Dear Arianna, January 8, 2012

Dear Arianna,
    Hooray!  I've made it to Week 2 of my letters to you.  Today was a much better school day for you.  I think you just needed to get back into your routine.  You were happy to put on your gym uniform all by yourself last night, and were not fussy this morning.  Your craft project in the morning was making snowmen. It gives me something to look forward to seeing tomorrow posted up on the wall outside of your classroom.  And to top it all off, your friend Ceci visited for a short play-date this evening, so your Tuesday was better than your Monday, that is for sure.
    Tomorrow is show and tell, and you will be taking a great thing to show: the book that Mommy made for you based on her blog of the first five years of your life.  It was here making that book while quarantined for her radiation treatment that inspired me to write this daily blog to you.  It is amazing to go through a book that shows you growing up from a little baby to the wonderful girl you are now and that captures all those little moments of life that we might forget as we pass through each day.
    You love the book so much that you were crying when Mommy took it upstairs because you thought she was taking it away.  It makes Mommy very happy that you love the book of your life so much.  It truly came from her heart.

You and Mommy opening the book of your first five years.

    One of the pictures in your book was you sitting on my lap.  I asked if you were too much of a big girl at the age of five to sit on my lap.  This was your answer:

 Never too old for Daddy's Lap

    In other exciting news, as you asked about yesterday, Mommy started teaching you about crocheting tonight.  I can't write much about what the teaching is like, because I have all the knitting talent of a doorknob, but I can't wait to see what creations you will make in the years ahead.  Daddy could always use a nice 18 foot long scarf like the Fourth Doctor.  It does sound like from you and Mommy right now that you want to skip the entire making a chain portion of your lesson straight to making mittens.  You always want to fly before buying your airplane ticket, my little sweetie.

Mommy reports that you made it through two stitches on your own.

     The hour is drawing late, and I have to get your lunch and snack together, but what would my daily letters be without another picture of you loving your kittens.  While you watched a bit of "DuckTales" tonight, you were once again super-happy that Turlough snuggled up with you.

    Let's see what excitement Hump Day brings. Time to make your lunch.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 7, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Well, here we are on the first work Monday in three weeks.  I do believe that we were both getting spoiled with me having three day work weeks with four day weekends, and you having two weeks off.  I really liked spending so much time with you.  There were a lot of tears this morning when I took you to school.  You didn't want me to go, and were holding tight on to me until Ms. Power had you help her with the Play-Dough which allowed me to head to work.  Trust me, I'd rather spend my days with you than at work, but the bills must be paid and money saved up for our next family adventure.  Truth me told, your Daddy could get to use to three days of work followed by four day weekends.
    I wasn't quite sure what to write today.  We are all sort of tired and getting used to being back into the five-day work week routine.  Then, as luck would have it, Mommy mentioned that we had fudge in he refrigerator.  And banana bread!  And snicker-doodle cookies, all baked by our friends Tiffiney (banana bread) and Michelle (fudge & snicker-doodles).  Nothing brings Mommy, Daddy, and you together like a table full of sweets.  Your kittens were so interested in the good things on the table, that we had to put them in the basement so they wouldn't eat it.  We kept them away from the fudge since chocolate can be harmful to cats, but Turlough got himself a nice big drink of milk from your glass.  We also learned that anyone who says that cats hate walking on aluminum foil don't have cats!

Ian & Turlough seem to like aluminum

    Tonight's first  pictures are some of your poses on the couch.  You are on a DuckTales kick right now, and you were doing your impersonation of Huey, Dewey, and Louie:

                                              Huey                                                             Dewey

 

Louie

    And then you were playing with Turlough and Ian, per usual.  It's fun with thread, and a little video that I was able to run until the camera's video card filled up:

 

 

    

Here's the video:

