Let There Be Light!

Merry Christmas friends near and far. Here is a holiday lesson:

It's far easier to drape a two month old baby in Christmas lights than it is to drape a two year old toddler in Christmas lights. Damn you, emerging human self awareness! When Daddy says put the lights on you, DO IT or elf on the shelf will come down at night and smash all your smart mouth Thomas trains. Yes, the lights get hot. And your two year old point is? Does Annie Liebowitz have to put up with this garbage? Cecilia knows blog posts are so few and far between (Finn donned a monkey suit for halloween for god's sake and that hasn't made it yet) and she got right in there and worked it out with the camera. Good start to her first Christmas. Now that I see her commitment to the craft, I may work up an Ice Angel shoot. Keep posted.

P.S. ever wonder what a little boy looks like saying cheese through terrified, clinched teeth? Finn answered that above.

Oh, Baby!

Finn and Cecilia got to return to the place that started it all, Princeton hospital's maternity ward (is that term still current? Sounds a bit suspect). The Burkmar's welcomed Will into the world this week and let me tell you, he is a BEAUTIFUL baby. Not in the "all babies are beautiful due to the miracle of life blah blah blah" way, he is just flat out good looking. He was dominating the little nursery. New parents were cutting their praise short on their kids to talk up the Burkmar baby. I'm not posting pictures because I imagine they have already signed him with an agency and I don't want to pay infringement fines. Finn loved all the baby action, but Cecilia slept right through it; being born is like SO two weeks ago. Totally.Over.It.

No pictures, no pictures!

The insatiable hunger for blog content weighs heavy from time to time. Carol McQuaid, not J.D. Salinger reclusive but also a rare Westerner who believes that a taken photo captures a bit of your soul, brought a wonderful dinner and gifts for the kids. Of course I pressed her for a few pictures. She is still only a few months off her son's beautiful wedding (or if you are talking to Shelley, Carol's beautiful son's heartbreaking wedding), so I thought she would still be up for a quick photo shoot. Apparently, she needs to be draped in a Merlot-colored strapless silk dress to take more than a few shots.

Finn was another problem all together. If paparazzi haters Sean Penn and Lindsay Lohan had a baby, it would be Finn right now. That said, if they were Finn's parents he would be living in Malibu, recovering from his first rehab stint and named something gender neutral and geographic like London or Bronx. And he would wear little vintage Rolling Stones concert shirts bought for $125. He hates my picture taking. Every photo is interrupted with hand waving and "no Daddy, no Daddy." For god's sake, your lucky someone wants to take a picture of you eating bread, bud. At some point in the non too distant future, you'll be a broken 40 year old looking at your reflection in the 606 bus window wondering if anyone sees you at all. So be grateful for the attention, once your sister regularly opens her eyes you will be hearing the heavy footsteps of father time. Crow's feet land on every face, pal.

The American Dream: Football, Family, and Pulled Pork

We had a wonderful time hosting our family, and by hosting I mean unlocking our apartment so Hosana, Tebby and MIL (Aunt Cathy Cron) could whip into a cleaning and cooking fury. After a great lunch, we walked over to the Blair football game. Harrison came down to represent current Blair to all the Blair alumni in attendance. We also made an attempt at some family photos- Matt, Lisa, and Emmet did well (Matt's trucker Pton hat can be masked by a Santa hat sticker) but Finn had an attack of the hissy fits. Looks like someone doesn't like to share his lens time. It was great to have some many family members together on a beautiful fall day- we had family in from North Jersey, Connecticut, Idaho, North Carolina, and South Jersey. What a great way to welcome Cecilia into the fold.

Grandparent Bliss

Three grandchildren under one roof. Life is good.

Dorm Dinner

Ever wonder if you could have had a dinner party in a dorm room? Well, we did that last night. Mr. Bracken was a force of nature in the kitchen and we all had a fantastic meal. It's not clear whether or not Kristen filed a restraining order on any of the members of the inquisition, but it would have been warranted.

Thursday is the New Friday

Like most college students I know, things kick off for the Finnster on Thursday night. On Fridays he skips school and stays home with Mimi and Pop Pop. Tonight we have extra special guests, Finn's godfather Kevin Bracken and his "lady friend" Kristen are visiting from Sun Valley, Idaho. On Saturday the Bracken/Reavey army comes storming into town to celebrate the the Blair vs. Lawrenceville football game. This will be a blue-bloodbath of course, and I expect many a torn Brooks Brothers shirts and Nantucket Reds when these two rough and tumble boarding schools fight it out on the gridiron.

In anticipation of an east coast weekend blow out, Kristen and Kevin took Finn on his first beer run to a package store and bar somewhere in Lawrence. I'm not sure the patrons, many of whom appeared to be dodging palimony and child support payments, appreciated a photo op right there in front of the Franzia display. In fairness, one smoky-voiced patroness offered Finn a Slim Jim. In true New Jersey style, Finn walked outside and promptly fell over. A sign of times to come.

Defeat the Huns!

Today we had a family outing over at the Hun School to see the mighty Blair Academy Bucs defeat Hun 24-6. It was great seeing Harrison even if just for a moment. Finn took the time to ruin a family photo; perhaps he was upset that he didn't get the memo about apple green being the official family color for the occasion.

Three Pictures of Sibling Love and One Teeming with Jealousy

Thomas the Train: Railway of Lies

Finn was fired up to take Mimi to the train. He was expecting the whole Thomas the Train experience, talking steam engines, chipper conductors in top hats, and bucolic farms. Instead, Finn got the sleek, cold, faceless trains of NJ Transit. I was o.k with the cold slap of reality as i've never really liked Thomas the Train. It's the same damn story line every time...Thomas misunderstands directions, gets in a pickle, but it is all resolved in the end. It's like a wholesome cartoon version of Three's Company. And why does an island as small as Sodor have such an extensive train network...that is insane. There are fewer trains on the island of Manhattan. A train is the most efficient way to move bales of hay five miles for birthing pigs? No one has a truck?

