The Grand Parents are Grand

I usually am a bit more restrained when talking about my family but today I must brag just a little bit.
We had our first christmas meal today with Jess' and my family joined mostly together. It was fantastic. Eliot, Jess, and I are so lucky to have such supportive family.
I have to work for Christmas itself so this year will be celebrated more before and after less during though the Verry-Gardellas will have a christmas breakfast at grand mamas condo on christmas morning. Preparing for this holiday has been a challenge but thankfully our supportive relatives and friends have been so great.
Eliot's great grandmother Mildred was caught here holding the crying baby after a long photo shoot at the muddy rudder.

‘Twas the week before new years, when all through my town
Fun burglars were stirring through furrowed frowns
Their righteousness hung on the end of their pyres
With which they would rouse evil with morality fires.
You see they were mad at the end of their reign
At being trounced by the green’s grassroots campaign.
These children knew nothing of ruling men said,
Why they have nothing but idealistic ideas in their heads;
”And me with my bureaucracy practiced for years,
Identified youths as the sum of all fears.
They drink and they party and make such a clatter
With their fun loving ways they make me mad as a hatter
Away to Neal Dow’s window I flew like a flash,
Calling an anti alcohol research beurau for cash.
I jumped to conclusions I pounced with my truth,
My hypothesis statement: “Get rid of the youth!”
Young voters, green party, teen advocates,
How many minutes do you have? Better not place you bets.
I’ll ban them I’ll trounce them I will taunt you at large.
And it all suits you well you ungrateful charge.”
After fourteen days of mourning and woe
the seeds of gentrification began to sow.

twas three days before christmas

T'was two hours before work when all through the house not a creature was stirring not even on the couch. Jess was passed out on the sofa I dare, say from thinking of nursing and baby talking care. Eliot was rockin' alone in our room dreaming of breasts and better times in the womb. I myself am here busting a rhyme, What you lookin at honkey, Is being a mutha f ah such a crime!?

When up stairs I heard such a clatter, I thought of asking Stampy what was the matter.
On prancing, on marching, on being to loud, one could always look to Stampy: the home elephant-crowd.
Across the floor this Bonny-doon marched, upsetting a center-piece while uprooting a larch.
He was not to quick nor was he to graceful but what talents he lacked he made sounds by the crateful.
He was not embarrassed by his clomping around, he seemed unaware of his massive sound.
I have told him many times his sounds were the worst so this Christmas I am telling him in fair verse.

I am relying on you to forward this missive, It is so much harder to of peers be dismissive. So when you see friends being a touch rude and loud, tell them you run with a quiet polite crowd.

Very Busy Week

This has been a rather full week despite the two days off ploinked right in the middle of it. I have no classes, I have no election, I have shirked all Christmas related responsibilities yet the stress gets to me. My theory is that the card making I have done on previous holidays has the effect of making me feel morally superior. Since this is wrong on so many fronts I am lead to believe the stress is from confusion from having my hours being gradually switched by Eliot.
Credit should be given to Jess who has, up until recent times not mentioned my strange hours and how they are rather inconvenient for the other people existing in the apartment. She has begun to sweetly allude to a need for a gentle yet complete change of ways in regard to my sleep schedule. As much as I would like to resist her on this one I am inclined to acquiesce.
The hunt for appropriate gifts for the the immediate family took up loads of time with all my buy local self imposed restraints in place. It is so hard to spend twice as much to support local vendors when you are making that money the way I make mine. Especially when the holidays have caused my more psychotic charges to do more insane things than even I thought them capable of.

This is the years last supper invite one of my friends made.

I thought it was to good to not send. It is a fitting rendering(said Kevin as if he knew by not saying so he would be in for it later). Call me a doubting Thomas but I think my beard would qualify me for the role in next years reinactment. Perhaps if I can multiply some beer and have endless pitchers of fish.

