More basketball?

If possible, Myla's love of the roundball has only grown in the last few weeks. She still says "basketball" countless times each day, and she brings us the remote and demands we find some hoops on TV. She now says "basketball hoop" and can find balls and hoops in the strangest locations--sometimes we'll be in the car and she'll say it, and sure enough I'll look out the window and see a court.

Each morning when she gets up, the first thing she wants to do is read her basketball book. This is a lift-the-flap book that Pop picked out for her, that teaches concepts like numbers and opposites using NBA and WNBA images. It's really a hoot--check out the picture they used for the number 8: Latrell Sprewell.

Lazy Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, we had a lazy Sunday morning in. I made heart-shaped pancakes, and we all played all morning. Myla enjoyed the stickers we gave her (Matthew enjoyed them less):


Myla feeding her baby:

Love the shades, Nana and Pop!

Matthew with the girls:

20 Months and Some Big News

Here are the photos from Myla's 20-month shoot. Pay special attention to her t-shirt!

That's right, Myla is going to be a big sister! We're having another baby, due August 25. I'm just over 13 weeks, so out of the first trimester. Blazebaby 2.0 and I are both doing great so far. And we have 6 more months to teach Myla that she can't drag a real baby around by the hair:

Well, she has one part of the process down . . .

We recently bought Myla a little potty and put it in the bathroom, just to start introducing her to the idea. She's starting to figure out what it's about--or at least part of it. The other day I walked past the bathroom and this is what I saw. Too, too funny.

"Geez, Mom, could I get a little privacy, please?"

Buckles Court Dedication

You've probably already seen this on Kelly's blog, but in early January the floor of the gym where Dad coached for so many years was named in his honor. As part of the dedication, we had a reception with lots of former players, coaches, and managers, plus friends and family. Myla and I were really happy to be there (Matthew had to honor his lifelong Bengals fanship by attending their playoff game), and it was this event that triggered Myla's passion for hoops. Here are a few of her handling the rock during the reception:

A great shot of the family--after all, the court has our name on it too!

Finally, I absolutely love this picture from after the game. Myla and Pop took a walk across the court, and it's a nice preview of how Dad will be spending more of his time now that he's retired:

19 Months Photo Shoot

We'll get blog-catch-up week started with Myla's 19 month photos. We can sometimes get her to hold the sign up to the camera now!

A little giggle box to brighten your day

Here's a recent video of Myla playing. It doesn't take much to get her going!


We're having technical difficulties with our videos, but hope to post more soon. Plus, lots more posting of our winter pictures to come this week. Stay tuned!

First Swim Lesson

Last Sunday, Myla had her first swim lesson. One of the great benefits of working at ND is all of the different family programs they offer on campus. Now that we have Myla we get to take advantage of the Parent-Tot swim class and I can't think of a better way to spend my Sunday afternoon than jumping in the pool and showing off my pasty-white South Bend tan with people I kind of know from campus.


Myla was a little hesitant at first. She has been in swimming pools plenty of times, but usually with a strong grip in whoever is holding her. We started off with some dancing and singing (no video or pictures of that) and then some practice floating. Myla was a pro and was so relaxed as I supported her on her back that I thought she might fall asleep. We practiced reaching out in the water as she chased a rubber duckie around the pool and then we finished with her first dunking. I put her under the water three times and she didn't really have much of a reaction. She just kind of looked at me funny. Maybe we'll get Mommy in the pool next time!

Hoop Dreams

Myla is obsessed with basketball. There's really no other way to say it. We first saw it at my dad's retirement celebration, where she watched the game intently and loved playing with a basketball during the reception. Then, a couple of weeks ago, we took her to one of Matthew's intramural games. She was in heaven. The court is bordered by these little benches, and she rolled her basketball up to it, sat on it, and folded her arms on the bench to watch:



She seems to know when to clap, and she yelled out "Daddy! Daddy!" across a silent gym while Matthew was shooting free throws. He was cracking up so much that he missed them both.

Since that visit, Myla has learned to say "basketball" (her first three-syllable word), and says it about 100 times a day. She plays with her basketballs at home and at school, and often points to the TV and demands: "basketball!" She isn't much for TV watching generally, but she likes it when hoops are on!

Perhaps it was inevitable given her genes, but we may have a gym rat on our hands.

UPDATE: Matthew added this awesome video he shot of M.J. procaiming her love: