This picture is from the 12th, I took it from inside my office it is included because it is cute. No wait, I can tie this in somehow…. um… “Featherweight Ian Chapman trains with Coach Mommy before the bout.” See this image larger.
On August 13th, 2009, we went to IHOP yet again and Ian ordered the Smileyface Pancake for a rematch.
In this corner, wearing a blue shirt, and a white bib, Ian Chapman. In the opposite corner, wearing nothing but a fruity grin, Smileyface Pancake. See this image larger.
DING! Ian comes out swinging, and immediately tears into Smileyface… he’s hungry for this win! See this image larger.
With cocky determination Ian belittles his competition: *I eat pancakes for breakfast!* See this image larger.
And that’s it folks! Pancake’s coach has thrown in the napkin, the fight is over! (Ian actually ate that whole thing, and then pointed at his plate and asked Mommy to put some of her pancake “right here,” and then he ate that too!) See this image larger.
https://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svg00vrbfwhttps://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svgvrbfw2009-08-20 23:18:232009-08-20 23:18:23Ian vs. Smileyface Pancake, Round II
Ladies and Gentlemen! The Chapman line has produced many quality young men in its time, but it is time to get over the “boy’s club” mentality and start thinking pink! That’s right, we’re going to have a baby girl sometime in January.
We explained this to Ian last night, and he didn’t seem to care much at the time, but later, on the way to dinner:
“Is not a little boy in mama’s belly… little guh-ul.” His tone was awesome too, it was like he was telling us, and we were slow. He was adamant in his correction.
We only addressed the subject about three times that night, each time saying “little girl.” So I was a little surprised to see him put two and two together as I was recording. Click here to hear the very brief sound-clip.
Someday I might put the audio clip of our reaction on here as well… I had recorded our ultrasound appointment for kicks, and I accidentally kept it on during our giddy post-appointment conversation before Melissa and I went our separate ways to get back to work.
But let’s get on to some ultrasound pictures! Don’t get too freaked out by the imagery, this is just the way ultrasounds work. You end up seeing a “slice.”
Either she’s waving, or she’s trying to tell us that she’s 5 months old. Either way, genius confirmed!
Side view, you can see spine, etc. Head is on the right, looking up.
Ok, so imagine you’re holding the baby at arms length, and her entire body is facing you. Now imagine her in the fetal position. That’s what we’re looking at here. Her head is looking down, so we’re in turn looking down across the bridge of her nose. You can see the umbilical cord there, as well.
Baby lying on her back. The legs are on the left, bent at the knee. One arm is in foreground but the “depth” of the camera is too shallow to get fingers for this shot. Right arm is in background. Her head is NOT fully in the picture, because other bits were in the way… so the technician trimmed the photo to show only the baby parts. So you’re really just seeing her face, looking to the left, back to her ear.
We’re looking straight at the baby’s face here. You can see lips, very nicely in the center bottom… her nose obviously above that. Her eyes look a little strange, but you can almost see better if you sort of squint at them. Imagine eyes shut, the darker lines looking almost like eyelashes, and you might see things better. You can also see her right arm up to the hand, and her left arm where it tucks behind a part of the placenta.
I have a few more shots of her feet and stuff, but I figured this is what everybody wanted to see. I counted 10 toes and 10 fingers!
PS – I was having some odd body aches recently that turned out to be purely muscular in origin. Unfortunately the placement of said aches (left arm and chest) scared us all into thinking I was having heart issues. I’m writing this to let everybody know that I’m fine. Going in for a full physical in a month.
THIS JUST IN: This morning, August 15th, Ian produced a #2 in the standard potty, with a potty seat for toddlers in between he and it. We’re so proud! One small squat for Ian, one giant leap for potty-training progress.
Last weekend’s trip to Fawn Island started with us packing up quickly, scooting out the door right at 5:00 and thinking we were going to make great time… but we hit traffic immediately. We ended up getting our food to go from Arby’s and eating while driving. Ian found this concept to be fairly uninteresting until Melissa offered him a vitamin with his dinner. Somehow a vitamin in the car crossed a line. As we zipped through Brighton, we spotted a hot air balloon. Ian was fascinated as it hovered on the horizon… we were even more surprised that it ended up directly above us, no more than 150 feet above our heads. For miles afterwards it was “Where’d tha balloon go, Mommy?”
Grampa Dave met us over on shore, but thousands of mosquitoes beat him to the punch; I think next time we’ll slather Ian (and ourselves) in our citronella sunscreen — we applied it as we waited, but next time we’ll remember to do it sooner. And I’ll wear pants instead of shorts. It is funny though that both times we’ve met with the onslaught of insects, we get maybe one or two bites each, tops. Perhaps we’re the wrong blood-types.
Grandma Marcia and Elmo say hello to Ian on Saturday, August 8th! See this image larger.
Like any smart hunting party leader, Ian sends his partner ahead to deal with any traps while cautiously observing from a distance — like behind the safety of a kitchen counter, for example. See this image larger.
And then ducks into the frame just as a photo of victory is snapped! See this image larger.
Enjoying some of the evening’s cookie-hunt spoils. (Thanks Grampa Dave for the help, and Grandma Marica for the delicious cookies!) See this image larger.
