Leaky Baby

A poem by Sharon Creech:

Leaky baby
leaky baby
I'm a leaky baby.

Blurping milk
on Mommy's clothes
and Daddy's clothes

on their shoulders
on their laps
in their hair

on the couches
and the rugs
and the beds
and the chairs.

Diapers leaking
everywhere

Saliva dripping
down my chin.

Leaky baby
leaky baby
what a leaky baby!

Criminal

So the good news is that I had the opportunity to see Mecklenburg County's new courthouse today and it really is as beautiful as everyone says. The outside structure doesn't seem all that to me, but inside is very elegant and I'm thrilled with the mix of grandeur and intimacy in the lobby. Very cool. BE&K has a little writeup with some pictures - note, this is a pdf file. I came home and was so excited to take a family outing Uptown so Emily could see it (as well as "Jail Central" which is where the Sherriff's office and Magistrate's office is located, just outside of the County jail). Then I remembered how uncomfortable I felt surrounded by all those criminals and other people who I bet want to be criminals when they grow up. No Fink family outing until Vivy is at least 40.

The bad news is that I was pulled over yesterday for having an expired license plate registration. I am *so* bad at things like this (some might remember by revoked plate in 1998 or 1999) but really thought that I had improved. When Officer Herlocker (nice guy) pulled me over yesterday, I was so confident there was a mistake I whipped out the "registration" and kindly informed him to take a hike. He humored me by running the plate again to confirm I was a dumbass and that the paper I gave him was in fact the bill to renew my registration, and not the registration itself. I guess being dumb is just the price I pay for being this good looking.

Christmas Week in Review

On the first day of Christmas...

Mimi came over and we ate brunch, opened presents and watched A Christmas Carol. Vivy got a new mobile that she LOVES and basically sat around looking cute!



On the second day of Christmas...

We took Vivy to the mall for the first time! Randy hates the mall, especially when it's crowded, so he was a very good sport for going. Vivy takes after her mother and really enjoyed perusing the sale racks at Gymboree.

On the third day of Christmas...

We rode Charlotte's new light rail uptown and had dinner at Brixx Pizza. Randy and Vivy had a great time playing on the train.


On the fourth day of Christmas...

The three of us drove around town collecting bottles of Schramsberg Cremant for our little New Year's get together. Three wine stores later we had enough for the party.

On the fifth, sixth and seventh days of Christmas we cleaned our house. Yes, it took three days. I'm learning this is life with a baby!

On the eighth day of Christmas...

We rang in the new year with dear friends, many of whom are my old friends from Wilmington. We played Apples to Apples (which I highly recommend) and drank our Cremant out of our new champagne flutes that we got off Ebay. Our darling daughter slept through the whole party. Go Vivy!

Marty, Chris, Nicole and Brian. Nicole and Brian are leaving to live in Croatia for two years in just a few short weeks, so it was great to see them.

Randy and I almost never take a picture where we are both smiling, so I had to post this!

On the ninth day of Christmas...

Vivy and I had New Year's Day lunch twice! The first time was at a lunch hosted by Steph and Holly at Holly's house. It was a full house, and the food and company were great! Then we met Randy at Heidi's house and celebrated again with the McClintocks. It was a very full and fun day.

Baby Molly (Vivy's best friend although she doesn't know it yet) with Holly. I wish Molly's eyes were open for the picture, but oh well.

This is another one of Vivy's friends-- Salem. She belongs to Sheila and Jody Strange.

On the tenth day of Christmas...

Randy went back to work, and Vivy and I met my college friend Jen MacLean for lunch before she headed back to New Haven. It was great to see Jen and her mom Lauralyn!

On the eleventh day of Christmas...

Vivy showed off for the camera with her baby dance. What a feelin'!


On the Twelth day of Christmas...

We finally had a slow day at home. Randy and Vivy spent the whole day hanging out-- they both loved it. Here are some darling pics Randy took of Viv and Millie.




We hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Eight Maids o' Milking

We got these "Twelve Days of Christmas" wine glasses as a wedding gift from our friends Greg and Andrea. This year I am exclusively drinking out of the "Eight Maids of Milking" glass. Need I say more?

If you haven't got a turkey leg, a turkey wing will do

I never heard Bing Crosby's "Christmas Is A-Coming" until yesterday, and it's my new favorite Christmas song. Tried to find an audio or video link to the song and couldn't, so if you're not familiar with it just call Emily and she'll sing it for you.

Yet Another Great Reason to Support Huckabee