forward thinking

John is at that stage where he is always thinking, and always thinking up new things. For example, the other night, he was playing with his legos before dinner and built this...

What do you mean "what is it"? You can't tell? It's a mobile cell phone tower. This is the very thing that will make it possible in the future for you to never miss another call because you're in a remote area, or drop a call because of a weak signal or a dead spot. "Can you hear me now" will be a thing of the past. All because of John who is a forward thinker.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's a little large to hook on behind your car, and a little too high to go under the underpasses on the highway. There's always at least one sceptic in every crowd. But are you forgetting that the first computer took up an entire city block? Now you can fit one in your pocket. Keep in mind that this is just the first prototype. The design will keep being tweaked and redesigned over time. And before you know it, everyone will have one. And you'll be able to say that you knew John when....

two words...sticker back

Rose isn't quite talking in full sentences yet (after all she's not quite 2 yet) but she is definately talking. She communicates in broken sentences making all of her wants and wishes known. She's so darn cute and polite (always saying please and thank you) that it's hard not to give in to her every request. Rose stopped by my office (in our basement) yesterday, as she often does when she's in the area, just to say hello and give Daddy a hug. When she came in yesterday, she pointed to my pad of post it notes and said "sticker". She repeated this a few times, until I ripped off the top note, which had a phone number I no longer needed, and handed it to Rose. To which she replied, "no...back!" She wanted me to stick it on her back, which is what they do in the church nursery and at the YMCA when she's in childcare. She wore the post it on her back until it was time for her nap, and then I peeled it off without being detected and snuggled her into her crib to drift off to dreamland.

snow fun

The first words out of John's mouth when he got up this morning at 7:30am were "can we go sledding?" He has been waiting for enough snow to go sledding ever since the first flake fell a couple of months ago. But until today, we hadn't gotten more than an inch or so at a time. Never enough for sledding...

In addition to sledding (and shoveling our long driveway) we also made snow angels and a big honkin' snowman. Then when we came back inside, we all had a cup of hot cocoa. Today was one of those days that good old fashioned family memories are made of.

Two days ago (on Thursday) on the other hand was not one of those days. I took Rose to the YMCA for her parent/baby swim class only to discover that I had forgotten my swimsuit. I left the "Y" and went to the grocery store and then back home...only to discover when I got home that I had left my groceries at the store. I guess it's a good thing that I don't have dentures or a hair piece yet, or I probably wouldn't be able to remember where I left those either.

Hopefully the kids will still have a few more fun days and good memories with Dad before they have to put me in the nursing home.