Dancing Queen

While Maddy and I have been enjoying time with family on the West Coast, we were also able to enjoy the beauty of a friend's wedding this past Saturday. I think Maddy enjoyed that, but more than that, she loved the dance floor at the reception. She was our dancing queen. With only a 40-minute nap under her belt the whole day, she remained a trooper until about 8pm-- her conk-out time.

Ash Wednesday Weather

DC weather today: 66°F (19°C)
Hawaii weather today: 73°F (23°C)

It's not that bad after all, huh?

"Pregnancy DOES cause memory loss..."

A recent study by Australian scientists suggests that women do indeed experience some slight memory loss during and even after pregnancy. Surprise, surprise.

The scientists could simply have asked the husbands of the pregnant women about the memory loss! I always joke with Mary that if people want to know how her pregnancy is going, they shouldn't ask her: they should ask me. He, he, he. (For those who don't know me well, I am being sarcastic.)
PS. This is a photo from two years ago when Mary was pregnant with Maddy.

PPS. Even though Mares is now 18 weeks along, she still doesn't show much at all!

Pop Smear: Fathers in the Media

Anyone who has seen a movie, television show or commercial over the past couple decades can easily surmise that fathers are an easy target. Media-portrayed dad descriptors that come to mind are stumbling, bumbling, naive & ignorant, backwards, out-of-touch, lazy, vice-laden, misogynistic, sex-crazed (and it's only rarely for his spouse, of course), distant, selfish, and superficial. I am sure that there are many fathers who have partake of these deficiencies. But, is that mainstream? Should it be mainstream? I hope not!

A recent article from the Washington Times provides one historical depiction of fatherhood in the media. The thesis is that fathers are currently easy targets. If you target minority groups (women, gays, blacks, Asians, Latinos, etc.), that wouldn't be politically correct. For the most part, you could put any one of those categories as the butt of a joke on TV. Were you to do so, however, you wouldn't hear the end of it. Your career would be in jeopardy: you would have to attend "rehab". Criticize majority groups--like whites or dads (special combo deal if it's a white dad)--and you're in the safe zone. It's a pity that society looks to such pitiful role models when it comes to something as important as fatherhood. Unless fathers make their voices heard, I'm afraid the trends will continue.

HPV Vaccine Update

The HPV vaccine has been on the market for less than a year. Since then:

• 2 deaths in the EU; 3 deaths in the US
  
• 28 miscarriages
• 1,700 people who reported adverse reactions (I suppose death is also an adverse reaction)

You can be "one-less"...er, one more?

Those Who Are Still With Us

I had the opportunity to attend the Spanish Mass at our parish yesterday. It was a pleasant experience to witness the vitality of Latinos in the Catholic Church. There is only one Spanish Mass offered on Sunday. There could've been two. The parking lots were literally overflowing during the Mass and there may have been as many people standing as there were sitting in pews. Due to the immigration trends, the face of Catholic Church in the United States is changing. The question is whether the administration of the Catholic Church in the United States is dynamic and flexible enough to meet these new challenges and needs.

The homily focused on abortion (in the wake of Roe v. Wade). While I don't profess expertise, I am familiar with the topic. It seems that pro-abortion folks generally concentrate on the women and pro-life folks concentrate on the unborn. Generalizations are never fully accurate but probably present some truth. There has been a small shift in the pro-life community with the "Women Deserve Better [Than Abortion]" Campaign. The priest exhorted the parish to pray for women who have had abortions and to show them compassion. Approximately 40 million unborn have been killed through abortion over the past three-and-a-half decades in the United States alone. Fortunately, they're enjoying life in heaven and praying for all of us. That would mean, however, that there are probably 25-30 million women alive today who wake up each morning to the reality of what they've done through abortion. Some struggle with grief and regret every day; others have desensitized themselves over time. It must be extremely difficult to go through an ordeal like abortion. The real victims are the women who suffer each and every day. The Catholic Church ministers to them through various initiatives like Project Rachel. Abortion is vicious. The victims of abortion always come in two's. Let's remember both victims, pray for them, and reach out with compassion to those who are still with us.

UPDATE 1/29/2008: An article on CatholicExchange was posted the day after I wrote this post. The article hits home on this same topic.

Life.

Yesterday Maddy, OLFrie and I Metroed down to the city to meet Caleb and some of his family for the 35th annual March for Life, marking the anniversary of the fateful Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade. There were so many people in attendance that it took such a long time to move several feet along the street. Maddy was bundled in her stroller and was surrounded by so many welcoming and child-friendly people. Most people would sneer at you if you clipped their heals with a stroller, but not these people. There was good reason for all of us getting bumped or pushed along: droves of lively men, women, boys, girls, and teeny boppers speaking out for the voiceless--the unborn (what we all were at one stage). It was the friendliest crowd. If you saw very little on the news about the March, it's no surprise. Silence says it all.

Happy Birthday, John!

Happy Birthday to the guy from the third floor, to Third himself. Today is my brother-in-law John's birthday. May you be richly blessed and know how much God and your family love you. Happy birthday!

Let It Snow

Madge and I just came back in after an outing outside, which is a winter wonderland. Bundled up, we trekked through the sticky and crunchy flakes, which continue to fly through the air.

Our One and a Half Year-Old

We love you, Madster. A whole year and a half have passed and we are still thanking God for every moment of happiness and joy that you have brought to our lives. Now we are twice blessed with your new little sibling growing inside Mom, and we will be rejoicing on his or her 1.5 year birthday. You are a delight, our sweet sunshine, our "Sweets." You make us laugh and make us cry. We love you and cherish every moment with you.

All our love,
Mommy, Da-Da, and OLFrie

She Loves the Papa

This morning Madge was up around 5:20am, a bit after Caleb got up, and she was up to stay awake until he left (and then even a bit after that.) She loves her Dad, and it is so sweet to see how much she loves being with him. Here are a couple of photos of her giving him kisses before he walked out the door and she watched him walk down the sidewalk. Don't worry, Madge, I wish Dad could stick around too in the the mornings.

Of Cucumbers and Sneakers

I never thought that I would utter both words in the same breath, and yet, here I go. I was going for a run today during my lunch break. I was about to put on my sneakers when I discovered that one of them was home to a pair of Maddy's socks and half a bite of cucumber. I smiled.

The story goes that I went for a run yesterday afternoon. I left my shoes out by the front door so that they could air out a bit. Later on, I was feeding Maddy some of her favorite snack: cucumbers and ranch dressing. Like many cultured individuals, she didn't take long to realize that the ranch is where it's at. Screw the veg. She's picked up the bad habit of sucking the ranch from the cucumber and spewing the remnants. (Probably something she learned from her mother.) I guess some cucumber remnants found my sneakers.

The socks come from a different story. In the evening Mary had put on Maddy a little pair of white socks with pink toes. (They're cute socks.) However, the socks are rather slippery on the kitchen floor. After a few wipe-outs in the kitchen, and because they kept falling off, I guess Madge decided to remove them. I'm proud to say she put the socks in their rightful place. Only, in my shoes instead of hers.

They Grow So Fast

Recently Caleb put the toddler bar up on Maddy's bed, transforming the crib into her "big girl bed." Although she is a full-time-family-bed-sleeper, having her bed open to her and available, we thought, would not be a bad idea. At least it is not the "scary" cage crib with that big bar. Now she can climb out on her own and tell me when she is up. What a big girl!

Christmas Eve

Maddy sported her new plaid dress from Mimi and Papa as we celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in Michigan. She looked beeeautiful!