo kisses or tickled. We love your sweet kisses and hugs. We love you!!

Love,
Mommy



Kaylynn on her 11 month birthday.

Sporting her new ponytail on 11/08/09

Fun video of Kaylynn's afternoons. Notice how she always crawls back to the lap.

Quiz: What's your interior personality (personality color profile)

I found this link on another blog. Since I really want to take a nap right now and not grade papers (hey, I am caught up for once, I just have a new assingnment to grade), I'm not being very productive. I took this quiz, just for fun. I do not think it's results are very shocking. At least not to me.

Now, I just need an infinite supply of funds and no job! :)

Halloweeny! (well, mostly Cleveland)

A photo tour of our Cleveland trip (and a few of Halloween).

CORN MAZE!! This was cool. They carved it out to look like Frankenstein.

Trying for some fall photos in the Metroparks. It's near impossible to get 2 babies looking at the camera at the same time.

Mommy and Kaylynn. Mommy needs to work on her posture.

Auntie Melissa and Anthony. Anthony has the biggest smile (and the cutest dimple!)

Kaylynn was a huge fan of the leaves. She wouldn't keep a clip in her hair. You can really see how long it is getting.

"Anthony. You HAVE to taste this leaf!"

"Kaylynn, you're crazy. I'm outta here!"

On Saturday, we hijacked Sean and drove Grandma (GiGi) to Smithville, OH. She's famous there. Here's a picture of Grandma with her picture.

Halloween pictures did not work out as planned. Here's our little pumpkin with Daddy!

A tiger and a pumpkin.

A ladybug (Emma) and a tiger.

She was about over it!

A Photo Indicative of the Night

You know, it's hard to take pictures of moving babies. Just sayin'.

Beard Me

:: sigh :: It's that time of year again. November has come, and along with it has come the feeling of despair from another bout of finals. And the arrival of finals means only one thing for me:

It's beard-thirty.

In hockey, there is a tradition amongst the players to grow a beard as long as their team is in the playoffs. For me, I have grown a "beard" while preparing for finals (generally I have shaved it off when I went to take my first final because it's uncomfortable - much like the feeling in a certain part of my body when I'm taking the final). It seems to have served me well considering I am still in school. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Of course the growth will not start for another few weeks. I can't show up to work looking like a complete bum. I still have a professional responsibility to make it look like I know what I'm doing. But as soon as I take off of work for the two weeks of hell, it's beard time. And I don't plan on shaving it until after finals. Even then, I'm only going to shave it into a goatee. Why? Because my lovely wife hates it. (In my defense, she knew what she was getting herself into when she married me.)

Consider this the official countdown to beard-ness. There will be pictures.

On the Docket

• A mustard yellow jacket for Sweet Girl.
• Finishing a stocking for Sweet Girl **not actual stocking, I don't think. I can't remember**
• A very cool blanket.
• Finishing my readings.
• And Christmas shopping.

And in the meantime, trying to keep the house clear from our now STANDING baby girl. That's right folks. She pulled up a few times in Cleveland (her cousin, Anthony, showed her how it was done) and has become a pro back here in Houston. We even sit down pretty well from standing.

(Halloweeny photos to come soon. Maybe. If I remember.)

By Request

Some photos of sweet girl.

Garbanzo Beans!

Just add this to the list of things Kaylynn loves to eat. I made her some for dinner tonight, thinking she'd hate them. I was expecting that "ugh, Mommy what in the world is this junk" face, but instead, she chewed (sorta, as well as she chews), swallowed it, and hit the tray smiling, saying "More, Mommy!".

This makes me so excited, because it's just one step away from loving hummus and if there are 3 of us who eat hummus, we'll just be a hummus eating family.

Did I mention that I love hummus? Hey Jessi, fly to Houston and make some already. Your's is the best!

One day, I'll win!

I have a few blogs that I love to follow and they do cool giveaways! One day, I WILL WIN! I promise.

Anywho, one blog I love reading is Lil Blue Boo. She (Ashley) is a working woman, turned stay-at-home Mom, who sews some pretty awesome things. She is so kind as to draft patterns of things she really likes (some are free, some are not). And she gives awesome tips on how to repurpose t-shirts into really cool things.

Well, there is another blog (Brixton Lane) who is holding a GIVEAWAY for 4 of Ashley's new patterns! Check out the beautiful fall photos on her banner. I'm jealous. It's still summer here.

I may be the only person who reads my blog that cares about sewing/crafting blogs, but that's ok. It's my (ok, our, but you read Brian's ramblings, too!) blog and I'll write about it if I want.

