Ten reasons our Dog and Daughter are very similar...

Some of my silly observations marking my return to the Five Foot View blog:

Both our dog (Farfel) and Daughter (Charlotte):

• Try to eat their own spit-up (ewww)
• Pee when you least expect them to
• Get cranky when they are not played with
• Have gotten pretty good at getting around on all fours
• Like to play with the same toys (Charlotte's getting dog-chews for Christmas)
  
• Play by putting said toys in their mouth
• Are very difficult to understand when they "speak"
• Find deliciousness in pre-worn socks
• Have suckered Mom and Dad into cleaning up their poops (At least no diapers for Farfel)
  
• Don't understand the concept of fetch (both too possessive of their toys: Charlotte just takes them from Farfel and does not throw, Farfel doesn't bring them back; just holds onto them. I need to get that on video!)

I know that it's been awhile and I have gotten several inquiries but I'll try to get get back into the swing of things. For those returning to the blog, thanks for your patience. For those tuning in for the first time, welcome to My Five Foot View!

-Charles

Ode to rice cereal - A Haiku

Today we decided to start to move from 100% breast milk to some solids (ok, semi-solid). It was fun trying to get food down the hatch. This next phase is going to be soooo entertaining. I have come to the realization that only poetry can capture the true essence of the experience.

Ode to Rice Cereal

Made from powdered rice
Drips from chin and off of bib
Not much goes in mouth

From five feet,
Charles

Let's All Go to the Lobby...

It's amazing how "entertainment" changes after you have a child. Not that Sara and I went to the movies all that often in the first place, but without having easy access to a sitter, it becomes that much more difficult to keep in touch with modern film. Thinking its time to in-source our entertainment, (already partially done since we can spend literally HOURS watching Charlotte in awe and wonder in lieu of TV) Sara and I decided to end our ongoing vacillation over the issue and join Netflix.

Our first movie arrived the other day and we excitedly opened the envelope reveling the first item from our queue "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Happy and excited to pop that bad-boy in the DVD payer, I flipped over the envelope to notice "Runtime: 2hrs 46min". "So it's a tad-bit long... so what? you ask.

Years ago, I would have no problem with a movie this length but since meeting Sara, I find that the length of a rented movie is directly oprportional to the number of days it takes us to actually get through it. Yes, I said it, and I meant it... DAYS! You see, Sara has some sort of undiagnosed odd variant of narcolepsy which causes her to pass out sometimes within minutes of starting the feature, inevitably causing me to suspend the film until anothr day. My solution to her ailment is to start watching movies earlier in the day. Now, of course, "earlier" means that the screening falls during Charlotte's sleep-awake-sleep-awake evening cycle. Never before have I seen this many intermissions during a home sceening. If it wasn't an interruption for Charlotte, it was an interruption from us having to recharge with food or discharge our poor bladders on account of it being so long since starting the feature.

That old 50's jingle, that we've heard in some form or another, with the dancing popcorn, candy, and beverage, was a good representation of the thoughts flashing in my mind through each and every pause cycle in that almost 3 hour movie. I thought you all might appreciate the nostalgic memory as I did. Walk down nostalgia lane with me here by listening to this familiar tune.

From 5 Feet,
Charles

PS. I write this as we sit and contemplate the start time for our next Netflix feature sitting on our coffee table.

Every little thing she does is magic...

I get asked frequently about what sorts of things Charlotte has been doing. I have compiled a brief list of some of the things that come to mind for those who have been curious.

• Flailing arms
• Bouncing in the Jumparoo
• Chatting (unintelligibly)
• Grunting and growling
• Grabbing
• Curious Looks (Get's that from Dad)
• Getting distracted (Also from Dad)
• Playing solo
• Hugs Farfel, our Dog (Get's that from Mom)
• Orients to the TV (Not good...)
• Follows people with her head
• Jams adult's hands into her mouth
• Rolling Over
• Shuffles herself around on her belly (slowly)
• Localizes sounds
• Plays with feet
• Amused by crowds
• Laughing
• Smiling
• Recognizes faces
• Sleeps thru Night (very well)
• Splashes in the bath water
  

So much fun watching her grow up for the past 4.5 months, and I am always happy to share.

Nip that nickname in the bud.

