danadanalexgenevieve

Just a Lazy Winter's Day

2012-01-14T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today was a positively gorgeous Colorado winter day, sunny and warm and drawing everyone out to enjoy the day.

Some of the best Saturday mornings start out with donuts

We took a walk by the stream near our house, and then came back home to grill some hamburgers for lunch and eat a picnic lunch in the back yard. Then we decided to spent an hour or two pruning trees and bushes. The kids played very well in the yard while we worked. They were "feeding" the plants some new "rock juice" (that is, juice made out of rocks). The plants loved it.

The kids, preparing to feed the plants their new "rock juice"

Gymnastics

2012-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

Alex and Genevieve are taking a gymnastics class together this month at the Loveland Rec Center. Alex has taken a couple of gym classes before, and Genevieve was feeling left out. Also Alex seems to do much better when his little sister is around. So we figured out a way to get them both in the class. Here are some short videos from their first class together today (courtesy of Ryanne):

Alex does the high beam, by himself!

Alex does the obstacle course:

Genevieve does the obstacle course, part 1:

Genna does the obstacle course, pt. 2:

After the Holidays

2012-01-09T18:37:00.001-08:00

The holidays are over. We've disposed of the tree. Alex helped to vacuum.

We bought a TV and hooked it up to the Mac to watch videos. It's easy to see how the TV can become a babysitter. Have to be careful not to let that happen.

We are back at work, everyone back to their usual routine. We are looking forward to finding out which schools in the Poudre School District Alex will get into for next Fall. It's hard to believe his first day of Kindergarten is just 8 months away!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T22:47:00.001-08:00

This year we had a quiet Christmas at home. My parents had a big celebration in California which I hated to miss. But with the car trouble it just wasn't going to work out. Also traveling with two kids any time of the year is challenging. Traveling with them at their wiggliest, during the holidays, with presents, it's kind of overwhelming!

We bought a tree at the tree lot down the street a couple of weeks back. Last year we went to a nice tree farm in Windsor, but it seemed much simpler to just have them strap it to the roof this year. We used a ton of shiny red, silver, and gold plastic ball ornaments. Whoever invented plastic ornaments MUST have had a 2-year old!

The kids got some excellent presents this year from afar. And Santa brought Genevieve her first bicycle, and Alex a red scooter.

On Christmas Day we had birthday cake for Jesus with our friends Kim, Tom, and Dean, and Eric and Julianna. Then we quickly headed to the sledding hill to burn off said cake before dinner.

Kim, Tom, and Dean stayed for Christmas goose which turned out quite well.

This was also Genevieve's first crack at cranking on some homemade cranberry sauce. She quickly got the hang of it, while Alex learned how to shovel the fruit.

The recipe in a single photograph:

Hyundai Back On The Road

2011-12-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

The guys at Summers Auto finished replacing the engine in 1 business day. They actually called Tuesday to tell me it was done, but I didn't return the call until Thursday.

Hole in Block #1

Hole in Block #2 (harder to see, but I promise there's supposed to be metal there where there isn't any)

The "oh shit" moment in Wyoming last month

And this afternoon, an extremely relieved owner of a very slightly used Hyundai motor, purring away in the parking lot

Hyundai Rescue Squad

2011-12-17T17:15:00.001-08:00

Today Mike, Alex, and I made the trek to Rawlins, WY to rescue Dana's car from its Pre-Thanksgiving catastrophic engine failure. Tyr was kind enough to loan us his very stout Tacoma to haul it home.

It'll spend the next couple of weeks at the ICU at Summers Auto, and be back on the road around Christmas.

Television Star Genevieve

2011-11-30T23:09:00.001-08:00

Grandma Carla and Grandpa Gene visited the weekend of November 12, just in time to celebrate my Mom's birthday. On Monday we decided to go visit the Denver Zoo, since we still have a few weeks left on our Zoo pass.

We had a wonderful time - chilly weekdays are the best time to go, since nobody's there. The animals are all curious to see who the heck has come out on such a day to see them.

But the most surprising experience came at the end of our zoo visit. The Denver CBS station was taping "Colorado Review," a holiday special about local businesses and attractions. We stopped by the zoo train on our way out to see if we could get a ride. At first the conductor said he had closed for the night, but then he caught himself and said, "hold on - you can ride, if you can just wait a few minutes".

In the interim, the host of "Colorado Review", Kelly Ford, stopped us and asked if she could "borrow" our beautiful daughter to help her not look quite so lonely on the zoo train where they were going to tape her segment.

There was one other snippet of video featuring our own rock star. Sorry the quality is much worse - I was not able to get a digital copy of it (yet):

Our Journey to the East (Coast)

2011-11-29T20:27:00.001-08:00

Alex, Dana, and Genna on the Mall just a stone's throw from the Capitol

Last October we traveled East for a visit with Dana's father and stepmom, Michael and Moira, Dana's brother Michael W., and Dana's brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Sarah, and their two kids Alexandra and Zach.

We flew to Washington on Friday 10/7 and enjoyed a long, relaxing weekend with Michael and Moira. Alex and Genevieve spent almost the entire time outside in Grandma and Grandpa's huge, magical backyard.

Alex and Genevieve on the swings in M & M's huge, gorgeous backyard

A highlight for me was eating ice cream with Alex behind the parapets atop the two-story castle. Michael treated us to lavish dinners each night; we had to remind him that feeding large desserts to two and four year-olds after 8pm would probably not be worth the next 4 hours of madness. (So instead, we saved the desserts for breakfast!)

In case you're wondering what it's like to be a grandfather of incredibly energetic young children, here's a photograph of Michael during our visit that should tell you everything you need to know:

Moira gave us a behind-the-scenes tour of her model apartment at the Vinson Hall retirement community, which has helped put her at the center of an "accessible design" renaissance.

Genevieve tried so hard to sit still while Grandma explained all of the features of the model apartment, but it's soooo hard!

One of the things I'll miss most about Genevieve being a two-year old is her adorable pronunciation of certain words and phrases. What rhymes with 'fork' and swims in the water?

Why, a hoark, of course!!

We even managed to make a brief visit to Washington, DC to show the kids our nation's capital. I was hoping that, despite their young age and short attention spans, at least a few images would imprint on their minds. Mostly, however, they wanted to ride the carousel.

On a grey and rainy Wednesday we boarded the midday Amtrak train for Philadelphia. Perhaps not too surprising, the kids got a big kick out of riding the train. Alex's last "real" train ride (excluding scenic and novelty trains) was our trip to California in 2008, and this was Genevieve's first.

Dana's brother Michael greeted us in Philadelphia, and proceeded to treat us to a delightful 24 hours in his adoptive home town. We spent the afternoon at the Please Touch Museum, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

We got a tour of the beautiful home Mike purchased last year. Despite its pervasive Victorian charms, I was reminded of some of the reasons we sold our own 100+ year old home. Dinner that night was at a local Greek/Italian bistro, and then a luxurious top-floor suite at the nearby hotel thanks to some string-pulling.

Then on Thursday, after visiting Michael's three-century old employer, some frozen yogurt, and playing at the park we boarded the train again for Bridgeport and thence Fairfield to visit Richard, Sarah, Alex, and Zach.

The kids had a ball together. They have all reached the age where they can play together on their own for a good, solid 15 or 20 minutes before somebody starts crying, shouting, or becomes injured. (I'm not kidding) But during those 20-minute intervals we were able to catch up with Richard and Sarah. It turns out their lives are way busier and more stressful than ours. It's always good to have a measuring stick against which to compare your own insanity.

Zach, taking Genevieve on one of his many guided tours of his house

On Friday, Richard took Alex, Dana, and I into New York City for a few hours of urban exploring, while Zach and Genevieve had a playdate. We visited the roof of Rockefeller Center, but the clouds blocked our view of the city.

So instead we had drinks atop Central Park, and walked, taxi'd, and drove around the City. It was exciting!

Alex and Daddy on the 35th floor lounge of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel overlooking Central Park

Zipping around NYC in Richard's convertible - clouds and drizzle would not stop us!

On Saturday we drove thru the New England autumn landscape to an apple orchard to pick apples. The kids all loved it, especially getting to eat as many apples as they wanted, plus apple donuts, apple cider, etc., etc.

Zach in an especially jubilant moment, Genevieve, Alex, and Alex

A budding poet? Perhaps, but she did not take the road less traveled by this time - she ate her apple, then insisted that Daddy carry her

Finally on Sunday it was time to depart. But first we made a visit to the beach in Connecticut.

Halloween and other happenings

2011-10-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

Halloween came right on time this year, but our traditional Halloween snow came early, last Tuesday. The kids enjoyed playing in the fresh snow.

Snow Bunny Genevieve

We found some excellent costumes this year for the kids. Genevieve is a dinosaur. She says "Roar! I 'cawed you" (I scared you)

Dinosaur Genevieve, our friends Julianna and her dad Eric, and jet plane Alex

We also had an epic East Coast visit in mid-October. I will post pictures and stories shortly.

Respite in the Mountains

2011-10-01T14:45:00.001-07:00

After a particularly busy week, we decided to head up the hills to enjoy the Fall scenery this morning.

Mt. Elbert

2011-09-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday August 27 found us in Leadville for a late summer mountain adventure. My dear friend Jim from college invited me to join him for a hike to the top of Mount Elbert, Colorado's tallest peak. This was to be my second "14er" (14,000+ foot peak) after successfully climbing up and back down Long's Peak with my friend John back in ca. 2002.

Dana and the kids came along to support me, and also to ride the train that runs from Leadville. Jim's Dad Dan and brother Matt joined us, as did our friends and neighbors Eric and Cody.

At 6am at the trailhead parking lot, we spent some time to ourselves, questioning the necessity of climbing this mountain

The first couple of miles offered shady forested hillsides and pleasant conversation as we adjusted our packs, drank water, and enjoyed ourselves


Views thru the trees back to Leadville

Eventually we broke thru treeline, still with the toughest part of the climb ahead of us. The views only got better as we climbed!

So up we hiked ..

and up...

and up

Dan (Jim's Dad) pushes on

and up

Our fearless, tireless leader Jim urged us on the whole way, never uttering a single doubt!

Let it never be said that the Rocky Mountains were not aptly named

At long last, as our wits were failing us, we reached the summit. No injuries, no thunderstorms, no problem!

Jim, at the summit, with sign

I made it!

As you might expect at a couple of miles up, the views were absolutely stunning.The photos do not do it justice, however allow me to recommend that you enjoy the photos and consider very carefully whether you want to actually make the hike!

The guys - Me, Cody, Matt, Dan, Jim, and Eric

As is typical, a thunderstorm began to assemble as we were eating lunch. High time to get low again!

I would like to point out that my coverage with a certain mobile phone carrier was incredible from the summit. 3G and all bars. Much better than our coverage from our home in Ft. Collins.

It should be noted here that Dan, though almost twice my age, easily lapped me, especially on the way down!

Matt making his way down, no doubt wondering as we all did whether the trip up justified the trip down

Celebrating with pizza back at the hotel after a shower and a rest

Dana has some photos from their train ride, which I will add as soon as I can find them.

Summer Fun

2011-08-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I've not posted any pictures in a while. We have had so many adventures this summer! Here are some highlights from just a few.

We've made a few trips to Fort Fun, and no visit is complete without riding the Go Carts. Thanks to our friends Mike and Nico, we had an outstanding ride. It was Genevieve's first. It started to rain, making the track really slick!

Alex with his co-pilot Nico getting ready to turn some hot laps at Fort Fun

Genevieve, about to take her first go-cart ride. Daddy is at the wheel, probably laughing maniacally

We have been getting a lot of use out of our zoo membership too. The kids have enjoyed getting to know the animals.

