Theo

Theo is my older son, born 2003.

Theo and Francis play lifeguard

Theo and Francis play lifeguard
Originally uploaded by martin_kelley

More pics over on the Flickr account. The afternoon ritual is to run off to an outdoor adventure when Francis wakes up from his nap. Favorite spot: the lake park. Here are the boys on top of the lifeguard stand.

August 6, 2008 9:36 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , photos , theo

Finally, some real snow!

February 22, 2008 4:23 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , photos , theo | Tags: backyard, fun, snow

But of course some photos....

...are worth taking:



Apparently the best part of making Christmas cookies is the mess afterwards.

January 1, 2008 5:38 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , photos , theo

Putting the $ back into Chri$tma$

Sorry I've been awol on the blog lately. What a crazy few weeks this has been, as those who know my alter-ego can probably imagine. Not to be a scrooge but when did Christmas become such a monstrosity? I'm looking forward to a few stolen moments with family, hopefully with minimal sniffles all around.

Anyone liking music might want to try out Jango.com. It's the best implementation of a social music playing/recommendation service I've seen so far. It's in beta testing and there's still some kinks to work out. My user account looks to be here, though I should give warning that the current band list is overly influenced by a jokey classic rock lineup I put in (next up: a high school highlight station only Pam might love).

To the right: gratuitous cute kid pic. Theo traced all the letters in black ink. There's an accompanying video too. Update: and here it is below.

December 22, 2007 11:13 AM. View Comments
Categories: kids , theo

Sights around the house

Top: The Architect at work. Left: the stitches; monkey Francis au natural in the morning; another view of The Architect.

December 3, 2007 5:49 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , media , theo

An Autumnal Halloween

The Batsto Village Halloween party wasn't quite so much fun this year: their website didn't mention that most activities ended part-way through the afternoon so that the organizers could sit in front of the old houses giving out candy. We arrived on the late side so no face painting or pony rides for the boys butterflies. We still had fun in the first really autumn day of the season and Batsto was looking more bucolic than ever. More pictures (including some of the cool gearing in the old Batsto gristmill) over on yesterday's Flickr page.

Right: rare video footage of a Genus Franciscus Butterfly in migration.

October 29, 2007 7:28 AM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , southjersey , theo

Butterfly Love

The town parade was postponed by rain again last night but as the butterfly boys were all dressed up we ducked into our favorite pizza shop for some mozzarella sticks and a slice of bruchetta-topped tomato pie. We got out without inflicting any major structural damage or physical injury, though Theo was only a twist or two away from destroying one of their neon signs. Rumor has it that the parade will happen next Tuesday though if the weather cooperates we should have pictures of the Batsto Village halloween before that (last year's pics).

(Still working on getting comments and Twitter to show up properly.)

October 26, 2007 6:01 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , theo , town

Railroad & farm weekend in Lancaster

This weekend we took off for a family trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania--Julie and me, the kids and my mother Liz. I won't have time to do a long blog post, but highlights were the Verdant View farm B&B (link) where we stayed; the Strasburg Railroad (link) whose line runs through the farm's backyard, the Choo Barn model railway (link); and the amazing Cherry Crest Farm (link) with its corn maze and its simple games for kids of all ages (who knew you could have so much fun with a hill and a piece of burlap?!).

See the See the photo set on Flickr for more pictures and stories. Every shot is mapped, with links.

Large photo: Family at Strasburg RR: Martin, Liz, Theo, Julie, Francis. Below: Julie and the kids walking through fields at farm, Francis playing kung-fu with the farm dog, Theo running in terror from said dog, Engine 90 ready to pull out.

October 17, 2007 7:43 PM. View Comments
Categories: francis , kids , theo , trips | Tags: family, farm, lancaster county, railroad, strasburg, trains

