babydunne

Let There Be Light!

2010-12-23T01:35:00.004-05:00

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!

2010-11-01T00:34:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-11-01T00:01:00.002-04:00

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

2010-10-31T22:49:00.004-04:00

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

2010-10-23T13:57:00.003-04:00

Three grandchildren under one roof. Life is good.

Dorm Dinner

2010-10-23T13:52:00.003-04:00

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

2010-10-21T21:53:00.002-04:00

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!

2010-10-18T23:36:00.003-04:00

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

2010-10-17T22:46:00.001-04:00

Thomas the Train: Railway of Lies

2010-10-16T21:40:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2010-10-16T15:10:00.004-04:00

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

2010-10-16T13:19:00.003-04:00

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

2010-10-14T23:21:00.003-04:00

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

2010-10-14T17:30:00.002-04:00

Home

2010-10-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

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!

2010-10-13T21:56:00.000-04:00

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

2010-10-13T21:46:00.001-04:00

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

2010-10-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

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!

Oh,Brother!

2010-10-12T21:23:00.001-04:00

Finn came by again to say hello to his sister (he met her last night). Pop Pop and Mimi (precious names I know but Finn actually came up with them. He found calling them Mr. and Mrs. Bracken a bit too cold and formal) have been all-star Finn watchers and even worked on Finn's pronunciation of his sister's name. Surprisingly, Finn pronounciation of "Cecilia" sounds more like "Competition." He did give her five minutes of love and then spent the rest of the time encouraging adults to sit on the floor with him. Mind you, we are still in some sort of a delivery room, and as such the adults weren't eager to sit down. Bleach can only do so much.

It was great fun having everyone together, and it was a real treat to hang out with Finny. We also had some fun visitors today from the orange and black army. Kathleen Deignan (my boss) stopped by on her way home. She gave a very impressive genetics lecture about babies and eye color. It involved big Bs and little bs and recessive genes, generation skipping double helix genomes, etc. The end result seemed to be that it is genetically impossible for me to be Cecilia's father (biologically. Again, for tax reasons I will be claiming her as a dependent). It was an awkward conversation to have in front of the Brackens, but then the kicker was that Molly cannot genetically be her father's daughter, so that kind of equalized things. At least that is how I understood KD's lecture. I guess you just can't take the New Jersey out of the girl. And now I have a daughter with a NJ birth certificate, oh brother indeed.

Sleeping Beauty

2010-10-12T16:40:00.000-04:00

I have to hurry here....the hospital is now rationing my access to the internet. Damn you, Obamacare!! I can't tell if this restriction applies to everyone or just me. One of you little sensi-pots out there probably called and complained about my posts. I can't help it if I hit the jackpot and married a woman who births a large-headed baby and then hours later makes sure I have a toasty blanket covering me while I sleep (that, by the way, actually happened. So blame her for my sleep cocoon, you haters).

Here are some pictures of Cecilia; since her initial look around, she has closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the ugliness of this world. Or maybe she hates beige Formica-- there is a lot of that here. Apparently prying open your daughter's eyes for a photo op is "taboo parental behavior" yet they poke and prod her in hope of protecting her against diseases which sound like they were lifted from a Jane Austen novel. Should she really be vaccinated against getting "the vapors"? OK I have to run, Molly's mac and cheese lunch just came in and I am feeling a bit peckish.

Love from cell block 8!

PS what is UP with her feet? They look like hell and she hasn't even walked on them yet. Would it kill her to get some lotion and some pumice stone action on those dogs?

No Need To Worry

2010-10-12T10:54:00.001-04:00

While none have expressed it directly, I can only imagine the concern you have about my comfort here in the hospital. Please rest your weary heads, as I've made due with the little which has been given to me. I've settled in on a nice pull out chair which looks just like those fancy beds featured in British Airways ads for transatlantic flights. I had forgotten after Finn's birth how much I love this cosmopolitan feature.

I do admit that all the nurses, none of whom look like the flight attendants of my mind's eye and lack a lilting British accent, have made it difficult to maintain my mental narrative of my flight to our sheep ranch in New Zealand (you remember the red barn in the meadow from our Christmas card photo last year, right? I was seated on the hood our our vintage Land Rover, and Molly and I were having a good hearted laugh over a glass of Cab from our vineyard).

I did get to sleep through the night, but I do see on the whiteboard references to many night feedings. I do hope those went well. Cecilia seems happy and warm and I will take some pictures today. Molly is being very hospitable to all the nurses and other people coming into our room. She often apologizes for my "nesting" so I think I need to get up and do something around the room; maybe something with the baby.

My phone is dead, so sadly I've not checked email (let the record show that Molly predicted this when I passed on grabbing the charger on our way out the door.) In the interim, please feel free to leave me messages on Eagleaction.com. I post under the name MattRyanholdsmyheartlikeababydove@.

Warm regards to all!

Arrival!

2010-10-11T23:05:00.000-04:00

We are so happy to announce that Cecilia Pyne Dunne joined the outside world at 7:05pm today. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 14 ounces and has quite a full head of black hair. Molly and Cecilia are doing great. I'm pretty sure Cecilia will want to watch the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football once she gets back from her spa treatment with the nurses down the hall. Many thanks to all the well wishers, good thoughts and prayers. We are beyond thrilled.

A note about her names; Cecilia is my grandmother's first name and Molly's grandmother's middle name. It runs in both families and we are happy to keep the tradition going. May our daughter have the spirit of adventure and intelligence of those women who went before her. As for her middle name, Pyne is the name of both the courtyard where Molly and I got engaged and where we held the reception following our wedding. As for the last name, well that just kind of got tagged on as an afterthought. We think it generates tax deduction benefits.

PS- holy gray hair! Is that the dad or the grand dad?! I hope that picture is a optical distortion due to some sort of special UV germ killing lightbulbs they use in the delivery rooms.

Mountain Ranges of Pain

2010-10-11T16:04:00.000-04:00

So if you are going to make an insightful comment drawing a comparison between the contractions graph thing and the Tetons mountain range (a place both Molly and I love by the way. I am sure she caught this subtle reference to a previous vacation early in our relationship), it is best to make that astute observation at a "mountain valley" and not at a "summit."

This post would like to thank our corporate partners Dell Computers for this product placement.

Have to run, apparently I have to make the hot packs. And why do I have insurance? Although the ice cream cart is a nice benefit.

OK one last thought....someone should make Princeton-themed hospital gowns. What better time than to assert your Princeton affiliation than when you are naked and surrounded by doctors? It's just like Reunions.

Ice Chips or Ice Cream?

2010-10-11T15:02:00.000-04:00

Um, hi. Can you keep your contractions-based gasps to a minimum so I can enjoy my ice cream? thanks.

No Need for Worry....

2010-10-11T14:01:00.000-04:00

I was able to get some lunch. Many thanks for your concern. Oh, Molly is still eating ice chips....i think she may have an eating disorder. This is no time for body issues.

Just In Time!

2010-10-11T12:22:00.000-04:00

Talk about last minute Larry....perhaps all this baby was waiting for was a little blog-love. The showdown is GOING DOWN. Feel free to use the "comfort chart" in your daily life. I am about an 8 right now since I've not had lunch. Thanks for asking. We got here around 9:00a.m. and they are predicting a 3ish delivery. I hope it doesnt come during "Days of our Lives" as I hate to have my programs interrupted. Love how Molly is doing last minute cramming for the new baby! At least his/her first view will be put together toes courtesy of Pink Nails, our corporate sponsor.

Finn Hears Footsteps!

2010-10-11T01:18:00.001-04:00

I will admit that I've been a little delinquent. Let's get everyone up to speed. And by everyone, I mean me since most readers expect a blog to be updated more than once a year, and no one can still be reading this blog. So, Finn stopped eating Capt'n Crunch and grew up. He is now an insurance salesman/fantasty role playing gamer living in Fresno, California. Ok, so it hasn't been quite that long, but he has flown once to Omaha, Nebraska and twice to Charlotte, North Carolina. He has had another birthday, moved to Lawrenceville, had multiple swims in the ocean, and gone through numerous cliched little boy obsessions. Wow Finn, you love dinosaurs and trucks? How interesting are you?!

The other big news is that he has a sibling coming literally any minute/day. Molly is past her due date by a few days so we are in the red zone. I tried desparately for a 10/10/10 birth but no luck. Perhaps if Molly had accepted my offer to go horseback riding this morning...

So, in a last minute half-hearted effort to thinly mask over the classic second child syndrome, I plan to add some content and give the new baby a bit of ink s/he can call all his own. So, here are updated photos of Finn. The first is from the pool at Spring Lake this summer, and the second is Finn standing on B.o.B's guitar case at his Princeton concert. Based on that show, Finn really got into dancing to the song "Magic." If i learn how to put video clips up we have great footage of some very serious kitchen dancing. The top picture is a shot of the new baby taking his first push from a threatened older sibling. Enjoy!

O Captain My Cap'n!

2009-11-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

As part of an inside joke during our trip to Boston, Sheherazade was kind enough to buy me a bit of the "forbidden fruit" otherwise known as Cap'n Crunch. Anyone who knows me well also knows this particular cereal played an almost mythic role in my childhood. Our family would go grocery shopping only once a month at the army base BX about 45 minutes from our house. The one "child concession" was a single box of Cap'n Crunch. In an unregulated state, the cereal would cause us kids to get up at 3:30am in order to have bowls of cereal before the competing siblings could scarf it down. Many fights in footsie pajamas followed suit. As a peace-keeping measure, we ended up getting a ration of our share of the cereal in a cleaned-out Country Crock butter tub (this was the early '80s; the recycling involved was revolutionary). My goal was to successfully hide my ration --the crawl space was my go-to spot-- and then roll out weeks later with my Cap'n goodness while my greedy siblings, who had long ago eaten their rations, had to sit silently, glowering into their bowls of Shredded Wheat. Nice. Revenge is a dish served in little yellow squares.

As a kid, my dream of adulthood was a pantry full of Cap'n... Crunch Berries, Original, Peanut Butter, all good. I never factored a Molly-figure putting a ban on this and filling the house with Special K and Cheerios. As luck would have it, Molly left town right after we got home from Boston. So it was just Finn, me, and a box of the good stuff. As the saying goes, "When the cat is away, the mice will play." It is with great paternal pride that Finn's first sugary food was Cap'n Crunch. Let the long glorious road to food addiction begin...

I think I'll go to Boston, where no one knows my name

2009-09-08T00:11:00.000-04:00

After listening to Augustana's "Boston" all summer, we decided to take Finn to our favorite city in America and show him what all the flowery pop magic was about... the song also briefly mentions Spain, but we couldn't financially swing that and Finn doesn't have a passport. We got to catch up with our good friends David and Sheherazade, who headed north after David got his PhD this last fall. Apparently, even PhD recipients still move themselves with milk crates full of dishes and such, and even illegally re-paint their apartments to salvage their security deposits. I guess old grad student habits die hard. Moving into their post-student lives, they now have a beautiful apartment in Cambridge and they were kind enough to invite us for a visit. We had a great time walking around Cambridge, and David gave Finn a lesson about roses and thorns (literally not figuratively). We had a fantastic dinner at the Helmand, an Afghan restaurant not far from their apartment. One side benefit was that none of the staff nor patrons batted an eye at us bringing a baby in for a 9:30 pm dinner... I guess that is how they roll in Afghanistan (or at least Afghan restaurants.)

We also went to the Science Center where the big attraction is a new butterfly habitat. Turns out that Finn really likes butterflies... he likes to crush them in his little fat baby hands. It's a tough blow to humanely capture a butterfly in a Peruvian rain forest, ship it all the way to Boston, await the detainment period in customs (yes, our government detains butterflies to ensure they are not part of a bio-terrorism plot) only to be crushed by a drooling, over zealous infant with a bewilderingly large head. We got Baby Dahmer out of there and checked out the other parts of the center, and Finn loved the exhibits. He equally loved the elevator in the parking garage so I am not sure we should put too much into these early signs of a love for science.

