Birthday wishes...

It's a tradition at our house to intentionally refrain from sending birthday well-wishes to family and friends until at least seven days after the actual date of the occasion. Stew's theory is that all the glitz and glamour of the event will have subsided, and our loved-one won't be expecting any more surprises. Well, Uncle StewCat... SURPRISE and Happy 45th Birthday! The photo to the left is the most recent picture I have of StewCat (Stew's brother, who is called "Doug" by other family members). He's the one in the driver's seat. Some might also be wondering why I refer to him as "StewCat", so here's the link to a past posting that includes an explanation (http://stay-at-home-dog.blogspot.com/2006/11/these-paws-are-made-for-walkin.html). I also realize you can't see him in this photo, so let me paint you a picture. He looks a lot like a bearded George Clooney without Clooney's perfectly straight teeth, piercing eyes, excellent physique, or ruggedly good looks. StewCat's also not as well-groomed as Clooney. Other than that, the two studs could be mistaken for identical twins!

Uncle StewCat is also often times mistaken for Pipe Major Doug Stewart, a bagpiper from southeastern Wisconsin - available for weddings, funerals, Bat Mitzvahs and other events (http://www.bagpiperonline.com). However, to the best of my knowledge, StewCat does not own a kilt, tuxedo jacket, or a bagpipe... although Stew claims to have once seen StewCat dressed in high heels and a dress announcing, "Call me 'Loretta'." Fortunately, no pictures exist of Stew's claim, so I'm going to assume he's making it up.

Speaking of Stew, following is a link to "Brett Stewart" on wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Stewart). It's funny and scary at the same time. Check it out because there's a semi-nude photo of Brett Stewart on the site that's a spitting image of Stew from 2-3 years ago. It's eery...

Finally, in honor of her Uncle Doug's birthday - as well as her own 4-month birthday today - Claire decided to take some shots this morning. She did four shots in all, and they were administered by Nurse Olga since Claire has yet to learn to dispense them herself. Stew warned Claire that shots "can really hit you later", but she insisted on doing all four in rapid succession. She took them like the little trooper she is, but she soon needed some Tylenol and a long nap (just like her daddy after a night out at a Timberwolves' basketball game). Just before passing out, I overheard Claire telling her papa "I won't do that again until I'm at least 6 months old..."