Pancake House, Salt Lake City

We are safe and sound in snowy Salt Lake City. Alex slept through brunch today.

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Trying out new iPhone blogging tool

I decided to try and join the 21st century, by setting up a tool on my iPhone that allows me to post blog entries directly from the phone.

We'll see how well it works!

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Donuts, the new pancake?

This morning I tried out a donut recipe I found online from a Fort Collins high school teacher (see http://www.secretdonutrecipe.com/ ). It was really tasty!

Here are chocolate and vanilla glazed, and cinnamon/sugar dusted

Here is our satisfied donut taster. Go ahead, try one!

I don't think donuts will replace the weekend breakfast stalwart, blueberry pancakes. However, they were remarkably easy, and required only a little bit more clean-up than pancakes. To be fair to the donuts, I've practiced cleaning up after pancakes for years. I've only cleaned up after making donuts in the kitchen once. (We've made them as a precursor to turkey for a few years, but that's almost entirely done in the backyard).

The surprise is they only need 1/2 inch of oil in a pan. So it isn't the huge, oily mess you might expect. And they are at least as good as store bought donuts. In the time it would take us to drive up to Schmidt's or LaMar's, we can have a dozen homemade donuts of our own design and delight.

Alex seems to be doing fine with his stitches out. He hasn't been itching his forehead. The nurse told us to start using sunblock every day throughout the winter to help avoid excessive scarring. Also we are supposed to rub some vitamin E oil into the wound every day.

Dana is halfway done with final exams. Last week she wrapped up her Patent Litigation and Criminal Law finals. Next week she has her Evidence final and her 30-page International Trade paper to complete. Then she has a well-deserved few weeks off for the holidays.

Stitches Out, Christmas Parade!

This morning we drove back up to MCR to get Alex's stitches out. What luck - the very same ER nurse that helped us last weekend was there today! She remembered Alex, and she remembered our tuneless singing.

Alex did amazingly well. He didn't even cry, and the nurse didn't have to wrap him up like a burrito. He just lay there and stuck his lower lip WAAAY out, so we all felt very sorry for him.

When it was all done (about 90 seconds, all told), we walked over to the hospital's cafeteria for an ice cream. Alex likes having stitches taken out!

Later this evening Dana went to a baby shower for our friend Christine, so me and Alex took a walk downtown. We soon realized that today was the day of the Berthoud Christmas Parade. The timing worked out great. We got downtown only 20 minutes before the parade began. It was chilly, so we ducked into the Jumping Bean Cafe to warm up. They were offering free Christmas cookies to all the kids who stopped in -- and there were a lot of kids!

Dana got back to town just in time to meet up with us at the cafe. From there we stepped outside onto Mountain Avenue to watch the parade. We saw the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the preschool kids, the Berthoud Code Enforcement unit (for some reason, nobody was very cheerful to see them... can't imagine why), 3 great big fire trucks, horses, 3 or 4 other big floats being pulled by trucks or tractors, the school band playing Christmas songs, and a handful of other great participants. For some reason this is the first year we've attended the Christmas parade. Every other year since we moved here we've either been out of town or busy. Alex really likes parades, so I think he got a big kick out of it. The fire trucks were by far his favorite.

Then after the brief parade (only about 15 minutes all told), we walked down to the wine tasting at the liquor store. I tried a pretty good malbec, and a South African white that I liked but forgot to make a note of. I'm sure it'll be there when I go looking for it.

Oh, and Cal beat the snot out of Washington 48-7 in their final regular season game. I listened to most of it while Alex took his afternoon nap. What a trouncing! I feel sorry for the Huskies, especially since it wasn't that long ago (the dark days of 2001) that Cal went 1-10. I don't envy those UW fans. Meanwhile it looks like Cal is going to the Emerald Bowl on 12/27; We will be in Berkeley the night of 12/27, but we're planning to attend the wedding of my good friend Chris. So Chris, if you're reading this, I really hope you have the game on at the reception! Or better yet, why not have the reception on a charter bus heading across the Bay Bridge to AT&T Park to watch the game in a luxury box? Just a thought...

Alex's First Visit to the Emergency Room

Last night marked Alex's very first visit to the hospital emergency room. Before I go any further, let me assure you that Alex is just fine - he was, and remains, in good spirits about the whole thing.

My parents decided to take us out to dinner last night. We had a wonderful meal at the Outback Steakhouse in Longmont. Alex spent most of dinner taking each of us in turn on a walking tour of the restaurant. So at any time, the remaining three of us had a very nice conversation.

Anyhow, we had just driven home from the restaurant. I was sitting in the back seat with Alex and my Dad. I unstrapped Alex from his car seat and set him on the sidewalk while I got out. He ran across the yard towards the front porch as he often does, while I followed about a yard behind.

But when he got near the front steps, he tripped and fell forward, striking his forehead solidly on the stone face of the front steps. He started crying immediately, and I knew it was a pretty hard knock because of the sound it made. Still I hoped for an instant that all was OK. The blood ended that hope.

The offending stone stair

I've heard many times before that head wounds bleed profusely. Now I believe it. Alex's forehead was bleeding all over the place. I rushed him into the kitchen to get a better look while Dana, Gene and Carla caught up with me to find out what had happened. It was definitely a big gash in his forehead, and we weren't quite sure if anything else had gotten smashed in the accident.

There wasn't much debate - we kind of all decided as a group to hop back in the car and head for the nearest hospital. We weren't sure if MCR in Loveland or Longmont United was closer, but opted for the newer, fancier MCR. In retrospect I now believe they're about equidistant, and probably equally well-equipped.