    I've uploaded and cleared off the memory card so I can take more pictures and videos tomorrow.  Also, as I was writing this, you are telling Mommy that you want to learn to crochet a scarf like she is doing now, so it sounds like I'll have more adventures to write about tomorrow.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 6, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today is what I'd call laid-back Christmas.  January 6th is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Three Kings Day, or the Feast of the Epiphany, depending upon what you'd like to call it or where you are from.  For your Mommy's side of the family, it is Tres Reyes, and for me it is a holiday that I never had growing up, but happily celebrate now.
    We started the day at Saint Bernadette's, where you were upset that you were not called forward as an alter attendant.  When we tried to explain that you had to be in the fourth grade, you said it wasn't fair because you were old enough and were learning how to read and could follow instructions.  Just when we got you calmed down from that, you and Mommy went up for the communion, where you then got upset that you couldn't take one of those tasty wafers  again because you are too young.  Sweetie, sometimes I swear that you are five going on sixteen!  I guess I was the same way when I was your age.  I remember thinking at Indiana Beach how unfair it was that I could not ride some rides that I thought that I was old enough for.
    Luckily, we lifted your spirits by reminding you that your cousins were coming over today for Three Kings and you would finally get to open the present that Padrino Ron and Tia Evelyn sent you that has been sitting by the tree since Tuesday.  Everyone made it form your Mommy's family, including your Uncle Carlos and Aunt Vanessa, who often times don't get to come because of work.  You'll never see five large pizzas go as quickly as they did today.  There was also homemade chocolate malts & rice pudding, which were enjoyed my all.  Finally, there was the fun part of dessert, the rosca de reyes, and we found three this year that didn't taste horrible.  Uncle Tony, Raven, Scarlett, Carlos, and Tiffiney pulled out the five baby Jesii out of the cakes, so they will be bringing over the food for February 2nd.  You were upset that you didn't get a baby Jesus in your slice, so Mommy had to fool you and hide Uncle Tony's Jesus in your slice when you weren't looking!

Baby Jesus hanging out with George

    When people were starting to go home, Turlough got himself tangled up in the lights again, so it was time to take down the tree.  The Twelfth Day of Christmas seems like a good as time as any to take down the Christmas Tree and lights.  We'll miss the bright colors, but we have to make sure our kittens are safe.  Turlough made sure to help us while taking the tree down.

Turlough, professional tree trimmer

    Finally, your present.  You were desperate to open it while your cousins were here, and was very excited to see that it was a telescope.  You were not so excited when we told you you would have to wait until everyone went home before I unboxed it and set it up, and even more unexcited when you had to wait until. we took the tree down.  But, it was all worth the wait.  It was much nicer than any telescope I ever had, and we will have a lot of fun with it.  Because the night is so cloudy, all we could look at was tree branches close up, but that was good enough for us!  Thanks to its backpack, we can take it with us to Indiana or Michigan, away from the light pollution and look at the stars and moon.  A big thanks to your Tio & Tia, you loved it and can't wait till we can see more than tree branches and the shingles of the garage!

The First Veterinarian on Mars

    I can't wait for many years of star gazing with you.

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 5, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today is your Aunt Ann's 33rd Birthday, so let's wish her a very happy birthday!  It got me to thinking that when I turned 33, you were just a year-and-a-half old.  It is amazing to think how much you have grown since then.  That was the year of real walking, a vocabulary explosion, and the change from baby to toddler. Even your toddler years seem so far away now as you are indeed a little girl.  I can't call you that, of course. I have to tell you that you are a big girl.  I will let you in on a secret, though, in your Papi's eyes you will always be a little girl, and I am sure that will annoy the heck out of you as a teenager.
    Before I jump the gun and give my self a heart attack thinking about you as a teenager, I wanted to talk a little bit about who you are now.  You are a talkative, loving, sensitive  animal loving, violin playing, music singing, crazy dancing dynamo and I love you so very much.  Today was a lazy Saturday.  We lounged around watching DuckTales, playing games, and dancing.  THen you decided to do a magic show.  I am not quite sure what the rules were, nbuy you cut up a piece of paper to make your own cards and dropped them into a hat showing us which card we had picked.  You cleverly put the same words on each card, so as far as I can tell, you always drew the right card from the hat.
    We just went out for a short trip today to the bakery to pick up a Rosca de Reyes for Three Kings Day tomorrow.  Part of the fun for me marrying into an Hispanic family was being able to celebrate even more holidays.  Your Padrino, Uncle Ron & Aunt Evelyn sent you a special Three Kings present, but we talked to the wise men, and you cannot open it until tomorrow.  You are very excited  but just like with the Christmas presents under the tree  you have been great at being patient and waiting for the special day.  No matter what is inside, I am sure it will go along nicely with the sonic screwdriver they sent you.
    So the cake is bought, and we are figuring out the food, and we should have a terrific day tomorrow with your cousins and friends.  Right now you are sleeping (the car ride knocked you out), so I had time to write. For the picture of the day, you wanted me to take burst shots of you while you were tumbling / square dancing around the living room today, so here they are:

