Confession

Before we moved from DC, my good friend and trusted book recommender, Carolyn, lent me her copy of Twilight and said that she thought it was actually pretty good. I don't read a lot of teenage romance and I don't think I would have picked it up, but I saw it on the shelf a couple of weeks ago, months after I'd forgotten about it and decided to give it a try. Two weeks later (more like a week and a half, if I'm being honest) I finished Breaking Dawn, the 4th book in the series. That's where the confession part comes in. I did in those two weeks manage to keep Owen fed, clothed and entertained, but that's about all I did other than read.

As it turns out, all those teenagers are on to something. They're pretty good books. Other than the fact that they're the kind of guilty pleasure book that will keep you staying up late and neglecting the dishes, they have some thought-provoking themes, one of which is self-control. Self-control enables Edward and his family to live together and to interact with humans, it allows Edward and Bella to be together, it creates a platform for love in various forms. Self-control is humanizing. This is a compelling thought for someone like myself who spends a lot of time reading about monks. (It makes me wonder in what ways other virtues can been seen as humanizing).

The series also raises interesting questions about free will, determinism, and who would win a fight between a vampire and a werewolf. If you haven't read it, it's worth a try. Anyone want to go see Eclipse with me in a couple of weeks? :)

p.s. Carolyn, expect your long, lost book in the mail soon!

Cool Kids

Owen and Brazos showing off their sunglasses in the pool. We're not sure where they got the coolness from--certainly not their parents!

Delinquent Parents

After too many months, here are finally a few pics of Owen.

Here are Owen and David Todd at the zoo. Thanks to mom and dad for the zoo membership!

Feeding the birds at the zoo.

Christopher and Brazos feeding the birds.

Complaint

Baby amoxicillin is pink. I was reintroduced to this bubble-gum flavored liquid this week as a result of Owen's first ear infection. I assume that red dye is added to the medicine in order to match the flavor and is not a necessary bacteria-fighting component of the drug. Thus begins my complaint.

My instructions are to give Owen 3/4 teaspoon of this elixir twice a day. The first few times through this process resulted in some spit-out medicine and dribbles down the shirt, but nothing too remarkable and I thought I got the hang of it. As long as I give the medicine in several small squirts and don't give him too much at one time, he does okay. Owen doesn't particularly like the process, but he's usually somewhat amenable. Until Monday.

This morning started out okay and he swallowed the first little bit just fine. But when I went to give him a little more, the little plunger thing stuck in the syringe, causing me to push harder and causing too much medicine to come out too quickly when it gave. At precisely the moment the medicine came out too quickly, Owen somehow expertly positioned his tongue so that the medicine would ricochet off of it, spraying all over my face and shirt. After recovering briefly and reloading the syringe, I positioned my next attempt. Apparently Owen was also flustered because the next attempt resulted in the pink liquid spit out all over his face and shirt.

Although subsequent attempts have been less dramatic, most result in at least some of the medicine on face, hair, and/or clothing. So I realize that this is all part of the parental learning curve, but if there happen to be any drug manufacturers out there, could you kindly remove the red dye from the baby medicine? Thank you.

Sorry for the long blogging delay. Pictures coming soon!

Companions on the Journey

I wrote a short article on church history and spiritual formation for Campus Crosswalk, an online campus ministry magazine. If you're interested you can access the article here.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

October

I'm sure it comes as a surprise to none of you that I am delinquent in posting. I do, however, have some pictures from October for you--a little bit late.

Owen and the pumpkins. He still is not quite sitting up on his own so I propped him up just long enough to snap the picture.

Owen got to go on his first airplane trip in October to Washington D.C. for the MANA kickoff. He did great on the flight. He will be taking trip #2 back to DC in a couple of weeks for my first comprehensive exam. Let's hope he does as well on the flight (and his mom passes her exam!)

At the beginning of the month, my grandparents came to visit. Here is Owen with Mema and PawPaw.

And here is David Todd's MANAlantern. It's the MANA logo he carved into the pumpkin. (MANA is a non-profit organization David Todd is involved with that is working on ending childhood malnutrition in Africa. You can check them out at www.mananutrition.org or see their Facebook page).

4 Months and new/old friends

Owen hit the 4 month marker last week and at his doctor appointment he weighed in at 14.4 pounds and 26.25 inches tall. That makes him a tall, skinny baby. (Incidentally, he also has a small head--only in the 30th percentile on head size.)

Also last week, my college roommate, Amy, was in town and she and her family came over for dinner. Her baby, Mason, was born about a month before Owen. Here are the two of them in their matching Bumbo seats: