Dinner with G&G at OG

My grandparents were in town for the Clara's finalization party, but they were able to stay in Lawrence for a few more days.  Mom and Julie were scheduled to come to our house today to watch Joshua and Clara while Meghan worked, but since they were in town, they came with her so they could spend more time with everyone.  I love seeing them but don't get very many chances to do so.  So I was very excited that they were able to come over, and even better that, stay for dinner.  We all went out to Olive Garden and had a great dinner.

Stealthy Roller

Clara first rolled over from her tummy to her back on the 10th of February. Well, it may have been earlier, but that was the first day I was sure it wasn't due to us putting her down a certain way or anything like that. Ever since then, we have been trying to get a good picture of it. Actually, we spent a couple weeks trying to get a good picture of it and then we started trying to get any picture at all of it. This is the best I have been able to do. For whatever reason, she does not like to do it in front of people, especially if there is a camera involved. She really likes playing on her back so it has been a good accomplishment for her. She has also very recently learned how to roll the other way, but she doesn't do it as often, probably because she doesn't like being on her tummy much so there isn't a lot of motivation.

Sleepy Face

Joshua has been in his toddler bed for a couple months.  Every night after our bedtime routine, we tuck him in his bed to go to sleep, and then we leave the room and shut his door.   Even though some nights he then gets up for a little bit to play (which consists of pulling clothes out of the dresser) before later settling back down, most nights he stays in his bed and goes right to sleep. Usually we can tell if he still has some energy and will want to get up.  But on the nights that he's completely tired and will fall right to sleep, we can tell that too, because he looks like he did tonight.

Clara's Finalization Party

Clara's adoption was recently finalized, so we wanted to have a little party for her, similar to how we had one for Joshua.  We made this one a much smaller affair, as it was just family.  Fortunately it worked out that my grandparents were in town, so they were able to be there, which was great.  The weather even cooperated, allowing people to hang out on the deck.  Clara was her normal quiet and sweet self and enjoyed being held be everyone.  Joshua was his usual star-of-the-show self, even though he wasn't the star of this particular show, but that didn't stop him from trying to steal the attention from Clara with his adorableness.  We had a really fun time celebrating the addition of our little baby Clara into our family.

A King-Sized Table at Houlihan's

Michelle was in town this weekend and we had a lot of fun with her. Tonight we went to Houlihan's for dinner. Houlihan's is reasonably kid friendly and has a decent children's menu, but their layout makes it difficult for them to accommodate more than one high chair at a table. We need a high chair and a sling so we got the largest table they had, which was the only one that could handle two. Luckily no parties of 10 came in while we were eating since that would have been uncomfortable. I like Houlihan's because they have small plates (also a normal menu if you prefer) so it was nice to try a few things and it's always nice to have all three sisters in the same place.

Three Months

Today Clara turned three months old.  In the last month she's become so much more aware of the world and people around her.  She loves to make eye contact and just gaze into the eyes of whomever is close to her.  She also is making a lot of cute cooing sounds, usually coupled with lots of smiling, which she does quite often.  This month she also learned to roll back-to-front and front-to-back.  We haven't yet been able to capture this with a picture, as she tends to do it quickly with no notice.  She's still small for her size but is continuing to grow, and is now nearly nine pounds.  She's not a big fan of eating, so it's sometimes a struggle to get her to eat, but usually we can coax her into eating just enough formula to get by.  But overall, she's completely healthy and is doing very well.

Blowing Kisses

One of the many cute things Joshua does is blow kisses.  Tonight, when he was saying goodnight to Meghan before I put him to bed, he decided to blow a kiss to me, even though I was going to take him up to his room for bedtime.  It didn't make a lot of sense given the situation, but it was very cute anyway.

I Like Him Anyway

One of my best friends from high school, Matt, despite generally being a good decision maker, went to KU.  I didn't hold it against him, and we're still great friends.  Matt lived in Seattle for several years as a lead designer for a video game company, but he moved back to Lawrence to start a church.  Unfortunately, we still don't get to hang out very often.  It'd been awhile, so last week I contacted him and we agreed that tonight would be a good night to get together.  After work, I went over to his house, and we had a fun time, as we always do.  We're going to try to get together more often.  Hopefully next time he'll be wearing a different shirt.

A Pleasant Break From the Cold

Although most of my business trips are loaded with meetings and travel, sometimes there are small relaxing breaks.  Today I was in Milwaukee, and the weather was cold and windy.  My sales rep and I had time between meetings, so we ducked into a nearby Starbucks which was warm with pleasant music playing and a fire in the fireplace.  While sitting in a comfy leather chair and working on my laptop to prep for our next meeting, I enjoyed a tasty beverage.  Sometimes my job is pretty nice.

