Toothiness

Lily and Dad romping on Presidents' Day. Kid is starting to get some chompers, the better which to say 'hi' with at the 2:00 mark.

Hopping Into the DeLorean

L-R: Lily, Ben, Katy

It would seem that every time that I try to make a conscious attempt to update this online diary (also known as a "blog"), my best efforts are thwarted by factors including, but not limited to: work, snow, a precocious child, NBC's Thursday night lineup, Bulls games, alcohol, crippling laziness, writer's block, chores, reading The Hunger Games, deeming it to hard to type in a Snuggie, eating soup, work, eating soup in a Snuggie, Facebook, broken vacuums, sleep, pie and of course, work.

So in the vein of one my favorite shows, Lost, which was prone to many a clip show, wherein they'd recap a whole season in one Benjamin Linus-packed hour, let's hop into the Handfelt Time Machine (Lily's Radio Flyer, tricked out to look like a DeLorean) and go way back to December 2010/January 2011 to see what kind of ambiguous mysteries we can unlock. And yeah, I fast forwarded through most of those clip shows too.

Over Christmas Break, we spent a week back in Iowa holed up with Ron and Susan, eating tenderloins (stay tuned for the Tenderloin Challenge), watching movies, napping, having a few beers with old friends and walking the desolate wasteland that is the Waterloo/Cedar Falls malls.* In other words, Classic Iowa!

Lily celebrated her first birthday on December 30th inside the hallowed halls of The OP on University, where she was feted with gifts, kisses, cupcakes and an Elmo smash cake. The pizza (taco pizza up in your grill!) was tremendous as usual, bringing a tear to this pretentious Chicago bastard's eye.

Everyone was all like, "Wow, he's really getting emotional about his daughter's birthday. What a man. " (Slow clap)

Little did they know it was actually tears of joy, mixed with pain, resulting from the glorious flavors of The Grinder, combined with the fact that I rubbed my eye after touching a jalapeno. No, not that kind! Wait, what?

Regardless, it was quite the milestone for Lily, and she celebrated her first foray into the world of sugar by waking up like four times that night. She was just. that. excited.

For New Year's Eve, we headed down to Cedar Rapids (in theaters now!) and hit up the eclectic Gringo's with Cory and Gretchen for some fajitas and margaritas, before taking in a late showing of True Grit, which turned into a True Nap for the girls. You can't stop this party! Go ahead and try, but it will not stop! This is like the Black Eyed Peas at the Superbowl!

Fast forward the clip show to January. Lily takes a sudden and rather shocking liking towards wearing sunglasses and running around the apartment nude, post-bath. Not both at the same time, although that would be really cute. Daddy works a lot and Mommy cries. Just kidding. (Only about the Mommy crying part. I think. Katy?)

Katy makes Bumbleberry and Key Lime pie in consecutive weekends. My waistline expands, as does her idea of creating a pie empire in Southern Wisconsin. We go to a Bulls game and Las Palmas. While there, I wear a hat that Katy got me for Christmas. Is this newsworthy? Doubtful, but there are no deleted scenes in this clip show my friend.

We stay at The Elysian again and I party like it was 2010 at the Elysian...again. Lily becomes adept at climbing in and out of her wagon, briefly leaves Sesame Street for a dalliance with Yo Gabba Gabba (Elmo, meet Brobee), and decides that she prefers sprinting over the stroller when in public.

We survived Snowgasm 2010 thanks to heavy meals from Turkish Cuisine and heavy doses of Arcade Fire, I perfected a bomb-ass pancake recipe, Lily got a new chair and we got a bunch of art framed. Dear Lord, I'm running on fumes here. Don't make me break out another 'Ben in a hat' mention, cause I will.

I'm finished!

We've got a busy next couple of months, which means that I'll either have a lot to blog about or an excuse not to blog about it. The smart money is on the latter, but never count out a guy in a newsie hat to deliver the news on time.

*Sample exchange at College Square Mall:

Me: "Do they even have a Gap here or anything?"
Katy: "No, but look. That store has a bunch of wolf t-shirts if you need one. And who doesn't?"

One of the few times I took the Snuggie off over at Mom's house. After this photograph, rest assured it went back on, post haste.

We were the most dapper people at Gringo's, partly because we were the only people at Gringo's.

Trouble comes in various forms. This form of trouble will give you an open hand slap and then run away shrieking.

Vampire Weekend wrote the song Cousins about these three.