On the ride up to the hospital, Alex was upset, but gradually calmed down while me and Gene sat on either side of him and comforted him. Grandma and Dana had a couple of Starburst candies which they split into small pieces to give him, which greatly improved his mood. He was talkative and interactive throughout the 15-minute car ride, and we came to the consensus that he hadn't suffered any major brain injury. We also were able to feel his hands and face and figured out that nothing else seemed to be wrong.

After being admitted to MCR, we sat around for an hour or so talking in turn to a trauma nurse, a head nurse, and an administrative assistant. Everyone agreed that Alex needed a few stitches to sew up the gash in his forehead. By the time we got to the ER, it had stopped bleeding, but was still a big enough cut to need attention.


We had the presence of mind to keep his diaper bag with us, which had a small stash of toys, books and food. Alex had two of his favorite trucks with him the whole time, plus a great new truck book he got from G&G over Thanksgiving.




Here Grandma and Grandpa sit patiently and watch the patient


Alex was really happy and calm for most of his visit to the ER. He was really jazzed to meet all of the ER nurses. He said a big, friendly, "Hi!" to each of them as they came into the room.

The only times he got upset were when we had to keep him from scratching his forehead, and when the nurses gave him a topical anesthetic called "LET" (lidocaine, epinephrine and tetracaine) to numb the wound before the stitches. But once the clear liquid started doing its job he didn't even mind the wound at all.

The other tramatic moment came when the physician's assistant came to stitch him up. One of the nurses wrapped him up in a sheet, so that his arms were clamped to his sides. Then they laid him on the bed and put a surgical drape over his face. At this point Alex started to get very frustrated, and a little scared too. But me and Dana stood above him the whole time so he could kind of see us around the edge of the drape. We sang songs (very badly, I assume), and talked him all the way through the stitches. I was amazed at how efficient and practiced the PA was at doing the stitches. The whole team of 3 staff who attended were so professional and quick - as if they had practiced this all the time. Each one knew exactly what to do and never fumbled or stalled.

It only took a couple of minutes to stitch him up, and he was all set. They put a bandage on to keep his curious fingers away, and sent us home. We'll be back on Saturday to get the stitches taken out. Meanwhile we have to wash the wound twice a day with mild soap and water, and avoid getting it wet. That means no swimming this week for Alex and Ryanne. Bummer.

We were released at around 11pm and headed home. But we promised Alex more food and a video when he got home. So we had some yogurt and watched a Richard Scarry "Busy People" DVD. That really made Alex happy, and he didn't put up much of a fuss going to bed. But it was a very, very late night for all of us!

I think it's safe to say that Dana and I were freaked out and shaken by the experience. I feel rotten because it happened on my watch. I know that it will be a long time before I let Alex run off ahead of me -- even in our own front yard! Maybe this is how parents become super over-protective? I hope not.

Now here's the patient as of this evening:


Extreme close-up of the stitches:

We counted 6 stitches.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Colorado


It snowed just enough so that the visiting Californians got a little taste of the season, but they didn't have to shovel the sidewalk or get their feet wet.

Meanwhile, everyone got re-acquainted with a certain little 21-month old boy named Alex.

Alex really took a shine to Uncle Eric. They ran all over the back yard together!

Alex and Grandpa Gene also seemed to share a special connection, perhaps their shared love of biiiiig trucks?

Over the last few years we have adopted a new family tradition of making cranberry sauce the night before Thanksgiving. We use 2-3 apples, 2-3 oranges, and 2 bags of cranberries. We run them all through an old meat grinder we picked up at a barn sale just after Dana moved to Colorado. It takes about an hour and is a great bonding experience! Plus it beats the heck out of those gross cans of cranberry jello you find at the grocery store, that make the disgusting "schloop!" sound when the red loaf oozes out of the can.

I believe this is one of two major food-related traditions we adopted from Dana's father Michael -- the other one being Michael's now famous (infamous?), heavenly, creamy egg nog recipe.

Long story short, homemade cranberry sauce = MUCH better:

Here Grandpa Gene and Grandma Carla try their hand.

And Gene and Dana have a whirl

In fact we have a somewhat ill-enforced rule that only those who actually help make the cranberry sauce may partake of it. So far it has never actually been called, but you can bet that yours truly takes no chances and is sure to take several turns at the meat grinder!

Alex had a ball at Thanksgiving dinner. In addition to his Aunt and Uncle and 2 sets of grandmas and grandpas (whom he consistently referred to as "Grandma and grandma"), we enjoyed the presence of our dear friends Tyr and Mandy. The couple had planned to spend Thanksgiving in Las Vegas, but Tyr suffered a minor stress fracture of his foot that forced them to revise their travel plans -- much to our great delight! (other than the bum foot, of course)

Here Alex hops up and down on Ali's lap

Most of our dinner guests - (clockwise from left) Ali, Eric, Tyr, Mandy, Carla, Alex, part of Gene, Herb, Susan and Dana (I am taking the picture)

The only major mishap was a seriously backed up kitchen sink drain. As my grandmother observed, "Messes under the sink always happen when you have company" Tyr and I ventured down to the deepest, darkest, dankest recesses of the basement to open the cleanout and clear it of the stoppage, while Eric kept a close watch on the turkey fryer.

Oh, we fried a 15.3 lb turkey again this year. This time we used cottonseed oil, as it was massivly cheaper than any other oil. Tasted fine - nothing outstanding, but it was certainly respectable, I think.

Here Alex brushes his teeth, standing on his potty / stepstool.

This video may be my all-time favorite Alex video ever. Each night when it's time to go to bed, we have a simple ritual. We walk through the house and say "good night" to all the things we pass on our way upstairs to Alex's bedroom. It gets me every single time Alex says "bye bye" to each item. Most of the video is dark - our camera can't handle low-light very well - but the audio is the important part anyway.

Here's a short video clip of Alex at Thanksgiving dinner. He was having fun getting everyone to clap for him. He is a "ham" for the crowd!