4th of July weekend

We had an amazing long 4th of July at the lake.  It was our third weekend in a row to go to the lake and the kids are really becoming "lakies."  They run to get into their bathing suits as soon as we get there and Ward is asking for hotdogs for fishing before we can even get out of the car.  Even Sam seems to be taking to it - especially the dark room with the amazing black-out shades.

Sam dumped all the toys out of this basket and crawled in!

strolling . . . always a favorite!

This weekend we went down on Thursday and came home on Monday so we really got to settle in.  The weekend was essentially one party after the next.  Almost all of Ted's family was down there which was great and Ward had the best time playing with John Benton, who is only 3 weeks older than he is.  They were two peas in a pod to say the least.  I only got one picture of the cousins which disapointed me. I am usually pretty good about remembering my camera, but not this year!  Here is one of Alex, Ward and John Benton fishing:

We also had Perry Still's 30th birthday party which was really fun over at the Still's lake house.  Ward commandeered (sp?) the camera and took some pretty good pictures.  He isn't giving Ryan a run for his money or anything, but he really likes it!

Co Co and Cher Cher

Papa and Mary Chollet

Ann Park was not so happy to be there at first!  She cheered up, but then had her first bee sting - on her face!  She was such a trooper and ended up having a great time.  Plus she loved all the attention she got after the bee sting.

Ward's self portrait

The kids also had fun with our lake neighbors, who are from Birmingham as well.  The husband works at Maynard with Ted and the family goes to our church.  Their youngest son, Sam, who is going int 8th grade I think was especially great with the kids.  I just hope that Ward will be that well-behaved at his age.  They also had kayaks and I think that it has convinced Ted that we need one as well!

Ann Park and daddy in the single

Ward and Sam in the double - a purchase in our future!

Dad Life

Ted's first cousin, Marty, sent this to him.  It is pretty funny.  Turn it up and enjoy . . . especially all you dads out there (or moms, forward the link to your husbands cause I don't think any men read this!)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOKuSQIJlog&feature=youtube_gdata

I don't understand "football"

So this morning I was checking my e-mail and I saw a blurb about Nigeria's President banning the team from national play for two years as a punishment for poor performance in the World Cup:

Nigeria suspends national team for poor World Cup

By Brooks Peck

Nigeria lost its first two World Cup group stage matches but still came just one goal short of advancing with their draw against South Korea. As one of the more heavily favored African nations, the early elimination was certainly a disappointment. So how is Nigeria handling that disappointment?

From the BBC:

Nigeria's president has suspended his nation's football team from international competition for two years after a poor showing at the World Cup.

Special presidential adviser Ima Niboro told reporters the decision by Goodluck Jonathan will "enable Nigeria to reorganize its football."

He said: "This directive became necessary following Nigeria's poor performance in the ongoing World Cup."

Of course. How do you improve an underachieving team? Ban it from competing for two whole years. Spur them on to playing better by not allowing them to play at all. Maybe England should try that.

Now, FIFA probably won't like this given its distaste for government meddling in the national team, so maybe Nigeria should try suspending FIFA, too. It might work. I mean, how do you say no to a guy named Goodluck Jonathan? 

____________________

All I can say is, my thoughts exactly.

One fish Two fish Small Fish Smaller Fish

I know it doesn't rhyme, but that title about sums up our weekend at the lake last weekend.  Ted bought some brim fishing hooks, including bobbers and the kids had a great time fishing off the boat.  They caught tiny little brim fish with hotdogs as bait and had the time of their lives.  The best part was how proud they were of their catches.  Ward was just as proud as his 4 pound bass he caught at Grey Rocks!

Although blurry (you can thank the humidity for that), here is the scene

This was the first fish Ward has ever caught at the lake . . . he is so proud!

And here is Ann Park's fish - she was too scared to get close to it (like mother like daughter!)

And here is a shot of daddy and Sam when we got home.  Sam has been realy sick for the past week - just a virus, but he has had high fever and has not been himself.  He would NEVER sit in our laps before this illness, but now he is content to sit.  Tonight, for instance, he watched Baby Einstein in my lap for 30 straight minutes - clearly a record as he has never had the patience for anything on TV, despite my trying!

Michael Jackson Tribute

Think what you like about Chris Brown (woman beater) and Michael Jackson (child molestor), but Michael may be the most talented person to live in our time.  And Chris Brown did an amazing job in his tribute last night at the BET Awards.  I am and always wil be a huge Michael Jackson fan.

Summer mission

My mission for the summer has been to get Sam's baby book in order.  I made great books (yes, I will admit they are pretty fab) for Ward and Ann Park and so far Sam has totally gotten the shaft.  I think that I am up to month 4.  I know that I am at his baptism and that is not very far.  I do the first year of life - think scrapbook fullof comments, cards, craft, etc.  It is cheesey, I know, but I used to LOVE looking back through my baby book as a kid (and still do really) and I want those memories to be there forever.  Yes, the pictures are saved on the computer and cds, but there is nothing better than the tangible picture and book.  And one day their kids can look at it too.
But I digress.  I have gotten as far as getting the book out of hiding and pulling out all the pictures, cards, etc.  So I am making progress.  But the thing I got caught up in was looking at old pictures of Ward and Ann Park.  I can't believe how much they have grown.  Ward is truly a boy and sometimes I can even look at him and see the teenager/man he will some day be.  Ann Park is no longer my fat-cheeked roly-poly.  She has thinned out and is a diva in the making.  I don't even want to know what she is going to look like and how she is going to use it to her advantage. 

