Monday, August 20, 2007

Viva Mexico!

Not only did the little bambino travel to Aspen this July but also made a much anticipated appearance in the tiny little town of Guadalajara, Mexico. As with anyone traveling out of the country, dude had to get himself a passport. He was super excited and couldn't wait to show it off!
Of course from the time we got there until the time we left, we were constantly surrounded by all the wonderful tastes of Mexico - tamales, fresh corn tortillas, quesadillas, beans, tacos, salsas and so on and so on. It's unfortunate to be among all these great delicacies if you don't have any teeth or if you have an inexperienced digestive system. Needless to say, Logan did not appreciate this and no matter how hard we tried explaining, we just couldn't get through to him (and we realized our son needs a whole lot more prayer than we thought).

- yeah thanks for the milk y'all!!


Well, at least he was a hit with all the ladies. That really seemed to help soothe some sore spots...


Unfortunately, someone spiked the milk at the wedding and the little booger royally embarrassed himself...



The culprits reveal themselves...and are not ashamed.



But before the night was over, Logan got his. Uncle Frank didn't even know his name or gender by the time he left the wedding. And never would have imagined this picture being posted on a blog. Babies just have a way of getting even.



Alas, Logan finally found someone his own size to talk to (his cousin Cassandra) and was very interested in talking to her about his lactose intolerance...














but disappointingly he could not manage to keep her awake (a mysterious phenomenon among 3 month olds).


Well, here's the lady he really went to meet. This would be grandma but she's actually his great great aunt. At almost the age of 60 she bravely took on the task of helping to raise me (Diane) and my sister Sandra from infancy. Now, there's a reason to put a couple "greats" before her title, don't you think?



Ahhhh, good ole kiss from grandma makes everything better.


OK. Buenas noches.
Can someone please turn off the lights?



Well, as is the case with most vacations, it all ends much too quickly.
Time to fly back home...


This trip has made someone very sleepy...


Great time for a siesta...


Hasta luego!!!

Catching up on July!

Hey all. Its been a while since Logan last checked in. He's getting pretty lazy as he gets older. He's acting like a teenager. You should see him fuss when he doesn't get his way. Actually, its not so bad. He is getting cuter, so his little outbursts are forgivable.

So anyway, as you might recall in June, Logan spend a week in Aspen, where he got to wear furry boots and look down his nose at all the commoners. What could be better than spending a week in Aspen??? Spending another week in Aspen. That's exactly what Logan did. Lest anyone think Mr Logan is well-to-do, think again. Great Grandpa let Logan go up to his condo and hang out for free, on the condition that he wear clean diapers.

Aspen was really nice. In this shot, Logan is having an animated discussion with his Auntie Andrea about Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" and the inherent dangers of altruism and mediocrity. Turns out Logan is an articulate little fellow, but he has a habit of speaking loudly to get his point across. He's not the best listener. I think Auntie Andrea did most of the listening. However, they both agreed that Elsworth Tuey (a character in "The Fountainhead") was pretty insideous and wished he had gotten his "just deserts" for what he did and represented. Enthralling, I'm sure. Uncle Aaron and Uncle Jesse watched TV during this conversation.

In Aspen, Camille (hereafter referred to as "Loo") had begun walking and perfecting her stride. Being the sharp little girl that she is, she spent much of the time directing her pops to fulfill all her whims and wishes. Of course, pops is an obedient slave and does his best. Loo also took some time to meet her little cousin. It seems they got on quite well! I expect in a few years, however, Loo and Logan will be pulling each others' hair and playing "protagonist-antagonist", much to the dread of their parents.

We all want good influences in our lives, right? Jesse and I were strongly influenced by Brett, our best friend. The three of us have been consistently finding new levels of immaturity over the years, and now that Logan is around, he's going to need some guidance. Who better than Brett????
I can't say what Brett was telling my son, but I expect we'll be seeing the results soon. Whatever the case, all i can say is if Logan is able to pee on my toilet seat (at Brett's encouragement), he'll be able to do the same to yours. Doubtless, my influence will be just as strong.