Thanks, Presidents

Today was a holiday for Jason so I chose not to work and, since it was a federal holiday, Christine also had the day off. Joshua, Christine, and I went to Red Robin for lunch and really enjoyed it, but before we did Christine stopped by and spent some time with Clara.

Deliciousness on the Plaza

Because we weren't scheduled to pick up the kids until later this afternoon, Meghan and I decided to go to our favorite brunch place in Kansas City, Figlio Italian Restaurant.  Although they are primarily a regular restaurant, they have a locally-famous Sunday brunch which is generally spectacular.  After brunch, we went to Christopher Elbow's Glacé Artisan Ice Cream, which features some crazy flavors, such as pineapple-cilantro, butternut squash brown sugar, and ricotta with honey caramelized fig.  Meghan and I each tried two flavors, and they were all very delicious.  It was a fun treat and a great way to end our date weekend.

Michael (Not W.) Smith

Meghan and I have never been big on celebrating Valentine's Day on the actual day, so we usually try to do it on a nearby weekend.  Mom and Ron and Grandma Jennie (and Julie and Joanna for parts of it) graciously agreed to watch Joshua and Clara so Meghan and I could have an evening out.  We went to see the movie Safe House, and then we went to a great restaurant in Kansas City, Michael Smith Restaurant.  He's a prominent Kansas City chef, and we'd never been to his restaurant, so I chose it as our Valentine's celebration dinner, and fortunately it was just as delicious as we had hoped.

Playtime Outside

We have not been able to go outside tons recently even though it has been warmer than average because it is still quite chilly. However, today it was sunny and warm and we got to go in the backyard and play. Joshua loves throwing balls and he also did a little kicking, which is a new development for him.

The Happiest Baby on the Block

While Joshua is a happy, smiley, laughing little guy now, he was a very serious baby.  He would smile at times, but not very often.  Clara, on the other hand, loves to smile.  Once she's old enough, she'll probably laugh a lot too.  But for now, unless she's asleep or really hungry, she loves to interact with whomever is near her with coos and smiles.  Here she shows off with one of her biggest smiles. 

Model Airports

I travel a lot for my job, so I go in and out of Kansas City's airport frequently.  There are a lot of things that I like about it.  But recently there has been a push to replace it, as it's aging and in many ways is inefficient.  But some of those inefficiencies, like the many small groupings of gates, each with their own security entrance, make my life easier, as it means the lines are almost always very small.  Regardless, it's still much better than many other airports.  So in general I want to keep the current airport, but then I go to airports like Detroit and Indianapolis (where I am today), and I start to get excited about what a new airport would be like for us:  spacious, airy, bright, yet still convenient and quick.  If our new airport would be like those, I could be happy.

Happy Valentine's Day

Jason is out of town today so the kids and I celebrated Valentine's Day together, which mostly consisted of them wearing festive outfits and Joshua and I sharing some candy. Here they are in their appropriately-colored outfits.

Indoor Fun With Snow

Last winter Joshua was a tiny baby, so he didn't exactly get a lot of playtime in the snow.  He loves exploring new things and textures, and he's old enough this year that he'd enjoy it and would go walk around and play in the snow.  The one small problem with that is we haven't had any, at least not until today.  This morning we finally got at least an inch of snow, making it the fourth-latest first snow in Kansas City history.  We didn't have a chance to go play outside in it, but when Terrence kicked a chunk of icy snow inside as he was coming in from the back yard, Joshua saw it and was fascinated by it.  He wasn't sure what to make of it, as he touched it, picked it up, and then dropped it.  He repeated it this a few times and then stomped on it, for some reason.  The snow outside will pretty much be gone by tomorrow, so we're hoping we get another one soon so I can take him to play with some snow that's actually outside of our house.

Looking Cute in the Cold

When Clara was born, one of my coworkers gave us a couple outfits and accessories for her, but they were cold-weather items.  Because we've had a bizarro winter with few cold days and no snow, she hasn't really had a chance to wear her new things.  Today, though, it was actually rather cold (and in fact snow is predicted for tomorrow), so we got to dress her in some of her new clothes.  Here she is looking super adorable in her little fluffy boots and her hat with bear ears on it.