Alex and Genevieve enjoyed a recent visit to the Denver Zoo, where many of the big cats were active

As the weather warmed up, we began to meet some of our new neighbors. The highlight has been our next-door neighbors, who have a daughter Alex's age, and a son Genevieve's age.

Alex has been building a great friendship with our next door neighbor Kaylin. Here they are relaxing at "the beach" (our back alley)

Genevieve's birthday on 7/15 was a subdued affair -- we had so much going on -- but she enjoyed every second.

Her first piggy bank. She's so serious about money!

And her new baby doll, who also came with a baby stroller. Alex likes it too

We went camping last month in Routt National Forest above Steamboat Springs, CO. We rented a 31' motorhome and lived it up, joined by our good friends Kim and Tom, and their 3-year old son Dean.

Take me home, country roads!

We camped at a place called Meadows, which was quite pretty, and did not seem to have suffered heavy loss from Colorado's pine beetle epidemic. We refreshed ourselves at the sylvan and serene Strawberry Park hot springs on Saturday, then rolled into Steamboat Springs for a fancy Italian dinner.


Dana, Alex, Kim, Dean, and Tom at the grill!

At the beginning of August we visited Ali and Eric in Utah. Ali is expecting a baby boy in October, and we were lucky enough to time our trip to attend her (second) baby shower hosted by her friend Jen.

On the drive out we stopped for a break in Evanston, Wyoming, and were pleasantly surprised to find a charming downtown with a scenic river walk.

Genevieve visits a Chinese shrine in Evanston

Someday the kids will inevitably ask us, "What is a phone booth?"

Grandma Carla was visiting at the same time, so we got lots of time with her too.

Genevieve tried out the skid steer loader parked in the dirt lot behind Ali and Eric's house

Grandma and Genevieve shopping at Soda Row

For my birthday, Grandma Susan visited for a long weekend. We enjoyed a very relaxing few days taking walks with the kids and catching up.

Walking with Grandma Susan - why is she pulling an empty wagon??

Looking forward to school

2011-08-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today we filed Alex's application for the Poudre School District's "School of Choice" program. This puts us into the lottery to enroll Alex in the core knowledge school down the street called Traut. It's a great school. To be fair, just about all of the schools in Fort Collins are great. Our neighborhood school is called Bacon (we love that name) and it's supposed to be great too - plus if we enroll in the neighborhood school then Alex can take the school bus. Of course if he goes to Traut he can walk to school. So there's really no bad options.

He'll start Kindergarten next fall (August 2012) so we have a little time. We won't get the lottery results until February 2012. We are very fortunate to live in a town, region, and state that offers such outstanding public schools.

Meanwhile the kids are getting a taste of school. Ryanne is going to start doing lessons with them - Alex in particular - but Genevieve is hard to ignore. They just got new backpacks. Alex has a Finneaus and Ferb backpack, and Genevieve has a purple backpack with a monkey on it. They are very proud of their new "gear".

This weekend we're heading to Leadville, Colorado. I am going to hike Mount Elbert, Colorado's tallest "14er" (mountain peak above 14,000 ft). I'm probably not completely ready, but I have been working out a bit. The last 14er I climbed was Long's Peak back in 2003 or so. Regardless of the difficulty of the hike, it should be fun - I'll be joined by one of my best friends from college, Jim, plus his father and brother, and my friend Eric. So between huffing and puffing, we'll probably have a great time.

Meanwhile Dana will be taking Alex and Genevieve for a train ride on the Leadville, Colorado, and Southern railroad.

First Day of School

2011-07-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today Genevieve had her first day of school. She's visiting Alex's school this week while Ryanne is on vacation.

It was an unqualified success! She was already excited this morning before we left the house. Getting to take her very own backpack was particularly fun. When we got to school, the teachers in the "Toddler" room (which she will grow out of in exactly 9 days when she turns 2) were extremely attentive and welcoming. We came during circle time, so all the kids were sitting quietly and listening to stories and songs.

Dana and I were reluctant to say goodbye, but Genevieve didn't seem to mind very much. I admit that I thought about Genevieve all day long and worried that she might not be comfortable or happy.

As it turns out, I did not need to worry. When I arrived at school to pick the kids up, the Director told me that Genevieve had enjoyed her entire day, and was one of the best children the teachers had ever had in class. She was happy, engaged, did what the teachers asked, and fell right asleep at nap time. She ate all of her lunch and even got to visit with Alex in the afternoon.

Happy girl after her first day of school

Genevieve will be in school thru Monday, then will return part time later this summer or fall.

In other news, we made a small investment in nap time and bedtime at home. We bought a set of blackout shades for the West-facing upstairs hallway windows. With these installed now we can darken all of the upstairs at any time of day. This has made it slightly easier to get the kids down for naps on the weekend, and to move them towards bedtime in the summer while it stays light out until 9pm. In the winter we'll still be able to leave them wide open to help wake the kids up in the mornings.

This past weekend we visited Old Town Fort Collins to walk around on a sunny morning. We had breakfast at a great little restaurant called Ingredient, and then walked around for an hour to burn off some pancakes. We stopped by the Starry Night Cafe, which is where Alex first met Ryanne almost 4 years ago. It is amazing how much has happened in our lives!

Alex and Genevieve outside the Starry Night

Big Girl, potty time, excellent

2011-07-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

Today we bought Genevieve her first pair of big girl underpants. It's very strange to think we will someday soon be done with diapers. She loves the new underpants by the way, although she needs some practice - she went thru 2 pairs in 10 minutes after her bath tonight.

Speaking of underpants, Alex has now gone almost a week (since last Sunday night) wearing underpants to bed without incident. We still wake him up a couple of times each night to go potty. He doesn't really wake up at all, just kind of slumps over half asleep, but it gets the job done.

Someday, as parents, we will again resume sleeping thru the night. But I am afraid that at about that same time we will have to begin staying up late waiting for one of the kids to get home.

A Dad

2011-06-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

What a sweet boy. You ushered me into fatherhood so gently 4 years ago, I hardly knew it was happening to me. I watch you lie sleeping beside me, your soft breathing marking time as you drift into your dreams of trucks and campers, thunderstorms, moms and Dads, who knows what else. I love this time. You are asleep, I am half awake. I love it and yet I must leave you there in your little bed. I have so many things to do as your Dad. I have to go. I have to go work to make money to support you; I have to take care of this house we bought for you; I have to make sure your Mommy is happy and well rested. And yet I know – I am certain – that in just a few years, years that will rush past us so quickly, I will miss these moments that are gone forever. These 4 years have slipped by so fast, right out from under us. One moment I was holding you in the hospital, staring into your perfect eyes, giving you your first sponge bath, helpless while you cried at the shocking air and cold and noise, but instinctively you trusted me. Walking thru town with you strapped to my chest, alternately dozing off and listening intently as I babbled on, block after block, pouring words into your tiny ears. Your first day of daycare when you would not let me go; Sitting in front of your high chair in the mountains, feeding you strawberries, yogurt, reveling in each others’ company. Being amazed at the sudden thoughts that come out of your mouth as ideas and hints and whims turn into words. So many car trips, trading banter back and forth as we head nowhere in particular; hundreds, maybe thousands of pages of books read to you in my lap, next to me in bed, in the car, on airplanes, outside, in our special places, sometimes barely awake to finish the story.

I know those days are slipping away from us, and I want to stop time and spend just a little longer with you now, even as I begin to tiptoe away from you sleeping there. I know that soon I will trade almost anything in the world for just one more nap cuddled next to you. And yet even now, at this very moment I barely acknowledge this embarrassment of riches before me. So many sweet hugs, hands held across streets and alleys, increasingly sophisticated arguments, innocent questions that stop my heart, soft brushes of your little hands across my scratchy face. So many tiny, unrecordable, unforgettable moments slide past me that I almost don’t bother to catch them out of the air and embrace them. I know that I should; like they are the last breaths of air I will gulp. But life keeps rolling out in front of us. We can’t help but be swept up by it. We can’t help but underestimate our own joy in passing. We have to live each day, even while we watch it close behind us.

Soon you will be bigger. You won’t need me anymore for the simple things you rely on me now. I won’t have to help you wipe your bottom. I won’t have to help you put on your shoes. “Is this the right foot, Daddy?” You can already wash your own hands. You’re almost riding your bicycle. And you’re no longer terrified by big dogs, school on Monday mornings, or strangers.

I can’t help wondering what you’ll need me for then. I know we will have amazing adventures together. We’ll learn new things together. We’ll have remarkable conversations. I’ll still teach you new things almost every day. Maybe you’ll listen to me sometimes. I hope I’ll always listen to you. I hope we’ll always love eating pancakes together. I hope you’ll be the good influence on your new friends, and not the recipient of bad. I hope you'll always giggle at my awful nonsequiturs.

I will try my best to never find our time together taxing or distracting. It's all the other things that come along that distract me from my time with you.

Summertime Arrives

2011-06-04T12:25:00.001-07:00

We have begun to take advantage of the pool in our new neighborhood. It is just 2 blocks from our house, and features an 18" deep wading pool that Alex and Genevieve have fallen in love with.

Meanwhile we are scheduled to close the sale of our old house this coming Thursday. Having that off the books, financially and mentally, will be a huge relief for me. Also the buyers seem to really appreciate the history of the house and love it for many of the same reasons that we do. That makes leaving it behind a little easier. Today we will pack up the last of our things.

Alex started his pre-Kindergarten class this week. It is most of the same kids he has been with since he was 2, so it is a pretty easy transition. This summer the class will start taking their first field trips. They will tour the Cold Stone ice cream shop, go to the movies, play mini golf, and lots more.

As I am typing this I have a very tired little girl dozing in my lap. Words cannot describe just how sweet she is:

Inching Closer to One Home

2011-05-23T20:37:00.001-07:00

We are much closer today to closing the sale of our beloved old house in Berthoud. We met with the buyer and ironed out some details and are on track to close in a couple o short weeks.

I feel good about moving on, but there are some wonderful things I'll miss. Our neighbors, our big beautiful yard, the woodwork.

Of course now we have more room for guests, I can walk to work, and let's just say insulation is no longer an issue.

Maybe time to find some new hobby... (or return to old ones)

Easter

2011-04-23T07:30:00.001-07:00

Grandma Moira and Grandpa Michael sent the kids Easter clothes and a new book.

Genevieve loves her new green dress.

And Alex looks very handsome in his new duds

Herbie Goes Bananas

2011-03-28T21:44:00.001-07:00

I doubt seriously if a packed room full of fans has anticipated a showing of Herbie Goes Bananas since its first release on beta in the early 80s. But there we were tonight. So maybe it was just 8 of us in a crowded hotel room high above Fort Collins, and by far the most anticipation belonged to my little boy. But we laughed, cried, were scared, and overjoyed by Herbie's antics. It is probably the most atrociously bad film I've seem in a decade, but who cares? The point was that Alex thought it was fun. And he got to snuggle in bed with Aunt Ali, Uncle Eric, Grandma Carla, and Genevieve to watch it.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-18T17:43:00.001-07:00

Today Nana got to meet her new baby brother Reed, born last night at 9.

Welcome to the world RWR!

Luck of the... Irish?

2011-03-17T20:40:00.001-07:00

Today we are playing host to our friends' daughter Julianna, who is two. She is a delight. We played Hungry Hungry Hippo tonight after dinner. Getting all 3 little ones to sleep proved a bit of a challenge, but after about an hour they had mostly settled in for the night. Tomorrow we'll either take a field trip to the hospital to meet Nana's new baby brother, or have pizza and watch Herbie Goes Bananas.

Ace, handsome chap with green to spare

Peanut -- who could resist pinching her, even in green?

The little ones, engrossed in a raucous game of H^3.

