The Perfect Topic

So, I have been struggling to find a topic to blog about for awhile. First, I was going to blog about Jacob telling everyone that I punched out his tooth in the pool, but Lisa stole that idea (See Below). Then, I thought I would help Lisa talk about her birthday, but she told me that was hers (and she is a better writer anyway).

Of course, Super Mario remains a blog possibility due to the constant discussion of him and his brother Luigi, their love triangle with Princess Peach, whether or not Big Bowser or Baby Bowser is cooler, and if Mario is a licensed plumber or just some handyman-type fellow that warps in and cleans the pipe and breaks a bunch of bricks, while trying to get as much money as possible in the process. The mouth of a six-year-old never stops working. Still, I'll save this one for another time when it has really worn on me-- like after a seven day rode trip across the U.S. to Tijuana. I don't know with whom I will be more irritated, Jacob or his Uncle R2, who gave him the Nintendo DS.

Speaking of Tijuana, I would like to blog about all of the nifty things that I plan on doing in Baja California-- from a bullfight to a Mexican soccer game, and from camping on the beach (complete with whale watching) to all of the tourist destinations in San Diego-- not to mention getting our picture taken with the semi-famous donkey painted like a zebra. This picture could be us in a few months... (Also, this picture is proof that there must be a price at which you can also ride the donkey.)  Picture from SeeTijuana.com.

Still, we aren't in Tijuana yet, and a blog post only works if it is in "the now."  Thus, I also considered blogging about the Fourth of July in our nation's capital.  This created a whole new problem, however.  Lisa has specifically told me that I can't write mean stuff.  Unfortunately, this eliminates most of my witty observations.  For example, the sanitized post would simply say, "There are a lot of people in D.C. for the Fourth of July.  We took a trip to Mount Vernon."  (At least, we had some good friends with us.  They are the friends that Lisa previously wrote about here.  And, yes, tractors did come up.  There weren't enough of them at any of the Smithsonian Museums, and he tried to convince his wife to go to a giant tractor store in Pennsylvania.) 

If I wrote about the Fourth, I would have to leave out my reaction to the 300 lb. man wearing a shirt that said "I am freedom" and the way that so many roads were closed, making it next to impossible to see fireworks without sitting in the sun for six straight hours.  Additionally, in all likelihood, anything that I wrote about the communal privy that Washington had on his property would have been edited out of existence as well.  (However, it was a lot like the situation in the bathrooms in the fraternity house where I lived in college-- a good place to do some real problem solving.)   

There are just too many landmines with talk about the Fourth, and if I avoid them all, no one would want to read it.  It would be boring.  I will mention, however, that the daytime fireworks were pretty neat...

To top it all off, I've already talked about learning Spanish. (here.)  I just don't get the same kind of stories from that as I used to get from being a Public Defender.  In fact, Lisa said that she no longer really finds me interesting, because I can't tell her about my day without her falling asleep.  She used to be much more interested when I was making judges upset and fighting for people that cussed me out before they began howling at the moon.  There is just nothing blog worthy about Spanish class right now.  Except maybe that I am on track, even though I still sound like a gringo.

I briefly considered talking indirectly about the people that I have met/seen/talked to/avoided at our apartment complex, by referring to them by made-up nicknames.  For example, my wife's friend, Mrs. Tight Green Pants (Mrs. TGP) or, my former classmate, the Giant Leprechaun, or Crazy Inappropriate Lady, who always asks the most inappropriate questions whenever you see her -- "You have a bunch of kids, are you Mormon?"  "Did you break the elevator because it always stops on your floor?"  "Can my kid come over to your house for dinner? I forgot to keep food in the house."  The problem with that is two-fold.  First, like above, there are too many landmines; and second, if I leave someone out, they may be offended.

That's when I realized that I actually do have the perfect topic-- Andrew.  At nearly four months old, he has not been the focus of many posts.  We have talked about Jacob and Benjy.  We have talked a Lisa.  Most importantly, we have talked about me, but aside from talking about his birth, we haven't really focused on the littlest Polillo yet.

First, Lisa tells me that he sleeps pretty well at night.  Lisa has to tell me this because I sleep like the dead, and it's more work to wake me up than it is to just tend to him herself.  However, in the morning when I get out of the shower, there he is with his eyes wide open as if to say "Good morning, Daddy."  While I get ready, he laughs and giggles at me, and when it is time for me to go, he tells his Mommy that it is time for his breakfast.  Its a nice little ritual that we have.

Yes, he cries.  He is a baby, and that is a fact of life with babies.  Still, Andrew is a sweet boy who laughs at his brothers everyday and reminds me how much I love them, even when they are screaming, giving dirty looks and talking about the Mario Brothers. (In fact, right now, he his looking at me and cooing, either because he is happy that I am writing about him or because he is pooping, I don't know which one it is yet.)  So despite the fact that I have had trouble finding the perfect topic for this post, I am happy that we have not one, or two, but three little guys that make me so happy when I see them.

Disclaimer:  Despite proofreading this post, Lisa would like to disavow all responsibility for the content of the above blog.