Congratulations Cal!!

Baltimore's favorite son (sorry John Waters -- you're second, I promise) was inducted into the Hall of Fame today. Cal Ripken, Jr. and his co-inductee, Tony Gwynn, represent everything good about baseball. All-around good guys who went to the park everyday, not for individual glory, but for the team and for baseball. They loved the game and considered it an honor to be able to play. There was no talk about drugs or steroids. The worst thing you could say about these guys is that they put on a few pounds as they got older (and haven't we all). Well, unless you count that whole Kevin Costner rumor...

I grew up in Baltimore during the Ripken era. I remember when you were lucky to score Orioles tickets and a trip to the game was an event. Yankees fans would have never outnumbered O's fans at Memorial Stadium. And there was Cal. Always doing his best and always hanging around to sign autographs after the game. Now, all we can hope is that someday Peter Angelos will sell the O's to Cal, and we can be one step closer the the good old days.

The Brustons...

Mommy













Daddy













and Colin!

Wanna Pownce?

You may have noticed the new feed on the right with random musings that I occasionally post on Pownce. Pownce is a relatively new mini-blogging service that my friend Kelly introduced me to. If you're interested in trying it out, I have 5 invites available to my loyal readers. These invites are selling for as much as $1.49 on ebay!

Life's Too Short To...

Inspired by a post in Megan's blog, I think life's too short to:

- act like an adult all the time.
- work weekends if you don't really have to.
- have regrets.

Colin thinks life's too short to:

- be held for too long.
- take too many naps.
- not get wet and dirty.

Let us know what's on your list.

School Daze

Colin started daycare last Monday. He cries like crazy when Daddy drops him off, but we're told he's fine the rest of the day. When we went to pick him up last Tuesday, he was outside playing ball. He saw us, smiled, and ran off. So much for missing Mommy and Daddy.

Daddy had to pick him up early on Thursday because he had a fever of 102. His fever was gone on Friday, but by Saturday, he had some gunk in his eye ("ocular discharge," as Daddy likes to say). He was absolutely miserable yesterday, so Daddy took him to the doctor today. The eye gunk may or may not be pink eye, so the doctor prescribed some eye drops (eye drops + toddler = fun for all). And, he has an ear infection. Three days of daycare, two infections. Great.

Little Bo Peep

Colin hasn't been sleeping lately. For the last 4 out of 6 nights, he's woken up in the middle of the night, crying, and refusing to go back to sleep. He's slept through the night pretty consistently since he was 14 weeks old, so we knew that something was wrong. We guessed it was probably an ear infection.

Steve took him to the doctor today. His ears aren't infected, but he has hand, food and mouth disease (not to be confused with foot and mouth disease, which can infect cows, sheep, and pigs). Since it's a virus, there's no treatment, except for some pain reliever and letting it run its course. Daddy and I are really missing a full night's sleep, so prayers for a fast recovery would be appreciated!

Fun With Grandma and Grandpa

While Daddy and I watched the Orioles lose (again), Colin spent the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday.

First he played with his farm.










Spent some time climbing in and out of the kitchen chairs.













Found a new hat.










Played in the pool with Bruno.










Had a snack.










Got watered.










And had an all around good time.










In fact, he had so much fun, he couldn't quite make it through dinner.

Ups and Downs

Colin learned in Chicago that he could climb up onto the couch. He also learned that sitting on the couch to eat your snack is much better than sitting on the floor. Now, he's a climbing machine. At Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday, he got up on a kitchen chair all by himself.











Of course, as fun as it is to climb up and down, in and out may be even better.

Daddy and I were just remembering the other day how we used to be able to put him in his bouncy seat or swing and not worry about him going anywhere.









But what fun is that?

The Windy City

We just got back from a one-week vacation in Chicago, with stops in Cleveland and Pittsburgh on the way back (yes, we drove and yes, we're crazy). Some highlights:

The Lego Store












Chicago Children's Museum












Wrigley Field













The Art Institute









Millennium Park









Cloud Gate Sculpture










Napping after the Field Museum










Shedd Aquarium










Jacobs Field










PNC Park

15-Month Stats

Colin had his 15-month appointment today. He weighs a healthy 28 pounds (80th percentile) and is 31.25 inches tall (50th percentile). Our doctor says he's happy and healthy and is right on track with his development. He had to get three shots today. He didn't cry until after he got the second one and was really crying after the third. I put him down after the last shot and told him we were finished and he started clapping. He can be pretty cute. We have another appointment in three months.