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Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

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I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

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Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

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A snarling mass of vitriolic jackals

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… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

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Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open thread

Open thread

by | 72 Comments

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It looks like the blog is all mine today, which means that I can talk about whatever I want.

So, um. Here is a picture of the sprout.

Sylvia

Dr. Mrs. Dr. F. Jr. (DMDFII) has picked up three habits that have me very worried. One, she wakes up routinely around 3:30 these days. We can get long blocks of sleep if we work around it and she does not really much fuss or cry for attention. At weird hours she just is just wide awake and wants to check things out. Two, when she’s up DMDFII is a very active kid. At two and a half months she already rolls over, she has started repeating back basic noises and she LOVES attention and activity. Three, when she does get worked up holding her tight or comforting her does not do much, but she quiets right down when you hold her up to a window so she can see what is going on. Something about the outside world really fascinates her. It was the same with her bjorn carrier: once she was big enough to face forward she found the walks totally captivating.

To summarize, I have a hyper, nocturnal baby who is physically precocious and has a serious need to know what is happening outside the house. It should be a few weeks before she figures out how to work a doorknob.

At the moment we are thinking about investing in either 1) a walled compound, or 2) a corgi.

Reader Interactions

72Comments

  1. 1.

    SiubhanDuinne

    OMG is she ever cute! I am all filled with sqeeeees!!

    How does MAXPUPPEH get along with her? Any sibling rivalry stuff?

  4. 4.

    Carnacki

    Walled compounds only work until they discover ladders or C4. I recommend the toddler ball and chain. It gives them some freedom of movement, but at a speed where you can still catch them.

  5. 5.

    Origuy

    Tim, she’s adorable and your life is going to be hell. My advice–drink heavily.

    In other news, this didn’t happen in Florida

    The sordid tale involves Joseph Small of Sheffield, who checked into a Premier Inn in London while in town to buy a used car. A clerk saw him naked in a hotel corridor on the CCTV camera; when he went to investigate, he found Small holding a fire-extinguisher, whose hose Small then stuck up his bum, while fondling himself and shouting “This country has been taken over by al-Qaeda – go back to Pakistan” at the clerk. The clerk is of Bangladeshi origin. Mr Small later urinated on the lobby carpet while shouting “I’m from Sheffield!”

    :

  6. 6.

    mai naem

    Cutie pie. By the looks of her eyes, you surprised her with the camera flashing. And yeah, she needs a puppeh!!!

  8. 8.

    R-Jud

    Nicely baked kid! She looks and behaves a lot like mine did at that age, right down to the repeating of noises. Bean still is happiest riding in a car or on a train where she can see out the window.

    She is also still up at 3:30 most nights, but has learned to hang out in her room and play quietly rather than come in to our room and jump on daddy or stick fingers up my nose.

  9. 9.

    Emma

    She’s adorable.

    And my mother wants me to tell you “welcome to my world.” I am told I was a nocturnal, active, investigative baby too.

  10. 10.

    scav

    Huzzah for that child!

    Don’t bother with the walled compound, she’s about to pick up a netful of cantankerous collaborators here with rusty farm implements to help dig the tunnels.

  11. 11.

    Mnemosyne

    I probably shouldn’t tell you about how, as a toddler, I figured out how to climb over the child gates my parents put on my bedroom and went downstairs to make myself some french toast in the toaster. It’ll just give you nightmares.

  16. 16.

    catclub

    “I have a hyper, nocturnal baby who is physically precocious and has a serious need to know what is happening outside the house.”

    We have a tabby that is very similar. Still safe on the doorknobs, but levers would be unwise.

  19. 19.

    Ms. D. Ranged in AZ

    That picture is so damn cute! In regards to the noises…you may find that she will vocalize quite a lot up until about 4 mos and then stop. My own son at 4 mos would respond to “I love you” with an all vowel imitation that sounded like “Eye uuuh ewww” and then stopped by the time he reached 5 mos. I was worried at first thinking that something was wrong….only to find out it is fairly common for them to stop verbalization and resume when they are ready to begin the actual talking process (presumably when they can start to make bilabial and dental fricatives, etc.) In spite of the weird hours, this is a wonderful stage!

  21. 21.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Mnemosyne:

    I probably shouldn’t tell you about how,

    And I probably should keep the story of how I was **arrested** for the first time at the age of 2. My 3 yr old brother was arrested as a co-conspirator.

