Author Archive

Reading is an excellent past time

Oh Yes?

Oh Yes?

I have been spending much of my free time, such as it is, perusing an excellent library of arctic fiction provided for my education and amusement by my parents. As you may observe in the photograph above, I enjoy the hands-on approach to my reading, grabbing the polar bear by the nose, so to speak, and tugging the story right off of the pages.

In my reading I have found stories that make one cry, and stories that make one laugh. I much prefer the latter.

That was a good one!

That was a good one!

Here you can see me telling a rousing tale to my pet hedgehog, Spiny Norman, and then laughing heartily at his witty rejoinder. Such times we have. And then I find my toes, and all is lost for the next 15 minutes. And what toes are these?

What lovely toes!

What lovely toes!

It is so nice to be able to sit on ones own and enjoy a good book, toe, or hedgehog, is it not?

Solid Food and the Teeth to Sink into it.

I must report that I have finally pushed out several teeth, both upper and lower. This has been a project fraught with many difficulties, to wit: sleepless nights, fits of weeping, red cheeks, a desire to bite things, and a most embarrassing propensity to drool. But the result is most pleasing, as it now allows me to sink my new found pearly whites into another recent discovery: Solid Food!

Solid Food

Solid Food

I have been dining on fresh pheasant in pomegranate sauce, truffles al dente, pan-seared Alaskan eel cakes, and many exotic dishes from the Orient. At least that is what Mother and Father say it is, but the flavor and texture is not much different from the good old-fashions milk I have heretofore been consuming. There is a pleasing thickness to this new concoction, and it makes a wonderful pattern of sticky white slop running down my chin and onto my bib. One excellent way to enjoy this new supper, I have discovered, is to wait for the spoon to just begin to enter one’s mouth and then blow out as hard as you can. This results in a most delightful explosion of sloppy white goop that covers most surfaces within a few feet or so. I highly recommend it.

A hearty laugh makes the well-rounded gentleman

A gentleman should endeavor to cultivate a warm, hearty, and fulsome laugh that is pleasing to the ear, welcoming to the eye, and inviting to the onlooker giving them the irresistible desire to join in the merriment. A winning laugh should be both manly and childlike, filled with youthful abandon and yet fully under the control of its master. In many situations a good hearty laugh can do the work of a thousand witty and politic words, paving the way for friendships, alliances, and even matrimonial bonds. In short, it is a gentleman’s duty to bring forth this healthy outbursting of mirth as it is the duty of a fountain to bring forth the bubbling waters of the spring.

For your edification I have produced here a sampling of my own deep, hearty, and fully manful laugh. Listen and learn.

In order to develop this well formed laughter I employ the device of an amusing animal, in this case Maisy my dog, who does great frolic with an empty paper bag. What dolorous soul could not be soon amused by her frisky antics? And also, who is it who can resist the infection of my well-practiced laugh and thus begin the inescapable paroxysms of the hearty guffaw. I dare say that the answer is “none”.

I have finally met my Grandma Pat!

She was really here. . . or was it all just a dream?

Grandma Pat

Grandma Pat

We were playing one of my favorite games, which is called “take a picture of me while the person holding me blinks.” I play this game often.

Grandma Pat was visiting for the holidays and spent many an hour holding and carrying me around, which was most handy as I have yet to master the art of autonomous locomotion. She said something about coming back to visit in the Summer, which I assume is in a week or two?

I might outweigh my own father!

It is official. I shall ring in the new year at a strapping weight of 19lbs 10 ounces. At just over 4 months old I feel that this is a most satisfying accomplishment.

Big Boy

Big Boy

I feel I should thank all of those who have contributed to my wholesome gerth. I suppose that really means thanking my mom, since she is almost solely responsible for helping me put on the pounds. Thanks mom!

Christmas has been very good to me

It is the festive occasions that truly bring out the best in all of us, when we rejoice in the good fellowship of our brethren the world over.

Also, I get a whole lot of stuff!

Stuff!