Love,

Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 4, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    One thing you really love to do is make artwork.  Whether its drawing, painting, coloring, or Play-Doh sculpting.  Today Mommy has a terrible toothache from a sinus infection and you wanted to paint her a picture to make her feel better.  I've noticed that when you draw you are very exact with your details and are trying to create a specific image.  The same is true when you paint in watercolor.  When you use tempera paints or especially thick finger paints with a brush, (you don't like getting your fingers messy with paint, just like your Papi), you go for creating new colors and textures with the paint.  It is very Vincent Van Gogh of you.  We are almost out of the thicker pains, and all I could give you today where a tiny bit of green, white, and orange, but you still made this lovely picture whose textures are not done justice by a photograph:

"ILU Mom" is painted at the bottom.  That is how you write "I Love You Mom".

    The photograph of you today focuses on your finicky eating.  It is really hard to get you to take a first bite of something that you have not eaten before, even when we know that it will be something you will actually like.  Case in point is tonight.  You wanted cereal, but we took your box of Frosted Flakes over to Titi's house so you can eat it when you are with her and your cousins.  You like Lucky Charms, but hate those retched marshmallows in them, so I bought you Alpha-bits  which is really just Lucky Charms without those tooth crackers in them.  You cried and wouldn't try them.  Then I calmed you down, got you to eat them and you proclaimed  "I really like these, thanks Dad."  After eating the bowl, you let your kittens drink the left over milk.  Good thing Mommy is asleep on the couch with the toothache so she doesn't see what I let you get away with.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 3, 2013, Postscript

Dear Arianna,
    A sad postscript to today's letter.  After writing  we went over and saw that your little black gerbil, Trixie, passed away tonight.  Her sister, Alice, died about a month ago, and it looks like Trixie went peacefully in her sleep.  There were a lot of tears, and death is so hard to explain. especially now that your are understanding that all things die.  It's the blessing and curse of pet ownership   We love them so much, and we almost always outlive them.  I wish I could find the episode of Mister Rogers when his fish died to help figure out how to explain it all.

 Alice (2010-2012)

Trixie (2010-2013)

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 3, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    Today was my first work from home day for the new year, which made you very excited.  Since you don't go back to school until Monday, you were very happy to be spending a day with Daddy.  You've really gotten used to my work from home days.  When I first started to do it, you could not understand why I had to sit at a chair all day.  I used to try to do it working up in the office upstairs, but after a few weeks of that, I moved down to the dining room table.  Now you are great.  You know when I have to work, but we still get some quality daddy-daughter time in, especially at lunch.
    After eating you hot dog wheels for lunch today (and like a good Hispanic, you eat your hot dogs with ketchup, we put a log in the fireplace and made your big doggy floor puzzle in front of it.  Then, we imagined which dogs in the puzzle we would be, and who your Mommy, cousins, Titi, and Uncle would be.  After that, we read some books (My Little Pony), of course, on the Nook, and then you played games on my computer and on your inherited iPad.
    Last night, you and Mommy had macaroons, to which you declared that the ones made in Chicago tasted better than the ones from Paris, and Mommy agreed!  You also had trouble going to sleep last night after all of your dancing, and you really miss your Mommy sleeping in the Big Bed with us.  Her radioactivity will wear off soon, so she can stay all night, but Mommy made you fall asleep so nicely by snuggling you until you fell asleep.  In fact you slept so soundly, you didn't wake up until 10:30 this morning!
    Today's picture is all about how much you love your cats and how you want to be a "pet-erenarian".  You snuggled up to take a little nap this afternoon, and with a warm blanket and your little Turlough and Ian, you were a very warm, purring trio:

