Our First Video!
Liam’s Big Boy Bed
Liam got a new big boy bed from Auntie Lois. He has done pretty well for the two nights he’s been sleeping in it. The first night, it had the mattress from Auntie Lois and I wanted to put his, more sturdy, mattress on it instead. He cried and cried when we took the Auntie Lois mattress out and put his in, so we made the switch. I proceeded to put a mattress pad and sheet on the A.L. mattress and still he cried. I think we went to read and get his mind off of the mattress situation and came back a little later. He fell asleep on his “new” A.L. mattress and I have yet to switch it out for his crib mattress. Let’s all hope he doesn’t notice! He’s growing up so fast!
Legal Identity Theft
Lisa was researching diapers online. She came across an offer that promised free diapers if she’s fill out a survey. Fair enough; we’re really in need of diapers, so she bit. And was dragged into a horrible cesspool of legal identity theft.
“Legal identity theft? What’s that?” you may ask. Here’s my definition: It’s when you’re tricked into a network of so-called permission-based marketing. Lisa gave up her name, phone number, address, e-mail address, and some important personal facts, such as the fact that we’re parents and the age of our child. She thought such information would be helpful to the diaper company, who would reciprocate with a little bit of free product. Sound too good to be true? It didn’t to us. But it was.
After giving out her contact information, Lisa found out that she had to sign up for a certain number of paid offers to qualify for the free diapers. These offers ranged from other baby products to life insurance. Some were subscription-based, and claimed to offer free opt-out options. That last claim rings a bit hollow to my ear. Within 30 minutes, she received the first phone call on her cell phone, this one from a life insurance agent who was insistent that she sign up for a special offer.
Your contact information is worth something. Specifically, about $40. That’s an average for people who sell data to purveyors of generic mailing lists. Other qualifying factors, such as parenthood and home ownership, can raise that premium.
There’s also a black market for identity information, and by most accounts it’s cheaper to buy your data (this time incuding credit card numbers and bank account numbers) on this market. Makes me wonder when marketeers will start going to the dark side for cheaper info.
Be careful what you sign up for, folks. I read the privacy disclosure on a recent credit card statement (the fine print, if you will) and discovered that I need to opt out of Bank of America sharing my contact info with other companies. They have a special phone number you need to call if you don’t want your data shared.
Liam 18 month update
This is about a month late, but I think it’s better late than never to get this up!
On our drive to the coast a couple of weeks ago, we brainstormed all of the words Liam knows and some of the skills he has up to this point. He amazes us at how fast he learns and picks up on the little things we do. He’s a joy to have around and we’re enjoying him each more every day, especially the days he gets to come to the studio with us. We hope you enjoy the accomplishments of little Liam!
Verbal Words:
up-down = on/off, up/down, in/out
milka milk = milk
momma
dadda
babee
num a nums = yummy food
duck a duck = motorcycle
yallow = yellow
bus (He usually says, “Yallow bus,” as a phrase)
Ma = Maggie
Maa (drawn out /a/)= Max
yep
ow = ouchie
/b/a or /p/a = pacifer (It’s sorta a sound between /b/ and /p/.)
Papa = Grandpa
dadow = Shadow (G’pa & G’ma Fast’s dog)
airplane
apple = banana or any fruit really
a da = all done (usually voiced with the sign)
aya = water
poo-poo
pee-pee
bike
bye-bye
hellow
fishie
book
pul = pool
nano nano= no
Nel = Janel and Breann
Uncle
Aeya = Aaron
de ta = Greta
hair
at = hat
hot
hot dog
dap = Thank you (Voiced with the sign.)
bubble
purple – He knows the word but hasn’t connected it to the color yet.
hand
shoes
feet
no = nose
mou = mouth
eyes
blue
cow
duck
A couple phrases we’ve noticed:
“Uncle Aeya”
“More please”
Signs:
thank you
mom
dad
bird
duck
please
more
milk
dog
all done
cat
water
change (as in his diaper)
Things Liam can do (some of which he really enjoys doing):
-help take pictures
-follows simple 1 or 2 step directions
-identifies features on self and others: mouth, eyes, ears, hand, nose, arm, teeth
-get his swim diaper if he knows we’re going swimming
-read (He loves to read by himself or with an adult!)
-play with Maggie and all over Maggie
-bubbles
-puzzles
-points to nose in response to, “Where is Liam?”
-“Me!”
-blows on food when it’s hot
-will put his face in the water in the swimming pool
At the moment, he’s learning so many new words each day we can’t tell what they are. We’ll get some current pictures of him up soon! Be on the lookout for some simple videos as well!
Friday Funnies: Frozen Grand Central Station
Hey, Shinnfans,
I realize we’ve been a little video-heavy here at andrewandlisa.org lately, but at least you’re not all receiving this in your e-mail inbox. You can watch this or not watch it; I don’t care. But I thought the video was interesting.
Enjoy,
Andrew
Friday Fun: Fonts at War
Cool video intro to one of my favorite tools
OK, so I love Google Docs. But I have a hard time explaining to people why it’s so much cooler than Microsoft Word or another offline text-making tool. Mostly I say ‘collaboration’ and ‘cloud computing’ and people either scratch their heads or run away screaming. Here’s a great video that breaks it down in plain English. Enjoy!
Liam at the beach
He was so happy to arrive at the beach for this morning’s photo shoot! Lisa took him down the slide for the first time today, and he just loved it! He also successfully used chopsticks today at lunch for the first time. He did have a little trouble with the noodles, though, and choked on them a few times. Nevertheless, we’re very proud.
Senior Portraits at the beach
This afternoon, we were shooting with a senior brother and sister set, Adam and Alyssa, in Morro bay. It was a mid-day shoot in Cayucos and near Morro Rock. The harsh sun was challenging, but we managed with a lot of help from Lisa and their mom and a few lighting tricks. Thanks for a fun afternoon, Adam and Alyssa!