(Guest Blogger Matthew) Passing a Bluff Check

We play a particular game a lot called "I'm Going to Get There First." The title is pretty self-explanatory but what can I say, it gets the manbeast places in a happy and fast way and has really shorted out some imminent tantrums.

Anyway we took Teresa to work this morning and we get back to the apartment complex. We're headed to our building, and once we are at the sidewalk, I initiate IGTGTF. And I'm keeping a couple paces in front of him for the stretch, as I usually do, planning on coming up slow at the end, as per usual. He's a couple paces behind and says in his "I am not having fun" voice, "No, Daddy, I have to hold your hand." I assent, slow to a walk and hold out my hand. For his part, he briefly clasps my hand before tugging back on it and rocketing forward at a full run, leaving me behind. So... hello deception.

Locks of Love

This weekend, Matthew had over 10 inches of hair cut off, donated to Locks of Love (a charity that makes wigs for kids with cancer.) This is his second time participating in this charity. As a family, we've donated over 4 feet of hair in the last decade, starting with 18 inches of my hair the day after our wedding.

Below are some pictures from this weekend.

Malcolm loved watching Daddy get his haircut.

When Matthew sat down in the chair, Malcolm looked at him, and said

"Daddy, no screaming. And hold still."

When Matthew's cut was done, Malcolm insisted that he have a turn as well -- which surprised us to no end, considering how badly his first hair cut went. Since then, we've been doing it at home. But the stylist was fabulous with him all through Matt's cut, so we gave it a try. He did wonderfully! (Meaning, he held still. And no screaming.)

Happy Day, Daddy!

Happy Birthday to Daddy!

Rock Band!

So, last year for Ayyam'i'Ha (a Baha'i Celebration) my brother, Darin, bought us a fabulously fun game, called Rock Band.  There's a guitar, microphone and full set of drums.  You use these instruments as your controllers to play the video game.

To the right, you'll see our band's new lead drummer - Big Mal!

Seen here, on lead guitar, is Daddy-O.  Wielding the camera (so not in the shot) is our lead vocalist, the T (that's me!)  Counting the two dogs on back up vocals, that is our complete band!

For this jam session, we were jamming out to "Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi.

Rock on!

Matthew's Blog

Good Morning, All.

No pictures today, but more soon, I promise.  Just wanted to let all our readers know that Matthew has started a companion blog to this one.  (For those not blog-savvy, that means Matthew's made a webpage like this one!)  He loves to talk about all sorts of stuff from politics to gaming.  Check it out by visiting:  http://www.docmage.blogspot.com

Mad Scientist Monday

As you may know, I spent the summer volunteering at a summer program for kids (age 6-12) down in College Park, GA.  This is one of the most under-served communities in all of Atlanta.  The kids are amazing, and I miss spending my days with them, now that they've started back to school.

A few weeks ago, just before the summer program ended, Matthew came to join us for the day, along with a bag full of science supplies (much thanks to Matthew's boss, Dr. Ford, for the generous supplies!)

The kids loved having "Dr. Matthew" visit, and share some fun science experiments.

We explored various sensory related experiments, measuring nerve cell density (shown here), light and color, and the mixing of various powders (flour, corn starch, baking soda, powdered sugar) with various liquids (water, mineral oil, and vinegar).

As I am sure you can imagine, mixing the vinegar and baking soda together quickly became everyone's favorite experiment.

Thank you, Dr. Matthew!

Malcolm Pictures 6-9 Months (1 of 2)

These three months showed some major changes in our lives.  Malcolm, of course, grew like crazy.  One friend kept asking if we put Miracle-Gro in his bottle!  Matthew completed his graduate program, earning his PhD in Pharmacology.  Congrats Doctor Matthew!  We also packed our family up, and moved to Georgia, where Matthew began his post-doc at Morehouse School of Medicine.