March Tenderness

Here we are at the end of March, and it appears that the college basketball world is in the grips of full-blown madness. Brackets are busted as the upsets continue, and as we wring our hands and bite our towels at home, the bench players appear to have their own way of comforting each other and coping with stress.

Interlocking arms.

"So guys, it looks like this one's coming down to the wire. I mean, we're down by six with a minute left, and well...I think it's time we interlock arms. D'Andre, Mookie, whaddya think? Would you be okay with it if I wanted to go ahead and lock up with you guys? Since we're on t.v. I think it would be a great demonstration of team cohesiveness, and honestly it would do a lot for me as well. It's not like I'm asking to hold hands with you guys, I mean come on."

Solid Parenting

As we approach Maura's first birthday, I'm proud to report that she is toward the front of the pack developmentally, despite a curious and frequent habit of smacking herself about the head. I have to admit though, that as parents we still have a few opportunities. There are certain expectations to be met nowadays before a baby turns one, and I will not be the deadbeat dad that thinks that he doesn't have to play by society's rules. Do you think Posh and Beck's babies would want to suffer the embarrassment of not being on the forefront of fashion? Do you think the Brangelina babies would prefer to not have mohawks? Very doubtful.

With such a late start there was only so much we could do, but I think Maura will still thank us for the effort when she's showing off at her birthday party. In hindsight we may have been a little hasty in our decisions about these irreversible procedures, but we're not going to bother ourselves with wondering if it was the right thing to do. We had to just make the call and commit to it and trust that it was best thing we could do for our baby.

You're welcome, Maura.

Nothing is Safe...

...From the meaty little paws of Maura. A short while ago Maura added a new skill to her increasingly impressive repertoire. All of the signs were there, as she had all of the makings to be the crawling variety of baby. It was only a matter of time before all chubby limbs would move in concert and unlock the next level of mobility.

Below is a video clip that documents the phenomenon, but unfortunately it comes to us at a great cost. The camera was found near a small pile of human remains and Cheerios, and scientists are using this footage to try to determine what went wrong.