He's Here!

Meet Nick. He weighs in at a cool 7 lbs 0 oz even, stands 20in along his bassinet, and prefers his women like his milk, nice and warm. Read how he came about in the posts, "The whole truth" parts 1-3. You can interact with Nick in a few different ways. A slide show is playing on the right hand side of some of the pics uploaded onto Picasa, there's an RSS feed (a thing that shows when we update our Picasa site) on the right hand side of our blog that'll let you know when we add pics, to check out all of them you can click here to go to our Picasa website, or you can just wait in suspense as new posts are created! Either way, enjoy our son Nicholas!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Oops!

So far today has been all about the wrong decisions

Bad decision #1: This morning I got a text from my husband with some husband/wife humor in it, so thinking I would be witty I sent him a message back. 10 minutes latter he sends me another text saying that I sent the message to HIS MOM instead of him. Oops. (thanks Michele for being so cool about it)

Bad decision #2: After breakfast the boy and I were hanging out in the family room and he started to grunt and turn red, then I took a whiff of the air and just as I suspected he pooped. So being the good mom that I am I waited a little while to make sure that he was finished and then took him into the bedroom to get a diaper change. When I opened his pj’s I could tell that it was going to be a messy one. I began the unpleasant process only to have my efforts stunted by my squirmy little boy, so I grabbed the first thing I saw that he could hold and keep his attention while I finished. When I was about half way done I looked up to see a pink liquid covering my boy chest and face. I had grabbed my sons Motrin that was sitting on his changing table and he had managed to open the child-proof cap and spill it all over. I finished cleaning off his little bottom then moved on to the Motrin which he was now painting his body with. After all was clean I went to put a dry diaper on him and he peed on me!

I hope this is not an indication of how my Friday will be.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Fohawk, Fotos, Friends, Fans

We forgot to advise the world that Nick finally got a haircut. Back in August, while visiting Roseville during my month off, we went to this cool little place called "Jack and Jillybeans" in Roseville. Not too expensive, super professional, great atmosphere. I have to admit I wasn't too fond off the place until I saw the chair my son could sit in:

They also had all these other cool chairs. The kids that came in seemed to fight the most over the fighter jet one, but whatever.


Nick's before shot

He did really well and was mostly distracted so long as he got to steer the wheel on his patrol vehicle. I know the lady looks a bit creepy in this picture, but she was really nice and really fast which in hindsight you have to be with little heads moving like lightning and you're carrying a really sharp object.

His first locks of hair

Nick's after shot

Once he got his little "fohawk," we perused on over to Target where they just happened to have a photography studio. Some readers may scoff at how lightly I use the phrase "photography," but hey, maybe we like paying for overpriced pictures in a familiar photo shoot setting, so back off! Anyway, here's a slideshow with the pictures. You can see the whole album here.



And what trip to Roseville would be complete without a get together with the gang?! Unfortunately, we have no pictures of merit from the event because were having too much fun to stop and shoot! Or we just forgot. The former sounds much better so let's stick with that!

We finished off the trip with a visit to good ol' new AT&T Park to watch the Giants get killed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. I organized the trip and didn't realize how far back our seats were. Granted they were lower level, just lower level last row back about 15 rows under the overhang so that you couldn't even see the big plasma screen with all the cool gimmicky games they run on it throughout the game. Nonetheless, good times, plus, Nick (and Katy) were finally able to go to a Giants game. My cousin Chris and his girlfriend Jen, my folks, and my brother Jon and sister-in-law Natalie were all able to go too. Even though there aren't any pictures of them here, they did go. I was in a bit of a pissy mood that day which I'd like to say was because the Giants were sucking but I'm pretty sure I was just pissy. Because of said pissy mood, I neglected to take but a few pics. So, just imagine them in the shots.

Chris loving up on Jen

Katy and Nick with a sweatshirt courtesy of my dad

Showing off my great mood

Our view of the field from the seats...notice the low overhang and lack of viewable scoreboard

Friday, September 4, 2009

One is not the loneliest number...

