First Hide and Seek

Last night, Katy wanted to play "Hide and Seek" with me.  This isn't the first time we've ever hidden from each other, but it was the first time that she requested it by name, and the first time that we had a formal counting period for one person.

The hiding was the hard part for her.  She tended to run upstairs into her bedroom and bury her face in her little arm-chair.  When I was done counting, she would giggle audibly and call to me, "Daddy, I'm in my bedroom."  I think she still misses some of the point.  I would laugh and suggest that maybe she should try to be quiet so I can't find her so fast, but she said she didn't want it to be too hard.

When it was my turn to hide, I would look for obvious places: behind a table or desk, inside her playhouse, in the corner of the bathroom with the door open.  Then, I'd watch her walk the circle of the house, calling to me, "Daddy, where are you?  I can't find you."  When she wasn't right next to me, I'd call out hints like, "I'm downstairs," and "You keep walking by me, look harder!"  It would sometimes take her quite a while, but I think she really liked it; when she had found me, she often wanted to take another turn as the seeker.

When Mom came home, the two of them hid while I looked.  I pretended to have a hard time finding them, and Katy actually did a decent job of keeping the giggling to a minimum.  I eventually gave up and decided to take a nap; boy was I surprised to find that they were in bed, under the covers.

The Love of a Daughter

Yesterday, I went to Katy's class' "winter holiday" party at her Young Five's class.  She was so excited to see me, that once she noticed me, she had a hard time listening to the rest of the story being told by one of the older brothers of one of the kids.  She was waving, and calling out to me: "Daddy!  That's my daddy!"  I smiled, waved and put a finger to my lips.  When they were lining up to go to the different table stations (holiday bingo, reindeer ornament making and a "go to the colored square" game) she was having such trouble not calling out that she resorted to putting her hands over her mouth to help contain her excitement.

She wanted me to be by her the whole time.  I helped her make the reindeer (and then helped a bunch of other kids... sometimes these creative projects are maybe a little overzealous) and then served her a special soy icecream while the other kids had their icecream.  She wanted me to stay with her while she ate and didn't want me to leave, even when it was time for her to get on the bus.

I love that she loves me so.  Will she always be so excited to have me around?  I'd like to think so, and it is hard to imagine otherwise.  But, I know how kids are.  At some point, she'll be a little less excited to have me there.  And, probably will start to be embarrassed, at least a little.  But, I am pretty sure that we will always be pals, and that she will always love me, even if she isn't always excited to show it in front of her friends.

My Stickers For My Daughter Are Mine Again

When I was young, as many children do, I collected a variety of things. I had a baseball card collection (I still do... I should see if it is worth anything... hmmm) and a sticker collection. As the conservative, pack rat, save-it-for-a-rainy-day-and-beyond kind of boy I was, I didn't dare actually stick the stickers anywhere.

In one case, I had sent away and ordered a series of stickers by Lisa Frank from Pineapple. Of course, when I received them, I opened the brown envelope they came in, inspected them, and promptly put them away to be barely looked at again.

As time progressed, my interests changed. I stopped with the collections, but of course never discarded my existing ones. The stickers stayed in their envelope with the rest of the stickers.

And, I moved out. My stuff got boxed and was moved with me. It was never unpacked. I moved again, and again. The unused stickers were kept, buried in my collection of junk, stored somewhere in the basement.

Then, Katy was born. And she grew. And, it as it turns out, she likes stickers. And, most importantly (and thankfully) she doesn't have the same hangup about keeping everything that I did. In particular, she loves sticking stickers on everything. So, when we needed to go beyond simple stars for the potty chart, I remembered that I had a bunch of stickers that were well suited for a little girl. Of course, she loved them and was excited to get them for going on the potty.

Eventually, Katy didn't need the incentive for going on the potty. But, she didn't forget about the stickers. She will still decide that she should be entitled to a "potty sticker" on a whim, claiming she did a good job going to the potty that day. I just smile and let her have one, since the intended purpose is passed.

