Photo of the Day - It's Dumplin'!

My darling Melody has expressed concern that many who had become accustomed to seeing our fat lil' dumpling, Eleanor here may be disappointed by fuzzy, monochromatic wedding pictures of people they may or may not know. I would like to take this opportunity to remind you, our loyal readers, that the Flikr link in the column on the right will lead you to the latest and greatest Eleanor shots. Furthermore, fuzz, dust, and a lack of color are the charm of Kodak T-MAX or other B&W films. What would listening to your favorite LP on vinyl be without the crackle? If we wanted crystal clear color balance and megapiaxelation we would shoot digital (if we had the money to upgrade from our point-and-shoot).

As it stands, I'll be shooting film, for the principle of it (at least until I get a few more calls for paying portrait work and buy one of these).

Melody has also expressed concern that I have not yet posted a photo of the illustrious bride. I inform her and you that this is because I have very few and wish to wait until the right moment. In spite of the dearth of comments (save Ben and Moby) our tracking software informs us that this past week of "Photo of the Day" has been a sucess in upping visits to the site. I hope more of you who are enjoying will stop lurking and voice your presence.

As far as normal life goes, my work at the hospital continues to challenge me. I'm currently serving as something of a gunea pig for the Pastoral Care Department's use of the application of a Palm OS software developed for MD's. It gives all sorts of demographic info on patients and in general helps me know who's in the areas I'm responsible for. I'm running on my newest toy. I type on it with my wireless, fold-up keyboard, not mention the Greek software, MP3 function and versions of Doom and Quake for download. It's fun to feel like George Jetson. Merry X-mas. I also recently finished my application to Duke Divinity School. Next week Melody, Eleanor and I will fly to Atlanta, GA for a Retreat for young Baptist Ministers. We're looking forward to getting out of town and meeting some new people in new places. I'm always amazed at how God weaves people together.

Karis kai erene soi.
Grace and peace to you.

I don't mean it pretentious, I promise.
And if you love the gospel, then listen to Sufjan Stevens' Album "Seven Swans." I suspect he might love Jesus. Shh. Don't tell anyone.

Photo of the Day - Music

Photo of the Day - Smile

Weddings need kids.

Photo of the Day - Noir

Jason demonstrates his cool.

Photo of the Day - Lange

Clearly Sammy was overlooked as the next choice for James Bond...

Photo of the Day - "Classics, Clove"

-From the Bachelor Party

Photo of the Day - Game Over

Photo of the Day - Brandon O'Brien Upon the Day of His Wedding

I just got several B&W rolls processed and scanned so you shall be treated to a daily photo as long as I have photos to post (or until I forget). For those of you who are family of those pictured, or are indeed those pictured, be patient and I'll see that you get the url address where I have them stashed so you can get prints made if you wish. As for the lucky couple, they can expect a CD in the mail soon with the complete collection.

Reading

Reading
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

It’s time for a new post. Hmm. What is there to say? I can’t think of anything exciting that is happening. We did get 17 comments on the last post. That is an all time record for us. Matt has finished his application for Duke Divinity School. Eleanor has taken to biting me with her sharp, sharp teeth. We will be going to Atlanta in a couple of weeks for a conference. Last night Matt challenged me to find the most absurd thing for sale on ebay. I found a heart shaped potato. That’s how exciting our life is.

As always, click on the photo to see more. There's some good ones this time.

Car Seats and Carrots

Teething Carrot
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

In search of Eleanor’s next car seat, I went to Toys R Us yesterday. For all of you who are not familiar with the intricacies of car seats, consider yourselves lucky. The car seat that Eleanor is currently using is what is called an infant car seat (it’s what you see new parents lugging around with a baby in it). It is made to face the rear of the car and hold a baby who weighs 20 pounds or less. Her next car seat will be what is called a convertible car seat, one that can face the front or the back.

So, I’ve been reading reviews, consumer reports, and basically anything that I can find about convertible car seats, trying to find what will work best for Eleanor and fit in our car. Obsessive? Yeah, a little. So, I had just about decided on one when I went to Toys R Us yesterday to look at it. Yesterday just so happened to be the one day of the month that the car seat safety guy from Children’s Hospital was at the store giving out free advice and information. After a fairly one sided, too long conversation, I wanted to wrap Eleanor in bubble wrap and never take her in a car…it’s just too dangerous. Child passenger safety is this man’s life. He was spitting out statistics about how many children died in car accidents daily, how many of those deaths could have been prevented by proper car seat usage, explaining how a babies head is like a basketball on a pencil, and generally inciting terror deep in the recesses of my newly maternal nature.

He did share some useful information, mainly that children should face the rear of the car as long as possible. Most convertible car seats can face the rear until the kid is 30 pounds. Mr. Car Seat Man advocated a seat that could face the rear until 35 pounds just because it could keep them facing the back longer. The reason for this is simple if you think about it. An infant/toddler has a head disproportionately large for their body. In event of a crash, the weight of the head continuing in motion puts a large strain on the neck if the kid is facing the front.

I left more confused than when I had entered. Did I want a car seat that would work as a booster seat as well? How many recline positions should I get? Should I take the advice of Mr. Car Seat Man and buy the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 car seat that Eleanor will use for the rest of her life? Will that car seat even fit in our car? Sigh.

In other news, Eleanor has two (sharp) teeth on her bottom gum. She bit my finger yesterday and it hurt! We have yet to give her “real” food, except for this carrot. Oh, and I was eating a banana the other day and she acted like she wanted some, so I let her lick/suck on it. She has also learned how to roll quite well. I put her to bed last night and a few minutes later she was screaming. When I went in to check on her, she was on her tummy (she goes to bed on her back) and NOT happy with the arrangement.

Prodigy

Prodigy
Originally uploaded by bendblock.

Baby milestones seem to be much like other major events in life: fuzzy. I’m learning that you can definitely tell when a milestone has been reached, but you never know the exact moment that it is achieved. Eleanor is in the process of getting a tooth. There’s a sharp white bump on her gum, but it’s not all the way through yet. She can roll over from back to front, but seems to be confused when she ends up on her stomach. She hasn’t really mastered the skill, but on occasion she rolls.

Life is normalizing after all the Christmas parties, dinners, and events. After Christmas we drove to Texas for Brandon O’Brien and Amy Packer’s wedding. We got back late on New Year’s Eve. We finally got Eleanor to bed around 11pm and fell into bed ourselves. We were awakened at midnight by pops, bangs, hoops, and hollers. I rolled over and said, “We’re old.” At least our neighbors were considerate enough to wake us in time to welcome in the new year.

I’m posting some new pictures. As always, click on the picture to see more.