Today our son turns one! Well, he actually does at 1:51pm, but still. It's amazing how fast the time has flown by. We love you buddy! Here's a montage with a picture for each month of his life. Happy birthday Nick!

Month 1: Our little red man!

Month 2: Looking handsome with a little help from Andre

Month 3: Getting ready for Farmer's Market in SLO

Month 4: This shirt still rings true

Month 5: Vegas baby!

Month 6: Zonked in his carrier with a monkey who no longer exists thanks to Lucy

Month 7: Still one of our all-time favorites, enjoying a bouncer

Month 8: Serious friends being serious (Happy belated birthday Sammy!)

Month 9: Happy as a clam watching the tube in a barcalounger

Month 10: Poolside enjoying the sun

Month 11: Freezing cold and crying or so happy he can't breathe?

Month 12: A little mousy influence

Can't wait for the next year Nick!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Travelling Friends and Birthday Fun


My childhood best friend Adam, seen above with me in high school (don't ask), got into the Army ROTC in college and is currently in the Army National Guard. He serves our country in D.C. but he and his wife Michelle, who coincidentally also went to high school with us, live in Woodbridge, VA. I wish they didn't live so far away but since they do time with them is precious. Both their families live here in California so they were kind enough to pay us a visit on their way up to the bay area from LA.

A little flashback to the past, Adam and I in 1999 on our senior trip to Hawaii

Adam spent a year at Santa Barbara City College while I was at Cal Poly. This was one of our frequent hook-ups for a meal.

Ad and I at my bachelor party. No comment.

And back to the present. Maybe Adam and Nick are kindred spirits as they kept trading off with closing their eyes for pictures.

Adam again.

Nick again.

And Nick halfway, probably the best shot out of 20.

Michelle, Adam, and Nick if you can find him.

It just so happened to be Michelle's birthday on Wednesday so Katy made her a cake. Happy birthday Michelle!

The big 2-8!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Almost There

Nick is super close to walking. Because of this fact, we wanted to make sure we caught as close to the actual moment on video as we could. Unfortunately, our video camera we bought three years ago crapped out. So, in a spontaneous moment, we purchased a new one, much smaller, but just enough to get the job done. To christen the purchase, here's a video clip of our son laughing. Make sure you watch the whole thing, the end is the best part...trust me. As my buddy Noah put it, try not to smile while watching and listening to this!

Dinneylan!

If you follow Katy or I on Facebook, you were probably well aware that last week we took Nick to Disneyland, or as my dad likes to call it, "Dinneylan!" My folks did come with us which was a huge blessing in that it allowed us to go on rides together while they watched Nick and vice versa. With two families there it brought a lot of pictures, so I'll try and just include some highlights. First let me say, living in So Cal has its drawbacks, namely all LA sports, but it definitely has its perks too. For example, we got a 3 day park hopper ticket between Disneyland and California Adventure for just $99 when a normal 1 day park hopper is $97! Then, we upgraded to an annual pass for just $45 more dollars. We definitely plan on abusing that annual pass so if you have one too and are itching to get back to the Magic Kingdom, let us know! And for all you moochers, our passes have our pictures on the back so we can't share...sorry! Here's the link to all the pics, separated by days: day 1, day 2, day 3.

Here's the whole family right inside the gate for the classic Mickey flowers pose

My dad absolutely abhors the "It's a Small World" ride. But he indulged us by coming too, much to his chagrin.

Nick, unfortunately or fortunately, you decide, loved the ride. He nursed and just stared at all the crazy animatronic children. Funny how some are still not very politically correct. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see a guy chowing on a corn dog behind us. Classic.

One of the few happy moments on Dumbo...not the best ride to wait for as it doesn't have much shade and quickly makes an 11 month old cranky.

I know this looks like child torture, but I promise you, once Nick gets ahold of a lemon, he won't let go until it is scraped clean...I will get this on video one day.

