Sick. And Tired

The title of this post accurately describes our well being, not only now, but perhaps for the past 14 months (yes, Bode has been alive 14 times as long as William Henry Harrison was in office--don't you just love those inauguration facts???). Going into the whole parent-thing, I knew sleepiness went with the territory. What I wasn't ready for is the amount of times I'd be sick. Oh sure, I figured Bode would get a bunch of colds and other things, but I thought, based on 35+ years of building up my immune system, that I'd be relative safe from most of the junk Bode brought home. I guess I wasn't counting on that whole "virus mutation" thing. In the days P.B. (pre-Bode for those new to the blog), I would catch a cold about once a year. I figured my immune system was in tip-top shape. Obviously I was mistaken because during the past 14 months, I've had a cold on six separate occasions. And not just a trifle case of the sniffles. A full-blown, pounding head, sinus cavity full of snot cold. In addition to the colds I also got a real bad case of the flu (although part of me blames the flu-shot for that one).

As you might have guessed, inferred, deduced, or whatever you wish to call it, Sherlock, Ashley and I both have colds. Or, as we say it, "codes." Or, as Bode says it, "Da-da." Yes, he says "Da-da" but not in any way referring to me--anything but me is "Da-da."

Despite keeping the Kleenex people in business, we had a relatively nice weekend. Big props to the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers (not to say I told you so, but I did). Bode, for some reason, wasn't all that into the game. In fact, he spent a lot of Sunday playing with his fake cell-phone.
This past weekend, we fed Bode some jello and decided, just for grins, to see if he could use a spoon. To our amazement, he did quite well. He couldn't really get the jello onto the spoon, but he knew what to do with it once it was in place. Of course, a new eating routine means more food on the floor, hence the omnipresent rotty during feeding. Note also Bode is using his left-hand...looks like we may have a south-paw.
Finally, many of you have asked for a picture of the train table we got Bode for Christmas. Here he is playing trains--obviously he loves it. One of the locomotives is battery powered, so we can turn it on and let it go. Bode will do laps, following the train around the table. Best of all, chasing the train is sort of like running laps around a track, so hopefully he's burning off some of that spare tire...
Ashley is thrilled now that dull, boring college football season is over. You probably didn't know she's a rabid women's basketball fan, and as luck would have it, the Lady Cougars, err, Tigers, are 18-0, ranked #6 in the nation (does the word bandwagon come to mind?) Anyways, I think they're on TV this week, so if you have nothing better to do, your taxes are done, and your laundry is all folded, you might want to check them out. Or you could watch more inauguration coverage--I'm sure that'll still be going on...

Pleasant day. Ahhh chooo.

So Cold It's Like the Hoth System*

OMG!! It is sooo cold here in the great city of Dayton. The high today was six. You know it's cold when you can give the temperature by using only your fingers (and this is even in Fahrenheit!) Anyways, you probably noticed my little acronym to start this post. For those of you that don't know, OMG is short for 'oh my God.' When texting (which, from what I understand, is quite popular with the young people, the kids, the little teeny-boppers), one uses an array of acronyms so you can say the same thing with fewer keystrokes. Since Bode is going to be a teenager some day, I thought it best to educate myself on the ins and outs of texting--I certainly don't want to have him speaking/texting in code behind my back--, so each week, I'm trying to learn one or two text-words. Some people learn Spanish, I choose to learn teen-speak...

I expect everyone to be in their favorite comfy chair at 6:30 PM EDT on Sunday, their televisions (hopefully hi-definition; if not, you are a blasphemer) tuned to CBS for the AFC Championship Game, featuring the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Ravens of Baltimore. It should be a great game--what's that I hear? Some nay-sayers think Baltimore will win? NFW! (Did I use that text-term right? :-)

