A First of Many

Anna and I were lucky enough to have MLK day off this year. As it happens, the day before, Abby had worked a double shift at IHUSC, kind of like IHOP but this is the International House of Sippy Cups, and was picking up a shift that evening for one of her inner city peeps. In other words, she had the day off too. Better still, Grandma and Grandpa Polzin were with us, and everyone knows they don't have day jobs. So, we decided to take our first trip, of what I imagine will be many trips, to BIG (Bloomington Ice Garden). It was truly a pleasure to strap 'em on my little girl. Her sitting on the bench with her tiny legs dangling and me down on my knees putting these humongous size eight skates on her feet. The smallest skates available were still too big for Abber Dabbers. But we all tightened our boots and made our way onto the ice.

Some may be aware of my self concious feelings about my skating abilities. Having grown up in the land of the Jaguars and as a wee lad being stricken with arthritis in the ankles, I was way behind from the start. Well, I do alright now, but I'm glad Abby has her mom to teach her skating. It should come as no surprise to me that everytime I mentioned taking Abby skating outside Anna would snicker. She was a figure skater you know. And I ought to have known that figure skaters don't like skating outside. Maybe it's the cold air that engulfs you on an outdoor sheet? Maybe it's because she's too good to put up with the bumps and imperfections found on Minnesota's pond hockey rinks? Or maybe she just wanted to give Abby the best skating environment possible. Whatever the case, Anna felt right at home on BIG #3. I swear she kept looking for the token snooty French judge somewhere in the stands. Abby did great, well, great for a two year old who has only been in skates once before. We all had fun but if it weren't for the skating aid Abby could hold on to, her mom and dad would have been shaped like candy canes for the rest of the day. We did a few "father, son, holy spirits" for that PVC miracle.

It's awfully strange not having an on-going project at home. I built some shelves in the bomb shelter recently. Is it strange that I get a lot of enjoyment out of having a shelf to put things on? I know 10 years ago my mom and dad would have never guessed I would say that and be even half serious. I guess I should take back that comment about no on-going project. I am working pretty diligently at getting a good 2 - 2.5 miles out of these chicken legs everyday. Then add to that a pushup and a situp. The other day Missy told JK he was looking a lot trimmer. It was really just that I was sitting next to him and I'm looking alot more muscular these days. I guess one might say that my arms have stopped looking so much like Harry Potter's and have crossed over into the Conan the Barbarian realm. I'm sorry, Conan O'Brien...that's right.



Many people probably are aware of Abby's former penchant for picking her nose. I say 'former' because I'm happy to report that she has completely stopped picking her nose for no reason. You guessed it, she's moved on to digging for a purpose. She is still unable to properly blow her nose. We hold the Kleenex up to it, tell her to blow...but the tissue flutters down by her mouth. Call me an optimist but everytime we try it I think this will be the time she actually pushes air out her nose. This is something I will be cataloguing over the next several months...to truly find out when a toddler learns how to blow his/her nose. Once Abby does learn it, we'll quickly move to the snot rocket. Per usual, I'm an excellent teacher, just have Anna farmer blow for you one time. Anywho, back to the nasal excavating. Abby's new thing is to bring me "boogies" which are perched atop one of her fingers (usually the pointer, as one would expect). Reflecting on this new trend makes me think back to all the days of remodeling and house projects whilst I was perpetually wearing my "work clothes". Yes, "work clothes" for me mean something very different than for most guys who have e-mail accounts. When it came to my little girl, those clothes were basically used as a napkin, kleenex, paper towel, etc. I guess I shouldn't be surprised now since she's simply taking her new boogies to the old boogie receptacle. So, I do what any dad who loves his little girl would do...I round them all up and save 'em. No really, I take the boogies from her. I'd rather she wipe them on my hand than on the sofa or wall. But, as of yesterday I am directing her to the bathroom to get toilet paper as often as possible. Why? Well, we were sitting together playing Dora games on the computer, her in my lap, when across the top of the desk comes an uberboogie. I'll spare everyone the details about color and size, but the placement was simply not favorable. I had to explain that boogies go on toilet paper or kleenex and then in the garbage. I mean c'mon Abbers, that cute, not-so-little boogie could've spelled the end for our mouse.

The boogie story aside, it is definitely becoming apparent that our little Abigail will be a girly girl. She received many Disney princess gifts this Christmas. Let's see, underwear, shirts (not blouses), lip gloss and of course, a princess dress she got from Stacey and Mark. It came complete with dress, shoes, tiara, and a wand. One recent night she decided to put on a nice dress up show for us. It should also be noted, since the pictures are posted here, that there's also a good chance our sweet little girl will surrender to the temptress known as gangsta rap . L'il Prinsess (spelled wrong on purpose) might make a good pseudonym. Her first single will likely be called Killin' Boogies.

The two best Saturdays of the winter have passed and I'd love to say we're still on top of the boot hockey world, but I can't. We weren't able to bring our regular team to Annandale to compete for the Clearwater Cup and we suffered because of it. We went in as the two-time defending champs and left with...two losses? Say it aint so. The following weekend gave us another opportunity to win a different championship. JK's rink was finally going to be put to the test. The Quad City Championships were coming to the Konrad pond. It just so happened that a fellow member of the QCC, Cooper (or Weekend Warriors), had won the Clearwater Cup the weekend before. This would, no doubt, setup one of the best QCC competitions to date. It also solidified a budding rivalry that won't be put to rest anytime soon.

Good vs. Evil, Cops vs. Robbers, Smurfs vs. Gargamel and now, Jefferson vs. Cooper. In all, we battled the Hawks four times, splitting the first two. They made it to the championship game undefeated so in order to defend our QCC trophy, we'd have to beat them twice. We won the first game in OT. Then surrounded by the capacity crowd, 5 people, the Jags sealed the W with a convincing win in the "if" game. Cooper was outstanding all day. One wonders what the outcome may have been if they'd had their tall, large-domed teammate there. The tournament was a huge success and many props go to JK (and me) for making this installment of the QCC so much fun.

The next post will come soon as there is plenty to share about Anna and her stint as a critic...