The Family Circus Still Isn't Funny

So now we have two kids, Reilly who is almost two years old, and Hayden (or "The Deuce") who is just over five months old. We survived the initial impact of coming home and dealing with two children and found out that, after all the worry, it was still really tough. Okay, so maybe not that tough. I think that you have many of the same worries during the pregnancy, but once you are home with the child, you realize you have been through it before and you will be fine. Maybe it was all of the cartoons that made you worry. I always figured The Family Circus was a lame strip (and a bit too God-dy for me), but that maybe it made some sense once you had kids, or something. I was wrong. Lame. And totally inaccurate.
Bill Cosby's Kids Say the Darndest Things show was closer to it, but still not right on. Maybe it is only really funny if it your kid - no one else gives a crap what Junior said. Nevertheless, Annie and I get stoked over the craziest little things that Reilly is doing now ... most of it along the lines of what we deem to be meaningful conversations - i.e. "Watch DVD video" is a sure sign the child is a genius. Three words together. Electronics involved. She knows what remotes we need to turn it on. Best of all (and most telling to her staggering IQ)? She only wants to watch Baby Einstein movies. You give her a choice and she picks from the handful we have, and she rarely wants to watch the exact same one over and over. This shows hers interests are diverse! You see what I'm saying here?! If I put on Sports Center, she objects (not at all unlike her mommy). If you put on the news, she objects - not too hard to see given the constant increase in the price of gas, anything Iraq, anything W., etc. But if you grab the Baby Einstein she is all in ... and she knows what she is watching!
She knows her animals. She knows what noises they make. She knows her colors, which is great when watching the movie, but can be a bit trying when picking out a popsicle. She wants to tell you what she sees all the time, which we think is brilliant, because it appears she wants to share her knowledge, even with her little brother.
The Deuce is still at that age where he stares a lot, makes some baby noises (well on his way to talking), then poops and cries for a spell. Reilly loves it! She gives him kisses. When he cries, she yells "Uh-oh! Hey-Hey!" She already has the "Hey-Hey" nickname picked out for him. They work really well together, which is great for both us and them - hopefully she will pass on the info she has attained in the videos to her brother so we do not have to watch them 500 more times with him. Don't kids like cartoons? The Simpsons is a cartoon! She still isn't down, but that's okay - outside of her "DVD video"s, she doesn't watch much TV, which is fantastic.
Anyway, just an update on on the kids. Annie is moving into marketing here at Buffalo, which she is very excited about. I am still doing the business development stuff, which I will be doing for quite a while. I start the executive development program at Wharton at the end of this month, so that is exciting. Other than that, things are just rolling along. It gets busy having two young ones around, but it is really amazing and rewarding. Not that their is anything deep in that statement, but you start to see how parents say they would rather see their kids succeed, than actually succeed themselves (especially with parents of athletes I guess). It makes sense - their success is in some way yours, because you helped get them to where they are today. Which is great, unless your child climbs a clock tower with rifle ...