Bode has been doing great. This week, he started in the "pre-toddler" room, which is for children ages 1-2. He made the transition quite easily, probably because he was reunited with his best buddy, Jase. Jase was in the 6-12 month room with Bode, but moved up rooms about a month before Bode left. Ms. Thea and Ms. Paulyn would tell stories about how Bode and Jase were so cute--Bode would walk over and shove Jase, and then Jase would smack Bode. Gotta love how kids play...Here's a shot, taken a few months ago, of the boys just hanging out. Twenty years from now, you better hope you don't run into these hoodlums in a dark alley...
We've been stuck indoors due to the bitter cold. Here are a couple shots of us trying to entertain Bode. First, it's not the best picture, but it's Bode sitting on my lap in front of the piano. Ashley said he was making the cutest faces while he was banging on the keys. No doubt he was playing a masterful composition...at least in his head he was. Next, we have Bode riding his little Sesame Street scooter that Uncle Pat and Aunt Dana got him for Christmas. He hasn't figured out how to use his feet to push himself along, but he will pick them up when you push him so they don't drag. Bode has logged many miles riding on his little machine, most of which were covered with Ashley pushing him.I'm not one to use this blog for political soap boxes, nor do I really try to push my beliefs on the dear readers. However, if you could, consider the following "hypothetical" situation. Suppose there's a family of three--husband, wife, child--that has two dogs. Said husband and wife were outside in the yard, doing what is not important. When they come back inside, one of them realized they have a large chunk of dog crap on their shoe (as Forrest Gump says, sh*t happens). Now I contend the proper thing to do would be to remove said shoe and place in the garage, let said do-do dry, harden, and then take the shoe out into the street and slam it onto the pavement in order to jar away the undesired matter. There are probably other ways to accomplish the objective, but I firmly believe the way to NOT handle the situation is 1) remove the shoe and use the kitchen sink faucet to rinse the shoe, splattering little pieces of dung onto the counter and then 2) use one of the dinner forks to dig into the tread of said shoe in order to scrape out the now wet, smelly, stinky dog manure.

Am I wrong in thinking this? Possibly, but my gut tells me I'm right. Please, remember it's just a hypothetical situation. Now, anyone want to come over for dinner? You can use a spoon if you want...

Pleasant evening, and Happy MLK Day.

* The Hoth System was the ice planet in Empire Strikes Back...but you probably knew that already.

Winter Trip Part III: Return to the Mountains

For the final part of our little trip to Colorado, we spent some time with Ashley's family. Her brother (David), his wife (Kathy), and their son (Teddy) live in Denver. Frank and JoAnne (Ashley's parents) came up from Florida, and we all spent some time together in a Condo in Breckenridge. Bode and Teddy enjoyed themselves with the assortment of toys we brought, not to mention the nice open area where they could roll around.
Of course, it wasn't all fun and games. There had to be some book-learning going on. Here's Granddad and Bode reading.
The weather was beautiful--a bit chilly (a high of 9 one day). Here's a shot of Bode all bundled up in his stroller. We should have outfitted that thing with snow-tires and chains.Although it was quite cold, the sun shone brilliantly and the mountains beckoned. Thus, the grandparents and Aunt Kathy were kind enough to baby sit while Dave, Ashley, and I hit the slopes. Here are some shots of us just as the lifts were opening.

As you can see, Dave looks the part of a real-life snow-boarder, while (because of our extended time in Ohio), Ashley and I look like nothing more than a couple gapers. Alas, we were able to remember how to successfully make it down the mountain without hurting ourselves--although we each did fall once or twice (but certainly not thrice). Anyways, if, for some reason, you ever doubted the beauty of Colorado, this photo should help convince you of its majesty.
Since we were in Breckenridge, we decided to check up on our house, which we affectionately call the mountain palace (and by palace we mean dumpy--but cozy--little house in the woods). Another name is the snow-hole because it gets a ton of snow. Notice how deep the snow is, and it's only the middle of December...Sadly, like all things, our vacation came to an end. We spent our final night at Kathy and Dave's house in Denver. Teddy got some early practice at being a big brother (Kathy is expecting, due in February). He was kind enough to let Bode play with some of his toys. In his words, "Bode can have one lego..." I'd show more pictures, but everytime I went for the camera, it seemed that Teddy was taking his pants off. David explained it's one of the joys of potty training, something Ashley and I will get to experience (maybe) in 2009. Merry New Year to all.