On Sunday we got to visit the Roethkes who live and work at Milton Academy. The place looks far more like a college than a high school... amazing facilities, beautiful historic campus, quaint New England neighborhood. We had brunch and then Finn hung out with Davis and played with some of his music toys. I think the boys bonded and Davis even gave Finn a hug before he took off for Nantucket. We got in the car and headed back to New Jersey, which I think is often called the Nantucket of the mid-Atlantic. Yes, it's that nice here in the Garden State... scrimshaw baskets and turnpike tolls for everyone!

Woody Woo I love you

2009-07-18T01:17:00.000-04:00

Finn had so much fun at the beach his godfather Kevin wanted to take him up to the Woodrow Wilson School fountain. Why a world renowned international relations school has what amounts to the largest baby pool on the east coast is beyond me. A further mystery is why this "baby pool" would have a deadly sharp metal fountain in the middle of it. We lure kids in with nice granite steps down into the shallow water and then lacerate their spleen on our bronze fountain sculpture of knives. It's like the fountain is it's own version of a Venus flytrap. Finn had a great time splashing around and watching the kids (including a middle-age couple making out like teenagers. nice).

Beach Baptism

2009-07-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

One of Molly's main concerns throughout the winter (outside of BC's lack of success in the ACC championship game, I assume -- that is an unspoken worry) has been whether Phineas would like the beach or not. I personally hoped he would simultaneously realize he hated the beach but loved used bookstores, movie theaters, and Friendly's Reeses Pieces sundaes. Sadly, Finn absolutely loves the beach. You will be seeing a lot more postings from here. We go to Spring Lake, an old time Irish beach enclave (try and find a greater oxymoron than that). Molly's cousins live down there and we always have a great time. When Peter Mike isn't grilling his clams, we hit Vic's pizza and Hoffman's Ice Cream. If you ever want to retire early, open a dermatology clinic in Spring Lake... Irish people have absolutely no business being out in the sun.

Party Party Party....Party

2009-07-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

Wow. Is that a lame post title or what? Is that even a song? I think I am singing the other song... got it... the one that goes money money money money... MONEY. That's terrible misappropriation. Better a lame post title than a lame party. Finn went to two great parties. Mrs. Bracken retired from teaching in the Sparta school district so she could attend 175 off-Broadway theater shows and arcane museum visits instead of the 95 she would attend while working full-time. The school district had a lovely party for her at the Lake Mohawk Country Club, replete with tons of skits and a slide show. Mrs. Bracken, always out to prove she was raised as a classy lace-curtain Irish woman, provided the crowd with a champagne toast. The Crons came down from Connecticut as well. You know the Reavey mafia; they will drive 400 miles to see a second cousin's nephew play t-ball... family is thick as thieves. In these times of budget constriction, the school district also recognized another teacher as well. I can't recall his name but I do know he has/had a serious collection of corvettes and a solid decade of mutton chops and other period-specific facial hair. He may have done historical re-enactments. It is amazing what you can learn about a stranger in a five minute power point slide show.

The second party was for Mr. Bracken. He turned 95 this year. We are just hoping he hangs on until he can be featured with Willard Scott on the Today Show. That said, he did look dapper and remarkablely cogent at both events. The whole family came in for the birthday, even Kevin from the OC and Matt and Lisa on the BBQ express from Charlotte. Remember what I said about this family logging the miles for family fun fun. Now that both Brackens are retired, we hope to see an uptick in the cruise industry. They both deserve to reap the rewards in consideration of a lifetime of service to the Garden State. Finn proved to be a capable party accessory at both events. We should rent him out. It's about time he adds to the balance sheet around here...

Finn's first (non free) babysitter

2009-07-05T00:08:00.000-04:00

Well, it was bound to happen, the gravy train of free babysitting from the Brackens and Colleen ran dry one fateful night this past June and we had to break down and actually hire a babysitter. Colleen went as far as to selfishly end her sabbatical and get another finance job in NYC to circumvent our babysitting needs. We did land an A-list babysitter, Emily, whose last name is withheld due to the risk of "babysitter poaching" which venomously happens in these parts of town. If I knew photoshop better I would digitize her face or block her out with shadow.

Emily came over and was all professional, asking for cell numbers, doctor/medical information, Finn's routine, diaper location, etc... I was like whoa, hey, that's what we are paying YOU for. Don't try and ride my parent coat-tails... you are the big-time expert. Actually, I didn't say any of that. Molly directed me to not to speak with her. What bothered me was Finn's reaction. No parental separation for even a nanosecond... he saw Emily and lit right up, all smiles and playful flicks of cheerios in her direction. He started motioning to the iPod sound dock to set the mood right... his little baby mouth struggling to pronounce Barry White. He couldn't wait to get us out of the house so he could spend time with her all by himself. I knew at some point we, more specifically I, would become a liability in Finn's social/love life. But I thought it would happen in fifteen years or so, not at nine months. Finn loved Emily and we are lucky to have her in our arsenal. It was great to leave him with someone you trust; particularly since we were going to the Cotters for dinner and there is always a slight to moderate chance that dinners at their place can lead to a weekend incarceration or an impromptu trip out of the country. No one likes to wake up in Lisbon and remember you have a baby at home, no matter how much fun you had. Look at what happened to those Scottish folks (the McCanns, I think. The wife is the beautiful doctor who looks like Diane Lane... come to think of it, she is like the hot older sister to the attractive American study abroad murderer in Italy... holy international tabloid crime connection!!) in the media when their child turned up missing and they were just across the street! Everyone needs a go-to babysitter. And no, you can't have Emily's number. She is in Lisbon.

Editor's note: OK, I will just go ahead and acknowledge that it is a problem, and this is me speaking as a parent, to glibly refer to people with missing children and dead study abroad roommates. This may be a new low for the blog. I apologize and I am more than a bit ashamed. Sorry to weave these two tales into your baby story, Finn. Still, they (the exchange student is the top pic and the doctor is the last pic) are too attractive to commit any crime. I think that just must be a law-of-nature thing. At any rate, they should be free to walk the earth. Come to think of it, Emily the babysitter looks like another potential sister candidate in this thread I am unraveling here... I think I may have discovered some type of archetype here, Joseph Conrad style. It also says something about someone, most likely me, but also the culture at large, that I can type "study abroad Italy murderer" into Google and they deliver back the glamour shots they know I, and possibly countless others, are looking for without even taking a beat to pretend to struggle with the query. OK, I am stopping here... this cannot be helping us long term with booking Emily in the future.

Crazy Eights!

2009-07-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

On May 11th, 2009, Phineas turned eight months old. The fact that his picture is just getting posted now is a sad testament to the publishing timeline of this blog. The thing is, he just keeps getting older... I am too lazy to dig out the 9 and 10 month pics out of the copious photo archives. Anyway, happy eight months Finn.

Photo note... moments after this picture was taken, Finn ripped the entire center out of the impatiens and held the severed mass above his head with an unnerving glee. It reminded me of that 90's video game Mortal Kombat where you would kill a guy by pulling his head off with the spine attached and quivering... and we are surprised kids bring guns to school nowadays? Lets be thankful most kids get through the school year without their spine being flung about like vermicelli. Finn is like a vegan serial killer around plants... a methodical, lethal force of destruction.

Going Back to the Best Old Place of All....

2009-07-04T16:42:00.000-04:00

Reunions! Phineas' first exposure to the weekend when our town and campus are over run with orange and black and alums from all over the world. We even have various off-year attendees crashing at our house, which Finn absolutely loved since he is a "the more the merrier" type of guy. There is nothing else like Princeton reunions... about 40% of all living Princeton alums (and presumably 100% of the dead ones) come back and enjoy a weekend of free alcohol in courtyards, a self-congratulatory class parade down the middle of campus, dinners, fireworks, and an occasional 70-year old world-renowned cardiologist drunkenly heisting a golf cart and driving nude through campus at 3:00 am (this actually happened a few years back). It's basically Mardi Gras for investment bankers, tax attorneys, consultants, art historians and the like. Classes even bring in great bands for parties each night; I've seen Neil Diamond and Blues Traveler playing the reunion tents. It's all orange and black, all the time.

Finn loved every last minute of it, and skipped his afternoon nap so he could rock out to Lady GaGa at Ivy Club. Is it a bad sign when your seven-month old is clamoring to play drinking games with women in their twenties and thirties?

Surprise! You are going gray for a reason....

2009-06-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

Molly, with the scheming help of numerous people, pulled off an amazing surprise 40th birthday party for me on May 16th. On the day in question, my job was to help my mom trade in her Dodge Astrovan for a more manageable car... one that gets more than ten miles to the gallon and alerts her when she is about to run over the neighbor's mailbox. Turns out that was all a twisted lie. I didn't suspect a thing when the pig roasting delivery guy showed up in our driveway in the morning before we left to car shop. (My mom pointed him to Moore Street saying he was lost. Moore St. is a pig roast type of area so I bought it unequivocally.) I didn't suspect anything when Toni Seaberry happened to be in town babysitting (as all Comcast financial gurus are wont to do) at the Lawrenceville School and wanted to spend an afternoon with my mom and me. I didn't even suspect anything when I came down Linden and saw our driveway full of people... I thought our neighbors were having a family reunion. Then I saw Mr. Bracken's bald head... still not much of a clue as he could be in town for a McCarter show... then I realized I knew just about all the people in the driveway, including those from Pennsylvania, Virgina, DC (taxation without representation! they get listed separately from the Virginia folks due to this movement), Connecticut, North Carolina and NYC. Countless people with whom I owe tons of unopened e-mails, unreturned phone calls, unsent thank you cards, "hey, I got married" notices, etc. I thought it may be a procrastination intervention. Turns out the chalk mural on the driveway told me that it was just for my birthday. Relief. We had an amazing time and I was blown away by all the well-wishers and the spectacle of awesome people packed into our shared driveway and weed-choked backyard. It was our disciplinary dean's children (both well below pre-teen) who were pushing the beer on people like they were fraternity pledge-masters; that is always a sign of a good party. We all enjoyed great food and Molly gave this amazing, heartfelt toast and all I could follow with was some garbled "thank you for coming." Very lame but I was still in shock. It was great catching up with people and seeing people who I love connect and meet each other. It felt like a mini surprise wedding reception, and I was the bride. And I am too pale to wear white. But I managed nonetheless and loved every minute of it.

We followed up with a post-party celebration at The Yankee Doodle Tap Room. I don't recall much other than some broken glassware. On our way home, my sisters, nephew Harrison and niece Moira were hungry so we stopped at the only place in town open at 1:00am, Hoagie Haven. The place was mobbed with students and they didn't miss a beat seeing an eleven year-old girl in line with them... although to be fair they may not have even been able to focus on her or anyone else for that matter. Harrison is the size of a college kid so he stuck out less; he ran into his drunken AAU basketball coach who taught him how to throw an illegal elbow on a rebound a la Karl Malone. Not sure that is in the coaching manual. Moira was perplexed as to why so many kids were eating in the middle of the night (never mind the swaying) and she finally arrived on the theory that they had all been home for the weekend visiting their families and the Haven stays up to feed them after a long day of driving back to campus. What a positive spin on the late Saturday night crowd in Hoagie Haven. I think she has a career in the Development Office awaiting her.

