bonnie & jason

Another fuzzball picture

Bonnie said her hair is a little frizzier here so it’s either the water or the humidity here that’s making Alissa’s hair stick up more than usual.  After her bath last night, it was fuzzy both on top and on the sides… Chinese fro.

In other news, Alissa is getting really good at rolling over from her back to her front but only to her left.  I’m trying to get her to roll back again since she doesn’t really like being on her tummy all that much.  For now, she mostly just kinda struggles and buries her head in the floor until she gets frustrated at which point I turn her back over.  She’s like a turtle.

Woohoo! New sneaks!

My dad was nice enough to offer to buy me some new sneakers for the marathon since my old ones are a bit beat up.  I’ve had them since the last marathon in Chicago a few years ago so they’ve had a good run (pun intended).  I decided to stick with Asics since they got me through the first two races ok.  After doing a little research, I decided on a few to try out and ended up with the cheapest of the bunch, the 1120.  They just seemed to be more comfy than the more expensive ones.  Also, they were on sale at Dick’s so they were a good deal even compared to online prices.  Finally, PA has no sales tax on clothes so that helped too.  Anyway, no excuse to not run now.  Next on the list to buy… the Garmin Forerunner 305!

Super fuzzball

Alissa’s hair is getting longer which I thought would make her mohawk go down.  Apparently, I was wrong.  Instead of a mohawk, she now has a fuzzball.  It’s possible the water here is softer than at home and that is making her head fuzzier.  Not sure exactly… in any case, I like it.  Although, I have to admit, I’m also looking forward to the day her hair is long enough to put in some sort of girly clips.  That way, people will be less likely to mistake her for a boy.

Vacation: Day 1

Well, we made it to Clarks Summit in one piece last night.  All in all, it was a good trip.  The leg from SFO to Detroit only had one empty seat on it and we were lucky enough to be right next to it!  The flight to Scranton was completely full, but it wasn’t too bad as it was only a 90 minute flight.  Alissa was a pretty good baby for the most part, but had a few fussy moments.  Now that we’re here, we’re trying to get Alissa’s feeding schedule on east coast time so we don’t have to stay up till 1:00 am for her last feeding.

The picture above is of my cousins Anna and Christian and their twins Aidan and Chloe.  We were lucky enough to have a nice day and spent some time in the backyard before throwing some chicken and hot dogs on the grill.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures with relatives who came over to visit.  Most hadn’t yet met Alissa so it was nice to introduce them finally.  Here’s Great-grandma and my cousin Anna:

Here’s my cousin Katherine and Grandma:

Here are a couple of Anna’s little girl Chloe:

Here’s Alissa in the Baby Bjorn:

Alissa in sushi

My buddy Dennis bought Alissa this super cute onesie a while back.  She finally fits it!  Apparently, the woman who makes them sells to a few boutiques in the bay area.  I think she said she’s starting to grow her business beyond the bay area and maybe even internationally.

Mmm… deep dish pizza

I tried a new deep dish pizza crust recipe this past weekend using Kathy and Eric as my usual guinea pigs.  The first one was BBQ chicken with mozarella and parmesan cheese.  The second was fresh tomato, mozarella, and basil.  And the third was basic spaghetti sauce, mozarella, and parmesan.  Overall, they turned out ok, but I think I should have rolled out the crust more thinly.  True, it’s supposed to be deep dish, but mine were really really deep dish.  Especially the round one.  To tell you the truth, the round one was made with excess dough.  Unfortunately, there was so much excess that I actually had to dig a little out of the middle of the round one before putting the toppings on.  It was almost more like a bread bowl than a pizza.  Oops.  Oh well, live and learn.

SF zoo

We went to the zoo with our friends Brian, Clara, and Reid today.  It was super windy but we were pretty well sheltered once we got into the zoo itself.  I have to say, it’s actually a pretty nice zoo and it’s super convenient for us since we live probably less than half a mile away.  Alissa didn’t get too much out of it since she slept through most of it but I’m sure we’ll be back more than a few times once she is able to appreciate it more.  Reid seemed to enjoy it though.

I took all of these pictures with my 20D, 70-200 2.8 IS and 2x teleconverter.  I think the tiger shot was effectively a 640mm (200 x 2 x 1.6) focal length shot.  The teleconverter works pretty well but I kinda missed the shallow depth of field from shooting wide open at 2.8.  Oh well… time to start saving for the 400mm 2.8 IS lens.

More cute kids!

Bonnie’s Aunt Susan, Cousin Peter, Cousin Beverly, and her two kids Kaitlyn and Keira are in town visiting.  I took a few pics while they were here for lunch the other day.  We spent the afternoon watching cartoons and animal planet.  Might as well start getting used to it now!  Here are a few more pics:

Alissa is rolling over now!

I haven’t caught it on video yet, but Alissa has now rolled over a few times.  I think she prefers to go to the left.  Not much else is new.  We thought she was starting to go longer in between feedings, but that seems to have been a phase that has come and gone.  Oh well… as long as she’s still a happy baby!  Here are some pictures to demonstrate said happiness.

Running for Aidan

Many of you know I’m running the SF Half Marathon in July.  I was going to establish a charity to run for but I wasn’t “feeling” the ones that Cause to Run had setup.  But now, my cousin Anna and her family are going to do a walk-a-thon for The Angelman Syndrome Foundation and I thought it would be a good idea to support them.  As such, I’ve put up a widget (top right hand corner) that you can click through to support me, supporting them.  It’s super easy, they take credit card, and any amount large or small would be really appreciated.  Here’s the blurb that Anna put on the donation page:

It’s been four months since we received the diagnosis of Angelman Syndrome for Aidan, and a lot of our energy has been spent processing the news and planning and executing against his therapeutical programs.  While there’s still more to do at home, we feel ready to reach out to others, raise our own understanding of this syndrome and treatment, and raise awareness.

Just in time for the Walk-A-Thon.  What better way to get involved than an event so fun filled and impactful.  Since there is no walk in New York, we’ll be doing the walk as a family in the city of Brotherly Love and Anna’s hometown, Philadelphia. 

Please help support this worthy cause.

Anna, Christian, Chloe and Aidan

 

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support — and don’t forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Besides, look at that face!  Can you believe he has a twin sister that is just as cute?