Good News!

Just a moment ago, the phone rang with news that Ruth and Jackie, Amanda's cousins down in Metairie are ALIVE!
Amanda's still on the phone, so more details will be forthcoming!

Must-read

For a must-read account of how it all happened down there, take a look at this blog called Eye of the Storm.

It's amazing stuff.

Two local news reporters down on the MS coast, hunkered down with some beef jerky and beer-- they start out cracking jokes and having fun... and now they're giving some of the best reports of damage, with pictures, neighborhood by neighborhood, that we've read anywhere...

Update on our Family in Mississippi...

Since we've been getting a lot of emails from all over asking about Amanda's family, let me take a quick minute to give an update:
The family in Long Beach and Biloxi-- Grandma, Aunt Martha, cousins Melinda and Adam and family are all reported to be safe, though we're afraid that, like so many down there, they have lost everything.

Still no word, however, on her Great Cousins Ruth and Jackie in Metairie, outside New Orleans. Given their age and what happened to Metairie, we can only hope that they made it to shelter in time. But there's not much hope of getting word from that area for quite some time...

Needless to say, we've been praying for all of them up here non-stop since last weekend..

"Well, blow me down!"

If you're reading this, you have no doubt already been introduced by my sons to the wonder that is "The Wiggles."
And no mention of the Wiggles-- that Australian super-group, the adult men who dress like four members of the kiddie Starship Enterprise's bridge crew-- can go without reference to their whimsical (if not thoroughly sodden with drink) compatriot Captain Feathersword.

Bryce's latest craze is to play Captain Feathersword's 'Blow Me Down' game.
He looks at you, smiles coyly, then purses his lips and blows at you.
If you're smart, you'll pantomime being blown over by a huge gust of wind.
Then pick yourself back up, look back at Bryce, and blow back at him.. and watch, with amazement, as he sighs and flops himself down onto the floor, giggling all the way...

This scene can repeat itself time and again for hours...

"Laura, get in here!"

Yesterday, we went to pick up Aunt Laura at her house on our way to see a model train exhibit.
In case you're not a regular visitor to our house, suffice it to say, Aidan is a BIG fan of trains...

So we pull up into the driveway outside Laura's house and Aidan's all over it.
"There's Laura's house. There it is. Where's Laura?"
And we're explaining to him that it might take her a few minutes to come out.

Well, this didn't sit well with Aidan, who clearly thinks we're all living on Aidan Standard Time (AST). So, from his car seat (and I wish I'd had a camera handy to catch this), he cranes his neck and starts saying, in gradually elevated tones, "Laura! Laura! Come on out, Laura! Get in this van, Laura! Get in here!"

New video clip

Okay, yes.
After a bit of frustration, we've really got the new video of Aidan and Bryce (though, let me say again it is only 19 seconds long) posted on the .Mac website.

Enjoy!

"I'm gonna count to three..."

Aidan overheard me telling Bryce to come back in from the garage-- Bryce had scooted through the door while I went out there for something and he was reluctant to relinquish this new found freedom.

Aidan, wanting to be helpful, decided to add his authoritative voice to the conversation...

"Brycey, I'm going to count to three... one.. two.. three, get out that garage!"

[see the videographic proof (19 seconds in length, Quicktime format) on the .Mac site, available momentarily.]

Pancake Breakfast

It was buttermilk pancakes for breakfast
this morning.. and Aidan and Bryce wanted to help...













..pouring the buttermilk
















...mixing the batter...















...and watching the pancakes cook!

.Mac site updated

Head on over to our .Mac site. I finally got a chance to update it with the full raft of pictures from Aidan's birthday party last weekend.

Email me if you need the password.

Guitar God!

Aidan got a guitar for his birthday... and he took right to it!

Happy Birthday, Aidan!!

It's Aidan's 4th Birthday today!
He's quite excited about seeing his friends John, Christie, Keaton and McKenna Durand, Aunt Patty and Elly, Aunt Laura, and, of course, Gramma and Grampa!

It's wall-to-wall Bob The Builder here.. so the phrase of the day is "Can we Celebrate? Yes we can!"

Elly Likes Ice Cream

Elly stayed with us for a few days while Aunt Patty went on a business trip...
and we didn't do a very good job of keeping Elly to her diet...

And it was all Bryce's fault!

Pizza, come back!

Grampa came to the house so that he and Daddy could go to a baseball game (our hometown Sounds won in 12 innings) and Aunt Patty returned from her business trip tonight. So we ordered pizza for a quick dinner when we got Patty back from the airport.

Suffice it to say that one of Aidan's pieces of pizza fell to the floor, where Elly May promptly scarfed it up.

Aidan was overcome with grief at the loss of his pizza. So much so that at one point, his face streaked with tears, he got down on the floor near Elly, looked into her open mouth and shouted "Pizza, come back! I need to eat you!"

Naptime on Daddy

Mama caught this picture a week or two ago-- Sylvie and Bryce catching their naps on Daddy.

Infirmary Report

Well, Daddy and Aidan appear to have both fallen victim to some kind of virus.
We both had fevers yesterday and while Daddy wasn't too upset about having to miss work, Aidan was quite distressed to learn that he would have to miss "Y-Day" (when his pre-school class spends the whole day at the nearby YMCA gym and pool).

Daddy's taking another day out of work today to recover, but it appears this morning that we're all on the mend.

Out of the Lineup

Aidan came down with a fever and the sniffles this afternoon.
In the car with Daddy this evening:

Aidan: "I don't feel well."
Daddy: "You don't, huh?"
Aidan: "No. I'm not feeling well. I'm too sick to play baseball tomorrow."

Put him on the 15 day DL!

The Cast Listing

Incidentally, for those of you not 'in the know'... for about the last week, the new household code-names are as follows, according to Aidan:

Aidan = "Mr. Tiger"
Daddy = "Mr. Cow"
Mama = "Mr. Grasshopper"
Bryce = "Mr. Duck"

Applications for Oracle

Bryce prefers his Oracle with jelly...

"Can we make a hole?"

Perhaps Aidan has been watching too much Bob the Builder.

Aidan: "Can we make a hole?"
Mama: "What kind of hole?"
Aidan: "A hole in the wall."
Mama: "Why do you want to make a hole in the wall?"
Aidan: "So I can fix it!"
Mama: "Uh, I don't think that's a very good idea."
Aidan: "But I can fix it!"

So let this be a notice to our local readers: if Aidan asks you to take him to Lowe's or Home Depot to buy spackle-- please, please refuse him.

"It's okay, girl."

Aunt Patty and Elly are visiting from Clarksville for 4th of July weekend.
Elly cried at the door while Patty was doing something outside and Aidan ran to her aid:

"It's okay, girl. She's not going anywhere. Your mama will be riiiight back."