School pictures

School pictures just get more and more expensive, ya know? This year's price increase was the breaking point - I decided to take them myself (actually, I let Jenny talk me into taking them myself - she's the best). I even ordered prints and wallets and the whole thing. I guess we won't get a class picture, but I can live with that.

And hey, what do you NOT get with the chicken man's school pictures?

An 8 month Smit

Smit 8.0 is so wildly different from all previous versions - by the end of this post you'll be running out to get your own!

Your 8 Month Smitty comes with a variety of New & Improved features!

-Crawls, scoots and pulls up.
-Loves to hip-ride. He clings to me, baby-koala-like, one hand wrapped in my shirt collar and the foot behind me kicking away contentedly.
-Is compatible with all fruits, vegetables, meats, grains - all foods and treats in general.
-Comes with a fascination with the electrical outlet covers.
-Has a love-hate relationship with Joe's hat. He grabs the brim in both chubby fists, talks to it animatedly then loses his temper and tries to take a big slobbery chomp out of it. Joe says his viewpoint of the experience is quite unique.
-Eats cheerios, puffed cereal and bits of cracker by rolling his drooly fist in the pile, sucking the bits and crumbs off and starting over.
-Has a lot to say, (translation book sold separately)
-Loves Baby Einstein and Sesame Street videos (manamana... doo dooooo do do do).

Bugs in Smit 8.0

-Nursing is a little more high-energy with increased levels of arm-waving, hair-pulling, foot-kicking, pulling, nipping and general distractedness.
-If your Smitty is not fed promptly and fast enough, it will develop (between bites) a high-pitched yowl that will grow into a piercing shriek unless the problem is remedied.
-A mean old tooth is trying to work its way in, causing night-waking and general crankiness (a temporary patch is available in the form of frozen mangoes and bananas.)