Dinner Series

This week we had chicken poulet (Clark's mom's yummy recipe) with green beans and peach cobbler for dessert, broccoli/rice stuffed chicken with corn and rolls, and hamburger steak with mashed potatoes and peas (thanks Clark for cooking!). The poulet made A LOT, so we've had that as leftovers several times this week. As the pediatrician warned us, Hallie is developing food likes and dislikes, and vegetables are no longer a like. We had to force feed her green beans and peas. However, she did enjoy nibbling bites off my corn cob, and she gobbled up last night's asparagus. Fruit is still one of her favorite foods...all kinds!

The Cannonball Run Anomaly

I have encountered a Netflix anomaly that continually cracks me up. For several weeks now, I've noticed that The Cannonball Run is the only movie on my queue that has a wait on it. And it's not a short wait, it's the 'very long wait' status. Out of all these movies on my queue (well over 50 movies) TCR is the only one with a wait. Netflix must have only one copy in the entire country. And the thing is I don't even know if it's a good movie. I just always heard it was funny (and it did have a sequel, so it must have been ok) so I figured I would check it out someday.

No More Sleep!

Hallie woke up about an hour and a half early this morning (at about 5:30). Why do kids sometimes do this? She refused to go back to sleep and was ready to play...I ended up in the living room with her while she played with toys and took in an early showing of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's a very un-Grissom-like thing to do; typically we enjoy sleeping as long as we can. Get with the program Hallie :)

Crazy Tiny Condo

I, like many of you, would probably say that you can't fit an entire two bedroom condo into 182 square feet. Well, we've all been proven wrong. Talk about space-saving!

Word of the Day

Every so often I check Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. Today's is an odd sounding word the reminded me of 'evilly-winking'. For those of you who don't know what that means...that's what Ashley and Staci called squinting when they were kids. We still sometimes say 'are you evilly-winking at me?'. It's a very serious offense :)

Clark Eats 'Mini' Crow

A while back now a Mini car dealership opened here in Birmingham. I remember I was very surprised, and didn't think this dealership would do very well. Now fast forward to the present day, where I have decided that I must have been wrong. I see Minis on the road every day. Who knew Birmingham would support such a venture? My apologies for underestimating you, Mini dealership.

Our sweet baby is back!

I'm very happy to report that our sweet baby Hallie came back to us yesterday. The teething monster that inhabited her body has finally left! Clark described her best..."just plain mean". It started last Friday when her bottom molar started to peep through the gums. As it slowly emerged, she seemed to get more and more grumpy. We tried Motrin, orajel, teething tablets...nothing relieved the pain. Finally, yesterday morning, our sweet girl came back and has remained with us ever since. :) However, teeth usually come in pairs and only one molar showed up this week, which means another one is soon to follow...

Alabama State Fair

I just heard a commercial for the Alabama State Fair. As one of the attractions, they advertised "monkeys riding dogs". I've never been to the fair before...are dog-riding monkeys a standard act? Weird.

Random Thought - New Socks

New socks make life just a little better, don't you think? I put on a new pair this morning and my feet were so happy. If I could get away with it at work (which I doubt I could) I think I would go without shoes all day today and just wear these awesome new socks.

Hot Dog!

It's official: I've watched too much Mickey Mouse Clubhouse lately. I was here at work at my desk and got some code working and without thinking I started singing the 'Hot Dog' song out loud. I need to get out more :)

Epcot Dinner

Tonight was leftovers night @ our house. Ashley and Hallie had quiche, while I had an assortment. I started with pizza, then moved to sweet and sour chicken plus beef and broccoli. All this random food got me to thinking about what items I could add in to accomplish a complete Epcot dinner (one item from each country). I already had Italy and China covered, and with a sundae for dessert, I could probably cross of U.S.A. as well. I felt confident I could cover Japan, Mexico, France (quiche anyone?), and the U.K. Canada and Germany were maybes based on the food we had in the house. The ones that really stumped me were Norway and Morocco...no idea what I would have done for those.

I think this would be fun to do sometime...you would end up with quite the tasty smorgasbord. Has anyone out there ever tried to do this at home? Or does anyone have any ideas for the more obscure countries?

Tripping Merit Badge

I am pleased to announce that Leo has officially earned the prestigious Human Tripping Merit Badge. This reflects his utmost dedication to making it very hard for me to walk around the house. Take for example, this morning, when he ran under my raised foot in the dark while I was carrying Hallie. Something like that happens most days, especially in the morning.

So Leo, now that you have earned your award, you're going to stop trying to trip me, right? Because it's getting OLD. Ay yay yay.

Running!?!?

