It's my birthday party, and I'll cry if I want to!!

Auggie has never really liked birthdays. He doesn't want to hear the song (see pictures), and he doesn't want to be told "Happy Birthday." We don't know why... probably some sort of early childhood trauma. And since he feels this way, we thought... why not have 30 or 40 friends, family, and neighbors join us on a Saturday morning to celebrate his birthday that he doesn't want to celebrate. He'll be okay with it... really.

Actually, he did pretty okay. We only had one real meltdown, and there were more times than not when it looked like he was actually having fun. He also helped me make his cakes, which has become a bit of father/son tradition. I wish I had more pictures, but I spent more party time talking and organizing than taking pictures. We opened presents after people went home, and he loved everything he got! Thank Yous are forthcoming. Finally, after 5 hours of party, cake, kids, and presents, we snuggled up with Sprocket for a nap.

Rob.

Two, Three, and Four years old!

Rapper's Delight

It's a bit of a crime that I shot the first of these in such poor light. Try expanding it to "full screen" viewing to see it better. We've yet to pass on any of our extensive breakdancing skills, but he's apparently picking it up somewhere....

http://www.dropshots.com/redroset#date/2008-06-23/20:04:50

The lighting is better in the next one, but he gets tired and silly near the end. I guess thats what dancing usually does to most people.

http://www.dropshots.com/redroset#date/2008-06-23/20:06:46

Now, where were we?

Auggie and I have made a lot of trips during the last six months. I figure we better take advantage of this short window where I'm not working and he's not in school for as long as we can. We took four ski trips to Mammoth (one including a couple day layover in Ridgecrest), a trip to inlaws in Indiana, and a camping trip to Yosemite. Having completed all of that, we're actually really sick of traveling for the moment and hope to stay home for a month or two. As usual, I've taken lots of pictures, but haven't done much with distribution. Well, get ready, 'cause here they come. Click on the links to see the movies.

Last night's off season ski practice in the backyard:

http://www.dropshots.com/redroset#date/2008-06-20/19:45:42

Actual skiing in Mammoth this past January (This one is from mom's camera, so no sound). He's a pretty cautious kid, so I think it will be several years at least before he's chasing me down the slopes:

http://www.dropshots.com/redroset#date/2008-01-23/20:04:37

More to come later....Rob

Part Cat

So we had Auggie checked out at the lab, and it turns out that he is, in fact, part cat. Some sort of evolutionary mix-up apparently... I guess we don't mind too much as long as the hairballs don't get unwieldy.

Christmas Day

New bikes, whoopie cushions, workbenches, trains, books, puzzles, and new furniture all magically arrived at our house on Dec. 25. He becomes so absorbed in each new present that it continues to be hard to get him to open everything on Christmas morning. It's three days later, now, and we're still opening stuff. I guess that's better than him being totally psycho about opening stuff and then not remembering any of it.

Christmas tree chopping

We cut our own Christmas tree this year, and Auggie, or um, I mean, Bob the Builder, helped by hiding among the trees. Only one organic, sustainably farmed, locally grown, RBHT and steroid free, vegan pine tree was harmed during these photos.

Rob.

Child labor and leaf monsters