A Visit to (and from) Santa

While we were on our vacation to Colorado, we took Bode to see Santa. We told this to one of Bode's cousin's (not sure which, but we think it was Teddy), and he responded, "Santa Claus?" Are there really a lot of Santas in the world where a last name needs to be given? Anyways, rather than make some smart-a*s comment to a two-year old, I simply responded, "Yes, Santa Claus." Here's a picture of Bode on Santa (Claus's) lap. Ok, let's fast forward a bit to the present--don't worry, I'll add one more post about our trip to Colorado, but right now, I'll give a quick Christmas update. Santa did find our house and brought us all sorts of Christmas loot. As usual, Auburn was assigned guard duty to keep me from snooping.
Now you might be asking, "What, no Christmas tree?" We did put up a tree, but we put it in the sun room because (as many of you know) small children are quite enthralled with Christmas trees (the glowing lights, the hanging ornaments, all just sooo tempting). We can seal off the sun room, so we are able to see the tree but also keep Bode away from it. Needless to say, he spent many hours just banging on the glass staring at the tree. If only he could figure out a sliding glass door...

Bode received an amazing number of presents (spoiled). Thanks to everyone (Santa) that gave him something. What's funny is out of all the cool toys with their brilliant colors and exciting noises, Bode's favorite seems to be the lid for the container of some toy blocks. Here he is playing with it.
He was also quite fascinated with the toy rope "Dog Santa" (aka my Aunt Geri) sent Auburn and Dudley. Here he is trying to take it from Mommy.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Today, we might venture to the mall, not to do any real shopping, but just to move around some to burn off some of those holiday treats. A Belated Merry Christmas to Everyone, and to all, a pleasant day.

Winter Trip Part II: The North Pole

From the title, you can probably figure out that we went to the north pole. I don't know what all the fuss was about in the early 1900's--we didn't even need dog sleds, just a 4x4 vehicle with some car seats :-) Here's a picture of the four kids at the north pole. Boy, global warming is really taking its toll on the ice, isn't it? :-)Before anyone gets too confused (Nebraska readers), let me point out we didn't go to earth's north pole. Rather, we went to a little amusement park situated in the shadow of Pike's Peak called the North Pole. There were little rides and shops, plus it's quite hilly so the kids had to expend a lot of energy just going from point A to point B. I think we all can agree that tired children are sometimes the best children. The two older kids really enjoyed the rides (Devin and Bode were too young to ride them). Of course, Aunt Dana and Uncle Pat also got into the spirit; here they are going down the slide.
The rides were a lot like carnival rides (but safer). Dana, Brenna, and Sean went on this ride that just went around and around in a circle, and then when you thought you were done, they reversed and went backwards. Ashley nor I was brave enough to join them on this little adventure.
Here's a cute shot of the two Moms and their little babies. You probably can't tell, but Bode is wearing pink gloves (yes, he'll be scarred for life). Pat and Dana were kind enough to loan us some of Devin's mittens because somehow, we lost the pair we brought for Bode (I blame mitten-gnomes). Note also Pat and I were "nice" enough to let Dana and Ashley push the strollers (those hills are real doosies!).
Probably the highlight of the trip was feeding the baby animals. We were able to get pretty close to some little deer and goats. Bode seemed real excited, although he could have just been enjoying shaking the aluminum fence...We all had a great time at the North Pole, but we passed on visiting Santa (there was a 90-minute wait). However, as luck would have it, Santa was also at the mall. Tune in next time to see pictures of Bode and old St. Nick! Pleasant day.

Winter Trip Part I

Happy Holidays to everyone. Sorry we've been away for awhile--well, I'm not really sorry we were gone on vacation, nor do I really feel all that bad about not posting sooner...it just felt like the right thing to say :-) We were in Colorado from 10-17 December, visiting friends and relatives while enjoying some time in the mountains. Like our summer trip, I'll have two or three posts which discuss the various events of our winter vacation.

We left early on the morning of 10 December. It was pouring rain in Dayton--fortunately, it wasn't a freezing rain, but it certainly wasn't a warm tropical shower a la the Cayman Islands. Bode didn't seem to mind the early wake-up call, although Ashley and I were a bit cranky. The trip to the airport was easy (no traffic at 0530) and we made it to the terminal without any major mishaps. I did step in a huge puddle which necessitated changing socks before checking bags, but otherwise, we were off without a hitch.