When I picked up Hallie today I was told that she had run a little during the day. "She ran?", I replied. Apparently her walk is getting fast enough that at times it is almost a run. I said that I wasn't ready for running yet. Apparently I have no choice in the matter.

Hallie's 15 month check up

Hallie had her 15 month check up yesterday. Everything went well. She weighed 23.5 pounds and was 31.5" long, which puts her in the 50% for weight and 75% for height. She obviously had a growth spurt between now and her 1-year appointment because she was in the 25% for height 3 months ago. Her doctor also said we can try taking her off the Zantac (for reflux), which means we'd be down to only one daily medicine...her inhaler. If her wheeze worsens, she'll have to go back on it but we all think the inhaler is what has helped her breathing so much. Hopefully she'll grow out of her asthma and we can ditch the inhaler too!

Shark Week

So every year around this time Discovery Channel has a special week called 'Shark Week'. Now normally I enjoy Discovery...what's not to like about Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, etc? But I have no use for Shark Week. For starters, they promote it way too much. This does no good in getting me to watch, because I'm not interested in it at all. I also find it funny that people are supposed to watch this during the summer, when people are undoubtedly trying to squeeze in some time at the beach. Can you imagine watching this while at the beach, or right before your beach trip? I didn't think so.

Or am I the only one who feels this way? Does anyone out there actually like/watch this stuff?

Weekend

This weekend Hallie spent her first full weekend away from us...and it went great! We had our deck and fence replaced in June, so the time had come to stain it. Clark's parents picked Hallie up Friday afternoon and headed to Decatur. We spent ALL day Saturday (8 am to 9:30 pm) staining...and being nauseated from the smell of stain...minus a 2-hour rain delay in the afternoon. I was hoping we'd finish with time to spare and be able to squeeze in dinner and a movie, but that was not the case. We didn't even start the fence. I guess this means "weekend of stain-part 2" is in our near future. Clark picked Hallie up on Sunday while I stayed home to do the usual weekend chores of cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping. It was the first time I had been home alone in the house for more than 30 minutes since Hallie was born. I had forgotten how productive I could be! I love being a mommy, but I think every parent needs a quiet day at home by themself every so often. Meanwhile, Hallie had a great time at her grandparents' house. They played and cuddled and she discovered a new favorite food...fried okra. :)

Yogurt Madness...

...is not the name of yet another self serve yogurt place in Birmingham. It all began with Yogurt Mountain, the first serve-yourself pay-by-the-ounce frozen yogurt place in Bham. And within months, they've added 32 Degrees (2 locations), Treat-Your-Self (2 locations), Tutti Frutti, Yogurt Lab, Red Mango, Yogurt Twists...and probably others that I'm not aware of. And just so you know, they all charge the same price...$.45/oz. I love frozen yogurt and I'm happy to have variety, but the sad thing is that most of these places will probably close in the next few years. Just like Marble Slab and Cold Stone. It's a fad. My question to the non-Bham residents...is there a yogurt craze going on where you live too?

Acronym Stickers - Part 2

On my drive to work this morning, I saw probably the most ridiculous of all acronym stickers. OFA. I pulled up closer so I could read what it stood for...OFA...Originally From Auburn. Seriously?

What's your personality type?

Nick and Amanda took a free online Meyers-Briggs test as part of their Sunday school lesson, so Clark and I took it too just for fun. I'm an ISFJ, which means I am "most concerned with taking care of other people. While they are essentially compassionate and exercise patience, their shyness with strangers can lead others to misread them as standoffish. Only among friends and family may this quiet type feel comfortable speaking freely. ISFJs have a strong work ethic. They believe in being meticulous and thrifty. They work well alone. While they may enjoy taking care of others, they do not enjoy giving orders."

Clark is an ISTJ, which is the most common personality type, and means "trustee. They bring attention to detail in their work and will not rest until a job is complete. They are dissatisfied with unresolved issues. ISTJs are faithful, logical, organized, and sensible. They earn success by thoroughness and dependability. They take a practical, logical approach to things. They enjoy creating order in both their professional and personal lives. They weigh various options when making decisions. They believe in practical objectives, and they value traditions and loyalty."

What are you?

Random Thought - Acronym Stickers

So lately I have seen a lot of these acronym stickers on the backs of cars. You know the ones - they are typically white with black letters. The reason I bring this up is that I'm sick of them.

Don't get me wrong - I like a good acronym as much as the next guy. My problem with them is that all the ones I have seen lately don't mean anything. What's the point of the sticker if no one can figure out what it means? For all I know, 'ILMP' could mean 'I Love My Pony' or 'Ingrid Lost Many Pickles'. It's probably not, but how do I know?