A busy day

2011-03-12T20:00:00.001-08:00

Today was an especially busy day. We started our day with donuts and coffee with Kim and Dean. Then we went to the grocery store. Then the kids ate lunch and took a nap. During the nap I finished installing shelves in the garage and moving some boxes from the "loading dock" garage to the basement. Then we were off to two different back-to-back birthday parties.

Our former next door neighbors bought their daughter an awesome F150 battery powered truck. Now I'm sure that is what Alex will ask for.

Then another excellent party at Pump it Up - only I was too tired & outnumbered by kids (2-to-1) to relax or chat much with the other parents.

Oh and vacuumed all the carpets. Whole house carpeting takes awhile to vacuum! We just had it cleaned but they told us we'd need to "vacuum up the enzymes". Whatever.

I'm supposed to go into work tonight to get a few things going, but too exhausted. I'll head in tomorrow.

I got the tires on my bicycle replaced so now I can ride to work, especially now that it's warmer and the days are longer.

Birthday Boy

2011-03-03T19:57:00.001-08:00

Today our little boy turned four. It's hard to believe we have really been at this parenting thing for four years already!

Alex came in at 6am sharp this morning to wake us up to go down stairs and open presents. He was ready!

We gave him his first bicycle, a blue and red BMX with a coaster break and training wheels. It's a little big for him, but by mid-Spring it should be fine.

Only problem now is we are going to need another one

He also got some wonderful presents from friends and family.

Today Ryanne took him out for lunch and a playdate with his friend Charlotte. Then they picked out a
Chocolate-chocolate-chocolate cake from Whole Foods.

Tonight we had a small dinner with a few of his+our friends at one of those chain restaurants where the waiters all come and sing happy birthday to you. Alex enjoyed it, but his excitement was dampened by getting a tummy bug. We didn't realize how bad he felt until after we got home and he'd had a bath and then got sick. it seems he and I have the same bad birthday luck.

Kids and Houses

2011-02-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned, the months of January and February have been pretty busy. In addition to the usual post-holiday activity, we had quite a surprise when we learned that the offer we made on a house in Fort Collins was accepted. Since it was a "short sale," there was a pretty good chance that the deal could fall through, right up until closing, so we did not count on getting it. But low and behold, the seller's bank decided to take our offer after some truly amazing white-knuckled negotiating by Dana. This is one attorney you do not want to face across the bargaining table! Then we had just two weeks to finish arranging financing, schedule inspections, and wrap everything up before closing at the end of January. It was a tight schedule but we made it!

After we closed, we spent the month of February packing and moving our belongings from our old house to our new house, as well as beginning the maintenance and touch-up work on the old house.

We also had some major appliance drama. First at the beginning of the year, we found out that our washing machine was losing its transmission oil - a death sentence. So we bit the bullet after we moved and bought a new washer. It's a very nice front-loading Maytag, in case you're curious. So far so good. Then about a week ago, our refrigerator also died - this time it was the compressor. So we had to turn around and buy a new fridge (another Maytag, if you're keeping score). We have definitely learned our lesson: build in more financial padding when you're planning a move like this!!

As if to demonstrate to us how happy we will be in our new house, Mother Nature threw no fewer than three significant snow storms at us in the last few weeks. We were warm and cozy indeed! And up until we filled up the garage with boxes from the old house a few days ago, I was able to park my car in the garage every night!

Now for some pictures.

First, continuing the story of the old kitchen, here is a shot of the new granite countertops we had installed (this is one project I did not want to try and tackle myself!)

Still to be done in the kitchen is finishing the cabinet faces and patching and painting the walls.

For 4 weeks between Jan-Feb, Alex was enrolled in a really fun gymnastics class on Saturday mornings at the rec center in Loveland. He had a great time, and what made it even more fun was that two of his friends from school, AJ and Ty, took the class with him. It gave the boys a chance to play together, and Dana and I got a chance to get to know their parents Darrin and Chris better.

While the basement was still completely empty and snow was on the ground, we invited AJ & Ty over for dinner one evening, and invited them to bring their cars and wagons to drive around in the basement. All four kids had a blast racing around the basement on the nice smooth concrete floors. The laughter and yelling echoed throughout the house. Too bad we have to fill up most of the basement with boxes!

Moving to Fort Collins has thus far been a total success. The house itself is a dream. It is great being 5 minutes from Alex's school and my work. But by far the best part has been being closer to many of our friends. We have started having dinners with people we had not seen in months. It is no big deal for somebody to drop by to say hi. It is amazing what 15-20 miles distance can do!

Wood Floors

2011-02-28T08:23:00.001-08:00

The past few weeks have been tremendously busy. Attentive readers may have noticed the paucity of new posts here. We have been elbow-deep in the process of moving and settling in to our beautiful new house in Fort Collins, while spending equal time working on the old house, preparing it to sell.

Among the projects under way is refinishing the wood floor in the kitchen.

Here it is pre-sanding:

...and post-sanding

...and after the golden oak stain.

Since then I've laid down 2 coats of polyurethane (I've been repeating Ramone's line from Cars over and over, "I think he needs a new coat of poly!"). I think I'm done.

The kids have been so patient and helpful during this move. Alex in particular is eager to help and learn more about what is going on. The other day he watched me unload a truckful of boxes while he read a book on the back porch

Tyr has been extremely gracious to let us borrow his cavernous GMC Sierra for the past month to schlep stuff back and forth. He's my best man, of course :-). Meanwhile Eric and Melissa have loaned us tools and lamps and back muscles and kind words. We hope to repay the effort in a couple of months when their baby boy arrives. Suffice it to say, we are grateful that such cool neighbors as these came pre-installed at our new house!

On Our Way

2011-01-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

We recently found out that our offer to purchase a home in Fort Collins was accepted, and we expect to be able to close the sale and move at the end of this month.

It has been a long time coming, but it will be extremely satisfying for us to make this move to a larger, newer, more comfortable home.

I'll be sure to post additional news and photos here soon!

Scenes from Christmas - Part 2

2011-01-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

This past December we realized we would be spending our first Christmas at home since the kids were born. In fact as near as we can tell, it was our first Christmas at home since 2004, back when Dana was still on night shift and both of us had WAY more free time than we knew what to do with.

So we needed to obtain a tree. I wanted to take the kids out to a tree farm instead of just a dusty corner of a parking lot. I found a wonderful, family-run tree farm in nearby Windsor that fit the bill, complete with hay rides, hot apple cider, and lots of trees even at the last moment. We phoned up our friends Kim and Tom and their 2-year old Dean, and we all set off a couple weeks before Christmas.

It only took a half hour or so to find the "right" one!

Then we had the rest of the visit to enjoy the other activities

Christmas itself this year was very mellow. It was just the four of us together, enjoying each others' company. We received some positively wonderful, thoughtful gifts from family and friends alike. Alex got the take-apart truck that he asked Santa Claus for. Genevieve got a drum which she delights in banging on.

I was required to take off the final 2 weeks of December from work, which provided me with the time I was looking for to dig into a minor kitchen remodel project. We were in desperate need of a built-in dishwasher and a new kitchen sink, but in order to install either, it required ripping out and rebuilding a stand-alone set of metal cabinets from ca. 1955. I was able to complete all of the demolition by the Tuesday before Christmas, but then a nasty stomach bug took me completely out of commission until Christmas Eve. It was not until my parents and Alison and Eric came out the following week, and with their dedicated help, that I was able to get most of the project under way. Here is a brief pictorial of the project thus far...

1. The "before" shot, from the Monday before Christmas:

Note the somewhat hideous metal cabinets and deteriorating enamel sink and drainboards

2. Here is the same view around Tuesday afternoon:

3. Here is me and some of my extraordinary helpers

We both like drills

Eric gets extreme extra credit for both working his arse off on the kitchen during his vacation, AND chasing after the kids when he was not literally knee-deep in cabinetry

Also note in the above photo the gorgeous faux granite countertops that Ali installed - complete with a money-back 1-hour warranty. These were done with shelf paper, and served two purposes. First to give us a sense of what kind of counter top we would ultimately like to install, and also to protect the plywood underlayment that I installed.

Speaking of Ali, she also spent a huge amount of time entertaining, chaperoning, educating, and tiring out Alex and Genevieve in between fighting off a cold and helping with the kitchen.

Throughout the entire kitchen ordeal, Dana was hard at work finishing out the year with a bang at work. I think she got mostly caught up, but her head is still spinning.

4. And as of today here is the state of the kitchen

Clearly there is work to be done, but it is coming together.

On the day we hooked up the dishwasher seen here, the washing machine decided to conk out. This is an example of the universal law of conservation of functioning appliances (that is, the total number of appliances in good, working order in the universe is constant). It turns out the coupling that mates the electric motor to the transmission had given out. This is a relatively cheap $90 service call, but while the extremely friendly technician was working on it this afternoon, he noticed an enormous oil leak under the washing machine's transmission. There was probably about a cup's worth of oil on the floor under the machine, and the transmission only holds 2-3 cups of oil, so our poor 7.5 year old Kenmore is washing its final few loads of laundry this week before its transmission grinds to a stand-still.

Scenes from Christmas - Part 1

2010-12-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

Despite already being on vacation for the first of two weeks this month, I've barely had time to sit down at a computer. So I decided to take a moment to post some pictures and video from before, during, and after Christmas. I have saved up quite a bit so I'll split it up into different posts. (Also it is getting late tonight)

A couple of weeks ago, Alex's school held their annual Christmas pageant. Alex's preschool class sang "Jingle Bell Rock" and "I Have a Little Dreidel" (the dreidel song).

Here is Alex's preschool class and the other preschool class at his school, on stage together. Alex is second from right in the red plaid shirt.

The quality is not fantastic, but I managed to capture a snippet of the performance

The children were treated to a surprise visit from Santa Claus after the show. Alex got to sit on the big guy's lap and tell him what he wanted (a take-apart toy Jeep) - and sure enough, he was a good boy and Santa brought him one!

Speaking of school, just before Christmas we finally got Alex's school pictures back from early this Fall. Here are a couple of cute ones

Christmas in Colorado

2010-12-25T11:16:00.001-08:00

This one photograph pretty much sums it up:

It is 50 F, sunny, and calm. We are gearing up to grill a big fat goose on the BBQ and enjoy a sunny day outside.

More to follow...

Our Creative Little People

2010-12-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

Genevieve loves to sing. Her favorite song - her theme song - is a mix between Frère Jacques and "moo moo moo". Dana managed to capture it on video.

Alex is an accomplished artist. Last night he sat down on the sofa with the iPhone and helped us draw this picture of the mountains:

December Weekend Outings

2010-12-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, Alex's school held a parent's shopping day, watching the kids to allow the parents a few hours to shop in peace and quiet. Both Genevieve and Alex went to school. Alex got to spend the morning with his old teacher Ms. Catrinna, and Genevieve got to try out "big kid school" with Ms. Evelyn. She liked it!

Then we decided to head down to the Children's Museum of Denver for the afternoon.

Alex and I worked on part of an enormous wooden train set

Could it be? Genevieve the fire fighter?

Alex and Genevieve had fun playing in the kid-size Whole Foods mock-up

Both of our kids are natural dancers. They loved the dance floor and the props

Could it be? Alex the scientist?

The bubble exhibit was a huge hit. And since we were there late in the afternoon we had the place to ourselves!

Alex practices making HUGE bubbles

After the museum, our plan was to head downtown to look for some ice cream. However we realized only after we reached downtown that it was the night of the annual Christmas parade. There was NO parking to be found whatsoever within 10+ blocks of downtown since the parade was starting in less than an hour! Much as we would have liked to stay to watch the parade, in our haste leaving the house earlier we had not packed any warm coats, and it was starting to get very chilly.

