Another Extended Absence

I returned Sunday from what seemed like a year-long series of business trips but in reality it was one three day trip to Vancouver and one seven day trip to Leipzig in the former East Germany for the Games Convention. I am back now but the last few nights were spent reacquainting myself with my wife, dog and somewhat larger child. I think he had what the doctors call a "growth spurt" while I was gone. He also cries differently which is odd. I don't want to go away for a week again.

I will post more including some pictures from the former East Germany soon...probably as I am camped in front of the TV this weekend celebrating in the return of college football!!! In the meantime I've included a picture of our large child.

Back soon....

Stewie - And a Swimming Tangent

As I've mentioned before Stewie has had some issues with JJ the last 6 weeks. Mainly because JJ is cramping his style and stealing some of Stewie's spotlight. Stewie is nothing if not a princess and needs things his way. Yes, he's a dog.

Well the last week or so he has warmed up a bit to the little guy.

They share meals (Stewie licks up JJ's spit up)...

Stewie helps JJ take a bath (Stewie licks the water off JJ, probably because he's thirsty)...

Most importantly Stewie helps change JJ (he mainly sniffs the dirty diapers and rarely tries to eat the poo)...

Allyson tells me today, and this is so cute, JJ spit up, so what did Stewie do? He spit up too...on the couch...awesome! We are a special family.

However one thing that hasn't changed is Stewie's disdain for JJ's late night wailing jags. Stewie still hates these. I guess the point I am trying to make is that Stewie is warming up to JJ but still doesn't share he toys with him and totally belives that all JJ's toys are his. I also needed a reason to post those pictures of the brothers together.

On a COMPLETELY unrelated note; that 4x100 relay last night the US team turned in was amazing. I know the announcers did a good job explaining how improbable that comeback was but I am not sure people who don't "understand" swimming as a sport (not something you do in your backyard) really get. These swimmers can pretty much predict what they are going to swin on a given night based upon previous swims and how they've trained. There are variables such as the pool and other things but all told they know how they are going to perform. The swim by Lezak last night was simply unbelieveable and borderline impossible. Not improbable...impossible. Amazing.

Here's the link (just install the program it asks you to install...you'll use it again). Watching it again. Ally cries when she sees it. I get the chills. Listen to the annoucers. They weren't trying to create drama. They were speaking the truth. On paper there was no reason the US should have won that race. Amazing.

Where Have I Been?

Honestly, i'm not too sure. I just haven't posted in a couple of weeks. We were out of town last weekend. JJ went on his first car trip and was a trooper. He only cried (wailed) when he was ready to eat but once he was done went back to sleep until it was time to eat again. I assume it's going to get worse as he gets older and starts talking (are we there yet? I have to pee. etc...). For now, he was awesome. The wedding was nice but to be honest I am pretty glad it's the last one for a while. I looked good >>>>>

Oh, Ally looked nice too. :-) The wedding was another of Ally's sorority sisters. All told all but one is hitched. I do have to say part of me is sad because the girls all have great husbands and we all have a great time together (read: get drunk). Here's pic of the ladies. The girl in white, Jenny, is who got hitched. In case you were wondering. I think Ally is the prettiest!

Grandma and Grandpa came over from Gilroy to watch JJ during the events so it was a win win for all involved. I'm sure they didn't mind spending time with the little guy.

JJ had his 6-week birthday yesterday. He's getting quite big: 11lb9oz and 23 inches as of Wednesday. He's also starting to hold his head up more frequently and the most exciting part is he is sleeping 5 to 5.5 hours straight at night! I can't function on 5 hours of sleep! This is JJ as of 10 minutes ago...

Poor kid doesn't have a chance in that A's onesie. I am sure he'll choose his own team (as long as they aren't the Angels, Red Sox, Yankees, Patriots or Lakers among others). Or he might not even like sports...HAHAHA.

Until next time...