How To Add Comments

Many people have asked me how to post comments on this blog. I admit that it is not at all obvious, even to a seasoned web-surfing guy like me. So here is a brief aside that describes exactly how to add comments:

1. Go to the blog (Hint: If you're reading this, you're probably done with step 1)

2. At the bottom of the posting you want to comment on, click on the text that says how many comments there are ("0 Comments", "1 Comment", "2 Comments", etc)

3. You'll see a new page, where you can type in your comment in a box on the right-hand side of the page. On the left-hand side you will see all comments that have already been posted

4. Just below the box where you typed in your comment, you will see three options for identifying yourself.

• Google/Blogger: If you have a Google GMail email account (that is, your email address ends in "@gmail.com"), you can type in your account name (the part before the "@gmail.com") and account password, and your comment will be attributed to your name.
• Other: If you do not have a Google GMail account, or do not want to use it here, you can click on the small circle next to "Other". Then you can type in whatever name you want to be associated with your comment. You can type in "John Doe" or "Pinky Fingerstops" or "Great-Great Grandpa Jack" or anything. If you have a website, you can also type that in here, but it is not necessary.
  
• Anonymous: Finally, you can also post an anonymous comment, by clicking on the small circle next to "Anonymous". By doing this your comment can be posted without including your name.
  

5. Once you have decided how or if you want to include your name with your comment, just click on the big, orange button that says "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT". Your words of wisdom should now appear in the list of comments for that blog posting.

Pirate Alex

Talking With Your Mouth Full

Alex has begun talking -- sort of. He strings together many consonants and vowels in a way that, presumably, he thinks will be meaningful to us. He hasn't quite mastered this whole "language" concept. His favorite things to say are "Lah lah rah wlah wlah" and "Arrrrgh". He's been doing this in earnest for about the last 2 weeks, and it's only getting cuter. No "real" words yet, but I'm sure they're real enough to him.

He's eating too -- sort of. He enjoys the act of eating, if not quite grasping the purpose. He likes bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, and rice cereal. He also loves Indian naan bread, graham crackers, and teething biscuits. He is definitely NOT a big fan of asparagus - he made the cutest, scrunchiest face while attempting to eat a sprig of asparagus. The jury's still out on french fries, but they're salty and fun to stick in your mouth at least.

Last time I fed him, easily 2/3 of the food ended up on me, the floor, the wall, his bib, or his face. I can only hope that his aim and tongue dexterity improve over time.

Wedding Addendum

I can't help but post some of my pictures from Jim & Pemma's wedding. It was a wonderful afternoon!
These guys are such a great couple! And their ceremony was short. We took our time navigating the countryside of western Virginia, so were a couple of minutes after 3pm getting to the wedding, and they were almost half done!

But the real treat of weddings is the cake, of course:

Huge, delicious, moist, vegan wedding cakes, prepared by the bride's Mother!

Yours truly, swarthy Dan

Jim and me, in our dress uniforms.

As they say in Virginia, "What n'the hell was that?"
I'll tell you what that was, a humiliating defeat of the Golden Bears that night by Oregon State! Sarah, if you ever hear me saying, "Don't worry, Oregon State is going to be a breeze!"again, please just punch me in the face!

(Actually, it was some awesome fireworks, courtesy of the bride's brother!)

Crawler

Uncles and Aunts and Grandparents, Oh My!

"Come in to my strange little world..."

Michael, Dan, Dana, Alex S., Michael W., Alex L., Sarah, Richard and Moira (left to right)

Dan, Dana, Alex S., Michael W., Moira, Michael, Richard, Alex L. and Sarah

Many of you who don't know him might think based on these photos alone that my brother-in-law Richard does not smile. In fact he is a charming young man who is quick with a grin. To prove this, here is evidence:

One

One and a half...

Two and a half smiles!

This weekend's trip to Virginia was a treat. We flew from Denver to Atlanta to Washington, D.C. on Friday, after a bit of a struggle (It turns out you have to check bags at least 45 minutes before the flight!) We stayed the weekend with Michael and Moira, and ducked off to Lexington on Saturday afternoon for the wedding of my friends Jim and Pemma. After a lazy Sunday with Dana's Dad & family, we returned home Sunday night via Denver.