The fun part is that she will decide that not only did she do a good job going potty, but that I have done a good job, too. So, she will reward me with one of my old stickers, which I get to wear on my shirt. It took me twenty years to finally use these stickers, and it is my daughter who is doing it for me.

Return from Breckenridge

On Friday, January 25th, Kendra, Katy and I drove to Grand Rapids and took a flight to Denver. Thus began our Ski / Snowboard adventure. The flight was uneventful and we arrived safely. Kendra's mom, who lives in Denver, picked us up and we spent the night at her house. Katy was excited to sleep on the air mattress in her gram's room.

Saturday, after a easy paced morning and lunch out, we stopped at REI so I could grab a balaclava and some wrist guards. Then, I drove Kendra, Katy, Gram and I in Gram's Jeep the approximately two hours to Breckenridge. The mountain roads were clean enough, but I could tell there that it was a little intimidating for some in the car, so I tried to drive cautiously.

After a potty break the exit immediately prior to the one we wanted, we discovered that Breckenridge does not have the roads necessary to accommodate the number of people who visit weekly. While most of the drive there was quick, the final couple miles took forever due to crazy traffic circles and stagnant backups of vehicles.

That evening was spent unloading the cars and mostly taking it easy. I cannot recall what we did for dinner, but I believe I went to bed early.

Sunday, I was up at 6:00am (8:00 EST, so it really isn't that impressive.) Kendra, Grandpa Carl, Ann and I took Katy to her ski school around 8 and then I signed up for two full day snowboard classes. I waited around until 9:45 when the class started and spent the day learning the basics of snowboarding.

At lunch, I went most of the people from the class to the Quandry and had the burrito. It was yummy.

The next day, I had class with two of the people from the day before, and met one other new girl, Sara. The four of us did a good job and by the end of the second day, we were rated for blue trails.

Tuesday, it was very cold, so we didn't send Katy to class. However, I decided that I still wanted to go and got there around 10:30am. It actually warmed up and wasn't as bad as predicted, plus I was layered very well and it would have taken a lot to chill me (except for my toes!) While going down the trails myself, I bumped into Sara and her sister, Kate: we decided to hang out and try the trails together.

Wednesday, I went with Kendra and her family, but it was at this point that I realized that snowboarding non-stop every day was exhausting; I knew what I was supposed to be doing, but my body was too tired to do it. I ended up letting them go on ahead and took my time. After meeting them for lunch, Kendra and I hung out and went on the trails together for a little bit.

Thursday, I took a break, since I knew that I needed one. We walked around the town, had lunch and did some window shopping. I also bought some glove liners and some better socks. I also went and picked up Katy with Kendra; she had been on the mountain and was very good at stopping!

Friday, I took a final lesson and Katy did, too. We focused on technique, on carving, analyzing the grade of the hill and a couple of tricks. Katy went on the mountain again; the instructor told Kendra that she was very good at chained turns when following the instructor, but when she was tested, she would just go straight (which is about right for a four year old. ) Funny girl.

Saturday, we packed up and headed back to Denver. We met up at Gram's again and the rest of Kendra's family and had sandwiches. Gram's neighbors were excited to meet Katy, whom they had heard much about. Then, Kendra's family went off to the airport leaving only Gram along with Kendra, Katy and me. That evening, much to Katy's excitement, we dined at Red Robin.

Sunday, we went to the airport and flew home. We arrived in time to watch the Superbowl, disappointing as it was.

The trip was fun and I look forward to snowboarding locally. While I know that the experience will likely not be able to compare to mountain trails, I still think it will be a good time.

Katy's First Movie

Monday, the last day of 2007, I convinced my daughter that it would be OK for her to continue her vacation and hang out with me instead of going back to school for a day. Mom had some things to attend to, so I suggested to Katy that we go see a movie. She thought that sounded like a good idea so we went to the 12:00pm showing of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

This was a big deal because Katy had never been to the movies before. She has watched her TV shows and movies on DVD at home, but we didn't think she'd be able to sit still long enough to watch a whole movie. She surprised me.

