Busy Relaxing Weekend

I hate to tell my gaming buddies this, but not playing on the weekends is really helping me get stuff done around the house as well as spend quality time with my wife and kid.

Another pleasantly productive weekend. Saturday was pretty low-key where Kate, Tessa, and I spent the morning just hanging around the house. Kate got some cleaning down while Tessa and I played World of Warcraft. (Tessa is very concerned that my Tauren Warrior doesn't have any shoes, but she also thinks my Blood Elf Mage has big ears and jumps well.) While Tessa napped in the afternoon, Kate and I prepped a few meals for our friends Bill and Tammy, who recently welcomed a daughter into their family. We remembered when Kate's Dad visited with us and cooked three or four meals for us after we got home with Tessa...and it was a blessing not to have to do any cooking or cleaning. We tried for the same, sending a lasagna, a chicken tetrazini, a chicken and black bean casserole, and a dozen or so homemade dinner rolls to the new parents. Kate also put together a apple-cranberry crisp as a dessert for dinner at the Keyes' home.

Dinner was a "mole" chili that our friend Ron put together. Let me tell you, if you ever have the opportunity to have my amigo Ron cook a soup or stew for you, take the chance! It was a great chili, and everyone seemed to enjoy Kate's dessert as well. We gave the sizable leftovers (Kate made a double batch) over to Bill and Tammy in case their sweet tooth needs tending to.

Here's some pictures of their baby girl, named Felicia Irene Keyes:





Great hair, huh? :-)

That evening, I got to feel like a real father because Tessa wanted me to read her bedtime stories while Kate hopped into the shower. When Tessa started to whimper that she didn't want me to leave her, I pulled her into my lap and held her close, rocking and bouncing her gently. She nuzzled on in and within ten or so minutes, she had dozed off. That's right - my daughter fell asleep in my arms. I may have fallen in love with her all over again; I'm not sure. :-)

After Tessa was down, Kate and I played a couple rounds of our new expansion of the Dominion game. I have to say - this is a fun game. Many thanks to our friend Dave and Gina for introducing it to us!

Sunday morning was a lazy affair. Kate's lingering cough had kept her up part of the night so she wasn't in a hurry to get up. Fortunately, we had a couple of church services to choose from so we stayed in bed an hour or two longer. Tessa started to have a fit, but again Daddy was able to hold her close and calm her down. Yay me!

We went to church then ran some errands around town real quick. Then we brought Tessa home and with some effort put her down for a nap. While she was resting, Kate and I continued our weekly project - namely, picking a section of the house and totally weeding/organizing it. We've been working on our office/guest room and I've been mercilessly throwing tons of stuff out in an effort to trim down our stock of stuff and furniture. And I have to say, it's felt really, really good to do so. It continues to amaze me how much stuff I keep around that I really don't need or even want. And it's also amazing how GOOD I feel once I've gotten rid of it.

So Kate and I plowed through the office again, this time with the goal of consolidating our books and other materials from four bookshelves down to the three. We were more than successful, and we now have a large bookshelf ready to be hauled away for Arc or Goodwill. We're hoping to do the same with our computer desk next since it's really more desk than we need...but that'll be another weekend.

I also did a little weeding of my t-shirts and the books we keep in the hallway and bedroom. More decluttering progress!

By the end of it, neither Kate nor I felt like cooking the dinner we had planned. So instead, I fished out some money from my cash jar (my "allowance" - made up of the dollars we save by my taking the bus to and from Longmont instead of driving) and made a quick hop over to King Soopers to buy a discounted large pizza and some broccoli-cheese soup for our dinner. Boy, after a productive afternoon and evening, some high-fat, greasy chow sure tasted great! ;-) I also grabbed a cheesecake slice for dessert but it was getting late and I have work in the morning. So we're saving the dessert for tomorrow.

All in all, I gotta say that I'm enjoying these weekends. The work around the house not only feels good to get done, but it's also good time that I spend with my wife and Tessa. Kate truly appreciates the time together as well as the completed chores so it's a win in both our eyes.

Here's hoping we can keep up the pace. :-)

As always, thanks a lot for reading and I hope you're having a really great day.

Kate's Haircut

Kate decided that it was high time she chopped her hair short again. She often does this every few years just to clean it up a bit. It also gives her a chance to donate her excess follicles to Locks of Love. So for your viewing pleasure, here are the before and after pictures...