It was a good week before I got around to opening my gifts... for me, parties are about the people and the comraderie man, not about the materialistic/capitalistic trappings, you know what I am saying? I waited a week to let the memories breath pure and free. I received lots of alcohol-themed presents, which I feel speaks to some terrible Irish-American stereotyping that is latent in my peer group. I also got some I-tunes cards which make me feel young and hip, and a particularly amazing gift from Molly where she collected comments and birthday wishes from my friends and former colleagues. It was a very moving and thoughtful gift; I am in real trouble when she turns forty in a few years (OK, more than a few, six to be exact. She is like a trophy wife without the trouble of a first marriage and alimony. I could have babysat her. Creepy.) Also in the pile was an unspeakable gift... to the sick bastard(s) who wrapped up what I am hoping against hope was the leathered, withered tail of the roasted pig, please get yourself some therapy. And to think this happened at a family party. For shame.

In the end, I don't feel forty. But, every morning I confront my eyebrows and they tell a different tale. I've always thought of myself as a very masculine eyebrow equivalent to Brooke Shields, nice shapely thick brows arched with a touch of mirth and mischief. Lately I am getting all Andy Rooney. No more Brooke, even on a good day. It's a bad sign when you see your eyebrows in the morning and the 60 Minutes clock ticks in your mind. Morely Safer's skin is next... I am on the slow arch down. Time marches on...

Mamma Mia Molly

2009-06-21T00:21:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Molly's first Mother's Day in Leesburg, Virginia with Kelley and Tara Dunne and the Dunne clan. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and Finn and I got up early in order to let Molly sleep in. From the porch we watched some deer make their way across the fields in front of their house. Then Finn ate some boxwood and I couldn't remember if they were fatally poisonous or not-- damn, there was a point to the whole Boy Scout thing besides the unnerving too tight flesh colored uniforms with the knee-high socks. Tara is a nurse so I figured I would be covered. When Molly woke up I caught a picture of her giving Finn a kiss in celebration (pictured above. Yes, she has preppy pink pajama pants.) I had changed a few diapers and made bottles by this point in the day. I am just saying something for the record. It was Mother's Day but Finn still was doing his business.

We later went for a walk through the golf course area and took a ton of pictures. Finn loved holding center court with all the cousins and I think he felt he was finally getting the attention he deserved. All his cousins played a version of "Simon says" mimicking his every move. I think Mussolini and Stalin's siblings played the same game with them, so we will see where this ego-enhancing exercise takes Phineas. Tough name for a dictator, Phineas. A little too artsy to really bring domination/pillaging wider than a district level. Wow, how did infamous 20th century genocidal dictators work their way into this story? Let's get back to Mother's Day. It was fantastic to celebrate such a milestone with Molly as she is an amazing mother. She even mothers me (lucky lucky). Finn is truly blessed to have someone like Molly looking after him and giving him unconditional love through all his adventures big and small. And, as a bonus, my mom was visiting so I got to hang out with her as well. Lots of family, motherhood, sunshine, & BBQ. It was a great Hallmark After School Special moment. No complaints.

Katie's Big Day

2009-06-20T02:11:00.000-04:00

Katie was next in line in the great Virginia Dunne/LeMay annual parade of first communions. Katie joined cousins Harrison, Patrick, Delaney, Moira, and Kylie as bread winners. It was particularly moving and special because one of Katie's closest friends passed away while preparing for communion. The ceremony was bittersweet because they were all missing their friend. who had fought such a long hard fight against a terrible disease. The daughter's mother attended to support the girls and wish them well; it was a beautiful gesture which spoke volumes about the character of the family to the importance of the sacrament. I can only hope I would be as gracious, loving, and poised as the mother I met at the church and the party following. It meant the world to Katie and the other girls to have their friend's mother with them on this big next step in their lives.

After the communion, we had a big party back at the LeMay house, one of Finn's favorite spots in the whole world. The cousins line up like planes at Newark airport waiting to hold him or play with him... finally all the attention he feels he deserves! The Grandmas were there, tons of neighbors and close friends, and a surprise visit from one of my closest friends Karin Weidemann of Urban Yoga (please patronize to get centered). She is also a certified life coach, which may explain why she is holding a Captain Underpants novella in her picture... perhaps that series lays out a blueprint for happiness and fulfilled relationships with others. Let us all go out into this brave new world in our tightie-whities. I don't know exactly how to spell tightie-whities, which I actually find reassuring. The house was crazy the whole time, but at least we all come by it honestly. I think the genetic well-spring for all of this comes from nonother than Grandma Jer Bear Dunne. What other 76 year-old sees some crazy split-pedaled scooter thing and hops on and goes around the block?

Preview in Paradise

2009-05-10T11:13:00.000-04:00

,On April 1st (yeah, the blog is THAT out of date. Sue me.) Princeton and a bunch of other schools sent out their admission letters. I find it an ironic choice for PU to send out 2,ooo odd admit letters and more importantly 20,000 rejection letters on April Fool's Day. Then the tide turns and the students who have a bunch of great choices for college are in the catbird's seat. All the schools host admit weekends to encourage students to pick their school... at Princeton these weekends are called Princeton Preview. Basically, the whole campus is having parties to convince admitted but not yet matriculated freshmen that everyone at Princeton is cooler, smarter, and more empathetic than the next gothic academic wonderland. Since Molly and the admission office is all hands on deck, and since our office is involved in tons of events, we dragged Finn off and pretended like he was the newest iteration of Doogie Howser and we were picking a college for a six month old. We liked to say to other parents..."Really? It took your child 17 years to prepare for Princeton? Ours did it in five months. And he is going into a PhD program." I think PU should get ahead of the wave and host embryonic weekends... or double-helix DNA hosting weekends. Why wait?

That aside, Finn loved the chaos and spit up on himself multiple times. Just like a regular student. His favorite event was the Black Student Union block party... Finn is in a hip-hop phase. There we met two of my favorite students... Alex Barnard (with mohawk) and Connor Diemand Yauman (student body president and more importantly faithful native Ohioan). We also have a picture with Auntie Toni Seaberry, an all star alum panelist. She is still upset we didn't accept her name choice of Jabarion Dunne... it was tempting but I had been holding onto Phineas as a name since I was 12. Next kid... she has LaDonna (her middle name) picked out for a girl. Cornel West showed up and started dancing with the students... we told the prefrosh that always happens and that is how Toni Morrison injured her hip. We also went to the Asian Night Market which is a huge event. No one thought it odd that we had a baby in the market at 10pm. I have to move east! Finn also took a picture with some awesome alumni panelists who came back to drop some knowledge on the prefrosh and their question-asking parents.

The day it ended Molly flew to Naples, Florida for Jen O'Neill's bachelorette party. Apparently guys and babies are a bit of a drag on the party plans so we were left to fend for ourselves. In response, Finn rocked a new ride and we made more rides up for Hoagie Haven contraband than I care to admit. Molly should go away more often. Damn, #14 cheese steak with lettuce, lots of pickles, hot peppers, salt and pepper. Happiness in a paper bag.

Here Comes Finny Cotton tail....

2009-04-26T15:01:00.001-04:00

Hopping down the bunny trail. And by bunny trail we mean I-95 South to the LeMay's in Washington D.C. We had a quick trip down at the last minute, which turned out great because we saw all the Dunnes and also got a bonus visit from Matt B. and Lisa...they drove Jerbear up from North Carolina and stayed over one night. Kelley and Tara came down the next day to completely fill the house with sugar addled kids. In response, we handed out more chocolate. We also went to a BBQ celebration at John and Monica's (they are good friends of the LeMays). John became a Catholic over Easter weekend (congrats, John!). Molly and I didn't attend John's Mass because we needed to babysit the younger kids...and we thought watching one was hard. It was like a triage unit.

The next day we went to Mass and just made it inside the door...it was crazy. It was like seeing Easter Mass in Penn Station...people pushing and shoving, talking in a dozen different languages, we even had one woman faint and be carried out. Finn found his Easter basket and enjoyed (sort of) a peep. He was more interested in the grass than the candy...I am starting to wonder if he is actually my son. The good news is that even though Finn only eats bottles we got enough candy to feed a couple of teenagers -- and it all gets added to Dad's basket. Thanks, Finn. We also did an egg hunt out on the front yard and had some great meals. All around a great trip and an awesome time hanging out with family. Heck, we even Skyped with Godfather Kevin and Uncle Joe Cron out in California. It was fun to get together with everyone and we look forward to the next get together.

March Madness

2009-03-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

Slowly but surely, Phineas has recovered from the profound disappointment of BC's first round loss to the University of Spoiled Children (USC Trojans). There was a night of tears, followed by the begrudging admittance that the Big Least conference is having a very good tournament. We did love the Villanova game. The only thing that interrupted our non stop parade of basketball awesomeness was hosting some great visitors this weekend.

First, Hosana and Grandpa Bracken stopped by on their way to see Twelfth Night at the McCarter theater. They got to have a pre dinner meal with Finn before heading out to see what is supposed to be a fantastic, hipster staging of the Shakespeare classic.

On Sunday, Bill and Wendy drove down from central New York to kick off a week in the city. We had a great visit with them and walked to Shanghai Park to get some pork and crab meat soup dumplings...love those. We were pleased to provide Bill with the first Guinness of his vacation. Wendy does a really cool "Photo of the Day" blog and although I tried to compete with some "artistic" shots of our lunch, she says she is going with a shot of Finn to represent the day. Check out her blog at:

http://wide-angle-lens.blogspot.com/

She has some really fantastic photos on her site. I am also put to shame by her ability to successfully do a post a day on her blog. That said, I am getting better. Baby steps, baby steps....

Bananas for Bananas

2009-03-24T23:53:00.000-04:00

Finn took the plunge and moved up the food pyramid from a bottle diet to solid food. That is if you consider pureed bananas solid food. Since it did involve a spoon and a bowl we will give him the benefit of the doubt. It took some selling; he was definitely against the rice cereal - so much so that he became ninja-like in his spoon swatting abilities. After a few failed attempts with the rice mix, we gave the bananas a try. We really had to sell it and I ended up eating some puree as a "role model." I have to say I now understand his reticence... it was nasty. After some animated chewing and talking up how tasty it was, Finn decided he would follow my lead and take spoonfuls from Mom. He ended up having a blast. I hope to be planning our first trip to Hoagie Haven by the end of the week. Who doesn't want a cheese steak? He needs the protein, I think.

Beannachtai Na Feile Padraig

2009-03-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone. This is a big, big day in the Dunne household. As 100% Irish Americans, we are proud to embrace our quarter and half blood brothers and sisters. We also begrudgingly embrace our brothers and sisters who use this day as an excuse to drink excessively during a weekday. Thanks for promoting Irish stereotypes. Finn was pleased to sport Irish-themed gifts from Aunts Colleen and Anne. Perhaps people aren't aware that Phineas Robert Dunne is Irish... this should clarify things. Molly even made little gift loaves of Irish soda bread and I am tapped to make corned beef and cabbage for dinner for Molly, Colleen and Harrison. Somehow, it sounded like fun when I was in the grocery store last night... now I want to figure out how to microwave the whole thing and call it a day.

Also, this would have been my dad's 80th birthday. So, happy birthday to Robert V. Dunne and I am thinking you would have made an outstanding 80 year old. In recognition of this special day we include a picture of the birthday boy Bob on the happiest day of his life (not sure why they were taking wedding pictures in what appears to be a public bathroom) and a picture of Jer Bear kissing the family stone... very appropriate.

Lastly, Molly and I got engaged on this day... that fateful night in East Pyne courtyard. So, happy engagement day to us. Let this be a lesson to all the ladies out there... you can pay a lifetime for quick decisions; don't get distracted with the shiny little sparkly things... nothing in life is free.

Tempus Fugit

2009-03-11T23:52:00.001-04:00

The Finn-man is officially 6 months old. We can't believe how he has grown and how quickly he has broken us down and dominated our household. We celebrated with a walk into town to get a cupcake at the Bent Spoon, one of our favorite spots. Man, for a little guy who has never swallowed solid food, he really smashes the living hell out of a cupcake. Our boy is ready for some solids!

(Ok, I am stopping here. Molly says if I don't try and write a self-indulgent novella for each post, I may update this more than once every two months.)