Like all parents, we were worried Bode would have a melt down on the plane, so we packed all sorts of toys and goodies to keep him occupied. As luck would have it, the plane was empty (you'd think more people would be trying to get out of Dayton, wouldn't you?) so even though we didn't pay for a seat for Bode, he was able to sit between us, a good thing considering the boy's weight. He was quite well behaved and didn't even mind when we strapped his seat belt on. Here's a shot of the little dude with his favorite stuffed animal--we just call him piggy (the animal, not Bode).Bode looked so cute sitting in his seat, legs barely hanging over the edge. He seemed to enjoy take-off and didn't experience any problems with his ears, as is common to some kids. After awhile, he decided he needed a nap, and there's no better place to sleep than on Mommy (we got to do a better job covering up that stomach).
You'd think Ashley would be a little more cheerful, seeing that we are on vacation, huh? Well, the remainder of the flight was great. Bode slept most of the time, and when he woke up, we gave him his breakfast. He ate (messily--sorry about that, Frontier airlines), and then entertained himself with his piggy. The flight attendants were amazed at what a good kid he was (as were Mom and Dad). We landed in Denver, rented a car, and headed to my Mom's house, arriving just after 9 am. Since it was a two-hour time difference, Ashley and I were demanding lunch around 10 :-)

For the weekend, my brother (Pat), his wife (Dana), and their three kids (Brenna, Sean, and Devin) drove up from Albuquerque (thankfully they made that left turn and didn't get lost). It was great to see the four cousins playing together, although getting them to sit still for a picture was like Auburn trying to win a football game (i.e. it rarely happened). Here are some shots of the four McGuirk cousins. Little Seany is quite the climber, while Brenna barely moved from shot to shot.

Here's a picture of the two male heirs to the McGuirk Fortunes. It's scary to think these two will be ruling the McGuirk Empire in thirty or so years. Note the lack of toys--good thing they're not spoiled. Also note Bode is showing off that belly again. I guess I'd be proud to show off my "keg-abs."Finally, a relaxing photo of Bode-man and Daddy. Vacations are so hard.Next time on the McGuirk Blog: We journey to the North Pole! Stay tuned, and pleasant day.

What a Onederful Day

Bode is now a 1-year old. I told him it's all downhill from this point...nothing but reading glasses and Viagra to look forward to...maybe I should get him started on HGH to keep him feeling young.

His birthday was great. We did...well, gosh, nothing too exciting. This year, his birthday was the day after Thanksgiving, so we thought about introducing him to Black Friday. However, before doing that, we had a family portrait taken. The pictures aren't up yet on the photographers website...rest assured, I will post the link the second they make their way to cyberspace. We hope the pictures turn out well. Unfortunately, Bode was a little fussy, so we can only hope digital effects can somehow make it look like Bode wasn't screaming (evidently he had some premonition about the Auburn-Alabama game :-)

After the photo-shoot, we went by the mall. The lot was full, packed with cars. You'd think the government was there, giving out free money (oh wait, they only do that for banks that have made poor decisions...). We opted against the mall on Friday--no sense fighting the crowds (we did go to the mall on Saturday--much more civilized). So we just went home and played with Bode. He opened his presents--some cool toys and clothes and books. He had quite a hall. His favorite? The wrapping paper (go figure, huh?). His favorite actual toy was a Thomas the Train set from his Uncle David and Aunt Kathy. Here's a movie of him watching the train go round and round.

We tried giving Bode some cake. This seems to be the one food he doesn't like. Therefore, we gave him some ice cream, which he loves. He seems to know when Daddy is getting some to eat because he always shows up when I'm dishing some it up. It would seem Auburn has taught him a thing or two about kitchen noises.

Ok, now for some photos. We did take some home-portraits of Bode on his birthday. Here's a good one of me and the kid hanging out in the hallway.
Next, we have Bode playing with one of his toys. Note how he's sitting--he can hold his butt off the ground for quite a long time. I tried mimicking his posture...sadly, this old body can't contort itself into such a position.Finally, we have Bode sitting in a big chair. He really seemed to enjoy sitting there. I think I'll have to explain to him that the boss of the family sits at the head of the table (and by boss, I, of course, mean Ashley).Well, that about wraps up year one in the life of Bode Jackson McGuirk. I told him now that he's a big-boy, he'll have to start doing some chores around the house. The forecast is for snow tonight, so I showed him where the shovel is and that I expect the driveway cleared by the time I leave for work. He looked at me and said, in his best Homer Simpson voice, "Doh."

Pleasant day.