Bradley

Ultrasounders

This afternoon we are headed in for our ultrasound. It was actually a good thing to not find out the first time because I think both Tamara and I were just on pins and needles to find out the gender results. The let down was actually a good thing, and now we can go in for this second ultrasound and enjoy the results either way (although my one remaining anxiety is STILL not knowing the gender and staring at the unpainted drywall in the kids bathroom and wondering which color to choose.

Here are some pics from our first ultrasound:

Guinevere is playing with a Paper doll book that she bought with her allowance yesterday at Target. I am amazed at the mileage she can eek out of a dozen sheets of cardboard.

Getting back to the whole ultrasound issue, it is a strange date to keep; In a couple hours we will have this little magic portal opened to gaze upon our baby and then that window will close and the next time we see him or her will be at birth. It makes it more significant to get to do this a second time around. After looking at the ultrasound pictures the second viewing will actually give us confirmation of personality. Will the make the same pawing gestures at their face? Will the baby still crimp its legs shut and cup about with their hands? This time around we will begin stitching together the anecdotes on this baby into a narrative.

Posted on 11.23.07 to Bradley. Grab the feed. No comments yet. Comment or trackback from your own site.

Bradley

Dumbo, It’s what’s for dinner.

It

Yesterday in the bathtub Guinevere and I were chatting about the new baby and what that baby is going to think of Disneyland. I pointed out that our baby has already been to Disneyland (twice actually!), and probably liked Splash Mountain a whole lot because of the tickles from Mommy’s tummy when she went down the big waterfall.

Guinevere suggested, “New baby probably liked Pirates of the Caribbean because it has waterfalls too.” Then she asked me why Mommy ate Dumbo.

“I don’t recall Mommy eating Dumbo”, I said.

“Yes. At the Pirates of the Carribbean restaurant”. (Blue Bayou Restaurant -editor.)

“Hmm” I said, “I don’t think Mommy would ever eat something if she knew Dumbo was in it. She is a vegetarian.”

“Yes. She did” She said adamantly. “Mimi was there and Mommy had soup, and it had Dumbo in it.”

In a flash of recognition I realized, “Ah, Mommy had Gumbo. That is a Cajun dish. There is no Dumbo in the Gumbo” I assured her.

Posted on 11.21.07 to Bradley. Grab the feed. No comments yet. Comment or trackback from your own site.

Bradley

Let’s be reasonable

I just finished Al Gore’s new book <em>The Assault on Reason</em> and got that good feeling of hope again.  The book is really a point by point of George Bush’s misdirections and abuses, but also touches on how we as Americans have changed as a result of our technology to become the people who could be used like we have over the past seven years.

It is a quick read and was fulfilling to see Mr. Gore come at President Bush the way he should have at the turn of the century.  He had so much more to offer this country than he ever let on back then.

The book left me with hope for our nation.  Hope that we will be galvanized in the elections to come by the encroachments made against our liberties and the fire sale that has been conducted in our country to the benefit of corporations.  Hope that after all these mistakes we will finally step up and make good.  Please give it a read.

Posted on 11.21.07 to Bradley. Grab the feed. No comments yet. Comment or trackback from your own site.

Bradley

SBLog Poster

Here is the poster I just did for our friend Vince’s new musical.

for a production of Vince Delaney

Let us know if you are interested in coming along when we go check it out

Posted on 11.21.07 to Bradley. Grab the feed. No comments yet. Comment or trackback from your own site.

Bradley

Retro fun

Today was all about old-fashioned fun. Old-fashioned shall be defined here as last year or possibly the year before that one. I have been feeling really sentimental these last couple of days because, since the ultrasound, our new baby seems so very real and impending. I sat in Guinevere’s room the other evening and just drank in her childhood. It struck me how much she has grown up… she loves jokes and detailed storytelling sessions on the sofa. She plays with Barbies rather than soft dolls and takes Princess movies or PBS’ Superwhy over Rolie Polie Olie… she even claims to like tea now, although she has never occasioned to actually drink it.

Gigi playing book store

So with me in my vulnerable state she woke at two o’clock in the morning yesterday. I ended up sleeping with her in the top bunk of her bedroom. She was dreaming about raccoons (I can’t figure out what it is about raccoons that frightens her so) and really wanted a buddy. I woke with her nestled into me and it brought back so many memories of her sleeping with Tamara and I. We hung out in that bunk bed for a long time after she woke chatting and being silly. We got a stack of books to read. I purposefully selected some new ones and lots of the old favorites that I haven’t shared in a long time. I think something clicked in both of us because we settled down and had a great time reading: Angelina Ballerina, Salamander Room, Dragons of Blueland, Maurice Sendak. We spent some moments listening to one anothers’ tummies grumbling before climbing down to make some breakfast and get in the bath. We spent a long time getting pruney and playing Ariel and Star Wars. At our house Disney characters have always co-existed in a galaxy far, far away.

gigi playing store

This led to some time playing dolls, some lunch, and playing board games. Once Tamara came home we ran off to do some errands but returned to this great day with a rousing version of bookstore cashier. We took turns shopping our bookshelves and ringing it up at the register. I took photographs, but they fall flat and don’t seem to capture the deep sense of meaning the game brought out in her. She posed coyly, or affected disinterest and faked her smiles. She was lost to the moments she was in and I, for one, would like it if she stayed that way for always.

I am somewhat embarrassed by my own desperate need to cling. I don’t know why the details are important… I just want to write everything down. I don’t want distance from these days to dull me. I wish to live buried in an avalanche of the beautiful lists of our family days. It just feels important. I keep wishing for some way to bottle her essence and keep a carafe of three-year-old-gigi on the shelf. Even if it was just a hologram, like Princess Leia caught on repeat, “Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you are my only hope… ZZZT. Help me Obi-wan Kenobi, you are my only hope… ZZZT. ” I don’t want to forget all the little details of her life now.

gigi playing store

I guess that is why I am starting to write here in this weblog. I want to go back and not just remember, but feel all the love and splendor of our daily lives. Whatever worries we have over success, finances, or political affairs, I know that these are the greatest days of my family and will always look back with pride and amazement. If I do this job, of writing it all down, I will have something to look back with. It will be my little bottle of nostalgia. Now I need to go to bed. It is now 1:00 AM and if Gigi wakes at 2:00 again with thoughts I raccoons I want to be there. Is it wrong for me to hope my child has troubled sleep so that I am again needed?

Posted on 11.15.07 to Bradley. Grab the feed. No comments yet. Comment or trackback from your own site.