theparkerfamily.org

Month: October 2010

  • halloween in mount pleasant

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    our neighborhood takes halloween very seriously.

    kids flock in from all around the city. streets are shut down to make room for the hordes. there is even a certifiable street-to-street rivalry to see who’s going to throw the biggest block party.

    sparklet spent her first real Halloween — last year didn’t count for obvious reasons — over on hobart street where every house was open for trick-or-treaters, at least one in every three houses was decorated, and one house even had a fully scripted halloween performance (“haunted hobart street has talent!”) with scheduled showings at 7 and 9pm.

    unfortunately, sparklet’s wasn’t doing so well.

    it’s officially 7 to 10 days after her first year vaccinations, which is when all the nasty side effects are supposed to kick in — and boy are they kicking in. she made a good run at trick or treating, but just didn’t make it very far before the crankiness consumed her.

    she did, however, get her first real lick of candy — eg. not through a wrapper or cardboard box — a cherry dum-dum lollipop which mommy dutifully unwrapped for her.

    she made it through three of four licks before she took it out of her mouth … by the wrong end … got her hands all sticky … got the lollipop stuck to her hands … and spent 30 seconds trying to toss it on the ground, to absolutely no avail.

    priceless.

  • photos: halloween

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    photos: halloween with the talimos, mt. pleasant, washington, dc
    picasa: photos from the talimos

  • found: october

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    camera dump: october

  • jalapeno-cheddar scones

    we’ve always been a biscuit family, but we just cribbed a jalapeno-cheddar scones recipe from the talimo’s and i’m not sure we’ll ever go back. full recipe after the jump.

    (more…)

  • shovel

    ECPA20101030_7075 by [ecpark] ECPA20101030_7077 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20101030_7078 by [ecpark] ECPA20101030_7085 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20101030_7088 by [ecpark] ECPA20101030_7093 by [ecpark]
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    shovel

  • dermatologist

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    sparklet had her first dermatologist appointment this week — Wednesday, when i was in Baltimore — to checkout the hemangioma on her left cheek.

    turns out it’s not a hemangioma — it’s a port wine stain.

    the good news is that you can remove a port wine stain with a handful of painless laser treatments right away, as opposed to waiting four to six years and hoping that it goes away on its own.

    the other good news is that it’s just your average birthmark, it’s not genetic, and not accompanied by anything like Sturge-Weber syndrome or Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome — diseases that are much icky-er to deal with.

    the final good news is that i was a Russian studies major, and i think that anything you share with Mikhail Gorbachev is pretty freakin’ cool.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    headshots

  • the nanny’s halloween party

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    EDITOR’S NOTE: from what i can make out with my limited español, the nannies of mount pleasant got together today and threw their kids a Halloween party. I imagine there was at least some awkwardness when two attendees (sparklet included) realized they were sharing the same tiger costume.
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    the nanny’s halloween party

  • out: halloween @ edelman

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    mommy’s office threw a little party for the kids today, which led to sparklet’s first official trick or treating.

    unfortunately, sparklet kept getting confused — she thought it was a candy exchange, giving back candy at the next cube that she got at the previous, which was made even more thoughtful because she took the time to pre-moisten it before passing it along.

    for posterity, her first trick or treat trophy was a box of milk duds — though they dropped to a distant second once she got her first lick on a lollypop.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    out: halloween @ edelman

  • “is it true that red heads have more fun?”

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  • national aquarium in baltimore

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    i have a love/hate relationship with aquariums.

    aquariums, by and large, are nasty/brutish places, over-stuffed with parents desparately trying to ignore their shrieking kids — a chaos that is the exact antithesis of the peace you see underwater.

    so, while i love beautiful collections of fish in large tanks and could sit in front of just one exhibit for hours on end, at an aquarium if you stand in one place too long you are invariably jacked up against a wall by marauding tourists.

    tonight, however, the conference i’m attending rented out the national aquarium in baltimore after hours for all it’s attendees. so, instead of the building being overstuffed with nasty-brutish families … it was overstuffed with nasty-brutish drunk marketers.

    oy.

    deflated, i trudged my way through the aquarium with some friends at a brisk page — looking at the fish here and there, but moving pretty quickly to avoid the drunken pre-hookup marketer rituals.

    i fell behind my friends at one of the last exhibits and, as i finally made my way by the front entrance on my way out of the aquarium, an official looking woman with a yellow coat hurriedly waved me over.

    we’re shutting down the exhibit — you better get in there if you haven’t already been through. you haven’t been through yet, have you?

