Week 48 - Santa's Little Nanner

"This is a stocking...really?  More like a sleeping bag.
What?...The larger the stocking the more presents I get?
Stocking it is!!

Nope, Santa's sleigh did not miss our house.  He sent some early presents via Amazon Prime and then asked the NSA to corroborate his hunch that Nanner was travelling to Bay City, Michigan for Jesus' big day.  His elves then tapped into the Agency's new GIS database (and crack analysts) to deliver a second round of love.

"Just like Uncle Greg taught me..."

"...Rabidoux style!"

Sporting a pair of red pajamas and two White Russians deep, Nanner was pushing midnight with no sign of tiring.  She wanted to catch a glimpse of Saint Nick, and besides...she was on a hot streak!

Merry Christmas from the Nanner.

Week 47 - Tis The Season

"If I had known that Christmas kicks ass this much,
I would have come out sooner last year!"

Christmas isn't for us anymore...Nope!  It's for the Nanner!  Gma and Gpa sent two huuuge boxes full of presents.  A book (yep, we could tell) for Aimee, a little something for me, and gift after gift after gift after (what's that, another box just arrived?) gift for the Nanner.  

Just imagine how many presents she would get if she actually slept.

"What's that thing around dada's neck?"

Aimee and Nanner went downtown to see Santa at the Christkindlmarket (I dunno, sumthin German) last Friday.  But Nanner was adamant about having a beer with her pops first.

Week 46 - Nannerism or Baroque?

Nanner is an urban baby for sure.  And a hip one at that.  She went downtown to the art museum today - just because.  She bypassed the suburbanites standing in line at Macy's to see Santa, jaywalked across Wabash, ignored the homeless man selling Streetwise and shook her head at the tourists that skipped with him across Michigan Avenue, rolled her eyes at the musicians banging sticks on buckets in the shadow of the Art Institute lions, and then made a beeline to the Modern Wing.  She had no time for Monet, Manet, Mannerism or Baroque.  "Give me Modern!" she said, and plopped herself down in front of Rothko.

"...child art transforms itself into primitivism,
which is only the child producing a mimicry of himself"

And there she sat until closing time when security asked her to vacate the gallery - at which time a huge smile appeared on her face.  "I get it!" she exclaimed.  And went home.

Week 45 - Home in the Land of Nanner

"Hello?  Over here...pay attention to me!"

Two exciting things to report this week.  
1. We returned the Zack Morris era baby monitor in exchange for a small, sleek portable one that you don't have to carry over your shoulder like a boom box to move from room to room.
2. We have used that monitor to watch Nanner sleep long enough to watch a full episode (or three) of Homeland, our latest obsession.  If you have not watched it, you should.  I hear there is a pirated copy on a flash drive out there.  

She was awake fifteen minutes later.

Cute does not guarantee sleep.

Week 44 - Merry Thanxmas, Nanner

Christmas came early at the grandparents' house this year, as we combined the two holidays into one get together.

Our little troll

We took advantage of warm weather - Nanner and mama took a walk with grandpa and Sydney while Audrey and Grandma and Paul and I separately got lost in the Tuckahoe woods.

"You never know when the "reflex game" will come in handy
in real-life situations.  Thanks, Dad!" - Amanda

2012 grandkid Christmas photo - 

Nanner: Chillin'

Sydney: I've got my baby (she's chillin')

Liam: Is that a Cheerio?

Lillian: $%*#! 

Amanda: (see caption above)

Week 43 - Naked Nanner

Picking out clothes that match is one of the hardest parts of Daddy Duty.  But Naked Nanner solves two problems: there is no danger of mismatched socks and when she gets blueberry all over, there is no laundry to do - we just hose her off.
  

"oh goodness my guinness"

Friday was NBYNTBF Day at VDT.  That's National Bring Your Nanner To Beer-Friday Day for all of you Balderdash-ers.  Aimee brought the Nanner downtown to drink beers with the VDT crew at happy hour.

Week 42 - Say Goodbye To Fun

That's right - fun time is over.  Pops installed child proof locks to the kitchen cabinets.  That means no more cookie sheets, no more cans of stewed tomatoes, and no more pinched fingers.  

So it's back to terrorizing the bookshelves, though if her vice in life is going to be books, sign me up.

We also said goodbye to Gramma Rabidoux today, after two weeks of tender loving care of the Nanner.  Thanks Gramma.

Week 41 - Nanner Pie

Suggested serving size

Nanner Pie - /ˈnanər pī/ - (Noun): the quality of being irresistibly sweet and precious, especially when others deem it to be sleepy time.

ex:  Even though it was 5:03am and mama wanted and needed twelve to fourteen more hours of sleep, when she saw the Nanner Pie of her baby's bright smile and giggles, all was forgiven.  

Dessert

Gramma Rabidoux is staying with us for a few weeks to help take care of the Nanner.  I wish this post could show how excited and smiley Anna was when we picked Grandma up from the train.

Week 40 - Boo-nanner

"...when i can dress myself,
you two are going to be sorry"

We dressed the Nanner up waaay too many times in the monkey suit this past week.

