I HAVE A FORUM FOR SELF PROMOTION?!?!?

Ok, my idiot parents neglected to mention this blog to me. Just because my mother, father, and brother are, I don't know, modest DOES NOT mean that I should withhold my fabulousness from the general public. I mean really, what kind of crime would I be committing if I were to deprive all of you fine people of the glory that is me?

So, that being said, HERE I AM! And I suppose I'll allow some input from the rest of the fam...

I'll whet your palate with a few shots of my stylish approach to life:

This is a brief glimpse into my leopard print collection. Thank you Target, my mommy...

....and my Mimi for really throwing herself into the whole leopard-print-bandwagon-thing. Bravo, Mimi, bravo.

And really have you ever been THIS fabulous? It's about time the 'rents realized I needed a sparkly handbag...

Ok, ok, here's my brother. Yeah, ok, he's pretty freakin' cute. Whatever. I'M the only one smart enough to get this blog back up and running. And that title? Um hi, there is more than ONE "baby" in this rye. And my name harkens a modern day jazz singer, not a novel of adolescent angst. I'll have to do something about that.

Ah well...I'm here now---let me know how you feel about that!!!

HJL: A Retrospective (Special Birthday Gnome Installment)

To momentarily whet your appetite until the birthday pictures are posted (yes, Uncle Scott, it is currently the weekend, and no, Holden is not named for a character in Bladerunner...but thanks for checking in...) : ), I give you a

GNOME UPDATE!!!!

1 YEAR OLD:

ONE AND A HALF GNOMES!!!

To refresh your memory, I include:

2 WEEKS OLD: 2/3 GNOME

7 MONTHS OLD: 1 1/4 GNOME

American cheese, AGAIN?

"Really people, where's the foie gras? The braised squab? The caramelized leeks? How do you expect me to refine my palate with such proletarian gruel?"

Attempted Great Escapes

Polite:



"Excuse me, would someone be so kind as to let me out?"


Forceful:



"Perhaps if I just just shove my head through this netting..."


Athletic:



"Oh damn, I didn't see that wall there."

Sneaky:



"What baby? I don't see a baby. I don't know what you're talking about..."

Back to Basics

Ok, I've FINALLY managed to eke out a second, so let's just take a moment to remember why we're all here:

CUTE BABY!!!!

Coming this week: The Uncle Brigade continues on!

Visiting hours

Except no one is sure which one is in jail...

Christmas shopping

Holden feels the same way about shopping as I do. Ah, that's my boy!!

"You cannot contain me.

First it's a foot, but give me time and

I will soon break completely free of this hell.

You just wait."

Mmmm...pureed peas with oatmeal and breast milk...

Following in the footsteps of the millions of babies before him, Holden has enthusiastically embraced the thrill of not eating his pureed vegetables

(and can I blame him? I mean really, pureed green beans? Ack.)

However, he will eat just about anything if it is mixed with cereal and breast milk---but only if he can simultaneously wear it.

"Honestly. The things I have to tolerate in this house..."

"Hee hee...pea booger...hee hee hee"

Hmmmm...

Ok, he really MUST be a cute baby.

He's even cute in (#@!* sports paraphenalia!

...freakin' football.....assorted under-my-breath mutterings...

GO CHIEFS!!!

Disclaimer:
A certain attitude expressed in this post does not reflect the attitude and/or the opinions of other members of this household. Thank you.

A new trick!

Well, after sitting and crawling for the last month or so, Holden decided it was time to step it up a notch. About a week ago, around 5:30AM, Maneesh came running into our bedroom in shock, panting "OHMYGODHE'SSTANDINGINTHECRIB."
And since then, no (extremely low) surface is safe from an attempted scaling by The Wee Beige One.



"Jeez, Mommy--where are my pants?"



"This is my gym bunny look"



"No, seriously, WHERE ARE MY FREAKIN' PANTS??"



"I may be too little to see over the top of my crib,

but don't think I'm not watching you...heh, heh, heh..."

No cute pictures today.

Just a moment to reflect on the fact that Holden will spend the next four years in a country led from a place of bigotry, ignorance, and closemindedness. Rather than demonstrate complacency, let me say here in writing that I, and Holden's Daddy, vow to make every effort to get INVOLVED in challenging the right wing machine that runs this state...and seemingly, the rest of the country.

At least Kobach lost. That's something, right?

Bathtime!

Well, these are just friggin' cute and I have nothing else to say about it.*

*except to give a ringing endorsement to this bath chair to any newer moms out there...

Fashion show: 3-6 month clothes, finally!!!

The Traipsing-Through-the-Wilds-of-Kenya Look

Subcategory: The Mommy-Learn-How-to-Focus-the-Damn-Camera Look

The I'm-an-Academic Look

Note the slight mohawk--it's Holden's rebellion against the

horror of a sweater vest at 7 months old...

HJL: A Retrospective (Special Gnome Installment)

As many of you know, Holden's growth is measured in garden gnome units (much as the height of race horses is measured in 'hands'). At 2 weeks old, Holden was a mere 2/3 of a gnome. But at almost 7 months, he checks in at: ONE AND A QUARTER GNOMES!!! Keep up the good work, little boy, keep up the good work!

Please oh please don't have your Grammie's music gene...

Well, taskmasters that Maneesh and I are, we ALREADY have Holden practicing his musical skills.

"Oh man, scales AGAIN???"

Four months old

"Hey! Now THIS piano I can hang with!!!"

Just today (i.e. almost 7 months old)

And look, he's mastered the Art of Sitting!

(Well, unless he leans back too far or finds something really interesting that's not directly in front of him...)