Name That Baby!

UPDATE 2/1/2012: I hope you got them right. Here are the answers: 1 -  Audrey; 2 - Olivia; 3 - Isabelle; 4 - Eliza.

With the birth of Olivia (and possibly any baby), there came the inevitable comparison to Theresa and me, and to her three older sisters. Who did she look like more? Who did the other girls look like more? And, more than six years after our oldest was born, it was hard to remember what the other girls looked like when they were only a day or two old. Which brings us to this little quiz.

The photos above show the other girls while they were still in the hospital, so they're most definitely all only a day or two old. Can you tell who's who? They're in no particular order. Submit your answers in the comments section below. You have until I sort them out myself.

For the record, Theresa got them all right the first time around. I think that proves that she's their mom.

Let your voice be heard!

UPDATE 1/21/2012: The polls have closed, and the results are being tallied.

UPDATE 2/1/2012: The results are in. And the winners are...
Date: Laurelle, by 40 minutes
Weight: Afton, by 8 ounces
Length: Katie and Holli, by 0.25 inches
Gender: Everyone

The time is near for our fourth child to be welcomed into the world. All the preparations are being made and nesting rituals are almost done. So, we'd love to hear your guesses. If you'd like a little history on the other three girls for you to make your educated guesses, then read on.

Labor was induced with all three, so any proximity to their due dates are no indications of prior behavior. Sorry, but you'll have to refer to a different kind of almanac for that information. The original due date for this baby was February 9th, but at the 20-week ultrasound appointment, the baby measured three weeks sooner than we thought, so the due date was moved up to January 19th. Then, at the last doctor's appointment, we were told to make our plans for this baby to come at any time. So, we are officially in the "Any Day Now" zone.

Audrey was delivered at 3:12PM. She weight 8 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 20 inches. Eliza was born at 12:28PM, weighing in at 7 lbs. 14.5 oz and 20.5 inches. Isabelle showed up at 1:06PM, measuring 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 21.2 inches.

Also, the ultrasound showed that the baby is a girl, but there's always a chance that those machines could be wrong. But with a track record of three girls in our past, the chances are pretty high that we're looking at a houseful of girls.

So, there you have it... everything you need to know to make your guesses. The winner gets a gold star.

One and done

As a parent, I'm always trying to find the best way of disciplining my girls, and I do try to be consistent with my methods. But while I'm trying to find the best way, my methods may seem inconsistent.

Tonight, I asked (instructed, commanded) Audrey and Eliza to pick up a few toys in the living room before bed, with the promise of an episode of a show before bedtime. I gave them clear instructions with a deadline and reiterated the reward at the end. Then I left them to their own devices.

That may have been my mistake.

I gave them a few gentle reminders but didn't really push the issue like I normally would, with the yelling and directing. They played more than they picked up. Naturally, the deadline passed and the toys were still not put away, and so I quietly ushered them into the bedroom to much protesting and promising.

While Eliza threw a good fit on the floor, I was able to calmly make a point with Audrey about obeying my instructions in a timely fashion. After much more explanation, I was able to calm Eliza down and finally get her to bed.

That's when I started thinking about what had happened.

Was I wrong to have expected them to pick up after only having instructed them only once? Should I have been more persistent in reminding them of their duties? I know sometimes I need to be asked more than once to do something, so can I really hold them to a higher standard?

On the other hand, I don't think I should have to tell (hound, nag) them to pick up every toy and put it away. I might as well pick up the room myself, which defeats the purpose of the whole exercise.

I suspect the correct answer is a moving target somewhere in between.

Tumblr vs. Posterous

Of all the short-form, post-anything-from-anywhere blogging services available, the market seems to be dominated by Tumblr and Posterous. I've just stepped onto that field, and I'm still trying to decide which side of this fence I want to be on.

Does anyone have suggestions?

I'm planning on keeping this blog for my longer ramblings, but I would like another spot where less content can be posted. I just feel like it's such a waste of "space" to commit a Blogger post to one image or a short and random thought. Even while I'm writing this, I'm also playing with Posterous and Tumblr to try to decide which I like better.

Given Posterous's Autopost feature, I'm going pick that side and just set it to post to my Tumblr page. Non-committal, I know, but at least then I won't lose any posts if I do decide to jump the fence. This blog will be my letter pad while Posterous will be my Post-It Note.

Of course, if you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it.

21 days later

Well, as was so succinctly pointed out by Miles on my previous blog, I have not kept up with my resolution to regularly and more frequently contribute to this blog. The explanation, of course, is a valid one. At least, I think so.

I was fasting. From the computer.

Three weeks ago, our church, Crosswalk Community Church, called for a churchwide fast for three weeks. There were a lot of things I thought I could do without, but few of them would hurt more than giving up my personal computer time. It just feels like my dedicated personal time and I usually unwind from a long day after the girls are in bed. But that time also usually slips by much too quickly and by the time I get into bed, I would have accomplished little of any value.

So, I decided to give up a few hours of my personal computing time each day with the hopes of using that time more productively. I have many books screaming to be dusted and read, the chief of which is my Bible. So, with great expectations, I set of on this three-week adventure.