Really it probably bothers me only because I can't figure out what the acronyms stand for, and that annoys me. But at the same time I'm tempted to get my own sticker: 'ITYASIR'. Of course you all know that would mean 'I Think Your Acronym Sticker is Ridiculous' :)

Hallie Walking Video

As promised, here is a short clip of Hallie walking (approx 30 seconds)! Way to go Hallie!!

Hallie Walks Again!!

Hallie had eschewed walking since taking 4 steps one night during the trip to Aspen. Since then we have been encouraging her to use her walker more, and then a few nights ago we started having walking practice before bed. During last night's practice Hallie finally walked again! Ashley and I sat a few feet apart on the floor and let her go back and forth several times. It was probably about 6-7 steps to get from one side to the other. And Hallie really seemed to like it - she kept laughing and giggling, even when she would lose her balance and fall.

We hastily got a little bit of it on video, so I'll try and get that up tonight. Yeah Hallie!!

Oh, To Be In Aspen...

I just wanted to add my two cents about the trip (even though I 'helped' Hallie write her article). It really was great. It was so nice to see everyone and to meet Baby Jake, and all the activities were fun. I think I'd have to go with the LONG ATV ride as my favorite.

Now I know people around here are sick of hearing how nice the weather was in Aspen, but days like today (95 degrees, high humidity, which has been basically every day since we got back) really remind me of how wonderful that cool mountain air felt. I wish we really had bottled some up to bring home with us. Something tells me the rest of the group would agree :)

Thanks again for everything Pam! We can't wait to see everyone again!

I Miss Aspen

I had great fun in Aspen playing with my cousins. The condo was great, and we did all kinds of fun stuff and ate some really great food. There were even fireworks one night!

I've asked Dad if we can move there, but he said no, that vacations are different from everyday life (whatever that means). I reminded him that the weather there is superior to the 97 degrees with full humidity we came home to. Maybe if I keep working on him maybe I can change his mind eventually.

Thanks again for everything Aunt Pam! I can't wait to see everyone again!

A/C update

To all of our many readers, I forgot to mention that our A/C is working again. It was promptly repaired Friday afternoon...the capacitor had gone bad. Our home warranty finally came in handy.

Legacy Gallery Added

Just added a few pictures from Disney World, October 2008. I don't know how I skipped over that one before (had others from that year, but not that one). Apparently we only carried the camera to Animal Kingdom that trip, so I hope you enjoy Okapi and Meerkats!

View From the Room

2010-07-11 22:29:35

This trip we had a room at Saratoga Springs, which was nice, as it always is. The only problem with this room was that it was ALL THE WAY out by the guard gate (at the main entrance). This wasn't a problem when going to the bus stop, but it was a little far for going to the main pool or Artist's Palette.

Gorillas!

2010-07-11 22:27:18

The Gorillas always seem like they are really close when you walk by.

Meerkats!

2010-07-11 22:26:35

These are a personal favorite of ours, as they would be for anyone who ever enjoyed the Lion King. They are so fun to watch too, as one always is on watch for the others while they look for food.

Okapi

2010-07-11 22:25:34

I have always thought the Okapi were awfully neat looking.

The Dirty Monkeys

2010-07-11 22:24:54

These monkeys are known to us as the Dirty Monkeys because one day we were walking by and, well, do I really have to spell it out for you??

Lazy Tigers

2010-07-11 22:24:05

On the Jungle Trek you almost always get to see some tigers. They are usually napping, as they were this day.

Face Painting

2010-07-11 22:23:06

We couldn't ride everything we normally would this trip, as Ashley was pregnant. But we did take in Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and got some face painting done. We also got soaked! Thankfully we got the face painting after the rain was over (which was about 11pm).

Lots of New Pictures

I finally got caught up on our picture uploading today. In the Pictures section you'll find two new albums from our Destin and Aspen vacations (I am so sad they are over already!!!). Also there are a few new Hallie pictures in her album. Enjoy!!

Marmots!

2010-07-11 22:12:04

A.K.A. the 'Whistle Pig', Marmots look a lot like beavers. These were definitely not shy - they were sunning themselves on these rocks right by the bus stop and restrooms!

Stream Pose

2010-07-11 22:10:47

The Grissoms in front of one of the many streams in the Maroon Bells area.

Peaceful Stream

2010-07-11 22:10:09

This stream ran between the two lakes previously mentioned.

Hallie and Ashley

2010-07-11 22:09:20

The girls take a break while sitting by the oh so calm lake.

So So Calm

2010-07-11 22:08:45

This lake was farther up than the main one we saw, and it was sooooo calm.

