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.

Picto-palooza: Part III

Picto-palooza: Act Deux

You want those pictures on that wall; You NEED those pictures on that wall!

Picto-palooza

You want pictures? You can't handle the pictures.

Resurfacing

I've come up again for another breath. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to poke through the darkness, so I thought I'd come one a stick up a few pictures that were graciously sent to me via Clifford at the Bice/Hamff/Voegli family reunion at the beginning of the month.





Also, I'd like to mention that I've finally gotten around to adding a link to my old friend Miah's blog where you can see that he's maintaining a fine Mello tradition of producing lots of little girls. Click on his link over in the side bar to see what a house full of girls looks like.

A Big Breath of Air...

I've surfaced from dissertation purgatory momentarily to post a quick update to the few people who still check in with us on here. Acutally, I've probably talked to each of you in person via phone, but if not here's the quick and dirty on what's happening with the Bices.

Some quick dissertation stats (for those who care):

Chapters drafted: 5
Chapters remaining: I'm thinking 3
Pages-to-date: 147 (without table of contents, appendicies, et cetera)
Morale: Subdued
Fatigue: Haven't passed out yet
Formatting: Conquered for the time being

That's pretty much all there is to tell regarding me right now. It's up and off to work by 8:30 and home around midnight everyday (for the most part), although I am trying to take at least one day off on the weekends to see all my girls.

As for the girls, everyone is begining to get ready for the big move back to Texas. Erin is starting to pack things up, and we're looking to unload a ton of baby items. While a little trepidacious at the prospect of a couple of weeks apart, I think she's ready and excited to get on with our life.

The Bicelings are doing well also. Madelyn is busy overdosing on the Wizard of Oz these days, hence alot of skipping around, laughing like witches, and roaring like lions). Olivia is quietly taking all of this in, but is becoming a very vocal kiddo in her own right. Give us about 4 years and Erin and I won't be able to get a word in edgewise.

Anyways, I hope all of our assorted friends and family are well out there. Come and see us once we're settled in back in Houston.

Madelyn applies a little pressure to her sister. 

The dynamic duo prepare to blast into action at daycare. 

"Hey Dad, what's that??" 

It's Mama and her helper. 

Is she laughing or crying? You decide. 

"See, I am a happy baby after all."