tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37981897649936699612024-03-13T11:02:15.320-05:00J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-34393831085721830442011-12-06T11:34:00.000-05:002012-05-10T11:56:29.076-05:00

This holiday season, we were lucky to get Marchet Butler back to shoot Jack and Malcolm (She'd previously shot Jack at one-month and Malcolm at two-months). Can it only have been eighteen months? Little more than a year that Malcolm’s infectious laugher, the rapid padding of his hands and knees on hardwood, or his shouted “hi’s!” have echoed off the walls? A lot has changed in

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-6247857623887924552011-07-28T11:59:00.000-05:002012-05-10T12:01:56.419-05:00

It must be Christmas in July 'cause I just found time enough to sort through 45 minutes of footage and assemble this 3-minute look at last year's Festivus—Malcolm's first and the biggest one either family's ever had (11 family members were there, and that's huge from this only-child's point of view). Plus, it snowed. In Georgia. On Christmas!

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-72147849336718678282011-02-22T11:29:00.000-05:002012-05-10T11:29:49.644-05:00

To celebrate the li'llest sir's 6-month-aversary, we reconnected with Alisha Robertson, a photographer we absolutely love who also shot Jack at the same age and again at one-year-old. And while we got pictures of Malcolm with his bother and his parents, of course, the focus was on the lil man, himself (who's not so little anymore!). It still being winter, we shot in

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-20003173461360037202011-01-31T23:20:00.002-05:002011-01-31T23:20:58.842-05:00

After a few years' baby-induced hiatus, Burns Night is back! The Burns Supper has been a Scottish tradition since 1796 that we woefully adopted as our own in 2000. It’s a night when Scots and scottophiles worldwide celebrate the birthday of Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns (Rabbie Burns, to you and me), born January 25, 1759, and enjoy the company of good friends, traditional fare, and

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-46177208684228969872010-12-16T21:26:00.046-05:002010-12-21T12:48:38.260-05:00

"Christmas time is here / Happiness and cheer," indeed. After last year's less than successful trip to the evil man in red, and the previous year's santatastic fiasco, we lacked that special confidence other parents seem to enjoy on taking their children to see their local mall Santa Claus. We'd done a few flybys at Northpoint so Jack could see Santa—to which he often reminded us that Santa was

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-83695311188640321582010-10-01T09:31:00.033-05:002012-05-10T11:10:38.448-05:00

In late August, on the eve of the new 'lil sir's two-month birthday, Ann and I reconnected with Marchet Butler (who shot Jack when he was just a month old) for a photoshoot of the new boy and the family. So on a beautiful Saturday morning, we met Marchet at the Roswell City Hall to shoot the family both on and around the Roswell Cultural Arts Center and the Smith Plantation. It was great to work

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-37222553674843361832010-07-06T19:30:00.006-05:002010-07-06T21:24:49.559-05:00

Ann and I are thrilled to announce that Tuesday afternoon, July 6, at 2:25pm, Ann gave birth to Malcolm Alexander Jordan at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. Malcolm weighed in at a hefty 9lbs 4oz (even heavier than his brother!) and measured a lengthy 21in.Like with Jack, Malcolm camped out and took his sweet time getting us to the hospital. Ann was due back on July 2 and many symptoms pointed to

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-90362131723313888252010-06-22T21:10:00.010-05:002010-06-25T12:37:26.791-05:00

Well, it was brutal winter. Four different snow "storms" (well, Southern snow storms, anyway, meaning the roads iced and there was snow on the shingles) and lots of freezing temperatures kept us trapped in doors. But when spring sprung, we were quick to get outside, into the driveway to practice on Jack's trike or the yard to play on his new slide. We enjoyed Jack's first donuts (Krispy Kreme, of

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-48866337840522830092010-06-08T22:56:00.006-05:002010-06-25T12:30:53.462-05:00

D-day is almost upon us. And as we head into the final stretch, and scramble to get the house ready for its newest tenant, the reality of 2.0's imminent arrival gets a little more real every day. Well, that and Ann's picture-perfect baby belly.Since that first sonogram back in November, we've had two chances to see the little man—at 20 weeks to check gender and again at 36 weeks to see how he is

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-3884514091361887812010-03-31T21:23:00.013-05:002010-06-25T12:28:11.481-05:00

It's hard to believe the boy is two years old. Seems just yesterday he was brand new (or, at least, freshly soiled with cake). In his second year, Jack's grown so much—from a barely-toddling little boy to a fast, happy, and increasingly talkative little kid. Now if only he would dial the volume down from 11...Our winter was a busy one spent hiding from an unusually frigid Georgia winter. Snow

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-56756072939913287032010-03-25T22:34:00.001-05:002010-06-16T22:40:01.018-05:00

That Jack can say "motorcycle?" Awesome. That it sounds exactly like "mommy asshole?" Priceless. I just about drove off the road tonight when he dropped it for the first time. Rushed right home so he could show Ann. And his grandmother. And the world!