Love,
Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 2, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    I think I can call this entry "Raise This Barn."  When I first came home tonight you were a little bit down because I think your girl cousins are hitting puberty and you are feeling left behind.  Then you put on your favorite show again, and got to the "Raise This Barn" song.  Then, it is like a switch flipped and after not letting me dance with you at the Daddy-Daughter Dance last month, you had me square dance with you, and then you were dancing solo, complete with yee-haws!
    You want to kick me off the computer to play some games, and I need to finish writing before you finish eating your peaches, so here is a picture of you after one of your dances tonight:

    And here is a video of your Apple Family hoe-down:

Love,

Daddy

Dear Arianna, January 1, 2013

Dear Arianna,
    I have decided to write a new blog entry each day this year about our lives together and my hope is to publish it as a book for you for you to have in January of 2014.  You are growing up so fast and I want to capture the little things that happen each day so that one day in the future you can look back and remember what it was like to be a little girl discovering her world.
    As I write this, you are watching the "Apple Family Reunion" episode of your favorite show, "My Little Pony",  with your kittens Turlough & Ian sitting on your lap.  We kept those two kittens for you and they really do seem to love you for it.  We came home from New Year's lunch at Titi and Uncle's house, where you had your face painted up first as a bunny and then as Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.  I even let you and Logan paint my face a little, and if you understood much face paint drives me crazy from one of my psychological hangups, you'd understand how much I really do love you.  Now that Applejack is about to sing the barn-raising song, I am waiting for you to call me over to listen to it with you...
    ...And you did.  We listened to the song twice, and you are finishing up your mac and cheese and are pleased as punch that your kittens are sleeping next to you on the couch.  I think I'll also take a picture of you each day so we can watch you grow, so here is a shot of you watching Ponies, eating your mac, and being loved by your kittens:

    And here is the Barn Raising song you love:

  I'll write to you again tomorrow.

Love,

Daddy

Driving to the Moon

Arianna and I were outside tonight looking at the sky and she told me, "Papa, let's take red car to the moon."

 

I love my little dreamer.

Arianna's Blog

Since I am a terrible, terrible blogger, Erika has created a new blog to discuss the interesting part of this boring man's life. Take a look at Arianna's Universe.

You Know You're a Dad in the Smokies When...

We took our first family trip together last month to the Smoky Mountains. Arianna continues to rack up the miles for all the car trips we take her on, and she seems to have that Nelson wanderlust -- If we don't take her out, she gets cranky. She was great on the drive down and back, and through all the crazy mountain gravel road driving in-between.

Those of us Nelsons who enjoyed our Dad's leading us on those trips to the Smokies in the 70's and 80's will appreciate this picture. You know you're a Dad in the Smokies when you take your child to the Bud Ogle farm and follow along on the hiking trail while reading the guide pamphlet out loud to your captivated audience.

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry that I have not written in awhile. Arianna is seven months old now, and she has a third tooth -- her upper left medial incisor. I would like to say that I have been busy with projects at work, and working through two upper-level anthropology courses at NEIU (Anthropology of Islam and Primate Behavior), but the truth is, Rev. Wright caught me. Like all white people, I am busy spreading AIDS to minorities when I am not busy chaining them up and selling them into slavery. I do all of this while not being able to keep up with my rhythmic clapping while marching perfectly erect in a marching band while over pronouncing all my vowels and consonants while speaking.

I just have one question for Rev. Wright -- Since my daughter is half-Hispanic (a minority), am I her father or her owner? Help me out here, man of God.

Squirrels

Erika loves birds, and I love all non-human animals in general, so we feed a growing assortment of birds, squirrels, and rabbits who have made their home in our backyard. I know there a lot of folks who hate pigeons, raccoons, opossums, and squirrels, but I admire how they have survived in an urban environment. I am especially amused by this silly squirrel who makes a six foot leap from our deck to a bird feeder hanging out our kitchen window so he can get something to eat in these cold days in Chicago. Even more funny -- oftentimes the woodpeckers will eat the suet on the sides of the feeder, while the squirrel helps himself to the seed. Ah, seed is cheap, and all animals need to eat. So, here's to you, little flightless bat!