BEFORE:





And AFTER:





Kate wasn't sure how much she actually got lopped off, but since Locks of Love requires a minimum of 10 inches, it's probably quite a bit. The Great Clips that Kate visited even did the haircut for free since the hair was being donated. Pretty cool.

I think it's a cute haircut myself, though I admit to loving my wife regardless of her style. I do think that with this haircut that Kate looks a lot more like her mother and her sister Aileen. The resemblance isn't as noticeable when she wear her hair long. Funny which features tend to draw the eye, isn't it?

Thanks for reading. Hope you're having a great day!

Longmont Lights

Last Friday, Kate and I volunteered to man a fire pit at Longmont Lights - an annual celebration of the holidays hosted by the city of Longmont and the various businesses downtown. I originally offered up my help because it looked good to be helping out in the workplace...but it actually turned out to be quite a bit of fun! :-)

I took the bus down to Longmont and worked a 3/4 day. Kate and Tessa drove down and met me at the library. After doing the usual rounds so my co-workers could appreciate the adorableness that is my daughter, we walked around downtown Longmont for a bit, stopping at Abbondanza Pizzeria for dinner. This was awesome because not only was the food (meat calzone and bbq sub sandwich with some garlic bread) but the place also has board games at each table for visitors! Kate and I played an incomplete game of Stratego over dinner. (Naturally, Kate was winning.)



We dashed through a light drizzle to make a quick stop at Butcher Frank's for a roasting chicken then made a circuit around Roosevelt Park to see the sights before our shift started. The ice rink was in operation for visitors and there was a cool 'candyville' themed collection of Christmas lights. We watched the ice sculptor work his canvas with a chainsaw for a little while. We stopped by one of the other fire pits and joined some of my co-workers in a round of Jingle Bells. Then it was off to our station.




The work mostly involved keeping the fire going with wood, handing out flyers with events, and answering directional questions. There was a free hot cocoa station right next to the fire pit that we (of course) took advantage of. Everyone was in a really good mood and enjoying themselves.




Tessa had dozed off after dinner and stayed napping in her stroller for a good half hour or so into our shift. When she woke up, she watched the surroundings for a short while before deciding that it was all too much and started to cry. Willis - one of my co-workers at another fire pit - ducked over to help cover our area while Kate took Tessa to the Memorial Building for a diaper change and a snack. They also visited with the reindeer in front of the building, which apparently made Tessa much happier.



The weather wasn't too bad all in all. It was rather pleasant early on, though the wind picked up a bit as the evening got later. Still, we were bundled up and by the fire so we did pretty well.

The crowning event of the evening were the pair of skydivers that made a nighttime drop at 8pm. The drop was in some doubt due to the rising wind, but apparently it eased enough for the skydivers to chance it. We watched the plane take several passes overhead, then the skydivers set off a streams of sparklers from their boots to mark where they were above us. They swooped and glided in...at one point looking like they were going to clip the flagpole nearby...but sailed in for two perfect landings in the center of the park. Fabulous! I wish I'd thought to have my camera out!

The festivities were pretty much done at that point. We doused the fire pit and gathered up the supplies to take back to the Senior Center. My buddy Ron had met us at the park and we headed out to his new apartment in Longmont for some hot chocolate and chatting.

We ended up getting home kind of late but we did have a good time. I think I'll see about getting involved again next year!

Here are some parting pictures of the Longmont Lights event in Roosevelt Park:








Thanks for reading! I hope you're having a happy Holiday season!

Welcome to the World - Fletcher Atticus

Kate and I got to meet our newborn nephew down in Denver last night. Jason and Emily's son Fletcher Atticus Anderson was born at 11:24pm on July 5th. He weighed in a tiny 6lbs .04oz and measured 19.25" long. Parents and baby returned home yesterday afternoon and are doing quite well.












Kate and Emily's Dad Brendan was also able to visit for the week and got to spend some time with both his grandchildren.






For her part Tessa was alternately dubious...



...and overjoyed...



...at the prospect of a new cousin nearby.

Congratulations to Emily and Jason on the new arrival. And welcome to the world, Fletcher!

Thanks for reading...I hope you're having a good day!

New Wood Flooring

After 'thinking about it' for well over a year now, Kate and I finally got around to changing out the old carpet and cracked tiles on the first floor of our house to new wood flooring and new tiles.

Originally, we had grand plans to install the wood flooring ourselves. My Dad pulled it off and it looks fantastic in my parents' house. But then I found myself commuting to Longmont every day and Tessa was born....and to our surprise we just didn't have the time or energy to devote to such a project. So after doing some shopping around, we decided to purchase the materials from a local shop called Petersen's Flooring & Design. After another couple of estimates, we chose to let them do the installation as well.