You know what's funny? Logan just made a stinky! Actually, that's not too funny. Just mildly humorous. What's really funny is when Uncle Jesse stubs his toe on a cabinet and crumples to the floor in utter agony. Even that isn't totally hilarious. What Logan thinks is fantastically funny is "peek-a-boo". MAN. Now THAT is funny. Whoever invented that game was the funniest person in the world. I mean, seriously. What could be funnier than hiding your face, and then...uncovering it really fast???? Its so funny it makes formula come out of his nose. Hmmmm...


Logan's not quite sure what the answer on Jeopardy is. I'm sure a good BM will divine the answer.Welp. A nice BM later, and still no answer. Jeopardy is for dorks, anyway.
As I said earlier, Logan needs good role models and influences. So, Logan and I had some good quality time together. We discussed family, things that annoy us, things we like to eat, the 2008 election, rowing, the need to earn money, how to annoy mom, oral hygiene, his potential girl friends, naps, why boxers are better than briefs, pranks to pull on Brett, how many days underwear can actually be worn without washing, the fact that hotdogs should only be eating with mustard and onions, the nuances of diapers and the broncos. I think Logan will be a well-rounded interesting individual. That hotdog thing is very true. Ketchup on a hotdog is wrong. Of course, you shouldn't eat many of them, as they are made of pig sphincters and skin tags.

All this talk made Logan a tired boy. Now, its nice to sleep in a crib with a nice blanky and all, but boy...napping in mom's arms is second to none. I'd tell you to try it out, but that would be weird.
Its hard not to smile after a nice relaxing week in Aspen. As we had to wrap it up, we decided to take one more hike together. Of course, Logan was hauled around in his posh stroller. Well, it was posh until the right, front wheel bent. Logan had to get out and push his own stroller after that.

Well, after Aspen, Logan went down to La Junta for a family reunion. Fortunately, we picked the hottest day of the year to gather. Of course, in La Junta, every day is the hottest day of the year. Oh well. In any case, Uncle Jim took care of Logan for a bit. In fact, he even went so far as to change his diaper! Logan was thrilled, until he found out Uncle Jim didn't keep the diaper as a special memento from Logan. I had to explain to Logan that those types of things aren't necessarily "keepsake-able" and that he needs to think of something better to give to Uncle Jim.

After the reunion, we hung at Grandpa Frank's house. Now, Grandpa Frank knows how to take care of the grandkids. Logan was all thrills and chills until he found out that Grandpa Frank forgot to make his famous green chili! How can this happen???? Grandpa Frank KNOWS that Logan is a huge sucker for green chili. In fact, mixing a little green chili with some formula is dee-vine! In spite of that egregious oversight, things were very swell. Logan definitely looks forward to seeing Grandpa Frank again.



On the way home, we stopped to visit Logan's newest cousin, Mia. Logan has made it a habit of having adorable little girl cousins, and Sarah is no exception. The two hung out and got on splendidly!
So that was a brief synopsis of July! Logan is growing like a weed and smiling everyday. Next time you read about Logan on this blog, mommy will be narrating. Until then, Logan is ready for bed and bids you all good night!

Dad

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Red hot chili choir boy

Well, Logan will have days like this. Auntie Angie got Logan an outfit, which if he had any choice in the matter, wouldn't have entered this house. However, mom and Auntie Angie adored it, so mom put Mount Logan in it. I'm not going to write much about these pics, as they speak for themselves. Enjoy:



You can't say he didn't enjoy it. Perhaps he was just unaware of his plight.


Well, maybe he's not so thrilled, after all.


Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!! Ignorance is bliss!


Ok, the chili pepper thing has gone FAR enough, right? Nope. Here's Logan the choir boy.


Hey, at least this outfit is nice and airy. I think his armpits were moist.