Stuff!

The boxes, bows, and wrapping paper are so wonderful to crinkle and put in my mouth that it is hard to understand why so many people want to complicate matters by putting objects inside of the wonderful packages. I have no time for your teethers and rattles! This paper will not chew itself.

Chew that paper!

Chew that paper!

And that, my friends, is the real “reason for the season”.

Down on the Farm

Do you know the Boughtons? They are a most pleasant family who paid me a visit recently. I believe they must be farmers, as they gave me a small farm of my own to tend.

In this picture you can see me tending to my new farm, slopping the pigs, tending the chickens, etc.

Tending to the critters

Tending to the critters

The horse trough is excellent for chewing, although the horse did say that he would like to have it back in time for dinner.

The Boughtons are a delightful family. From what I was able to gather during their brief stay Orion is the mycologist (mushroom expert) and Devina is the baby dance instructor. I am not entirely certain of these facts, but all indications point to these conclusions. Orion took a long sojourn in our woods searching for the lost black mushroom told in myths and legend – which he found!

While he was out exploring, Devina gave me detailed instruction in dancing the ‘Jiggity Jig’, a very complex dance for babies. As per her instructions I practice my footwork every night as I lay in bed, a practice Mother has tried to discourage as she feels that it interferes with my rest. But orders are orders, and I am proud to tell that I have almost mastered the steps as taught to me by Devina.

A Boy and His Dog

There is a wondrous creature I must needs tell you of, for she is full of fun and playful romps, covered in a luxuriant coat of the fluffiest fur, and waits patiently for me to join her in frolic. But alas! I am still but an infant, as yet unable to toddle forth and throw a ball or a frisbee or a stick. This sorry impasse is cause for much consternation on both of our parts.

Mutual longing

Mutual longing

Maisy will bring me her favorite toy, in this case her Kong, and set it at my feet. I am fully aware of what is expected of me, but I simply cannot arrange my limbs in such a way as to comply with her wishes. We spend many hours each day looking at each other longingly, knowing in our hearts that someday we will gambol about with wild abandon – lamps, tables, and chairs be forewarned!

Someday your Prince will come

Someday your Prince will come

Eventually we tire of staring into one another’s eyes and Maisy comes to give me a sniff and a comforting snorfle, and then we must go our separate ways. Such are the travails of a baby’s life, not so dissimilar to those of a dog’s.

Merry Christmas to all my fans.

I wish to thank all of the people who have made this blog so much fun for me to create. At only three and a half months I, and this blog, are at an age where it is appropriate to look back and take stock of all that has been. Having done so, and after many deep moments of meditation, I have come to the conclusion that Christmas trees are shiny, and I would like to put them in my mouth.

A Finn in a Xmas Tree

A Finn in a Xmas Tree

This conclusion is inescapable, given all that I now know. Also, wrapping paper is crinkly, but stops being so after sufficient moistening with the mouth. These are the most important lessons to be learned from this season of shiny, crinkly, sparkling joy.  I have been told that gift giving is also important for the season, but I have been getting gifts all of my life, so I fail to see any difference in that. Excuse me, I have a tree to bite on, if only Mother or Father would hold me close enough!

The Teeth of Victory

The epic journey known as “teething” has begun for me. I know not what fate shall befall me, but I already know that it will occasionally hurt. I know this by the screams that echo through the hours of my travail.

Biting

Biting

It all began innocently enough, with but a trickle of drool running down my chin. At first I thought nothing of it, but then the trickly became a flood, and then the screaming began. Sudden, stabbing pains shot through my body, eliciting the howls of agony that have now become the stuff of legend. Soon I found my only solice in chomping and biting down on things such as: fingers, toys, more fingers, other toys.

chewing

chewing

And yet, for all my hard work, I still have nary a tooth in sight! I am told it could be another 3 months. That’s almost as long as I have been alive on this earth! Good grief, this tooth business is a messy one. Sorry, I shouldn’t talk with my mouth full.