Teeth

A few weeks ago, Arianna decided that ever though she is only four months old, she would like to have some teeth. So, she now has her juvenile LI1's all through the gum line. (Those are the lower center incisors to you non-biological anthropologists out there.) Now, at five months, she feels that those two teeth are lonely, and her LI2's (the outer lower incisors) are starting to reach the gum line. She has quite a cute toothy grin these days.

I'd Like to be on the Moon

Tonight there was the last lunar eclipse that we'll see up here in Chicago in about three years. It's cold outside, but the sky is clear, and I've had a nice view of it from outside my office window. It would be fun to be on the Moon right now, as a Lunar eclipse on Earth causes a Solar eclipse on the Moon. That would be quite a sight.

Arianna's Christmas Present

Arianna gave us a great Christmas present today. Well, technically it's a Boxing Day present. I was playing with her this morning, and each time I pulled her up into a sitting position and asked her to say "Daddy", she started to laugh. It was the first time she's ever laughed! She repeated this about 10 times.

It was a great gift for Erika and for me. Nothing is better than being a Dad.

Not the Only Ones

I still can't put into words what it feels like with Penny gone. I was reading 1up.com's blogs and one of the editors there had the same horrible Thanksgiving weekend that we did in loosing a cat. For those of you who don't have that special bond to animals, it is hard to understand. To me, it really is what defines being human. Anyway, I hope to put my Penny thoughts together to share what she meant to me and to Erika (especially for all of those years we were a childless couple), but in the meantime, here's a link to a blog that really helps express what we, too are feeling: Jeff Green's Blog on the loss of his cat.

Rest in Peace Penny

Dedicated to the memory of the best feline friend a person could have ever asked for. Passed away due to congestive heart failure on Saturday, November 24, 2007. We shall miss you and hope that we will all be together again one day.

Erika Didn't Die

Erika's appendix was 3-4 times larger than it should have been and it was hours for bursting -- but it did not. It was successfully removed and after a few days in the hospital with some complications, she is now back home. I am very glad that my wife isn't dead. Our daughter is, too.

Arianna's First Computer Words

Arianna likes to sit on my lap while I use the PC, since I am on it so often for work. I was chatting with Ann, and she had this to offer:

Michael Nelson: nv mv xhdddddddd cccccccccdddddddddddddddddddddddddkllllllllllg vgfmmcccgb
Ann Nelson: arianna is that you?
Michael Nelson: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmjjjjjjjjjjmbn cn
Michael Nelson: hj\\

Life's turns

Erika has a stomach ache on Sunday evening. By 1:00AM, she couldn't move or sit or stand without being in extreme agony. She drove herself to Christ Hospital's ER while I stayed home with Arianna. It's turned out to be appendicitis. My parents came over today and took Arianna and I went over to the hopspital. They removed her appendix this morning and she is OK. Hopefully, she'll come home tomorrow. Arianna misses her, and so do I.

Pictures

Arianna is far more photgenic than I. Here are some pictures of her first five days of life (including shots of her Mom in labor from earlier on her birthday and Dad aftwerwards): http://picasaweb.google.com/mrmrnelson/Arianna

Culver's and Other Adventures

Erika and I like to eat at Culver's. We also go to Target quite often to buy stuff for the house. And, we visit the Post Office to mail back our NetFlix disks. Now that Arianna is here, she gets to join us on our adventures. Here's her first trip to Culver's:

Not photographed are her trip to Target and the Post Office, with a detour to Jimmy Johns for a late evening sandwich.

Why Life's Worth Living

Arianna Marie Nelson was born at 10:46PM, Tuesday September 18, 2007. She was 7 lbs 8 oz, and 21 inches long. There were some complications in that she swallowed her meconium in the womb so she was born non-crying and purple, with no movement. The OB/GYN started sucking out the gunk with only the head delivered so that she was still getting her nutrients from the umbilical cord. Then, after immediately after the full delivery the pediatricians on hand pumped out her stomach and started her breathing, and after a little time in the Nursery, she is OK now, as is Erika. Real vaginal birth is a lot more messy than what they show in the movies.

