And the Winner is...

Greetings and salutations,

The droves of Carter's Crib Notes groupies have once again shown their collective allegiance in fine form. A plethora of responses spanning the technological gamut have poured in. I am pleased to learn that many of you have prioritized my musings over the latest Food Network Challenge or Monk. Now, both are absolutely spellbinding, critically acclaimed programs that, coincidentally, remind me of my parents. Mama, of course, because she delights in either a) watching the Food Network or b) forcing Papa to watch the Food Network. Papa comes to mind because he has many unusual tendencies on par with Mr. Monk. With my formal training still pending, I am hesitant to start Papa on Clomipramine for his Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. But, with that said, he is teetering on the diagnosis.

In any event, throngs of individuals sent responses to the blog itself, Mama's phone, my parents' e-mail inboxes, and then most readily to Mama's Facebook account. Everyone but Uncle Tyler was confident in the diagnosis. Ol' Uncle Tyler called Mama and Papa twice to verify his suspicions. Better safe than sorry, particularly in this situation. In the past fourteen months nothing has proven to be more socially awkward (and potentially hilarious) than the person who assumes pregnancy only to encounter a non-pregnant person. Which leads to the moral of the story: there will soon be someone else to take out the garbage in the Hogrefe household. We are all expecting the newest addition to the family on May 2nd, 2010 (or thereabouts). Please keep Mama and Baby Hogrefe #2 (As tentatively titled until contract negotiations between Mama and Papa are settled; rest assured, a mediator has been contacted.) in your respective prayers.

And you should all know that Grandma Shirley and Grandpa Merle were the first to chime in with a response. Kudos to them, although rumor has it that their cable was out. This would unfairly eliminate a potential distraction. However, after a significant conundrum, I still think they deserve props, as the kids on my block often say.

This verdict, of sorts, had Papa and I considering another recent decision displayed on cable television, of all forums. As a guardian of popular culture for my generation, I was intrigued by Kayne West (whose name should perhaps be changed to Kayne South, as that is where his career appears to be heading) and his verbosity at the recent MTV Music Awards. Now, I am not allowed to view this type of programming for obvious reasons. In fact, MTV appears to be off-limits completely, except for 2:00 a.m. during the fifteen minutes that they actually play music videos. Since I am asleep at that particular time, Papa has explained the circumstances of this discussion to me.

For those of you who may have missed the aforementioned faux pas of common sense, while Ms. Taylor Swift was receiving her award for "Best Female Video" a hennessy-laden Kayne stumbled onto stage, commandeered the microphone, and pontificated about how Beyonce (or Sasha Fierce) should have won this award. His diatribe can be viewed on YouTube if you choose, but suffice to say that the pleasant, mild-mannered Taylor Swift was stunned and taken aback at the entire escapade. Papa remarked that the whole scene seemed strikingly surreal, but at least it culminated with Mr. West being escorted from the premises.

The question was now out in the open: Which video truly warranted this remarkable achievement? Thus, Papa and I thought that we would settle this Kayne Kontroversey (See, another absolutely adorable and awe-inspiring alliteration. Try it yourself; it is liberating. The previous alliteration was equally as satisfying, in case you missed it in the preceding paragraph.) in a scientific fashion. Papa and I settled down in front of the high-definition, wide screen monitor with YouTube loaded. The first nominee, All the Single Ladies by Beyonce was viewed in an uninterrupted fashion. As no surprise to Mama, I starred at the monitor and it appeared that for 3 minutes and 29 seconds my corneas did not require lubrication. Now, unlike my typical behavior, I did not completely shake my groove-thing. I primarily took in the austere of the video. But, I could not contain a couple of impromptu shoulder shrugs and a head bob or two.

My visual palate was then cleansed with a reprieve. Papa and I indulged in a bit of Blues Traveler's Run Around, a classic that I thoroughly enjoy listening to Papa sing (mostly because he actually knows the words, or at least thinks he does). With potential biases removed, we moved along to Taylor Swift's You Belong with Me. I would describe this entry as heart-warming with an intriguing plot line and a pleasant conclusion. Contrary to the first entry, I did actually blink during this video. However, I was equally mesmerized, and I even peered up at Papa and gave him a big smile toward the end. I saw where the video was headed and appreciated the inherent sentiment.

Well, that is all fine and dandy, but what shall the outcome be? Did Kayne possess a legitimate gripe? Personally, I delight in a tune reflective of the tastes of my mother. An upbeat tune with a passel of bass is enough to bring a smile to my face and to place a hip in my hop. However, the award in question was for "The Best Female Video". Truth be told, all Beyonce (and two of her colleagues) did was shake their hips, which is why I surmise that Kayne cast his vote for this video. Without question, Ms. Swift's video best satisfies the category true and comprehensive requirements.

In the end, Mr. West was incorrect in both his assessment of the cinematic offerings and the manner in which he elected to display his disdain. This has been shown to be the case via the patent-pending Carter Scientific Method, brought to you by YouTube. And do not forget folks, in the end the winner is he or she who is polite. After all, manners matter, at least that is what Mama tells me!

Carter

Someone in heaven is always looking after me...

The Power of the Internet...

