Odd Parenting

Although, T-Bear and Monkey consider Dork Boy and dork, and The Wife is a bit suspect by association, they have seemed to be staying out of the way enough for T-Bear and Monkey to insure The Kid would grow up to be some what normal, but things have been changing lately.
First, Dork Boy got a new camera that unfortunately has burst mode. Dork Boy is a bit fond of burst mode, often generating hundreds of pictures at a time. Normally this wouldn't be a problem since this would mostly keep him amused in a harmless task, but unfortunately burst mode allows Dork Boy to capture some truly horrible images.

The Kid in mid-spit take.

Dork Boy's love of these images, will clearly be a bit embarrassing for The Kid, however the much bigger problem maybe the The Wife who may have lost her mind. She seems obsessed with dressing The Kid in matching outfits.


The Wife clearly has an insane look in her eye. The Kid clearly has a look that says "Call Child Services Now!!!" T-Bear and Monkey are still not sure whether to actually make the call. They are leaning towards making the call.

The Kid is A Social Animal

T-Bear is very impressed with The Kids ability to already become one of the cool kids at Sherpa School. Granted much of the T-Bear's respect is based on his lack of math skills and lack of experience with packs. Really, being part of the cool kids in a school of 2 is not that impressive, unless of course you're a bear. Despite the small school The Kid has had a very full social calendar lately. First, he was invited to the biggest social event of the year for Sherpa School, Baby D's birthday party. The Kid did a fair amount of mixing and mingling at the swaree. He seemed to be particularly fond of visiting with the ladies.

The Kid relaxing with The Wife and Baby D's Lovely MeMe.

The Kid visits with Baby Z and Baby Z's lovely grandmother

Both T-Bear and Monkey were very impressed with that The Kid was able to get so much time with the ladies despite having a few spit-up issues. Both felt he must be one smooth baby to get away with spitting-up at a party. Spitting-up is highly frowned upon at both bear and monkey parties.

As much as T-Bear and Monkey were impressed with The Kid for getting to go to Baby D's party, they were even more impressed that internet super star The Snuggly Kid came to visit.

The Kid hanging out with the highly photogenic Snuggly Kid.

The get together was going extremely well until the two kids got into a bit of discussion as to which of them should actually be the Kid with a capital K. That's when the Snuggly Kid, despite her name, went a little diva-ish and said "Talk To The Hand".

The Kid attempting to talk to the hand.

The mom's quickly moved into keep things civil and a good time was had by all. Although, the Snuggly Kid seemed to be fond of playing with Dork Boy which T-Bear and Monkey fond to be a bit odd, and merely confirmed to them you should never trust those internet sensations.

Snuggly Kid and Dork Boy between exciting rounds of horsey.

A Milestone and A Decision

The Dork Boy and The Kid have reached a major milestone, they have finished there first book, First You Have To Row A Boat. This is a touching tale of life lessons learned by learning to sail in the Great South Bay off Long Island. This obviously will warp The Kid for life, but Dork Boy thought it might lay the ground work for a love of sailing. Of course, trying this will only ensure the kid will have a great love of jet boats or something equally obnoxious. Now The Kid and Dork Boy are reading The Sun Also Rises, which Dork Boy likes for some reason. Of course, this early exposure to Hemingway probably dooms The Kid to a love of drinking, fishing, bullfighting and short simple declarative sentences.

Based on his first couple of picks Dork Boy should not be allowed to pick what The Kid reads, so The Kid turns to the internet to pick and the fancy dancy poll widget on the Blogger. There are several choices.

First, "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" which is clearly the key book to know to be part of the in crowd in preschool these days. Plus, being the child of Dork Boy he is going to be exposed to lots of stories of wizards and quests, so he might as well get started early.

Second, "Fever Pitch" a much better book than the craptastic movie, cause it has nothing to do with Jimmy Fallon or the Red Sox. It is about fanatical sports interest and soccer, two things The Kid will need to know about being the child of both Dork Boy and The Wife.

Third, "What It Means to Be a Bulldog: Vince Dooley, Mark Richt, and Georgia's Greatest Players" because well it's good to be a Georgia Bulldog, and the indoctrination should start early and often.

Fourth, "Leahy's Lads: The Story of the Famous Notre Dame Football Teams of the 1940s" because The Wife feels indoctrination should have some sort of equal time clause.

Fifth, "A Bear Called Paddington" because T-Bear feels this story of a bear living in London is one of the most touching stories ever. Plus, Dork Boy enjoyed it as a child.

Finally, "Congo" because Monkey feels this tragic tail of super smart monkeys brutally oppressed by their naked ape overlords is a lesson everybody should learn early.

So if you have an opinion vote early and vote often.