Talky McTalkerson

I unexpectedly took Kaylynn to the doctor today. She had low-grade fever since Saturday, and took a 5 (yes 5) hour nap at Grandma's on Monday. Of course, it was basically nothing (probably getting over a mild virus), but I got her 2nd flu shot that we didn't think we were going to be able to get, so yay!

Kaylynn is up to 19 lbs, 9.2 oz. She's right on track to hit 20 lbs around her first birthday. Kaylynn was sitting there jabbering away to Dr. P. She mentioned that we're going to have quite a talker on our hands. Such a smart girl! Definitely takes after her Daddy! Her words aren't clear and precise, but you can definitely make out some words and has a sound/object association thing going on. She can say:

Mama (her first)
go (probably her 2nd word) - she says it and points at random things. probably no association.
dere (there) - she points at things and says this. we repeat, "that's right, the ___ is there"
ight (light) - said while pointing up at any light fixture
da (dad) - sometimes. ask her to say "dada" and she says "mama". no idea.
usss (Gus) - her BFF
'lo (hello) - said while putting her hand up to her ears
hey - said when she waves
dog - she will actually point at random dogs and say "dog".
den-dal (gentle) - we tell her to be gentle with Gus and gentle when she smacks Mommy in the face. She'll repeat the word, then will actually be gentle for a few whacks.
Oee- Zoe (we said this tonight for the first time...as she crawled after the cat, who wanted nothing to do with her).
uh-oh - for no apparent reason.

Talky McTalkerson - Your mommy and daddy are so proud of their sweet, smart girl!

PS, we're starting to wean you off the bottle. Starting with your night bottle. You drank it out of a straw cup tonight. A new kind too, you worked pretty hard for it.

My "Aha!" Moment

As I mentioned earlier, I am doing the "Bible In 90 Days" at my church. I've passed the halfway mark, and I am pleased to report that I am right on track. Sometimes I don't read my full 12 pages, but I make up for it the next day.

The readings are getting easier to physically read, but the entire Bible is hard reading. At our weekly meeting this week, I had my "aha!" moment.

I'm sure many of you know that life is stressful right now for Brian and I. Brian works all the time (much to his dismay) and has school, which leaves him for very little Kaylynn time. I work all day, get more time with Kaylynn than Brian, but still not as much as I want. I am in charge of all "household" matters, which is hard when all you want to do is hang out with your sweet girl. The house won't clean itself...and I'm sure if you saw mine, you'd say "Yeah, and you don't clean it either!" I've been waiting for life to get "normal". You know, when you just live and enjoy life.

The beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes starts off by saying that everything is "meaningless." Kinda depressing, right? But not really! What the video talked about yesterday was that we assume normal life is a monorail, going smoothly in one direction, not diverting one way or other other. But in reality, life is a roller coaster. It has ups, it has downs, and that is the TRUE normal! Life isn't supposed to be easy. Ecclesiastes teaches us that we aren't to seek out our own life fulfillment, but celebrate the joys that God gives us, as well as the adversity, because if we didn't have adversity, we wouldn't see the joys as joyful.

I think this particular book answers that question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" They aren't necessarily "bad things", though our human heads understand them as bad things. It's really just a downward part of a roller coaster and we have to work hard to overcome the adversity so we can enjoy the next joyful part of our human lives.

This helps me keep on. Knowing that there will be joys amongst adversity. That life will not be easy, and that's NORMAL! Kaylynn is definitely a joy to our life, even though we (ok, Brian) overcame huge adversity when she was being born (she wasn't born at an ideal time for him). But the best news is that we got through and celebrated the best joy we've experienced!

Aha! :)

Party at the Museum!

Just a few of my favorite pictures of Sweet Girl at the birthday party.

At The Children's Museum downtown, they have a room upstairs, just for toddlers 3 and under. In it, they had these 2 cars (well a car and a truck). Because Kaylynn inherited her great-grandfather's "Driving Gene" she would have been happy to spend her entire time on the car, but we drug her away and made her play with some other things.

You can see how excited she is to be driving.

Her first passenger.

"Hey kid, no one likes a backseat driver."
Daddy and daughter out for their first drive together. Kaylynn is beating on the dash so people will get out of her way.

Our little Beethoven playing with Jason the birthday boy.

10 Months!

And a CLEAN post! Geez.

Dear Kaylynn,

You are quite the sweet girl. Everyone thinks so. We can't go anywhere without people commenting on how cute and friendly you are. You've never met a stranger. Why, even today, on your 10 month birthday, you were passed around a baby shower and were nice to everyone (except you broke a lady's necklace...)

