Brenden, as you know if you’ve spent more than 10 seconds around him, isn’t really much of a snuggler. He has one gear: fifth. Whether he’s running around in the tent, carrying his toy rotary phone from one end of the house to the other, running down the hall to his room at church, or crawling up the stairs, he uses best forward speed. Although he will sit in your lap for a specific purpose, especially if you’re playing him a video of himself, he rarely wants to cuddle with you. There’s just too much other stuff to do! The only time is when he’s really sleepy, generally at bedtime. I put him to bed most nights. Our ritual is simple: bath (if needed), brushing teeth, new diaper, pajamas, prayer, song, and bed. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, he’ll be sleepy and relaxed enough during our song that he’ll rest his head on my shoulder and let go of all the tension in his body. I love knowing that he feels comfortable enough and safe enough with me that he can simply rest in my arms. Those moments are some of the most rewarding parts of being a daddy.
Amazing Bass
I’m on a vocal music kick, so I poked around on YouTube and found the following song by the Male Choir of St. Petersberg. It features a solo by a Russian basso profondo named Vladimir Miller. He is one of the finest bass voices I’ve ever heard. Listen for the low A flat at the end.
For more fun, check out this clip of an Orthodox men’s choir that includes at least one basso profondo, a voice so low and powerful that it make your spine tingle.
Backyard Camping
Well, at least a backyard tent! Since we’re planning a camping trip this weekend, we pulled out the tent to check it out and set it up in the backyard. Brenden and Reagan decided to check it out.
Ghost in the Machine
UPDATE: Pic of the new opener, because this site needs more pictures!
===========================
When I left for work one night last week, I backed out of the driveway like normal and noticed something strange: the garage door was going back up. Hmm. I got out, cleared some leaves and dirt out from the base of the door, and tried again with the same result: the door closed completely and then reopened, as if it saw a phantom kid or pet running across the safety beam. Out of time for troubleshooting, I woke Jenny up so she could check it out. Creative as she is, she got the door to stop just above the bottom of the garage as a temporary solution.
When I returned in the morning, the door opener was wigging out even more – not opening all the way and refusing to let me even stop it close to the bottom. I couldn’t find the number for the Ghostbusters, so finally I pulled the emergency release handle, closed the door fully, and locked it shut before pulling up the Lowe’s website. Our opener was already 10 years old, only had 1 remote, and didn’t have working lights. Although we didn’t really want to spend the extra money, it was time for a new opener.
We found a good one at Lowe’s and are having them install it Monday morning. It’s VERY quiet and has a motion detector for the overhead lights in the garage, a wireless keypad to mount outside the door, and a battery backup for operation during power outages.
School Answering Machine
Good stuff…I wish American schools had the guts to do this one!
All the Single Babies!
Brenden and Reagan dance, but not like this one!