When we arrived, the previews had already started, so I carried her to a good spot and helped her with her coat. Then, I let her sit in my lap. She was enthralled by even the previews, so I suspected that this was going to be a fun experience.

She wanted to sit on her own chair for awhile and was very cute in the over-sized chair. She sat there and snacked on her Froot Loops and Christmas sugar cookie and enjoyed being able to put her juice in a cup holder. When she was done eating, she wanted to sit on my lap again.

The movie was OK, but it was a great experience because of Katy. She was clearly so happy to be there; at several points I could tell she was happier beyond words because she would suddenly turn to me and give me a big hug and a kiss without saying anything.

Something funny was that she had made a picture before we went to the movies, folded it and asked me to put it in my pocket. When the movie was done, she asked for the picture and just wanted to hold it in the theater.

I carried her to the car and was asking her if she liked it. She didn't want to leave and wanted to go again. In the car while we were leaving, I asked her what her favorite part of the movie was, and she said that it was going to the movies with Daddy. I had first mentioned that my favorite part was going to the movies with Katy, but it still is a very sweet thing for her to say, and she did seem truly sincere.

We wanted to go see Enchanted the next day on the first of the year, but the timing didn't work out, so we waited until the weekend. We went to the one and only showing of "Enchanted" at11:10am on Saturday. Although Katy disagrees, I think it was a better movie than the Chipmunks, and it was fun to have Kendra get to see how excited and happy Katy was about seeing a movie. We popped some popcorn for Katy (since her allergies wouldn't allow for us to purchase any for her) and brought some more Froot Loops and juice. I brought coffee for me.

I think I am ready to make going to the movies a weekly occurrence. Kalamazoo 10 only charges $4 per ticket for a matinée or $6.50 per adult for a night showing, so it is cheap compared to other places.

The Perception of Time and Time Trials

The way time is perceived is known to change, varying on the task at hand. Typically, if it is an enjoyable activity, the time flies by. Conversely, if the task is less enjoyable, time progresses at a snail's pace. In my life, I have encountered enjoyable activities that take less time than I would assume. There are two example of these activities, and both involve Katy.

When I was signing Katy up for swim class, I was surprised that the classes lasted a measly 30 minutes. "What could possibly be taught in such a short period of time?" I wondered. At the first class, I learned that thirty minutes was exactly the right amount. It didn't feel like the class dragged, and yet it seemed that Katy had an opportunity to learn and do a large variety of activities in the water. Even the five minutes of play at the end was just right.

Another activity that we recently experienced our fair share of was Bounceland. Katy was invited to two parties, both structured the same way, with a week between the two. The first part of the party is an hour of bouncing, followed by some time after to eat cake and open birthday presents. The number of times you get to go on the bouncy slides in an hour is much more than you would guess, if you didn't really think about it. An hour was plenty, but I thought it was going to feel short.

These misperceptions about how long was enough caused me to reflect on other things that occur in my life and how long I believe them to take and how long they really take. Already, considering these different things has helped me to either do things that I previously avoided because I thought they took too long as well as looking for ways to reduce time on things that I thought weren't taking that long. The big item I considered was showering.

One way to categorize those who shower is by time spent showering. Really, it seems like there are two groups: those who are quick and are on a mission to get clean, and those who are slow and forget why they entered the soothing, blissful warmth. I am in the second group. Since I know that I might take a little longer in the shower than I thought, I decided to start tracking how long it takes, followed by time trials.

I needed two showers today. This morning, it took 29 minutes in the shower, plus another 12 to finish getting ready. Tonight, I decided to try to stop lolly-gagging and go for a best time. It only took 8 minutes in the shower, with another 4.5 minutes to finish. The point is that often all it takes to improve the time of something is to realize how long it is taking and then trying to change it.

The Work Necklace

I went to Best Buy with some co-workers one day during lunch. While there, waiting in line for Rob to buy Rock Band, I noticed a box full of Loco-Roco (little smiley face guy) key chain-type things (or Christmas ornaments, even) that were listed free. So, knowing my daughter like I do, I grabbed one for her.

