Some January kidspeak:

“Whatever food you’re making I’ll be in time for.”
— the kid’s response to “Breakfast is ready!”

Dad: “Look! We’re going through the castle. That’s the portcullis.
Do you know what that is?”
Kid: “Yes.”
— a conversation as we enter Disneyland

“Why does your hair look like a little crown, Dad?”
“Why does your hair look like fireworks?”
“What did you say about your hair looking like the water show?”
— the kid riffs on her dad’s hair

January was pretty fun. In addition to the kid celebrating her fifth birthday, we also had a fun trip to a little place called Disneyland.

January Happenings:

• We celebrated the new year with a trip to the beach
• We wrote about a letter from Santa
• The kid and her mom saw the SF Nutcracker
• We posted a Disneyland video

January Book Readin’:

A Storm of Swords

The Killer of Little Shepherds

Movie Watchin’:

Midnight In Paris

50/50

Crazy, Stupid Love

Fish Story

TV Gazin’:

Downton Abbey, Season 1

Downton Abbey, Season 2

“That was exciting!”
— the kid, as we leave Disneyland’s “Soarin’ Over California”

“Nice one, Dad!”
— the kid comments on her dad’s use of a hair dryer on his shoes after a rainy day at Disneyland

Here’s another video with pics from our Disneyland trip.

Music Used:

• “It’s A Small World“, “The Aristocats“, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“, and “The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers“, from the Sherman Brothers Songbook performed by various artists and written by the Sherman Brothers

“It’s a hotel after all.”
— the kid, when asked to name her favorite Disneyland ride

We just spent four days at Disneyland and I’m actually quite surprised to say that we happily would’ve spent even more time there.

I’m sure we’ll be posting lots of words and pictures. For now, here’s a video of our time there.

“Ow! Oww! Those are real owws!”
— the kid provides commentary while her mom combs the tangles out of her hair

The kid’s been interested in building forts since she was a wobbly toddler.

She’s constantly strewing blankets precariously over assorted fixtures around the house, creating little canopied bunkers from which she can hide (and sometimes) plot and plan capers against her unsuspecting parents.

She can be very single-minded while in “fort creation mode”, with zero qualms about sneaking up to a happily napping parent and sprinting off with said parent’s warm and toasty blanket.

I have to admit, her fort-building prowess has increased exponentially over the years.

Though she’s still a sneaky little blanky thief.

“If you keep waving quickly your hand feels soft, least it does for me.”
— the kid explains her waving technique

Here are a few more pics from a recent trip to the beach. I played a bit with ‘em, striving for more of a vintage look.

The two girls, carefully navigating their way down a few wobbly steps on their way to the sand.

Jill at low tide under a big grey sky.

I like this subdued color look a lot. Many of my earliest childhood memories have this look. Blame Kodak film, I guess.

The kid sketches in the sand.

More fun with driftwood.

New kid, old look.

Saying goodbye to the beach.

December Kidspeak:

“Well what do you know….I’ve been wanting one of these for years!”
— the kid, while opening items found in her Christmas stocking

“Think pink! Think pink! That proves the kitchen sink!”
“Everything is muffin, YES, when strawberries are here!”
— the kid, making up songs as she runs up and down the hall

Another month (and year!) is now history. The kid and her mom instructed me to wake them up right before midnight so they could ring in the new year. However, when I gave Jill a little nudge at 11:53 PM, she gave me a “What are you, crazy?” look and immediately went back to sleep. Oh well.

Happy new year.

December Happenings:

• We created a July – December, 2011 video and photo collage
• We posted a few Christmas videos here, here, and here
• We visited the 2011 Dickens Fair
• We visited a Waldorf school

December Book Readin’:

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

My 2011 Reading List (from most to least enjoyed):

• A Clash of Kings – George R. R. Martin
• A Game of Thrones – George R. R. Martin
• Unbroken – Laura Hildebrand
• Moneyball – Michael Lewis
• The Call of the Wild – Jack London
• A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson
• Ready Player One – Ernest Cline
• Moonwalking with Einstein – Joshua Foer
• Life of Pi – Yann Martel
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe – Douglas Adams
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
• Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins
• Freakonomics- Steven Levitt
• The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
• The Psychopath Test – Jon Ronson
• The Partly Cloudy Patriot – Sarah Vowell
• The Professor and the Madman – Simon Winchester
• A Visit From the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan
• Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs – Chuck Klosterman
• ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun – James Miller and Tom Shales
• Notes from a Small Island – Bill Bryson
• I’m a Stranger Here Myself – Bill Bryson

Movie Watchin’:

Hugo

Limitless

Warrior

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

TV Gazin’:

Community, Season 3

Amazing Race, Season 19

American Horror Story, Season 1

Dad: “You’re, uh…”
Kid: “…THE BEST KID IN THE WHOLE WORLD. THE END!”
— the kid finishes her dad’s sentence for him

Here’s the latest chapter of “Life with the Kid”. In this ongoing series I post a video collage of pics and videos from the past half year.

This latest installment contains approximately 180 photos and 20 video clips and clocks in at 9 minutes and 37 seconds.

Previous installments:

1. 2007: Part 1 (Jan – Jun) | Part 2 (Jul – Dec)
2. 2008: Part 1 | Part 2
3. 2009: Part 1 | Part 2
4. 2010: Part 1 | Part 2
5. 2011: Part 1 | Part 2

All pics and short videos used in this collage were taken from July through December, 2011.

Music used:

• “Feel Good Inc.” from Demon Days by Gorrilaz
• “Coffee & TV” from 13 by Blur
• “Porno Music” from the Freaks & Geeks Soundtrack by Michael Andrews

“Ooh look, a tiny cat chocolate. I’ve been wondering if there was a new kind of chocolate.”
— the kid, while digging through her Christmas stocking

Here’s “Oy, They Grow Up Fast #10″, the latest post in an ongoing series showing how the kid has changed over the past six months.

Below you can find previous “Oy, They Grow Up Fast” posts. Click on a pic to view the original post.

And here’s a super-sized version with all 60 pics:

“I wish Wube was here, then he could claw Daddy’s ear.”
— the kid thinks of ways to wake someone up

Here’s a video of our Christmas morning. The first half focuses on a kid and her stocking, the second half on waking up a lazy daddy before presents are opened.

Music Used:

• “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Jingle Bells”, and “Winter Wonderland” from Christmas with Chet Atkins by Chet Atkins

“And that is Wubie dressed as an angel.”
— the kid explains a Christmas drawing

It’s that time of the year, so I’m cranking out some home movies. Here’s a video of yesterday’s our Christmas get-together at my mom’s place. Every year we say “Wow, look how grown up the kids are!” For some reason it seemed especially apparent this year.

Sorry you couldn’t make it!: Sam & Mirjana & family (OR), Tisa & Jim (HI), Nina & Larry (TX), Michelle & Michael (CT!)

Music Used:

• “Deck the Halls”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, “Silent Night”, “Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)”, from Christmas Album by Charlie Byrd