Hmmm. Well, if you're going to dress like a choir boy, you might as well sing like one. Sheesh.



Alas. Logan's girlfriends will be able to download these pics and post them on their blogs. But, isn't that the point?????

Dad

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Quick FYI

Hey all...I have set up an RSS feed for anyone who wishes to subscribe to the blog. An RSS feed will automatically notify you of a new post. That way, you don't have to check the website every hour to see if something new was added. In any case, here's the URL:

http://loganshrine.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss

Just click on this link and follow the instructions.

Aaron

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Aspen in June

Well, Logan went on his first vacation to Aspen a week or so ago. We, along with Jesse, Andrea and Camille spent a fantastic week up in the mountains, where the air is cool, the people are rich and young couples with babies are rare. Needless to say, as you can see, Logan had a great time:



This trip was really great for all of us. We were all able to relax and sort things out, after going through the stress of the first two months of a newborn. Yikes! In any case, enough of me. Logan is going to narrate the rest of this post for you.

Hi to all those interested in me. I only hope you will feel the same about me when I'm fat and old like my dad. We'll see. In any case, I was hurting the other day.


Auntie Andrea made some killer chili, which mom was gracious enough to put in my bottle, but boy did I pay for it. Actually, I made daddy pay for it by making him stay up half the night because I could neither fart nor burp. That'll teach him.

Man. I felt like I had such a hangover after that night. I won't be doing that again. Of course my dorky parents were completely unaware of my state and decided that snapping pics of me during my sorry state was "cute" and needed to be remembered. Where do they get off anyway? Maybe I'll fuss about it. That's about the only recourse I have at this point. I can't even hold my head up for long, let alone voice my distaste for this nonsense. Dad says I should pray about it and that God will answer my prayers in about 6 or 7 years. Real funny.



Finally! Someone listened to me about my new pacifier invention. If you take a pacifier and unscrew the back cap, you can fill it with various liquids, such as pepsi, formula or cognac. I'm not sure what they put in my passy, but MAN. I was @!%^$-faced there for a while. All I know is if I even smell that stuff again, I'm going to yark. It is a cool invention though. I'm going to try and sell it on the web. My uncle says he'll build a site for me and everything. The only problem is money...my best bet is to sell pictures of me. Autographed ones will cost more. If you want one with a formula stain, just ask.

It might look like I'm sleeping here, but I'm not. I'm actually doing crunchies. Its really embarrassing how I've just let my body go to pot. I'm starting to look like a pastry...uncooked pastry.


Look, let me give you a piece of advice: If you're going to tell me something, let it be something I care about. Its so hard to pretend otherwise. Say for instance you think I want to hear about what a great driver you are. So you say "Man, I haven't gotten a ticket in three years." Really? That's so interesting. Tell me MORE.

"Yeah. In fact I've been pulled over three times and STILL haven't gotten a ticket". Shiver me timbers! Before I respond, let me bask in the radiance of your wit.

Have you all met my cousin Camille? She's pretty cool, but she likes to squeeze my face when nobody's looking, which really sucks because (like I said earlier),
I can't really do much about it. Camille is pretty cool though. She can walk. She even gets to eat things other than formula. Don't get me wrong...sometimes there's nothing better than a bottle of formula, but I've seen the way she eats grapes and strawberries and it seems like I'm missing out. I can't wait till I'm older. I think Camille and I will have some fun. I expect I'll get to pull her pig-tails at some point. She'll like that.


Ha ha ha ha ha! Man. Mommy sure is funny. She just told a really funny joke. You wanna here it?

What's brown and sticky? A stick!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...welp...there goes my diaper.