A couple days later when I remembered that I had it, I gave her the little guy and she was happy with it, just as I expected that she would be. There wasn't a clip or ring to attach it to anything, though: just a small nylon cord in a loop. So, I grabbed one of her bead necklaces and looped it through itself to tie it onto the necklace. She was happy with that and wore it for the rest of the day.

Then, before bed she decided to hang it on the bathroom doorknob by the door to the garage and called it her "work necklace". I wasn't sure what she meant but was glad she was happy with it.

The next day, she called it her "work necklace" again and put it on in the morning before going to school. It occurred to me what she meant: I wear a badge on a cord around my neck for work and leave it on a hook by the garage door when I get home. She is duplicating my "work necklace" habits.

So, now we both put on our work necklaces every day before I take her to daycare and I go to work. How's that for adorable?

Swim Class... without that Pesky Swimming

Katy still loves swim class. On Monday night, she excitedly was talking about getting to swim the next day. When I dropped her off at school, she we excited about it. When I picked her up from school, she was still excited about it; a teacher even mentioned that she had been talking about it all day.

So, imagine how happy we were to discover that it was "Safety Day" at swim class.

Don't get me wrong: learning about water safety and the proper way to wear flotation devices and to behave around a body of water is worthwhile. It's just that the age of the kids in that class doesn't lend itself well to being denied something they were desperately looking forward to.

The only time spent in the water was at the very end, when they jumped in with the life jackets on (Katy was able to put hers on by herself!) and swam on their backs. When they reached the edge of the pool, it was time to get out and class was over. Katy came to me and made it clear she wasn't ready to go. I asked if she wanted me to dip her in the pool and she agreed that that was good enough. After dipping her about ten times, she was good to go. I apologized for her not being able to really get to swim like she wanted and said that I would have warned her if I had known. I also mentioned that she should be able to do a lot of swimming next week like she had been planning to do; she seemed cool with that.

Katy Swims with the Fishes

This Tuesday was the third week of Katy's swim classes at the Y. As mentioned earlier, now that she is agreeable about Floatie, she is completely comfortable in the water. It is awesome and amazing to me to watch her being so excited about being in the pool; at the start of class, while waiting for the other kids, she will push off the wall and swim and spin around in the water whenever the instructor's back was turned. It was amusing.

She is very excited about it and puts all her effort into swimming, even if her form isn't the best, yet; occasionally, when using her arms, she forgets that she has to point her legs behind her instead of in-front and will be stationary for a little bit.



For the past two weeks, she has been using only one of the two yellow arm-floaties and is very fast in the water. She is good at jumping into the pool, even though she thinks she needs the teacher to hold her hands out for her. She loves to watch the older kids and try to duplicate what they are doing. And, the swimming: she is a swimming champ.



I am, obviously, very proud at how well she is doing and what a good swimmer she is. What I find interesting, however, is that it seems that her affinity for the water is a part of her; she has always loved the water, even in baths, even if it gets in her eyes, even if she accidentally goes under for a little while. So, while I am proud, is there really any true reason to be so? Kendra and I didn't do anything special that would encourage her love of the water, at least nothing I can think of. So, it really seems like there is no good reason to be proud, but I am anyways.

Our Journey through the Candycane Forrest

Katy likes to do a lot of different things; she likes reading, and coloring, and cutting, and lots of art-type stuff. One of the things that she hasn't done a lot of is playing games. She has had Candyland for a while now, but every time we would "play" it, explaining the rules or showing her how it worked was beyond her attention span; she would be more interested in putting the little pawns on their corresponding colors than actually playing.

This Sunday, Katy and I played her first game of Candyland. Once I got her to understand the rules, she was very excited to draw the cards and move the guys. She picked the yellow pawn and I chose the blue. I am happy to report that she completely crushed me. Even so, she was a very good winner and even helped me draw cards and move my guy all the way to the end so that I could "win" too. I am looking forward to continued gaming with her; maybe next time we can try "Arkham Horror." ;)

She also expressed a desire to work on puzzles, something else which she doesn't frequently do. Kendra and I had a hard time getting her to understand the concept of how to find the edges and how to figure out what goes together. I had some better luck with encouraging her to look at the picture on the box and then deciding on some part to try to put together. Doing it that way, she easily put her Curious George puzzle together by herself. She is getting to be such a big girl.