How to Make a Baby Laugh

This is a trick I have learned that will probably work on anyone but for babies it is especially good. Jess took this fetching photo of me serenading the boy who thinks his dad is a rock star. I guess the Points were not the only ones who saw the glimmer of stardom in my eyes.
This Holiday season is shaping up nicely. I am trying to be a good gift maker and buyer but have found the task of finding the right gifts and shopping locally to be directly at odds with eachother. None the less I have bought only Maine products from Portland stores which waws my goal. I am hoping to make some art as well since that is the gift that most of the family would rather have anyway.
Dexter is running around on the clean floors. I think he likes the new arragemnets. I cleaned the living room and kitchen top to bottom while Jess was chipping away at the bedroom. It was a job and a half. Work was hard yesterday becuase I was just exhausted from two hours of cleaning after five hours of sleep. I am going to by myself a local version of Alice from the Brady bunch for Christmas for at least one day a month.

These days of being tired and working

Winter vacation has started and I have been loving the absence of school in my mornings. Jes and Eliot wake me up with their cries and eventually I get my lazy but out of bed for a day of mini adventures. Today we went to Pats to get some treasures sent up from Beth. The day before that I returned some library books then had coffee with Jess at Aurora. These days are perfect. Every minute of them we are consuming becuase everyone has been telling us how they wish that they had just tried to enjoy their babies being little more. It is hard to really enjoy your day naturally under these high pressure conditions. Whenever Eliot moves I feel slightly guilty if I do not notice it to quite the extent I should .
These crows flew over us at the beach. There were other crows roosting after dark above the apartment. It was beautiful to hear their wings slip over one another. They are such a neat bird

It is still hard to breathe

Today was finals day in anatomy and physiology. Hopefully all is well. I am frazzled. The continuous state excitement going for the last eleven months may have gotten to me. Holidays always see me go over the edge in one way or another whether it be making snowflakes for the elderly or making cards for my family. This year it is being constantly with Eliot. He is getting my full holiday attention and I think it has overwelmed him because he is asleep. Either that or he is trying to calm me down by example.
I love the holiday so heartily but find my own enthusiasm to be exasperating.
The nice thing about having a child when you are childish is that they give you incentive to get over it. Eliot will have a forever grateful father because of this.

art and holiday

Beans as he is called is a cat of a coworker. Brilliant and very paintable he is. I am thinking baout starting this painting after I get through with a couple of christmas commissions. Today I got a load of interest because of my very cool classmate who brought in my painting after having it framed. It is quite amazing how a relatively simple frame can really boost a picture up past the just casual pet portrait. The weiner dog portrait was beautiful as it stood in a large frame. I am going to have to consider this in the future for my paintings. It increases their value by so much I would be a fool not to.

The social baby eliot

So Here they are I have been so busy with school I have had quite the time trying to get them online. One of these days we will even load them to a flickr account but that is in the future. For now Be happy with these meagre offerings of photo happiness. Also try to avert your spelling wrath for I am not rested.
Jess and I have yet to go on our walk but I will. Our family fun is only beginning this most excellent of tuesdays. Take care and I will write more someday when I don't have a final coming up and there are not baby nails to be clipped and baby diapers(i guess i could just say diapers) to be changed.

Pet Portraits

I am doing pet portraits along with all of the other things I usually do for art commisisons. It should keep me out of mischief this winter since Maine weather keeps me indoors for most of the days. Eliot likes hanging out while I draw and paint too so that is a bonus.
If you have a portrait of any kind you would like me to do just let me know. My prices are reasonable and my product is consistently excellent. If you are interested in seeing some more of the art I have done check out the earlier posts on this blog as my art changes constantly.

Ring of Fire

Elliot is my biggest fan. We have quite a concert deal. Ticketmaster eat your heart out. This is Kevin Live!

Daily Constitutional

Most have seen me around the West end. I have even gotten heckeled by the local teens. I am officially the baby guy. This schedual affords me the privalidge of having time to go out and about with the boy before work. It is quite fun indeed. On this occasion in the picture the boy slept while Jess and I had coffee at BNG. Good egg nog lattes there now I highly recommend them to anyone who is a nog fan.
The hateful cold weather is going to challenge the daily nature of these walks but I am sure I will find a way to get out on most days this winter with my son.