    “um, no … i just got here.”

    i skittered on past, she pulled the rope across behind me, and for the next forty-five minutes i basically had the entire national aquarium to myself.

    joyous.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    national aquarium, baltimore, maryland

  • travel: baltimore, maryland

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    i’m in baltimore for a vendor conference and i think i’m annoyed. baltimore is far enough away that we had to get hotel rooms — and to strip out just about every ounce of excitement about spending time in city other than our own.

    i will say that, living in DC, i don’t “get” to wander around the streets of baltimore at night often, but that sounds an awful lot like something to be avoided — especially considering the only reason i was out was because i had forgotten contact solution and was desperately searching for a 24-hour pharmacy.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    travel: baltimore, maryland

  • detante

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    it appears that sparklet and emily the cat have reached some kind of detante — or maybe the cat is just so desperate for attention that her standards are dropping.

    emily has started (a) not running away the moment that sparklet makes eye contact with her, and (b) occasionally putting herself down in front of sparklet in such a way as to imply that she might actually not mind being pet.

    sparklet, for her part, has learned how to run her hand through emily’s hair without ripping any out. hard to call that petting, but it’s a start.

  • out: playdate at walter pierce park

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  • who’s feeding whom?

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    at the beginning of sparklet’s eating career, she was a bit of a streaky eater. first she would only squash, then she would only eat sweet potatoes, and then she’d only eat pureed garden vegetables.

    once she got onto solids, it was the same thing — first she would only eat sliced avacodos, and then she would only eat bonbel cheese wheels, and then she would only eat black beans (keeping Pollo Sobroso, our local Peruvian chicken place, open).

    fortunately, she’s started mellowing out a bit.

    we’ve working in eggs, apples (more about chewing then actually swallowing), bananas, yogurt, some little spinach things and lately sliced mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil — all while keeping the previous staples in the mix, too.

    and, just when a (relative) decline in black bean consumption started looking bleak for Pollo Sabroso’s bottom line, sparklet has started consuming large quantities of Peruvian chicken and rice.

    so, it looks like we’ve got a lead on figuring out the whole eating thing — which is exactly what the doctor said would happen fully swapped over to milk. (she’s only gets formula right before bed now, and even that’ll be gone in a month).

    now if we can just get that whole sleep thing straightened out, we’ll be home free.

  • out: renn fest

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    out: Maryland Renaissance Festival, crownsville, maryland

  • one year checkup

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    sparklet went in for a checkup this morning, and she’s still ginormous — weighing in at 25.4 lbs (94th percentile) and standing almost 32 inches tall (off the charts at 97th+ percentile).

    two notable developments.

    first, we got an official diagnose from the doctor on sparklet’s mental state, when she was careening around like a lunatic, trying not to get measured:

    wow, she really hates not being in control — doesn’t she?

    (yup, thanks for the newsflash.)

    second, sparklet got four vaccinations — bringing her total lifetime count of shots up to thirteen — and had two vials of blood pulled by D.C. to test for lead and tuberculosis.

    there was a lot of screaming and yelling, but it quickly subsided once the needles went away — enough that she was clapping along to the music in the car ride home.

    no harm, no foul.

  • el tigre en el zoológico

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    el tigre en el zoológico, national zoo, washington, dc

  • found: murse

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  • not proud

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    forgot a belt today. used a bungie cord. no one noticed. not sure which makes me less proud.

  • guestbook: nancy and aunt melissa

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    guestbook (2009-10)

  • the pizza garden

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    our nanny share nanny doesn’t speak english. the lady sparkler and i haven’t spoken Spanish since high school.

    if that’s not a recipe for a laugh-track worth sit-com, i’m not sure what is.

    about six weeks ago, our nanny started saying how much sparklet loves running around “the pixa” — “the pesca” we ask?

    “no, the pixa” she she replies. “pixa! pixa!”

    “oh, of course — the ‘pixa!’” we finally replied, without an ounce of comprehension. “boy, does she love that!”

    over the next six weeks, we proceeded to ask every native Spanish speaker we’ve ever known what “pixa” meant en Español.

    not a clue.

    i Google translated about a dozen different spellings — pisca, pixa, pitsa, pesca, pixza.

    nothing.

    we finally decided that she meant either “pesca” which is Spanish for “fishing” or PISCA which is the Paranormal Investigation Society of Central Alabama.

    we were pretty confused about where they could possibly go fishing in northwest D.C., much less the intricacies of travel to Central Alabama, so we gave up and called it a day.

    fast forward to yesterday, when our beloved nanny share partners came to the zoo for sparklet’s birthday, and they said:

    hey, have you guys been over to the pizza garden yet? it’s a giant pizza that the kids can climb all over. maria says that they really love it.

    pizza. pixa. pizza = pixa.

    (cue laugh track.)

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    the pizza garden, national zoo, washington, dc

  • birthday cake

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    well, that didn’t go particularly well — the very first time she tried a cupcake, you would have thought that she was being force-fed peas.

    fortunately, we tried it again the next day and it did go a little better — even though *i* was actually the one to smear frosting all over her face.