An Aspen Grove

2010-07-11 22:07:47

Did you know that the chalky dust you can rub off an aspen tree's trunk can be used as sunscreen? Or that aspen trees that have been pushed over by an avalanche can grow back up straight towards the sun? They are really remarkable trees.

The Girls

2010-07-11 22:06:11

Here are all the girls on the trip, posing in front of a very peaceful stream.

More Scenery

2010-07-11 22:05:26

The lake below the Bells that we saw was surrounded by other mountains as well. Personally these look a lot more maroon to me than the actual Maroon Bells.

The Group

2010-07-11 22:04:29

This was everyone on the trip (except for Manny, who was sick that day). Here we are posing in front of the Maroon Bells on a little bridge running over a stream.

A Peaceful Lake

2010-07-11 22:03:16

Below the Bells are streams and lakes. This is one of the bigger ones we saw. It was so calm, and the water was chilly.

The Bells

2010-07-11 22:01:34

They really are quite beautiful.

The Maroon Bells

2010-07-11 22:00:53

We spent a good portion of our last full day in the Maroon Bells area. The peaks you see in the center are the Bells themselves. Personally, I don't think they look like Bells at all.

Pyramid Peak

2010-07-11 21:59:28

Ashley got a good look at Pyramid Peak during the horseback ride.

Beaver Houses

2010-07-11 21:58:46

Ashley took this during her horseback ride - check out the beaver homes!

Hank the Horse

2010-07-11 21:57:39

Hank was Ashley's horse for her 2 hour ride in the Maroon Bells area. The ride was done out of the T-Lazy 7 Ranch.

The Room

2010-07-11 21:44:17

We had a GREAT room at the Gant in Aspen. We shared a 3 bedroom/3 bath condo with Emily, Stephen, and Jack. It was really nice, and it was so convenient to have a full kitchen and room for the kids to play. Thanks again for everything Pam!

Winding Streams

2010-07-11 21:42:25

Aspen had these neat streams running through a few parts of town. These were sometimes in people's front yards, or like this one, they were in front of stores. I thought they were really cool, and I know the kids enjoyed jumping back and forth over them.

Surrey Break

2010-07-11 21:40:41

We stopped at one of Aspen's many parks to take a break from pedaling the surreys. Here Ashley and Hallie enjoy a quality bench.

Scurry on a Surrey

2010-07-11 21:39:18

One morning we rented a few Surrey (bikes) and pedaled around Aspen for an hour. Stephen mistakenly called them 'Scurrys' once, which we did not let him forget!

Fireworks Watchers

2010-07-11 21:35:14

Fireworks on the 4th didn't start until 9:15pm, which meant it was late enough that it was cold outside (nightly lows got down into the 40s). This picture was taken just before the rains came, but the fireworks went off as planned, and I think everyone enjoyed them.

Herron Park

2010-07-11 21:33:35

After lunch at the Art Museum (on the 4th), we proceeded to spend some quality time at Herron Park, which is one of the many nice parks in Aspen. We relaxed and let the kids play for a few hours in between other stuff.

Goldfish Vultures

2010-07-11 21:32:29

Between all the kids, we went through some snacks during the trip. Goldfish were especially popular. Here, Hallie and Jake partake of some while we hung out at Herron Park.

A Babbling Brook

2010-07-11 21:31:08

We saw a few really neat streams like this while walking around Aspen. This one runs by the Art Museum, where we had lunch on the 4th. They have a festival with BBQ and live music, and it was good times.

Festive Llamas

2010-07-11 21:29:30

The parade had several animals as well, including horses and llamas.

July 4th Parade

2010-07-11 21:28:42

There was a good parade that started at noon on the 4th. Lots of fire trucks, unicyclists, and candy. It was a quality length parade too; it took over an hour for everything to go by.

The Kids

2010-07-11 21:27:11

Here is a shot that includes all the kids that went on the trip. From left to right we have Baby Jake (1), Shelby (6), Luke (3), Jack (3), and Hallie (1). Clark's cousin Lindsay is holding Jake. All the matching shirts for the 4th were cute!

Family Walk

2010-07-11 21:25:20

On July 4th, there were several events going on in Aspen. We started our morning with the 1 mile family/pet walk. Hallie loved looking at all the dogs that were walking with their owners.

On the Plane

2010-07-11 21:22:01

We were a little worried about Hallie's first time flying, but she did really well. She napped some on the longer flights and enjoyed looking out the window.

Lovin the Books

2010-07-11 21:05:17

Hallie is a big fan of books these days. She will crawl over to them all the time and look through them over and over. I am so glad she likes reading!

Ice Cream Cone!!