Baby Math

I love math.  I love Joshua.  So combining Joshua with math is good.  With a few exceptions, Meghan chooses which clothes to buy for Joshua.  We tend to agree on the styles, so it makes it easy.  One of my favorite shirts that she's gotten for him is the one he's wearing in this picture.  It has a bunch of algebra-like expressions that equal "ME" (click the picture to enlarge it).  That doesn't make a lot of sense, but since it's a toddler shirt, I'm okay with it.  We can work on accuracy later.  It also has a bespectacled beaver on it, which ups the cuteness factor dramatically.  I took a few pictures, and Joshua randomly made this face for one of them, so that made it an easy choice as to which one to choose.

Cup Skills

Today Joshua learned how to put his cup in his cup holder. He still struggles with getting the cup out again, but he was having a lot of fun taking it out and putting it back in.

Little Drummer Boy

Joshua has had his drum since his birthday and he really enjoys the entire music set. But it was just today that he realized that he can put the drum over his head and wear it. It is really cute because it is quite large for him and it almost reaches the floor, but he seems to really like putting it on, walking a few steps, and taking it off.

Marilyn and Me

As far as I know, Marilyn Monroe has nothing to do with Chicago.  Also, after some quick research, I've determined that The Seven Year Itch takes place in New York.  So why the city of Chicago decided it needed a 26-foot permanent statue of Marilyn in a very prominent place downtown is beyond me.  That said, there's no way I was going to miss the chance to get a photo in front of it after our customer meeting today.  So here I am with the gigantic out-of-place representation of the iconic actress.

Still a Starwood Man

Although I try to stay in Starwood properties (Ws, Westins, Sheratons, Alofts, etc.) when I travel, sometimes I stay other places when it's more convenient for the trip.  For this trip to Chicago, the two customer meetings over two days as well as the dinner are all in the same general area downtown.  There's a hotel nearby, the Conrad Hotel, that's rated very highly on Tripadvisor, so I decided to stay there.  It was really very nice, and in general I wouldn't mind staying there again.  But it's certainly not enough to cause me to switch from being a Starwood guy to a Hilton guy.  I love my W hotels and I'm firmly entrenched and fully happy with my platinum Starwood status to consider switching brands.

A New Dinner Companion

Clara is of course too young to eat anything but formula at this point, but she has gotten enough head and body control to sit in her high chair (it reclines) now so she can join everyone at the table.

A Giant Victory

When you have kids, your Super Bowl plans tend to be a litle different than they were before kids.  We hadn't seen our friends the Smiths in awhile, so we decided to combine a visit with them with a Super Bowl party.  We went to their house and got to watch the game in their newly-finished basement.  Meghan and Carla each made many delicious snacks, and we had a great time.  We did need to leave a little early to get home in time for Joshua's bedtime, but I had recorded the game on our TV, so when we got home I was able to pick up where we left off at their house, so I was able to see the whole thing, including the thrilling finish which resulted in Peyton Manning now having the second-most Super Bowl trophies in his family.

Lazy Saturday

Tonight we had plans for some friends to come over, but they unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute. This left us with a rare Saturday with nothing scheduled. We got some small things done around the house, but mostly we just hung out and spent time together as a family. Here's a representative view of the day, with Joshua and Clara playing, each in their own way, Meghan and I (not pictured, due to the fact that someone had to take the picture) supervising while chatting with each other about whatever, Terrence and Natalie sleeping on the couch, and Alex aloofly lounging elsewhere in the house. It's been a fun day, making me realize that maybe we should try to specifically block off some free days more often.

Easier Than Expected

Since it went reasonably well last time, we again ventured out as a family of four to a restaurant.  This time it was to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Fronteras.  Again it went really well, as Joshua enjoyed his quesadilla and Clara happily sat there mostly doing nothing other than enjoying being held.  Maybe this will get a little more difficult when they're a little older, but right now it's very manageable.

UIC Fan for a Night

This week I was scheduled to go to Chicago for a work trip.  I left on Tuesday and was supposed to come back on Wednesday.  But after I landed in Chicago on Tuesday I found out they needed me to stay until Friday.  The main sales rep that I work with, Jim, knows that I'm a sports lover, and since I was in town anyway tonight, he offered me one of his season ticket courtside seats for a home game for his alma mater, the University of Illinois - Chicago.  Even though they're a mid-major school, it was still Division I basketball, and to be able to see it up close was pretty cool.  Here Jim and I stand near our excellent seats.

A Girl With Her Keys

Clara isn't that excited about grabbing yet, but she does it occasionally. Here she is holding her keys while having some playtime.