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    cake

  • found: distraction

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  • firsts: piggy-back ride

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  • first birthday

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    thank you all so very much for coming — sparklet had a blast, and we couldn’t have picked a more perfect day for it. if you took any photos while you were there, please email/comment them along — while we got *some* good ones, i know we didn’t catch everything that was going on.

    it was great seeing you all 🙂

    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    sparklet’s first birthday party, lion hill @ the national zoo, washington, dc

    more photos from:
    hparker23185 · cmfol

  • more presents

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    photo of the week // one year
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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    more birthday presents

  • snort

    we don’t know what in tarrrnation she’s doing, but sparklet has taken to squinching up her nose randomly throughout the day. i can’t wait for her to be old enough to explain this all to me.

  • *sigh*

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    a special anniversary for the lady sparkler and i tonight, celebrating three hundred and sixty-five consecutive days without accidentally killing our daughter — go team!

  • birthday presents

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    see slideshow of the best photos on flickr:
    first birthday presents

    see slideshow of all the photos on flickr:
    first birthday presents (unabridged)

  • “i’m ready, y’all — when does everyone else get here?”

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    i might be going out on a limb by saying this, but i think sparklet’s ready for tomorrow, and — more importantly — for Saturday.
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    “i’m ready, y’all — when does everyone else get here?”

  • gender violation

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    three different people referred to sparklet as a boy a total of eight times today — i wonder if the blue star wars “AT-AT” t-shirt i bought for her had anything to do with it.

  • video: oh no, we’ve lost one back there

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU-md8GSpDY

    and not two minutes earlier i was thinking to myself — “wow, i think she’s finally getting the hang of this hiking thing.”

  • hike: snead farm, shenandoah national park, virginia

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    trail information:
    Trailhead: (Google Maps); Length: 3.2 total miles; Elevation Gain: 500 feet; Trail Type: Loop; Skill Level: Easy.
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    hike: snead farm, shenandoah national park, virginia

  • found: double down

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    i walked into Front Royal’s KFC today, expecting their new double down to be something so disgusting that it would put even paula deen’s wretched monstrosities to shame.instead, i got awesomeness. pure. unadulterated. awesomeness.

    don’t get me wrong — one was enough, quite possibly enough for the rest of my existence.

    but, wow.

  • pumpkin patch at butler’s orchard

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    pumpkin patch at butler’s orchard, germantown, maryland

  • guestbook: nadine & nadav

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    guestbook: nadine & nadav

  • found: big round nose

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    i hope someone besides me remembers their sesame street …

  • “sooooooo big.”

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  • out: turtle park

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    out: turtle park, washington, dc

  • you’re invited: sparklet’s first birthday

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    after a couple of months of dithering, we’ve finally decided to do something for sparklet’s first birthday.

    we’d been bouncing back and forth between wanting to do something but wanting to push off (as long as we can) the days of elaborate affairs with Oscars-level guest gift bags.

    so, we’ve decided to do something — but go militantly informal.

    basically, we’ll be picnicking at the bottom of Lion Hill at the National Zoo on Sunday, October 16th from 3pm to 5pm — and if you’d like to join us, we’d love to have you.

    we’ll bring a little food (cupcakes, snacks) and some blankets, and then just let Sparklet run around in the grass for a bit. i’m sure Sparklet will be taking guests on frequent tours of all her friends at the petting zoo. Other than that, just hope to be visiting with some friends and family.

    as part of the “militantly informal” part, we will be forcibly ejecting anybody who brings any presents, but please come and hang out with us if you have a free afternoon.

    no special need to tell us if you’re coming, but feel free to either drop us a comment/email or RSVP through the facebook event we’ve setup.

    we hope to see you soon 🙂

    Details

    Lion/Tiger Hill is the big grassy hill at the bottom of the Zoo (see the official zoo map here) where they do concerts and such.

    if you drive, the zoo’s parking lots D & E are very close to Lion Hill (and cost $15 for anything less than 3 hours) but we’ve had good success parking in the neighborhood just outside the Adams Mill Road entrance to the Zoo (link to Google Map) which is also very close to where we’ll be.

    If you metro, come in the main entrance, and keep going down hill, following the signs for the Lions/Tigers and the Kid’s Zoo.

  • found: the truth

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    “if you lived here you’d be home by now, but you still couldn’t vote.” mural on 18th street in adams-morgan, washington, dc.

