Ahhhhh, the sweet smells of the subway.

There is nothing quite like being packed into a skittish subway car, standing-room only, on a hot July afternoon. Nothing, that is, aside from being in that situation holding your toddler with one arm while holding on to a pole with another, and realizing that it might not have been the best idea to feed him so many dried apricots that morning…

Let’s just say there are just a few places I’d rather be with a gassy toddler than negative 5 inches from 30 other hot and grumpy people.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I highly recommend focusing on the heat, maintaining your balance, or perhaps even the momentary relief from having only BO to inflame the more sensitive portions of your sinus cavity.

The Caleb & Me Store is now open! So far we’ve added three products and plan to add quite a few more over the next few weeks. The products and store are managed by Cafe Press (which is pretty neat if you have never had a chance to check it out before) and are a lot of fun. So far we’ve added a Daddy Journal, a My Dad Rocks infant/toddler shirt, and a My Kids Rock mousepad. Check out the store (on this site, or on Cafe Press) and nab an item or two. The sales make us happy and help keep this site up and running!

Hot on the heels of my previous character post, I have compiled some of my favorite quotes on the subject. Funny how the men and women below can get a point across with just a few words while it takes me a half a page to say something that barely comes close to the same impact…

• Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. - Abraham Lincoln
• Character is what you have left when you’ve lost everything you can lose. - Evan Esar
• Men show their characters in nothing more clearly than in what they think laughable. - Goethe
• Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. - Sam Ewing
• Nature magically suits a man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends. - Japanese Proverb
• When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves. - Confucius
• By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character. - Grenville Kleiser
• Character – the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life – is the source from which self respect springs. - Joan Didion
• Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open. - Elmer G. Letterman
• The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back. - Abigail van Buren
• Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established. - Confucius
• A man’s character is his fate. - Heraclitus
• You can tell the character of every man when you see how he receives praise. - Seneca
• The character of a man is known from his conversations. - Menander
• People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Strong feelings do not necessarily make a strong character. The strength of a man is to be measured by the power of the feelings he subdues not by the power of those which subdue him. - William Carleton
• The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done. - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
• Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. - Abraham Lincoln
• Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. - Helen Keller
• People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. - Eleanor Roosevelt
• Character is higher than intellect… A great soul will be strong to live, as well as to think. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Character is what God and the angels know of us; reputation is what men and women think of us. - Horace Mann
• Character is what you are in the dark. - American Proverb
• Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. - Phillips Brooks
• Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. - H. Jackson Browne
• Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. - Albert Einstein
• Firmness of purpose is one of the most necessary sinews of character, and one of the best instruments of success. Without it genius wastes its efforts in a maze of inconsistencies. - Philip Dormer Chesterfield
• The thought manifests as the word; The word manifests as the deed; The deed develops into habit; And habit hardens into character. - The Buddha

The shots below are from this past Monday. Caleb and I were playing around taking funny photos before he went to bed and then we conned Megan into joining us. We were looking at the camera’s screen off to the side and I think we had more fun laughing at what we saw of ourselves more than anything. The drill seemed to go something like this: we would egg Caleb on to make a funny face, he’d come up with something ridiculous, we’d crack up, and then he’d crack up. Indeed, most of the images are of us laughing at ourselves and each other. That said, we did manage to nab a few of the “silly shots” we set out to capture…

I broke down and bought a new camera today. The past few times we have taken trips, long or short, we have opted to leave a camera at home due to the hassle of lugging it around. Though the benefits of a bigger camera are hard to replace with a small point-and-shoot, we managed to find one of the latter that also provides enough in the way of manual control to satiate our burning photo-geek needs (a Cannon A640, if you are wondering).

A few hours in, and we are very happy, which is always a good sign with a new camera.

One of the few times you’ll catch me driving lately.

I guess Caleb didn’t mind my driving…

Megan and Caleb walking through the Prado.

Park Street Church’s steeple