Happy Birthday to my Rockstar!

She wants what she wants... and she wants it NOW!

Faustina: "Dad can we go to the mall?"

Dad: "Sorry, not right now."

Faustina: "Why? I want to."

Dad: "Well, because it is night time and all the stores are closed."

Faustina: "No. [In dictator voice.] I don't want it to be night time."

Dad: "Sorry. Look outside, it's dark. That's just the way it is. People go to bed at night and stores close when it's dark. So, we can't go to the mall."

[A minute passes.]

Faustina: "Dad, can you get a big ladder and climb up it to the sky and heaven, and then make it summer time and day outside?"

This is too funny!

I could not resist posting this video. Hilarious and, sadly for the progressivists, true.

Mary Frances' Mullet...

... is here to STAY!

You can read about the debate here.

Tiny Dancer [Updated]

The Lee family is finding all sorts of things in the house - some bring back a flood of memories.

I can imagine Gail wearing this in the late 1980's on a big, puffy winter jacket, or maybe pinned on an enormous purse. Priceless.

I bet many didn't know this side of Cynthia!

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Wow. That was a LONG time ago. I think it is safe to say that is a side most people will never see of me! :)

First bath

Here is our little boy with a big belly and an amazing mohawk.

Driving already

There was a garage sale in our neighborhood a few days ago. We found a few clothes for Jude and we inquired whether one of her toy cars was for sale on the driveway. She said no, not this time around but she did have another one at her new house. A few days later we found this on doorstep. Faustina loves it and she got in and out about 374 times which occupied her for an hour. Gotta love the classic orange play cars.

Lipstick?

No. It might look a bit scary and 'clown-like', but this is beet juice on Faustina's mouth! If anyone has a juicer and is looking for a good drink here it is: 2 beets and their leafy tops (incredibly nutritious), 2 apples, 1 peeled lemon, a big bunch of kale. Faustina was absolutely giddy over it. It tastes like a really good fresh lemonade - believe it or not :)

Hot August Days

You have got to love a toddler in her swimsuit....

Tired father and daughter

"She did it again....!"

Faustina has gotten into the habit of tearing off her diaper if it is not secured under a onesie... this time it had a lump in it and she was in bed. N-A-S-T-Y.
Fecal matter all over the place!






ALL CLEANED UP!

Contrapposto?

I think Faustina fits in among the greats: Michelangelo's (1475-1564) "David"; Polyclitus' (c. 300's B.C.) "Doryphorus"; and Cesare Sesto's (1477-1523) "Leda and the Swan".

From Wikipdedia:

Contrapposto is an Italian term meaning "counterpoise" used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs. This gives the figure a more dynamic, or alternatively relaxed appearance. It can also encompass the tension as a figure changes from resting on a given leg to walking or running upon it (so-called ponderation). Contrapposto is less emphasized than the more sinuous S-Curve.

Contrapposto has been used since the dawn of classical western sculpture. According to the canon of the Classical Greek Sculptor Polykleitos in the fourth century B.C., it is one of the most important characteristics of his figurative works and those of his successors, Lysippos, Skopas, etc. The Polykletian statues for example Discophoros (discus-bearer) and Doryphoros (spear-bearer) are idealized athletic young men with the divine sense, and captured in contrapposto. In these works, the pelvis is no longer axial with the vertical statue as in the archaic style of earlier Greek sculpture until the Ephebe-statue of Kritios ca. 480 B.C.

Contrapposto can be clearly seen in the Roman copies of the statues of Hermes and Heracles. A famous example is the marble statue of Hermes with the infant Dionysus in Olympia by Praxiteles. It can also be seen in the Roman copies of Polyclitus' amazon.

Here, again, is Faustina getting in Mom's cookbooks... gotta love those leg muscles.

Lots of Lettuce [UPDATED]

Mike took several pictures of my meal this evening because he simply cannot believe how enormous I make my salads. He made sure to put a glass next to the plate for relativity purposes. ;) What can I say. I really, really enjoy salads. I go to Sam's Club and get one big bin of organic mixed springs and one of the organic spinach; they last me about 1 week or so. Mike's eyes almost pop out of his head when he looks at how big they are. He says it would take him hours and hours simply to chew up all the lettuce that I devour in about 15 minutes. You have nothing to lose because you can put whatever you like in them and it tastes fantastic. This particular salad has red peppers, onion, walnuts, crasins, apple, cheese, tomatoe, and tuna. And, probably the best of all - they are healthy! Really a win-win situation.

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I would just like to say that overeating is NOT healthy! Kidding. It is a lot of lettuce though!
-Mike

Potty training... already!

We wish.

Do you see Faustina's new teeth?!

'Hillbilly' Faustina!


Oh, wait. Those are just rice krispies.

Tweety Bird?!

Does Faustina look like the cartoon character... maybe a little bit!

A new friend for Faustina...

We are letting Faustina cry to put her on a bed-time schedule. Naturally, she's been somewhat upset about this. However, she's managed quite well by finding a friend to suffer with her in solidarity... teddy bear. We've been finding Faustina asleep on top of, next to, and cuddling with her little buddy (actually, the bear is almost as big as she is!). Cynthia and I enjoy peeking in on her to see her latest configuration with her teddy-bear friend!

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum... Giant Faustina!

'Destroyed' Lions: 0 wins - 16 losses

Above are some nostalgic images that come to mind when I think of Detroit.

I had to post this story about my apocalyptic hometown's football team...

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -The Detroit Lions own a distinction no team wants: worst in NFL history.

Facing one last chance to avoid their dubious destiny, the Lions lost Sunday's season finale to the Green Bay Packers 31-21 to complete the league's first 0-16 season. The 1976 expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) were the last NFL team to complete a season without a victory.

It didn't come without a fight. After falling behind 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Kevin Smith's 9-yard touchdown run put Detroit back within a field goal.

But Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers responded with a 71-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver and the Lions' Dan Orlovsky threw an interception on fourth-and-27 with 3 minutes left, dooming Detroit to futility of historic proportion.

Here's the rest of the story.

Grandma All Loaded Up

A few nights ago I all of sudden became violently ill. Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue and not only did Grandma come over to help for awhile, but she took Faustina HOME with her for the evening which was a lifesaver!

Well, at one point Grandma was going to change Faustina's diaper. I told her they were downstairs drying. For a moment I contemplated vocalizing that she only needed to bring one diaper up (there were about 18 down there), but I figured that was probably obvious. Also, Grandma loves the little babies so much that she often is holding them no matter what she is doing. Well, moments after Grandma went downstairs to get the diaper, I hear her laughing uncontrollably coming up the stairs. She comes around the corner and here Grandma has all the diapers piled on her arms and Faustina hanging on for dear life! It was very amusing. Faustina was not fazed in the least, but she did have a look on her face like, "What are you doing Grandma??".

This situation may give Mike a little bit of insight as to why I do things the way I do sometimes - We Lees can tend to be women of extremes!