Halloween, Halloween, Trick or Treat

Katy was a princess for Halloween. She had told us quite awhile ago that that was what she wanted to be, so Kendra had purchased the princess outfit. Recently, when she couldn't make up her mind about what she wanted to be, I would help direct her back to the princess outfit: you want to be Dorothy the Dinosaur? How about Dorothy the Dinosaur dressed like a princess? You want to be Dora? How about Princess Dora? You want to be a kitty? How about a kitty princess? We had the costume, and gosh-darn-it, she was gonna wear it one way or another.



It was, of course, cold and rainy for trick or treating, but my little princess was excited anyway. I left a bowl of second-rate candy on the porch; I was saving the good stuff for distribution by Katy and me when we finished with her outing. We headed toward Claire 'n Abby's house, since there was a small group from the neighborhood going trick or treating together. I grabbed a picture of all the girls sitting together on the stairs in their various outfits, then we were off.



Initially, Katy wanted me to come up to the door with her, but she quickly got the hang of trick or treating and it was easy to encourage her to run up to the door herself or with the other girls. At this age, the concept of "together" is still pretty loose and the girls would sometimes be at a house begging for candy at the same time, while other times they'd be at different houses as someone would fall behind or someone would run ahead.



I tried to encourage Katy to hang back with Abby a little, since she is younger and was very clingy to Ron, her dad. Eventually, we had to split up, since Ron and Abby had to go catch up with Claire and Katy was ready to get back to our house. At her age, there still isn't the overwhelming need to hit every house at Halloween. As we were walking back home, we were passing by houses that we had not stopped at: when I would ask if she wanted to stop on the way, she said no, that she had enough candy.



At home, the second-rate candy was still about half-full, so I brought it in and mixed in "the good stuff." I sorted through Katy's candy to find stuff that she could eat, and then we sat on the stairs and waited for trick or treaters. As generous as I try to be with the candy, Katy makes me look like a scrooge: she would scoop candy with both hands and cheerfully distribute it to the masses.



About 7:15 or so, there was only a little candy left and it was pretty gloomy and rainy, so I turned off the light and Katy and I went to visit her preschool teacher, Miss Linnea; Linnea had sent home a note saying that she'd love to see the kids in costume and that any of the kids who were in the area were welcome to come and trick or treat. We arrived at the same time as her classmate, Gwen, did. After we went upstairs to her apartment, another classmate, Lizabeth, arrived. The kids had their pictures taken and got some candy and were excited to give the dog treats.



We got home after 8pm, at least fifteen minutes after Katy should have already been in bed sleeping. Halloween is a special occasion, though. She got ready for bed like she always does, we read a book and she happily went to sleep, likely thinking / dreaming about all the fun we had. It was a good Halloween for both of us.

Swimtime and the Floating Enemy

Tuesday evening was Katy's first swim lesson. She has always loved swimming and been fearless when it comes to the water. For example, in Jamaica, when she would tumble off of the lounging mat and would be underwater for a second before I'd retrieve her, she be smiley and laughing when I brought her up. Well, being fearless is one thing, but we felt is was important that she be able to back up her fearlessness with some awesome swimming skills.

We arrived at swim much earlier than needed; I wasn't sure how long it would take to pick her up from school and get to the Y and change, so we ended up waiting around for about 25 minutes! It wasn't all bad; the wait helped build excitement for the swim class. And, I think it helped that I took her to the edge of the pool a couple of times to give her a quick dunk. :)

The first sign of trouble arose when the kids started lining up for the class; they were all grabbing a little flotation device that strapped to their backs. When Katy saw this, she immediately told me that she "didn't need one" and didn't want to wear one. I told her not to worry and that she wouldn't have to put one on unless/until a teacher told her that she needed one.

