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Pictures that move. (Grades are mine, then Josh's) [updated: 2.2.06] |
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Wednesday, February 28, 2007 TV posts. They're just going to happen every so often. 1. To all "Veronica Mars" fans out there who perhaps don't follow ratings or online chatter (and who didn't notice the "hint" in my post two below this one), I have to be straight with you: the prognosis for survival is grim. Prepare yourselves now so that, by the time the network's decision is announced in mid-May, you have perhaps already worked your way through the five stages of grief and acceptance will come more easily. (Rob Thomas, the show's creator, guesses they have a 60/40 shot at renewal. I am not nearly so optimistic. He also says, "We are shooting the finale as a season finale — not as a series finale. There will be no alternate. If they do try to get rid of us, we're not going to make it easy for them." Insert chuckle here. Followed by fear. Whatever fear might sound like.) Also, please note that after last night's episode, the show will be off the air until likely April 24 or May 1 when the final five episodes will begin. (I'll try to post a reminder here when episodes are starting up again.) Pay no attention to that evil Pussycat Dolls reality show behind the curtain. 2. In case you haven't seen any of the commercials (you in this case mostly referring to Matthew, as he's the one who's asked about it in the past), "Andy Barker, P.I." will finally be premiering on Thursday, March 15 after "Scrubs." NBC.com is also, apparently, streaming all episodes (plus a web-only episode) -- before the show even premieres. Strange, but there you go. And I have to say, based on the commercials I've seen, I'm optimistic (about the quality, that is, not necessarily the longevity). 3. The History Channel can be dangerously addictive. 4. After storing half a season's worth of "Friday Night Lights" episodes on our Replay, I've finally watched a ton of them and am now close to caught up. And... just... wow. WOW. What a fantastic show. I'd heard everyone say that, but now I actually get it. I can't remember a show or characters that have felt so just plain real (no murders, no surgical miracles, no wacky courtroom antics). Kyle Chandler (who I've loved since "Early Edition") is the best I've ever seen him, and Connie Britton as his wife is every bit his equal as they portray one of the most sincere, funny, loving -- and because of all that, in my case, relatable -- marriages I've ever seen on television. Big, fat kudos. NBC should be commended for giving this show an entire season. Let's see if they can give it a second one. (Pretty pretty please?) 8:57 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Monday, February 26, 2007 Snow angel.  11:56 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Wednesday, February 21, 2007 To fly or drive? That is the question. We haven't taken a non-visiting-family vacation since 2004, so we've decided it's time for another one this year. Since we've been married, our big vacations have been:
SAN DIEGO -- PROS: Would take advantage of flying somewhere while we can still not pay for a seat for Ava. Ditto for the attraction tickets. Takes care of the whole "visiting filming locations" thing while Ava's too young to know the difference and be bored by it. If by some miracle "VM" manages to get renewed for a fourth season, they would actually be filming while we were there and the chance of seeing something, albeit small, would at least exist. Would likely be rather leisurely as it's a single destination. CONS: We'd have to drag all of Ava's stuff (stroller, car seat unless we wanted to pay extra to rent one along with the car, etc.) with us on the plane, and pray for her to be well-behaved on the flight. We couldn't take full advantage of Sea World without going on the rides separately (though that would still be the case for several years if we just put the vacation off). A single destination makes for a less varied trip. NEW ENGLAND -- PROS: Would be a longer vacation for likely about the same or maybe a bit less out-of-pocket cost (though it's hard to say for sure without more planning or knowing what gas prices will be like). More of a variety of destinations (including adding six states -- not including the Canada stuff -- to our "visited" lists instead of zero). We've always liked the road trip thing because we get so see everything along the way (this time including a chunk of Canada). CONS: We have no idea how Ava would do on such a long road trip. Would be more hectic and jam-packed, going from one destination to another to another (another thing we're not sure how well Ava would handle). Would put a whole bunch of miles on our car, thus costing us in the long run. Thoughts? Suggestions? Money so we actually can take that trip to Hawaii? 