Please sir, may I have some more?

2009-02-15T23:54:00.000-05:00

Editor's note: This is one of those tropes where the kid is the supposed author of the note. It most often appears in thank you notes and Christmas letters. It is insipid but I am using it nonetheless. Also, the title of the post must be read in an English cockney accent in homage to Oliver Twist.

The first picture is of me desperate to move up the food chain, literally. Can a brother get a grain of rice? Come on folks, I am ready for the solids. What do I have to do, send a message via semaphore flags? I sit there and watch them eat right in front of me. I would be happy for their stir-fry leftovers but there is not even a look in my direction. I've taken matters into my own hands and grab for the dishes myself, which is no easy task when your equilibrium is very shaky and your head contains approximately 40% of your body weight. Although, from the looks of dad, this may be a lifelong cross to bear. Also, please enlarge the first picture and notice the chip in the bowl on the side opposite from me. Don't tell me I life with people too cheap to throw out Crate and Barrel outlet dishes when they get damaged? These cheap bastards will probably be buying me lead-tainted toys at garage sales. I need to proceed with caution on the chewing front.

And do I have to go out in every snow storm we have? It's winter in New Jersey. It snows. I am a baby and snow is new to me. Got it. You know what, snow is also cold, and that became not new after the first foray. So how about taking the extra FIFTEEN freaking seconds and zipping up my coat before we play winter wonderland in your crappy little weed choked back yard? Can someone phone DYFS? That is bare skin you see on my legs. And can someone tie my pants before everyone goes Annie Liebowitz on me? For crying out loud is a little dignity too much to ask?

Happy New Year! 2008 was great; 2009 will be fine.

2009-02-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

It's good to know I could always find work as a cheesy graduation year slogan writer. Or, maybe I just got lucky with '08 and '09. I can't come up with something for '10. It's raining men in 2010? Catchy with a built-in theme song but ultimately a bit limiting in audience scope.

As for our New Year's plan, we went to NYC. Yeah baby, watched the ball drop. By NYC we mean the NYC metropolitan area (Sparta) and watched the ball drop with Anderson Cooper on TV. There may have been a BC football game around that time but for some reason it is blacked out in my memory... I have just vague recollections of great sadness. When the clock struck midnight, I documented the big moment by photographing Grandpa Bracken and Finn at the magic minute. I did learn that Finn can't sleep through a camera flash, but Grandpa can do so without skipping a beat. We have to start adding Jameson's to Finn's bottle I guess.

Molly and I did have a great day in the city (without Finn. Is it bad to admit that?) which was great fun. We met up with our favorite scientists Beth and Igor Teper (Beth is a boa/love scientist and Igor nearly freezes rabidium. For real. Look it up.) They were in town from Palo Alto visiting family. I don't have the pictures yet so I will have to upload them later. Igor is the absolute champ at the one arm photo... if they gave doctorates in this skill, Igor would be a Nobel Laureate by now. One take away from our lunch date with the Tepers... the world is running out of helium. That, and the government funds rabidium-freezing research without a clear application or end result. If you want results, and you are a lady looking to get an MRS degree with a physics Ph. D, talk to Beth as she is very results driven. She is the Feynman of all things romance and has many happy clients attesting to her mastery of the laws of attraction. I would add some clever double entendre with a physics formula on molecular bonding, but I went to a Catholic high school so I don't know anything about science other than transubstantiation is totally true.

Over the hills and through the woods....

2009-02-13T00:54:00.000-05:00

to grandmother's house we go. For those readers who have never been to Lake Mohawk, NJ, this couldn't be more fitting. Lots of hills, trees, bears, deer, Swiss chalet style houses all clustered around a lake and little town channeling "Dirty Dancing." Nobody puts Baby Finn in the Corner!" The Bracken/Reavey family Christmas is very Norman Rockwell...people driving in from Connecticut with turkeys on platters, yule logs, Christmas themed broach pins, Irish guys with faces reddened by far too many bourbon shots. Santa stops by every year and hands out presents to the family. I learned the hard way that Santa has nothing but a bag full of gift wrapped hate until you formally marry into the family...not even an engagement ring gets you gift eligible..you got to have the paper. This year was extra special as the Brackens had party following a few days later to celebrate Matt and Lisa's engagement and introduce Finn to the neighbors. I'd love to pepper this post with witty anecdotes from the party, but who am I kidding? This was like two months ago. I can barely recognize the people in the photos. Damn this blog and it's horizontal narrative stream.

Picture Key:

1. Finn and the grandparents during the open house party

2. Finn mildly worried about the lack of infant appropriate gift options. Damn you Santa.

3. Finn and Grandpa Bracken.

4. The McDavits, Hosana, Lisa and Matt of the BBQ express.

5. Amazing party spread before the hordes.

6. Hour three of gift opening and Finn finally gets a toy he can relate to.

7. Finn hanging with cousin Kyle, one of New Hampshire's finest.

8. Colleen and Grandma Dunne.

9. Molly with Grandpa and Matt. I think the boys have shot glasses at the ready.

10. Cousins Dr. Jimmy Lai and Eileen Bull.

11. Serafina hearing Santa in the yard. Fire IT UP!

12. Uncle Joe Cron, Aunt Anne Bull, who tarts it up by washing dishes without her shirt. Williamsburg is a dirty town I guess. She moved south and changed. Grandma Dunne and Kevin Bracken round it out.

Jesus is the reason for this retail season....

2009-01-01T11:58:00.000-05:00

Phineas celebrated Christmas Eve at home. Colleen and Harrison joined us for Christmas Eve Mass...Grandma JerBear scored us good seats up front and Finn liked that everything was all focused on a baby. That is the way it should be in his opinion. He was cry-free so we kept our streak alive of not having to storm out of a place. He did require a public changing which was a first for dad...what is the protocol for diapers? There aren't Diaper Dekors around town...can you just throw one in? It feels sketchy so I always do it quickly on the sly.

After Mass we had an awesome dinner...a recipe Molly got from Ron Jannos. It was a casserole type thing with sweet Italian sausage, yellow peppers, and rigatoni. Very good. Harrison gave a beautiful toast. We opened some presents and Colleen brought many of us into the 21st century with some webcams so we are looking forward to seeing some of you on-line. We also may try to find a Russian mail-order bride/nanny. We need to see what is out there first. Harrison got basketball shoes that are size 14...they look like boats. Unbelievable. We did some product placement and got him a BC basketball jersey to go with those giant shoes.

The next morning Molly, Phineas and I got up to see Santa's handiwork. Ever wonder the depths of Molly's preppiness? Yes, that is pink and green Christmas paper. Last year I told her I bought special paper from Lily Pulitzer when it was actually from the Target clearance rack. I got a new IPOD, thus allowing me to retire my 2003 model. The students seriously act like I pulled out a Betamax tape deck when they see it...many say "Ive never seen an early IPOD in person" like I have a museum piece. So, now I am cutting edge with 120GB of something. The Santa picture was a surprise gift for Molly and the grandparents. After Christmas morning, we headed up to the NJ mountains of Lake Mohawk to see family. All told, a great start to a first Christmas.

Picture Key:

1. The family by the tree. Finn is overjoyed that his face isn't is shiny as his dad's. Some foundation is in order...perhaps a stocking stuffer?

2. Finn enjoying the pre-Mass festivities at St. Paul's. Manger scene in the background.

3. Finn and Santa. I have some great shots of Finn wondering why a stranger wearing red velvet clothes is holding him. Finn also found the Anthropologie store in his sight line distracting.

4. chatting on the couch with Grandma Dunne. Man can those two talk up a storm.

5. Grandma and Finn. He does a major spit up right after this pic, thus requiring outfit #2.

6. Harrison and Finn, oldest and youngest Dunne cousins. Harrison, that BC jersey looks good!

7. Harrison and Colleen mid-gift opening bonanza.

8. Molly and Finn seeing Santa's handiwork. Molly foolishly did not anticipate obsessive documentation by dad.

9. Finn doing a jaunty-hat Bing Crosby impersonation.

10. Finn opening gifts with Mom.

11.Finn likes paper better than his gifts.

12. Finn likes ribbon better than paper.

13. Flying Finn doing some yoga with Mom.

He who is without sin cast the first scone....

2008-12-31T21:53:00.000-05:00

Ok, as I am writing this, Mr. Bracken is watching The Exorcist, the one with that crazy little pre-teen girl...the revolving head, projectile vomiting, the works. Can I write a blog update recording Finn's baptism under these conditions? That said, I do have to admit the townhouse in Georgetown is sweet, but having Satan as your child is a high price to pay...crown molding and full south facing windows be damned (although the huge kitchen did give me pause. How much trouble could a satan-child be...maybe boarding school?)

So, Father Tom (FT) was gracious enough to baptize Finn at the Aquinas House under a full crowd of family, friends, and other older Mass-goers unexpectedly trapped into our family event (don't think I didn't see their eye-rolling when they walked into Aquinas and saw the baptismal bowl.) Once again, FT hit it out of the park and did an amazing job ridding Finn of that pesky original sin. We think it may have been what was keeping him from sleeping through the night, so we are very much looking forward to a sin-free baby in our home. A couple of observations...I had to block out the thoughts about Kevin and Hope's raucous wedding reception taking place in the very room where our little Finn was doing the eternal sign up with the church. Let's just say MTV would have been pleased with footage from the Cotter wedding, so I had to subvert those images on our holy day. Second, Finn was dressed like an extra from that Harrison Ford movie "Witness". That said, he looks cute in a bonnet - even if it can only cover 60% of his massive Irish cranium. He was alert and didn't cry once - which was fantastic. Godparents Anne LeMay and Kevin Bracken were properly reverent as spiritual stewards, and FT even got Shane LeMay and Katie LeMay involved in the baptism ceremony (Bridget LeMay appointed herself godmother runner-up in the event her mother could not execute her duties in the event she is befallen by a Vanessa Williams-type scandal.)

After the baptism, we gathered back at our house and had quite a little reception organized by the Reavey women catering service. Food came in from North Jersey, Connecticut, and Virginia. We had a great time hosting everyone and Father Tom blessed each room of our house with holy water, and took special requests from some parents to get extra holy water sprinkled on the more "spirited Linda Blair" like kids. There was some sizzling holy water but no head spins. The Bulls surprised us on their way back from a family event in the Poconos, and Anna Reid, the baby belle of Georgia, stopped by to chat with Finn. Thankfully, Finn has closed in on Anna Reid in the size category...you can't have your girl cousin dominating you all through your childhood.

So, the final word is that Phineas Robert is now a proud member of the Roman Catholic church and is currently sin-free. We will see how that goes. We had a great time with family and friends and we feel lucky to have so many great role models in our life, starting with Finn's godmother and godfather.

Picture Key

1. Finn, Molly and I with Father Tom at Aquinas House, Princeton University

2. Scott LeMay's artsy photo of the baptismal bowl. Simon Pearce...very nice.

3. Finn rocking his Amish outfit with godmother Anne bestowing blessings. Bridget lurking...

4. The money shot. Nice work Scott.

5. All of us with godparents Kevin Bracken and Anne LeMay. Assisted by Shane & Bridget LeMay.

6. Finn experiencing the rapture as Father Tom drops knowledge. Grandparents Bracken look on.

7. Babies Finn and Anna Reid get re-acquainted under the Christmas tree.

8. Godfather Kevin with the NC BBQ express Lisa Benfield and Matt Bracken. Uncle Jerry lurking.

9. The Crons say goodbye to Harrison, Finn, and "Hosanna" Bracken as they leave for Conn.

10. Shane LeMay and Finn rocking the matching fire truck sweaters. They both love frogs.

11. Godmother Anne Dunne LeMay and event photographer Colonel Scott LeMay.

12. Anne, Scott, Tom, Colleen. Midwest represent!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow....

2008-12-26T13:46:00.001-05:00

We recently had some snow here in NJ, and when the chemical plants that dot the state are covered in a beautiful ecru blanket, it just all looks like a scene from Norman Rockwell's "Industrial American Dream" series. Princeton grads will be pleased to know that Finn was naked when the first flakes of the season came down (his only departure from the Nude Olympics was that he was sober and on a changing table rather than less than sober and in Holder Courtyard.)