Older Entries

• The ascent of Apple Pie Hill. Yesterday the kids and I took a road trip to Apple Pie Hill, a summit of loose gravel that towers... September 30, 2007 10:17 AM. View Comments
• Let's go fly a kite. Theo with his first kite, a dollar-store special from his birthday party. Note matching shirt: is the kid flying... September 5, 2007 2:03 AM. View Comments
• Scenes from a birthdays party: Theo (4) & Francis (2). Photos clockwise: Theo blows out the birthday ice cream cake's “4” candle; kids huddle around when box opens to... September 4, 2007 2:53 PM. View Comments
• Francis turns two. Martin and Theo celebrated Francis's second birthday with an afternoon outing to fav spot Batsto Lake. Photos: Francis laughs by... August 29, 2007 8:22 PM. View Comments
• Some gratuitious family pics. In the What a Difference a Year Makes (or Doesn't) Department: Julie took the kids out to South Jersey's fabled... June 14, 2007 7:36 AM. View Comments
• TV love songs. As promised the other day, Francis singing the Elmo song: For fairness sake, here's Theo with the Thomas/Gordan song:... May 2, 2007 1:14 PM. View Comments
• Marvin K Mooney redux. When Theo was a one year old his favorite book was Dr. Seuss's Marvin K Mooney Will You Please Go... October 23, 2006 8:24 PM. View Comments
• Theo makes a call. ... July 31, 2006 11:38 PM. View Comments
• Theo's class trip to Storybook Land.     Julie took Theo on his class trip to Storybook Land, a South Jersey icon that recently celebrated... June 17, 2006 5:11 PM. View Comments
• The Theo Show. I've finally started getting internet video down. Next up will have to be Francis's "sleepy song."... April 20, 2006 9:01 AM. View Comments
• Pictures of Big-Kid Theo, Baby Francis and friends. How to tell if your child is obsessive-compulsive: Theo is very precise about lining his toy cars up just so... October 17, 2005 11:04 PM. View Comments
• Trip to the Blue Hole. A few days ago my two-year old Theo and I took a meandering bike trip that brought us to the... September 12, 2005 8:08 PM. View Comments
• Baby Francis!. Just the quickest of announcements to let everyone know that Baby Francis was born Monday morning. Stats: a boy, 8... August 31, 2005 2:41 PM. View Comments
• A linguistic guide to the two-year old. One piece of preparing for the birth of the second child is passing off temporary responsibility for the first child... August 11, 2005 6:48 PM. View Comments
• And Baby Makes Four. For comparison, Theo in Second Month 2003 and last weekThey say second children don't get as much attention and that... June 13, 2005 9:12 AM. View Comments
• Theo and Mickey (Disney World, 1/2005). #flickr_badge_source_txt {padding:0; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif; color:#666666;} #flickr_badge_icon {display:block !important; margin:0 !important; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0,... June 10, 2005 12:33 AM. View Comments
• PATCO almost squashes Theo. Your retroactive prayers are in order. Julie, “Theo”:www.nonviolence.org/theo and my mother just came to visit me in the fgc office... March 8, 2005 1:24 PM. View Comments
• Theo says Ah-ha. Get your own MP3 of Theo's laugh!... September 16, 2004 7:40 PM. View Comments
• A Summer of Social Events. Theo had quite the social calendar this summer but made sure to get in some hang-time too. Here he is... September 4, 2004 2:00 PM. View Comments
• Houses Old and New. This summer we started house-hunting in a nearby town. Theo has the instincts of a natural-born negotiator. He loves... September 4, 2004 1:00 PM. View Comments
• Theo's First Birthday Party. August 28th was the observed date of Theo's birth. The one year old is almost crawling--he can pull himself... September 4, 2004 12:00 PM. View Comments
• Theodore's just not popular. Most parents want their kids to be at least moderately popular. And Baby Theo certainly gets more than his share... May 19, 2004 1:20 PM. View Comments
• Theo around Six Months. These pictures are from 5-7 months. Status updates: Theo sits up by himself increasingly well. He's not crawling & doesn't... April 12, 2004 6:33 PM. View Comments
• New Year & Playing in the Snow!. 2004, a new year and new fun: parades, sledding and solid food. ==... February 1, 2004 10:08 PM. View Comments
• First Holidays for Theo. The first Holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas, the holiday get-togethers with friends and family. Plus the first snow. ==... February 1, 2004 7:40 PM. View Comments
• Theo gets Baptized. On November 1, Theo was freed from sin. Julie & Theo getting ready at home. Julie, Theo & Maia waiting... November 16, 2003 7:11 PM. View Comments
• Baby Theo approaching two months. Pictures of Baby Theo futzing in the car seat on the way back from Ocean City, October 11. At a... October 26, 2003 4:48 PM. View Comments
• Pictures of Baby Theo!. Pictures of Baby Theodore Kelley Heiland!... September 4, 2003 12:33 PM. View Comments

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QuakerRanter by Martin Kelley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at www.quakerranter.org.