Katy's bumbleberry pie a la mode. Son of a hoo ha, this was good.

Baby Gaga

The Lomo at Las Palmas - Pork tenderloin with bacon and Victoria beer braised brussel sprouts, butternut squash puree and blueberry-habanero compote. Life affirming.

Bulls game. The hat! (Katy bought it for me, so you can't make fun of me)

Lily at One Year

So the little lady is technically thirteen months old now, so a long overdue Lil-meister update is finally here...and something needs to get posted for BeJesus's sake so that this blog doesn't go into "inactive" status and we get booted out of the internets by the Google Gods. We survived the Chicago Snowpocalypse of 2011 and bring you this latest edition of the HHH. Here's the deets on the first 12-13 months of Lily's life:

Standing 29.25 inches tall and weighing in at 21 pounds of pure muscle (plus three teeth and some major cheeks!), we've got Lily Bryn Handfelt...

LIKES

• Eating bananas and Greek yogurt
• Saying the words hi, dada, momma, cat, dog, duck, and uh-oh!
• Bathtub toys
• Running around after a bath (who doesn't, though?)
• Laughing at pretty much anything and everything
  
• Dogs
• Laughing at dogs
• Pointing at dogs
  
• Carmella (especially using the cat's bottom at a pillow)
• This toy (thanks, Milo and Cody!)
• Throwing things in the toilet when her parents forget to put the lid down
• Trippy Yo Gabba Gabba videos
• Jogging around the house with a fistful of socks in both hands

DISLIKES

• Not being able to be held by Mom or Dad in the morning when they are getting ready for work
• Being told to not to touch Carm's cat food and splash in her water bowl
• Putting on mittens

Check out all the pictures from Lily's one year photo shoot here.

Other things we've been up to (and that we may OR may not write about in the coming days)(and including a few inside jokes):

• My birthday dinner at Alinea (OMG, we have true foodie street cred now!)
• Our week long holiday trip to Iowa (we are now longing for the days of the Waltons and Snuggies)
• Lily's birthday party at the O.P. (and cupcakes!)
• Lily's first parent/teacher conference (excels in all areas except "stair climbing" - however, we have no stairs in our home)
• Ben's work's post-holiday party at the Elysian Hotel (with a few spa treatments, plenty of room service, and only a brief trip to The Basement this time)
• My attempt to make a homemade pie every week (mission was discarded after two weeks, when I decided that I didn't need to gain 40 pounds)
• A date night at one of our very favorite restaurants, Las Palmas, and a Bulls basketball game (and I still rooted for the Dunkin Donuts coffee guy in the big screen race, but lost...no free coffee for me)

Anyway, that's what's up in our little world...thanks for joining us!

"The Fam" outside of our building (before the snow-my-god blizzard).

Birthday Bashes Abound! Lily Celebrates Turning One! Dad and Mom Refuse to Acknowledge Their Pending Mortality!

I will have my cake and eat it too!

Ugh, this looks like clothes.

Smiling on command is for the weak.

Top Albums of 2010, Handfelt'd

1. Vampire Weekend: Contra - A creative and wholly unique mixture of melodies and guitars that causes unbridled happiness in a much more compact, affordable package than Prozac. A musical science experiment that's quirky yet accessible, sweet but never cloying.
2. Spoon: Transference - Their most challenging yet rewarding album yet. If "Written In Reverse" doesn't make you want to go tackle a cat, I don't know what will.
3. The Black Keys: Brothers - A step in the right direction after the comparatively disappointing Attack & Release, this take no prisoners opus could have been #1 if they'd trimmed some of the fat off the last half of the album.
4. Mumford & Sons: Sigh No More - Rousing, sing-along pub rock at it's finest and one of the best live shows I saw in 2010. Weather or not they're "authentic" enough is a debate best left to the skinny jean Pitchfork nerds.
5. Arcade Fire: The Suburbs - Another album with loads of brilliance, that like the Black Keys, could have used a better editor. These guys are peerless when it comes to rocking the concept album.
6. The Dead Weather: Sea of Cowards - Dirty rock, loud guitar Album of the Year from one of Jack White's 627 side projects.
7. LCD Soundsystem: This is Happening - Stuff this danceable is usually outside of my comfort zone, but this is essentially dance music for old white guys. I fit the bill perfectly.
8. Kings of Leon: Come Around Sundown - I was justifiably leery after their last album of fairly generic stadium rock, as I've always preferred their Dirty South sound, but they rebounded nicely with this one, which took me months to finally pull the trigger on. Detractors will have their way with the meandering pace and lack of crunchy riffs, but in my mind this is one of the best, chill albums of the year.
9. My Chemical Romance: Danger Days - It would be a mistake to pigeon hole these glam rockers as an emo flash in the pan. Think Ziggy Stardust meets Queen with a little cock rock swagger thrown in for good measure.
10. MGMT: Flash Delirium - There are no real catchy singles like on their debut, but there also aren't any real clunkers either. Solid hipster tuneage.