Sara and I would like to let the world know that if we had wanted to name her Char-Char we would have done that in the first place! Are we wrong to want to have our little one be referred to by her real full name instead of some variant form. This past weekend, Sara and I struggled with what to do with and how to approach our day care center who has adopted various forms truncated "Charlotte" as nicknames to throw around. When I think back to the care that we took in constructing what we felt would be a fitting name [see my post So What's in a Name] it pains me to think that it is all slated to be massacred from close to day one. Are we destined to fight this battle in every step of her lifetime? Have we doomed her to to having a nickname that pays homage to one of the most irritatingly annoying comic relief characters from that abomination of a Star Wars prequel*? Arrrraggghhhh!

Here are just some of the other Charlotte nick-reverences we've seen/heard:

• Char
• Cha-Cha
• Lotty
• Charlie
• Tchotchke (who know that that started with a "T"... huh!)
• Cuccamonga

OK, so I made that last one up, but might as well be in there! I am sure that there are others as well but the steam from my ears is fogging up my glasses too much to see things clearly.

In all honesty, I have no problem if Charlotte gets to an age where she chooses a nickname for herself, but please, let's give it time for her develop it on her own rather than being branded.

Sara approached the daycare center yesterday about the issue and hopefully was able to nip it in the bud. We'll see how it all goes. Hopefully I can shelve this rant until at least elementary school. I guess worse comes to worst, we'll just have to exchange our little Tchotchke's name to something without a nickname like... hmm... Sara!

From Five Feet,
Charles

*Thanks to Sara for burning that Char-Char/Jar-Jar relationship in my head.

W is for "welcome" A is for "all", Welcome to all you campers...

Maybe that should be the start of the new Wallace anthem... It takes some time to get back into the swing of things after returning from a week's worth of vacation... Not that I'm complaining about taking vacation but catch-up is a... well, you know. But now that the family has pretty much recovered from the wilderness, here's my brief recap.

WE HAD A BLAST!!!
SHE HAD A BLAST!!!

For those who are hopping onto the Wallace Blog bandwagon just now, Charlotte, Sara and I took our first camping trip as a trio last week. It took some time to get used to the new experience but we picked it up pretty well. I think that the biggest shock for me is that after Sara and I have been camping as a duo for 8 years, we have gotten into a groove for camping for two. We each had our own jobs for setup, cleanup, etc. As the three musketeers now, we have had to rewrite the playbook. All in all, there is no better addition to our squad than Charlotte.

What Charlotte brings to the table:

• A MUCH bigger tent
• Her own camping highchair
• Dirty toys (from being tossed on the ground from aforementioned highchair)
• Pledge-scented insect repellent from Burt's Bees (It really does smell like pledge)
• An insatiable curiosity, a magnificent smile, and ohhhhh... the giggles

So what did we end up doing? Charlotte experienced her first hike, (thank you again Burt's) her first dip in a lake (Not a huge fan), her first Rubbermaid wash-basin bath in not-quite-warm-enough water (again, not a huge fan) and a bit of outdoor campfire. (No Smores though, somehow that escaped us this trip. Blaspheme!)


Bottom line, we had a super-fun time, and I would like to thank my in-laws for all of their assistance; what a terrific help. Let me close with a little taste of Sturbridge Village antics...

From five feet...

If a baby bounces in the woods, and nobody is there to hear it...

Does she make a sound??? Well first of all, somebody BETTER hear that baby otherwise prepare for a visit from your friends at the social services department.

Actually, the real question that I want to throw out there is "What are some good ways to keep a baby amused in the woods?" Maybe we should have put a bit more thought into this earlier on in the game but with T-2 days to camping, it has become one of the foremost things in our minds. Granted, this is a family trip with the in-laws and there will be plenty of "smothering-with-love" going on, but there will be a time where she will need to be amused by herself.

Currently, her favorite activity (and a good source of exercise for our little chunker) is the bouncer that we have in our living room; but the bouncer is remaining at home. So will the swing... so will the Bumbo seat. So what does the little one play with. Any good (and bad) suggestions welcome! (Post here on on Facebook). Let me start by saying that activities such as the Blanket Trampoline (Eskimo Blanket Toss)...



...is NOT the route we intend to take. Besides, this still involves multiple people because despite how hard we have tried, we can't seem to figure out how to do this solo...

From five feet, Charles