kenny laughs

Tonight, I got Kenny to really laugh for the first time. Now I get to spend the rest of my life trying to keep him laughing. That's a task I'm willing to undertake.

kenny's fan club member #117 wins a visit with her hero!

While I was in Vegas for Uncle Shoes' bachelor party weekend*, Overboard and Kenny got a visit from Susan Hahn, who had last seen the boy when he was but a wee lad. There was much smiling, cooing, ooohing, aaahing, and general happiness to be found (so I was told).


*Sitting at the Blackjack table, I was overheard commenting on more than one occasion, that I needed some good cards because, "Baby needs a new pair of shoes! No, seriously, the kid needs some new kicks and have you SEEN what they want for those things these days? What? Yeah, I'll stick..."

today's word: bumbo

The latest rage in baby gear is the Bumbo Baby Seat. According to their Web site:

"The Bumbo Baby Seat is a snug and cozy environment for your baby. This revolutionary infant chair is uniquely designed according to the baby'’s posture. The Bumbo enables babies to sit upright all by themselves! Bumbo Baby Seats are suitable for babies from as young as six weeks (or as soon as they can support their own heads unaided) to an age of approximately fourteen months."

Molly's mommy, Tracey, lent us her Bumbo and Overboard put Kenny in it for the first time the other week. He seemed okay with it, and was somewhat impressed with his ability to sit there, upright, all by himself. Pretty cool.

mr. awesome

the mad viking

The other day I got Kenny ready to go to daycare, and found this awesome hat in his drawer. Put a horn on either side and he's a total Viking! He even gave the camera a nice tough pillager stare to go along with his new look. VICTORY!

overboard excels at multitasking

Overboard often tells me stories of how Sadie seems to want extra attention whenever she starts feeding Mr. Kenny. As soon as she gets ready to sit down with Kenny, bottle in hand, Sadie starts nosing her leg and whining for attention. Overboard feels bad about having to ignore the pooch, but sometimes allays her canine needs by letting Sadie lick her leg while she feeds the boy. In this situation, everyone wins.

sometimes a chair is more than a chair

Especially when it's a suped-up bouncy seat! Kenny loves to chill in his chair, and he's become more and more enamored of the dangling things he can grab onto. According to our trusted baby sources, this is a great way for him to develop his hand and eye coordination skills. I'm all for that. After all, they always teach you to keep your eye on the prize...

oh blog, my blog

Sorry for the radio silence. Things have been hectic, then I went away for the weekend, and well, I just neglected the ol' blog. My apologies. However, to try and make up, here are a few posts for you to enjoy...

kenny relaxing in his favorite chair

more hockey suggestions for the boy

Again, I'm just trying to encourage him a little. You gotta love the Thrashers jammies tho! (big thanks to cousin Adam for sending them along)

tummy time, ain't it a b****?

evenkeel tries to spread the love

Sadie was getting jealous that Kenny was the only one getting held, so I scooped her up. I don't think she was too thrilled.

all good maternity leaves must come to an end

Due to Mr. K's remarkable timing, Overboard's maternity leave lasted from Memorial Day to Labor Day - a true summer vacation.

Unfortunately, her time off has come to an end, and tomorrow morning she returns to the workforce, recharged, refreshed, slightly nervous, and with a decidedly different schedule.

Instead of her old routine of getting in kinda early and staying pretty late, Overboard is on strict orders to get in nice and early and leave at 3:45pm SHARP. Since I'm in charge of dropping Kenny off at day care, that means Overboard is in charge of picking him up. As such, she needs to be on the train and back in Glenview at the same time every day, no excuses.

I've been working with Overboard on her new schedule with some fun role playing exercises.

OVERBOARD (as co-worker): Oh, I know you're getting ready to leave, but we have this important meeting that will only take a few minutes!
EVENKEEL (as Overboard): No.
OVERBOARD: Yes, well, what about that report I just gave you at 3:38 and need done for tonight?
EVENKEEL: #&%$ off.
OVERBOARD: I see. So you're saying it will have to wait until tomorrow then?
EVENKEEL (on the way out the door): Sorry, it will have to wait until tomorrow, you ridiculous twit.

For some reason, she thinks my approach is a bit harsh, but I just want to impress upon her the need to put the boy first. Besides, telling off your staff now and then is just part of the new American corporate culture, right? How the hell would I know, I haven't worked in corporate America in...well...ever.

In a nice end note, Grandma Jackie helped Overboard in the best way she knew how: by taking her shopping for a new work wardrobe. I'm pleased to report that she looks fabulous and will be the envy of the office. I mean, if you don't love an airbrushed picture of Kenny on a shiny bedazzled sweatshirt, then you obviously have no taste.*


*I have been informed that this is why I was not invited along during said shopping expedition. Oh well.

oh yeah, about that dog...

I think it was about a week or two ago when Kenny finally noticed Sadie. He was sitting in his bouncy seat when he glanced over and locked eyes on the dog. He then scrunched his face up in consternation and looked over at me, as if to say, "Hey, Dad, when did we get a dog?"

kenny's favorite new snack

Yes, no matter where you are, or what you're doing, it's the world's greatest snack!