    ** True story. The cop almost shot my dog.

  23. 23.

    dr. luba

    @OzarkHillbilly: So true. My friends have a dog that is largely Aussie sheepdog. They’ve noticed that, when they have parties, by the end of the night the people are all corralled in one corner of the room. The dog is subtle but effective.

  24. 24.

    TriassicSands

    Look at those eyes. Small ears; huge, round eyes. If she were a cat, she’d be a Scottish Fold. (Easily the cutest of all kittens; and what a very cute baby.)

  26. 26.

    Ash Can

    Squeee! What a cutie!

    And I’m sure she’d appreciate the corgi. Poochie can carry the suitcase for her and stand lookout while she hotwires the car.

  28. 28.

    handsmile

    I’d recommend you go with No. 2 (but of course then you’ll have even more of that to clean up).

    And once your adorable daughter gets a little older, a corgi’s herding instincts may prove helpful.

  31. 31.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    DMDFII is a very cute sprout. And also a most interesting one, it sounds. Please note that she does not absolve you from the responsibility of posting pictures of the Maxpuppeh.

  32. 32.

    Comrade Mary

    So incredibly cute!

    It should be a few weeks before she figures out how to work a doorknob.

    Whatever you do, don’t move to a new house in Vancouver. (I actually think the change to the building code is perfectly sensible, but wow, are people hyperventilating over it.)

  33. 33.

    Ash Can

    @Mnemosyne: LOL! That reminds me of a wonderful story someone told here — I can’t remember if it was you or Betty C or someone else — about how she and her sister snookered the hotel room service into serving them daiquiris by faking their mother’s voice and signature and claiming she was in the shower when the drinks arrived.

    Just one more thing for Tim and the Dr. Mrs. Dr. to watch out for.

  35. 35.

    Elizabelle

    Suspect y’all already knew this, but …

    RICHMOND — The state Board of Elections on Monday certified Democrat Mark R. Herring as the winner of the Nov. 5 election for Virginia attorney general, even as the board chairman raised questions about the “integrity” of the vote tallies.

    A recount seems likely in the closest-ever statewide election in Virginia history, although the losing candidate did not immediately call for one.

    Herring, a state senator from Loudoun County, beat state Sen. Mark D. Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg), by 165 votes out of more than 2 million cast.

    Herring had 1,103,777 votes to Obenshain’s 1,103,612, according to the certified tally.

    Obenshain has 10 days in which to request a recount. He has not yet done so; is considering his options.

  37. 37.

    Betty Cracker

    @Ash Can: That was me!

    PS: And Tim — what a cute baby! Boy, are you in for it, brother!

    PPS: But it gets easier: My “baby” is currently installing new backsplash tile in the kitchen. Granted, she’s 14 years older than your sprout, but still…

  40. 40.

    Susanne

    Nope. Don’t believe it. Must be photoshop. No human being can possibly be that adorable. Nice try, but I’m not buying it.

  41. 41.

    Josie

    So cute! Serious tip from the retired mother of an active, precocious child – put a sock on the door knob, held on by a rubber band.. It’s impossible to turn a door knob covered by a loose sock. This will keep her in the house. How you keep her in her room is another issue. I never liked shutting him in the room, so I had to keep him company pretty much 24/7 in the house.

  42. 42.

    geg6

    She’s gorgeous, Tim. And those eyes! Killer!

    She sounds exactly how my mom described me as a baby. You are in for a world of hurt, if her experience with me is any indication.

  44. 44.

    esc

    I have a now year old action baby of my own. We got him a jumperoo at about your daughter’s age, and it was an excellent investment.

  45. 45.

    Tone in DC

    @Ash Can:

    And I’m sure she’d appreciate the corgi. Poochie can carry the suitcase for her and stand lookout while she hotwires the car.

    Great. Now I’ve got the Steve Miller Band in my head. ;-)
    Go on, take the money and run.

  46. 46.

    siciliandish

    Don’t mean to alarm, walled compound probably won’t work. Have you seen those videos of dogs escaping confinement. She and Max would probably work out a deal for treats and freedom.

  47. 47.

    Rob in CT

    Really cute kid.

    This blew me away: “At two and a half months she already rolls over, she has started repeating back basic noises and she LOVES attention and activity”

    2 1/2 months?! Woah.

    Granted, ours were both premies, but damn. My 2nd just hit 6 months and has been doing the “make noises” thing for about 1 month now. Rolling… not yet (rolling to side yes, rolling all the way over, no). And she’s ahead of her sister, at least physically.

