Ren Goodfriend

Green Ball Redux

2008-05-09T07:27:00.002-06:00

Victorious Ren enjoys her ball.

Hey, I just thought I'd mention that this was just some abandoned ball at the playground, and did not belong to those two kids. So it's not like Ren was taking it from them.

Ren vs. Little Green Ball

2008-05-08T12:18:00.004-06:00

Well, here it is. This is, in my opinion, the best video I have yet made. It has a story and a happy ending, and everything. Real pathos, here. The weird background sound is me laughing.

Anyway, I thought I'd mention some other words. Ren says "baba" when she wants a banana. She also loves to say "bye bye" at every opportunity. Pretty much any time anyone walks away from her, these days.

What? I'm working.

2008-05-06T10:09:00.002-06:00

Isn't this awesome?

Good news: Ren has her first word. Bad news: it's a made up word. It definitely means something to her, and she uses it consistently. Whenever she wants something, she points at it, looks to one of us, and says "Ish? Ish?" Our guess is that she's saying "this".

Video Week -- Ren vs. Playground

2008-05-05T13:48:00.002-06:00

I finally got loaded up some videos I've been talking about. This week I'll be posting three of Ren playing at a playground about a mile and a half from our house. This was on a super-beautiful summer day in mid-April when the three of us walked over.

I'll spread these out across the week. Here's the first.

Ren Goes on an Adventure

2008-04-18T08:51:00.003-06:00

Continuing the theme from yesterday, here's the front yard. This next video really gives insight into the baby world. If you watch Ren's face, you can sort of see what it's like when absolutely everything is interesting.

And the return trip.

Ren vs. Big Red Ball

2008-04-17T13:59:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone. Last weekend (while I was at the grocery) Hiroko took Ren out to the yard to play,a nd took some videos as well. A couple fo these are pretty good.

This first one is in the backyard. Observant viewers will notice that we bought some patio furniture. Also, Ren is learning to "talk" all the time. Also, you can see Hiroko's shadow.

In this next one, Ren notices the neighbor dog. Not so much to see here.

Finally, more of Ren playing freely in the back yard. You can really see her motor skills and sense of autonomy.

Tomorrow or so, front yard.

Walking Baby

2008-04-11T15:02:00.002-06:00

Ren learned to walk. Lots of mini-films from around that time. Here we go.

Here's the very first walking video, in which Ren also demonstrates her toybox-emptying skills:

We thought a few steps were a big deal back then...now she walks everywhere. Anywhere, here's a few seconds later. Ren sure wants the camera:

Within a few days, as you can see in the following, she's learned to walk and use a cell phone at the same time. This will come on handy in High School:

And here's Ren stumbling about like a drunken sailor, and attacking mommy:

Finally, just a quick movie I did of Ren playing with a plastic top, which I found funny:

Happy Easter 2008

2008-04-11T15:00:00.002-06:00

It's obviously, like, a month late. Hiroko bought a pair of bunny ears around Easter. I would have thought this would just psych a baby out, but Ren loved these, on either us or her. Here are some pictures of her wearing them in this set.

Sickness

2008-02-23T13:08:00.003-06:00

It seemed like longer, but I just looked it up.

Ending and including yesterday, our family has just been sick for 28 days straight. In the heart of a very cold winter, and at a time when I had to work anyway.

All of us got sick multiple times, except for myself...I was well throughout, until I came down with a hellish 12-day chest infection. Now except for a final little sniffle, it's all over.

I know in perspective to the hardship of the world, etc., that it's no big deal. But having a sick kid, especially when one is sick at the same time, just sucks. It's been some of the hardest weeks I've had in years.

Summer is coming. We are all well again.

Some Big Firsts For Ren

2008-02-06T11:32:00.001-06:00

Monday about 5:30 we were all lying about on the floor of the living room, surrounded by pillows and blankets. Ren was standing on her own, looking at me. Suddenly, she started taking steps forward. I called Hiroko's attention, and we watched as Ren walked a couple feet toward my waiting arms. I thought it was cool the three of us could share this first moment. Even Ren appeared astonished. She repeated the trick one time with prompting, and tried again but couldn't seem to get it afterward. I'm sure it won't be much time now.

Yesterday was Ren's first day in day care. Hiroko has a new full-time night shift job, so there are some times when neither of us is available to care for Ren. Ren will be in day care twice a week.

She hasn't had any significant time under others' care, and we were mutually worried about it. But her first day went smoothly according to her caretakers, and I witnessed a couple hours there. Now between the play, socializing, and detachment from us, we are optimistic that day care will be a positive experience for her.

Ren Plays Peekaboo

2008-01-29T08:55:00.001-06:00

This is the last vid for a while, as far as I know. This is one last one from Christmas, of Ren and Grandma playing peekaboo together.

You can ignore the audio, which is my dad and brother discussing the upcoming presidential caucuses.

Ren with Uncle Joe

2008-01-21T10:42:00.000-06:00

Ren's uncle Joe came for Christmas, and they got to meet for the first time. They really took to each other and Joe was an awesome and gentle uncle with her. It was really neat to see them together.

