Regression

In the world of software development, before releasing a new feature / website / porn collection, it's important to run some regression tests to make sure that your new stuff doesn't break any of your old stuff. If we had a reliable QA office here at fussyninja.blogspot.com, we'd have regression bugs all over the place as every new day seems to break our previously pleasant Finnware a little more as we get deeper and deeper into the 2.0's.

But Finn's not the only one regressing. Mommy&Daddy.com also appears to be hampered by the reappearance of some previously resolved hardware - specifically, baby monitors. We retired our monitor back in the spring, not because Finn had outgrown it, but because the recharger stopped working and we're too cheap to buy a new one.

I was fine with it. Our lives had 75% less ocean sounds, which meant I was no longer falling asleep the minute the monitor was turned on. However, it turns out that Kitty wasn't quite ready to let it go. Apparently, checking Finn's breathing manually every 15 minutes was taking its toll on her. At least we were able to get a free replacement, even if it wasn't the video monitor that would allow us to count his eyelashes while he slept.

I'm still getting used to having the ocean back, but all I can say is: this better not happen with potty training. Once we've got that kid reliably on the potty, the next person to be in diapers will be me.

I can't wait.

Whineoceros

Unfortunately, Baby Center doesn't offer any answers. Just rhetorical questions.

Of course two is not all bad, as today Finn emphatically informed me that he LOVES when I sing the A-B-C song. Plus he claps when I sing him the bulldozer song while he sits on the potty. That's good for my ego. Even though you can't really get a more captive audience than a two-year-old on the toilet, I'll take it.

The downside is the persistent whining. We stopped using the stroller a couple of months ago and now neighborhood walks alternate between hysterical running giggles and dramatic pleas to ride on my shoulders. We're trying not to respond to the whining - as "they" have instructed - and we're asking him to ask politely, which translates into, "Shoulders pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease."

Word on the street is that it was Einstein who defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If that's true, then I am certainly insane as I love to pick him up and put him on my shoulders, but I'm still surprised when he whines for it on the next walk.

Perhaps I need to take a hint from snails and up my meth dosage.

Catching Up

Turns out that summer is a difficult time to blog. This is due, in part, to the fact that by Seattle law every resident is forced to drink a six-pack of beer each night of the summer to please the sun gods who only bless our fair city for three months of the year. And I, for one, obey the law.

It's also due to the fact that the extended summer nights mean Finn's bedtime is pushed waaaaay beyond the typical 7:30 pm cut-off that we enforce during the winter and often falls after 9 pm. That doesn't leave much time for me to type on and on about what a wonderful kid he is, since I'm so busy enjoying him being a wonderful kid.

But that leaves you, fair readers, out in the cold - which isn't fair. So here's a quick update:

Finn still likes:

• Layla
• Diggers
• DVD's about diggers
• Pictures of himself
• Being tickled
• Telling me not to tickle him (tease)

Finn still dislikes:

• Brushing his teeth
• Leaving Layla
• Not watching diggers
• The Red Sox (I'm projecting)

So now that we're all caught up, I'll try to be better about keeping everyone in the loop going forward. In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of Finn on a digger. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of him crying after he fell off this digger and hit his head on the other digger since I was too busy taking this picture.

Finn also dislikes his neglectful dad. But not as much as the Red Sox.

Summer Break

It's finally summer in Seattle, so apologies for the lack of content.

Fussy Ninja will return soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this pic of Friend of the Ninja Kevin Cobb, taken 5 minutes ago.




Ah, summer.

-- Post From My iPhone in beautiful Mt Vernon, WA

Reconciliation

OK, the wedding's back on. All it took were a couple of car trips: one to the zoo (we drove) and one around the backyard (Layla drove) to iron out the domestic tension.


That's the good news. The bad news is that flights to Mars are not cheap. Set up a fare alert now.