Finn seems to like the snow, and when it began to really accumulate we got out the shovel and put him to work. One of the main reasons for my wanting a son is so I can offload some of the more strenuous/mundane jobs both inside and outside the house. I put him on the walk and he just laid there on the ice crying like a little, well, like a baby. He needs to learn that all his little cute stuffed animals and countless bottles aren't free...everyone in this house needs to contribute.

We once again drove up to the Brackens to cut down our Christmas tree. Colleen and Harrison joined us as we looked for the perfect tree at the Korean monastery/tree farm near the Bracken's house in Sussex County. Nothing says Christmas to us like a Korean monk parking attendant in a Santa suit eating kimchi and handing out candy canes. The place is the best. I do want to proudly note that this year's Rockefeller Center tree did come from nearby Hamilton, NJ, so we know our trees. We closed the weekend with our Christmas cookie making bonanza. Molly runs a tight assembly line. We crank out an army of snowmen like mad dictators. Not to be competitive during the holiday season, but my hats look like perfectly formed fedoras, and Molly's brown smudge at the top of the cookie often looks at best like a bullfighter's hat and at worst a mop of brown, unwashed hair. Her snowmen looked like they have been sleeping in alleys somewhere, all disheveled and beady-eyed, carrot all askew from a night (or more) of hard partying. Keeping with the theme, I watched "Frosty the Snowman" with Finn, which was his first Christmas TV special. Man, that animation is terrible....like Pixar for first graders. And the kids and their stupid, cloying holiday optimism. The character development is totally two dimensional--literally and figuratively. I cheered when Frosty melted in that dang greenhouse but it just kept going and going....kind of like my posts.

contemplating fatherhood

2008-12-16T23:45:00.000-05:00

Blog resuscitation

2008-12-16T23:35:00.000-05:00

I am here to address a couple of things. The first, obviously, is my complete abandonment of the blog. In my defense, it is better to abandon my blog than abandon my baby. I have even suffered a few "carefrontations" from alleged readers. CAREfrontation is residence life lingo for situations when you "care" enough about the person to confront him/her about their failings. All this is done in a non judgmental and relativist manner. Usually parents and/or the corporate industrial complex are blamed. In response, I promise (mostly to myself because as I have recently learned by watching the Tyra Banks show, self love is the cornerstone to fulfillment and personal responsibility) that there will be a flurry of posts in the next few days. Please ignore the dates not matching the postings (no, we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving in mid December.) Also, if you have a shopping addiction, Tyra is looking for guests on her show. Call them; she cares and will get you the help you need...and a make-over if you play your cards right.

The second issue I need to address is my "conflation" of events involving two separate visitors. Molly dutifully pointed out that in my last posting that I combined some of the details from Jen and Tom's visit with the details from Julie and James' visit. It turns out that I confused a visit where we hosted two small children and went on a tiger hunt (Julie and James) with a visit where we loaded down the pram with alcohol and hoagies (Tom and Jen, NYC slicksters, pictured above). Honest mistake, and one I am sure is made often. If any patients in Connecticut now worry their doctors are alcoholics with bad parenting and worse dietary habits, rest assured that it was wholesome family fun for the Connecticut folks...there was even a volvo wagon involved. That said, please note I can only confirm that their time in New Jersey was alcohol and hoagie free; I cannot speak to their conduct in the privacy of their own home in Guilford. For all I know they feed little Nola Magic Hat beers and cheesesteaks around the clock. I don't know- I am not there. Perhaps there are telling signs. I'm just saying...two doctor parents, perfect kids and a perfect little house by the town green. It just screams skeletons in the closet, you know? But NJ was dry and steak-um free.

As for Jen and Tom, we were just relieved they didn't get Finn hooked on any of that crystal meth which is all the rage with the city folks up there in the concrete jungle. If you enlarge the picture you can see Finn giving a blank stare constructed with a perfect mix of profound paternal disappointment and crushing boredom. I am sure he wanted to take the train back to the city and really live, you know? Feel the pulse of the great metropolis. Jen and Molly look like secret sorority sisters as they have taken some version of this photo (the girl-besties arm in arm picture) a thousand times in countless dorm rooms around a beer die table in snowed in Colby College. Tom looks justifiably creeped out that some guy (namely me) just said "wait, we need a picture for my blog"...if he knew how to call a cab in the burbs I am certain he would have foregone my offer of a ride to the station.

Connecticonnection

2008-11-18T00:49:00.000-05:00

Ok the posts are backlogged again. Damn you demanding baby...the thing is he is always there. Would it kill him to make a friend and go out for a movie or a sleep over? Maybe his social life would pick up a bit if he stopped spitting up on his clothes and/or stopped going the bathroom in his pants.

The pictures above are from a recent visit from our favorite Liebermaniacs, the doctors Cron-Lai (not to be confused with my high school friend Khan Thai, who incidentally is also a doctor). They came rolling from the Nutmeg north like bats out of hell and we had an awesome time touring PTON. It was a beautiful fall day and went on a tiger hunt on campus, got hoagies from the Haven (yes, I wept tears of joy that this dinner plan got green-lighted), and then completely loaded down the Blue Thunda with beer and wine (pictured above). A stroller loaded down with booze, that is how they roll in Connecticut. We had a blast hanging out while 6 year old Hayden babysat his younger sister Nola and Finn. James and I launched his next career trajectory as an on air medical expert....see the enclosed video and tell me that the camera doesn't LOVE this guy. We will have him in the NY or Philly market in the next three years. Any readers from William Morris, call my people and we can set up a lunch at Jean Georges....let's bang out a deal over the seven course tasting menu. Done and done.

blog confession: I was waiting for the Crons and Molly to come out of the liquor store (you all know how hard it is to get Molly out of a liquor store once she gets going) and decided to take a picture of Finn under the liquor banner with my phone. I then stood on a waist high wall to get the shot of Finn and the sign in the frame. Noticing that a guy had come up behind me (we were right by the door) and saw me taking the picture, I sheepishly told him "It's for my blog." He looked at the baby, the alcohol sign, shook his head in disgust and went in the store. Shameful. I am pleased to report that the cheesesteak photos were taken moments later without incident.

YES WE CAN!

2008-11-04T12:16:00.000-05:00

Big election day for the Dunne family...Phineas' first presidential election. I know this has been a hotly contested election, but I never expected the two candidates to stop by this morning to give an in-person plug for our votes (see photos above). And to think New Jersey isn't even a swing state! Obama took a look at the condition of the outside of our house and yard and said we qualify for an even bigger tax cut, so good news for us on Nov. 5th! When Sen. McCain came by, Finn started to cry, but we were thrilled to hear him utter his first words "No corporate welfare for multi-national corporations like Exxon Mobil." Wow, that was a mouthful and more than a little surprising. And a part of my heart broke when his first words didn't include "dad" or "Boston College."

The weather was amazing here today so we walked up to the polls as a little happy family. Finn was wearing his "Babies for Obama" onesie given to him by Carol the democratic zealot in the admission office, and we were happy to support the team. On our way up the hill (it may not be a hill exactly but I am so out of shape it definitely feels like one) we ran into the babysitter who rejected a pre-born Finn from her daycare spot. She waved us over from across the street, and Molly hissed to me "What if the babysitter is not a democrat?" Thinking that I didn't have enough time to rip off the onesie, I mummified Finn in his blanket. Hey, I am all about Obama's message of HOPE as much as the next guy, but we are talking childcare people...nothing is out of bounds. I would steal Obama's kidney (before he had secret service detail) to get a spot in this woman's daycare operation. It is located about five houses up from ours...the kids look so dang happy...and did I mention it is five houses up from ours? We do need to balance the needs of our young child with the needs of our aging PT Cruiser (for the love of God give us two more years of no car payments). Luckily, she is a big democrat (in Princeton, imagine that) and got a kick out of the Obama onesie. I am going to do a reverse smear campaign on some of the other kids in the class...just throw a Bush/Cheney '04 sticker on their cars when they are dropping off one of their lucky spot-hogging brats. Let's see if that doesn't loosen up the roster of her daycare a bit.

We finally got to the fire house and cast our ballots. Molly still is under Bracken...she just loves having an out clause. I am going to order Sleeping with the Enemy on netflix just to send a subtle message. (Wow, domestic violence jokes...a new low for the blog.) She got to take Finn into the voting booth (pictured above) so he could officially say he voted in this historic election. When she finished there was a raft of "check the age on that voter" jokes. Ha ha ha. Man, volunteer election sites are funny places. To be fair, we did vote in what appeared to be a bar attached to the fire house. Should we encourage volunteer fire fighters to drink on duty? When Molly answered that Finn was two months old, the young volunteer exclaimed, "Two months, you look FANTASTIC." Ok, buddy, that's my wife and I am standing right here...now I see why Molly likes to keep her "Bracken" name; it's like she is marlin fishing down in the Keys. I am gonna get on this name change issue.

So, our work is done and now we wait. We have a big election returns party on campus tonight. Remember, we are not a red country. Nor a blue country. We are a Dancing with the Stars country. And a professional wrestling country. And super-size fries country. Let our greed, naked self-interest, and xenophobia unite us once again as the greatest exporter of slasher movies, t-shirts with crude double entendre "johnson" jokes, and over-priced jeans and basketball shoes. Let us bring hi-def t.v. and processed junk food with Disney movie tie-ins to the masses across the world.

Cue Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" and fade to a long shot of the golden wheat fields of Kansas, followed by a shot of a sunset with the Santa Monica pier in silhouette (this terribly cheesy image was flashing behind the speakers at the Republican hate fest in Minnesota.) Good night America and thank you for voting -- just so you could get a free cup of Starbucks coffee.

Socialism abounds! Free candy for the masses!

2008-11-01T01:14:00.000-04:00

Today was Phineas' first Halloween. My day started by finding my colleague Tori dressed up as Tom Dunne (pictured above), replete with a baby Finn, a loosened collar and an electronic razor. She even went as far as to buy a wig...but for some reason she bought one with a lot of gray rather than the warm chestnut glow of my glorious mane. Not sure where she was going with that...the one she bought must have been on sale. Phineas came up to West College later in the day and he got to hang out with some of the folks in Molly's office and mine. He was sporting a great Boo! hat given by Dianne (hat shown in the picture with my boss Kathleen Deignan...is there a law against using your child to suck up to your boss?) and also wore assorted Halloween bibs, socks, onesies, etc. So lots of orange and black which fits in very well. We walked to Colleen and Harrison's for our first official trick or treat experience, and got a great Halloween bag for Finn's candy...I look forward to Finn filling it for years to come. I swear I am going to make him go to 50+ houses...go get daddy some candy! Our friends Kevin and Hope stopped by in costume (pirate for Kevin and "harried hedge fund employee just of a train" costume for Hope) and we passed out some candy. Our last trick-or-treater was a solo woman solidly into her 30s trick or treating by herself...she kept asking Kevin if they went to high school together. Hey, I can't blame her, she is out there networking, meeting the neighbors, mining dating prospects and washing it all down with free Almond Joys. But, our rule is when the adults without children start coming to the door it is time to snuff the candles in the pumpkins and shut it down. We hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that the second picture is of Finn's costume....a dinosaur or dragon. The good news is that Phineas is in a major growth binge...the bad news is that he got too big for the halloween costume we bought about a week ago...so, we put it on one of Finn's bears. Dang, would have been cute.

