Mark of Fridays: Christmas passed

We fell a bit behind on the holiday season, but perhaps we will make it up to you - our dear readers - with a bonanza of information, theories and miscellany. Or perhaps we will get swamped with 2011 Things To Do.

Although this was technically Mark's second Christmas, it felt like his first. Last year, he was a drooling bundle of arms and legs in a car seat. This year, he showed a minor amount of interest in tearing the paper off his gifts. He didn't have the attention span to get through everyone's generosity but he seemed to enjoy the festivities.

While you might expect a child to tear open his presents wildly, Mark ripped the paper delicately, like he was peeling the shell off an egg. Even on the biggest boxes, he would take a sliver in two fingers and lightly tug at it until a quarter-inch of paper came off. Hence the delay in posting. He was opening presents for two weeks.

Anyhow, about the picture. Matt - known locally as Mr. Christmas Cheer - decided it would fun to bring Mark to see the mall Santa.

An earlier attempt by Grandma Hanley had ended in failure. Mark wanted no part of this strange, bearded man. Wouldn't go near him.

Still, Matt thought it would be nice to get the traditional Christmas snapshot. You only get one chance for a 1-year-old picture with The Big Guy. Besides, if Mark screamed that would only mean more high school blackmail photos.

Lynne, a Christmas scrooge, thought the plan was generally bonkers. There would be lines; Mark wouldn't go for it; there would be lines; it was kind of weird. And she was right about the weird: there was an unnerving amount of college aged girls who were waiting in line in coordinated outfits. But the line moved fast.

And, the end result was that Mark - as usual - was a prefect gentleman. He didn't cry. He didn't squirm. He didn't try to run away. He sat still in this strange man's lap while a woman jingled bells and said "Hellllloooo, little man. Hellooooo."

You can almost see him looking at his father, thinking: This man has gotten me into another fine mess. I'm adding this to the nursing home file.

Mark of Fridays: Hurry Christmas, hurry fast

Hello? Is Santa here yet? Hello? Anyone?

Mom?

Dad?

Rudolph?

Mark of Fridays: Christmas is coming

The pig ornaments were hung on the tree with great care.

In hopes that Mark will oink at them like he just don't care.

Mark of Fridays: Randomness

Here's a few random pictures of Mark that are getting a bit old, so we'll toss them up on the blog.

Matt recently noticed that the ratio of Mark minutes to photos has decreased. In the first days of his life it was approximately one picture per 2.2 minutes. Now, it's about six pictures a day. Of course, that rate can quintuple if there is a grandma in the vicinity.

Mark of Fridays: A boy and his dog

We fell a bit behind for various reasons (stupid norovirus!), but we're back-dating a few posts to catch up. Enjoy!

Mark of Fridays: A little off the back

So, Mark has about no hair. He's just basically a baldy - a Charlie Brown, you might say. There's just not much up top. (He has a big head! There's a lot of acreage to cover!)
However, Lynne insisted he was getting a bit of mullet. (As shown in the picture where Mark is stuffing a graham cracker in his face. Look close.)
While Matt acknowledged the 'do was getting a little business-up-top-party-in-the-back, he wouldn't agree that a buzz was necessary. In fact, Matt was decidedly against the haircut because Matt is decidedly cheap. It seemed ridiculous to pay someone to cut five strands of hair. Matt was sure he could do it himself.
At this suggestion, Lynne reminded Matt of previous efforts at home-grown projects. Well played, Red Head.
So, Lynne, Matt and Mark dutifully marched off to the haircut shop.
It was an awesome place for kids. It had a giant slide in it and all the "chairs" were shaped like rocket ships or fire trucks.
When Matt was a kid, he'd sob and wail at the barber shop. This was when he was much, much older than Mark (but not quite in high school). Matt caused quite the scene, apparently. Looking back, Matt can't quite figure out what he was so afraid of. Perhaps a stranger approaching his face with scissors had something to do with it.
So, Matt was a little worried that Mark might totally freak out.

Of course, Mark handled it like a pro. He didn't cry a bit.
And, afterwards, he looked like a Very Big Little Man.
Oh, and the haircut? Fifteen bucks for two and half minutes of cutting.
Even Lynne agrees that Matt can handle the next trim.

Mark of Fridays: I-L-L ugh-hiss-boo

Well, it's November and that means another trip to Champaign for the sheer torture of watching Illinois football. Thankfully, good friends show up, too. Otherwise, the pigskin follies might be overwhelming.

After a one-year hiatus, it was back to Chambana to see the Illini play the hapless Minnesota Golden Gophers. You'll notice that the team was not called the "Fighting" Illini. Alas, there was no fight in the team this year. In addition to being 400 degrees below zero, Illinois found a way to lose to a one-win Gopher team that was ranked among the 10 worst teams in all of college football. That's hard to do.

There was some thought that perhaps children should not be exposed to Illini football. Fear not: most of them spent the game safely tucked away in their hotel rooms.

It was a great weekend and Matt was very grateful that so many people were willing to travel far and pay ludicrous prices for average hotels so everyone could hang out. Seeing all the kids was not only fun, but reminded all the dads of how very, very ancient they are. (10 years out of college!) Thankfully, all of the wives still see the guys as the young, vibrant, agile He-Men they married.

All in all: a great trip. Looking forward to losing to St. Mary's School for the Misdirectional next year!

As far as the pictures, at the top right is Mark and Elyse Theoharis. To the left is Michael and Katelyn Farmer, Elyse and Mark. The irony here is that all the dads had the exact same expressions as the kids. Nathaniel/Kramer was even wearing a similar top.

One last note. Here's the record at UFW's.
2000: Michigan 35, Illinois 31
2001: Illinois 33, Penn State 28
2002: San Jose State 38, Illinois 35
2003: Wisconsin 38, Illinois 20
2004: Michigan 30, Illinois 19
2005: Michigan State 61, Illinois 14
2006: Iowa 24, Illinois 7

2007: Illinois 31, Wisconsin 26

2008: Illinois 55, Indiana 13

2009: Cancelled on account of babies

2010: Minnesota 34, Illinois 30

That's 3-6 through 9 games.

And that doesn't even count a Bears loss to the Saints in 2002 and an Illini basketball loss last year. We're like a reverse horseshoe!