Sorry for all the scrolling you have to do but it is worth it

Had a fantastic holiday with the family on the cape. The food was perfect and creatively done, the company was jovial and excited, and our hosts were superb. Thank you to all of our hosts for all of the accomidations you were so generous with. We could not have managed to have the holiday without you. Jess and I really appreciate it. So to the rest of you loyal readers(are there any?) this is the break down...
Jess and I boarded the downeaster and went to Boston to stay with Tim who picked us up with Tricia and drove us to the cape. It was raining cats and dogs on the way down, none-the-less Eliot did not give a flying fiddlestick so we were good. We arrived just in time and got down to eating with a group of about twnety. The meal was transcendant and we gorged ourselves stretching like jedi warriors preparing for the pie. There were eight but they were magnificant. each had a list of special powers and was terrific. We had a nice vayhsut with the family after and digested the food while peg sang show tunes to eliot(like he doesn't get enough of that at home). It was a merry thanksgiving with one verry-Gardella thing in particular to be thankful for.
Tim put us up for a night. we watched a rediculous sequal to a rediculous movie. It was insipid but never-the-less just what the doctor of digestion had ordered.
The train ride home was great and we saw Kevin D, the benevolant dictator of the hill on the ride home. we had beers, it was noon they were good.

thanksgiving before after then dylans birthday, the days were packed

Eliot encounters strange face making people

Train Pieta

Baby

One Of The Two Cutest Babies In The World

This little bundle is our friend's baby Simon. He is so Cute as you well may see. I have the urge to pinch his cheeks. This is a picture from the below conjioned twin pictures. Clara and Glen came over to intro the new leaders in town. They seemed completely oblivious about eachother. I think they were just overwelmed by the cuteness that existed in the apartment.

Conjoined twins sighting at the verry-gardella palace

These two remarkable conjoined twins are pictured here looking for their mothers. That is the remarkable part. These two fused favorites of twin cities Portland and Auburn have two different mothers. They became conjoined when they realized their stregth is numbers.

I stil don't know how to title love

This is Eliot and I hangin out and snuggling while my breakfast got cold today. We are the best of friends even though I do not have the essential tools of happiness. Everyday we go out on walks around town. I show him off, he is perfect and it is hard to knwo how I can love someone so much as I love him . This boy, he teaches me everything again. He is what love is.

This Boy I Love

It is so amazing to come home every night and find these two little creatures in my home. It is just fantastic.

Our Two Sons

It is a tired day. Worn to the bones it is and then sucked dry of any marrow of energy it may orignially have had. Baby plus Kevin plus school plus work equals tired. So tired I cannot sleep. This delirious state has got the creative works going and I cannot wait till I have real energy to send all of you faire readers my creations of christmas goodness. I think this years snowflakes will be the best ones yet. What say you tiny tim?

It is finally down to Jess, Eliot, School, Work, Art, and Sleep

As most of you may have gathered I was distracting myself with a troublesome election for the last seven months. It is now over and I am glad. It ends just in time to realize I have been overextending myself. Why this blog has found itself to be under-nutured and I apologize for that sweet blog.
From now on I am going to continue to fight the good fight against sleep.
Seriously though all you friends and family whom may have stumbled upon this here rant, I am trying to be a good correspondant but naturally Eliot and Jess are the focus for me right now. Holy Christmas, that is a whole lot of work right there. Eliot had a "vocal" evening last night and had us up for way to long. Hopefully it is just a bit of restlessness. We try to remember what it is like to be that little. I think it is probably just really confusing. He is probably rather overwelmed by everything. I should ask Cindy if she knows of any research that has been done with kids to try and explain what it is like to be one. After thinking about it for a bit I have come to the conclusion it is most likely similar to being a bit drunk and overtired but with a touch of excitement. What do you think blogging community? I bet that would make a great art assignment, "Make an image or piece that relates what it is like being a child." Been trying to come up with a theme for this Christmas' christmas cards. So far I am thinking snowflake.