Wades on the Web - News

Me, Mischievous?

2010-01-18T21:59:00.003-05:00

Brian just had his 18th month checkup and all is well. He's growing like a weed and healthy as he could be, and he's really starting to come into his own. Brian is hilarious. He's got quite the personality. He loves to dance, especially when Yo Gabba Gabba is on, and then clap for himself. But he's also a little troublemaker, so much so that we call him our little Viking. Another interesting thing about Brian, we think he's a lefty.

Say Hello to Princess Penelope

2010-01-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

While we were visiting our families during this past Thanksgiving Weslie and Gabbie were introduced to the magical world of kittens. Ever since then that's all they've talked about. So a week or so before Christmas we went to our local humane society and picked out a kitten. It was awful. Let's just say there were some raised tempers, some harsh words, and some feelings got hurt, but we got the kitten we came for and were lucky enough not to have been dragged into that whole mess. The girls name her Princess Penelope and she's been by their sides ever since.

P.S. If "Princess Penelope" is too much of a mouth full you can always just call her "Poe". I do.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

Whether you're a fan of Twenty-Ten or Two Thousand-Ten today marks not only the beginning of a new year but also a new decade, and ours started with some snow. We spent most of the day outside. Even though we only got a few inches, which is basically nothing compared to our last, it was perfect for snowballs and sledding, and despite Weslie and Gabbie doing their best Ethan Frome recreation everyone had a really good time. Brian even seemed to like it a little better this go around.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T19:47:00.000-05:00

Unlike the past several years there will be no traveling for us this Christmas. We're just going to stay home and relax and enjoy being a family and playing with all our presents without having to worry about going anywhere.

Blizzard of 2009

2009-12-19T20:51:00.002-05:00

This is the first year that we've decided to spend Christmas in Maryland and boy what a Christmas it's going to be. It dumped about 18" of snow on us today. The girls loved it and couldn't wait to play in it. Brian on the other hand was real excited about it while inside, but not to much when outside.

All Aboard

2009-12-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

This year instead of fighting traffic and the crowds at the mall to see Santa, we took a train. Santa's Paradise Express departing from Strasburg, PA. It was everything a visit with Santa should be: cozy, peaceful, and relaxed.

Jasper

2009-12-09T20:02:00.001-05:00

Jasper has been a faithful and constant part of our lives for the past 16 years now, and now has come the time to say goodbye. I know that this is just how it is. It's part of having a pet, but Jasper alway seem to have a somewhat mythical part to him. I really thought he would live forever.

Weslie . . . with Diamonds

2009-12-05T19:43:00.000-05:00

I guess I'm getting soft. I didn't want to cut Brian's hair, but then I relented. Then earlier this week Weslie had asked to get her ears pierced and I told her, "absolutely not". Everyday she asked and everyday I said no, but today she pleaded her case one more time and this time I just didn't have it in me to tell her no. I guess in the long run it doesn't matter whether she's 12, the arbitrary age that I had assigned to be the appropriate ear piercing age, or six. It was a decision I wanted her to make for herself and she did.

Just a Little Off the Top

2009-12-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

Brian got his first haircut today. I was reluctant but in the end I gave in. He was going to get a haircut sooner of later why fight it. Brian on the other hand had a different take on the situation and fighting it was at the top of his list. Thankfully the lady who cut his hair was very patient and did a great job. Gabbie loves his haircut and keeps saying that he's so handsome and she wants to marry him.

Traveling Man

2009-11-27T22:52:00.001-05:00

This year we traveled back to Mississippi for Thanksgiving. It's the first time we've had Thanksgiving with our families since moving to Baltimore almost seven years ago. We normally go back during Christmas, but we're mixing it up this year. This was also Brian's first time to fly. He did great. That is once we were able to get him away from the "people mover" conveyor belt thingy in the terminal.

Leaves

2009-11-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

Autumn has been especially beautiful this year and since we live in a heavily wooded area we've had a front row view. The downside to having so many beautiful trees is all those beautiful leaves have to fall somewhere and there are a lot of them. It doesn't usually take very long to rake up those leaves if everyone helps, but sometimes . . .

Hulk Mad

2009-10-31T19:07:00.002-05:00

It's Halloween and that can mean only one thing . . . lots and lots of walking, I mean candy lots and lots of candy. While this wasn't technically Brian's first Halloween it was the first he was able to really participate in. He really seemed to understand what he was supposed to do. He would walk up to the door and hold up his little pail and when they dropped candy in it he left. The one thing you did not want to do is take his candy away from him or get in his way when it was his time to get candy. That would make him mad and you don't want to make him mad.

Our Little Man

2009-10-18T19:13:00.002-05:00

We're having a little cold snap here in Maryland. Temperatures are about 20 degrees below normal, so we all broke out our cold weather clothes for church today. Weslie and Gabbie looked cute as could be, of course, but Brian looked completely different. I don't know if it was the clothes or what, but Brian is no longer a baby. He's a little man.

