Hello October!

Some belated Whitman photos:

Charles and Stephanie hanging out. I think he likes her!

Playing on Ankeny

Well, well, what have you been up to? 'Round here, we're busy ushering in Autumn in all her glory. My, how I love the changing of the seasons. As George Santayana said, "To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.” So true, and it fits with how I feel about most things: no favorite food, movie, music, time of day, or time of year here. I love them all!

Tony with Baby Jack (he looks like Claire, doesn't he?)

I'm feeling a bit reflective today, in part because I feel like politicians and movie stars and everyone else Americans look up to these days are being huge buttholes. People in DC and Olympia seem more money-hungry and power-nabbing than ever, and each time I hear a politician, even local ones, speak, it's almost like you can feel the slime in the air. I think it's at least partly true that if you actually WANT a political position, you shouldn't be allowed to have one.

Also, this whole Roman Polanski thing? Creeps me out and pisses me off. I CANNOT BELIEVE that some people think that he shouldn't have to answer for his actions, that what he did wasn't even wrong, just because he is an "artist." Rape is rape, Whoopi, get it straight. A blogger I admire said it best in this post. Disgusting. Even more disgusting that celebrities get to be the "authorities" on everything from rape to the economy to the climate. Since when do millions of dollars and a succesful acting career make you a judge/economist/scientist?

Gah, enough of the heaviness. Did you notice how I tried to tone it down by distracting you with photos? Crafty, eh? I haven't been getting enough sleep lately (what else is new), though it appears that Charles' new teeth have receded for the time being. I could see them through the gums for a couple of days and then - poof! - gone. Hooray. We'll just have to go through all that screaming all over again.

What, don't you vacuum your children?

Anyhow, the sleep thing is the normal nonsense. He goes down without a fight every night at about 8 pm. Then, sometime later, say midnight or one am, he wakes up screaming. Tony goes in after 5 or 10 or even 15 minutes of wailing to let him know he is not alone, gets him laying down again, and Charles returns to sleep. Then, he wakes at 4 or 5, sopping wet and ready for food, goes immediately back to sleep after changing and nursing, and is up by 6 am, ready to take on the world. I don't usually get to bed before 11. This timeline sucks.

Also, eleven months. He's eleven months old. Yeesh.

That's all for now, stayed tuned for something more interesting next time, I swear.