Honorable Mention:

Butch Walker: I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart - Not his best effort, but Days/Months/Years was certainly one of the better songs of last year, and the album has it's definite Butch-y moments.
Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - He's a real douche, but his genius label is somewhat justified. But he's still a douche.
The Soft Pack: Self Titled - California garage rock with some punch.
Pete Yorn: Self Titled - This guy churns out albums like I churn out hyperbole, and this one is one of his better efforts in some time.
Band of Horses: Infinite Arms - "Laredo" is a great song. The rest of the album struggles at times to live up to that gold standard, but is still a pleasant ride.

Other albums I enjoyed to one extent or another: Buckcherry, All Night Long; Stone Temple Pilots, Self Titled; Broken Social Scene, Forgiveness Record; Gaslight Anthem, American Slang

Biggest disappointments: The New Pornographers, Together; Broken Bells, Self Titled; Gorillaz, Plastic Beach; Hot Chip, One Night Stand

Top Movies of 2010, Handfelt'd

1. Black Swan – A warped, crazy, beautifully shot film that gets better with repeat viewings. Made me want to be a ballerina when I grow up, eating disorder and all.
2. Inception – Keeping with the theme of films that mess with your head (literally), Inception was the rare blockbuster that challenged rather than pandered.
3. True Grit – A surprisingly straightforward and crowd pleasing Western from the Coen Brothers that had me dusting off my old pair of assless chaps.
4. 127 Hours – A gripping, dare I say upbeat, tale of survival that director Danny Boyle allows to breathe without ever feeling too cramped or static.
5. The Fighter – Boston accents + Christian Bale + boxing + “Not you” = A boxing movie that’s wildly entertaining even if you know where it’s going.
6. The Social Network – Perhaps it's my Farmville bias, but I can’t find it in my heart to agree with the general consensus that this is the best movie of the year. That said, I would certainly accept it's friend request if it would remember me from high school. (Frowny face)
7. Let Me In – Having never seen the original Swedish version, I had no bias one way or another going into this one, but found it to be sufficiently haunting and atmospheric.
8. Predators – Finally a Predator sequel worthy of the “For the love of Carl Weathers, just give us something decent” standards set forth by Predator fanboys, myself included.
9. Winter’s Bone – I read someone call this a companion piece to True Grit and couldn’t agree more. A slow burn thriller that’s like a modern Western by way of Deliverance.
10a The Town – Apparently I’m a sucker for Boston accents. I'm also a sucker for role play that involves Boston accents, flannel shirts, eye black and truffles, but that's a story for another day.
10b The Other Guys – Will Ferrell’s best work since ‘The Landlord’ video on Funny or Die. Nice to see Michael Keaton earning a paycheck too.
10c Get Him to the Greek – I know, ties are a cop out, but I need some levity on this list, and this one had me cracking up like Horatio Sanz in a skit with Jimmy Fallon (/obscure SNL’d). Stroke the furry wall!

Runners up, in no particular order:

The Crazies – surprisingly effective zombie movie that was cool way before The Walking Dead. Takes place in Iowa, yet there are no scenes involving sweet corn, which I found to be a bit disingenuous.
The Book of Eli – Some found the ending to be ridiculous, but I appreciated the sheer audacity of it all and the fact that it was a legitimate twist that I didn’t see coming.
Despicable Me – One of the funniest movies I saw year, and I didn’t even watch it with Lily. Dang it if those minions aren’t adorable.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – A wickedly original, fast paced romp that left me a little confused but a lot exhilarated.
Blue Valentine – Sure, you might need to watch this with a bottle of Prozac, but the performances are devastating, raw and honest.
The Tillman Story - The best (only?) documentary I saw all year.

Films I wanted to see, but was fated not to: Toy Story 3 (need to watch the first two first), Somewhere

Lily Walking and Talking (Kind of)

The 2:00 mark is especially choice.