Happy Birthday Gabbie

2009-10-04T14:35:00.003-05:00

This year for Gabbie's birthday we decided to keep things on the simple side. We had her a small party at home no frills and no fuss . . . well we did rent a huge moon bounce, so maybe there was a little frill and a little fuss involved.

Winding Down

2009-09-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Danny's parents had been up to visit over the past couple of weeks and now that they're heading back to Mississippi we can wind down a little and reflect on all our adventures. There was the march/rally in DC where Dan's Dad found out what it was like to be one in a million (two million actually). He also learned what can happen to your car if you leave it parked on the street overnight in New York. Danny and his mom got to experience what it feels like to take a one year old to urgent care and to find out how sharp teeth can be and what a through-and-through mouth wound looks like. In the end everyone had a good time and no one suffered any permanent damage.

This is How Brian Rolls

2009-08-30T15:01:00.005-05:00

Lately we've gotten into the very pleasurable habit of having a good old family bike ride. Weslie and Gabbie are still Riding in Style and now Brian has his own first class seat for our little tours. We were worried that his seat might not be very comfortable but our concerns were quickly laid to rest when Brian fell asleep on his very first ride.

It's Back to School

2009-08-27T17:46:00.000-05:00

Well, today was Weslie's first day of first grade and everything went great. She was very excited when we got to the bus stop, more excited to talk to all her friends at the bus stop, and almost exploded when the bus pulled up and opened it doors. She was all smiles when she got off the bus after school and thought it was the funniest thing that she didn't have any homework to do but that her teacher had assigned homework for the parents.

Ready to Ride

2009-08-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

While this was not Brian's first trip to Dutch Wonderland, it was the first time that he actually got to ride some rides. He basically seemed indifferent to the "Crazy Plane", "Fun Slide", and "Merry-Go-Round", but he absolutly loved the water park "Duke's Lagoon". Of course Weslie and Gabbie were on a non-stop adrenaline rush fueled by rides, slides, and lemonade slushies.

A Knight's Tale

2009-08-09T19:54:00.000-05:00

The day after Weslie's Sensational Sixth Birthday Party at Chucky Cheese she went with some of her Girl Scout friends to Medieval Times. She obviously enjoyed it very much, because she came back with all sorts of stories about knights and kings and her knight beat the Green Knight and they won and he gave her a flower and she's going to keep it forever and she's going to marry him and the king knighted her because it was her birthday and they wanted her to sit in a pretty princess chair but she wanted to knell down on the fancy pillow like a real knight and she did.

Weslie's Sensational Sixth

2009-08-08T21:40:00.001-05:00

Ever since Gabbie's Chucky Cheese birthday last year Weslie has said she wanted her next birthday party to be at Chucky Cheese. And so for almost a whole year she waited and her determination never wavered. Finally her birthday is here and we asked what kind of party she wanted she didn't hesitate in the slightest when she said, "Chucky Cheese". I was kind of hoping for something else, but everything went fine (there was a biting incident but it didn't involve anyone at our party) and she had a great time. And that's the most important thing.

Lazy Summer Days

2009-07-27T21:44:00.001-05:00

Ever since we've gotten back from our beach vacation, which was then followed immediately by Brian's first birthday, which was followed immediately by our church's VBS, we've kind of settled into a somewhat more relaxed schedule befitting traditional lazy summer days. The only news I can think of is that Brian hates shoes and the only time I've picked up my camera was to take a picture of a truly stunning moth. I'm no lepidopterist but when you see a beautifully colored moth with a 4 inch wingspan you take a picture and then look it up. This one is an Imperial Moth or Eacles imperialis if you happen to be a lepidopterist.

Happy Birthday Brian!

2009-07-14T09:43:00.003-05:00

Brian's first birthday is this week and we went ahead and threw him a little birthday party. Brian had a lot of fun "eating" his cake and playing with his balloon. It was a really great party. Happy Birthday Brian!

Happy 4th

2009-07-12T21:38:00.002-05:00

OK, so it's not the 4th, but we've been on vacation. We spent the week of the 4th in Myrtle Beach and it was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the beaches were perfect, and most important the water was warmfuly perfect. Myrtle Beach being in South Carolina offered all the wonderful entrapments of Southern hospitality, good food, unlimited supply of sweet ice tea (with plenty of ice), and a local Krispy Kreme that made leaving hard to do. Weslie liked it so much that she tried to leave a part of herself behind, a tooth, but the tooth fairy found it despite being on vacation.

Bicycle - Revisted and Remixed

2009-06-30T12:43:00.002-05:00

We took Weslie's training wheels off a while back and have been helping her learn to ride without them, but our neighborhood is quite hilly and by the time she got going she had to stop. That's no way to learn how to ride a bike. She needed wideopen spaces where she could really spread her wings and get some real time in the seat. Thankfully, there are a lot of parking lots (I'm probably the only person who's ever said that).

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T18:57:00.000-05:00

What makes Father's Day so special? Well, for me it's Weslie, Gabbie, and Brian and having a great dad of my own.