Greetings and salutations,

I hope this latest posting proves to be satisfactory for the legion of followers that have grown up with me over the past thirteen months. It is on this hallowed occasion that I have elected to challenge you, my faithful readership. It is time to see who is watching TGIF and who is truly dedicated to my myriad of musings (Alliterations are vastly underappreciated in contemporary society. Strive to implement one each day, or substitute an onomatopoeia if you prefer.). As an aside, Papa informs me that this TGIF programming gimmick was all the rage when he was a lad. Apparently programs like Family Matters with a character named Stephen Urkel and Full House with those Olsen Twins were all the rage. Those situational comedies are now on Nick at Nite leading me to the inevitable conclusion that Papa is getting old.

In any event, this evening's exercise is also aimed at challenging the true power of the Internet when attempting to distribute information. While we should all routinely thank Mr. Al Gore for inventing this noble entity (and raising awareness with regard to Global Warming, etc.), it is occasionally pleasant to reassess the Internet's role in day-to-day endeavors.

Below is a photograph of a rather handsome gentleman. The keen observer will be able to detect an embedded, possibly encrypted message. I am merely curious to see how long it takes somebody to either: 1) Call Mama; 2)Post a message on her Facebook account; or 3) Lodge a comment on my blog. Let us see who the winner shall be. Good luck to all!

Carter

Someone in heaven is always looking after me...

Go Hawks!

Well it's official. I have been to my very first Hawkeye game. And in a very tense finale, they pulled through and got the victory. What a thrill. For those of you who are not aware, they played UNI and blocked 2 field goals in the remaining 7 seconds to stay ahead and get the win 16-17. Whew! It was pretty nerve wracking.

Photo of Mama and I after the game picking up our stroller in the first aid station.

Now that I recounted the game for you, let me tell you about how Mama and I ended up at the game. Last night, while Mama was working, Papa called Mama very excited with some "big news"! He scored SEASON TICKETS to the Hawkeyes this year because of the sports medicine fellowship he's working on developing. Mama jumped on the offer and picked up the tickets on her way home from work. Papa was not able to attend the game today, so Mama and I saddled up and went to the game. It was a 11:00 kick-off and we left our house late so we arrived at the game after the 2nd quarter had started. Mama was a little stressed out by the time we got there because of being late, the pedestrian traffic, and being reprimanded for bringing a stroller into the stadium. However, her mood immediately changed when she saw exactly where the seats were. They were on the 30 yard line, Iowa side, 13th row! They were AMAZING! And we get these seats all year!

Here's a picture from the fantastic seats!

Even though the seats were great, I was a little restless today. We ended up leaving before half-time started because I kept kicking the lady in front of me in my restlessness. Mama thought that it was okay, though, because at least we got to see some of the game and we missed all the horrific traffic.

Here's a picture of Mama and I in our seats.

Well, I've got to head to bed. I know it's early, but there was so much activity today, I missed my afternoon nap.

Love to everyone!

Carter

P.S. Happy birthday to Papa tomorrow! Love you, pops! :-)

Mastering the art of ambulation...

Me maxin'and relaxin'.


Good evening, my find friends. Sorry I have been delayed in providing a tale of what I have been up to, but lets be real...this walking stuff takes a lot of time and is really tiring! (Mama's helping me with this post and she says that it's tiring for her and Papa, too!)

So, for the past 2 weeks or so I have been walking almost exclusively. I am getting really good at it! And for the past two days, I've been really practicing my walking on the grass in our yard and in my friend Graham's yard. (He's my next door neighbor and has a really great play set that I like to go over and watch him use and use myself--he's teaching me some fun big boy things!) Anyway this walking thing has become quite fun for me. I can walk very long distances and if I fall, I just jump back up and keep going again. I can also walk and carry things at the same time! My favorite things to carry are one of my bats in one hand and one of my balls in the other hand. Mom always worries that I'll fall and crack my noggin on something when I'm carrying stuff, but the few times that I have, I haven't hurt myself.

That being said, I definitely did fall and hurt myself on Saturday. I was walking and I looked up at Mama to give her a big grin and when I did, I tripped over my bat and WHACK! I smacked my face on one of Mama's wooden chests in the living room. Of course I didn't strike my head on the corner protector that Mama so lovingly and thoughtfully placed for my still oversized in relation to my body head. Nope...I struck it about 1 inch past that spot with my left cheek. Check out the pictures. They don't do it justice. I've got a real shiner!

Anyway, things here have been good. We went to a Cubbies game on Friday. It was awesome, but I got pretty tired of sitting in in the 8th inning. Of course, just after we left, the Cubbies came back from their deficit and ended up winning and we missed the excitement, but it worked out well 'cause we also missed some of the horrific traffic.

Alice, Mama and I have been going for long walks every morning lately. The other day we saw a whole bunch of the Iowa State Bird (do all of you remember what that is?) Look at the picture and see if you can see them. They were very pretty. We alternate taking my Radio Flyer wagon and my stroller. I like them both very well, but the wagon provides me much more sun protection since it's got a great canopy. Mama and her obsession with me and sun exposure is really overwhelming sometimes. :-)

Here's me giving Alice a little pat as we walk. She's a good friend.

I was not fortunate enough to get much pool time at the end of the season. It was way too cold and rainy for swimtime according to Mama. She scoffed and said some funny comments about how global warming was "a real problem this August with highs in the 60's". I don't really know what she was talking about, but maybe someday I'll understand. I look forward to getting in some indoor pool time in the next month or two. We'll see how it goes.

Well, I'd better get going to bed. Mama works a short 4-hour shift tomorrow, but it's the early part so I have to get up at 5 AM to get ready to go to school! But the good news is, my good friend (and another neighbor) Finn just started in my room this week so we'll get to play together!

Hope everyone is well. Hugs and loves to you all!

Carter