So instead we headed north to see where Dana's new office is likely to be. We also found an awesome Mexican restaurant across the street, Laguna's, that may become a new favorite. Finally, after dinner we finally got our ice cream. There was a Dairy Queen in the same shopping center!

Today was quite a bit more relaxed than yesterday. We barely left the house, but still managed to have fun. It was finally time to rake up the last of the leaves in the back yard. I was actually busy working on plans for replacing one of our kitchen cabinets while Dana and Alex headed outside. By the time Genevieve woke up from her nap and she and I headed outside, A & D were already knee-deep in leaves - literally!

Alex mid-jump into the big pile

Alex really wanted to help Genevieve get into the wagon. G was not as sure

Dana pulls the leaf train!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to try something a little different. We rented a cozy house in scenic Estes Park, Colorado for the long weekend from Wednesday to Sunday.

Despite some absolutely frigid temperatures (0F the first night with windchill to -28F) we managed to stay very warm and comfortable. There was much cooking, reading, guitar playing, and indeed - we even managed to get out of the house a few times!

Genevieve enjoys standing by the fire

She also likes to show off her stylish new glasses

We had some guests visiting to help us recognize how fortunate we are, and how many wonderful things we can be thankful for this year

Herb, Carla, and Gene are thankful for good margaritas

Gene was thankful for not dropping his omelet on the floor

Everyone was thankful for Alex's help making the cranberry sauce

Genevieve was thankful for having so many loving big people around to shower her with attention

Dan was thankful that he did not burn down the deck while frying the turkey

...and here it comes...

My best, and least messy, fried turkey yet! 5 years strong and counting. It was when Ali, Eric, Dana and I rented a rustic cabin in Estes Park back in 2005 that we had no choice but to fry our first turkey, owing to the lack of an oven

Susan cooking up a storm in the kitchen

And here is the dining room set for Thanksgiving dinner

What a feast! And everyone helped in so many ways

Herb, Susan, Alex, Carla, Gene, Genevieve, Dana, and Dan sit down to dinner

One of the nicest features of the house was the hot tub on the back patio, overlooking the mountains. Everyone had a chance to take some time to relax and enjoy the views. The elk were quite curious what these strange monkeys were doing in the water in the dead of winter.

On Friday night we braved the cold temperatures to attend the annual Estes Park Christmas Parade. Alex's favorite part was the float with the Christmas robot being worked on. Genevieve liked all of the floats, but perhaps got the biggest kick out of the horse-drawn carriages

Genevieve and Alex had the most fun of all during our visit

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

At the Anderson Farms pumpkin patch

Halloween proved to be tricky this year. We were visiting California the week leading up to Halloween, and we did not return home until Saturday evening 10/30. At the same time, Alex decided early on that he wanted to be a minivan. So we knew we had our work cut out for us.

On the plane flight home, Alex changed his mind slightly, and in a flash of inspiration decided that he wanted to be the Arnold Schwarzenegger character from the movie Cars. It's a big yellow Hummer SUV. This gave us something concrete to work towards -- and easy too, since those big SUVs are boxy and flat.

Arnold as he appears in Cars, "Lighting McQueen must be found at all costs!"

At work we routinely recycle large amounts of big cardboard boxes, so getting the raw materials proved pretty easy. The next steps were to lay out the design and figure out a reliable way to connect the pieces together.

Me and Alex during the early stages of construction

We ended up with a pretty simple, yet complete, design. We traced and cut out the two sides of the SUV on big, rigid sheets of cardboard. Along each edge, we included an extra flap 1-2 inches wide running the length of each edge. This gave us a surface to attach the hood/roof/windshield to. We also used a single, very long, sheet of cardboard to create the hood, windshield, roof, and rear of the car. This gave us extra strength, and simplicity too. We used a box-cutter to cut through the cardboard, and an Xacto knife to score the insides of the folds where we needed to create 90 degree folds in the cardboard.

Bonding together the cardboard proved to be the most difficult challenge. Originally we were going to use basic packing tape. But this could not hold the large pieces together reliably. As we were assembling it, the taped joints began to give out. So we had to find a better mechanical way to connect the pieces. First I tried using my big T-50 staple gun, but the 1/2" staples barely poked through two sheets of cardboard. Then I ran to Ace to try and get some brads, but they didn't have anything suitable. So I bought a pop riveter instead and some plastic-sleeved rivets. This would have worked beautifully, I think, except that the rivets were not long enough to bond the two sheets together, and by the time I realized it, Ace had closed for the night.

So finally I ended up using the staple gun and a pair of needle-nose pliers to pinch the ends of the nails and turn them in just enough to take hold in the cardboard. It worked! After I'd joined all the pieces together, I used additional packing tape to help secure the sheets together.

We painted the truck with a couple of cans of yellow spray paint. We used a big sharpie and black duct tape to create the fine details. And voila!

Dana and Genevieve decided to stay home and brood while the boys went out Trick-or-Treating around the neighborhood.

My two favorite witches

Everyone we met on the street complimented Alex on his original costume. It made me smile to know that our frantic 4-5 hours of construction had paid off and made him the star of the neighborhood.

What a haul!

Great Visit

2010-11-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

We had an outstanding visit to the Bay Area last week. As is usually the case, we did too much to cover with just a few pictures and text. But I wanted to share some of the highlights.

The main reason for the visit were two weddings we were invited to. The first was in Pescadero, way down the coast past Half Moon Bay. It was at a YMCA camp set back in the hills among the redwoods. It rained the whole time, but that seemed only to complement the serene setting.

Dana and Dan amongst the redwood trees along a babbling brook

OK, to be honest it was a little chilly, but who can resist a stop at the beach?

Unfortunately the day we arrived Alex came down with a very nasty stomach bug that prevented him from coming with us. However while he was sick, he made friends with Bangor, and for the entire rest of the week they were best buddies! This is a major breakthrough for Alex, who for the last several visits has been very nervous around Bangor - probably due to his very loud WOOF.

Alex shares his blanket with Bangor

Dana and I had both planned to work remotely for the whole week, but that plan quickly fell apart. First everyone picked up Alex's stomach bug to one degree or another (my Mom and I were probably the worst off). Then we were shorthanded a couple of days while Grandpa Gene had work to attend to. It was very difficult working from the library where we thought we would find sanctuary from small children. And finally Genevieve's eye doctor appointments ended up taking up more than half of each of the two days they were scheduled for. We have learned our lesson and will plan our next trip accordingly.

On Wednesday evening Grandpa Gene, Alex, and I went to the Warriors opening home game. Alex has become a pretty big basketball fan, and he really enjoyed watching the game in person, not to mention all of the sights and sounds

Watching the game at the Coliseum

Grandpa and Alex had lots of fun together all week. Alex got to go visit the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop in Vallejo that me, Ali, and Dad used to frequent. It's still there!

Alex also got the opportunity to go see Grandpa's airplane. He probably won't get to actually fly in it for a couple of years, until we're sure that he will do exactly what Grandpa tells him and not accidentally (or intentionally) grab any controls.

Alex has really gotten the hang of potty training. We seem to be over the hurdle now and just refining skills and timing at this point. One of our tricks has been to offer Alex a small "special treat" when he remembers to do the right thing. For an especially big reward we got donuts one day

This was a big hit with everyone!

Genevieve spent more of her time at home with Grandma Carla. They get along famously, but they had one argument about the rocking chair. Genevieve really enjoyed climbing up on her own and sitting in the old rocking chair.

It was all well and good until the chair toppled over on her. (She was fine, but quite surprised)

Genevieve also discovered Peek-a-Boo Wild, a game for the iPhone. It is the follow-on to her other favorite game, Peek-a-boo Barn, which has saved us from some tight situations (like airplanes, dinners out, serious conversations, etc)

The only problem is that now anytime Genevieve sees Dana using her phone, she immediately assumes that Peek-a-Boo Wild is being played. Why else would anyone use a phone? So Genevieve trots over and demands to see the phone. It's very cute, if a little counterproductive.

Genevieve and Grandpa had a disagreement over whether shirts were to be worn at dinner time

We also visited with one additional pediatric ophthalmologist for Genevieve. As with the first consultation, the second MD agreed that we were doing everything right, and no surgery was called for. Woohoo!

Just before we left Dana needed to complete some research at a law library, so we took the opportunity to visit Berkeley with Alex. While Dana worked, Alex and I walked around campus, and I showed him some of my favorite sites. It was a real treat! I have not had so much fun walking around Berkeley since I was a student.

Alex and Mommy visit her favorite bakery in the whole world, the Cheeseboard!

Two for Two

2010-10-27T17:58:00.001-07:00

Today we saw a highly regarded pediatric ophthalmologist in Los Gatos to get a 2nd opinion on G's eyes.

His assessment and recommendations were identical to our own MD's. Very gratifying!

Genevieve is so comfortable with this procedure now that she slept through the first half of her exam.

Tomorrow we see one more expert before heading home.

Tired Dog

2010-10-22T22:05:00.001-07:00

This is the result of 12 hours with 2 children:

One tired Bangor dog.

The kids have been having a blast on their first day in California.

Graduation

2010-10-08T18:10:00.001-07:00

Today was Alex's last day in Early Preschool.

Alex's empty cubby in EPS

On Monday he starts in Preschool. He even gets a brand-new backpack (which is good, since his old one was falling apart -I'id already mended it once)

And he has now pooped in the potty TWICE IN A ROW - most recently this evening after dinner.

I never imagined that I could take such tremendous joy and satisfaction from such ordinary bodily functions.

Meanwhile my big project at work FINALLY released to production yesterday. Everything's coming up Milhouse!

More big news

2010-10-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

As if today's news was not already cause for celebration, it gets better. Alex pooped on the potty, of his own motivation! He and Ryanne called me at work midday with the news. He was so proud, and I was so proud of him! (Fortunate for you, dear reader, I have no pictures to post...)

Alex received a new red truck as reward. He got to pick it out himself at Target.

His timing could not be better, as he graduates to preschool on Monday where, ostensibly, the kids are all potty trained.

Colorado's Newest Attorney

2010-10-07T08:30:00.001-07:00

SHE PASSED!!!

Visiting the Moo Cows

2010-10-03T07:16:00.001-07:00

Last month we signed up for home milk delivery. Once a week, the Longmont
Dairy delivers several half gallons of fresh milk in glass bottles to our door. It arrives just moments before Genevieve wakes up to demand her early-morning snack (after which she dozes off again for a couple of hours). The milk tastes excellent, it costs less than the store bought organic milk, and it turns out that the dairy farm is just a few miles up the road from us, in Loveland. (The Longmont Dairy cows live in Loveland... Their milk gets processed and bottled in Longmont)

So for fun this morning, after enjoying some milk with breakfast, we decided to go visit these cows, who have been so generous to us humans. At first we thought it might be hard to find the dairy. But it turns out that a herd of several dozen classic white-and-black splotched bovines is pretty easy to spot, even while whizzing past at 40 mph.

We stayed on the side of the road admiring these huge, gentle, lactating animals, until a guy in a pickup truck pulled up and rolled down his window. He introduced himself as the owner and invited us inside the gates to meet the cows up close. What a treat!

We tried unsuccessfully for a few minutes to get them to "moooo" at us, but they just stared back blankly at us when we prompted them. "Silly little monkeys."

Genevieve has learned how to moo like a cow when we're reading The Little Red Barn or other cow-related stories. It is adorable. So we wanted to prove to her that they really do make that noise - we weren't just putting her on. But alas, the sleepy cows were not cooperating today.

A Busy Labor Day

2010-09-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

Uncle Richard, Aunt Sarah, and cousins Alex and Zach came for a visit two weekends ago. Then last week we all flew out to San Diego for a few days of sun, surf, and Grandma Susan and Grandpa Herb.

Alex and his cousin Miss Alex (5) got along famously. They ran around and played like they'd been doing it all along.

