Warhol on Madelyn

The Next Biceling Cometh...

Greetings again family, friends, and interested readers:

Well things have been a bit busy around here lately and I've been remiss in my blog-posting duties. There are new pictures to be posted, but they'll have to wait just a bit longer until I have a chance to sit down and get them up properly.

The biggest news for this week though is that we went and had our ultrasound this morning and found out what we'll be having this January. That being said, we're looking forward to seeing MISS Olivia Diana poke her head out and say hi around the 17th of January. I apparently will continue to be outnumbered for a while longer, and as we're expecting another little girl, Erin has unwittingly ensured at least one more try for a boy at some point in the future. As soon as I can get home, I'll post up the ultrasound pictures so everyone can get a foggy glimpse at the next Biceling.

Would you trust these two with your baby? 

Bensens in the Mist

I travelled deep into the north woods of Wisonsin this week to observe the Bensens in their natural habitat. I loaded my assistants Erin and Madelyn into our van and drove 9 hours up to Turtle Lake, WI where many of these strange and facinating creatures have been spotted in the past. We were immediatly rewarded as we came across a small herd of Bensens which had congregated by a pond.

They were wary at first, however, Erin, Madelyn and I hid in a nearby stand of pine trees until the Bensens became used to our presence. Eventually they seemed to accept us into the clan. There were Bensens of all ages, shapes and sizes. Most notably there were several young Bensens who were busy eating ice cream sticks and riding on the 4-wheeler.

At one point one of the young ones noticed me and faced me down with his ice cream bar. Things were tense until I was able to diffuse the situation by distracting him with a green bouncy ball.

We were able to discern a definite heirarchy within the clan. The Bensens were led by an elder "gray back" who seemed to prefer Micheloeb Golden Light and kept all the younger Bensens in line.

While the clan was accepting of our presence, we still had to be on our guard. Here Madelyn is cornered by a particularly feisty Bensen who hounded her every move all weekend. Eventually Madelyn was able to placate her with a well timed nap on her shoulder, and a little playtime before bed.

Erin was particularly interested in the smaller of the Bensens. She paid close attention to the smallest of the clan and stood guard over them as they napped.

While Bensens are rumoured to have been poached to near extinction, we found that future generations of Bensens abounded at this locale--somtimes being born two at a time.

The clan entertained themselves deep into the night with what they called "Swedish Horseshoes". This was played by whipping one's balls at a small PVC rack for points and family honor. The games were spirited and played for hours at a time, all the while consuming large quantites of beer. The sport ended late in the night when Bob's balls ended up in the tree.

Watch out if you find yourself cornered by this Bensen when he's carrying tequila.

Eventually we had to return to relative civilization and safety of Indiana. We learned much about the Bensen culture and Madelyn was thoroughly exhausted.

Madelyn and Dad take in a game of preseason football before bedtime. 

Madelyn airs out her posterior region to stave off a case of diaper rash. 

Madelyn engages in some self-feeding with a biscuit and wonders to herself if life can get any better than half a biscuit after a hard day of playing. 

Madelyn gets crazy ideas about sailing off in a boat full of animals from her Noah's ark book. 

"This really is the best 1st book ever!" 

This week at the Bices

It's another busy week here in Indiana. Plenty of upcoming events.

We're circling the wagons and heading north this weekend. The Bensen family reunion is underway in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, and I'm preparing to immerse myself with my inlaws so that I can observe them in their natural environment. There will be alot of showing off Madelyn, eating cheese, and pronunciations with long "O's" (if you don't know what I'm talking about, ask my mother-in-law about a goat sometime, and revel in her accent). In addition to the close encounter with the Bensens, we'll be stopping off to see some of my own family in Madison on the way back. Madelyn may or may not be taught to sing "Bill Grogan's Goat".

Erin had her doctor's appointment this morning and the ultrasound for the baby-in-progress (or BIP, as we're calling him/her around the house) has been scheduled for the 1st of Spetember. We'll be finding out if the BIP is a boy or a girl and posting the eagerly anticipated news once we've found out. Otherwise, the visit went well; Erin's blood pressure is still nice and low and the BIP's heartrate was clocked at 140 bpm.

Madelyn during her BIP phase. Note the erroneous gender I assigned her at the time.

In other news, I'm off to Chicago next week for the Concrete Cracking Workshop. I can sense the rabid excitement that this topic inspires in all who frequent the site, so I will not say anything more about it lest the high emotions which can be stirred when concrete cracks (and it does quite often) spill out into the streets.

ERIN-FEST is coming!

It's that time of year again, boys and girls. Erin-fest 2005 is rapidly approaching. Cows and chickens will perish so that we might smoke and devour them in honor of another year of Erin. Fields and fields of wheat and hops have been harvested so that we might imbibe delicious nectar in celebration of 29 years of Erin. All are welcome to attend; few will answer the call. But know that you will be in the finest company with the finest food and drink that a graduate student stipend can muster. Hope to see you all there.

A tired little girl gets in a few last minute nursery rhymes before bed. 

"Mom, I can see right through you when I look through the ears." 

Madelyn engages in her newest sport: hairpulling! 

Madelyn is engrossed in the conversation as she gets comfortable next to Dad's foot. 

All the toys a girl could want, but the cardboard box is the best. 

Madelyn entertains her Mom and Godmother, Becky, with a little peek-a-boo block action. Becky is not impressed. 

"Bring me some more puffs, or else I get a better grip on all this hair!" 

They say that prolonged exposure to cell phones can cause growths in one's head. Mom seems to have developed a Madelyn shaped growth. 

Another dip into the archives...

No new pictures today, but again we have TONS of old pictures to post around here. Here's a few more:

Erin stares down the camera. This is usually the look she has on her face when its time to pick Madelyn up at the end of the day.


Madelyn's all worn out.

Here's to being a mom everybody!

Grandma King and Keith at Christmas 2003.

Donate to the "Feed Jake" Fund

Did you know that you can help nourish Jake for a day by clicking on one of the ads located in our sidebar?

You may be surprised to know that by simply clicking on one of the ads that have been posted on our site, you are unknowingly contributing to the Feed Jake Fund. Yes, it's true, every time you follow one of those ad links off this site, Google sees fit to throw a couple of pennies our way. In fact, you don't even have buy anything from said advertisers; all you have to do is click on the ad-link. Hooray for e-commerce!

You may be asking yourself where does the Feed Jake Fund go? I've posted a few schematics to help illustrate how you can help feed a young college boy's indomitable spirit.

A schematic view of the void you can be helping to fill in Jake

By no means do we want you to put yourself at risk of carpal-tunnel syndrome clicking on the ad-links, but a lazy click on an ad as you leave the page whenever you visit could be a few more pennies towards Jake's next meal!

A tale of two redheads

Hello again family, friends, and interested readers!

Well, my long lost aunt, who was last seen in the Charlotte, NC area, resurfaced today with some vintage pictures of my Mom who she believes shares a striking resemblance with the littlest redhead in my life, Madelyn. Knowing that said long lost aunt has probably spent too much time around cats lately, and thus might be prone to fits of senility, delusions of grandeur, and/or school-girl antics I've posted the pictures for side-by-side comparison so the masses can decide for themselves.

Laura Leta Bice, circa 1684, newly arrived in the "New World"

Madelyn Leta Bice, circa 2005

"I know you said take a nap, but I decided that I was going to get a little more practice in with standng back here."