2010-07-11 21:01:22

Hallie ate her first ice cream cone during Memorial Day weekend while Clark and Hallie were in Decatur. Hallie held it pretty much by herself and even ate the entire cone! This is actually a picture of the second cone she ate (she had one two days in a row).

Fish-Face!

2010-07-11 20:57:50

Hallie loves making a fish face, and she was full of them during our last lunch of the trip.

Obligatory Beach Pictures

2010-07-11 20:57:04

Before we could leave the last day we had to get pictures on the beach. It was hot!

I Think She Liked it...

2010-07-11 20:56:20

Just look at that smile post-swing!!

Weeeeeee!

2010-07-11 20:55:36

Hallie loved being swung up in the air!

Playing in the Park

2010-07-11 20:54:54

Baytowne Wharf also has a grassy park area, and one night after dinner we played there with Hallie.

Float Float Float

2010-07-11 20:53:44

Hallie also enjoyed just floating around the pool. Thanks for letting us borrow the float Jack!

Pool Time

2010-07-11 20:52:52

Hallie did love the pool. We spent some quality time there everyday. Here she is enjoying the beach entry pool.

Can We Leave Now?

2010-07-11 20:46:31

Hallie was ready to go soon after we arrived. I think we were there less than an hour and a half.

Beach Experiment

2010-07-11 20:45:42

Hallie did not like the beach. And when I say didn't like, I am including both sand and water in there. We tried holding her and letting her sit on a towel, and nothing was acceptable. Oh well.

Rockin the Swing

2010-07-11 20:44:14

The Baytowne Wharf area within the resort has a kid's park, and Hallie enjoyed the swings the two nights we ate dinner nearby.

Hallie's Bike Seat

2010-07-11 20:42:52

Hallie was pretty comfy in her bike seat.

Riding Bikes

2010-07-11 15:55:07

We got free bikes with our room, so one day we took a ride around the resort and out to the beach. Hallie liked it - she even fell asleep once.

We're not in Aspen anymore...

It's a bit shocking to come home to humid 98-degree temperatures AND a broken AC when you've spent a week in perfect 78-degree weather. As long as the AC guy comes today as promised, all will be well in the Grissom house. :) We had a great time in Aspen! Hallie did good on the plane...her ears didn't seem to bother her at all, and she slept for a good portion of each leg. We arrived at The Gant around 1:00 and met up with the rest of the group...Aunt Pam, Jessica, Martin, Shelby, Luke, Jake, Manny, Leigh, Lindsay, Emily, Stephen, and Jack...if you're counting, that's 15 total. Thanks to Pam, our week was all planned out with lots of fun activities. Saturday we took a 50+ mile, 4+ hour ride on four-wheelers up the Rockies to elevation 13,960 then over to Taylor Lake and back down to Aspen. (Hallie stayed behind for most of our activities, as did most of the other little ones.) Sunday we participated in the Buddy Program 1-mile family walk, followed by a parade, BBQ in the park with live music, and fireworks that night. Monday we rented surreys and toured around town for a while, and then finished the day with a great dinner at Pinons and gelato at Paradise Bakery. Before bed, to our surprise, Hallie took her first steps! She hasn't done it since then, but I think that means she's getting close to walking! Tuesday the group went whitewater rafting while I helped babysit the little ones with Pam and Manny. That night the girls went out to celebrate with newly engaged Lindsay. Congrats Lindsay and Jackson! Wednesday Lindsay and I took a 2-hour horseback ride in Maroon Bells and then met up with the rest of the group for a picnic and hike around Maroon Bells. Lots of pretty pictures were taken this day. Our tasty farewell dinner that night was at Campo de Fiore. Thanks again for everything, Pam! It was a great trip! (pictures to be posted soon...)

Hallie Would Love This

I submit to you the 'wafflesicle'. As much as Hallie likes waffles I have to think she would similarly devour these.

A QWERTY Quirk

If you try to type 'pay' with your right hand shifted to the left one key's width, you end up typing 'oat'. Weird.

Why did I notice this? I'm working on invoice processing at work, and I've had to type 'pay' about a BILLION times (or so it seems). It was inevitable that my hands would get out of position at some point.

Dinner Series

I haven't posted a "Dinner Series" entry in a long time because we haven't eaten in a long time. Just kidding. :) So far this week we've had chicken pot pie and broccoli-turkey ring. The recipe calls for ham, but I changed it to turkey because we have an abundance of turkey in our house since Costco sells in bulk. Both dinners made extra, so I'm assuming the next 2 nights will be leftovers. Which means this week's dinner series is chicken pot pie, broccoli-turkey ring, chicken pot pie, and broccoli-turkey ring. Monday night, however, Clark was working late so Hallie and I spoiled our dinner with Doodle's...cookies n cream sorbet, MMM!!!