Meanwhile Zach and Genevieve had fun toddling around with each other and trying to keep up with the older kids.

Alex and Alex, or "Double A" as Sarah coined it, have matching cups...

Double A bounce at Evan & Julia's place in Pinewood Springs...

...with Uncle Richard...

Our first dinner together at Susan and Herb's was a ZOO!

I spent the week working on site at the plant in Rancho Bernardo while Dana had the week off with the kids. On Friday evening we met up at the beach.

We spent a morning at Seaport Village where the kids rode the 1895 carousel

Finally it was time to fly home...

I'll try to round up more photos soon.

Genevieve's Eyes at 13 Months

2010-08-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

This past week Genevieve had her (approximately) 1-year eye checkup.

Although things are not terrible, her ophthalmologist suggested that we start Genevieve on a dilating eye drop, to allow her pupils to open up around the cataracts. The cataracts are centered in the middle of her lenses (both eyes), so anything we can do to let more light in around them and help her visual system develop normally is good. She started taking a phenylephrine eye drop twice per day today, to continue indefinitely. It is not great, but for now it is a much better option than surgery.

Her doctor said that a cataract of similar size and opacity in an adult would represent something like 20/60 or 20/80 vision. The way this works, in very general terms, is that her optic nerve and visual cortex will develop based on the amount, or quality, of visual stimulus she receives. So if her vision today is 20/60, then if we do nothing there is a good chance her visual system will "max out" at 20/60. If this were to happen, even if the cataracts are removed in the future she'll never see any better than 20/60. Thus the eye drops begin.

This is difficult for me, since her cataracts come from me. I had the same diagnosis as a baby, and I have spent my whole life adapting to low vision. I want her to avoid this outcome if at all possible, but of course we have to balance the risks and rewards of surgery. We trust her doctor, and the eyedrops seem like a good course of action for the time being, until he can assess whether the cataracts are continuing to get worse. We may yet seek a second opinion just to be more confident.

For the record, Genevieve is not a big fan of the eye drops. I expect that she will get used to them pretty quickly.

In happier news, I celebrated my 32nd birthday last weekend. We went camping to Pinewood Lake, just a few miles west of us. It was mostly relaxing, camping at the lakeside with friends and family, enjoying the scenery, taking some very nice canoe rides. The only downsides were that Genevieve did not sleep well (she was coming down with a cold), and very early on Sunday morning I woke up with an upset stomach. Brother Eric was kind enough to drive me down the hill to be sick in the comfort of my own bathroom. And fortunately by lunchtime I had almost completely recovered. But I missed the tail end of the camping trip.

We had a lot of fun with Ali and Eric during their visit. They drove out in their new Ford Expedition, which Alex fell in love with immediately. We ate out at one of our favorite local restaurants, only to find they were hosting a Karaoke night. Eric and Alex decided to try singing "Life is a Highway" together (as featured in the movie Cars).

Sorry this photo from my phone is not better, but the two blurry figures in the middle, one tall and one short, holding microphones, are Eric and Alex. The good news is that they did it and had fun. The bad news is that "Life is a Highway" has a LOT OF LYRICS! None of us expected that, since the song in the movie is mostly cut down to just the titular refrain. Poor Eric had to stumble his way through page after page of verses that none of us had ever heard.

In other, VERY good news, we moved Genevieve's crib from our bedroom to the back office, where we have cleared a corner of the clutter for her. Last night was her first night in her new room, and she slept like a ROCK! She only woke up once to request a fresh drink, and was back asleep in seconds. Meanwhile Dana and I got our first good night's sleep at home by ourselves in many, many months! This could be the start of a very restful period in our lives.

County Fair

2010-08-08T14:18:00.001-07:00

Today we went to the Larimer County Fair

We saw cattle, horses, chickens, sheep, bunny rabbits, tractors, pigs, and an ice cream stand. What fun!! I think between the rabbits and the cake decorating, Alex is going to want to join 4H in a few years.

The soft fuzzy bunnies with the big eyes were our favorites.

Adenoidectomy

2010-08-02T21:02:00.000-07:00

This morning Alex had his adenoids removed. We have been in consultation for several months with two ENTs and a dentist, and concluded that his adenoids obstructed his airway too much. So it was time to take care of it.

The surgery is a 30-minute outpatient procedure, done under general anesthesia. We arrived at the hospital at 7:15 this morning. Dana, Genevieve, Alex, and I were all able to sit together in the little pre-op room while the doctors and nurses bustled around and got everything ready. Alex had a dose of oral sedative before the surgery to help him relax and to make it easier to administer the general anesthesia. We waited about 30 minutes while that took effect. It was strange to see Alex in such an altered state, slurring his speech and acting "drunk". We talked about the surgery, and cars, and the present that Ryanne and Lucas put together for him for after the surgery, and lots of other stuff. We played on the hospital bed. Alex was very relaxed. But then again, Alex is usually very relaxed.

The anesthesiologist brought in a little green gas mask to show Alex how it worked, and to let him play with it for several minutes so he could get comfortable with it. We talked about how the air would blow through it and how he could hold it up to his face.

The nurse said that one of us (without Genevieve) could accompany Alex to the operating room until he went under. We asked Alex who he wanted to join him and after a few seconds of indecision he picked me. To be honest, I was kind of scared. They gave me a "bunny suit" to wear.

Then it was time to go in for surgery. I carried Alex in my arms, half limp from the sedative. He looked so small, helpless, and out of sorts, and I think when we got into the big, bright OR he started to get a little nervous. He didn't say anything. I laid him down on the operating table, and tucked his soft green blanket around him. Then I knelt down beside him and helped him hold his little green mask over his mouth while the anesthesiologist and I sang "Apples and Bananas" to him. He started to drift off, but he was still looking around apprehensively, as if to ask, "Daddy, what am I doing here? Who are all these strange people and machines?" I squeezed his hand and brushed his hair back, and then he was out. I kissed him on his cheek and left him. It was really tough.

After that we played with Genevieve in the waiting room. She had a blast. There were lots of good baby toys in the waiting room, and a big, colorful fish tank to look at.

When the surgery was done, Alex was moved to the recovery room and started to wake up. They had warned us that little kids usually have a hard time waking up from the drugs, so we were somewhat prepared. But Alex was pretty upset. Because of the breathing tube used during the surgery his throat was a little sore and his voice was really hoarse. And anyone who's had anesthesia knows that it can be disorienting and even a little disturbing. We sat and rocked him in our arms and helped him drink water and eat ice chips and popsicles. Unfortunately he has a small cut in his mouth from last week which made the popsicles sting a little. But after 45 minutes or so he was mostly calm. Ryanne came down to meet us. Her Jeep broke down early this morning so she had picked up a rental car for the day. This immediately piqued Alex's curiosity and was a wonderful distraction from his discomfort.

Finally it was time to go home. Dana had planned to spend the whole day with Alex at home, and I think that idea suited Alex just fine. We had new books, movies, and best of all, ICE CREAM waiting at home to speed his recovery.

But first we had to make a stop just outside of the hospital at Longmont's best donut shop

I learned a long time ago that donuts are among the most potent mood-altering substances known to little boys. By the time we got home, Alex was sounding and feeling better. He unwrapped his present from Ryanne and Lucas, and was delighted to find four of his very favorite movies, a new book, and a Cars plate, cup, and bowl set.

The prospect of having Mommy to himself all day at home was also very agreeable. By the time I got home from work this evening, Alex was pretty much back to his old cheery self. He's supposed to avoid vigorous play and Motrin all week. Hopefully with his adenoids now out of the way, he'll sleep better than ever!

Wrapping Up July

2010-07-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dana sat for the Bar exam last Tuesday and Wednesday. Leading up to that, we had several weeks of intense study, during which I spent a lot of quality time with both kids. It is rewarding to find that I can handle both kids at once, on my own, pretty easily. We like to go shopping, to the park, the bounce house, for a scenic drive, or lots of other activities.

Last weekend we went to a party thrown by my friend and colleague Mary and her boyfriend John. It was very nice, especially when Mary volunteered to watch Genevieve and Alex while I ate a hamburger!

Mary keeps an eye on G

Alex takes a spin around the lake in a little red tugboat

Last Sunday we had a backyard BBQ with our neighbors Dave and Marissa, and their kids Maebe (3) and Ripp (1). Alex and Maebe played together all evening in the backyard!

After the big exam was all over, we left the kids with Ryanne and Lucas, and Dana and I headed to Estes Park on Friday evening for one night alone together. We stayed in a huge condo with a hot tub overlooking the Estes Valley, and had dinner at the steakhouse above the Wheel Bar -- one of the first places we ate out on our first or second date in Colorado, back in '02.

Alas, over dinner we got a call from Ryanne to let us know that Alex had caught a stomach bug and was not feeling good at all. He had a fever and an upset tummy. We still enjoyed ourselves, but worried about our little boy all night. Naturally by the time we picked him up today, he was starting to feel better, and by this evening he'd had a full dinner AND a cookie. Huge thanks to Ryanne and Lucas for the hazardous work.

Happy Birthday Little Girl

2010-07-15T07:17:00.001-07:00

Today is Genevieve's first birthday. We had a little piece of cheesecake for breakfast, with some of her favorite fruits.

It's been a really busy year, to say the least. It hardly feels like 12 months have gone by.

We will probably celebrate with a real party after the bar exam is done.

Out & About

2010-07-10T19:00:00.001-07:00

Today Dana had a Bar prep class. The kids and I headed out for the day to do some shopping for camping gear.

Naturally we had to stop for ice cream.

I was sad to find that REI no longer carries our "wedding pattern" -- dark green enamelite.

Oh well, we found some other nice colors at Jax.

I found a case of Moosehead beer at the liquor store! I bought it to celebrate Ali and Eric's new house on Moosehead Way!! We spent the week before the 4th of July helping them move. (although I hasten to add that dumping your 1 and 3 year olds off and then spending the day working remotely on the computer and taking conference calls hardly counts as "helping"...)

Genevieve is not walking yet but she continues to practice. She is pretty much eating everything now.

Rainy Day Kids #'s 1 and 2

2010-06-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

It rained all weekend, with highs in the 50s. Nobody was expecting it. We tried to go up to the community farm's open house today with some friends, but it was rained out. So we had Indian food for lunch instead. Yum! Warm, spicy lentil soup on a cold, wet day really hit the spot.

Here is Alex with our enormous golf umbrella.

And before I forget, our darling little girl. She got to wear her warm fuzzy jammies the last few days.

She is eating just about everything these days. She likes chicken. Any protein, really. She has 5 teeth now. She is "cruising" - pulling herself up and taking a few steps while holding on to a table or other convenient object. She loves it.

Between the hours of 8 am and 7pm she is the happiest person in my life. Between 8pm and first light, she can be one of the saddest. Or most ornery. So ridiculously cute. I know Alex was super cute too at this age, but I don't remember noticing it as much. She'll be 11months old on Tuesday. 21 pounds.

June Updates

2010-06-12T21:09:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile, and much is going on. We finished resurfacing the walls in Alex's room (thanks for paint scraping Ali & wallpapering, Grandma Carla!!! and he moved back in on Tuesday night. It really helps his bedtime routine to not be sleeping in the same room as his toys.

Alex has been rockin' the shades lately. Elton John has got nothing on this kid:

We had a second opinion on Alex's throat and 2 of 3 physicians agree, his adenoids are too big and blocking his airway. So he might have them removed this year. We are trying a nasal spray for a few weeks to verify this diagnosis.

Alex was a champ at the doctors visit. He didn't even complain when the scope went up his nose.

Dana continues her bar prep. The kids and I are flying to Utah for a week at the end of June to give her a few days of uninterrupted studying, and to see Auntoh Ali and Unc Eric's new house.

