F---ing Dog!

Yes, I'm writing angry. And if there's one thing I was taught it's that when you write a nasty, belligerent letter, you should wait a few days to think things over before sending it. Well to that I simply say Bah! and give it the mitten (which is what we call flipping someone the bird while wearing mittens).

Last weekend, we took the front face off Bode's crib and replaced it with a smaller rail that has a gap. Bode can get into and out of bed using this gap. Tonight, we were in Bode's room playing trains when Auburn saunters in, heads straight for the bed, and proceeds to climb up. Ashley yelled at her, while suppressing a smile while I tried not to laugh. How cute. This cuteness turned to dismay and despair a little while later. We were putting Bode to sleep, and his favorite stuffed animal he's had since he was born is this little stuffed piggy (reference the Winter Trip Part I post from December 2008 for a picture). Bode's pushing his pillow aside, searching, all the while saying, "Piggy. Piggy. Piggy." Ashley and I move the sheets aside, gently at first, and then just fling them onto the floor. We check behind the crib, under the crib, everywhere. "Piggy," Bode keeps saying. I happen to see Auburn sitting in the hallway, and I immediately know what happened. That little bitch (not a bad word, remember?) took Piggy and buried him outside. How do I know this? Auburn routinely buries my socks, Ashley's socks, Bode's socks, and has buried other stuffed toys in the yard. Some we've found, some we have not. Guess what Ashley and I were doing at 8:15 pm this evening? We were in out in the dark going through our yard hoping to find Piggy. Good thing that cold front rolled in, huh? We were not successful (although we did find lots of dog-droppings), and we can only assume Piggy is buried underneath a pile of dirt. Fortunately, Bode went to sleep without his Piggy, but I promised Ashley I would find it tomorrow after the sun comes up, job be damned--who cares if there's a war going on--this is a lost pig we're talking about!!! Anyone want a dog? :-)

We were in Chicago visiting my father for Thanksgiving. We had a nice time, and we had hoped for an early Christmas present in the form of an Auburn victory in the Iron Bowl. Our team played great--jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but couldn't eek out a win. Here's a shot of Bode wearing his Auburn orange and blue. "Go Tigers!"The little fella turned two years old on Saturday. Only two? It seems like we've had him forever (yet time has also flown by...some sort of kid-induced paradox...) Here's a shot of Bode, not quite understanding the concept of blowing out the candles. He liked it when they were lit, but as soon as they were extinguished (usually with Ashley's help), he would say, "On. On. On." We went through a couple iterations before the cake started to melt...Only 25 shopping days until Christmas. Bode's been a good boy, so maybe Santa will bring him that 40-inch flat-screen he's been asking for... :-) Pleasant week to all.

Nocturnal Activities

With the end of daylight savings time, we've found that we are getting home just as it's getting dark. Thus, our evening walks around the block sometimes don't happen, as the season change makes it a chit billy (I'm speaking runny babbit), and also the lack of light makes it somewhat precarious to walk. So we've had to find ways to fill our evenings. A lot of nights are spent in front of the computer. Bode loves listening/watching music videos on youtube. We're also a big fan of Skype, a wonderful (and free--maybe the government will tax it to pay for health-care) technology that lets us video-phone with our relatives. I'm amazed how quickly Bode has learned everyone's names. Here he is speaking with his 'Nana.
It's rather amusing whenever Bode sees Nana on the screen. He has a (bad) habit of saying hello to everyone NOT pictured. For example, if Nana is the only one on the screen, Bode repeatedly says, "Papa. Papa. Papa," until his Granddad shows up. If both are present, he'll say, "Ally" which is the name of their little French bulldog (you can kinda of see her on Nana's lap in the picture). Bode can't quite work the computer on his own, but I imagine it's only a matter of time before he has it mastered. After that, he'll be wanting an iPhone...

Bode loves books. Sometimes he wakes up and his first words are, "Book. Book. Book." He is not sticking to one particular genre, as his favorites (today) are a Star Wars pop-up book (go figure), a book called Pete the Cat, which Ashley and I read to him (I narrate, Ashley sings...Auburn howls the whole time). He also likes the Dr. Seuss collection, Carl the Rottweiler, Moo Baa La La La, and, of course Good Night Moon. Here's a shot of Bode and me sitting on the couch reading.We had a nice weekend (for November). We were able to get to the park and relax for a few minutes. Bode wanted to swing the entire time. You see that big slide/jungle-gym piece of equipment in the picture below? Bode spent all of 30 seconds on that.
The rest of the time, he swung, and if we took him out, he cried and wailed. I wouldn't have minded so much but the point of the park is to tire him out. Unfortunately, swinging doesn't involve much energy expenditure from the little dude...Ashley and I had to do all the work.

I've been back at work for eight days now. Thank heavens yesterday was Veteran's Day because after seven whole work-days, I needed some rest :-) Pleasant day to all.

Happy Halloween

The day has sadly arrived. Today, 2 November 2009, I had to return to a real job for the first time in over six years. This is not to say I've been unemployed since 2003. I was teaching from 2003-2006, and then for the past three years I was in school at AFIT. Each of these jobs was hard work, but for the most part, I could control my own schedule. I didn't have to contend with staff meetings or briefings or other like activities (although I did have to put up with students that couldn't grasp the complexities of Ohm's Law--V = IR damn it!). Thus, I had a lot of autonomy. Plus, since I thoroughly enjoyed each of these jobs, I didn't really consider them work (and the fact I could take 2-3 hours off to go to the gym probably had something to do with it).

I'm back in the work force, working for Air Force Research Laboratory. Hopefully, the job will be fun and exciting, and ideally, three years from now I won't consider my time in AFRL "work"; however, these first few days back are a shock to my system. I have a boss (Wayne, nice guy, smart, pleasant, been doing this for 40+ years) and will have to put together briefings and attend meetings and telecons. How will I ever survive? :-) But the people seem nice, and in my (and Ashley's) experience, it is the people that make a job fun. So here's hoping...

This past weekend, we bought Bode a little table. He loves it. His Grammy also got him a new toy--a little device that sings the alphabet song (which is maddening after the 30th time), and also tries to get Bode to identify letters. Here's Bode sitting at his table playing. Saturday was Halloween. Fortunately, Auburn (the football team) beat Mississippi breaking a three game losing streak. It was fortunate because Bode's costume was a (miniature) Auburn football player. Here he is getting ready to go trick-or-treating when suddenly, he was attacked by a giant spider. Ashley also dressed up, also going as an Auburn player. Bode's costume also entailed mini-shoulder pads and a cool old-school helmet. He refused to wear both. In Ashley's hand, you can see Bode's little helmet. That's about as close as it would get to his head.Ashley took Bode up and down the street. The little fellow didn't quite understand the purpose of his basket--he thought he had to eat every piece of candy he was given then and there. Needless to say, he was a little wound up, but since he walked a considerable distance, he went to sleep at a reasonable hour.Note the cool pumpkins. Ashley did a great job carving them. What did I dress up as? I went as a thirty-something year old man that doesn't dress well who enjoys watching college football. I think I nailed it :-) Pleasant day to all.