After the train stop Finn and I went to the village bakery to pick up a baguette and a cookie for his troubles. Carrying all that bread was hard work. Good thing his cookie was the size of a manhole cover.

I am in LOVE!!!

So I didn't expect much for Cecilia's first BC game. By the end of the season I was hoping for a nascent wing flap or an eagle cry, but here she was as a five day old craning her neck to see the game from the kitchen table. My heart is bursting with pride and love. Go Eagles!

Surrender the Pink

Bryant Park Fashion Week moved south to Main Street; Dianne Spatafore came for a visit bearing a whole season worth of clothes! So many great girly girl outfits, some with a pinch of hipster style. She even took care of dinner. Dianne's mom makes the best meatballs and sauce, we had it last when Finn was born. It's good enough it makes you want to go all Duggar family on the scene and have 19 kids. Its that good.

Another interesting development with our visitors; Finn is "present drafting" off Cecilia's birth. He got a very cool book from Dianne. I love books and toys from Europe, nothing gets Disney-fied. Train station? Yes, there are pan handlers there. On another town scene some guy wrecked his bike and his hands are bloody. There are even toddlers wandering through kitchens unattended. Europeans keeping it real.

The Beginning of the Victorian Era

It's a dark anvil of anxiety lurking in the back of every father's mind; when will my daughter discover places like Victoria's Secret? I have to admit that even given my current residency in New Jersey, the home state to TV classics such as The Jersey Shore, Housewives of NJ, and countless episodes of My Sweet Sixteen and Teen Mom, I still didn't expect such a scandalous thing to arrive like a bag of sickly pink poison on day four of Cecilia's life. But in walked Joe and Aimee [redacted], bag in hand, encouraging Cecilia to do some wicked body shots and runs some tables at Atlantic City. And to think that Aimee teaches second grade? Yes, while we are waiting for Superman to save our schools, the classes are actually being taught by the evil temptress Faora.

PS I have to admit I needed Google to come up with a female villain from Superman. Wow, the comic world is teeming with craziness. Put down the comics, my friends, wash your ink stained hands, and join the rest of humanity living outside of your parents basement. And, Aimee and Joe gave us some awesome girly gifts and a insane apple pie. So, belated thanks after questioning your morality and ethical decision making, and making suggestions that you attempted to endanger the welfare of a child. In fairness, you should have known this was a likely outcome when you agreed to pose for the picture. Now, back to our regular programming.

Captive

Home

We've had a wonderful evening at home. My sister Colleen came to meet Cecilia and we got to pick up Finn from school, which includes a beautiful walk through Lawrenceville's glorious campus. Hosana (my mother in law. it's a long story but yes, I do take credit for authoring this perfect name) made a pot roast and some incredible squash with cranberries from our farm share (self-absorbed bloggers care about the slow food movement, don't you?). The whole house smelled like home cooking, and our rooms were filled with laughter. Finn was so tickled to see his sister in his house. It was one of those moments when you feel like a bit of a blessed impostor for being the father/husband in a scene as pure as this one. The evening ended with Finn inviting Cecilia to her first story time. Here's to hoping there are many more days ahead as full as this one.

The Dunnes are Sprung!

Today we were officially released (i.e. kicked out by the staff with help from insurance companies) from the hospital and free to take our baby home! While we waited for various paperwork to be completed, we did take some "one arm wonder" shots with C-Pyne (her auto tune rap album will be dropping in time for the holidays; she spitz da truth on the mic). It's always a challenge to get my Macy's Day Parade balloon size head in the frame with Molly, so I was presently surprised to find that we were also able to successfully squeeze our seven pounds of pink fury in the frame as well.

Our neighbor Anya works at the hospital, and she stopped by to greet us as we took Cecilia outside for the first time. She also took a classic "new parent" shot of us as we loaded up for Lawrenceville. Yes, folks, Cecilia Pyne's first car ride was in a vintage PT Cruiser, which can be seen crouching like a muscular taupe panther in the left side of the shot. Yeah that's how we roll.

PS- hospitals, more specifically hospital staff and administration, don't appreciate the following areas of humor regardless of the objective quality of said humor:

• baby switching/snatching


• post partum depression jokes


• references to stealing pain medications and/or prescription pads


• hazy paternity record keeping


• being tipped like bell hops


• handing doctors catcher's mitts and telling them to "go get 'em."


• citing anti-uterian bias (i've trademarked that term)


• checking eagleaction during delivery (although, a lull is a lull regardless of the action)

Blooming Flowers

Hello friends. I had a very cool moment with Cecilia today. When I was holding her (Molly was selfishly in the shower leaving me to care for both myself and the baby) I walked near this beautiful flower arrangement the good people from my office sent to the hospital. Cecilia turned towards the flowers and as I brought her closer I saw her "smell the roses" for the first time in her life. Of course, being the reborn blogger that I am, I pulled Molly's phone out of my pocket and snapped a picture. What a wonderful world we live in; I am so excited for Cecilia to discover all the amazing things around her.

For all the cognitive biologists reading the blog, don't ruin this moment by telling me that Cecilia is unable to process smell at this stage of her development. I saw it, and I am practically certain I saw her mouth the words "long stem is a nice touch, but peonies really capture my heart." I'm now off to listen to the song "Butterfly Kisses"...

Eyes Wide Open

The good news is that Cecilia now has her eyes wide open. The bad news is that it is a shade past midnight and she is giving strong signs that she is just getting started. All said, this is pretty amazing!