Oh and I should mention that Dana graduated last month! And I will post more pics of G shortly.

Going for a stroll

2010-05-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

Last night we took a walk around town. Now that the weather is warming up and the sun is setting later, we have been resuming our evening walks. At first Alex was not too enthusiastic -- I'm still not sure why -- but he began to like the idea more last week we let him decide where to go. His perennial favorite destination is the playground at the elementary school a couple of blocks north of our house. But last night it was my turn to choose, and I decided we would walk to the big new roundabout they are constructing downtown.

We brought along the big red wagon, and Alex and Genevieve rode in the wagon together all the way to the roundabout. It was really cute, except that I had to use my belt to secure Genevieve since she was trying mightily to crawl out of the moving wagon!

After we got to the construction site, Alex hopped out and climbed all over the equipment

Alex poses on the Bobcat 630

Genevieve had a good time just sitting and watching her big brother do his big brother thing

Once we were done playing, it was time to head home. But Alex decided HE was going to pull the wagon.

Alex pulled Genevieve the whole way home, with (almost) no help from Mom & Dad!

Potty Training Strategy

2010-05-04T08:08:00.001-07:00

Potty training with Alex continues to be a challenge. He makes very, very slow progress.

This week we are adopting a new policy. To bring parity between diaper changes and using the potty, now any time we change Alex's diaper/pull-up pants, we ALSO sit on the potty and wash our hands. So it's actually going to be MORE cumbersome and more of an interruption now for Alex to pee in his pants than to use the potty.

3 year old psychology is tough. I definitely don't have the hang of it yet.

Crawling Video

2010-04-26T12:59:00.001-07:00

Here at long last is the video of Genevieve crawling!

Asleep at the Table

2010-04-25T15:30:00.001-07:00

Genevieve had a busy day. So when we all sat down for an afternoon snack today, she finished her cheese and fruit and then fell asleep. It was adorable.

We only pestered her a little bit. Then we took her upstairs to lie down for a bit.

Crawling and clapping

2010-04-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

This past week Genevieve started crawling! At first there were scattered reports, but now today we have video evidence. When she is on the floor and sees something she wants, she sets off to get it.

She is also clapping. When she sees something she likes, and especially when she hears a catchy tune, she claps her hands. It is as adorable to watch as it sounds.

Another super cute thing she has started doing is patting me on the shoulder when I'm burping her. Lately she mimics everything she can.

Pictures and video to follow once I'm back at a computer.

She is so close

2010-04-18T08:31:00.001-07:00

Genevieve has been trying to crawl really hard the past few days. She is not quite there yet. But we think in the next couple of days it will finally click.

First Tooth

2010-04-15T18:44:00.001-07:00

Genevieve has her first tooth! Front and center on the bottom. Mommy is looking forward to midnight feeding tonight ;-)

Party Girl!!

2010-04-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

Tonight we celebrated Dana's birthday with an impromptu pizza party at one of our favorite Fort Collins pizza shops, Positanos. Despite the short notice, Mandy, Ryanne and Lucas, and Kim, Tom, and Dean all made it out.

Genevieve had fun making the rounds, and dancing on the table, of course!

Today was the inspection for our rental house sale. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't any shocking hidden problems the buyers will ask us to pay for.

Today Alex had a half day at school. Then Ryanne and Dana met up and Alex and Ryanne had an afternoon together, while Dana and G had some Mommy-daughter time. Alex and Ryanne had ice cream in Old Town, then rode go carts at Fort Fun and played games. Mommy and Genevieve bought a cake and did some grocery shopping, among other things.

On hitting and biting, and very tough lessons

2010-04-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

Alex has recently learned how to hit and bite. We initially thought it would pass, but it has not. We started with gentle admonitions, then time outs, and finally last week we sat Alex down and told him that from now on, any time he hits or bites, he will lose a favorite toy. Permanently.

This morning after breakfast I was cleaning up. Alex and Genevieve were in the kitchen within earshot, when I heard her start screaming. I raced in and asked Alex what happened. Innocent as only a 3-year old can be, he said, "I bit her." "Where did you bite her?" "On her hand." Meanwhile Genevieve is crying and staring disbelievingly at Alex.

I grabbed Alex and took him to sit down on the stairs, when I remembered our agreement. He was already crying, realizing by my stern tone and abrupt actions that he had done something very wrong. His absolute favorite toys the last month or so have been a set of big Tonka pickup trucks, each of which have an interchangeable trailer. So I went and got his yellow Tonka truck from the playroom, and showed it to him. I said, "Alex, you bit your sister, and now you are losing your yellow truck forever. Say goodbye to your truck."

Then he really lost it saying "goodbye," realizing the consequences of what had just happened. The next half hour was very traumatic for both of us. I could not tell if Alex understood completely, and I wanted to make a very big deal out of this situation so that he would indelibly remember it. I asked him if he wanted me to throw away the truck in the garbage, or give it away to some other little boy who did not bite. He said he wanted me to throw it away so I took him and the truck to the kitchen, and I put the truck in the garbage can. Then I took the garbage can out to the alley, while Alex watched from the back door so he could see me throw it away, and brought back the empty garbage can.

Alex was beside himself with grief. I continued to try and remind him that this is a result of biting and hitting, and every time he bites or hits, this will happen.

He was really, really sad. I was too. I never thought a simple little toy truck could be so significant, but it sure was. Dana and I sat on the couch with Alex for 15 minutes or so and helped calm him down and soothe him. By now Genevieve was well over her bite but was upset now because she could tell Alex was so sad. After we got him calmed down he had a glass of milk and went to apologize to Genevieve. Then we read one of his favorite morning books, Cookie Monster's guessing game about Food, and he finally started to settle down.

I'm pretty sure he will bite or hit again. He's three years old and I think it's pretty common. But now that he has a brutally clear experience of what that means, I don't expect he will do it very often. I certainly hope not, because it was really tough on me.

Hooray for Sisters

2010-04-01T21:21:00.001-07:00

What a relief it has been having Ali out to visit this week! She is so in tune with Ace! And it's nice to share some trials and tribulations with a fellow tragically-old-home owner. Ali spent the better part of 2 days scraping old paint from the walls of Alex's room. (He's been camped out in the playroom the past couple of weeks). She also discovered that the weird yellow layer we found under the paint is actually ancient wallpaper glue. A little scrubbing with wallpaper adhesive remover yields the much more expected raw white plaster, which is much better for painting or new wallpaper.

Tomorrow we say goodbye, but Ali I and Eric will be back for Dana's graduation in May. Tonight John Dough's had their 6 year anniversary, with $0.99 beer and pizza. Great way to celebrate!

Oh, and at long last our rental house is under contract to sell on May 31!!

And the new roof is almost done being installed on the other house. Looks like it'll take them 3 days instead of 2, but who's counting? It actually hailed today for about 5 minutes. It seems the tar paper is holding up well. (they'll put the shingles on tomorrow)

Alex and Ali at John Dough's

Adventures in Roofing

Glancing Back

2010-03-30T10:00:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Ryanne, we got a glimpse this week at Alex when he was just a bit older than Genevieve

The similarities are striking.

Here is an adorable video of Alex and Thor, watching the bathtub fill up...

Birthday Party at Bounce!

2010-03-18T07:07:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago we held Alex's 3rd birthday party at Bounce! in Loveland. It was a huge success, although we ended up with way too much food. Also we were so busy we didn't take any pictures. Fortunately Ryanne did!

We had a total of about 12 kids including friends Alex has made outside of school, and from his preschool. We had pizza (pepperoni, sausage, cheese, and veggie), cake from Schmidt's Bakery, and ice cream!

And of course, everyone bounced!! Even Genevieve

3 Years Old

2010-03-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

Today is Alex's 3rd birthday!

Three years ago early in the morning, around 12:50am, our little boy came into the world. He cuddled with his new Mommy and Daddy in the hospital bed, he had a nice big snack from Mommy, and then his Daddy got to help give him his very first bath.

Last night his Daddy helped give him a bath (with bubbles!) before bed. This morning he came into our room and climbed into bed with his Mommy and Daddy to cuddle. And then Mommy gave him a nice big snack -- of cupcakes!

For his birthday, Alex got over his latest stomach bug. Mommy stayed up late last night to make him chocolate cupcakes for breakfast. And he got to unwrap two presents that have arrived for him in the last few days.

Alex poses with his new Cars whiteboard!

His great-aunt Kim sent him a Cars whiteboard featuring Lightning McQueen. It's just like the one Daddy has at work, only with CARS on it! (wish mine had that, instead of endless to-do lists...) He also got his very own digital camera from Auntoh Ali and Uncle Eric.

During the worst of his fever on Monday, I think Alex was a little delirious. I snuggled in bed with him to try and comfort him, and I'm pretty sure he thought I was Uncle Eric. So based on his recollections, yesterday I think he was expecting Uncle Eric would be at the house at dinner time. He was noticeably disappointed that he was absent. So we called him on the phone and chatted for a bit. (In other news, during the call, Auntie Ali's car caught on fire... pretty bizarre!! Everyone's OK, but the Tucson is not)

Video: Alex opening one of his presents:

(Special note to Facebook viewers: You'll have to go to the actual blog to see the video -- facebook doesn't know how to show these)

Sick again

2010-03-01T13:55:00.001-08:00

Today Alex woke up with an upset stomach and a 102F fever. This, along with Daddy's persistent sore throat and cough, led Alex and me to stay home from school and work, respectively. We were pretty miserable all morning, although I have to say I was nowhere near as bad off as poor Alex. By around 10 he nodded off for a nap on the couch, so I took a breather. He slept for an hour or so, then we watched some PBS kids - there was a cute show about a sloth that lives in the rain forest and all of his friends. The ant eater was making a compost heap. After that we watched part of a cooking show, but I think that started to make Alex feel sick again. He tried to eat some yogurt and have some water but he couldn't keep that down.

Later on he had a bath to try and keep his fever down a bit, but I think it was pretty uncomfortable for him. I put him to bed upstairs and he slept fitfully for 45 minutes or so. Then he was sick again. His fever was still high and we tried Tylenol. No luck. Then later he was able to keep some Advil down. Success. That seemed to really turn the corner. We convinced Mommy to come home early, and she brought with her a small toy Volkswagen monster car for Alex, plus a huge selection of videos from the library. This really cheered Alex up, along with the Advil kicking in and his fever breaking. Now in the last 30 minutes or so he's had some plain yogurt and water. We'll see how that sits. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile I'm hoping beyond hope that I do not pick up whatever nasty stomach bug he has. We can't figure out where he got it, except maybe the pool yesterday morning.

Breakstist

2010-02-26T06:10:00.001-08:00

We now have a pretty regular Mon-Wed-Fri routine set up. We get up sometime around 6:30, stumble downstairs, and have breakfast - or as Alex says - "breakstist". Today he's having toast with cream cheese, pineapple purée, and your-git (yogurt).

In other news, on Wednesday I sold my recumbent trike for a decent price, and then an hour later sold my table saw. As a result I now almost have control over our tiny 1-car garage again. There are still several miscellaneous boxes floating around, but nothing a few hours on the weekend can't fix. (Oh, and when was the last time I had some free time on a weekend?)

It's been a few weeks since the last post but not much has changed. We all caught and fought another round of colds. It snowed a lot. We went sledding. Etcetera.

Fun at Bounce!

2010-02-02T15:59:00.001-08:00

Two weekends ago we had quite a lot of fun at Bounce! in Loveland, meeting up with an old friend and a new friend. We met up with Charlotte, who Alex has been playing with for almost a year to learn Chinese, and Sophie, one of Alex's classmates. Charlotte's and Sophie's parents came along too, making it a huge, impromptu party.

