The Walking Dude**

It had to happen sooner or later. Bode, that little seven pound bundle we brought home from the hospital less than a year ago, has started stumbling, err, walking. I say stumbling because his gait really isn't that fluid smooth movement one associates with the great running backs like Gale Sayers or Walter Payton. No, Bode's movement is like that of a man whose been sitting in a bar for many hours pounding beer after beer on an empty stomach who suddenly decides to stand up and walk. Perhaps a video would best explain what I mean.

In the video, he doesn't make it very far before falling. Thus, it wasn't his best effort. He's probably walked 20-30 feet continuously without falling, although he sometimes has to pause and reassess his balance. What terrifies me is when I watch a little boy in his day care class running. Good heavens those little guys can move fast! I can only hope Bode's girth will slow him down...

Here's a good shot of Bode walking to Mommy. The shot really isn't that good of a picture of Bode. What I like is the sheer joy on Ashley's face seeing her little man walk to her. She didn't even get that excited when I got her diamond earrings last Christmas :-)We had our first accident this past weekend. The result was a broken finger, a smashed knee, some road-rash on a shoulder, and a sore jaw. Before you panic, I'm fine (only kidding). Bode, the one you really care about, is also fine. The aforementioned injuries were inflicted on Miss Ashley...and it sort of was my fault. We went for a bike ride on Sunday. I was pulling Bode in his trailer while Ashley was riding behind us. I probably was going too fast (although too fast is relative because it really was quite slow, but evidently not slow enough). One of the driveways up onto the sidewalk was somewhat of a diagonal, so the trailer went over uneven ground, which resulted in it flipping onto its side. I didn't notice what was happening until Ashley started screaming. I look down and see the trailer overturning, so I hit the brake. Fortunately, I intentionally have my front-brake very loose in case such an occurrence happens, thereby preventing me from flying over the handle bars. Unfortunately, because I stopped so suddenly, Ashley had to stop suddenly. Alas, her front brake is rather tight, so I got to see her fly over her handle-bars and smack onto the ground. Being the good husband but bad father, I first went to Ashley, forgetting about the overturned trailer (yes, I"ll be paying for that one for awhile) when Ashley (in intense pain) screams, "Check him!" Bode was crying, but really not hurt because he was strapped in. I consoled him and in a few minutes, he was fine. Not so for Ashley, whose fingers were bent backwards rather severely, her knee and shoulder badly scraped, and a very sore chin. It could have been much worse. We managed to get home and her knee really swelled up, as did her fingers. We didn't go to the emergency room, but she did get X-rays the next day and was told her ring finger was broken. Fortunately she had the good sense to remove her rings right after the wreck and before the swelling set in...We've had a fun week. Bode's new mobility seems to make him a lot more tired at night. He's been going to bed around 7:30 every night. This may sound great, but it's sort of sad for us because we don't see him that much during the day and wish we had more time with him. I guess we'll just have to double the fun on weekends!Here are a few things worth your time. We've been watching True Blood on HBO--pretty good show so far. Also, if you have never watched The Last Lecture on youtube, it is definitely worth the time (just google "last lecture" and you'll find a link to the video). Finally, the episode of South Park on Wednesday was hilarious (well, the way they portrayed McCain and Obama supporters was funny; the Ocean's Eleven/Thirteen parody was so-so).

Pleasant Friday to all.

** For you Stephen King enthusiasts, I realize 'the Walking Dude' was one of the aliases of Randall Flagg from The Stand. For those that haven't read The Stand (shame on you), Randall Flagg is the instrument of evil, perhaps even the devil himself. In fact, in many of King's books, Flagg or some version of him is always "the bad guy." Using the name here to describe Bode is just a coincidence.