Whether you're hanging out on your boppy,


or relaxing in a soothing bath,

nothing beats the satisfaction you get from a good knuckle sandwich!

more shots of kenny in repose

Napoleon Boppyparte

let's just say that the shirt didn't lie.

kenny kicks it with his buddies

just hangin' with my homies


"So, yeah, I'm all, 'But what if I don't wanna nap?' And she's all, 'You'll nap and you'll like it!' Moms, I'm tellin' ya."


"You know, I see Sadie doing this all the time, but I just don't get the appeal."

grandpa alan loves mr. k too!

Grandpa Alan has been trying for two and a half years to get his grandson Adam to repeat the phrase, "My name is Adam, but my Grandpa calls me Little A." He's getting closer, and we all wonder what he'll do when he finally hears the magic phrase. My guess is that by that time, Petunia will have entered the world, and he'll start in on her. I can hear it now, "My name is Petunia, but my Grandpa calls my brother Little A."

In the meantime, Grandpa Alan has set his sights on Kenny. Now, he wants to hear Kenny one day say, "My name is Kenny, but my Grandpa calls me Mr. K." Well, that, or (in his best Sidney Poitier voice), "They call me, Mr. K!"

grandma jackie loves to hold mr. kenny

Grandma and Grandpa came into town from Atlanta for the long weekend and are having a ball spoiling Mr. K rotten with tons of attention and love. Grandma Jackie can't get enough of the feeding and holding, and who are we to deny her?

a return visit from danny and elise

Danny and Elise came up from St. Louis this weekend and we went out to dinner with them and Danny's cousins Rick, Pablo, and Pablo's wife Penny on Saturday night at Tanoshii (to visit Sushi Mike, who was very much "on his game"). As always, it was great to see them, and since they've been up here twice now, we owe them a visit soon. That trip will be interesting, as it will be my first voyage back to St. Louis since 1996. I wonder if I'll remember where anything is or how to get around town...

you don't look a day over 76

Yesterday was Ms. Sadie's 11th birthday, which makes her 77 in "dog years." I gotta say, for a dog heading into her retirement years, she is remarkably spry and full of life. To honor the pooch, a few words...

I adopted Sadie from the St. Louis Humane Society in early November 1995, when she was but eight weeks old. I, of course, only went in to "look around," so my friend Betsy and I ended up leaving the Humane Society and heading directly to the nearest Pet Smart, where I dropped about $125 on dog supplies.

The little bundle of fur was ridiculously cute, and resembled more of a shepherd/husky mix, as the terrier facial hair hadn't come in yet. I was in love from the start, but definitely a bit nervous that I might have a pretty big dog on my hands before I knew it.

As Sadie approached eight months old, I grew concerned that she had stopped growing. Being my first dog, I was terrified that I was doing something wrong and somehow stunting her growth. The vet assured me that she was healthy, and simply stated, "That's it. That's as big as she's gonna get." Giving her the once-over I realized that a medium-sized dog who fit well in the car wasn't a bad thing at all.

This car-friendly stature would come in handy months later, when Sadie and I spent the month of September 1996 in the car, driving from Atlanta to California and back. Yes, between the monster road trip, and our frequent homestead relocation plan (St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago), my well traveled canine has seen more of the United States than most people have. Not only that, she's peed and pooped on such memorable locations as: Graceland, the Rocky Mountains, UC Berkeley, the Grand Canyon, Harvard, MIT, and Wrigley Field*, to name just a few.

In addition, while living in Boston Sadie was a frequent illegal rider of the T, and even became known to a few of the Green line drivers who always greeted her with a smile and a loving look in the other direction when it came to paying her fare.

Sadie also has an enormous fan club, consisting of the many people she's met over the years who couldn't resist her furry charm. The fan club has even gone international, with a few Eastern European members, who insisted on taking snapshots of her before leaving the States to head back home.

At eleven years, Sadie is my longest relationship, as well as my "first born." When referring to her in front of Kenny, we often call her, "Big Sister Sadie." Other nicknames include: The Sadist, Gaseous Clay, Pooder, Saidle Dreidle, and many many more.

When I adopted Sadie, I was 22 years old, and managing a night club in St. Louis. My hours were appalling, and I had no real schedule to speak of. With the help of wonderful neighbors, and bosses who didn't mind the little fur ball hanging around the club during the daytime, I somehow made it work. In retrospect, getting her was a logistical nightmare and against all logic and common sense**, but I still think it was the best $65 I ever spent.

Here's to you, Ms. Sadie Trouble Rolnick...Happy Birthday and here's to eleven more!


*Okay, she hasn't actually done her business at Wrigley, but I swear she gave it a hopeful glance when we walked past not too long ago.
**Logic and common sense rarely play a part in my decision making process.

ladies and gentlemen, we have a new record

Kenny set a new personal best last night when he went to bed around 8pm and woke up around 6am! Yes, TEN HOURS! I fed the well rested young man after a few congratulatory rounds of, "That's my boy!"

The prolonged sleep is undoubtedly due to the combination of a full bottle followed by a warm bath -- something we may be trying more of in the near future.