  • out: kalorama park

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    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    out: kalorama park, washington, dc

  • out: walter pierce park

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    the austin spindlers (auntie nadine, uncle nadav) have flown in from Tejas for the long weekend. friendly faces, more hands — awesome.
    See Slideshow of the Photos on Flickr:
    out: walter pierce park

  • #1000

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    jeez, that was quick. it took me five whole years to get to blog post #500 and now just 12 months later i’m at #1000.

    now, i’m not exactly a linear blogger — i’ve usually got 20 or more drafts posts going at any one time, many of which will eventually be backdated by twelve months or more. just last week I added 40+ posts about our trip to Europe in Spring 2009.

    but, everything i do is in service of my horrific memory — the point of going back and blogging about Europe isn’t so others will read, but so that future me can remember.

    (speaking of, i just spent 15 minutes reading through my posts tracking Sparklet’s “firsts”, and last week i spent what felt like an hour digging through the 50+ “photo of the week” posts tracking her growth. awesome.)

    back at post #500 i joked that:

    i have doubled the wonderful women in my life, and will certainly be doubling the silly, stupid things that i want to write down so i don’t forget.

    … and that has certainly turned out to be the case. i’ve never had so much material to write about, or so many things i’ve not wanted to forget.

    so, thanks to my 2.7 3.7 loyal readers for tagging along — here’s hoping that the next 1000 will be as much fun as the first.

  • firsts: overalls

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    i promised myself i’d never do a blog post that says “look how cute my baby is” — but, damn she’s cute in big people clothes. just sayin’.

  • marketing 101

    dude.

    late last month the formula we’ve used since month one to supplement mommy milk — similac sensitive r.s. — all of a sudden disappeared from the shelves, without a trace.

    we tried all the usual stores — empty shelves. the lady sparkler and i both went online to the manufacturer’s site, and it was gone like it never existed in the first place.

    after about two weeks, the empty spaces on the shelves suddenly filled up with a new flavor of formula in a baby puke green color.

    after two more hours of digging — er, googling — it appears that the new flavor (similac sensitive for spit up) is actually just a re-branded old flavor.

    only a different product name. and a completely different color. and a different safety seal. and no reference to the previous brand.

    how did we know? i had to compare the UPC codes off a bottle of the old formula.

    now, i’m not much of a marketer, but if they had kept any one thing from the previous design — keep the red bottle, keep the product name, keep a reference to old product — we wouldn’t have missed a beat and would have kept buying the “new” stuff like lemmings off a cliff.

    seriously, people. marketing 101.

    P.S. sparklet is just about off formula entirely (and mommy phased out of pumping late last month). starting this week we’ve got her on a mix of milk and lactaid — the latter being a holdover over from similac sensitive r.s. being lactose free.

    once she gets used to the whole milk thing, we’ll start phasing out the lactaid, and viola — high cholesterol, full lactose baby.

  • anniversary, apparently

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    the lady sparkler and i got a call from my mother today, wishing us a happy third wedding anniversary. we both looked at each other and said:

    wait, it’s our anniversary?

    apparently.

    UPDATE: aunt melissa has volunteered to babysit for us on a night of our choosing to help us go out and celebrate. yay 🙂

  • smile like you mean it

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    well, auntie jojo picked a heck of a weekend to come visit. sparklet got sick on Friday — a pretty standard ear/nose/throat thing — and i picked it up like clockwork on Sunday night. (it’s Tuesday, and i still haven’t been to work this week.)

    thank God she was family, and not somebody that we were trying to impress.

  • baby’s new web site design

    Screen Shot 2013-11-11 at 4.56.02 PM
    happy (early) birthday, sparklet!

    daddy doesn’t do much, be he does do web sites — so he spent the last couple of days designing and building out an new look in honor of your first birthday.

    the last design was great, but it was mostly someone else’s work, and i threw it up literally overnight when bad people started doing bad things to our website.

    so happy birthday, baby sparklet.

    someday you’ll be able to read — and when you can, you’ll finally understand why daddy’s been sticking that camera in your face for the last 12 months.

  • “mommy — this would go better if my shoes weren’t on backwards.”

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  • national zoo

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    see slideshow of the photos on flickr:
    national zoo, washington, dc

  • hank’s oyster bar

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    photo of the week // week fifty-one
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    it wasn’t ten minutes into our dinner tonight at hank’s oyster bar that i noticed — sparklet was tonight’s reminder to all the couples in the room to use birth control.

    we’re pretty sure she’s getting sick (head cold), she’s teething out of her skull (we’re up to 8 teeth now, at least that we can see), she’s not sleeping (see first two) and now that she’s walking regularly, she’s just not finding the sweet confines of a high chair quite as alluring.

    i did the first (of what i’m sure will be many) evacuation of a restaurant so others could eat in peace — which is more than fine, as i’m always the first one done eating.

    we decided to play in traffic (and with strange dogs) instead.

    see slideshow of photos on flickr:
    hank’s oyster bar, washington, dc

  • guestbook: auntie jojo

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    see all the photos on flickr:
    guestbook

  • out: walter pierce park

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    see slideshow of photos on flickr:
    walter pierce park, washington, dc