Simplify

The Outdoor Office, originally uploaded by Birdfreak.com

We are off to a good start on our 2009 Things challenge. At the end of the first month, we have already thrown out or donated over 500 things and when I say "we," I mean mostly "my wife." She cleared out her collection of Christmas decorations, lots of old art supplies, and a ton of other detritus.

Sure there's a focus on having less stuff, but really the point is to have more. More space, more time, more happiness. Uncluttering fosters simplicity and a heightened sense of gratitude for the possessions we do keep.

Simplifying can be fun too! Often the simple solution is a better one. We sold our G5 desktop computer (comprised of monitor, box, speakers, subwoofer, mouse, keyboard, and tons of cables and wires) to make room for a nice MacBook Pro (1 thing... or 2 if you count the power cord).

Nap Skills

Mom helps Ashley get to sleep at night, but I take over naptime duty when I'm around during the day. Our baby is devious and very resourceful when it comes to methods for keeping herself awake. In the months I've known her, I have developed some powerful counter-measures for sending her off to dreamland. Here are a few of the best.

1. The bobble and sway. This is my fundamental technique. I stand, cradling her, and gently bobble her head while rocking from side to side. This has worked ever since she was born.
2. The lullaby. Ashley loves to hear her parents singing. A soothing song can bring her down from inconsolable to merely mad. Frequently it bridges the gap between grumbly and quiet.
3. The shush. Another classic. A light, whispering "shh" is hypnotic for babies. Also works to keep her asleep when she begins to stir or is startled by a loud noise.
4. The ignore. For times when she's fighting sleep just for the sake of being difficult. I've been trying everything else for an hour, I know she's exhausted, but she resists all my attempts to calm her. I hold her, sit at the desk and read some blogs, and she succumbs to her exhaustion all by herself.  Advanced technique; use with caution.
5. The fake-out. Sometimes if she's been only mildly fussy, I only pretend to ignore her. "Oh, you're not ready to sleep yet? OK, Daddy's just going to check email..." She calms down completely, I bobble her a little, and light's out. 

Classic Books

Beatrix Potter books were loved in my house as a child, so I will read them to Ashley too. Half Price Books had a copy of Peter Rabbit for ninety-eight cents. I started reading it and it was surprisingly good. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the lush, warm art; the lyrical writing. And I was shocked at the difference in quality between this book and most of the hand-me-down crap that has infiltrated our library.

Animator John K talks about design theory all the time. His blog is great, you should read it. In a post called "The Death of Form" he compares old toys with their post-1970 analogues. He concludes that modern toy makers "must hate kids. Either that or they are just plain retarded." My thoughts exactly.

I feel the same way about classic books (or just plain good ones) compared to the bulk of what's available today. One day when my wife is out of the house I'm going to fill up a garbage bag from our bookcase, and when she comes home there will be nothing but good stuff on the shelf!

Galactus, devourer of lunch

image from Lunch Bag Art

Geekdad posted these illustrated lunch bags. Made by a dad (and, yes, geek, based on the subject matter) for his kids, during his own lunch breaks. What a guy. And how cool to have kids who share your interest in characters like Lupin III or Godzilla!

Looking through the history on Lunch Bag Art, it looks like he has stepped up his game as the site became more popular. Some of the older bags look like something I could draw in a few minutes, while the more recent masterpieces (like this one) look like they belong on canvas, not brown paper bags.

Clarification

Brigitte, originally uploaded by cybermelli

Don't you just hate it when Bloggers write cryptic, one-line posts with no context? Sorry about that. At the end of a very full day, it just dawned on me that I have so much to be thankful for, and I wanted to share it with you, Internet. I love my family and I am excited about my life.

Our little girl is seven months old. She has six teeth. She can scoot backwards on her belly by planting her hands underneath her and pushing against the floor. She finds it hilarious that she can do this.

After a string of holidays and visits with friends, we finally had one weekend to stay at home by ourselves. Ashley appreciated it. Of course there's no rest for my wife and I, as we spent the whole time picking out vendors for our urban craft fair. This is our fourth year and it's going to be awesome!

Bedtime

Libba Gray, originally uploaded by ☆Oopsy★Daze☆

So tired. So happy.

Dance

, originally uploaded by goodlux

Our baby can't stand, but she has invented a dance. She sits and bops her head from side to side like an enthusiastic Sunshine Buddy. Just like the nodding, she flails her neck around so fast that it looks like she's going to hurt herself. Obviously, this cracks her up, because she has a giant smile on her face whenever she does it.

Head-bobbing is currently her favorite method of expressing happiness. She dances in response to music, or funny sounds, or spotting me across the room when I come home from work.

We wondered briefly if we should be concerned about this frantic head-thrashing, but we're not so worried that we don't actively encourage her to do it.