The Pack Leader Report: The Lair Is Mine

Finally the joint is mine again! The Curly Haired two legger is back to leaving nice an early, and no longer interfering with my control of the lair. To make up for her frequent interferences, she gives me nice frozen peanut butter kong treats. I do love those things!!!. They've got some peanut butter and then some foodies, it's all frozen and refreshing. Plus, having to lick at the frozen peanut butter gives me something to do while waiting for Dork two legger to finally get out of bed. Although, that's not much of an issue these days, since the new little two legger seems to get him up pretty early.

The Little Two Legger, starts making some crazy barking noise and Dorko starts stumbling around for a while trying to make a bottle for the little guy. These bottles look awfully boring to me, but the little guy seems like them. Or maybe not, since he seems to really like getting them,but does seem to spit alot of them on the floor. I helpfully clean that up. Dorko seems to have his hands full getting the little guy dressed and down the stairs with out falling over. Dorko is really not about running with the pack early in the day.

The Kid fails to hold in the latest bottle of boob juice.

Once the feeding process is done, we all pile in the car, and head off to something Dorko likes to call Sherpa School. As Pack Leader, I'm pretty sure this may be some sort of gross cultural injustice against The Nanny's heritage, but it seems to amuse Dorko. And since Dorko needs all the fun he can get, I let it slide. Little Two Legger seems to spend a great deal of time with The Nanny and Baby D. Although what kind of learning goes on in this school is beyond me cause when Little Two Legger returns later in the day, he is no better at sitting, staying, or shaking. Maybe they need better treats. That was always the key to my success in school.

The Kid, Baby D, and The Nanny demonstrate the appropriate way to carry a disabled client off a mountain.

After Dorko and I drop off Little Two Legger, we return to my lair, and I get my well deserved foodies. I receive my well deserved foodies in The Crate, well the two leggers call it The Crate, I call it the Regal Pack Throne Hall. Then I spend a while overseeing my domain. Sure the foolish bear and monkey run around watching the Food Network and Animal Planet and drinking banana honey daiquiris thinking they run the show, but no it is my domain!!! They think they will learn to overthrow me by watching the Dog Whisperer. Little do they know am I true master of pack dominance and will control them always!!!

Anyway, after the bear and monkey have had there fun, Curly Haired two legger returns with Little Two Legger, and I lead them around my hilltop domain. I try to teach them to chase so Little Two Legger will be able to catch something other than bottles, but despite my best efforts, they are horrible chasers. There is only so much a Pack Leader can do. Once we return home I allow them to pet me, then a retire to the Regal Pack Throne Hall to await my next richly deserved bowl of foodies.

Pack Leader waits in the Pack Royal Throne Hall for her next long overdue bowl of foodies.

It is good to be Pack Leader!

The Kid is First Class

The Kid recently made his first flight to Chicago to visit the small horde that is The Wife's extended family. T-Bear and Monkey were unable to make the flight. Well Monkey could make the flight, but is not foolish enough to even consider going to Chicago before May. T-Bear, on the other hand, had an unfortunate incident involving way to many honey lattes, a very long security line and an unsuspecting TSA officer, that has resulted in him spending a brief period of time on the do not fly list.

So Dork Boy, The Wife and The Kid made the nice early trip to the airport. After a brief bit of security line anxiety by Dork Boy, they made it through security and to the gate on time. It was shortly after this that The Kid got to experience the greatness that is First Class - the super reclining seats, the tasty treats and the free drinks, it was totally his kind of scene. He immediately dubbed himself officially a first class only baby. While the The Kid didn't get to try the drinks, he did seem to enjoy the lovely engine white noise. He was an excellent flyer, and by the end of the flight he was actually beloved by his fellow First Class Individuals.

The Kid sort of enjoying the First Class Experience.

Once The Kid arrived in Chicago, he got to experience a new first - snow!!!! The Kid was not that huge a fan of the snow, but he was positively jovial in comparison to The Wife who might have taught the kid a few new words when she saw the snow.

After recovering from the snow The Kid had a very nice visit. He had lots of quality time with Gigi and Grammy and he got to spend some time watching some March Madness with Poppy. He and Poppy also tried talking a little German. The Kid seemed to enjoy it a lot, but his baby coos were probably not nearly guttural enough to be true german baby talk.

He got to see the original crazy Aunts, who were crazy as normal. He saw his "sorta" Aunts Allie and Kristen, as well as Baby MC, Mr. Mario, and Princess Lulu. In addition, he got to hang out with his cousins(of some unclear amount of degree and removedness) Maximus Canon Hands and Tater Buns. Thanks to them, The Kid is now much more knowledgeable on the ways of super heroes and super villains. The Kid has begun trying to coo "Wolverine". It's not going so well.

Cousin Maximus Canon Hands is a little concerned about The Kid's inability
to understand the anti-hero cool of Wolverine.