There are common things about being a parent that seem to become uncommon fairly quickly, what with the growing up and aging sort of thing, so I have to chronicle all these little things that happen in case I ever forgot that my son ever did that in the first place.

So right now, my little boy has been saying "Ba" for the past week or so, and he's starting to venture into other words like "Da" and other mumblings. It's all really cute, especially when that sweet little boy voice that he has. And usually when you start saying that to him, he'll carry along, "Ba ba ba"-ing as real as any conversation could be. I'm a little happy that he's saying "Da Da", but in a way it's not really that huge for me. Being that he's just saying whatever he picks up, and that I've never been referred to as Dad, or Da Da, it's more so a coincidence than a Hallmark moment. Or maybe I'm just cynical.

The other thing about that is that in Cantonese, "Pa Pa" was what I used to call my Dad, except without the strong "P" emphasis and with more of an Asian twist. Which kinda made it sound like "Ba ba" anyway. So there you have it.

The other great thing that he's been doing, and this is actually pretty cool, is that his mommy, my wife, has taught him the awesome game. She would say, "How big's the baby?" And then exclaim, "Sooooo Big!" and raise her arms. Well, Alex has learned to raise him arms when you say, "How Big's the baby?" now, with about a 60/40 success rate. And for that 40 percent when he does raise his little arms over his little head, it's the most amazing and wonderful and sweet thing in the world.

Tonight, we also discovered that he's a puppetphile. We have a froggie wash mitt and I was playing with him, mostly just amusing myself with the dexterity that I have in my fingers, and he seems to really dig it. Just laughing and screaming at the top of his lungs. My wife took on the Froggie duty when we were watching, "American Splendor", and Alex was just having a ball with the Froggie.

So anyway, today I called in sick. Actually, I told that that my wife, with her broken leg, was having a hard time today and I had decided to stay home and watch Alex. Which was a blatant lie, but then again, it was true. Except it was a lie. But I stayed home all day and did a little house cleaning, vaccumming and shampooing the carpets for my mom's arrival on Friday. It was the first shampoo for 4 years and the water was disgustingly satisfying. It made me quite proud to see that much dirt go down the toilet. Thanks to B and M for letting us borrow their Dirt Devil. Hmm. I wonder if it would sell as well if they called it Dirt Satan?

So, played hooky today to do some cleaning. I guess that's what happens when you get older. You take days off to do ordinary days, and it ain't that bad.

Alright, I know some of you are turned off by my sudden excitement about the whole Gmail swapping thing, but I got a 20 dollar gift certificate from Amazon.com, which is pretty cool considering. If I were a more patient man, I would've gotten up to 45 bucks, which is 25 more reasons why I should be more patient next time.

But that's over with. I'm just amazed and confounded by the supply/demand of an email account that will eventually be free and widespread. It's amazing how Google managed to create a strong demand for their Gmail without really going public.

My allergies have taken over my entire being today, even after repeated dosages of Alavert and Allergra. I don't know why none of it worked, but I've been nursing a clogged head and foggy disposition the whole darn day. It's not really a great feeling, but it's okay.

Watched "The Last Samurai" with my wife last night, jolly good flick. Would recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to do so. Ken Wantanabe is excellent.

Okay, I really don't have much to add, I guess. Hope you guys enjoy Alex's Faces.

Oh good, back to normal

My eyes, you bad father!

My nose! It's becoming a carrot!

Hey, get outta here!

He looks a little older here.

Argh!

This is what Alex looks like when he's normal. What was cute was after you took a picture - he scrunched up his nose and face because of the flash. So I used Red-Eye Feature to get the light to come on first, which tricked him into making the scrunchy face...
My Missing Cat.

Here's the proper way to handle a Gmail swap. Go to the site below, and look for an offer. Post a few comments saying you do have one available, but am looking for the best offer. Wait. Do it from your Gmail address, that helps. Once you find an offer you like, email them and ask them for the name they want, say, sucker@gmail.com. Then, go into your Gmail account, send the invitation to YOURSELF, but not your Gmail account, and then accept the invitation and set it to sucker@gmail.com. Use your own password. Then email the person from sucker@gmail.com, to prove that it is available and set up. After you have received your swap, give them the password and they can access their new email. They can then change their username and password at their discretion. Good luck!

Well, gave away the last invite on my Gmail, and may or may not be receiving 20 bucks. I should've held out, because someone just offered me 45 bucks for an account. How very very strange a world we live in, whereby something free can be swapped for money. If you have any invitations on your Gmail, follow the link below, and reap the rewards of being a faithful blogger.

Apparently, everyone's crazy about getting a Gmail account, and since I wasted a spare one by making one in my real name, that means I only have one more to swap with someone. I'm hoping for something good.

Swap yours!

My wife is an amazing mother, a beautiful woman, and a wonderful wife. I love her very very much and she means the world to me.

No, I'm not in trouble, just thought the world should know that I'm very much in love with her. So there!

There are some other things going on, but just wanted to announce on this blog that our babies will have a new playmate later this year, as supplied by Brendon and Maralise. Congratulations guys, glad to have you onboard the crazy train of parenthood. We're suppose to keep this under wraps for a while, but I got the okay to do the big expose on them. Woohoo! Keep posted on their new blog, Out West Already.