The instructors then split the kids into two groups: the experienced "Pikes" (the younger group) and the "Eels" were in one group and the new "Pikes" were in the other group. Katy and two other kids were in the new kid group. Inevitably, all the kids in both groups had to put on the floaties. Katy was screaming and crying and really carrying on about having to wear one, but I eventually just put it on her and then the instructor picked her up and comforted her in the water.

The instructors must experience bugged-out little kids fairly frequently, because "Miss Sue" was able to quickly calm Katy about the whole experience. After the kids got used to the floaties on their backs, they added two extra yellow arm floaties that they all wore, too. Then, they started swimming with the floats on. It was amazing to me to see how quickly and easily Katy took to swimming. Sure, she is being propped up by floats, but she was able to propel herself quite a distance fairly quickly.

Well, I was sure Katy was over the floatie issue when, from half a pool-length away, she called out to me, "Daddy, I like the floatie now. The floatie's OK now." After the class was done, she asked me, "Please, five more minues?" I told her that I was glad that she liked it and that we would do it next week, but that the teachers said it was done for today. She was cool with that.

I am glad that she still likes the water as much as she used to and that she is so ready to swim. I am relieved that she got over having to wear the floatie, too. I tried to use it as an example of how she should trust that Daddy is not going to suggest something that isn't good; we'll see if I can remind her of this the next time she is freaking out about something meaningless. :)

After swimming, of course, we still went swinging for a little bit before bed. The extra missing pieces arrived in the mail, so I was able to attach the rings and the hand-holds for climbing. I'll probably install the extra anchors in the next couple of days.

Tonight is Halloween, so there might not be much time for swinging, but we'll see. Katy is going as "Princess Dora." We bought her a princess outfit a while ago, but she recently has been saying she wanted to be "Dora." So, I suggested "Princess Dora": the "Dora" part will be that she will say "Gracias" for the candy instead of "thank you." ;)

The Swingset Adventure

Katy has been asking about a swing set of her own for several months now. As the days have passed, she has become progressively more aggressive about it. Well, it was her fourth birthday a couple of weeks ago, and Kendra and I decided that she would finally get a swing set. When I heard that Grandpa Carl was coming to visit this weekend and wanted to help with the swing set, I knew it was time to get one.

Last weekend, Katy, Kendra and went to Menard's and picked out a swing set. During the course of the week, I tried to get as much prepped prior to Carl's visit. I borrowed a chop-saw from my buddy and co-worker, Jason, cut all the wood to length and started the assembly of the pieces. There wasn't much time on Saturday to work on the project, but that night, I made the roof and the two sides that, when combined, become the tower.



Sunday, I needed to buy one more 2x4x8 to support the gray "climber", so I ran back to the store. While I was shopping, Katy and her grandpa moved all of the cut wood, tools and play-pieces outside to the planned location. Then, Carl and I moved the large pieces I assembled out of the walkout basement where I constructed them and into the backyard.



Shortly after we started, Katy was already asking if I would push her on the swings. It took all day, and multiple swaps of the battery for the drill, but we finished. By the end, she was crazy excited: hanging off me, wanting to climb on it, wanting to swing. She was very cute for the duration.





We were short a couple of pieces, but I went back to Menard's and asked about them during lunch today. We were missing a two lag screws, eight pan screws and two short chains (for the rings.) Apparently, the company that manufactures these swing sets, Playstar, is very good: the guy helping me called them and told them what I was missing; they talked to me, took my name and are Fed-Ex-ing the materials to my home.



The entire process took about a week and much of the prep-work can be done by one person. The assembly process took all day on Sunday, but went much faster than if we had to cut everything as we needed it. It was a fun time, and it is a good feeling of accomplishment. A big thanks goes to Grandpa Carl: without his help and expertise, I seriously doubt that I would be posting about a finished swing set right now.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Katy!

