What do I do now?

Congratulations to the Phillies on their World Series victory -- it was nice to see the National League win it. But alas, another baseball season over and gone. I must now shift to off-season mode, where I check Dodgers.com and ESPN.com multiple times a day to read about possible moves, trades, and free agent signings; where I scour the earth for every tidbit about the Winter Meetings; where I ponder and debate what various teams should do . . . wait, this sounds like my normal routine anyway. Needless to say, Lorein's first sentence after Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske was "Yeah, Baseball's over!". Yes Lorein, baseball is over, but at least pitchers and catchers report in February!

Carter cried out in anguish when he heard he had to wait four more months for Spring Training to start. Or maybe it was because his jacket was so tight.

Pushing Daisies

I read on Yahoo the other day that "Pushing Daisies" is in danger of being canceled. Despite rave reviews from critics and good ratings last season, it's struggled this season. So, in order to save it, I want all of you to watch it. I mean, it's got something for everyone: it's artsy for all you Blue State elitists; there's a crime solved every episode for all you Red State law-and-order types; there's no mention of government for all you Alan Greenspan libertarians; and the main protagonist makes fruit pies for a living for all you Green Party vegetarians. Seriously, "Pushing Daisies" has fantastic acting (most of the actors were plucked from Broadway), snappy writing, interesting plot lines, amazing visuals, and it's funny. You have no excuse not to watch it Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC. Do it for me so it doesn't get canceled! Oh, you can also watch full episodes online at abc.com. I wish I were getting paid to plug ABC like this.

A new trick

Warning: This post contains graphic material and may not be suitable for children.

Carter has finally learned how to wrestle monsters into submission (and then eat them because we've taught him not to waste anything). Actually, his new trick is that he grabs everything and puts it into his mouth. His favorite are blankets and towels; we think he spits up just so we have to wipe his mouth.

(Warning: The following image has been edited for content.)


He's also learned that if you take away his blanket/towel/snake, he has other options. In fact, those options might actually be better because they're always there!

Sucking on his hand w/ Grandpa.

Sucking on his hand w/ Grandma.

And sucking on his hand w/ Daddy. Maybe it's his way of seeking comfort after watching BYU get smashed by TCU.

A BIG Thanks!

Carter would like to thank his Grandma Phyllis and his Aunts Kristi, Kathy, Jeanette, Driel and Breezy! His new quilt is adorable and it looks even better in person. My camera work doesn't do it justice.

It's a tradition in our family for the girls to embroider blocks for a baby quilt whenever someone has a baby. Then my mom sews appliques on the other four blocks, sews it altogether and then hand quilts it. That's right, I said HAND quilts it. What can I say, my family is amazing. Here's the fabulous quilt:

This is a true sign of Carter's love for the quilt. He immediately spit up on it. He spits up on everything he likes.

Hopefully you can click on this picture and get a better idea of all the details that go into the quilt. It's pretty impressive. Thanks everyone!!!

Short political comment

And now for a break from our regularly scheduled programming for a short political comment: I was against the bailout before I was for it. Actually, I was never for it. My commentary isn't really about that though -- it's about the way it got passed. Originally, the Republicans shot it down because of moral hazard, an opposition to government intervention, etc. In response, the bailout's supporters stuck some tax breaks into it in an overt attempt to get some of those Republicans to support it. AND IT WORKED!! I just thought it was funny that Republican politicians are so slavishly pro-tax cut now that they'll support stuff that goes against everything else they believe in if you throw one in. Like tossing a steak to a guard dog to get him away from the window.

Baseball

Carter attended his first baseball game on Saturday, and when I say "attended", I mean he and Lorein left after the second inning. It was a disaster from the beginning. First, it was supposed to be a cool evening, so we bought him some Thermal underwear which Lorein supplemented with a onesie, a pair of pants, another onesie, and a jacket. After a few minutes, he was sweating like crazy and started to cry. Second, the baseball game started at 7p, so it was right in the middle of his time-to-get-ready-for-bed time. We thought he would just sleep at the game, but then we got to the stadium and realized it wasn't going to happen. It was a playoff game. Which meant it was a playoff crowd. A normal baseball game involves a few exciting moments which energize the crowd, but a playoff crowd is excited the entire time. The crowd was so loud even during pregame introductions that Lorein couldn't hear Carter screaming his head off. He was not a fan of the noise. He also has a stubborn streak that won't let him eat when people are around. So, he spent the game hungry, tired, and screaming. Supposedly he immediately got happy when Lorein (accompanied by my mom and Mary Ann) got to the car and he realized he was going home. I hope I didn't traumatize him against baseball forever!
As for the game, it was awesome. Well, it was awesome for me. Skip and his family came out to support the Cubs, and it wasn't awesome for them. I really can't believe the Dodgers swept them. The Cubs had the best record in the National League and the highest run differential, and they got swept. This really was supposed to be their year. I honestly thought destiny was on their side. I mean, 100 years is a big round number. But I guess now it'll just be 101.
Anyway, I don't think I traumatized Carter because when I got home and told him the Dodgers won, he was pretty excited. Or maybe it was just because he was imagining himself as Tom Selleck.

(**Note from Lorein: The way Chris told the story it sounded like I just let Carter scream until the second inning and kept him in his hot clothes. Don't worry I'm not that immune to his cries even if I couldn't hear him. I immediately took off his layers and went and found an area by the ticket office that was open and out of the stands. He was perfectly content to let me walk around up there in the open air away from the boistrous crowd. It just took me until the 2nd inning to realize this was pointless since I wasn't watching the game anyway. And I knew Carter was going to need to eat at some point and Dodger stadium doesn't exactly have quiet places to nurse, especially at a playoff game. So we left. I would also like it noted that I warned Chris that it would most likely end in tears, but even I did not comprehend how loud the crowd was going to be. Oh and he forgot to mention that I got lost in the parking lot because I couldn't remember where we parked. Of course we couldn't reach Chris or anyone in the game on their cell phones, but I did finally find the car. Thanks to Mary Ann and Shari for not get frustrated with me. Go Dodgers.)