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-67423876213176274552009-12-22T15:44:00.008-05:002009-12-22T16:15:32.558-05:00

Holy crap! What's that!?We've gone and done it again. Ann is pregnant again and expecting to deliver a bouncing baby Jordan during the first week of July (fireworks, anyone?).Back at nine weeks, the 'lil gummy bear weighed in at 24mm with a heartbeat of 174bpm. By today, after twelve weeks, the heartbeat had dropped to 157bpm. The grandmothers are following the flux in the heartbeat with bated

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-90850186704469156462009-12-18T17:19:00.002-05:002009-12-20T18:34:00.692-05:00

Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year's Santa-fiasco, Ann took Jack on his annual Christmas pilgrimage to visit Santa at North Point Mall. JD was out of town on business, but JJ and Big John were able to attend.Jack was happy and charming while waiting in the long line, patiently posing for Big John's camera and insisting that JJ and Big John take turns holding him. But when we were second in

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-20527060512105879032009-12-16T08:34:00.001-05:002010-06-25T12:42:34.669-05:00

When I was in the UGA history masters program I wrote two articles (about Edward Said and September 11, respectively) for the Encyclopedia of the Culture Wars: Issues, Voices, and Viewpoints. Well, the voluminous encyclopedia just came out on October 30 and I got my free copy today. Wooo!And for the low, low price of $147, you can get yours too!According to booklist: "This specialized

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-14140088446411370432009-12-14T17:37:00.005-05:002009-12-20T20:53:56.485-05:00

This fall was an odd season. JD was traveling for work almost every other week to the far ends of the country—Vermont, Massachusetts, Indiana, Arkansas—while rain mellowed what could have been an otherwise gorgeous fall. But we had a blast, just hangin' out at home or at the park (and everywhere in between).The fall got off to a big start with the kid upgrading from the infant day care room at

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-39194440994672591372009-11-04T07:31:00.011-05:002009-11-04T08:32:46.539-05:00

It's been over two years since I slipped out of grad school after having written my masters' thesis, Shooting the Ayatollah. But on this anniversary of the seizure of the embassy, I can't help but offer up this reminder and shameless plug.Thirty years ago today, a group calling themselves the Muslim Students Following the Imam's Line captured the US embassy in Tehran. For the 61 Americans working

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-89467718750782628522009-10-28T22:46:00.004-05:002009-12-18T06:40:07.493-05:00

Well, I don't know how big the 6th anniversary is supposed to be, but for us it was a biggie—we took our annual anniversary trip farther afield this year and jetted north for a long weekend in the Big Apple.We got a fantastic room at the corner of 7th and 57th, just a few yards away from the notorious Carnegie Deli. And we escaped most of the first day's rain inside the MOMA. But it was on the

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-91620903607327238612009-10-13T20:47:00.007-05:002009-10-14T07:48:49.356-05:00

To wrap up this past summer, we took a trip back to our new favorite beach, Carillon Beach near Panama City Beach. We were looking forward to properly introducing the 'lil sir to the beach and gulf (last time, he was a little young and the weather, a little cold) and to a relaxing week away from the hubbub in Atlanta.We went with Patrick, Pam, and their one-year old son, Noah. It was great to see

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-39499575754880691292009-10-13T19:48:00.015-05:002009-10-14T08:07:38.077-05:00

This summer was a whirlwind, and not just cause Jack started running circles around us. There was JD's new job, the never-ending bathroom remodeling project, a trip to Albany for the twins' birthday, lots of trips around town, lots of company, that weekend with the rooftop pool, the Inman Park Festival, a couple parties for flavah, and, thankfully, lots of time to hang out and enjoy being a 'lil

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-11010734663221893032009-05-08T21:45:00.007-05:002009-05-09T09:40:06.953-05:00

On April 26, Ann and I reconnected with Alisha Robertson so that Jack could have a professional one-year photoshoot. We were thrilled with the outcome of our six-month shoot with the lil sir, so this followup was a no brainer. Alisha was great with Jack the first time and she was fantastic with him again this time.To mix things up from out first shoot, we headed into Historic Roswell and shot

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-59139463459641582552009-04-05T14:40:00.006-05:002009-04-05T15:09:43.029-05:00

Yesterday, we celebrated Jack's first birthday with a small group of family and close friends. And, true to form, Jack behaved himself magnificently for several hours while people, cake, beer, presents, other kids, and Sparky whirled around him.The only problem going into the party was Jack's apparent egg allergy. A few weeks ago we noticed his bad reaction to egg yolks and our pediatrician

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-91690265863213655822009-03-31T18:37:00.025-05:002009-04-05T17:04:05.407-05:00

Happy Jackiversary! Just 365 days ago, at 6.37pm on March 31, 2008, we met Jack for the first time—a few of us in person, a great many more online. It's hard to believe it's been a whole year! As a couple long known for discomfort around children of all ages, we're happy to say that the past year has been a blast and that—poop-related incidents aside—it's been better than either of us could've

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-90122041593754332412009-02-25T08:33:00.009-05:002009-02-26T22:56:52.604-05:00

This past Tuesday, February 24, I was thrilled to have opportunity to, once again, give my presentation about Classical Islamic Poetry. Beaux Pettys, a fellow member of the Burns Club of Atlanta, saw my presentation back in August and invited me to speak on the same subject in front of the Gate City II masonic lodge in downtown Atlanta.A detailed description of the program can be found at the

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-90935761816375400922009-01-18T16:55:00.013-05:002009-01-18T19:21:49.265-05:00

The holiday season was a busy one for us – as evidenced by our almost total lack of updates between our beach trip and now. But we had a great time both with Jack and with the extended family. Ann and I were lucky to get her whole family up from Florida for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. And we were lucky that, once again, Jack puts up with crowds, staying up late, and busy family holidays

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3798189764993669961.post-1844062490400170832009-01-06T22:30:00.006-05:002009-01-08T09:46:11.055-05:00

A friend recently directed me to a Time interview with Avraham Burg, author of The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise from Its Ashes and scion of one of Israel's founding families — his father was the deputy speaker of the first Knesset, and Burg himself later became speaker of the legislature, and a member of Israel's cabinet. In this book, and the Time interview, Burg argues that the Jewish people

J.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13410710834258909791noreply@blogger.com0