As daddy said previously, we were in Aspen which is pretty cool. As you can see, there are some nice views. It was pretty cold up there too. I decided I'd catch the views some other time, so I had mom wrap me up real good. Truth be told, being held by mom is better than some crummy old mountains. Heck, instead of wasting $50 just to ride up to the top of the lift and snap a few pictures, just go and buy a National Geographic for $4 and take a picture of that. There are two benefits to that. One is that you save a boat load of money. Two is that the pic in National Geographic is better than anything you can take. Nobody asks me though. Of course my talking skills aren't exactly polished yet. If I told you, all you'd hear is waaaaaaaaaaaaah. Or something like that.

It was mom's birthday when we were up in Aspen, so I took her to a really nice restaurant there, called "Campo di Fiori". I highly recommend it, as the formula there is top notch. In any case, I had pops pay for the shin-dig. And yes...I did get mom something (lest any of you out there think I'm some sort of cad, like my dad). I let her feed me. Recall I don't have much money at this point, so I figured I'd give mom some special time with me and I'm pretty sure she really enjoyed it. I can't tell for sure though. I was pretty hungry and when I'm hungry I can't think.

Dad was telling me about the guys that host his website (www.inkonomy.com). Man. Those guys are idiots!

I don't get how they ever built a $40 million dollar company. They seem to be destroying it pretty deftly though. It sounds like they get their management ideas from the local ape cage. Yeesh. Keep the forks away from those guys. They might be blind and impotent by the time they figure out what a fork is for.

Well, I hate to do this, but its time to call it a night. I'm really tired and its about time for my second dinner...formula as you can imagine. I'm sure you all are as upset as I am that I have to end this.


Don't worry too much though. I will check in again soon. Mom took some unbelievable pics of me dressed as a chili pepper and a choir boy. I'm sure my dating life will suffer because of those, but given my current state of helplessness, what can I possibly do??? Good night!

This is daddy again...Logan is down for the night, which means I should be too. There's nothing more delightful than a sleeping baby.


aaron

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Things change, or do they?

Logan is doing great! Generally, he is only waking up once a night, which is great. Diane and I have worked out a schedule which seems to work for us. I take the 10 pm to 3:30 am shift and she takes 3:30 am till 10 pm. Logan is getting to the point where if I can get him down by 11ish, he'll sleep till 4:30. Good boy! Daddy loves you! This schedule is likely to change, if mom has anything to say about it.

I was thinking last night that before I got married and really probably until Camille came along
that I pretty much felt that all little newborns were aliens and all looked the same. In fact, what could be worse than being cornered by an annoying proud papa with a shoebox full of pictures of his new son? Generally, you try to come up with about three or four things to say that are somewhat flattering, even if you don't believe them. My favorite was: "Good looking kid you got there...looks like he got all the recessive traits".

Things are different now. Now, I look at Logan or Camille, and as far as I'm concerned, there aren't any cuter kids that have ever been born. In fact, my son and niece make other little kids look like livestock (generally). Please don't take offense. The truth does hurt sometimes. In any case, I'd like to show you some pics of Logan, matched up with some pics of other peoples' kids, to prove my point:

My son:














Annoying proud papa's kid:


















My son:














Someone else's Son:



















My Son:



















Another person's attempt:



















My Son:














NOT my Son:



















My Son:














Another person's child:















Well, I think my point has been proven. Naturally I'm partial to Logan, but isn't every annoying proud papa the same????

Ok, as you can see Logan is really upset, and with good reason:
Logan, Cousin Camille and their parents were in Aspen last week (which I will write about in the next post) and while there, we all rode the gondola to the top of Aspen Mountain. While on the gondola, Logan read a little placard dedicating that particular car to some guy named "Whipple". This is no joke. The guy's name was really "Whipple". I was talking to Logan about this and he seemed to think that parents can really do a kid a great disservice by naming them something foolish like "Whipple". "Whipple's" parents needed to be flogged. Perhaps "Whipple" had a brother named "Benis". Who knows. But Logan is right...to all you parents out there...DON'T disadvantage your kid by naming them something so hideous, it makes teenage acne look fun.

That's about it for now.

aaron