And let me tell you, we couldn't be happier with the results!

The process would take about three days. First thing though, Kate and I had to clear out all the furniture that we could from the first floor. This led to some clever (and not-so-clever) methods of cramming stuff into the upstairs office, a little in the bedroom, some in the hallway, and the rest on the patio outside. In the end, all that was left downstairs was the two-piece couch set and the kitchen fridge.

The first day involved the ripping up of all the carpet and old tiles. (It was a little jarring to come home and find the place all torn up!)






The second day was very impressive as the installers finished the living room, the kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, and part of the foyer hallway. The last day was finishing up the foyer and the 'step' at the base of the stairs.

I was at work most of the time but Kate and Tessa were trapped upstairs while the Petersen's guys did their work. Tessa was a little rattled by all the noise and didn't sleep great but she weathered it pretty well. The cats were another story; I'm pretty certain Rune is still mad at us. :-) I had moved the mini-fridge and the microwave upstairs to the bedroom so Kate could have lunch and snacks during the day. And in the meantime, she got some work done that she needed to upstairs and online.

And as I mentioned, the results were great!








Even Tessa seems to like the new floor!



We went with a bamboo wood that's supposed to be pretty durable and easy on your feet. We made sure to put sticky felt pads on the bottom of all our furniture to avoid scratching. The tiles are a little rougher than the old ones...but Rune in particular likes the way it feels on her fur when she rolls around. :-)

It feels great to have it done at last! In fact, it's galvanized Kate to make progress on the repainting that we wanted to do. I'm hoping to have some time this summer to finish sanding and finishing the stairs that my Dad replaced a couple years back. It's a lot of fun to start getting things done!

As always, thanks for reading! Have yourself a really good day!

Half a Year of Parenthood

Okay, okay...I know I should be updating more often than a quarter of a year. I'll try to do better.

(Those who believe that obviously don't actually know me.) :-)

Our daughter Tessa turned six months old on Monday. It's hard to believe that Kate and I have been parents to such a wonderful blessing for that long. I find myself in that old paradox where it feels like she's always been part of our family...and yet she still seems so fresh and new to us. I don't want her to grow up too fast...and at the same time I can't wait to see what she learns to do next.

She has grown up amazingly fast, I think. Just recently we finally took down the lovely handmade cradle that my Dad made for us because Tessa just doesn't fit into it anymore. Please observe...

This is Tessa lying in her cradle for the first time when we brought her home:



And this is Tessa trying to squeeze into it at the end of May:



See the difference?

You don't?

How about this...?

This is Tessa with her Mommy back in December:



And this is a more recent picture (May) of Tessa with Mommy:



She's getting big!

Okay, last one...

Here's Tessa in her car seat at about four days old:



And here's Tessa at exactly six months:



She is rapidly turning into her own little person!

She's rolling over like a pro now and seems to be grasping the concept of 'skooching' though she hasn't mastered it yet. She gave us a scare a week or so ago when she rolled right out of our bed while I was half-dozing. Naturally she was fine - just startled, which got her crying for a while.

She loves to stand up (with help from her Mommy and Daddy). We're holding an "Excersaucer" for Emily and Jason and found out that Tessa loves it! She'll play with the toys but mostly she likes bouncing up and down.

While we were at my parents' house, we also learned that Tessa loves to swing. Kate is trying to make regular outings to the nearby park so Tessa can plop down in the bucket swing for a while.

She's showing an interest in solid food, staring at it when Kate and I have dinner. Kate's still exclusively nursing on demand but we'll probably be considering some homemade food options in the next month or so.

She's also a grabby little thing. Anything that she can get a hold of, she will...and usually ends up cramming it into her mouth. Last Sunday, we left our church bulletin within reach and she mangled it. At her well-child doctor's appointment this morning, she had fun shredding the paper lining of the examination table.

I'm not going to lie and see that everything is absolutely perfect all the time. Tessa has her moments...like when she refuses to settle down and take a nap, even though it's obvious she (and her parents) need one. Or when she gleefully explodes out of her diaper for the third night in a row. Or when she grabs a hold of Mommy or Daddy's hair, yanks hard, and won't let go.

But these are all minor things and they quickly pass. Truly, Tessa is a joy and a wonder and I love every single opportunity I get to watch her grow.

Happy Six Months, Baby Girl! Daddy loves you so much! :-)

As always, thanks for reading...and I hope you're having a great day!