She's talking now...

Quotes:

"I need cheese!"

(climbing into her mother's lap, holding her face and looking into her eyes)

"I NEED C-E-E-E-F-K, umm, G K Q U Z! CHEESE!

"Chocolate milk!" (her term for "good" or "cool")

"Trick or treat! Candy, please!"

"Cool Mommy!" "Cool Allie!" "Cool Allie's Blanket!"

(trying to read to her mommy)

"That's Pooh. That's Piglet. That's Rabbit. umm... Mommy do it."

"Allie wants fries. Daddy wants fries. Elmo wants fries."

"Broccoli? Please? Pleeeease?"

I think that's chocolate milk.



No links today, sorry.

Arrr.

I was going to do another edition of "We Print the News that Gives you Fits" but I can't find any good links. Oh, well.

Allie News: Allie has decided that she's a Big Helpful Girl. She tries to clean things up and put things away, all the time with an "Aren't I a Big Helpful Girl?" smile on her face. She picks up after other kids at the play place, after herself at home, tries to "clean" random things with socks or wipes or whatever, and when she's "finished", points at it proudly and says "Mommy. Daddy. This."

I'm enjoying this stage while it lasts.

Okay, here's a few things I found interesting:

In the nothing-to-see-here department, after the FBI apparently warned of massive, large-scale attacks on US web sites and ISPs, nothing happened. Did you hear about this? I sure didn't.

Story, including first paragraph I cribbed description from, here

The mouse genome has been mapped. Story here

Salvage divers raised the turret off the Monitor. Vaguely interested in Civil War history? Read this

In other news, Allie is talking more and more every day.

Allie quotes: "Pop? Ice? Juice? Cracker? Please?" "My Daddy" "Thank you". She also knows body parts, names a few letters and numbers, and can imitate animal sounds, a skill I feel will serve her in good stead throughout her lifetime.

Just an update here...

Apparently my brother has cancer again. I am deeply concerned for him, in the detached, clinical way that is apparently the only way I can show concern for my relatives. My aunt just got out of the hospital for bone cancer. Guess I'd better see a doctor, eh?

My daughter's starting to talk. She's starting to get a temper, too. I find the way she grits her teeth and pulls on her baby leash when she wants to go somewhere endearing.

Otherwise, SSDD. Going to miss the get-together tonight. Some of us have to work.

As Allie would say... "Walk! Walk!"

I will be at Baycon 2002 this weekend, helping to run the Family Friendly Programming.

Nothing like a relaxing weekend chasing toddlers.

I keep forgetting about this damn journal.

I tell people that I don't keep a journal due to the Nixon Theorem:

"Never write down what can be used against you."

The truth is I just don't remember to do this.

I like to think of it as my lack of ego...but it probably has more to do with the head traumas.

I got an email from someone who wasn't actively hostile towards me in high school the other day.

Apparently, a defining moment in her life was when I lent her the first novel in Asimov's Foundation series. She credited me with opening up worlds that she never knew existed.

It's taking me some time to get my head around the concept that I may have been responsible for something positive in high school. This is not a period of my life that I care to think about or dwell on. I moved out of my condo in the valley of the shadow of death some time ago, and I don't want to revisit it.

I may start corresponding with this woman. I'm not sure I want to. She has this idealized memory of me I don't want to disrupt, and I don't want to go back to high school.

The gripping hand is, if I really believe I've broken the grip of the worst times of my life, talking with her should prove it.

I can always talk with my daughter over it:

Me: "What do you think I should do, Allie?"

Allie: "Da! Da!"

Well, time to spend my moderation points...again.
I get mod points once, two years ago, now twice in as many weeks.

Maybe I'm the only one who didn't clear the "Willing to Moderate" checkbox.

Theoretically, this means I 0wnz /.!

My daughter has decided on her security item. You know, the bear, blanket, or pacifier that makes the bad things go away? Well, out of all the bears, ducks, cartoon mice, even dragons and unicorns that she has been given in her short life, she has bonded with:

Mighty Cthulhu.

A friend gave her a plush Cthulhu for her birthday. She squeaked with delight when she saw it, grabbed on, and hasn't let go. Now I find myself, in public mind you, saying things like "Cthulhu kisses the baby!" and "Mommy loves you, Daddy loves you, and Cthulhu loves you!".

One year old and already messing with my head.

That's my girl.

Well, what else can I put but the most important thing...

My beautiful daughter Alexandria is one year old! She started walking today. She walks across her baby corral, stands in the middle of it smiling and dancing, and walks back. Given my handle, it's obvious that I never thought I'd be here. I'm still tripping on having a daughter. Hell, I'm still tripping on having a wife!

Stuff That Matters.