One thing that can be a bit irritating about Disneyland is all the parades. For some, it may be enjoyable, but when you're trying to hustle over to get a fastpass so you can get back in line again, it becomes tiresome, quickly. One of the parades featured this lovely sign, which is cut off by a flashlight wand by an attendant, but reads, "In Everything You Do, Celebrate You!" Oh Disney. How I wish your land was saved and didn't buy in to what the rest of the world longs to hear but desperately does not need any more self image or reliance inflation.

As in every hotel room bathroom, they discreetly hang the toilet paper rolls under the sink as well as exposing all of the pipes for little crusiers to find. This is just some of the mayhem that Nick got into at the hotel room. To read about the real "crap," click here and read my personal blog and an episode you won't want to miss.

Enjoying Thunder Mountain and posing.

Nick in awe on the Monster's Inc. ride.

A toy I won my family by scoping out the water gun carnival game and taking the average of which gun was the quickest based on the previous five games. Best toy I've ever won for five bucks.

Somehow, back at the hotel, Nick managed to army crawl his way underneath the pack-n-play in an attempt to mess with his stroller. Fortunately, he did not get stuck, and weasled his way backwards and out. Crazy.

This next sequence is of the ride "California Screamin'," a "real" roller coaster in California Adventure that Katy, my dad, and I loved. My mom's not so keen on the "real" coasters and would rather stick to ones where you aren't pressed against your seat and go weightless a few times.

So here we are posing as we get ready to launch. I'm right behind Katy. It was worth the extra two minutes to get in the front car.

Here Katy and my dad are in launch. I apparently got cropped out.

And all of us obviously still enjoying the ride for our "complimentary with a $15 charge" picture. Good times!

Nick wondering why he has to ride a blue fish and not the "real" coaster...or maybe just trying to find out where his parents are who are calling him. On a positive note, he has learned to "hi-five," wave, and clap almost on command now. We're getting him trained real well!


At the beginning of day 3, we immediately saw Goofy with a fairly short line. The previous two days we saw numerous characters but the lines were ridiculous, especially since Nick had no idea who these characters were. But this one was worth it.

Later he got to meet Eeyore too. This time it was a bit sad, in typical Eeyore fashion. There was no worker standing by with Eeyore, and no line for a picture. The donkey was just standing there all by himself. Kinda eerie Eeyore.

And what's Disneyland without some Mickey ears!

More Mickey ears shots and looking a bit mousy too!


Nick getting pretty into the psychedelic Winne the Pooh ride. I guess I will have to drug test him sooner than I thought...

Enjoying the Buzz Lightyear ride and messing up the grandparents score by tugging on that red joystick that sent them into a jet wash...way to go son! Our plan worked!

My mom and I after we got the shaft from my dad. He was supposed to take an awesome picture of us on Thunder Mountain, but as we passed by, we saw him holding and playing with Nick instead. Sell out!

And finally, the three of us in front of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves little grotto...pretty tired I must say, but well worth it!


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

One Shell of a Beach

On our way back from houseboating, Nick needed a pit stop. It just so happened we were right next to Shell Beach when he needed one, or we needed one. Depends on who you ask. So we got out, grabbed our sweatshirts (it dropped 30 degrees from Fresno to Shell Beach, 30 degrees!) and camera, and found there were a ton of cool places to put Nick and shoot some pics. And here they are:

Nick and a dino head, trust me, that's what it is. The dinosaur caves are right at Shell Beach.

Nick on a piece of a dino egg shell. We were going to put him in the dino egg, but it was full of sand, and Nick likes to put everything in his mouth. So this was second best.

Nick in yet another swing with a classic look on his face.

Nick on a killer whale

Nick in a tire swing and quite enjoying himself

The fam on a bench after approximately 10 takes. This was as close as we could get to Nick looking at the camera. Stupid seagulls! Speaking of seagulls, what do you call a seagull that lives by the bay? A bagel!