Here are a couple of the old pics I ran across on my computer.  How fast time flies!

Ann Park at 18 months

with her purple cast, age 2

At Grey Rocks, circa New Years 2009

Ward in Mustique . . . age 3

still 3 . . . love the hair in this shot!

Ward (3) and Ann Park (2) on a hot summer day

Another Child-Product Recall

I turned on the news this morning as I was getting ready for work and what did I see? Another child-product recall. And this time it is more than 2 million cribs.  I am really getting sick of all these recalls.  What has happened to the products we buy?  Are companies so focused on the bottom line that they have forgotten about safety?  Is it relly more important to save some money and use plastic parts instead of good-ole metal parts (like in the cribs) but put our children's lives at risk?  Yes, I am on my soapbox.  And thank God none of the cribs I have are in the recall.  But that was pure luck.  

Here is a portion from the article on FoxNews.com (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,595226,00.html?test=latestnews):

More than 2 million cribs from seven companies were recalled Thursday amid concerns that babies can suffocate, become trapped or fall from the cribs.

Most of the cribs were drop-sides, which have a side rail that moves up and down so parents can lift children from them more easily. That movable side, however, can malfunction or detach from the crib, creating a dangerous gap where babies' heads can become trapped, leading to suffocation or strangulation.

The companies involved in the recall were Evenflo, Delta Enterprises Corp., Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, LaJobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc.

No deaths were associated with the cribs, but there were reports of at least 16 entrapments of infants. In one case, a child was found unconscious and later hospitalized.

In the announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, all seven companies recalled drop-side cribs. Delta and Child Craft also acknowledged problems with fixed-side cribs.

Drop-sides have increasingly come under scrutiny, with several warnings from the CPSC in the last year that the cribs can be deadly. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban their manufacture and sale by year's end.

"This new recall announcement is part of a larger effort by CPSC to clean up the marketplace from many of these unsafe cribs," said Tenenbaum. "Most of these recalled cribs have dangerous drop-sides, while the Delta crib can pose a danger to babies if the mattress support is installed incorrectly."

CPSC urged parents to stop using the cribs and contact the manufacturers for repair kits to immobilize the drop-side or information to make the cribs more secure.

The recalls involved about:

— 750,000 Jenny Lind drop-side cribs distributed by Evenflo Inc.

— 747,000 Delta drop-side cribs. Delta is also urging parents to check all fixed and drop-side cribs that use wooden stabilizer bars to support the mattress. The company says the bars can be installed upside down, causing the mattress platform to collapse. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said Delta "was not cooperative with providing the full number of units involved in the mattress support assembly problem."

— 306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI drop-side cribs manufactured by LaJobi Inc.

— 130,000 Jardine drop-side cribs imported by Toys R Us.

— 156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs.

— 50,000 Simmons drop-side cribs.

— 40,000 to 50,000 Child Craft brand stationary-side cribs and an unknown number of Child Craft brand drop-sides. Child Craft ceased operations last summer and sold its name to Foundations Worldwide Inc., which did not manufacture or sell any of the recalled cribs but will offer rebates for some of them.

With Thursday's recall, 9 million drop-side cribs have been recalled in the past five years. Drop-sides have been blamed in the deaths of at least 32 infants and toddlers since 2000. The cribs are suspected in another 14 infant fatalities during that time.

Congress is also concerned about the cribs. Legislation has been introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to outlaw the sale and manufacture of drop-sides. A similar bill has been introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, also of New York.

Drop-side cribs have been around for decades, but consumer advocates say they are not as sturdy as those of the past. Older cribs had metal rods that guided the drop-side up and down. Many newer cribs have plastic tracking guides for the drop-side that critics say are more prone to breaking.

The Robot

I have been tring to get this video to upload for days. Literaly. But I learned a new trick - if you upload video to YouTube (which takes a ton less time and you can keep it private) it is simple to get into blogger! So sit back and get ready to laugh. This is from Memorial Day weekend. I know you all are jealous of these dance moves!

First Steps

Sam took his first steps yesterday!  I was so excited!  He has been pushing toys for about a month now and cruising around everything, but he has not found his center yet to steady himself without holding onto something.  But yesterday I was holding his hands, letting him walk towards me and I let go and he took about three steps into my arms.  He was so pleased with himself, he could not contain his laughter.  And I, of course, went crazy praising him.  I know that we still have a ways to go, but I wanted to document the first real steps.  I know that he is a late walker, but I just carry the boy everywhere, and who doesn't want to hang out on these big hips of mine?  I don't think I would walk either if I could be carried!!

Should we cancel?

We have gone to the beach the last couple of years with our great friends, and Ted's first cousin, who live in Tuscaloosa with their 4 kids. We found a great house for this year in Rosemary and booked for the last weekend in July. And then the oil came. We decided not to cancel - I mean, you never know what might happen. But the worst has happened. I am not sure what Rosemary is like now, but surely in a month the kids will not be able to swim in the water and the beaches will be brown with oil.

I guess I know that we need to cancel, but I feel so terrible for all those people who live down there and survive on tourism. I though that maybe if it didn't smell awful we could corral the kids at the pool and still have a great time. And the recent news article talking about how the IRS is probably going to tax the payments given to the victims makes me sick. (see http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/22/gulf-coast-residents-confused-frustrated-claims-payouts-taxed/?test=latestnewsfor one of the many articles I have seen today online.)

Thoughts?  I know cancelling is really the only option.  It just makes me so sad.  But at least we have the lake as some place to go with the Tuscaloosa Holts.  Keep the Gulf in your prayers.  It gives me a stomach ache.