Bottle Free!

We have officially been bottle free for one week! Yay Hallie! It was actually really easy to transition. She's become an expert sippy cup drinker and luckily wasn't too attached to her bedtime bottle...so we took it away one day and she didn't even seem to notice. Now we're working on letting her put herself to sleep in her crib instead of having us rock her. This one is a struggle for me because our cuddle time in the rocker before bed is one of my favorite parts of the day. But, if we don't break the habit now, we'll be rocking her to sleep when she's 15. :) Of the 5 nights we've tried it, she's cried for less than 2 minutes each time (with the exception of one night where she cried for 25 minutes!). Our next big event will be taking away the pacifier...but that's a ways off because it comes in handy way too often. :)

In other news, Hallie has pinkeye. She was sent home from school yesterday when she woke up from naptime with an icky pink eye. Luckily it seems to be a mild case because it's already looking better today.

Hallie the Waffle Monster

Ok, so it turns out that Hallie loves waffles. LOVES them. At the end of last week when she still wasn't feeling very well and hence was not eating much, I tried a waffle on a whim. She ate the whole thing. The next day she was with Grandma and Papa and that was all she wanted then, too. Since then we have had them once for dinner (last night), and she ate almost two whole ones herself. And she gets so excited when she sees them going into the toaster!

She also had ice cream twice this past weekend while we were in Decatur with Mom and Dad (Grandma and Papa). She had it in her own cone, and finished it all off both times, cone included. Way to go Hallie!!

Ear Infections Stink

Hallie is in the midst of ear infection #3, and it is by far the worst one she's ever had. Poor dear hasn't wanted to eat and obviously hasn't felt good since around midday Monday.

I'm really hoping tomorrow is the turning point, as we head into a long, Ashley-less weekend...

Random Thought: CostCo Hot Dog

I had to run to CostCo during lunch today and decided to consume a hot dog combo. Really, what's not to love about a hot dog and drink for $1.50? It's a pretty tasty hot dog too. My only regret is that I didn't get a chocolate yogurt too :)

Busy Busy Busy + Thank You

Yes, loyal readers, we haven't disappeared off the face of the planet. Things have just been busy here in Birmingham. Lots of 'stuff' going on this last week, including a lot of work (Ashley even worked late one night). And just to prove it, I'm at work right now!

I also wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes this past week. Yes, I have accepted the fact that I am now 30. I think I will miss my 20s, but so far 30 is pretty good :)

Ok, ok, back to work now...

Random Thought - Star Trek

So I was re-watching the latest Star Trek movie (from last year) recently, and it got me to thinking about something. Why is it that seemingly every single task that needs doing has to be done by one of the senior officers? When someone has to be 'beamed' into a hostile area, why does the Captain or First Officer (or both) always go? Are there no Star Trek Navy Seals? Is there no Star Trek Delta Force? When the Enterprise B was in danger from the Nexus Ribbon (beginning of Generations), why were the only two people that could fix the problem the Admiral and the Captain? For Pete's sake, there are hundreds if not thousands of people on the Enterprise. Are none of them trained to handle any specialty situation at all? I doubt the Captain is the best qualified person for EVERYTHING. Are you telling me we can travel faster than light, and that we have an entire Academy to train new recruits, but that all those recruits who are traveling faster than light are worthless in a pinch?

It has been this way since the original series. Really, I understand why...the show is more dramatic if one of the main characters is involved in whatever is going on. But seriously, at least get some commandos or something. Not every gunfight on every planet is going to involve a grand total of 8 people.

All that being said, the latest Star Trek movie was fantastic, especially the updated Mr. Scott character. The only thing I didn't like was that I don't agree with the movie's interpretation of time travel. But that's another random thought for another day.

Meeting Babe Ruff

2010-05-11 22:38:59

Friday, April 30th was Mcleod Night at the Birmingham Barons (McLeod Software is Clark\'s office). It was a neat idea for a company event. It sure seemed like all the kids had fun. Here, Hallie meets the Barons mascot, Babe Ruff (you can\'t see his face, but as you can tell from the name, he is a dog).

Welcome Baby Ellie!

Oh how stunned we were to get back in town and find out that Ellie Mauter was already here! We go out of town and miss everything! Congrats to all the Mauters, and welcome Ellie!!

Back from the Beach

Yes, we\'ve been back from the beach since Saturday night. (San)Destin was nice; really good weather, as it only rained one day. And no, no oil to be seen. The Club Intrawest was really nice. You DVCers out there should look into it if you are interested in going to the beach.

