Parentese

Dairyland, originally uploaded by tubes.

Natalie has a word, "uck," which means three things right now. "Yuck," (the original) "milk," and "book." It can get a bit confusing, especially at night when I can't tell if Natalie wants to read another story or her bedtime snack, or if she's just telling me that something displeases her. It's okay because we usually figure out what she means, although nobody else could.

Here's some other parent-ese vocabulary that she's speaking:

• Bhhr: Bird, especially when referring to my swallow tattoos.

• [x]ish: Her word for fish starts differently every time but she always sticks the ending.

• Whee: means she wants to play on her slide (awesome indoor toy for the winter!)

• Peek: Peek-a-boo

• Gigga Gigga Gigga: Yo Gabba Gabba!

Night of the Laughing Dead

Pride of the Zombies, originally uploaded by scottnj

Yesterday's post was a little negative. I can imagine Natalie reading this when she's older (on whatever technology replaces the gadget that replaces the iPad) and saying, "Geez DAD. I'm sorry I was such a BURDEN." So I'm reporting that last night she fell asleep like a champ.

After she was out, I got to spend some time with my wife. So what did we do? I sat on the couch with my headphones on and watched Zombieland on the laptop while Jenna did projects and watched Biggest Loser.

At one point I started laughing and Jenna said, "I thought it was a horror movie." "it's a horror comedy." She gave me a funny look. "That's a thing," I assured her. In fact, this is the best RomZomCom since Shaun of the Dead.

Late Night

Santa Monica Spin #3 - Santa Monica Pier, California, originally uploaded by PatrickSmithPhotography

Natalie has stayed up late for the past two nights. She is not fussy, or angry, she just refuses to sleep. Trying to get her to fall asleep when she's like this is quite stressful (as depicted in my comic).

The first night I was able to eventually get her to sleep, but after nearly two hours last night Jenna had to step in and work her magic. I had a quick soak in the tub to relieve the tension. When she finally quieted down it was time for me to go to bed.

I will be so glad when I can tuck her in, say goodnight, and close the door until the next morning! That is a milestone I am eagerly awaiting. But we'll probably have another baby by then. Oh well. I'll see my wife again after the kids leave for college.

Hourly Comic Day

Mars Rising

Sometimes I wish I had a really nice telescope and knew how to use it. This week is one of those times: it's a great chance to see Mars. Phil Plait says:

When Earth does lap Mars, the Red Planet’s on the opposite side of the sky from the Sun, rising at sunset and setting at sunrise — we say that Mars is at opposition when that happens. When it does, we get two advantages in one: it’s at its closest point, so it’s bigger in telescopes, and it’s up all night so you can observe it at your convenience. This happens next in just a few days, on January 29, 2010.

I tried looking at some online star charts and couldn't make heads or tails of them. So I was glad to discover Stellarium, a free, cross-platform, open source planetarium progam. It's very intuitive and fun to use. One cool feature is the ability to click on an object (like Mars) and zoom in with the scroll wheel. In yesterday's cloudy weather it was better than going outside, but I hope tonight will clear up so I can see the real thing!

Winter Fun Status

art shanties, originally uploaded by massdistraction

We took Natalie out to Art Shanties. It was terrible. She cried whenever we took her into a shanty so there was never a time to get out of the wind and warm up. We did not stay for very long.

Last week I brought her along to a sketch jam with the local Cartoonists Conspiracy cell. I thought she might enjoy seeing people and watching them draw. She usually loves coffee shops, but not this one! She was very restless and we had to leave.

I want to give Natalie a chance to enjoy playing outside in the winter. It's tough because I essentially hibernate during the cold months and usually prefer to stay inside. I can't blame her if she feels the same way!

2010 in preview

White tiger, originally uploaded by floridapfe

It's dangerous to write about commitments or goals for the future. Some say that sharing goals publicly adds accountability, but in my experience it's an almost guaranteed path to failure. But there are some things I can be relatively sure of happening (assuming I don't get hit by a bus crossing the street tomorrow).

I'm excited about the future. The year of the tiger is approaching! Here's a quick list of what I'm looking forward to in 2010:

• Natalie turns two: fatherhood is an incredible adventure and I can't wait to see what my daughter will get up to next. Last year she became a real little person with a distinct personality, and now she's learning how to express herself more and more. I hope we have lots of fun together this year as she continues exploring her world.

• Family fun times: part of the joy of having children is an excuse to go outside, play, and do "kid" stuff. This month alone I've got Art Shanties, Rock the Cradle, and St. Paul's Winter Carnival on our calendar. It will be really great when it warms up outside, but why wait until then to have fun?

• Loving my wife: we are in our sixth year of marriage and I thought we would have it all figured out by now, but we are still making it up as we go along. We were lucky to figure out early that you have to work to make a happy marriage. Every day is a new chance to be a good husband. I will try to screw it up as little as possible.

• Craftstravaganza: this is our fifth year organizing an event that my wife and I started on a lark because it was something that I wanted to attend and I wasn't willing to travel all the way to Milwaukee to do it. Of course, since then it has grown and each year we get to spend time with friends that we've met along the way, and make new ones. I say it every year but this year wiil be the best one yet.

• Mpls Indie XPO: the giant annual craft fair wasn't enough of a commitment so last fall I started planning MIX, an independent comic festival. I am super pumped about this project because honestly, the Craftstravaganza was getting a little boring (which is not unusual) and this early planning stage is my favorite part of event management.

• Swap-o-Rama-Rama: last of all, it looks like I will be hosting a DIY clothing swap event for Spring MN Fashion Week. We're still pounding out the details on this one, so I'll share more when I know more. This is part of my evil plan to be involved with every scene in Minnesota's arts culture. Also it just sounds cool.