./janella.com

I read a lot of things online. I would often read comments that accompany the articles and blog posts. But I’ve grown tired of the often snide and rude remarks people make in the comment section.  Instead of providing meaningful comments, and thoughtful responses that could add to the subject of the article, blog post, or photo, some people choose to make an ugly destructive comment. They make these ugly comments with ease, enjoying the lack of repercussion afforded by their anonymity.

I know my blog doesn’t run into this issue. What I’ve had problems with are spam comments. I receive more spam comments than actual comments each month. And since most people now comment via Facebook, where I crosspost often, having comments enabled on the site appears unnecessary. If you don’t have a Facebook account, I have to ask: “Who are you?”

We are trying to encourage Mia to crawl. Part of how we’re doing this is by placing the desired item just outside her reach. In this case, we’re using my iPhone to play Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning.” Over and over again, Mia kept trying to push herself off the far wall, inching oh-so-close to the iPhone. Unfortunately, she grew tired and didn’t reach her goal. She’ll continue to try until she reaches it. And then we’ll be in serious trouble.

Mia and Her TiVo Remote

Mia discovered our DIRECTV remote while sitting on our bed. She would stare at the remote, running her fingers through the numbers and other buttons, but not press any of them. Then, of course, she would try to stick the remote in her mouth, because that’s what babies do. It’s always difficult to pry the remote from her hands once she has a hold of it,

While doing some cleaning around the house, Farrah found a remote I bought for our TiVo unit - a unit we no longer use. Wow, this would be perfect for Mia! This could be her remote, and we can have our remote back. If she has the TiVo remote by itself, she’ll play with it without end. But if you put both remotes in front of her, she’ll opt for the working DIRECTV remote. My guess is she knows that one works, it does things, whereas the TiVo remote is only there to distract her. Smart girl.

This photo was taken on the morning of March 16, 2011.

It’s amazing how babies can be occupied by their own reflections. Farrah placed Mia in front of the hallway mirror. Mia was able to occupy herself for a good ten minutes. She laughed, clapped her hands, and leaned forward to touch her reflection. his photo was taken on March 5, 2011, using the Canon S95.

Thinking of getting an iPad 2? You should read Marco Arment’s write-up on which version you should consider. If I were to do it all over again, I’d probably get a 3G version. But then again, you now know I’m not considering an iPad 2.

Mia and Kaleb

I have a ton of photos that want to get out of Aperture and published on the site. Unfortunately, my time is not cooperating. I posted a few photos from “An Afternoon with Family”. Hopefully, this will start a flood of new photos posted to the site. I’m optimistic that it will.

The iPad 2 was announced last week. It appears to be another cool Apple device, a nice upgrade from the original iPad – which I currently own. Though I love my gadgets, I don’t think the iPad 2 is for me.

My current item of lust is an 11” MacBook Air (128GB with 4GB of RAM of course).  I have to stress that it has 4GB, because, unlike the MacBook Pro, aftermarket RAM cannot be added later on.  But why would I choose a MacBook Air over an iPad 2?

I agree with Vicky Beeching’s take on the two. It comes down to this:

• iPad=consumption device
• MacBook Air=creation device

Now, there are some people who find the current iPad an adequate creation device, but I am not one of them. My primary form of creating is writing, which I find difficult to accomplish on an iPad. I’ve tried using a Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad. I simply find it awkward to use it in conjunction with the iPad.

The iPad 2 appears to be amazingly fast. It also adds the ability to create more content, having added cameras and other software, which allows you to take photos and videos. You can also edit those photos and videos – a by-product of the amazing speed. But I don’t think I’d use the iPad 2 for such tasks. That’s what I would use the monster iMac to do.

To me, the appeal of the MacBook Air is size and weight. It would be easy to lug around with the heavy DSLR in tow. It would also be easy to simply take out, write a few thoughts, and plunk them back into the backpack.

Of course, this blog post is not stating I am getting a MacBook Air. I’m just saying if I had a choice, I’d prefer a MacBook Air over an iPad 2 (for like Christmas or my birthday).

I’m just saying…..

Two videos of the kids playing together, and later hugging. Awwww!

and

These videos were taken on February 19, 2011.

An informative video from National Geographic. Interesting little facts about what it means to be typical worldwide.

Yesterday, Mia turned eight months old! Wow, it’s amazing how time moves so quickly. She’s not crawling yet, but she successfully flopped onto her belly from this sitting position.

We think she’s starting to teethe. There appears to be a little something in her front lower jaw. She seems OK with what is going on, only becoming fussy every once in a while. Also, she’s been amazing in sleeping through the night. This makes mommy and daddy very happy in the morning.

Happy eight months Mia!

This photo was taken on the morning of March 2, 2011.

Lately, Mia has been able to sleep through the night. Unfortunately, she had a rough night sleeping last night. She woke up crying around 1:40am. This alone wouldn’t be so bad. But then she woke up crying twice more, once at 2:40-ish and then at 4:20-ish.

Each time she wakes up you go through the checklist: Is she hungry? Does her diaper need changing? Is she cold? None of these seemed to be the case last night. I think it came down to her not wanting to be alone, perhaps a night terror attack. Mia was only comforted by having her back and head rubbed while we stood next to her crib.

I’m sure she’ll have a few rough nights in the future. I imagine a time when she’s older when she finds the dark corner in her room scary, or an unfamiliar noise outside will startle her awake. She’ll scream or cry, come running into our room and ask if she can sleep in our bed. We’ll say OK, but only for a little while. She’ll fall asleep in between Farrah and I. We’ll pick up her little self and place her back into her own bed. We’ll rub her back and her head, making sure she’s comfortably asleep.

I know there will be a time when she will no longer come running to our room. But I can imagine a time when she still will, and I smile. I smile because she’s our little girl who’s coming to mommy and daddy for reassurance that everything is OK. And it is OK, even in the middle of the night.

I smile because she’s our little girl.

Wow, Mia has already caught The Batman bug. Fighting crime at such a young age. For now, she’ll do as daddy does and be part of The Batman Family. I see her more in the role of The Huntress - Batman’s daughter in older comic books - rather than Batgirl. But she always has a choice. I have a feeling when she grows up she’ll be more of a Wonder Woman fan, like her cousin Kayla was when she was growing up. Did you hear they’re bringing back Wonder Woman to television? If that turns out to be a hit, I can see Mia in front of the TV watching the show.