I couldn't stay the night, and just got home from watching the first breastfeeding. Mom and baby should be home on Thursday.

Baby Tomorrow

Tomorrow morning, on September 18th, we are headed over to Christ Hospital where Erika is going to be induced.  Sometime tomorrow we should be the proud parents of Arianna Marie Nelson.  I sure she will be much more interesting than me.

My Camping Firsts

Camping

I went camping about a month ago. I am not cut out for camping. I did experience a lot of firsts though:

• First time riding as a passenger in a minivan.
  
• First time having my bags stored in a storage canvas strapped to the top of the roof of a minivan.
  
• First time sleeping with my brother in a twin sized bed.
  
• First time pooping in an outhouse.
  
• First time paddling a canoe.
  
• First time portaging a canoe.
  
• First time sleeping in a tent.
  
• First time sleeping in a tent with my brother.
  
• First time pooping a hole in a forest.
  
• First time drinking water from a lake.
  
• First time sleeping in complete silence.
  
• First time having mice and chipmunks run over my tent at night.
  
• First time guiding a canoe in by lamplight.
  
• First time seeing a guy almost start a forest fire because he burned all of our kindling at once.
  
• First time traveling with a chain smoker.
  
• First time I've sat in a car where someone was smoking in it.
  
• First time I went to Minnesota.
  
• First time I've been to the Boundary Waters.
• First time being chewed alive by horse flies.
  
• First time wearing knee length wool socks with sandels to stop being eaten alive by horse flies.
• First time dehydrated while paddling a canoe.
• First time I saw more than one shooting star at night.
  
• First time living off a sack of desiccated food. (It was heavy.)
  
• First time I've stopped every 45 minutes on a 10 hour car trip.
  
• First time riding 25 miles on a gravel road.
  
• First time petting a one-eyed dog. (Ruby was sweet.)
  
• First time I played with a forest cat. (She looked like Misty if Misty weren't Persian.)
  
• First time I saw two men sleep together in a minivan.
  
• First time I became angry with someone for his being able to kill a frog.
  
• First time I have vacationed only with guys.
  
• First time I've ever gone four days without a cold beverage.
  
• First time I intentionally took Imodium as a preventive measure to keep me from having to poop again in a hole in the forest.
  
• First time I camped with someone afraid of the dark.
  
• First time I camped with someone who mistook chipmunks for bears.
  
• First time I wished I would rather be at work than on a trip.
  
• First time I've spent 5 days away from Erika when it wasn't a business trip.
  

There were some lasts:

• Last time I'll camp only with guys.
  
• Last time I'll portage a canoe.
  
• Last time I'll stop every 45 minutes on a ten hour car trip.
  
• Last time I'll go to the Boundary Waters.
  

And the biggest first:

When I got back from this trip (It cannot be called a vacation), I read a commentary by Garrison Keillor that was the first thing he has written where I couldn't stop laughing so hard, because it summed up the trip so well:

"What truly cheers me up through these dog days of summer is the thought that two old friends of mine are up north on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and that I am not there with them. I am here, reading the paper, and if I wanted to go to a movie, I could go, and if I wished to use a flush toilet, I could do that, too. But for the grace of God, I could be sitting on the ground, filthy, embittered, a homeless person, eating freeze-dried food and listening to the Master Woodsman tell you what a great experience you're having and meanwhile the woods are not lovely, just dark and deep, and a cloud of mosquitoes has come out to avenge the white man's colonizing of North America. I have been on canoe trips, I know what goes on.

Every canoe trip has a self-appointed Master Woodsman. In civilian life he may be a mild-mannered clerk in a cubicle, but out on the trail he is transformed into the song leader, pathfinder, the great helmsman, the tier of correct knots, and the authority on bears. He shows you how to do everything except the things you really need to do, such as 1) move your bowels in some dignified manner and 2) get out of here and find a hotel. Your body aches from sleeping on the ground, your bowels have turned to stone, and you are thinking about "Lord of the Flies" and what it says about the fragility of civilization, but he is relentlessly upbeat. And then it dawns on you: Your suffering is what turns him on. The man is a sadist." -- Garrison Keillor, "No wonder they called him Turd Blossom" August 15, 2007