Head size is directly correlational to intelligence! I insist.

Anyone wondering how our four month old is coming along? Dr. B checked her and found the following: She's meeting her milestones, she is in the 75% for height and weight, and has a ginormous head. That's not really a surprise. I pulled out the measuring tape to see if she is reflecting her parents genetics, and indeed she is. I always knew my noggin topped the charts, but turns out so does Jesse's. Here's to Big Headed Folks all over the country! You know you are. I won't name names, but certain folks (Julie) have a free membership in our club. You are welcome to borrow hats, helmets and headbands anytime!

A few laughs with my mom, and my own head history was re-lived. At birth, my head was so big my face got crushed on the way out of the birth canal, and for weeks, my best feature was my ears. When I was 8, my friend Serena's crappy dad called me "Big Head". Jerk. (He also introduced me to Elvira and her vampire show, which rendered me completely paralyzed from fear every time I went outside to feed the dog after dark.) A few years later, my friend Jarod called me Gazoo, after the big headed alien on Flintstones. At a wedding last fall, I ran into a high school friend's parents, and all they could remember to call me was "Nugget," because that's what they dubbed me (and my head) 15 years ago.

Then there is the family history... my mom's hats came from the women's department... when she was 5. When my aunt was born, the first thing the Dr. said to my grandfather was NOT "It's a girl!", but "God damn BIG HEADS!" (Wonder what my grandmother was saying... ) My grandfather's hats were specially made for him. A quick glance through photos of generations beyond that reveal a constant: Big heads. I suspect it's a dominant trait.

So here's where I stand on the issue: The teasing sucked. It really did. But in the grand scheme of things, it was tolerable and a big head really isn't that bad. Besides, better to have MORE space for brains than less, I say. Beyond that, teasing only builds your defense mechanisms, rendering me immune to head jokes at this point in my life. Recall Steve Martin in Roxanne? That's me. There's no head joke I haven't heard, and couldn't top. And, like Steve Martin, I ended up with the hot love interest. (Have you seen my husband?! Soooo much hotter than Darryl Hannah.)

But I hereby let it be known that if anyone makes fun of my darling Vivian's head, whether you are 5 or 50, you will receive a tongue lashing that only someone with a brain as big as mine is capable of. No exceptions.

Misc. and missed photo opps

Thank you all for joining us for that brief hiatus from our regularly scheduled programming. We will be heading out to Bubbie and Granddad's farm again soon, and will have more to share on that matter, but for now we'll just talk fluff.

You know it's summer time when all the Weiss family posts show Zach in diapers. (Hopefully by next year, it will be underwear.) There is nothing like playing the guitar in your diaper. Just thank me for asking Jesse to clothe himself before we took the photo.

Viv, on the other hand, sports a mean ruffle on her bum most days. I figured a little tummy time would help her show it off, but that (rather predictably) just made her angry. And angry usually just isn't what we are trying to showcase. So Zach jumped in and gave the frame at least one happy face.

Not that Viv doesn't have a happy face to show, when she wants...

And finally, let's talk about me. When I had Zach, I lost a ton of hair around 3 months post delivery. Lucky for me, it all grew back. But it came in all at the same time, too, so I ended up with a couple of short spiky horns that only caught up with the rest of my hair last year. I hated those horns. Well, the hair loss is back, which leads me to believe that the horns will be back, too. Good thing we are Longhorns in this house!

Check out the bale of hair I rake out every time I shower:

See ya when we see ya, Bubbie.

If you've been reading our blog for a while, then you have undoubtedly seen countless photos of Bubbie and her fabulous farm in Tennessee. Last week, Jesse made the trek out there again, just in time to escort Bubbie home from the hospital one last time. Bubbie passed away Saturday evening. We miss you so much already, Bubbie.

That said, we were given strict instructions to avoid being "maudlin" in any way when she passed. So, I will temporarily brush aside my typical overly sentimental ways and do my best to express how I knew her in the way she would have it: with humor and a touch of sass.