"we are going to score tons of loot"

Trick or treating in the hood, with grandma on Roscoe, at the zoo, around the house...

Sadly this is grandma's last week with the Nanner.  Not that she is spoiling her or anything.

"I will never forget you grandma...thank you"

Week 39 - Peek-a-Nanner

This week combines Anna's love of the remote control and the fact that we're having to come up with creative ways to keep her attention on the couch for the weekly photo.  I might need to re-introduce the butterpat next week.

How goddamn cute am I?

Her new favorite game.  She'll hide behind a toy, user her hands to cover her eyes, and even use my hands to cover her eyes.  Think we can teach her to cover her eyes for eight hours at a time?  Ha.

Week 38 - Punkin' Chunker

We were out last weekend (a week ago) - we drove up to Madison to visit N&K.  We ate a lot of German food, drank a little beer, and tromped around in the mud.

"You want good pumpkin? I sell you good pumpkin. Come. Here, to my Epelgaarden"

We picked up pumpkins at the Epelgaarden farm outside of Madison and carved them back at Nate and Kate's place.

Week 37 - Charmed

"I'm mobile now, mutherf***ers"

When Baltimore was nicknamed "Charm City" it must have been with the knowledge that Nanner was coming into this world.

She has been my little good luck charm while watching the Orioles this week.  Unfortunately, she went to bed early last night.  

Okay, enough baseball right?  Here's another cutie picture of Nanner with mama.  Courtesy of Uncle Greg.

Week 36 - Spidermonkey loves Nanner!

Even though I have not been on a Spidermonkey ride in a long time, Vanessa and the Spidermonkey Cycling Club sent Nanner this cute SM logo onesie.  The Man with The Yellow Hat would be proud.

Inspired by her old man's sighting of "The Walking Dude of Chicago", the Nanner decided to do a little walking too, kind of.

Week 35 - The Anti-Nanner

Last week, while the Nanner was rooting for the Orioles in her orange onesie, we had to correct way too many people to the fact that Anna is in fact a girl and not a cute little boy.  So this week we decided to not leave any doubt.  She's all bow'd up for the world to see - thanks Grandma!

I guess I could not help myself - as long as I was posting pictures of Nanner pretty in pink bows, I thought I would include this cute one of Wednesday night's spaghetti dinner too.  Look how she    got that sauce all over her face!

Week 34 - why nOt, Nanner?

"Daddy, this is the third time you put me in this outfit..."

The Nanner still has faith.  She has been dumbfoundedly glued to the television for 144 games with daddy and she still believes in Orioles Magic.  Why NOt indeed.

Meanwhile, on the homefront, the Nanner still does not understand that her crib is for sleeping.  It's late at night and she knows that the Orioles are on the West Coast playing an all important 3 game set against the Athletics.  

"But daddy, I want to stay up late and watch the Orioles too!!! 
I'm even wearing my Maryland Crab pj's!

Our Nanner is an Orioles fan.  And there is a little place in her heart for the Tigers too - especially Alan Trammell.

Week 33 - Grandmas' Nanner

"That's two Nanner posts in less than 24 hours" you say, "I thought this was called Nanner of the Week".  And "That's not your couch, what's going on?"

It's my blog and I'll do what I want.  Nanner(s) of the Week is shooting on location in Bay City Michigan.  It's the Grandma spectacular edition.  

Aimee and Anna took the train to Michigan this weekend to visit with Mimmi Rabidoux where homemade lasagna and chocolate chip cookies are always in order.

Earlier this week, Grandma Barker took Anna to the park where we heard she had fun on the swing.

Week 32 - Want. To. Crawl.

Not quite yet but she is very very close.  Mayhem is about to break loose at 2112 W. Addison.

"...if I could just figure out the side-to-side thingy."

Meantime, Nanner is sharpening her Whack-A-Mole skills with an eye on cleaning out every county fair in the tri-state area.  

Week 31 - Da da da da da da da

This week we leveraged our child to make more friends.  The neighbors group had a block party and the Nanner came along and was cute.  Duh.

Bath-temple of a non-believer

Although I tried my best, ("Ma ma ma ma ma ma ma" is the only dialogue I have with Anna), all she wants to say is, "Da da da da da da da". 

Week 30 - Oorah!

Uncle Paul is back from training in the Wisconsin woods, and that means presents for the Nanner.  Best thing about this outfit, besides that fact that she can now sneak up on her baby friends on the playground, is that it hides the throwup stains.  No more wardrobe changes!

Also this weekend, I did one of the most fatherly things a parent can do - short of playing catch with his daughter - we went to Home Depot.

Anna got bored and fell asleep while we were waited for paint samples, but woke up and squealed with delight when we moved to the power tools aisle.  

Week 29 - Jazz Hands

Always moving.  She even flaps her arms when she nurses and sleeps.  When she sleeps.  She would rather be awake in this interesting world with the people who love her.

8:33am - asleep at the wheel

8:41am - back at it like nothing happened

She's not one to sleep if she does not have to.  And most of the time she feels like she does not have to.  

"I'll sleep when I'm dead"

- Warren "Nanner" Zevon