Blog Contest: Name the New Chariot

2008-11-01T00:32:00.000-04:00

The blog is running our first contest! As many of you know, Phineas is fond of rolling through town in "The Blue Thunder" our navy blue pram. Molly, our in house Craigslist wizard, found this red jogging stroller, which I believe is the 37th motion/carrier related item we had to buy for Finn. In this case, Molly kept circling back to the "jogging" feature of this stroller, as in "wouldn't it be fun to take Finn jogging?" Gee, Molly, I don't know how hard it is to find a babysitter willing to jog the baby. I did go online to find at attachment which would allow me to hook (safely of course, which reflector lights and everything) the stroller to the PT Cruiser. That I wouldn't mind and I think Finn would enjoy the fresh air.

So, on to the contest. We have been enjoying the red stroller thing but it is a bit lame to hear Molly say, "no, not Blue Thunder, the red stroller." Anti-climatic...just sets you off on a sucky walk. So, post a name for the new stroller (pictured above) and/or vote for the name you like the best. The winning name will not only get the naming rights to the hot new wheels, but I will also send out Phineas' first play list with 37 solid songs. I look forward to your suggestions!

Happy Anniversary Finn

2008-10-28T00:57:00.001-04:00

Finn is a month old (if the self serving picture didn't already give it away). When his hands aren't swaddled in blankets or ensconced in little girly mitts with lace trim, he taught himself to write and made this sign himself. His first one said "Save Me" but Molly and I thought it a bit Evangelical so I tore it up. This time he followed directions....his printing is pretty good but the baby down the street is writing in cursive so he has to put down the Wii and hit the primer books. In the second picture with the pacifier (can we call it a mouth Gandhi? No, that is offensive. Other famous pacifists? Jesus-- uh, also totally not appropriate. Jimmy Carter...a mouth Jimmy or a mouth Carter? Not sure. Ok I am moving off this. Email me if you know of a famous pacifist with a catchy name not tied to a major religion or culture) o.k digression over, back to the baby...in the second picture we think he looks like he is coyly waving hello to us. How cute. Although, his babysitter is a Rollin' 20's Crip so maybe Finn is showing some love for his people in the 213. West side is the right side.

Virginia Trilogy: Tripping the Fairfax Fantastic

2008-10-27T23:59:00.000-04:00

On Sunday following a great brunch in Williamsburg, we headed north to Fairfax to meet up with the LeMays and the Dunnes. Grandma Dunne rocked the Astro Van all the way from North Carolina to meet her double digit grandchild (Phineas is number 10). We got a picture with grandma and nine of the ten, as Harrison was up in Massachusetts at an AAU basketball tournament. We had some fantastic meals and Finn got passed from LeMay to LeMay after spending some serious time with grandma. Scott made some incredible burgers and the Dunnes came down from Leesburg to hang out with the cousins. The next day we went to a great county park and checked out a really cool nature center-- snakes in cages, turtle tanks, the works. We went on a hike and Finn broke out his baby bjorn harness thing. We ended with a picnic lunch in the park--the all american day. The kids were great with Finn and picked out two huge boxes of toys for him...when we were leaving, Finn was crying and Shane said "Don't cry Finn, you have a car full of toys now." Now that guy has his priorities in order. Speaking of gifts, Anne and Scott gave us an awesome Garmin which we used to guide us home. We named her Ginger, and provided you don't make her "recalibrate" directions too often, she is perfectly pleasant and a great help on the road. We drove home on a route right through DC...past the white house and the monuments on our way back to New Jersey. Finn's first major road trip was in the bag and was a great trip with a ton of family fun.

PS I LOVE that picture of Finn and Grandma Dunne!

Breaking News: Matt and Lisa are getting married

2008-10-27T01:22:00.000-04:00

The big news from the Williamsburg gathering was a surprise announcement from Matt and Lisa that they got engaged earlier that morning in the Carolina mountains. Kevin, Uncle George and I were in on some of the pre planning, and Kevin and I put the over/under at 4 minutes before one of the women in attendance would spot Lisa's engagement ring. Molly and Patty spotted the ring literally as Lisa walked in the door...it was uncanny. It's like they have some supernatural mental ring scan going at all times. Matt had about one of the most romantic proposals I've ever heard. Everyone gathered and Aunt Anne gave a beautiful and moving toast, and I think Aunt Cathy had Julie join us via cellphone as Lisa and Matt recounted the story.

For those readers who don't know Lisa and Matt, they are literally two of the nicest, most generous, caring individuals I've ever met. It frankly makes them hard to be around sometimes...nothing like holding a big fat reality mirror up to your own shallowness. I can't believe how much I have scored in the in-law lottery. We wish them all the happiness they deserve. Enclosed are some pictures of the family and of course my forcing Lisa to show off the Finger Ice.

Virginia Trilogy: Talkin' Bout a Revolution

2008-10-27T00:33:00.000-04:00

After Leesburg we headed south to Williamsburg, home of Aunt Anne and Uncle George Bull. Those of us in the know call it Billburg. Or Wibu. For those of you unfamiliar with this national treasure, Williamsburg is a colonial era town with a bunch of re-enactment and educational stuff (we skipped the educational stuff to hang out in a cafe, but Grandpa Bracken took Finn to see a drum and fife corp parade. Very colonial.)

It is also home to the College of William and Mary, a beautiful public university which is one of the oldest in the country. Are we dorky enough to visit other colleges while on vacation? Well, yes we are. We even took a picture by the Admission office. Man, does Finn have some GREAT family vacations ahead of him....college visits across America! The town is beautiful, but it takes a bit getting used to the woman in a petticoat and a bonnet standing behind you in line at Starbucks. We did see a guy in a tri corner hat set down his musket and check sports scores on his blackberry...I started shouting "He's a witch! He's a witch! He has a devil tinderbox in his pocket-- it lights from within with the cold fires of sin." The rest of the townspeople gathered around and jostled the blackberry free...so we got to stone the guy in the town square. Now that is an inspiring commitment to living the past. It was so cute seeing Finn lean forward in his stroller to get a little baby handful of pebbles and attempt to throw them at the accused witch....such a good little helper!

The Bulls live in this beautifully landscaped neighborhood which I am told reminds people of the houses in Desperate Housewives (I wouldn't know because I only watch PBS shows, with the sole purpose of expanding the intellectual horizons of my child.) The hosted a great party for the family to meet the newest editions of the next generation...Anna Reid Bull of Georgia and Phineas Robert of the glorious Garden State. The Bulls had family in from New York, Connecticut, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. It was great food and even better conversation. Anna Reid and Finn got along well (apparently betting on baby fights in a pack-n-play cage match is frowned upon in both the colonial and contemporary times, so we passed on that activity.) It was just a great way for Finn to meet all the family members he hadn't met yet and catch up with everyone.

The Virginia Trilogy: Horse Country

2008-10-15T00:12:00.000-04:00

We spent the day in Leesburg hanging out with the Dunne girls. Kevin and I ordered BBQ from the place down the road and the guy mocked me when I didn't understand one of his BBQ specific questions...so I am going to call the health department and get his little roadside superiority stand shut down. Yeah, that is how we do things in bitter, competitive NJ. Let government work for you!!

Speaking of small business, we visited Digital Bridge, the telecom company that Kelley started with our pals Joe and Bill. It is amazing to see how it has grown since it was basically Joe, Kelley, and Bill tooling around an empty warehouse-looking space. They have real people working there, which kind of startled me as the business always seemed to be some sort of shell corporation which allowed Joe, Kelley and potentially Bill to ski all the time and I guess write things off in the unregulated John McCain salad days of a few years ago. It seems more serious now, which for various people in Idaho and other areas is probably a great thing. They have a giant KNOCK Board, or G.N.O.C board....I am not sure what it does (or how to spell it) but it looks very important in a Tom Clancy track the Russian satellites sort of way. Very impressive now, but not long ago I recall watching High School Musical on the big GNOC board with the Dunne girls. Glad to see it resembles a real business and yet they still seem to be skiing all the time. Pictured is Joe holding Finn in the office in front of the big board. My big take away from the visit was that they get free Pop Tarts in their office kitchen space.

The next day we hung out around the house and took some family pictures. Hailey was an amazing helper was the official pacifier re-inserter for Finn. I walked Kylie back from the bus stop and learned that she was edged out by some punk for the "raven of the week" contest. I suggested we go egg the kid's house and start vicious online rumors about the guy, but Kylie politely declined and mentioned that type of activity may actually hurt her chances for subsequent raven of the week selections-- what happened to a little healthy competition in school...this is why we have fallen in the global community. I couldn't help but notice that as we were leaving for Williamsburg, Kelley was sending Kylie to school the next day with the Maryland basketball home schedule with a note for Mr. Robinson, Kylie's beloved teacher and sole judge of raven of the week, to pick out a game or two he would like to attend. Interesting turn of events for the sole judge of raven of the week. Glad to see Washington beltway lobbying extends to the third grade. Hopefully Jack Abramoff doesn't have a kid in the class or this could get ugly quick.

After some family photos and a quick pizza dinner we headed out for Willamsburg, with Finn still ambivalent about his car seat. We did learn that traveling with an infant can put a wrinkle in the estimated arrival and departure times. We also learned that the back shelf of the PT Cruiser, which I believe I had hoped to use for tailgates and other brochure worthy car activity, is actually quite handy as an open air changing table. Also, we learned that bus stations are nonplussed by diapers and various refuse. As we could see, they have bigger, adult sized problems to worry about.

Guest Blogger: Cousin Delaney

2008-10-10T16:17:00.000-04:00

Hi, I am Phineas' oldest girl cousin and I live in Leesburg, Virginia. Phineas arrived here yesterday and he got to meet my sisters Kylie and Hailey (pictured above) and my mom and dad. We ate dinner and I made muffins with marshmallows and cupcakes for dessert. I think Finn is adorable and heavy....I got to hold him last night. At 9pm he fell asleep in my arms. He is sleeping right now...I call him a sleeper hound. I don't want to brag, but Phineas was crying last last night until I held him. Then he went to sleep. I didn't get to see him before I went to school today, but I missed him all day. I told my friends about his visit. I remembered how warm and cuddly he was when I held him. He has the longest arms and legs and has Uncle Tom's eyelashes. My dad has short eyelashes. When my dad gets home from work we are going to have dinner together and then they are driving to Williamsburg to see Molly's family. But, we are going to see them on Sunday with the LeMay's. My advice for Phineas is that he should play soccer and later, football. He probably will be fast. In 18 years he can be Princeton's number one running back and then they will be the new LSU. Phineas is already walking- I am just joking. In other news, we are growing a watermelon. I wish everyone who is reading this a good day, especially Phineas who should be sleeping right now.

I took the pictures posted in my entry last night. Except the one I am in where I am holding Phineas-- that was the beautiful work of Uncle Tom.

Finn takes to water like a fish...

2008-10-06T01:04:00.001-04:00

These pictures are from Phineas' bath. Get it? The kid's name is Finn and I made a "fish" simile...I slay myself. Speaking of water, Molly wants Finn to be a swimmer, but man, talk about pressure. You can't be terrible at swimming with a nickname like Finn. Kids (not our kid of course. But probably yours, honestly) can be very cruel. It's compounding torture if you are being teased about your name due to a lack of athletic skill, all while essentially parading around in an outfit similar to underwear. I have some other bath pictures, but you would swear we are washing Finn in a sink at Penn Station rather than our bath tub. Good lord! How long before Finn can pick up a scrubbing brush and help out around here? Also, Finn has been rocking some music this week...his big recommendation this week is the Killer's "All These Things That I Have Done." Here is the song featured in a Nike ad (link below). Finn loves it more than Palin's folksy Main Street verbal jumble. Look for more music picks from Finn. It should be noted that he is a bit too embarrassed to tell you that, due to his uncle Kevin's IPod, he heard his first Micheal Jackson song "The Man in the Mirror". If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place, Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change...Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,Na Nah(Oh Yeah!) Good stuff. I am off to find my Thriller LP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ae3tFI8wXE

On the Road Again....