Charlotte's Dad Chun-Wei bouncing with the three friends

Sophie's Mom Serena and Sophie's baby sister Emily

Charlotte's Mom Athena exchanging giggles with Genevieve

Sophie's Dad Trevor bouncing with Sophie, Alex, and Charlotte

We hope to be able to do it again soon. The kids were EXHAUSTED! Alex napped for over three hours when we got home.

Sweet Little Sleepy Girl

2010-01-31T13:32:00.001-08:00

Genevieve is continuing to struggle with sleeping at night. This past week she's been up 5-6 times each night for anywhere from a quick snack to ninety minutes or more of abject misery.

By day she's been all over the emotional map. Today she was cranky and fussy all morning except for a few breaks. But just a few minutes ago she took some milk from Dana and fell soundly asleep. Since she seems to hate her crib I decided to just sit with her in the rocking chair. I can use some down time myself.

We still don't know what's bugging her, but we suspect teething, or possibly the remnants of our nasty cold/flu. Advil or Tylenol helps a little, but not like you'd expect. I don't like to rely on it anyway.

Genevieve's 6 month checkup

2010-01-29T14:45:00.000-08:00

Today she is 17 lbs 6 oz
28.5 inches.

Rare time

2010-01-18T21:26:00.001-08:00

Today I had a rare opportunity to tackle some house projects while school was in session and work was not.

I hung a fruit basket in the kitchen.

And I started patching a huge series of cracks in the plaster in the entryway.

As house projects go these are pretty meager compared to my former glory. But multi-day projects are pretty much off the table now, and these were still satisfying.

Our Little Herbivore

2010-01-16T18:00:00.001-08:00

To date, Genevieve has tried rice cereal, carrots, carrot juice, bananas, and avocado. She likes all of them, although she wasn't 100% sure about the banana. Next up is probably yams.

We are tring to limit her to one new food per day. No problems there since we're so busy lately.

Genevieve at the Eye Doctor

2010-01-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

Genevieve saw the eye doctor today. Her cataracts are not growing, so far. The doctor still believes there is not a case for surgery. He told us the same cataracts in an adult would result in 20/30 or 20/40 vision. As somebody with far worse vision than that, I think it sounds pretty good. She may lose the very fine detail of 20/20 vision if left untreated, but we could elect to treat them anytime in the next 5-8 years and still probably improve her to 20/20.

So the verdict is "Wait and see." We don't expect the cataracts will get any worse, but it's a good idea to keep checking them every few months until she's at least old enough to tell us what she can see.

She'll "see" Dr. Arnold again in April. (And next time, no dilating!)

Meanwhile we are starting up the Spring 2010 semester. This will be Dana's last of law school! She is taking two classes, and an internship (for credit) with a District Court judge in Denver. Graduation is at the end of May. Then it's bar exam time in July. Babysitter volunteers are now being recruited!

Our dryer conked out last week. I took the control panel apart and concluded that it was the $100 electronic timer that had broken. So being the resourceful person I am, I ordered a replacement online overnight. Turns out that wasn't the problem. In fact it was a $10 thermal fuse that blew because the dryer vent was clogged due to an "embolism" - essentially the double-wall of the dryer vent failed and "imploded," blocking the vent. Fortunately the dryer did exactly what it is supposed to do, and failed gracefully instead of killing us all with exhaust gas or catching on fire from overheating. Nice work, Maytag! Now we can continue warming up Alex's jammies in the dryer after his bath. (The little prince prefers his clothes to be pre-heated)

Genevieve Likes It

2010-01-09T12:11:00.001-08:00

Today Genevieve had her first taste of rice cereal, and... She likes it!

Could her milk-chugging days be numbered? Stay tuned.

Hot dog and a milkshake in Wyoming

2010-01-08T21:49:00.001-08:00

On our drive home last weekend, Alex and I stopped for lunch just outside Rawlins. After his nap I asked Alex what he wanted for lunch, and without hesitation he told me he wanted a hot dog and a milkshake. So that's just what we got.

Alex is an excellent traveling companion. We had a lot of fun on our trip, "just us guys".

Thumper

2010-01-05T21:24:00.001-08:00

We have returned safely from our year-end travels. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Salt Lake City and in Benicia. We even had fun in the car. It turns out Alex is a really good traveler. He was calm and in good spirits for almost all of our journeys. Even on the way home from SLC when it was just the two of us (since Dana and Genevieve flew home) he was a lot of fun. We watched Cars twice through, stopped for hot dogs and milkshakes in Rawlins, and Alex was great at chatting my ear off and keeping me awake and alert.

A highlightof the trip, among so many, was watching Alex race around at my Aunt Jean and Uncle Grove's house one evening - just exactly the way Alison and I used to when we were his age!

In the last two weeks Genevieve has continued to get closer to crawling. She now readily flops from her front to her back, and has also turned back to front several times. She also wiggled a lot and can rotate around on her back on the floor through a full 360 degrees. But one thing she does now completely mystifies me: She loves to lie on her back, raise both of her legs at the same time high above her chest, and THUMP them down together on the floor as hard as she can. I sat next to her tonight in the playroom and watched her for 10 minutes straight doing this little exercise over and over, delighted with herself each time. I can't fathom why this makes her so happy, or why her poor little heels aren't in pain.

She also enjoys, to a lesser extent, raising her fists above her and thumping her chest.

Cooking Pancakes with Grandpa

2009-12-30T10:09:00.001-08:00

We have been enjoying our holiday travels in Utah and California. We spent Christmas week in Salt Lake City. Alex attended his first NBA game, where the Jazz beat the 76'ers. Dana and I saw Avatar in 3D IMAX (WOW!!!). I went snowboarding for the first timein a couple of years, with Eric up at Solitude. We had an exceptional Christmas dinner with Mike and Mary Lou, and Kirsten and Per. We ate at the world famous Flying Pig in Winnemucca, and had dinner in Soda Springs with Sam and Maryo.

Now we are in the Bay Area for New Years.

Sleeping in the Crib

2009-12-06T21:03:00.001-08:00

As of last night Genevieve is sleeping in the crib.

She has taken to it quite gracefully. We also started swaddling her again after several weeks, which has helped tremendously.

It is a little sad for us to see her go. We really enjoy the snuggly infant stage. Although she's not done with it entirely just yet, this is most assuredly a step toward toddlerhood.

She was kind of a bed hog. She sleeps with her arms outstretched to either side of her, and occasionally flaps them around.

Today we had quite a big snowstorm. Up in Fort Collins they recorded 8 inches. We didn't get quite that much, but pretty close. The Christmas in Berthoud charity program held a $6 all-you-can-eat breakfast at the Community Center so we dug out the car and drove the 8 blocks there.

Afterwards we FINALLY connected with our neighbors 2 doors down who have a daughter Maybe and son Rip who are almost exactly Alex's and Genevieve's ages, respectively. We caravanned up to Bounce! and let Alex and Maybe burn off a few thousand calories before nap time while the adults got to know each other better. It was only when we were leaving that I remembered I was going to invite Stormy and her son the next time we went - sorry guys, hope you didn't have cabin fever!

Alex and Maybe

New seats for Genevieve

2009-12-05T14:02:00.001-08:00

Last night we retrieved the baby walker from the attic. Genevieve took to it in an instant! She clearly appreciates mobility.

We have also started setting her in Alex's high chair. Alex has begun insisting on sitting in a big chair with no high chair attached.

Unfortunately this old high chair has not withstood well the last 2 years of use by Alex. So in short order we will need to replace it for the NEXT 2 years.

Meanwhile we have entered a cold spell in Colorado! This week it has been in the 20s by day, and single digits by night. Anyone who has stayed the night at our house in winter knows what that means: lots of blankets and shoes and sweaters on indoors at all times. BRRRRRR!!!

Roll on you Bears

2009-11-30T19:59:00.001-08:00

Tonight Genevieve rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time!

In other news Alex earned a new toy truck in the bathroom. He also got his second H1N1 vaccine shot tonight.

How big is Genevieve?

2009-11-20T09:41:00.001-08:00

Sooo big...

15 lbs 6 oz, 26" long.

Don't tell her but she also has to get a shot today.

First Dentist Appointment

2009-11-18T22:28:00.000-08:00

Today Alex had his very first dentist appointment. He got there early and played with the toys in the waiting room. Then he met the hygienist.

He wore the sunglasses because of the bright light overhead.

He got to check out all of the nifty tools the dentists use...

They showed him how the water squirter works.

And of course he got to meet Dr. Barnes

He has no cavities, and he is a very good tooth brusher. His next appointment is in March.

At nearly the same time, Genevieve and I went to see her pediatric ophthalmologist. Her cataracts have not gotten any bigger or worse! So for now we just wait and see. She'll be back for another check up in January.

Later tonight we had loads of fun playing guitar.

More details and pictures soon from our weekend with Grandma Moira and Grandpa Michael. (Here's a hint: they had a ball!)

Look What I Can Do

2009-11-14T16:14:00.001-08:00

Insert foot into mouth.

Giggle.

Fun at Grandma Jane's

2009-11-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

We have been having lots of fun at Grandma Jane's. She is really Alex's GREAT Grandma, but "Grandma Jane" is just easier.

Here is Grandpa Gene working with Jane's new HP TouchSmart computer.

We have spent the day learning how it works and writing down a bunch of simple instructions for Grandma after we have left.

We got in so late on Thursday night, we stayed at the hotel down the street to avoid waking Grandma. But yesterday we moved in to Grandma's living room, with the aid of a new air mattress. Alex has had hours of fun jumping up and down on it.

On our way

2009-11-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

We are on our way to Seattle tonight.

Halloween

2009-11-05T10:45:00.001-08:00

Last weekend was Halloween. Alison and Eric came for the weekend. It was especially fun because Auntoh Ali made all of our costumes this year -- SPIDERS!!!

On Saturday we trekked down to Anderson Farms in Erie to visit the pumpkin patch and see all the farm activity. Unfortunately due to our heavy snow earlier that week, most of the pumpkins still on the ground were ruined and it was VERY muddy. But we had a great time!

On the hay ride with Alex, Ali, and Eric

Alex and Eric are inspected by a brown hen

Alex and Uncle Eric manage to squeeze into the bucket train!

It's difficult to see, but this is a group of very big cows and one dominant buffalo
who gathered around the hayride when we stopped next to their field.

Here are the three black widows who graced us with their presence

And here we can see the juvenile male of the species...

Speaking of Alex, here is a brief video of him using his tools to build a new helicopter pad!

Here is a video of the sheep at the farm talking to Genevieve

And finally here is a video of the tractor that pulled the hayride. This is here mostly so I can show ti to Alex later when I need to distract him!

Alex and Genevieve

2009-10-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Alex and Genevieve get along very well. This may be due, in part, to Genevieve not talking and not being able to sit up on her own. Whatever Alex says pretty much goes, but don't expect that to last.

Here is a cute video of the kids together

Lately Genevieve has been getting lots of "tummy time" practice. Alex likes to join in too.

Genevieve only puts up with about 30 seconds of tummy time, and then she demands that she be turned over onto her back. Once she's on her back, she delights in flailing her arms and legs around and making adorable cooing noises. Me and Alex thought it looked like fun and we should try it too

Fall Leaves

Last week, Alex helped Dana with raking up the fall leaves in the back yard.

But that was taking forever. There had to be a better way...

Then it came to him... A TRUCK!

Trucks make every job better!

San Diego

Recently we realized that we're running out of time to travel. Once both kids are over 2, it will be cost prohibitive to do much air travel, and long car trips will be a challenge. So we took advantage of Dana's 15th high school reunion to go visit San Diego. Susan and Herb have completely fallen for Genevieve and Alex. They really seemed to hit it off! It was a delight to watch them. We have some old fashioned film photos which we have not developed yet. I will post those here shortly.