11:24 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Tuesday, February 20, 2007 I am not happy about what happened on tonight's "Veronica Mars." Not. Happy. :-( 11:24 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Monday, February 12, 2007 You ask for pictures, you get pictures. Boy, do you get pictures. Ava has recently started becoming more "grabby." She has a jingly, dangly bunny toy on the side of her crib that she used to just bat at (or kick, if she had worked herself 90 -- or 270 -- degrees, which she started doing about a month ago), but lately she's started actually grabbing its skinny little legs and pulling it toward herself or just yanking it around. She'll also grab onto her link-a-doos (colorful plastic rings that link together) and actually hold on while she waves her arm around, tightening her grip if you pull on the other end. (Before she would occasionally close her fist around one, but would usually drop it fairly quickly because she wasn't really holding on intentionally.) And when she's on the changing table she'll usually grab onto the bars on the sides of the table with each hand. She's also started to grab onto her clothes when I'm trying to dress her, and even sometimes her diaper when I'm trying to put it on her. It's amazing how much this behavior has progressed even in just the past week or so; it's kind of fascinating to watch. My favorite manifestation of her increasing grabbiness, though, is that she grabs onto Mommy and Daddy (or our clothing -- or especially Mommy's hair) a lot more. It's very sweet. And occasionally painful. ;-) She's been a big fan of chewing/sucking on her hands for a while now, but she's recently started doing it with objects more, like the aforementioned rings and other toys we give her, some of which were designed to be chewed on (most baby toys are) and some of which aren't: we put Mr. Cowie (who is entirely plush) on her chest and she grabbed him with both hands and shoved him into her face, trying to eat him. Something tells me she's going to like her burgers and steak one day. ;-) We're not sure if she's just exploring objects with ther mouth, as babies do, or if she might actually be starting to teethe, which it seems a little early for, but isn't impossible. She likes to be sung to. There are lots of songs we sing to her (including one Josh came up with that's "The Hallelujah Chorus" with "Hello Ava" in place of "Hallelujah") but she seems especially fond of "Hey, Baby" (don't ask me who orininally sang it; I know it as an Iowa State pep band song) and "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes," which we of course do with actions pointing out each of her body parts. She's just started noticing everyday objects more; the other day she really started looking at the remote control in my hand, and even reached out and touched it. I noticed her doing the same thing with the diaper ointment tube and a box of crackers when they were in my hand. She's definitely not the itty-bitty, helpless thing we brought home from the hospital who paid little to no attention to the world around her. She's more vocal, too. I haven't heard what I would quite call a laugh yet*, but she makes a lot more (and more varied) sounds than she used to, at times rather rhythmically. If we manage to get a good video of some of this I'll post it. *I wrote most of this entry last week, and now -- surprise, surprise! -- I need to amend this statement. On Saturday, while I was singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her and moving her arms to the words, I would say that she actually laughed. Multiple times. Told you she likes songs. :-)   [daddy makes such a comfy chair.]   [mmmm... yummy fingers...]  [ava likes watching the tv, just like her mommy.]  [this adorable hoodie fits ava much better now than when we brought her home from the hospital in it.]  [the amazing rotating baby!]  [caught on camera: the elusive smile.]  [the sides of the changing table are the perfect distance away to grab onto during a diaper change.]  [if only bunny-grabbing were an olympic sport.]  [all ready to go to one of the belleville girls' basketball games.]  [mommy, this gym looks really green!]  [keeping an eye on the action. (she really did seem to look toward the part of the court where the players were.)]  [what an exciting game!]  [mmmmm... yummy fingers... (again :-))]  [...even while sleeping. :-)]  [we call this "howie hair" (after spikey-haired musician howie day).]  [smiling at mommy.]  ["look at me hold on like a big girl!"]  ["my rings!"]  [smiling at daddy.]  [ava doesn't watch the super bowl.]  [all bundled up for the supercold weather.]  [ava has a new sea turtle toy she likes to munch on.]  [mmmmm... yummy fishy...]  [and, yet again, we have the yummy hands. :-) i love this picture.] 11:34 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Wednesday, February 7, 2007 Ava in pictures: Christmas, Baptism, New Year's, and Christmas again.  [ahhhh... so comfy...]  [asleep on uncle paul.]  [asleep on aunt kim.]  [don't worry, ava, benji won't bite (probably, anyway ;-)).]  [such a good girl, sitting calmly for grandpa...]  [grandma's good at calming babies... it's almost like she's had some experience. :-)]  [ava with all her sponsors (kim, matthew, kaly, paul) after her baptism on dec. 31.]  [with grandma and grandpa w.]  [with grandma and grandpa p.]  [with her great-grandpa (mommy's mommy's daddy).]  [in her full baptismal outfit: gown and jacket made by grandma p., and bonnet from mommy and daddy's friends rich and naomi.]  [aunt sarah loves her first niece.]  [it's baby new year!]  [aw, ava and benji wuv each other... just as long as it's not in that maeby/george-michael way. ;-)]  [the label says ava's bumbo chair she got for christmas is not to be used as a car seat. aw, what fun is that? :-P] 7:54 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! |
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Disc-shaped music. [updated: 2.2.06] |