Jake gets into "Dad" character by breaking out the 'stache. 

Madelyn takes a break from asking Dad "Why?" to get her picture taken. 

Olivia gets a rare moment in her walker without any assistance from her big sister. 

Not to be outdone by her sibling, Madelyn demands posing time with Dad's red hat. 

Olivia shows a little love for Daddy's alma mater. 

Olivia shows off her nascent sitting abilities; Madelyn shows off her professional-level milk-drinking abilities. 

Madelyn and Olivia log in some couch lounging time while Mom and Dad pack 

Another Gulp

At long last I've finally polished off another chapter. All that leaves now is surviving the editing process, throwing together a sumary and conclusions chapter (much of which was will probably be taken from the most recently completed chapter), slapping together some appendices and convincing my committee to sign off on the thing.

Let's review our quick dissertation stats, for those of you playing along at home:

Number of Chapters Drafted: 7
Chapters Remaining: 1/2 to 1
Pages-to-Date: 225
Morale: Flat--mainly as a result of the family moving
Formatting: Appendicies are my enemy

As mentioned above, Erin and the girls are heading to Texas on Saturday. While I'm excited for my family that's in Texas to begin getting extended time with my wife and kiddos, said excitement is considerably muted since I won't be able to get down to Texas until sometime in September. Nevertheless, the apartment is almost finished being packed, and Erin and the girls seem like they're ready for the big trip. I suppose it's time for me to resubmerge into deep end of the dissertation pool, so I'll sign off for now.

Sick Day

Well, it's a sick day today at the Bice household. Something got into Olivia's tummy which rapidly propagated to Madelyn and now Erin. Thus, Dad is taking the day off to watch his little girls, Erin is napping, and Madelyn is running experiments in bottle-feeding Olivia (with limited success). I suppose its only a matter of time before my turn with the bug comes, but here's hoping that whatever it is, it decides to wait until I finish the chapter I'm working on. In the meantime, I'll take the opportunity to post a few more pictures I took of the girls today.

Madelyn Lines up her shot.

Madelyn ponders her next move

Daddy's Big Girl

Tired of her eternal imprisonment, surrounded by brightly colored plastic and stuffed animals, Olivia plans her eventual escape.

Yet Another Blog

The circle of trust just keeps growing around here. Shamus Yoder and his lovely bride have jumped on the band wagon. That makes three old mellos with blogs; I wonder if this indicates a trend. In any case, click Jason and Laura's link (on the sidebar) to go see what Air Force flyboys do when they're not out defending freedom through full-service gas stations in the sky.

Marching Forward

Time for another quick update from Indiana. I just finished off another chapter, so I thought I'd take a moment to post on the blog.

Let's review the quick dissertation stats:

Number of chapters drafted: 6
Chapters remaining: 2
Pages-to-date: 176
Morale: Rising, but I am waiting on edits
Fatigue: I'm keeping my eyes open
Formatting: Hail to the king!

It's a busy time here these days. The apartment is being packed and Erin and the girls are prepping for their big move to Houston at the end of the month. Madelyn is now trying to repear everything Mom and Dad say, and Olivia is busy trying to get some teeth and master the art of sitting. It looks like it about time for me to resubmerge to the depths of dissertation purgatory, so I'll sign off for now.