2008-10-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

This week Phineas made his first trip up to campus to make the rounds, and has been rocking his pram, affectionately known as Blue Thunder (pronounced with a South Boston accent "Thundaah" in honor of the hot BC Eagles). When he can see further than 12 to 18 inches in front of his face we anticipate he will enjoy the fall leaves which are turning right now...it is shaping up to be a great Fall.

We also went to Hope and Kevin's wedding which was absolutely amazing...Hope processed under an arch of long-stemmed calla lilies as 100 voices from the chapel choir sang...it was pretty incredible. They also had an opera soloist (a friend of theirs from NYC) sing some arias which were beautiful. It was a great event...the rehearsal dinner was at our favorite restaurant Blue Bottle Cafe. I lost a paper/scissors/rock game and had to give the benediction (one note, when praying before a restaurant full of people from Buffalo, win them over with a gratuitous mention of the Bills winning the super bowl) and was the Eucharistic minister the next day. So while I may not be a saint, I held a beatific saintly countenance all weekend. I also made sure to stay clear of the Cloister eating club, which became the official after party location for the alumni back in town for the wedding. We have some pictures from the wedding listed above...take a look at what is going on in the background over my right shoulder...at a family function and right outside the chapel no less. The other pictures are of Hope, Kevin, Molly, Finn and I enjoying dinner at Conte's before they headed to France and Spain for their honeymoon. Finn kept trying to lean upside down. Hopefully this will be the first and last time he will be upside down at a bar.

The last picture is Finn and the fine ladies of 3rd floor West College. He loved all the attention. Mr. Bracken also brought him up to campus to talk a little lasagna trash with Shelley. Molly and I dropped a apple pie off for Mim, the nurse who was by our side through this whole process (yes, Molly is more thoughtful than I. Some of my friends don't even know Molly is pregnant...I have to work on that). Wow...this lack of sleep is killing me. That TMZ show is on again...and I am watching paparazzi footage of Bill O'Reilly, the woman who does Lisa Simpson's cartoon voice, and Pete Sampras. Seriously?

Free Heather Locklear!!

2008-09-29T00:47:00.000-04:00

Ok, this has nothing to do with Heather Locklear and her incarceration for a DUI in Montecito. I am just trying to keep the block current....and some show called TMZ is on and they just did a big story on it. So, FREE HEATHER. ATTICA. ATTICA....

It is crazy late and we are up because apparently Finn doesn't need to go to work tomorrow. Neither does Molly (Whoops, did I say that out loud?). Good news, Finn discovered how to express himself through crying. He apparently has alot to say. I want just the slightest sniffle so I can break out the Benadryl...for either Finn or us..doesn't matter. Just let the sweet sweet sleep come. Here are some bath pictures and some assorted stuff.

The visitation station

2008-09-29T00:12:00.001-04:00

Phineas has been blessed with some great visits from friends and family members from near and far. Uncle Matt and his "special lady friend" Lisa came up from North Carolina for a visit. Kevin and the rest of the Brackens came together for a gathering. We had a bunch of folks from Princeton stop by for lunch, and then setting the time zone record, Rishi came in from New Delhi to give Finn some Taj Mahalian love. Check him out in the picture...he moves from uptight Greenwich and preppy Princeton out to Cali and then overseas and he becomes this hipster Indian version of Bono. He is getting married in a few weeks out in Michigan and we are really fired up for our first Indian wedding...we want the full Bollywood extravaganza. Not to ruin any surprises, but his entrance will be on horseback. We can't wait and Rishi managed to meet someone nicer than him...Anuja is an amazing person. We are looking forward to Grandma Jer Bear to head up to blue state land. Aunt Anne is going to drop some five child raising expert skillz on us as well. We are heading down to Virginia in October for a great family tour. We are so lucky to have such great family and friends.

Finn's first game....

2008-09-28T23:49:00.000-04:00

A big moment for F-Dizzle and me. We shared our first BC game together. Enclosed is a picture of Finn celebrating a BC touchdown...you can see the unbridled enthusiasm written all over his face. He was so thrilled he kicked off the BC cleat-booties Rachel and Scott gave him. Now that is a SUPERFAN. He was fantastic all throughout Boston College's dominating performance...Aunt Cathy and Uncle Joe came down from the Nutmeg state for the big moment ( the picture above is Aunt Cathy and Hosana Bracken. While Uncle Joe does have a feminine quality in profile, he was downstairs getting a beer at the time of the photo and isn't pictured. Don't tell him our beer is still left over from our wedding reception...it is aged like a fine 2005 burgundy....smooth). Molly claims that Finn, like her, found the game boring and slept through most of it. I disagree...I know deep fan meditation when I see it. I noticed a definitive uptick in sucking sounds when BC had UCF in third and long situations. When Finn can talk I am sure he will share with me how much he loves a blitzing defense.

One Week...

2008-09-19T00:04:00.001-04:00

Tonight we celebrated Finn's one week birthday (any excuse for a cupcake from the Bent Spoon). We have received so many beautiful gifts over the past few days that we decided to "re-gift" them and present them to Finn as our own purchases. He now thinks he has giving parents with impeccable and varied tastes. To top it next week we will have to buy him a pony...I can see how this can get away from you-- we will probably end up on MTV's "My Sweet Sixteen" in a few years if we don't get off this crazy train.

We truly have been profoundly touched by all the well wishes, generosity, and support everyone has given us. It sometimes makes it hard to write a mean-spirited blog based (loosely) on the arrival of an infant. God willing I will find a way. We consider ourselves very blessed to have such great friends and role models in our lives.

Dreams of Nautical Sheep

2008-09-17T00:19:00.001-04:00

Can anyone explain why someone who sleeps all the time needs to eat every ninety minutes? Finn has been doing some serious REM (the sleep pattern not the band) the past two days. Molly's friend Anna gave us a great toy sheep which plays soothing ocean sounds (I guess sounds from a meadow or an Australian slaughterhouse, while technically more accurate for a sheep, wouldn't be as hypnotic as recordings of whales and the surf.) Finn absolutely loves it. I think that when Finn can finally stay awake on his walks, he will be disappointed to learn that we actually don't live by the ocean, and that deceptive little sheep has been lying all along. In the short moments when Finn is awake, he stares at a black and white circle patterned diaper wipes case..it makes him catatonic. His eyes get all big and he has the glassy, vacant look of a "raver"...we should add some Crystal Method to his baby CD.

So I'm Going Home....

2008-09-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

Back to the Place Where I Belong...what can I say, Finn is a big Chris Daughtry fan. Apparently, American Idol is big with the pre born. That is a good demographic if you can land it. Finn says Archuleta lost his title due to those effusive "gosh, golly" interviews. Can't say I disagree. But I digress...after a few days in the hospital, we were released to our own recognisance. The staff at the hospital was amazing and turned down our repeated offers for them to move in with us. Apparently other people were having babies there too and they required the staff's attention. Not sure what that had to do with us and our need for assistance at our house but it seemed like a non starter for them.

So we packed up all our stuff out of our little studio apartment with the oxygen tanks hidden in the wood paneling and headed out into the big beautiful world. We didn't get more than two floors before the elevator opened up and who was standing there but English professor Jeff Nunokawa dressed like Jeff Spicoli from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Apparently he works shifts as a candy-striper at the hospital...it's not just for marching band kids looking for an extra curricular so they can eventually be pre-med somewhere. They do things like deliver flowers and transplant organs when the doctors get stuck on the back nine. Jeff actually sent us a beautiful bouquet, which as I type this makes me wonder if he had one of his candy-striper buds re-route flowers intended for someone else to our room and then take (repeatedly) the credit for sending flowers he didn't pay for. This is not beyond Jeff; he eats all his meals for free in a dining hall. Jeff made me include this picture because he says his "guns" look awesome. He calls them his Hawaiian pythons.

We put Finn in our car and we were off. The car seat was installed just moments before we left, which gave Molly the perfect opportunity to say "I told you so" since for the past few weeks she kept saying I needed to get the seat installed before we had to rush off to the hospital with the seat still sitting in the office. I love moments like this...I consider them the cornerstone of a solid marriage. I've never driven so slowly in my life...every car, paperboy on a bike, and crazy careless mother pushing a stroller while on a cell phone were potential sources of t-bone collisions. It was a white knuckle trip. Glad we live three blocks from the hospital.

Enclosed is a picture of Molly and I bringing Phineas into our house. (Before anyone in my office beats me to it....1972 called, and it want it's sidewalk with the faux colored stone back.) We had a great time with family and friends stopping by. We celebrated Kevin's birthday since Finn hogged all the attention on the 11th. I told him to get used to "Happy Birthday, little Finn!!! Oh, and Kevin too." He had a good thirty year run but time marches on. Kind of like Aaron Rodgers moving Brett Favre out of Green Bay. All the legends fall in time. As a birthday gift, we did allow Kevin to supervise Finn's pro football and baseball fandom...so he is now a Yankees fan and a Giants fan. The oldest Dunne cousin Harrison got to hang out with the youngest Dunne. Finn can't wait to meet the rest of the family on both sides--actually I don't know if he has any interest in meeting them as he can't talk yet. I don't even know if he can see yet. And I think he thinks we are all extensions of himself. A little self centered if you ask me...not sure how this outsized ego will go over with the rest of the family. Could make for some tense holiday gatherings. We have some great pics with the grand parents but I can't put their pictures up without a release since Mr. Bracken is a prosecuting attorney. With all the Brackens here I don't think Finn spent any time not being held...except when Finn was peeing on people. That tends to get folks to back off.

Lots of food has been coming our way which has been fantastic but on occasion also a little "spirited." Shelley (from my office) dropped off a lasagna dinner. When I remarked that Mr. Bracken makes great lasagna as well she replied "Oh, is that what he calls it?" She smiled a faint assassin's smile and trailed back to her car muttering something about "Stouffer's frozen crap." Surprised, I relayed these comments to Mr. Bracken over dinner. His eyes narrowed and he methodically stroked his beard. He finally asked "Jannos is a married name. What's her maiden name.?" "Jingoli," I replied. I have to admit he seemed a little knocked back by that on. And yes, they are in the construction business and she has an uncle called Jimmy the Hook. Undaunted, he called today to say he would be dropping off his lasagna this week. Nothing says lasagna like Jersey City Irish American! Let the lasagna wars begin!

Holy smokes this has turned into a long post. I have a child to raise people. Sadly, I learned today that maternity leave is only for the mother, which seems terribly sexist to me. Who do they think passed ice chips all day? And holding a leg for three hours? Think that is easy? My back has really been sore. I have to call HR in the morning. I am not ready to return...

Finally!

2008-09-12T01:29:00.001-04:00

We are overjoyed to announce the arrival of Phineas "Finn" Robert. He joined our family last night and weighed in at 8 pounds and 6 oz. He is 21.5 inches long. I am so estatic that I am at a loss for words...a new experience for me. Molly is my hero. At the risk of getting Lou Gehrig on you all...I feel like the luckiest man in the world.

Molly must be voting for Obama...

2008-09-11T13:23:00.000-04:00

Because she is in LABOR. Get it? Labor= democratic support... Heeeyyy oh! (Ed McMahon voice). Thank you. I'll be here at the Mirage all week...be kind to your servers they've been kind to you.

In addition to establishing that the baby is actually coming, we have also established that I am too immature for medical situations. Molly has put me in a "silent reflection" program which is how I ended up here updating the blog. She is really doing well...I am equally proud of how brave she is being and thankful that it is not my job to deliver this baby. I love how she politely declines from answering questions because she is having a contraction, and then apologizes for interrupting the story/questions from the nurse. The whole experience has been overwhelming and surreal. During the contractions, Molly hasn't had the highest appreciation for my breathing techniques. I keep telling her that jealousy has no place in the delivery room, but I do think she is threatened a bit by my command of the techniques. I also learned I am not supposed to be in her sight line during a contraction. Nor am I supposed to be eating a cookie. The contractions are actually quite a bit of work and concentration for both of us.