When Jesse and I first started dating, I learned very quickly that he and his mother had a very close relationship. I think she called him to get the scoop on one of our early dates before I had even left his apartment. She apparently had high hopes for him finally meeting the 'right girl', but wanted to make sure that I was it. So, she sent me a "Compatability Questionairre" just about a month after we started dating. It was after reading this, and sending her what I hoped was an equally wicked questionairre, that I realized I liked my future mother-in-law almost as much as my future husband. Here is a sampling:


The following questions pertain to you:

1. Do you believe that birth control is
a. The responsibility of the woman.
b. The responsibility of the man.
c. The responsibility of whoever stocks the machines at the gas station.

3. What tickled you most when you were a girl:
a. Jokes.
b. Comic books.
c. Uncle Henry.

4. The word “Mephisto” brings to mind:
a. A character in an opera by Gounod based on a character in a play by Marlowe.
b. $200 sneakers.
c. The city where Elvis used to live.

5. When you were growing up, the person most likely to be quoted at the dinner table was:
a. Susan Stamberg
b. Rush Limbaugh
c. Werner Erhard
d. Mr. Spock

6. When you are having personal problems and need advice, you go to:
a. A trusted friend.
b. A trained therapist.
c. Miss Cleo.



The following questions pertain to your people:

1. When you were growing up, what kind of footwear did you see on your father?
a. wing tips
b. Red Wings
c. Birkenstocks
d. Hush Puppies


3. At breakfast, your mother was likely to have:
a. Biscuits and Gravy.
b. Homemade granola.
c. Two valiums and a Tic Tac.

4. Which of the following shows would your family be likely to gather around the TV to watch?
a. Sesame Street.
b. A Billy Graham Crusade.
c. Wrasslin’.

8. Which of the following best describes your family’s experience with alcohol.
a. A quiet Christmas Eve with home made egg nog.
b. New Years Eve with a Champagne toast at midnight.
c. Grandpa passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of Four Roses.

9. Does anyone in your family have:
a. Cancer.
b. Heart disease.
c. Female trouble.
d. More than five digits per appendage.

10. When you were a kid, what did the neighborhood children call your father?
a. Coach
b. Scout Master.
c. Mr. Peepers.


I am happy to say that she was satisfied with my responses and gave Jesse and me her blessing. Some of you may remember her from our wedding when she performed "Goin' to the Chapel" for us on kazoo, with her Austin friends (Frenzabison?) accompanying. What you probably did not know was that Jesse forbade it -- but she did it anyway, because it was funny. She also bought an African Gray parrot around that time. Apparently, they are the most verbal of all parrots. She told us she did it so she could teach it things like, "He never calls; he never writes," so she could haunt us from the grave. Fortunately, he never learned those phrases but did learn lots of other naughty ones.

There is so much more I'd love to share, but I fear I will be heading too far down the forbidden path of sentimentality. I did so enjoy her.

So we will do our best to laugh, despite the tears. You made us love you; it's only fair. See ya when we see ya, Bubbie. Godspeed to Kittyland.

delightfull, deLECTible, DELICIOUS DOUGHNUTS!!!

A couple years ago, one of our favorite bloggers, Sangsterrific, sent Zachary a book. It's now his very favorite book. It is: Arnie the Doughnut.

You may be surprised to learn that this book is about doughnuts. But it's more than that; it crosses genres -- instructional (how doughnuts are made), horror (how doughnuts are thoughtlessly eaten daily), and romance (how a doughnut and a man forge a lasting and fulfilling relationship despite the odds.) It's a great book. You should check it out.

So, we headed over to our local Krispy Kreme to check out the assembly line and partake in this exquisite american treat. Just as we stepped up to the counter to order our doughnut (chocolate icing and rainbow sprinkles, of course), he spotted an even more rare and tasty treat: Pink Milk. Sangsterrific, again, must be credited here. HER blog made mention of the BBC show, Charlie and Lola. My mom, being another faithful reader of Sangsterrific, decided Zach should have DVD's of this show. So he does, and he watches them on occasion, and learned that Lola LOVES pink milk. Now Zachary LOVES pink milk and as of this morning, when he actually tasted it, he is borderline obsessive about it.

A frenzied sugar delirium ensued, peaking for nearly 20 minutes. A collision between a toddler and a drivethrough customer was nearly missed when a certain toddler broke rank -- I think he was trying to chase down their doughnut.

Anyway, this post should probably just be titled "Why Sangsterrific Rules", but that might just be too suck-upy, even for me. So I will just say, "Thanks Tracy!", on behalf of one very satisfied toddler.