Saturday, March 02, 2002

Jenn's cousin Lisa and her husband Roy visited tonight. It was fun to have people over. Mia was still slightly sick, and somewhat cranky, so she wasn't a perfect host. She threw a crying fit every time Jenn or I left.

In the morning, we took Mia to Toys R' Us ("R' Us", as Jenn says) to get her some new sippy cups. In the What to Expect the Toddler Years, Jenn read that we should begin trying to wean Mia off the sippy cups with handles. Jenn has started on the first few chapters of this book, the second of the What to Expect Series.
posted by Rick Umali 10:09 PM

I posted more photos (197-201) of Mia. I took a timer shot of me and Mia, and it came out OK.
posted by Rick Umali 9:59 PM

The posting below was meant for Rick's Ramblings. My mom occasionally leaves me voice mail at work. Maybe someday I'll leave voice mail with Mia.
posted by Rick Umali 9:01 AM

Friday, March 01, 2002

The inventor of modern voice mail died yesterday. His name was Gordon Matthews. He was 65.

One day, while standing in the rain near a dumpster, he noticed a huge pile of those pink "While You Were Out" slips. He thought "What if we didn't need those slips of paper anymore?"

He built prototypes, and eventually filed the patent (4,371,752) that was the birth of the modern voice mail era. His first systems were bought by 3M. Other companies soon followed. The company he founded to build and sell voice mail systems would eventually earn millions of dollars in royalties on this technology.

I am not a heavy voice mail user now. As it is, I only receive one or two messages a week. At my last job, however, I was a voice mail geek. I changed my greeting every day: "Today is Friday, March 1. You have reached Rick Umali." The five to ten people who left voice mail for me would know I was in. One of my colleagues configured his voice mail box to send a message to his pager, so he knew whenever a voice mail message arrived for him. Despite my dearth of incoming messages, I couldn't imagine working in an office without voice mail.

Gordon Matthews changed the way businesses work. RIP.
posted by Rick Umali 10:21 PM

Today was a good day for Mia. A normal day. Still a little sniffly, Jenn and I gave her some Pediacare in the evening. During our dinner, we let Mia roam our dining room floor. When she gets especially antsy, we give her a sales circular to play with. She holds it tight in her hand, then mangles it, then rips it, and sometimes she'll stuff some of it in her mouth. As she crawls on the floor, she'll keep it held in her hand, dragging it across the floor.

Sometimes Mia will stand up (holding a chair still) under the dining room table. She's getting to be so tall that her head bumps against the table's frame.

At least Jenn and I get to eat together for a few minutes.
posted by Rick Umali 9:51 PM

Today is the first day of March. Mia will become a one-year-old on March 28. Last year feels like a lifetime away.

I will stop writing this diary at the end of this month. I write a more general online journal, and Mia will make frequent appearances there. I plan to keep updating the Mia Picture Site until the day Mia actually tells me to stop updating it. (I predict this will be around the age of eight.)
posted by Rick Umali 9:49 PM

Thursday, February 28, 2002

Tonight, about an hour after I put Mia down, she had somehow wrapped her blanket around her head. From the monitor downstairs, Jenn and heard crying, but thought nothing of it, as she settled down again. But her cries persisted in an uncharacteristic way, and Jenn eventually found a tired Mia trying to work the blanket free.

Jenn rocked and comforted her, then put her back to sleep. She told me to just lay the blanket next to her. (I typically lay the blanket across Mia's chest, in a strip.)
posted by Rick Umali 10:33 PM

Today is Mia's 11-month 'birthday'. The big one is next month. Time has been flying.
posted by Rick Umali 10:30 PM

Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Danielle van Dam has been missing since the beginning of this month. This story has been in the news ever since, and it's breaking my heart.
posted by Rick Umali 9:48 PM

Mia developed a cold, presumably from her trip to the mall. She was coughing, and sniffling. She wasn't terribly sluggish, but she wasn't terribly active either. She didn't have a good appetite, and she slept a lot. When we feel her head, it doesn't seem like a fever. Day care tomorrow.

Jenn said she watched the Baby Einstein videos with Mia. Mia seems to like Bach better than Mozart.
posted by Rick Umali 9:43 PM

Tuesday, February 26, 2002

I posted more photos (192-195) from our recent visit to see the in-laws. Mia, as I mentioned before, quite enjoys these visits. I think it's all the wonderful people she gets to meet.

Today, Jenn took Mia on a trip to the mall. This is not part of the regular routine, although Jenn remarked that she now knows where a lot of the stay-at-home-moms go during the day. Jenn bought Mia some shoes, a pair of sunglasses and a purse (from Gymboree). My wife is transferring her quite stylish fashion sense to Mia.

Jenn also reported that at the food court, Mia ate briefly from a bowl. Amazing.
posted by Rick Umali 11:03 PM

Monday, February 25, 2002

Over the weekend, Mia and family went to the in-laws for a quick visit. Mia was unusually 'good' (meaning she didn't cry or fuss during dinner, and was largely quiet around the new people). Even so, Mia let out some good 'bellers' when she was held by some of Jenn's relatives. Mia's stranger anxiety would kick in.

The drive to our relatives in Connecticut is about two hours. We try to time it so the drive coincides with one of Mia's naps. This only gives an hour of comfortable driving, and then about an hour of some hard crying. Jenn sits in the back, trying to amuse Mia, but of course she's strapped into her car-seat, and her movement is limited. I started talking about the five-hour drive to see my folks in New Jersey, and Jenn said "maybe next year."
posted by Rick Umali 10:24 PM