The baby is fine and everyone says it is beautiful....based on what I don't know since it is still inside Molly and no one is doing an ultrasound or anything. Apparently 145 heartbeats per minute passes for "beautiful" up here. It's just like grade inflation...rather than praising the specific heartbeat performance of the baby, we lavish the flattering term "beautiful" on the whole baby himself/herself. This of course will cause our baby to expect unearned praise throughout it's life and we will be stuck with him deep into his twenties, living on the third floor of our house surrounded by countless "participation" soccer trophies, while occasionally covering the night shift in a comics book store. Role playing games will undoubtedly be involved throughout his early adulthood. Maybe a pet reptile.

S/He needs to be Palinized...you know, go out and kill a moose with your bare hands and then move rapidly from cutting ribbons at Walmart knock off stores in (extreme) suburban Alaska to having sassy hockey-mom trade talks with V. Putin--all without having to remove your $800 everyday American mom designer glasses to wipe the sweat off your smooth, unnervingly worry-free beauty contestant brow. Oh, a dad can dream can't he?

Speaking of tough frontier women, when we came in to get a "look see" last night, they hooked Molly up to a monitor and looked at a graft that to me seemed to be replicating Bryce Cannon in Arizona. Apparently the buttes were contractions. They kept looking at Molly and then looking at the monitor and saying "You don't feel that? Nothing?" Molly of course was embarrassed by all the attention and starting talking to the nurses about their families, hometowns, etc...she wanted everyone to feel comfortable and not put out by the imposition of her apparent labor in the middle of the night. I thought she was going to break into an info session for Princeton. Other nurses came in to look at her monitor and marvel over the woman of steel. They seem less impressed with me (but they hadn't seen my breathing techniques or my command of the information given during the various birthing classes). Even now that it is getting harder, she is just stoically enduring the pain...she looks like one of those Dustbowl women in Dorthea Lange's photographs. Resolute to it all but somehow saintly in her misery. We will see....there is a Pakastani family next store and it seems like there are alot of extended family in there so perhaps I can get in on that action. My breathing techniques cross all language barriers...I will probably be asked to volunteer at the hospital. With the baby I am not sure if I will have the time, but I do love to be of service to mankind...

I will try and get a web feed going for the birth. I haven't talked to Molly about it yet but I think she will be thrilled as she has been very impressed with my new found computer skills.

Birthday shout outs to Kevin Bracken!!! He is kind to share the day with Baby Yoda. Kevin works for Budweiser which basically means you can tie one on for your birthday and put it on your corporate account. Pretty good deal if you can get it.

OK, Molly needs some of my support. She isn't asking but I can tell. I am going to wake her up and tell her to breath, focus, and that I am here for her. Wish me luck!!!

Hydroponic Hexes...

2008-09-06T21:47:00.001-04:00

I've been under water dealing with water problems this past week. At the midpoint of last week one of my co-workers Debra H. stopped me in the hall and said she had a vision and Molly would begin labor that evening at 11:30pm. If my memory serves me correctly, she was holding a little "Molly stick figure" and was burning sage and swirling the smoke around the tiny acorn nut belly on the Mollydoll. A little creepy to be sure, but working in student affairs has made me accepting of all belief systems (Wiccan, Pagan, snake handling evangelicals speaking in tongues...I've given Princeton's money to them all.) Well, later that very night, Molly and I hear rushing water downstairs at the exact time of Debra's prediction...the back of our toilet tank has inexplicably shattered and water is gushing everywhere. A few days later our hot water heater went out. We are going broke cleaning up after Debra's misplaced spells... Speaking of cleaning up, my boss' husband was kind enough to come over and help me replace our toilet. What a great professional development moment for me, my boss watches her husband pull our toilet out of the bathroom while I ineffectually hand tools to him and basically feel like a 13 year old. While I was tempted to buy the new toilet with the gift cards we got at the beautiful baby shower my office hosted for us this past week (the baby will use the toilet at some point in the future so it technically would be a valid use of the cards) I resisted and instead bought a bookcase for the baby's room. More furniture to stain. I can't tell if we need all this furniture or if perhaps I have begun an addiction to the sweet powerful smell of polyurethane fumes. I do know I wake up in the middle of the night and go down for a quick clear coat hit...that can't be a good sign. Does Promises in Malibu have a furniture treatment treatment program?

The water associations was not all negative this week. We did get to Spring Lake to enjoy a great day at the beach. The waves were pretty rough so Molly and baby just went for a quick swim. I tried to ride some waves and it felt like I was getting caught in car crashes. It felt great to be outside all day and as the start of the academic year is right around the corner it was nice to have a quintessential Jersey summer experience. All we needed was to close the night out with a smooth ride home in a cherry Camaro blaring Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet", my proud brown mullet fluttering in the cool Jersey shore breeze. Garden State gorgeousity.

Welcome to Anticipation Station...

2008-08-27T21:26:00.000-04:00

I can feel the enthusiasm....yes, the baby is coming but so are the BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES!!!! Yeah, baby! Kent State will be crushed this Saturday night on ESPNU. Very exciting times indeed. One of the greatest gifts will be sharing this magical BC season with our new child. I am certain s/he will feel the same. I know Molly is on pins and needles as the season approaches and doubtless many of you are as well...for the latest up to date information on the Eagles, join the family on http://www.eagleaction.com/. Molly posts under the name "Flutieisahottie."

Today we had a surprise shower thrown by our office. It was really fun connecting with everyone from work and we had a great time. Dianne introduced me to goat cheese and honey on a cracker and it may go down as the life changing experience of this year (so far the baby experience has been very good but damn the cheese and honey combo...wow). Molly is doing great and is growing the baby (8+ pounds or bust!). Right after Molly started working from home, Princeton slipped from #1 to #2 in the US News rankings. Coincidence? I don't think so...I am glad for Princeton's sake that our mortgage requires her to return to work promptly in December. In the interim, I think she is going to work a "maternity job" at Larry's Sunoco up the street. She can put the baby in the Baby Bjorn carrier and have two hands free for unleaded pumping and cigarette sales.

The Olympics has still left a void in our pre natal lives, and we find the Democratic National Convention a poor substitute. We did enjoy catching Chelsea Clinton roll her eyes when her mother passed her a plastic American flag (Stanford grads don't do synthetic fabrics) to wave during her dad's speech. Does it make us bad Americans if we turn this off and watch our Tivo-ed Project Runway? To be fair, that show does have a democratic form of voting. Pat Boone just did a mortgage refinancing ad...are dead people doing endorsements now? We HAVE to change the channel.

Molly is reading something about the delivery process from a baby website- something about wearing men's briefs post delivery. Excuse me while I lose my dinner...man I cannot express how glad I am to have the dad role in this madness!

BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUTS- Matt Bracken yesterday and Patrick LeMay today. Two of the finest men walking the planet. Baby Dunne is lucky to have guys like this in the family...awesome role models.

We still have it....

2008-08-24T00:08:00.000-04:00

Tonight Molly and I went to the wedding of two Princeton grads, Maureen Monagle '04 and Spence Miller '02. It was a great experience to see a wedding in the chapel-- the music was amazing and Spence and Maureen looked very happy.

After a quick "feet-raising" therapy session at our house we were off to the Cherry Hill Country Club here in town. I am pleased to report that we took a number of turns on the dance floor...which was closed (for us at least the party was raging on when we left) by the classic New Jersey Trifecta...."Rosalita" by Bruce Sprinceton followed by "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi, and closing with "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. Now, Journey is from Canada, but since this song closed the Soprano's series it has become an honorary anthem of the Garden State. Molly and I represented ourselves well on the dance floor although we had to learn to leave room for the baby during the slow dances.

She was elated when people were surprised to learn she was two weeks from her delivery date...lots of praise was coming her way. I didn't point out that the black tent dress is Houdini-like in disguising things, and if they saw her in a t-shirt this morning they would have thought she was having quads. Since I am the one pushing for an 8+ pounder, I kept my mouth shut (if only this sound judgement could apply to blog entries as well. Oh well, the internet has always been confessional since that Lonleygirl15 ruse five years ago.) It was a great night and we had a ton of fun...still babysitter free which is really nice. Spence's Navy SEAL friends were great table mates and it was fun catching up with some Princeton alums. There were a number who graduated in this decade who were on their third child, had been to grad school, mortgages, etc. All were solidly into their real lives. What the heck have I been doing for the last fifteen years?

Lactation Juijitsu

2008-08-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

Last night Molly took me to a lactation class. She promised me that I could leave if I was the only guy there (unfortunately there were four other empathetic male souls trapped there as well.) Can't think of anything more emasculating than a guy going to a breast feeding class? How about holding the class in a gym....I got to walk by the check-in desk and say "no kickboxing class for me, I am off to learn proper latching techniques." The class was very strange and I couldn't follow much other than discovering that there is a war out there, and the Breastians and the Formulists are battling for our souls. Did you know formula can turn your baby to stone? That sugar water in a bottle is a gateway drug to heroin?

I did learn that we will be keeping a diaper diary. What a keepsake! Frequency, color, consistency, etc. I know the color choices are black, green, and yellow, which in light of our Olympic fever, caused me to daydream about the Jamaican track team (their flag colors are black, green and yellow). We are considering Usain if the baby is a boy...anyone who does "the running man" dance during introductions and then smashes the world record can serve as a role model for our child. He is very fast and very cool.

Molly tells me the baby is the size of a Chinese gymnast so I know we are getting close to the big day. I just hope the baby is prepared to watch about ten hours of tv a night because due to the Olympics that is pretty much our routine.

Update: We just watched the US lose to a French rider (womens) and a Latvian rider (mens) in the BMX Olympics race. How the hell did BMX bike racing make the jump from Mountain Dew comercials to the Olympics? I do know we need to get the Balco Labs open as we keep getting smoked in events, even in sports we invented a few years ago? Can we get a US team together forOlympic Reality TV watching? I think we can sweep that one.

two years and counting...

2008-08-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. It can't be all baby all the time, right? We celebrated at our very favorite restaurant, the Blue Bottle Cafe in Hopewell (and very best restaurant in NJ according to us) and had a fantastic meal. It is where we first broke the big news to Molly's parents and brother Kevin back in January. Molly made me bring two bottles of wine for dinner. Initially I was worried about all Molly's drinking during the pregnancy...the gin and tonics with breakfast, etc., but she tells me that the prohibition against alcohol during pregnancy is just an old wives tale. She has read alot of baby books so I trust her.

Molly is looking radiant and I count my lucky stars she agreed to marry me two years ago. I've always wanted to take a woman with bigger ankles than mine to dinner. Tonight I lived that dream. Hey Molly, Fred Flintstone called and he wants his feet back.

Inside of one month....

2008-08-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

This is our first foray into blogging. I don't think we are that interesting, but we figure this is probably a good way to get pictures out to our friends and family. Frankly, I am already a little bored with what I have typed here. This may not be a good sign...hopefully content will pick up once the baby arrives.

We are still solidly in our nesting phase, which is actually code for "All the home improvements Molly ever wanted done grafted onto the pending arrival of the baby." Basement cleaning? A newborn will be down in the basement at some point doing his/her own laundry (That actually would be worth cleaning the basement)? Gutter cleaning? It's all tied into the arrival of the baby.

The guest room has been relocated to the third floor and we are almost ready to go. I am staining the changing table/dresser this week which sounds like a very dad-like thing to do. Maybe I should start smoking a pipe as well...

Molly has to elevate her feet all the time now which unfortunately limits my food options. Capt'n Crunch dinners here we come!