My cute little baby is two years old today! At first, she was a little uncertain about what to do with the presents, but it didn't take too long for her to learn that opening presents is fun. :) She has a little pretend grocery cart that she now loves; she has been pushing it around the kitchen and family room, "shopping" for groceries. She loves the little wash-puppets we got her, as well as the books, DVDs and Dora stuff. Tonight, when I get home from work, we will open her final present from Mommy and Daddy; a Dora game for the computer, her first video game. :) Although it is listed as being for children 3 and up, Katy seems to be a quick learner and I think she'll get the hang of it, with a little help from Daddy.

Although Katy is allergic to tons of stuff, Mommy was able to find cake mix and frosting that were allergen free. Katy hasn't had sweets before, so she is a little uncertain about the cake. Maybe we'll be able to get her to try some tonight. :)

My favorite part of the day

My favorite time of day really happens twice a day, once at lunch and once right after work. It is when I quietly sneak into the kitchen without Katy noticing. Then, eventually she'll either hear me moving or see me out of the corner of her eye. At this point, she goes ape-shit and comes streaking over to say hello. :) I love my baby. :-D

Easier Said Than Done

Despite our best intentions, Kendra and I have not had a chance to get to the YMCA for a workout. And, since we are going to have Kathryn babtised at St. Francis this weekend, we will be spending our evening tonight gathering and packing items for the trip. Hopefully, we will be able to get in a workout on Monday when we get back.

The Apprentice

Sammy got kicked off last night, thank God. He was completely worthless and totally annoying. It seems like everyone on the show agrees with me, too; they elected him to be the leader of the project with the hope that he would fail and be the one to take the blame. I love reality TV. :)

Go see more pictures of baby. :)

It's a Baby!

Go check out the Baby Monkey to see the details. :)

Another Little Monkey

For those of you who have not yet heard, Kendra and I are having a baby. :) The due date is October 21, 2003. These are exciting times, indeed. :-D

Kendra apparently is a carrier for cystic fibrosis, so I was recently tested. Thankfully, I am not a carrier, and thus, our child will be C.F. free (although there is a 50% chance of baby being a carrier. Please consult your Punnet Squares for possibilities.)

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The Countless Days of SPX

I've been working at SPX for about five months now. The original contract was for six months, and it would have meant that it ended at the end of April (Friday, May 2nd, actually.) However, as the project I am working on has a scheduled release date in mid-July, they want to extend my contract until the end of June (it takes about two weeks for their testing/release process.) It is likely that I will continue until that time.

They have mentioned the desire to hire me as a full time employee after my contract. Although I am pleased with many aspects of this company, it is unlikely that I will take this position. As I am unwilling to commute, and they are unwilling to allow telecommuting, the only remaining option would be for us to move closer to Kalamazoo. A move is always a possibility and SPX is willing to compensate us for the move, but if we are going to move, I'd rather really make it count and go out of state (like Redmond, Washington.) And, of course, my karate school is in downtown Ann Arbor, so attending class would become a huge pain in the butt. And, since Kendra's job is in Ann Arbor, I suspect she might not be too excited to move away. Although, the cost of living is much cheaper in K-zoo, and it might be possible for Kendra to work at home, or just take care of baby. Still, I think it is most likely that I will try to find something closer to home. :)

Karate tournament this Saturday. I've taken several private lessons and have developed a routine with dual nunchuckus; it should be really cool. During the little practice session we had last Saturday, I got a round of applause from the spectators. :-D

In other Karate news, I am now officially one of the assistant instructors. Essentially, there is a program called SWAT (Special Winning Attitude Team) that certain students were invited to join. These monthly meetings are geared to help develop leadership and teaching skills, as well as help with karate skills. One of the options is to help with different classes. Since I always go to the 1:30 class on Saturdays, I volunteered to help at the 12:45 class. My first time was last Saturday, and I had a good time. I knew that the instructors were patient, but I only realized how endlessly patient they are after watching how the main instructor handled the inattentive little children for the entire 45 minute class. Amazing. :) So, I received a red SWAT member shirt to wear while assisting. Yay! :-D

In other news, I finished the heart blanket I was working on. I will post a picture of it here when I upload it.


Also, there was something amusing I noticed the first day at my new appartment that I meant to mention, but kept forgetting about. Below, you will find the exciting picture.