Boyhood

I really like this picture of Cullen. He's getting in a battalion of teeth right now, and you can see them if you look really, really close. He's also beginning to talk ("ba-ba-ba"), to eat buffer solid foods, and crawling isn't far off.

The other day we had this conversation:

Cullen: Screeetch, eeeeeeep, ba-ba-ba!! (Or something like that.)

Me: Hahaha!

Cullen: Hahaha!

Cheryl: Ken, don't play with him during mealtime!

Me: He started it!

Ahhh, good times.

Speaking of good times, I recorded the 1976 version of "King Kong" that was playing on TV the other night...


This was a favorite boyhood movie. I think I may have even seen it in the theater (I would've been 6 years old); I definitely owned the King Kong lunch box. As I watched the ending of it the other day, I thought to myself - "Hey, that's just a guy in a big ape suit!" And there were a few unrealistic moments (just a few) in which Kong climbed up the World Trade Center, balancing his weight on the same arm with which he was carrying Faye Dunaway, and yet she was unharmed. But my disappointment gave way to emotion as King Kong was filled with bullet holes by the US military helicopters. Very, very sad.

Happy Mother's Day!

Last year at this time, we celebrated Mother's Day when Cullen was still "TBA" to the world at large... Through his link to the outside world, he gave his mom a nice card with a little apology inside for making her a wee bit uncomfortable. This year, Cullen was able to celebrate with mom in style!


What a great mommy! Happy Mother's Day, Cheryl!

Morning Ritual

Like his dad, Cullen enjoys reading the newspaper while he eats.

As you can see, he's still learning how to open it to the right page.


Okay, Dad, maybe you can turn the page for me...

First Landing State Park

Not content to sit quietly in the backyard grass, Cullen convinced us to take a more substantial outing - to First Landing State Park.

Here's Cullen, ready to roll:


He prefers not to actually wear the hat, as you can see.

Now we know our hiking friends would rather see that Cullen was able to actually hike the trails. Well, hike them he did! He was not about to be left in his stroller... that would have made this a "stroll through the park," whereas this was a bona fide outdoor adventure.


No one was happier than Smarty, who not only enjoyed the forest but also her good friends Joel and Elizabeth. Happy Birthday, Joel! And thanks for the three pictures above, too.


We only experienced a scoche of the park, but there are miles and miles of trails, a lake, and even an ocean. Not many state parks have their own ocean!

Want to join our next expedition?

Field Representative

Here's Cullen checking out how things are going "on the ground"!