Hallie was not a fan of the beach. But she dug the pool, and she ate everything in site! All in all she did pretty good for her first vacation.

Pictures to come. Before you start questioning our dedication, know that we were not home yesterday and that I am still at work right now!

Birthday Pictures

Last night Ashley uploaded several pictures from the last month, including those from all the 1st Birthday celebrations. Check them out here!

Hooray for birthdays!

2010-04-29 22:18:55

Post Cake Hair

2010-04-29 22:18:22

Icing makes a great hair product.

Messy Baby

2010-04-29 22:17:08

We let her get as messy as she wanted.

Hallie and Knox

2010-04-29 22:15:28

Mmm...cake!

2010-04-29 22:14:48

She loved it!

Hmm...cake...

2010-04-29 22:13:41

**For those who don\'t know, Publix gives you a free \"smash\" cake when you order a 1st birthday cake from them.

\"Do I eat this?\"

2010-04-29 22:12:28

Happy Birthday!

2010-04-29 22:11:18

\"Why are these people singing at me?\"

And More Presents!

2010-04-29 22:10:08

More presents!

2010-04-29 22:09:06

Birthday Girl

2010-04-29 22:08:26

All dressed up and ready to party!

Conjoined twins?

2010-04-29 22:07:43

Nope! Just 2 cute babies sharing a swing. :)

Swim class

2010-04-29 22:05:16

Here\'s a picture from the swim class that we\'ve mentioned several times. This was Hallie\'s first day to be dunked. And she didn\'t mind it at all!

First family portrait

2010-04-29 22:03:41

We finally took Hallie for our first official family photo. And yes, she was 11 months old. :) Sorry it\'s a bit distorted, but it\'s a picture of a picture. (It\'s the best reproduction I could do without spending $100+ for the digital copy.)

Mmm...crackers

2010-04-29 22:00:10

Enter picture\'s caption here...

Presents!

2010-04-29 21:59:35

Enter picture\'s caption here...

Birthday Cupcake

2010-04-29 21:59:10

Hallie wasn\'t quite sure what to do.

April Birthday Weekend

2010-04-29 21:12:25

Easter weekend we had a joint birthday party for the April birthdays...Jack, Carl, Pa, and Hallie.

1st Birthday

We had a busy weekend, but it was lots of fun! Friday night we had dinner with Grandma and Papa at Hamburger Heaven. Hallie loved the cherry milkshake. :) Swim class was canceled due to bad weather, so we went to see Lauren\'s cute new house and have brunch. Hallie proved to us that she can sleep comfortably almost anywhere and took a nap on Lauren\'s floor. Saturday evening was Hallie\'s birthday party with my side of the family. She had her very own smash cake, and knowing you only turn 1 once, we let her get as messy as she wanted. (pictures to be posted soon for those of you not on facebook...) She loved it! Sunday we went to Knox\'s dedication at church followed by lunch at Superior Grill. After that, we all crashed.

INSERT NEW PARAGRAPH HERE

Dinner Series

This week we had pizza, stuffed fish with asparagus, and chicken parmesan.

Hallie\'s 1 Year Appointment

Hallie had her one year check-up yesterday and all is well. She has slimmed down to the 50% for weight and is actually a little on the short side coming in at 25% for height. Assuming she does ok with whole milk, we can now switch her to milk instead of formula and hopefully phase out all bottles. We are also continuing to progress with eating big people food...she ate 3 bites of pizza yesterday (and swallowed them)! I am finding that she\'s much more likely to swallow something if she bites it off instead of fingering tiny bites into her mouth from her tray. This week she also ate (and loved) asparagus and spaghetti.

Happy Birthday Hallie!

Today is Hallie\'s first birthday! I can\'t believe it\'s already been a year!

WaterBabies Update

Hallie had WaterBabies class for the first time in a few weeks yesterday. It turns out that maybe the break was what she needed, because yesterday\'s class went great. The highlight of the day was that she got dunked underwater 3 times, and didn\'t seem to mind at all. Nice job Hallie!

Dinner Series

In honor of the Mauters, we will start posting a \"Dinner Series\" news post each week. It is one of my favorite parts of Janie\'s blog because it gives me inspiration to cook new things...we tend to get stuck in a food rut. So, last week we ate: pork with baked squash and peas, broiled tilapia (greek seasoned) with mashed potatos and carrots, and baked ziti with salad.

