Monday, July 11, 2005


roll over, son.... Posted by Picasa

poolidge Posted by Picasa

joshin' Posted by Picasa

pesky gator Posted by Picasa

Retro w/Dapper Dan Posted by Picasa

scared of gators Posted by Picasa

lucky boy part deux Posted by Picasa

lucky boy Posted by Picasa

Easy Chair time w/Grandma Posted by Picasa

snoopin' Posted by Picasa

Sunday, July 10, 2005

The past month

I am a terrible father.

There's much to report since the last post (early June...gasp). Soren is 5.5 months old as of yesterday and has been entertaining many visitors this summer. His Mumsy and G'randy made the trek from Georgia in early June, followed by his Grandmother Mary w/Aunt M.V. from the Greater Fabius, NY metroplex (by way of San Diego). It's fantastic that despite our residence here at the end of the Earth in Abq., Soren's forebears are doing their part to make sure he knows who in Kevin Hale his family is. He's taking his first trip outside NM this Thursday when we fly to Jax to see his Pop's clan in swampy North Florida. The logistics of baby travel seem pretty daunting. We're not leaving until Thursday, but this lengthy list of necessary items is distilling in my head (i.e., car seat, car seat platform for car, stroller, video camera, etc...) and making me grimace.

Soren's feats over the last month can only be described as A M A Z I N G! To wit, last night we were enjoying our supper of raw fish at Mariscos Altamar on Albuquerque's enchanting West Mesa when Soren started getting a little 'fidgety' in our booth. Katherine produced the pacifier from somewhere and he took to it like a duck on a june bug. Things really got exciting when, after the pacifier fell into Soren's lap, he grabbed in his mantislike hands and began maneuvering it toward his slobbering little maw! Breathlessly, we watched as he tried to jam it into his mouth three different ways until - bingo! - he succesfully aligned the nipple and the rest is history. I should point out that Katherine just read this and concurs that it really is "history" because "it will never happen again."

Other achievements:

Soren hates laying on his stomach. But his little neck is pretty strong now, so he holds his head up pretty well and will tolerate ... "tummy time." We've been working with him on rolling over, and he's actually managed to do it a few times on his own.

He much prefers standing up. Yes, that's right. He can stand with (great) assistance for quite a while. He quite enjoys it, and sometimes when you're try to maneuver him into a sitting position, he'll rigidly extend his legs to stand rather than sit. I'm not in any rush to see him on the move, however, as it will literally take us slackers 6 months to kid-proof this houseful of teetering bookshelves and exposed wiring.

But, despite all the cool new stuff he does every day, his best tricks are still smiling, laughing and talking to himself (and us).

Friday, June 10, 2005


Take my picture Posted by Hello

Soren w/Mumsy and Grand-Randy Posted by Hello

Mumsy and Monkey Posted by Hello

What are you eating, Randy? Posted by Hello

Cheese Hound Part Deux Posted by Hello

Good Ol' Boy

Soren will be 4.5 months old tomorrow. He's in the summer of his babyhood, and the developmental milestones seem to zoom by faster and faster. A few weeks ago he started laughing. Not just smiling, but laughing and giggling...like a real person. Katherine also taught him his first trick: he mimics you when you stick your tongue out at him. Speaking of tongue, these days Mr. Soren's tongue is primarily dedicated to pushing slobber out of his mouth and all down the front of his Hawaiian shirt. All that drooling is likely a telltale sign of teething. He's talking more and trying out different voices. One of which is this sort of wildcat meets peacock kind of shriek. He generally delivers it with a smile.

We are going to have to start cutting the feet off of Soren's pajamas if he keeps on stretching out at this rate. We bought him a 3-6 month outfit last weekend and the poor boy can't even straighten his little legs out in it. I look at the postings on this website from a couple of months ago and I can't believe how fast he's growing. It won't be long before I'm posting pictures of me chasing the teenage Soren around the house in my personal mobility device. Slow down boy!

Tuesday, May 31, 2005


Herr "Comb Over" Posted by Hello

The Gnome Posted by Hello

Lawn Boy Posted by Hello

The Outlaw Posted by Hello

Memorial Day hike w/Magdalena and her pop


??? Posted by Hello

Baby Head Posted by Hello

The Trail Boss Posted by Hello

The Cheese Hound Posted by Hello

Soren's Freddie Mercury one piece stage outfit Posted by Hello

4 month celebration Posted by Hello