Here's a video I made. The audio is rather spoiled by my dad, who I guess didn't realize I was filming. Other than that, this is really cute.

Ren's first standing video!

2008-01-17T09:25:00.001-06:00

While everyone was in town for Christmas, I was lucky enough to catch Ren on video standing. She'd been doing it for a couple weeks, but because of her intense desire for the camera, I could never get it on film. Here she's distracted enough not to notice, so you all get to see this.

There's a really funny bit when Ren notices me at the end and instantly needs the camera. Uh oh! As Joe said, "Hey, no paparazzi!"

Ren's first words

2008-01-16T16:20:00.000-06:00

Hi all. I'm not going to post a video today, because there's other news, and I'm busy anyway.

The other news is that Ren now says "dada", "mama", and "baby" on cue. She talks constantly and everything else is a stream of nonsense syllables, but if we draw her attention, she'll say these things. It's actually pretty cool.

Also, there are a couple shots from Christmas dinner where you can see Ren, over at this post on my blog.

Ren plays with her new cube.

2008-01-14T09:56:00.000-06:00

Sometime before Christmas, a Buddhist friend of ours spontaneously brought by this gift for Ren. she's seen playing with it just out of the box. This is a really cute video. Do you get the impression Ren likes it? There are also a couple (underlit) stills I took, here and here.

Ren's Gifts From Kathy

2008-01-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

Hi all.

The holidays have come and gone and I've uploaded all the pictures and photos. That means I'll be posting pictures and videos for the next few days, so stay tuned.

One of the coolest gifts we got was from our next door neighbor Kathy. She surprised us with a birthday gift for Ren! Ren got a nice new outfit and a pull toy. I'll be printing pictures from this set for Kathy right away. Thanks!

Ren at the Center

2008-01-03T12:50:00.001-06:00

There will be more updates as soon as I clear the camera. It remains hard to take pictures/video now that Ren is very camera-aware.

Here's a quick picture our friend Jennifer Woods took of Ren with Jennifer's baby, at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Ren and Hiroko Play on the Floor Together

2007-12-26T08:59:00.000-06:00

Well, the bad news is that Ren is now very aware of, and wants to play with, the camera. This is making it nigh impossible to catch her on film, because as soon as it's out, she makes a grab for it, and then becomes upset when she doesn't get it. So updates may slow down for a while.

It's too bad. She's standing on her own now, and I wanted to get at least pictures of that. But it's not going to happen, it seems.

The good news is, this video from before Thanksgiving. It's my favorite ever, I believe.

Ren and Aunt Gina

2007-12-19T11:30:00.000-06:00

A thanksgiving video of Ren with Aunt Gina. This video also briefly features grandma Goodfriend, so it should go over well with my massive 1-person viewer base.

Ren Versus Mr. Lion

2007-12-18T15:49:00.001-06:00

Who wins? Only you can decide.

This one's kind of blurry.

Thanksgiving shots

2007-12-17T09:53:00.001-06:00

Over at my personal blog, I've got a couple cute videos of Hiroko playing Xbox. So no videos here today.

Here are some shots from Thanksgiving (and shortly before) including Ren, though. I thought I'd taken more Thanksgiving shots, but I guess not.

Here's my favorite:

A Longer Video of Ren at the gate

2007-12-14T09:44:00.000-06:00

Nobody but my mom saw the last video according to my stats, so maybe it's been too long since I posted and no one is paying attention anymore. Or maybe it's the holiday season. Either way it's too bad for you because there are some great videos coming up next week.

Anyway, as described, a longer video of Ren once again challenging the gate.

Ren Challenges the Baby Gate

2007-12-12T14:13:00.001-06:00

I got the videos uploaded. Video coming! That plus pictures means updates every day for a week
or so. That ought to hold you over until we get some fun Christmas shots, I guess.

Here's one that's short but sweet. A warning to all babies who would dare challenge the authority of the Baby Gate.

From Thanksgiving

2007-11-28T11:34:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Ren at my mom's office during the recent Thanksgiving trip. It was sent to me by my mom.

There are lots of new pictures, and even more importantly lots of great new video, but I'm having computer problems at home that are keeping them indefinitely non-uploadable. When I finally get them on youtube, you'll see them. They're great and I wish I could get them to you sooner.

Blanket Game!!

2007-11-02T10:07:00.000-06:00

There is no greater game than the blanket game. This lame video, made at the same time I was playing (thus assuring Ren would watch the camera rather than me) does not do it justice. She's not even laughing uncontrollably or thrashing around like she normally does. Normally she's about a million times more excited.

I must say, never in my life have I seen someone enjoy something as much as Ren enjoys the blanket game. The intensity of anticipation she exhibits from the moment I first start to get the blanket ready would be enough. But by the fourth or fifth time I've thrown that thing on her and she's leveraged her arms to get it back off, she's thrashing about and screaming with joy.

Like so many other things we've tried to video, you've really got to see it in person. Or have your own baby.