Weekend

This weekend Hallie ate a peep (yum!), drank iced tea, sampled a rice cake, and rejected a bite of jello. I\'m very surprised she didn\'t like the jello given its texture, but not surprised at all that she loved the peep. The peep further proves she is my child. :) She also went for a boat ride (thanks Casey!), got her very own outdoor swing at the lake, and went kayaking. While all of this was going on, Clark and his fever were stuck at home. After telling Clark what all we did, he says I am no longer authorized to take our baby places without him. :)

Leo the Alarm Clock

No alarm clock is as effective as a cat that throws up by your bed at 6:00am. That is what Leo did this morning...yuck! Although, if he did that everyday, we could forgo the Clocky alarm clock...

Comment Away!!

A few people have noted that they would like to be able to comment on news articles. I have to admit this is a common feature that I failed to include in the initial design of the site. But fear no more, because comments are now up and running. It is very similar to commenting on a picture if you have tried that already (and if you have not tried commenting at all, well, get it in gear!). Much thanks to those of you who kept encouraging me to add this (ahem, Janie...) - it was fun to do.

As always, you can still contact us via the About page. Let us know what you think or if you have any questions!

Easter + Birthdays + Fever

Hello loyal readers. Hope everyone had a great Easter!

We celebrated Easter + April birthdays in Decatur this past weekend. Mommy did a great job coordinating all the activities. We even got in a bonus visit from Fred and Margaret!

Of course, Hallie decided to get a fever as soon as we got to Decatur Friday night. All things considered, she did pretty well over the weekend. She went to the doctor yesterday, and it appears to have been a fever virus. She seems to be past it now though.

Food update

Hallie is only 3 weeks away from her first birthday and STILL not officially eating real food. However, we\'ve been experimenting a little more. As previously posted, she still enjoys nibbles off a cucumber or banana. They gave her a taste of chocolate pudding at school and of course she loved it...who wouldn\'t? Yesterday she sampled part of a Dreamsicle, also at school, and demanded more. But our biggest break through was the Ritz cracker she ate. Hooray for Hallie!

Wronged By A Salad!

Ashley, Brian, and myself went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch today. Good times were had (hope Sam\'s nap went better today Janie!). However, I now feel defrauded. At lunch I had a chicken caesar salad. It was ok, and I thought it would be at least moderately healthy (certainly better than say, a wrap with fries.

Back at work, I looked up the info on it on Calorie King. Oh boy, WAS I WRONG!! Now I know salad dressing is not great. But this dressing seemed pretty light, and there was no cheese at all on the salad. I cannot help but feel cheated.

So Far, A Slow Week for News

Things are relatively quiet on the home front. WaterBabies class #3 went a little better than #2. I\'ve been exercising almost everyday since last week (which is NOT normal, but for some reason I am enjoying running again; I am even thinking about getting a pedometer).

Last night Ashley and I watched \'Blue Lagoon\', and I am still trying to figure out how that film out-ranked all the other movies that Ashley has put on the list that we have not yet watched. In the words of an American Idol host, \"it was just all right for me dawg\". The best Netflix movie lately: Get Smart, starring Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart. Cheesy? Yes. But it was funny, and I am a sucker for a good spy movie.

RSS issues? + Baby Shower

From time to time, I check our RSS feed to see how things look. I noticed just now that things look slightly out of whack, and I am not sure why. So I need some help from you, our loyal RSS users. Do articles appear out of order in your RSS reader? Does anything at all look wrong? You can use the email link or the form on the About page to let us know, and thanks!

On a completely unrelated note, I am sort of at a baby shower right now. Yes, I am at home; Ashley is hosting a surprise baby shower (I will let her elaborate in a future post). I can hear all the ladies in the living room as they open gifts. It is pretty obvious because you hear some tissue paper being jostled and then you hear a group \'Awwwww!\' as they all see the item being opened. I don\'t mind one bit though - they let me eat their food :)

Walking...Not Far Off?

Hallie might have set a new record tonight for how long she has stood up continuously. Now of course she was holding onto something, but she stood up for a really long time...probably close to 10 minutes. And this has got to be the first time that I have seen her change what she was holding onto while standing. She was in the living room, and kept switching between the coffee table and the ottoman (which, if you recall the layout of our living room, you\'ll notice this means she had to turn around each time she swapped places). It made me think, really for the first time, that she could be walking soon. And that will be WEIRD when it happens.

Impromptu Park Visit + Backyard

Last night we made an impromptu visit to the park so Hallie could get in some more quality swing time before the weather goes in the tank again. She liked it the second time around, so we may have to keep this momentum of park visits going.

Of course, we wouldn\'t have to go to the park if we had a swing/playset in our own backyard. This is more than likely going to happen next year, but we are hoping to do several things to the backyard soon. Everything from resolving some drainage issues to a new fence to a new back deck is on the table. I\'m pumped.