Half a year old

Remember the Jewel song about her hands being small, but they were hers and still capable of doing great deeds and writing bad poetry? Yeah. That no longer applies to Brendan.

I swear his hands doubled in size in a week. He went from having a cute grasp on my pinky to grabbing everything in sight. Hair, glasses, my neck ... everything.

The good news for the newspaper industry is that we have one young reader who is quite enthusiastic about newsprint. You might say he devours it. Until, of course, we pull it from his mouth.

The stroller causes a bit of confusion. He's still riding backward in the car, so being able to see where he's going is an overwhelming experience that leaves him a little subdued. He then retreats to his Winnie the Pooh teething plastic bits. I'll be happy to sing the theme song for you anytime.

He's building quite a strong immune system in day care, where he keeps catching illnesses that keep Daddy home with him for a few days. When he can actually attend day care, he enjoys it and attracts more than his share of admirers.

Meal time is amusing. He sometimes enjoys his rice cereal, sometimes not. He prefers to grab the spoon and the bowl to test Daddy's ability to prevent major spills.

Six months old, in time for spring. It's a beautiful time.

Smile!

Christmas

To see how our family has changed in the past year, look above our fireplace. The stocking for Himmie (an ailing, clever and sometimes vindictive cat) now belongs to Teddy (an amiable, dim and sometimes hyperactive dog). We still have one for Murphy, who defies all veterinary knowledge by living well into her teens as a big dog who had a stroke almost two years ago.

Then there's the new one ... Brendan. He's turning playful just in time for his Christmas presents. He smiles at certain sounds, not always the same ones, and he has an extensive vocabulary for someone who can produce only a few variants of one vowel: "ohhh," "oooh," "oww," etc. (He'll even look at you if you run your mouse over the picture here.)

He even seems to be taking his teething in good humor. He frequently stuffs something in his mouth and looks around mischievously. Of course, at other times, he yells as if he's auditioning for a really bad horror movie, but we've learned to deal with it. To an extent, anyway.

In January, the routine changes and everyone leaves the house more often. Jen starts at a law firm, I switch to a part-time schedule and Brendan meets new friends for a few hours a day. We'll be busy, but we'll have more flexibility than the typical D.C.-area hyperextended family.

If you can't make it to Northern Virginia to see us for yourselves, check with us here. We'll tell you all about the next phases of our careers, and I'll try to mend the fault lines of Western civilization on my Weblog. And we'll have this site's biggest traffic-driver, photos of the beautiful baby Brendan. Jen's hoping he keeps his blue eyes; I'm hoping he keeps his heading ability and strong feet.

Merry Christmas to all .......