Nick making sure Katy was all zipped up in the cold

Look at me! I'm blind on a bench!

Enjoying the cool ocean breeze blowing through his hair

Getting close to walking on his own

Pismo from afar

A pelican in flight

While I was waiting for a pelican to take off from "Brown's Rock," as we found out it was called, we saw them stretching their necks. Everyone of them did it about every two minutes. The weirdest looking thing, but I guess if you have jowels like that they need to be stretched.

Don't know if it was the same seagull that was distracting Nick earlier, but I took the shot anyway. If only I had my .40 in my pocket...

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Houseboating '09

Every year we get together with some college friends for what I like to call, the houseboating trip. We've been doing this weekend retreat for about 6 summers now, and for the first 3 our friend Stephen Ferguson's father had a houseboat we went on. Well, he has since sold said houseboat, but I'm still holding on the the title for the weekend as: the houseboating trip. This year we went to the Jones/Messer compound in Auberry outside of Fresno for 3 days of hanging. There are way more pictures, but after the first night I conceded picture taking to semi-professional photographer/Chippie behind a desk Justice Jones. Hopefully we'll post the other pictures later, if we get a copy. The weekend was awesome, filled with great conversations, ping pong tourneys, fantastic food, shooting of .40 cals, paintball, and of course, good ol' friends!

Some of the gang hanging out...check Nick out under the table. Yeah, that's where we keep him.

Matt Moore being, well, Matt Moore

Sarah Moore and most of Silas

Cole Ferguson congratulating Seth Moore on finishing his dinner

Cole smiling for the camera as only Cole can do

I love this next sequence of Avery Jones

Kinda sees the camera

Oh, it is a camera and it's pointed at me!

Alright Rob I'll smile!

Seth's head is a bit fuzzy. How could I expect a 3 year old to sit still?

Tyler Wisner making sure I know he didn't do it!

Katy and Nick, both enthralled with Matt's story

Katy and Natalie Wisner trying to keep the boys in the tub at bay

Aforementioned boys in tub, Tyler and Nick

Ok, so the story behind these two hands. Dave Wisner and I were the last two outside after just completing a great poker match. We're shutting out the lights to the outside when I turn around and see this. Two hands, perfectly aligned, almost posing for the camera with newly received engagement ring on top. And zooming out...

John Garrison and his fiancee' Skye. Congrats again guys and way to stay on the right mattress and yet still show your love!

Not quite Buellton, but it'll do

Last week we spent some time in Fresno with Katy's family. On one of the days we were able to go to a local water park with Katy's mom, her sister Michelle, and Michelle's kids. Surprisingly it wasn't too hot and there were some fun slides as well as a large kids area not too deep for Nick.

Can't you tell Nick is totally psyched for the park?!

Oh yeah this is awesome! My knees are touching!

A little bit of snot if you can tell...

Katy's participating family minus one 14 year old boy crazy niece!

Hitting a slide with cousin Jake
Katy's folks are helping a mom who can't afford housing, and her daughter, Calina, had some baby stuff in the house. Later in the week, after a bath, Nick crawled at Mach 5 into the living room to Calina's baby swing.

Somehow he squeezed in between the post and the swing, pulled himself up, and then down.

All the way to the ground, slowly though I promise!

Nick quickly learning that baby babies are not to be touched and then displaying the classic face known as, "What?"

Playing at the Park

We have a park right down the road from our house. Nick can't walk yet, but we take him there anyway for cute pictures. Lucy, our beagle, does not like the park. For her it entails being tied to a post while we wander way to far for her liking. One of the downsides to being a dog I guess.

Some early seminary preparation before parking it up!

Getting ready and making sure mom's hair looks beautiful!

Swing, swing, swing

Enjoying dad doing all the work

Lucy not so happy


Ok, this next sequence is up here to show you our failed attempt to allow Nick to slide on his own. Please don't call CPS on us...

Sitting well

Katy catching Nick before the ground does

Attempt #2, not so good

Are you guys kidding me with this???