On Saturday and on into the wee hours of the night, a vicious storm rolled in. You could see on the map that it was a line crossing Michigan like a shoulder belt, from Rockford to Marine City. I’ve heard lightning hit pretty close before, so I’m aware of the kind of clap it can produce when it strikes nearby… but amongst the typical rumbles and crunches, there was one that was closer and louder than anything I’ve heard from Mother Nature. It was one single snap or crack, like from a whip, amplified 100 times. It scared me right out of bed, but Ian slept through it just fine.
Ian stayed up through nap-time, and when it was finally time to go, he conked out very quickly. This is us waiting in line at the ferry to get home! See this image larger.
Since this visit Ian has been very Grampa Dave-centric. For example on Wednesday the 12th, Ian gave out these incredible hugs, the kind where little arms fully circle your neck, like a scarf, and pull in tight. He gave one to Mommy, then one to me. Then he said something about Grampa Dave… it was either “hug like Grampa Dave” or “hug for Grampa Dave.” He circled the living room to see if he could find him and then turned to me and said “YOU’RE Grampa Dave” as if to say that I could stand-in for him while he’s away. Ian gave me another huge hug and then said, very plainly “I love you, Grampa Dave.” It was hilarious, and sweet.
https://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svg00vrbfwhttps://outoftheirminds.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ootmd-logo-dark-wings-3Asset-15.svgvrbfw2009-08-15 08:18:392009-08-15 08:18:39Fawn Island August 2009 Trip, Part I
Ian vs. Smileyface Pancake, Round II
On August 13th, 2009, we went to IHOP yet again and Ian ordered the Smileyface Pancake for a rematch.
Think Pink!
Ladies and Gentlemen! The Chapman line has produced many quality young men in its time, but it is time to get over the “boy’s club” mentality and start thinking pink! That’s right, we’re going to have a baby girl sometime in January.
We explained this to Ian last night, and he didn’t seem to care much at the time, but later, on the way to dinner:
“Is not a little boy in mama’s belly… little guh-ul.” His tone was awesome too, it was like he was telling us, and we were slow. He was adamant in his correction.
We only addressed the subject about three times that night, each time saying “little girl.” So I was a little surprised to see him put two and two together as I was recording. Click here to hear the very brief sound-clip.
Someday I might put the audio clip of our reaction on here as well… I had recorded our ultrasound appointment for kicks, and I accidentally kept it on during our giddy post-appointment conversation before Melissa and I went our separate ways to get back to work.
But let’s get on to some ultrasound pictures! Don’t get too freaked out by the imagery, this is just the way ultrasounds work. You end up seeing a “slice.”
I have a few more shots of her feet and stuff, but I figured this is what everybody wanted to see. I counted 10 toes and 10 fingers!
PS – I was having some odd body aches recently that turned out to be purely muscular in origin. Unfortunately the placement of said aches (left arm and chest) scared us all into thinking I was having heart issues. I’m writing this to let everybody know that I’m fine. Going in for a full physical in a month.
Fawn Island August 2009 Trip, Part I
THIS JUST IN: This morning, August 15th, Ian produced a #2 in the standard potty, with a potty seat for toddlers in between he and it. We’re so proud! One small squat for Ian, one giant leap for potty-training progress.
Last weekend’s trip to Fawn Island started with us packing up quickly, scooting out the door right at 5:00 and thinking we were going to make great time… but we hit traffic immediately. We ended up getting our food to go from Arby’s and eating while driving. Ian found this concept to be fairly uninteresting until Melissa offered him a vitamin with his dinner. Somehow a vitamin in the car crossed a line. As we zipped through Brighton, we spotted a hot air balloon. Ian was fascinated as it hovered on the horizon… we were even more surprised that it ended up directly above us, no more than 150 feet above our heads. For miles afterwards it was “Where’d tha balloon go, Mommy?”
Grampa Dave met us over on shore, but thousands of mosquitoes beat him to the punch; I think next time we’ll slather Ian (and ourselves) in our citronella sunscreen — we applied it as we waited, but next time we’ll remember to do it sooner. And I’ll wear pants instead of shorts. It is funny though that both times we’ve met with the onslaught of insects, we get maybe one or two bites each, tops. Perhaps we’re the wrong blood-types.
On Saturday and on into the wee hours of the night, a vicious storm rolled in. You could see on the map that it was a line crossing Michigan like a shoulder belt, from Rockford to Marine City. I’ve heard lightning hit pretty close before, so I’m aware of the kind of clap it can produce when it strikes nearby… but amongst the typical rumbles and crunches, there was one that was closer and louder than anything I’ve heard from Mother Nature. It was one single snap or crack, like from a whip, amplified 100 times. It scared me right out of bed, but Ian slept through it just fine.
Since this visit Ian has been very Grampa Dave-centric. For example on Wednesday the 12th, Ian gave out these incredible hugs, the kind where little arms fully circle your neck, like a scarf, and pull in tight. He gave one to Mommy, then one to me. Then he said something about Grampa Dave… it was either “hug like Grampa Dave” or “hug for Grampa Dave.” He circled the living room to see if he could find him and then turned to me and said “YOU’RE Grampa Dave” as if to say that I could stand-in for him while he’s away. Ian gave me another huge hug and then said, very plainly “I love you, Grampa Dave.” It was hilarious, and sweet.