Biggest news is that you've finally figured out the crawling is the cool thing to do. You take after your mommy in this aspect, as I didn't crawl until I was 10 months old either. If history repeats itself in you, you'll be walking around 13 months. Just in time for your cousin to turn 1! You're getting pretty good at the crawling. You can drag things with you when you crawl, and can even manage to get around wearing dresses.

You are pretty much feeding yourself all finger foods. We still eat yogurt and oatmeal fed from a spoon, but other than that you feed yourself.

You're doing all kinds of cute things like pointing to everything, playing ET with mommy at dinnertime, putting your hand to your ear and saying "hello" (you learned that from Grandma Frink), but your favorite new actvity is opening and shutting drawers. It's crazy. You also really love your friend, Gus. He just sits there and lets you pull his ears, crawl on his back, pull his tail, grab at his jowls, everything. He's such a good dog with you!

Tomorrow you go to your very first birthday party - Jason Soenjoto's 1st birthday! I can't wait to see what the Children's Museum is like.

Happy 10 month birthday, sweet girl! Only 2 more until 1 year!! It's going too fast!

Love,

Mommy

PS, here's a video of you and your bestie!

Mouths

Hayley was trying to get a video of Kaylynn chasing Gus. Here's is a conversation that was had while she was trying to record:

BvF: You think Dallas can beat Carolina tomorrow?

Grandpa Moore: Yes! Dallas is going to kick Carolina's ass!

:: Hayley sighing and getting pissed off because she has to stop recording because of the use of the word "ass" ::

Grandma Moore: Y'all, Hayley can't get a video because of your foul-ass mouths.

...

On the Move...

...finally. :) Knocking on 10 month's door, Kaylynn finally figured out how to do it. She doesn't go very far, but it's progress none-the-less. You can see what happens when she gets frustrated. She's not as fast crawling (yet) as she is rolling.

She doesn't really crawl in this 2nd one. It's to show you what happens when she gets frustrated. It also shows you that I need to vacuum.

A Link for the Outdoor-sy Types

http://thewoodlandsparks.blogspot.com/

All about parks in and around The Woodlands area. I am excited I stumbled across this. Once Little Bit is mobile (like running and playing mobile) I want to be a frequent park-er. We don't have trees in our backyard, so it's not ideal for fun outside playing (in other words, it's too dang hot without any shade.)

Thought I would share!

To Baby Industry - A Follow-Up

Dear Baby Industry:

After further review, I have found some solid colored long sleeved items (at Baby Gap...)

I am now debating on whether or not I am annoyed at the fact that you insist on making them all onesies instead of "big girl" shirts. I think I am starting to be "over" onesies, except you are making quite hard for me to move on to anything else this winter.

::sigh::

I'll take what I can get. :)

Sincerely,

Only Moderately Annoyed in The Woodlands.

Why?

Dear Baby Industry,

This is the question I ask you, "Why is it entirely impossible to find plain, solid-colored t-shirts for babies/toddlers? I wear plain colored shirts all the time, yet when I want to find some for my daughter to wear under things this winter, I can't find any. It irritates me that they have to put some ridiculous cartoon character or sparkly flower or something else on the shirts, ruining the ability to wear it underneath something else, unless I want said character or flower to show through. The only plain long-sleeved items I have found are white 12 month onesies and I am done with onesies.

She's not even 1. Thus, there is no need to plaster Dora or Elmo or Pooh on everything - she doesn't even know who they are!!

Baby industry, please appeal to those of us who do not want to be walking advertisements of cartoon shows everyday of our life.

**aside** Before I offend anyone, I am not saying I am opposed to Kaylynn wearing things with cartoon characters on them. I have personally bought her a "My Little Pony" shirt because I, myself, LOVED them when I was growing up. She will wear it and any other things that she'll acquire through the years. I'm just saying that there should also be (affordable) clothes out there that do NOT have those things on them, too. Everything in moderation, people! **end aside**

Sincerely,

Cartooned-Out in The Woodlands

PS, I know I can find some online, it's a matter of not wanting to pay shipping for 2 $4 shirts. Perhaps I should just stop complaining. :)

Kaylynn *hearts* Romper (aka, Aggie Monkey)

Being the awesome mother that I am, I asked Brian if I could risk waking her up to take a picture of her sleeping. Being the awesome father that he is, he said "Sure!"

Totally worth it!

ps, Romper is the name that is on his tag. We affectionately call him "Aggie Monkey" because he wears an Aggie tshirt.