Andy's blog

Niranjana pulled her own tooth tonight. Melissa managed to capture the whole thing on video.

Here are a few photos from Niranjana's soccer game this evening. She didn't score any goals, but she played hard and made the other team really work.

Here are a few photos:

A few months ago, I was going through my grandmother's old slides, and I came across some photos of one of my favorite childhood friends, Jeff Dorge.

Niranjana loves soccer, and this is her third summer playing in the YMCA summer league. Additionally, she plays in a youth soccer league in the spring and fall.

Here are a few photos from her game this week (she scored two goals).

When Niranjana decides to dole out some love to her Big Daddy, here's how she often does it. It is equal parts frightening and amusing.

Here's how I was greeting this Fathers Day:

It's Melissa's birthday today! Wont' tell you how old she is, but half a lifetime ago, she had her first legal drink.

Niranjana and I are reading Little House on the Prairie - a first for both of us.

The book as a lot of "Indians" in it, and Ma Ingalls is alarmingly xenophobic, which makes me cringe no less than when we watch Peter Pan and its treatment of "redskins."

Niranjana and I have talked a little bit about Ma Ingalls' attitudes toward the "Indians." Mostly, when I read a chapter title that includes the word "Indians" in it (such as "Indian War Cry"), Niranjana quickly corrects me by pointing out, "Daddy, they aren't real Indians. They're Native Americans!"

On Friday, Niranjana got her annual wellness check, and she is doing great.

The tale of the tape (and scale): 48 inches tall and 51.5 pounds.

This compares with 45.5 inches tall and 47 pounds a year ago. I could swear she has picked up more than 2.5 inches by the way she's able to reach things like the garage door button and things piled on top of the TV cabinet.

Just as I remembered, the Disneyland fireworks show was nothing short of spectacular. In fact, it was even better than the Canada Day display we were amazed by in Victoria a few years ago.

Through much of our visit to Disneyland, Niranjana skipped from place to place. She was, well, like a kid there. We should all live our lives so carefree.

Melissa caught a bit of the skipping as a series of stills, which I converted to video below: