The War On Christmas Continues Apace

As Blackmail Material Goes, This Is Gold

Adam Is Coming To Town

We head northwest Wednesday, after an overnight stay at Seth and Deb's in Little Rock Tuesday night. We'll be in Washington for about 3 weeks, so there should be plenty of time for visiting. We're not looking forward to the cross-country flight with a very active toddler, but we are looking forward to getting there and seeing everyone.

I'll try to update this little ol' corner of the intertubes sometime before we leave, but I make no promises.

Where has the time gone?

by Jean

It's been a while since we posted - new job for Jean, relocation to Louisiana, house hunting trips, visits from Jean's mom and dad, wedding we attended, Halloween and Thanksgiving have all come and gone. Here are a few pics, all in the wrong order....
We crossed the Arkansas River and Adam still had get up and go. Jean did not.

Up on the "big bridge" as Adam calls it.

Adam loves "Odin Doggie" who we saw for Thanksgiving. Luckily Odin is very good with kids!

Washing hands in the "new house."

Adam helping to unpack boxes and paper!

Adam spent a lot of time staring at and talking about the "big truck" that delivered all our belongings. In fact, it has been a month, and he mentioned it again today!

What a busy bee - here we are attending a "Fall Festival" at a local church. Our next door neighbor invited us the first day we were in the house (Halloween!)!

Eating dinner on our camp table, with our camp chairs and plastic plates. No real belongings will arrive for another week, so it is packandplay, air mattress, and not much else!

Here is the new house - Adam and I stayed for the first week with only this much furniture!

Adam before the big move - pretty cool!

Raising the Boy Properly

Not sure how well the sound will come out on these, so crank it up to 11:

Because The Internet Was Running Low On Nudity

For as long as they've known each other, Big Mac (The Wee Dray) has been trying to get Adam to be her friend - or even to notice her - largely without success. Then she came over for a mini-pool date, and she had her man. For a while.

Oh well. Boys. Get used to it Kenzi...

Adam See, Adam Doo Doo

Adam hasn't shown a tremendous interest in potty-training. We've left his options open - he's got a couple of potties and we've talked to him about the whole "Wouldn't it be nice to be a Big Boy?" thing - but he's just not interested yet. You can't force these things. But we are ever vigilant that he will show any sign at all.

So far, the clearest signal we've seen is that he imitates the dog's... uh... evacuation technique. When he sees the dog doing her dirty, sinful business, he yells "Doggy!", does a half- or full-turn, then squats in the yard.
It's a start, I guess.

Stomp Flop The Yard

Gravity is a harsh mistress. - The Tick

You know, someone of Adam's size really should show gravity a little more respect:

How Did That Belly Get So Big?

It's a mystery.

If I Could Just Say A Few Words... I'd Be A Better Public Speaker

Sleepless in KC...

by Jean

Adam has been confounding us with his sleeping patterns at naptime ... or lack of a pattern. Examples of his nap times over the last couple of weeks:

11:30am nap lasting approximately 2 hours

12:00pm nap lasting approximately 2 hours

1:00pm nap lasting approximately 2 hours

NO NAP

11:30am nap lasting approximately 3 hours

2:30pm nap ... and so on and so on.

And then there was yesterday, when he wouldn't nap. We finally gave up on the nap and hauled him over to the gym around 3pm and he ran in and out of the pool, splashed around, and had a great time, then fell asleep in the car, and DIDN'T WAKE UP UNTIL 6:15 THIS MORNING! That's over 14 hours of sleep, ladies and gentlemen!

These are some crazy times!

Adam not napping!

Dance Like No One Is Watching

Every now and then, Adam just starts a'dancin'. The problem in our present context is that he stops dancing when the camera comes out, even if he doesn't see it. Little stinker. So recording and sharing these episodes is a bit difficult. Usually, the results looks something like this:

Did you blink and miss it?

Some of the time (okay, pretty often) he turns on the singing dog and singing rabbit Jean felt compelled to buy at Valentine's Day and Easter, respectively. As you can see here, he gets them going at the same time, and enjoys the fun, until he sees the camera is within striking distance:

Some day, I'll get him in full Steppin'-Out mode. Some. Day.

A Journey Of Two Hundred Miles Begins... Very Badly (But Ends Well Enough)

The STP (Seattle-to-Portland) was a couple of weeks ago. In spite of my best efforts, I survived.

Lots of ground to cover, so let's get to it:

I flew out to Seattle on Thursday, with Scott and Katy picking me up at the airport. I had disassembled my bike for the trip, but I wasn't sure I could get it back together safely, so I put it together Friday morning and had one of Olympia's hippie bike shops look it over while we had lunch. Evidently I had gotten it mostly right, and we were good to go.

That evening Katy took us up to Seattle to stay with Darrell, drafted to be team "leader," and Jolene, who is smart enough to not ride the STP. We stopped in Tacoma for a traditional carbo-loading of spaghetti at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Darrell and Jolene were great, making us feel right at home. And they were nicely positioned, too. They live on a hill with a nice view of north Seattle and the UW (boo) campus, which is where the STP starts. We got up at 5ish, so I was able to get a picture of the sunrise.

Sadly, when I was deciding what to bring along on the ride, the camera was sacrificed to my desire to not carry any more weight than absolutely necessary. It came down to the camera or a spare tube. Easy choice.

So, long story short, this is the last STP picture from my camera:
Right, so we headed down to the Husky (boo) Stadium parking lot by about 6:30. After waiting for the team to assemble, we got started a bit later than we had hoped (7:20ish), but we were on our way. We got off to an inauspicious start, when Scott lost track of me and thought I was way ahead of him... after 50 yards. He accelerated rapidly and away he went. So I had to sprint to catch him and let him know I was still behind him.

That little bit of excitement behind us, we settled in and headed south along Lake Washington. It was a great view on a great, sunny morning. A picture would be perfect here. If only I had brought a camera!

After we had gone about 5 miles and were starting to get into a rhythm, Scott's left wheel suddenly decided it had plans of its own and started to come apart. That's right, I said "come apart," as in "trying to fall off." I don't know why. Luckily, I was riding behind Scott and saw it happening. He stopped quickly, and we assessed the damage.

After a half hour of searching, we found the necessary pieces and reassembled his wheel. I'm still not sure we found ALL the pieces, but we found enough that when we got it back together, it stayed together for the rest of the weekend, so... good enough, I guess.

Scott's rebellious wheel and our later than expected start had us off the back of the ride. There were very few riders around, and we were still in Seattle. Not good. We were in for a long day.

For some reason, my bike computer wasn't working (I think one of the batteries is going bad), so we were relying on Scott's. It seemed a little off to me, but I had no way of knowing for sure until my computer suddenly - once again, I have no idea why - started working. That's when we found out that whoever set up his computer had set it to the wrong wheel circumference; it was reading about 50% off. So, when he was doing his training rides, and he thought he was going 45 miles at 15 miles per hour, he was really going 30 miles at 10 mph. Big difference.

Scott did great, but those extra miles came back to haunt us later. He powered up the Puyallup hill and made it to Spanaway (just over 50 miles) really well. He slowed a bit after 60 miles, a lot after 70, and was pretty cooked at 75. That put us in Rainier, which was close enough to Centralia for Katy to come and pick him and another team member up. It was just too far, too fast, too sunny, and too warm, but it was a great effort, nonetheless.

Once I was sure Katy was close and there was someone to wait with Scott, I rode the rest of the way to Centralia. With light and favorable winds, flat roads, and a few riders in front of me, I hit the gas. I had heard enough "On your left" for one day. Short story, even shorter: I got to Centralia in a hurry, and Jean's dad Ray had pizza waiting for me when I got there, and my parents were there too. After scarfing dinner and visiting, it was time for a shower and a bed.

The next morning, I rode from Centralia to Napavine through a thunderstorm and met the rest of the team at the Napavine Rebekah Lodge's pancake breakfast. After Saturday's experience, Scott, Katy, and I decided I would ride to Goble, OR, and Scott would rejoin the ride there, and we would ride to Portland together.

So I headed south on my own. It was a fun ride, hillier than Saturday, but not bad at all. I picked up the pace a little between Vader and Castle Rock and between Rainier, OR, and Goble, OR. Sunday was cloudy, but it didn't rain again until I got to Kelso and the bridge over the Columbia River. It wasn't much more than a light mist, but it was enough to wet the road and make the bridge crossing plenty dicey.

After crossing the bridge, I headed to Goble to meet up with Scott. While waiting for me, Scott and Katy had a little time to snap a few pictures. They were nice enough to send them along. So thank them for the pics, and enjoy.

Scott with the Mean Green Machine, all wheels more-or-less intact:

"Draught Beer, Not Me":

I arrive in Goble:

About to hit the road, Coug windsock at the ready:

So I took up my position behind Scott, and we lit out for Portland.

* Note: Katy took this picture as she drove past.

** Note: If there are any Oregon law enforcement officials reading this, that first note's a damn dirty lie.

We followed the Columbia River past St. Helens and Scappoose, which put us about 14 miles from the finish. That's when it started to sprinkle very lightly. As we got closer to Portland, the rain got a little stronger. As we passed the "PORTLAND 10" traffic sign, Scott began going faster...

No, that doesn't quite describe what happened. Instead, let me just say, SCOTT GOT A BUG UP HIS ASS AND WE WERE MOVING!!! He passed a guy going up a hill, traveling 17 mph. After a couple of miles of this, I pulled up alongside and, with my customary subtlety and sensitivity, asked "What the hell was that?!?" Scott, without even glancing in my direction, just said, "I'm tired of being wet."

And with that, we cruised through a steadily worsening rain to the finish, meeting a couple of teammates at a stoplight just a few blocks from the end. Katy and much of the team was there to greet us.

Before leaving Portland and heading back to Oly, we stopped at a local institution, Burgerville.

Monday meant relaxation. Scott and I took their Wii for a spin, and Scott, Katy and I went to lunch at a pizza place in Oly called The Rock. I would like to note for the record that I managed to contain myself and never once pulled out my Sean Conneryisms. I think I'm making real progress...

Tuesday, Scott and Katy took me to the airport, and I headed home.

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and the team met its fundraising goal, so it was successful in that respect too. Scott was impressive on the Mean Green Machine, and Katy took good care of us. I had a great time.

Let's never do it again.

Overflowing With Awesome

This Is Just Getting Silly

Adam had his 18 month appointment Friday. The doc says he's fine.

And freakishly large:

Height: 34.5 inches (95th percentile)

Weight: 30.8 pounds (94th percentile)

Head: 19.75 inches (95th percentile)

I'm Not A Smart Man

Scott and Katy were going to do the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride together. Katy - wisely - decided she wasn't ready to do it, so Jean volunteered me to stand in ride in her place. I - unwisely - agreed.

So, I guess I'm riding the STP. 100 miles a day on back-to-back days. This should be interesting...

Anyhoo, I'm riding with Scott and Katy's team, Team Busta Move, and we're trying to raise some dough for the Hereditary Disease Foundation. If you click on the team name, you'll go to a donation page. Anything you can give would be appreciated. It's for a good cause, and besides, you were just going to waste that money on Ring Dings and Natty Light anyway.

So give 'til it hurts. Don't make me go all National Lampoon on your butts:

Things to do in Washington When You're 1 1/2

(by Jean)
Getting to Washington was about what I expected - On the plane Adam didn't want to sleep, didn't want to sit (either on the seat or in my lap), wasn't going to be distracted by toys or books, and was happiest running up and down the aisle disturbing everyone's drinks, food (used loosely to describe peanuts or pretzels), and computers. I finally banished him to the back of the plane, where he opened and closed all the toggles holding the equipment and food in place in the cabinets, and played peek-a-boo with the flight attendants. Once we got off the plane and into the car he finally fell asleep - only 3 1/2 hours later than normal. It was stressful at the time, but actually contributed to his time change acclimation, since he slept in until 7:00am the next morning (pacific time!).

Washington weather in June was much better than I expected. Lots of sunny days, filled with visits with friends and family, yummy food ( Mom and Dad, Bill and Deanna, Katy and Scott, and Emily and John, thanks for feeding us!), and lots of playing.

Things to do in Washington when you're 1 1/2:
1. Play in the dirt
2. Play in the water
3. Play in the sand
4. Play at the park
5. Play with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents in all of the above mentioned locations

Getting home from Washington was much better than the outbound trip. It was naptime when we got in the air, and Adam was tired enough that he only rampaged up and down the aisle a couple times. The area at the back of the plane is very handy for standing and rocking small over-tired children while singing to them... it is loud enough that noone except the small child can hear the off-key singing, which is a plus. Small child napping for 1 1/2 hours on the plane is about as good as it gets!