    You may want to invest in body armor.

  48. 48.

    PurpleGirl

    Is she ever the cutest! Very squeeee worthy, Wishing you and the Dr. Mrs. Dr. and the baby all the best.

  51. 51.

    MazeDancer

    What a beautiful baby! And such long, artistic fingers. Piano, guitar, drawing, baby lock picking could all be in her future.

    Herding dog is good. Can herd both baby and Max.

  56. 56.

    YellowJournalism

    When she’s older, you’re going to have many a sleepless night. I say invest in an embarrassing old man bathrobe and slippers now so they’ll be properly worn down when you have to open the front door at 3 am to pull her out of a past-curfew make-out session.

  57. 57.

    LAC

    awww. she is a cutie pie cakes of love. Yeah, I would like to tell you it gets calmer, but I can’t, in good conscience. But ours is now in college and has common sense, so ummmm, there you go. :)

  58. 58.

    Elly

    My daughter, Nick, was like this – literally from the day she was born. She always wanted to be where the action was. Not surprisingly, she was crawling by six months, and walking by 10. We completely gave up trying to put her on a normal schedule by the time she was three years old – putting her to bed at 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. was an exercise in futility. Even after she started school, she seldom crashed before 1:00 a.m. – she’d compensate by napping in the afternoon after school got out. On weekends and holidays, she’d happily revert to her “normal” noon-to-4:00 a.m. schedule.

    She’s turning 21 in less than two weeks. FWIW, she’s a very talented artist, a top student, socially aware and possessed of more emotional maturity/common sense than I had at a similar age. Despite all the dire warnings from parenting experts about establishing “good bedtime habits,” her idiosyncratic sleep/wake cycle doesn’t seem to have hurt her at all. It’s just the way she’s made.

  59. 59.

    Cathie from Canada

    Our daughter was like this too. I used to say she had a Whim of Iron.
    She became an excellent athlete and has now finished her PhD in philosophy.
    I remember she was such a livewire that we were sort of afraid to have another baby — but her brother, thank heavens, slept 12 hours straight at the age of 2 months! (He is now a writer and he also has his bachelors degree in Philosophy!)

  62. 62.

    Stella

    She is beautiful. Remember, anyone who ever made fun of putting toddlers on leashes cannot have ever dealt with a hyperactive two year old.

  63. 63.

    Enzymer

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Hear Hear!
    Aussies are great. Even better with a little training they will herd the kid & her friends & keep them contained. We had one that on my brother’s 5th birthday party kept herding all the little kids into one section of the lawn, not letting them cross the driveway.

  66. 66.

    Birthmarker

    She’s beautiful!

    I swear no exaggeration, my younger child played in an organized manner with a chime ball when he was two weeks old!! If it rolled out of reach he cried til you scooted it back to him. He ended up being pretty smart. He’s 23 now.

  67. 67.

    Svensker

    I am simply SLAIN by that baby. Oh my gosh. You have your work cut out for you there, Tim F. and Mrs. Time F.

    But cuteness!

  68. 68.

    Singular

    Cutie… and that’s a fine head of hair she’s got!

    My poppet started sleeping about 10-11 hours a night just after 3 months, so keep yer fingers crossed :)

  70. 70.

    Charity

    Super adorable! Get sleep when you can. My 11 month starting sleeping 5-6 hours at night around 4 months and is now doing 11 hours. Beware of a 9 month sleep regression though…absolutely brutal and had me in tears for many weeks.

    My girl still LOVES to look out the window and look at herself in mirrors. We had large thick paper bats taped up on window during Halloween and those were big time fun to take down and throw on the floor with supervision of course. Mirrors are big fun and the baby safe one we have kept her entertained for 20 minutes at a time which allowed me to eat breakfast. Which is a luxury now. Again, really cute little girl!

  71. 71.

    Sondra

    She is adorable. You have a little night baby. I was too. When I was old enough to get out of bed and walk around I did it almost every night. Mom only caught on when I left my teddy bear in the refridgerator one night and she found it there in the morning.

    I try very hard to keep regular daytime schedules, but I would still prefer to sleep during the day and be up all night.

  72. 72.

    Sondra

    She is adorable. You have a little night baby. I was too. When I was old enough to get out of bed and walk around I did it almost every night. Mom only caught on when I left my teddy bear in the refridgerator one night and she found it there in the morning.

    I try very hard to keep regular daytime schedules, but I would still prefer to sleep during the day and be up all night.

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