Here's what I've learned: There are many more distractions in this house than just my computer. Without trying, I was able to fill the void with TV time instead. It wasn't even one specific show, although being in the middle of the Australian Open gave me one more thing to tune into. When that wasn't on, there were a dozen other shows on two dozen other channels.

Here's what else I've learned: I have plenty of time at the end of the day to get some meaningful stuff done, like completing my RHEMA Correspondence Bible School studies. Or finish Theresa's web site, like I promised I would... last August. Or upgrade this blog like I promised I would... three weeks ago. And my list goes on.

So, from now on, I do plan on being more productive, online and off, with the little time that I have from when my girls go to bed to when I go to bed.

New year, New blog

Wow! Where has the time gone?

After more than a year, I have returned to my blog. It seems like a good time, considering the new year and our penchant for resolutions and goals. So, jumping back on track, I'm resolving to becoming a more regular contributor to my own blog if only to chronicle my thoughts and the events of my life.

So, rather than wait until my blog and the rest of my site is completely complete, I'm just going to open it up to you as it currently stands, and invite you to watch as I try to improve it.

I have a few goals for this blog, which may become a playground for some (hopefully) interesting stuff. For one, I'd like to stretch my creative skills and try to add more variety to this site. Taking a page out of Jason Santa Maria's blog, I'm going to try to make each post at least partially unique. Why should print layout have all the fun?

SVA Dot Dot Dot Lectures: Jason Santa Maria from MFA Interaction Design on Vimeo.

More creative muscle-stretching will mean more typefaces and other design elements likely using any number of different technologies, many of which will require the latest browsers. So, if you haven't updated your web browser lately or tried something other than Internet Explorer because it came by default on your computer, you will need to do so to experience this web site to the fullest. You should do it anyway to experience much of the rest of the interwebs to the fullest.

I'm going to try one post a week, and see how that goes. Don't expect anything too profound, though I will try my best not to be utterly trivial. I'll try to make it a merry mix.

So, here goes.

My daughter the voyeur

We've been trying to teach Audrey to read. You know, it's one of those essential skills that she'll need a little later in life. She already loves books, whether it's just looking at the pictures or pretending to read or making up her own words and stories.

One morning, as we were sitting at the table for breakfast:

Audrey: Daddy, I saw you pee.
Me (thinking): What?! When?!
Audrey: I saw U-P. That spells "up."
Me (relieved, no pun intended): That's right, honey. Good job!

I'm going to have to be more careful when I go to the bathroom next time, just in case.

Has it really been a month?

Has it really been a month since my last blog post? I'd say I'm sorry for not updating you, but I wouldn't be completely truthful. I'm sorry, though, if you've been looking for updates and haven't found it here.

I think it's a mild case of Social Media Fatigue.

You'd think that being such a techie myself, and being in the techie field, that I'd be riding the crest of each crashing wave of the next big thing. But I think the inverse is happening... too much of it is getting to be a little too much for me.

If you really want to keep up with me, follow me on Twitter. Since I can txt my tweets, I do that most often. That also feeds my Facebook status, and you can see it here on my blog too.

For my part, I'll try to keep you updated on some of the things that are going on around here. Maybe if I keep the posts short, I'll get more in. Anyway, stay tuned.

The first season of planting

We knew, when we bought this house last year, that we wanted a vegetable garden in our yard. We're not really doing the green thing. Well, not yet. We're just playing around in this first year. If things go well, we're definitely going to kick this up a notch!

We went to Menard's this evening to check out what they had to offer. We looked at flowers first, but then stumbled upon the vegetable section.

Actually, we saw the apple trees first. Having been to the local orchard for their harvest days, we knew some of the breeds by name. So, getting excited at the prospect of having fresh apples from our own garden, we picked out a Cortland apple tree. It was tempting to get a McIntosh to satisfy the geek in me.

Then we found the vegetables, and we went a little crazy. I thought we'd start with a salsa garden, but the strawberries looked really good. So, we ended up with tomatoes, zuchinni, green peppers, strawberries, and snow peas. That should be enough to keep us busy for a while.

I also got us some hardware for the job: stakes to hold up the tree and some fencing to keep the pests out. So, this week, I'll be working on getting our garden set up and ready to go. Hopefully, I'll be able to put the plants in the ground by this weekend and then let the bounty of the harvest roll on in.

I'll post some pictures and updates. I would also appreciate your input and green tips. I don't want everything to die in there.

Time to explain later

While riding her bicycle in circles in the garage this evening, Audrey suddenly stopped and pointed at Eliza.

Audrey: Daddy, Eliza's special to me, and I'm special to her.
Me: That's right. And you're both special to mommy and daddy.
Audrey: Yeah. Daddy?
Me: Yes, honey?
Audrey: Are you going to marry mommy?
Me: Daddy's thinking about it, baby.

I didn't really say that last part because the humor would be lost on her, and it might skew her view of family values. Of course, I explained that daddy was already married to mommy. But it was funny in my head anyway.