Grandma Moira with Alex L and Alex S

In this posting I'll make up for my last few image-deficient entries, because we used up a lot of digital film!

Alex and Alex getting to know each other on Saturday night

Uncle Richard helping out with Alex & Alex

They aren't sure about this "kissing" thing...

Alex was a very agreeable traveling companion these, the 3rd and 4th flights of his life. He spent much of the time playing and laughing with us, while of course enjoying his complimentary in-flight beverage service

On both the trip out and back we had an empty seat between us, so Alex had plenty of room to stretch out and take a nap.

Don't get used to this kind of air service, kid.

That Old Wonderlust

It seems that I just can't help myself from traveling. We now have three trips planned in the next two months. Next weekend we'll be in Virginia for the wedding of my friends Jim & Pemma and to visit the Leite clan. The last weekend of the month we'll be in sunny San Diego to visit the Pililaau/Ealy clan and as many of Dana's friends as we can fit in, not to mention soaking up some last-minute sunshine before the mercifully brief and moderate Colorado winter sets in. Then the week before Thanksgiving we'll be in the Bay Area for a patent bar review class that Dana has signed up for, where we will also visit my parents.

Okay, granted DC, SD and San Francisco are not the most exotic destinations, but I do love to drop down into a place that is distinctly not home and still find my way around and make things happen. It will be especially challenging with little Alex in tow, but fortunately each destination features a loving grandparent or two to help out. It's good practice for future trips I'm sure we'll undertake to China, South America, Europe and elsewhere. If I'm lucky, maybe my generous employer will even underwrite such adventures, in part.

In other news, I finally signed up for online access to Alex's 529 college savings plan. It looks like we're off to a good start, considering I only set it up in April, and we're only modestly funding it from our bank account. A regular contribution of just a few bucks a month really starts to make a difference when the account is almost as old as the beneficiary. The earlier the contributions, the better, as they have the most significant cumulative impact.

In case you're not familiar with 529 savings plans, here's how they work in a nutshell: Contributions are made from taxed income, and the account grows tax-free for its life, as long as funds are used for educational purposes. The funds can be used by anyone in the family, not just the named beneficiary. Funds are sponsored by each State, often with states providing tax incentives to residents for investing in their particular plan, and plans can be moved annually between different states' 529s with no penalty. The contributions may be invested in a selection of age- and risk-based investment options, or you can elect to put the plan on "autopilot," whereby investments are modified each year automatically to match the beneficiary's age.

It's unlikely that this tool will provide a full ride to Harvard in 2025 (2023 if he does really well), but it will certainly give us a leg up in funding. And in fact "traditional" higher education is not the only option; the funds could go to vocational education, summer camps, or private K-12 schools too if we so desired. Or if he flunks out and ends up playing the sitar on Pearl Street in Boulder or Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, then his Mom and I can spend the money on one of those fancy scientific lecture cruises to Alaska.

Alex Can't Fly

This morning, Alex demonstrated his tremendous upper-body strength when he climbed his way over the top of his crib and attempted to float gently to the floor.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the loud "THUMP" I heard from all the way over in the kitchen and the subsequent burst of tears heard over the baby monitor, he dropped like a boulder onto the carpet.

Alex, showing off his new standing-up abilities

After a few minutes of sobbing, I comforted him and he calmed down. For another few minutes he was very quiet and maybe a little dazed. We called my parents to see if it was a "real bad thing", but they assured me that it had happened to us kids a few times. I also called Dana at work and tried not to freak her out.

Later, after Ryanne arrived, we thought all was well. He was back up, moving around, making his usual array of cute little baby noises. But after Ryanne put him down for a nap and I snuck off to work, he threw up in his crib. Worried, Ryanne called me, and I called his doctor (and Dana) and they suggested we bring him in to make sure everything was OK.

Ryanne, with her cuddly little charge

Better safe than sorry. So we caravanned up to Fort Collins with the little guy, and got a thorough check-up. Everything looks to be just fine. We'll keep an eye on his soft spot, and make sure he's not overly lethargic or irritable.

I also lowered his crib mattress by a few notches and lowered the floor of his play-pen/crib downstairs, so he should not be able to repeat this little BASE jump trick for a few weeks, at least until he's had a chance to bulk up his biceps a little more.