Dana catches up with Jenny after many years apart

Leslie and Shimshon get some valuable "practice" time with Genevieve, in preparation for Ruthie's baby coming early next year!

Despite Jeff and Veronica being sick and being forced to miss our planned trip to the Wild Animal Park, we still managed to catch up with Martha for brunch and a relaxing afternoon outing.

Cooking with Mommy

Alex loves to cook with Dana. She has been teaching him how to bake cookies and cupcakes. I think he has also been getting lessons from Ryanne.

Here is a cute video of the two chefs at work:

Not to be outdone by her older brother, Genevieve wanted to show that she too can cook

Last week we received a beautiful hand-made blanket from my Aunt Joan. Genevieve really likes the soft fabric.

In other news, Auntoh Ali and Uncle Eric will be here next weekend to help us celebrate Halloween. We will become a family of spiders. Even Genevieve! Here is a sneak preview:

The weekend after that Alex and I will be flying to Olympia to visit my Grandma, his Great Grandma.

And the weekend after that, Michael, Moira, and Michael will be visiting. This is shaping up to be a busy Fall!

Genevieve's first snow

2009-10-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

This Friday night we got our first snow. It was only about 3 inches, but it has stuck around all weekend, and knocked most of the leaves from the trees. It is a very helpful reminder that winter is almost here. It was also Genevieve's first snow.

We often sit Genevieve in her swing in the kitchen while cooking or cleaning. She likes it OK, but she much prefers being held. I've also set her in her car seat on the counter, which she seems to like better because she has a bird's eye view of activity in the kitchen.

Speaking of cooking, Dana has been trying to help me find better things to cook for Alex than macaroni and cheese on nights she has class. Last week I came home to find this do-it-yourself, cook-by-numbers arrangement:
It worked perfectly!

Alex has been enjoying the change in weather, even if it limits his outdoor time a little bit.

Waiting for dinner...

Genevieve has been working on talking. Here is a video of her chatting with me and Dana

Trusty

2009-10-08T23:18:00.000-07:00

Trusty little Honda Civic. You had no idea back when the starry-eyed newlyweds bought you just what rigors, what challenges you would face in your short life, from the sticky-fingered, spit-upping, seat-kicking, goldfish-throwing kids who weren't even a gleam in your new owners' eyes then.

And here you are now, sporting 100,000 miles. Way to go.

I've got a name

2009-10-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Like the pine trees lining the winding road, I've got a name...
At long last we received Genevieve's revised birth certificate. Her name is now officially Genevieve.

Movin' us down the highway...

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa Stangel came to visit. To celebrate the occasion, and the end of a long, beautiful Colorado summer, we decided to venture up to Georgetown to ride the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad, and tour the 1870s era Lebanon silver mine.

The train crossing the high bridge just above Devil's Gate (Georgetown, Colo)

The train ride was a huge success. It was a gorgeous fall afternoon in the Rockies, as the train chugged along the 3-mile loop from Silver Plume to Georgetown and back. Alex loved the train (no surprise there!) and we all enjoyed the trip.

Afterward as the sun began to set behind the mountains we stopped at the Plume Saloon -- possibly the only restaurant in Silver Plume. It had exactly one table, in the corner by the fireplace. But they served some outstanding burgers and deep-fried lamb chops (lamb lollipops), and cheap pitchers of Killian's.

Genevieve and Grandpa watch the Broncos beat the Raiders

In other adventures, Daddy has been tuning up his recumbent tricycle (just in time for winter?). Yesterday Alex and I took it out for a ride to shake off the dust and test out the repairs.

It was only going to be a quick shakedown ride, but we ended up circumnavigating Berthoud. Along the way we stopped at the Berthoud Barley Days festival at the park. It was about to wrap up, but we had time to play at the bouncey castles and hear some live music.

Alex plays with Mia, the daughter of our friends Davin and Alicia

2 Month Checkup

2009-09-21T10:53:00.001-07:00

Genevieve had her two-month checkup this morning. She weighs 12 pounds, 10 ounces, and she is 24.5 inches long. She is as fit as a fiddle. She got her first round of vaccinations (3 shots in total). She was upset for a few seconds, then promptly forgot what all the fuss was about.

Last Friday evening we met up at a great little local bookstore. Alex loves to play on the huge pirate ship.

The End (of summer) is Near

2009-09-20T14:35:00.001-07:00

Oktoberfest and a cute girl with a weed whacker

The leaves are beginning to turn and fall from the branches in our neighborhood. This morning Dana and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. We dropped off Alex with his "steady" babysitter Priya at 9:30, which is becoming our regular routine. Then Genevieve, Dana, and I went up to Old Town to have breakfast at the Silver Grill. Genevieve was very cooperative and slept the entire time as we enjoyed a little slice of tranquility. We reminisced, reminded ourselves of how lucky we have been, and realized just how much more we value our time now! It had been at least 5 years, and probably more like 6, since we'd eaten at the Silver Grill. Back in those days we just took it for granted that we could stumble out of bed late and enjoy a nice brunch out on a Sunday morning. No kids, no babysitters, no logistical high-jumps to go through. Now every occasion such as this is a minor miracle, and prized more highly than any material gift we could have given one another this weekend.

The Fall is starting to shape up. We're heading to San Diego for Dana's 15th high school reunion next month. My folks are visiting sometime this month, and Michael and Moira are probably going to be able to make it out in early November. What a great lineup! For thanksgiving my sister and Eric are coming to visit. (Note: It is going to get a lot harder to get us to visit in the next few years, but everyone is welcome to visit us!!)

Changes in Attitudes

2009-09-15T13:19:00.001-07:00

I did an investigation of what it would take to rebuild the foundation for our house. It is expensive, but I didn't know it would be upwards of $50k. So that pretty much closes the door on us doing any more significant work on the house. We're going to move as soon as Dana graduates and/or gets a job, and/or we sell the house.

We also learned a valuable lesson this week about sick kid etiquette. People don't want to have sick kids around, and it's important to respect that! At the moment both of the kids have a cold, and so do I. I'm determined to try not to use my army of virus dispensers to infect other people.

Now, here are some more pictures...

Here Genevieve is about to smile
And BINGO! A smile!

Last weekend we walked over to our Saturday farmer's market. I caught these great pictures of Alex and Dana walking together.

We're still working with Alex on crossing the street. MOST of the time he remembers to stop at the corner and wait for somebody to hold his hand.

Walking in downtown Berthoud

Alex loves to run!

Labor Day

2009-09-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day (last Monday) we decided to drive up the hill to Estes Park. I had the idea that we could go listen to the elk bugling after sundown in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We arrived in town just in time for the dinner rush hour. The BBQ restaurant we wanted to try had a 35 minute wait, so we ended up at our old standby, the Estes Park Brewery. They never fail to please. The free beer downstairs is a huge plus. For those who have never been to the Estes Park Brewery, and even for those who have but have not been there with a two year old boy, there is one important fact to note: It is situated immediately adjacent to a go cart track.

What's more, we were seated at a table with an unobstructed view of said go cart track. This turned out to be a big win for us, because it kept Alex occupied (distracted) through most of dinner. The CSU-CU football game helped keep me distracted too, but we had a good time. At least it wasn't a Cal game. The one trade-off was that we promised Alex that if the go carts were still open after dinner, we would go ride them.

Daddy and Alex turning some hot laps at Fun City:

After that we drove up into Rocky Mountain National Park -- which seemed to be offering free admission for the holiday -- at least nobody was at the ranger station. We stopped a few miles up the road and got out to listen for the elk. I heard them; I think Dana did too. But about that time Genevieve decided she had had enough of all this nature. She let us have it. She started screaming, and she didn't stop until we were about halfway back down the mountain along US 34. I am beginning to think she is not much of a nature girl.

Earlier in the weekend, Dana gave Genevieve a bath in her little blue bathtub. Alex calls this her "boat," and it's a pretty apt description, except the water is inside-out.

Later that day, Dana and Alex engaged in a rousing game of Connect Four:

Note: Before you assume that our son is a total genius, look carefully at the arrangement of checkers - there are no actual 4-in-a-rows there... maybe in another year

Now here are some gratuitous pictures of Genevieve:

Cute baby...

This is what we call "Elvis lip"

Here's contemplative Genevieve

Here's surprised Genevieve?

Because of Dana's class schedule this semester, Tuesday and Thursday evenings have become my time alone with the kids. I have been enjoying this time with them. I get to hold Genevieve and try to manage Alex as best I can. It's also a good chance to boost my confidence that I really can handle two at a time. But in the 10-20 minutes before I pick them up from Ryanne, I have found myself getting absolutely terrified, for no good reason. I just start thinking, "Holy crap, what am I going to do with these kids for 3 hours straight?!?" It's the same feeling I used to get when I was in the Cal Marching Band, in the moments in the North Tunnel of Memorial Stadium right before a football game. We'd all be standing around, jumping up and down, psyching each other up for the pregame show, but the whole while thinking "I don't know what I'm doing! I haven't practiced enough! There's 20,000 people out there who are going to watch me single-handedly destroy this show! Aaaaaaaaarrgh!" For those who have not had the privilege, it is a bit like climbing to the top of the roller coaster, spending a few milliseconds staring down the other side in abject terror - yet longing for it, wanting it to come every bit as much as you're dreading it.

Maybe the feeling will subside eventually and I'll be completely comfortable handling two kids at once. Someday I'll probably laugh it off, thinking it's trivial.

Lazy days

2009-09-06T11:58:00.001-07:00

It's funny that most people ignore the natural wonders right in their backyard. We are no exception. On this mild, sunny late summer morning we find ourselves again at the bounce house. Oh well. It is a safe, easy way to get your two year old to burn off a couple thousand calories and be REALLY tired for his afternoon nap!

Also there is a high concentration of other kids, which vastly increases energy expenditure :-)

While I'm thinking about it, I want to note the few remaining words that Alex still mispronounces. They're so cute, and he's becoming such a good speaker that I'm afraid they'll be lost and gone forever soon:

'murdercycle' for motorcycle
'murderhome' for motorhome
'pasghetti' for spaghetti - the classic! We didn't even learn this one until we had spaghetti for dinner on Friday for the first time in about 4 years
'kool' for school

In fact he omits almost every leading 's' in words. So smash becomes 'mash', 'scratch' becomes 'cratch', smile becomes 'mile', and so on. It's adorable.

Notable exceptions to omitting the leading 's' include:
'shaka brah' - Hawaiin expression meaning "all right, brother!" - his auntoh Alison taught him this, complete with the accompanying hand gesture (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaka_sign)
'Chicago' - Ok, not exactly an exception. I guess the 'SH' sound is easier for him to get right.

He also frequently transposes the first syllables of names and words. The character Ramone in the movie Cars is known as 'Mah-rhone'. Ryanne's youngest sister Melody has a new nickname, 'Medaly'.

Also he has a habit of placing huge emphasis on the first syllable of words that are important or noteworth to him. So when he greets Ryanne in the morning he might say "Hi, RYY-anne". He loves to talk about his MAAAHN-ster trucks (monster trucks).

One notable and adorable exception to the above is when he was first learning the difference between Grandma and Grandpa, he heavily favored the word 'grandma'. So when he first began to address Grandpa, he would say "Grand (pause) PAAAAH". (And was very clearly satisfied to have properly identified the man).

We realized over dinner on Friday night just how infectious these speech patterns are. Dana, Ryanne and I were all inadvertently using Alex-isms while talking amongst each other at dinner. Yikes. Let's hope it wears off sometime after Alex grows out of it!

Other Phrases We Love:
"Other buddy" = everybody
"biter" = spider
"ahind" = behind
"gob truck" = garbage truck (now Alex corrects me if I use his cute phrase)
"get for" = forget
"auto-cado" = avocado