Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Twenty-First Century Grandchild

Sorry I was absent yesterday.  Monkey was off-schedule which meant that I didn't get to check everything off on my list and, sadly, this is one of those things I find expendable.  But I'm back today and I have a guessing game for you.

What do you think is happening in this picture?

No, Monkey didn't just finish vacuuming.  No, he didn't just finish cooking and carelessly leave his oven mitt on the kitchen table.  No, he didn't just change the channel and then toss the remote on the table.  No, he didn't just pen his great American novel by hand, with a black pen.  (Man, I had no idea there were so many background images going on in this picture.)

Here, let me give you another photo that will maybe help you guess.

Yes, he is being the cutest baby in the whole wide world sitting up in his high chair (instead of leaning over looking for the cats, or grabbing on to the straps and seeing if he can put them in his mouth, or trying to figure out how to take off the tray, or gumming the tray, or - well, you get it - he doesn't normally sit still in his high chair).

But most importantly, what Monkey is doing in this picture, is Skyping with his Grandma and Poppa in Sarasota, FL. 

What - did you just ask me what is Skyping?  Or are you just marveling at the fact that my generation takes every noun and makes it into a verb (Google became googling, Skype became skyping... etc).

If you aren't familiar with Skyping... here is the deal.  Do you remember on the Jetsons when they would receive a phone call, Jane Jetson would put on her fake face, a TV screen would pop up and she would have a conversation with the person on the screen?  Welcome to Skyping.  Basically, through the computer, you can see and talk to people at the same time.  And, it is free.  Yes, I said free - no money, nothing, nada, I've read the fine print... really, it costs nothing.

As you can see in this photo, Evan is a fan of skyping.  He is quite enthralled by the images on the screen and the voices.  I would love to know what is going on in his brain when he sees this.  Like, does he recognize his Grandma and Poppa or does he think he is watching Yo Gabba Gabba (children's show if you aren't familiar with it - watch an episode, it's worth it)?

What you can kind of see here is how much he is smiling while looking at his grandparents.  And, you can almost see his grandparents on the computer.

Skyping is very cool and something that allows Evan and his grandparents to stay in touch.  For instance, these pictures were taken after Evan's grandparents got to watch Evan "eat" (and this is in quotes because I'm not sure inhaling is the same as eating) his dinner.  Someday Evan will be able to Skype with his grandparents all on his own.  Me, I wrote letters (yes, I used paper and pen, put them in an envelope, used a stamp, and had the post office deliver them) to my grandfather.

This is the twenty-first century.


1 comment:

  1. Just the proof I needed! If you can teach Evan to Skype, I can teach Eric. He has a friend that has moved to Vietnam and since he refuses to FaceBook or Twitter, Skype is the only option left to keep in touch.

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