Happy Girls

Happy Birthday Ali!

With two kids of my own now, I can imagine how happy Mike and Pat Carr were 30 years ago, when Ali was born. I've only known her for eight years, but I've known since the day I met her that she loves life. At first I didn't believe that anyone could be so friendly and happy and eager to get to know people. When my good friends Heidi and Jamie met her, they thought she was being sarcastic and was poking fun at them. But as it turns out, Ali is that happy and genuine and nice. She just is. And she means it. But, she's human and has her limits (I'm looking at you Ms. Alaska Congeniality runner-up!). I love her empathy and I love her conviction. I love that her excitement for life is contagious with the kids, and that she also reminds them that others aren't always as fortunate as we are. I'm lucky to know her and to have her as my partner. Happy Birthday, Ali!

Here's Ali in 2002 when we flew out to California to visit her aunt and uncle Kate and Bob, and my grandparents:

This is one of my favorite picture of Ali, giving me a goofy look, in our old house downtown:


Here we are downtown, celebrating Ali's 25th birthday:


Celebrating our first anniversary in October 2003 in Shenandoah National Park:


Coy Ali in early 2004:


In Venice, Italy, 2004:

Capri Italy, 2004:

Rome, Italy, 2004:


Here we are in Califoria again, in 2006: Ali looking radiant as a new mom:

Here we are early this year en route to California to see my grandparents and visit Disneyland:


In Bermuda on a scooter exploring the island:


And here's Ali, just a few weeks ago, as the kids got ready for their first day of school and her first day back at work. I'm so proud of you, Ali!

Go Ali! (aka Mommy)

Congratulations to Ali on running her 5K race this morning! We're all so proud of you!! They haven't posted the official results yet, but just from my observation, she was easily in the top 25 percent of finishers.


Here's Jake helping Mommy stretch before the race:

Jefferson

This is a picture of the kids sitting on the spot where I proposed to Ali on her birthday in 2001. Ali surprised me for our anniversary this year by taking and framing this picture, which I now have sitting on my desk at work. It's one of my favorite spots in DC (especially in the fall, after the tourist season), even though there are a lot more security barricades now.

Interesting tidbit: When Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. When I was 33 I wrote a blog entry about Thomas Jefferson. Guess that's why he has that Memorial.

October 12, 2002

Happy Birthday Ali/Mommy!

We had a fun fun birthday weekend. On Saturday, we had breakfast at Ben's Chili Bowl in the old 'hood, and then did some shopping downtown. Then Mimi and Grandpa watched the kids while Ali and I scooted back downtown to catch the Hopper exhibit, a pit stop at Brasserie Beck and then dinner at Central (when you don't get out much, you have to cram a lot in). All three got thumbs up from both of us. Brasserie Beck is a really cool space with a great looking menu and about 150 Belgian beers to choose from. Dinner at Central was really great. Ali got the lobster "burger" - a patty of big chunks of lobster held together with scallop mousse, on a homemade brioche bun with a thin round of crisp potato to give it some crunch. I ordered the Pied de Cochon, aka trotters, aka pig's feet. They take the meat out, saute it with aromatics and mushrooms, then cure it like a sausage. Then to prepare it, they take it out of the casing, put a light batter on it, and deep fry it. It was served on top of some amazingly creamy mashed potatoes and a mustard sauce. I think we were both more impressed with this dish than the lobster burger. Pig's feet - who knew?

Sunday, we hiked around Teddy Roosevelt island (see pics here) and then had lunch at Eammon's, the Dublin Chipper, to satisfy Ali's request to do something Irish on her birthday. We had a delicious dinner at my folks last night and then this morning I went in to get my cholesterol checked. I'm not kidding. Breakfast at Ben's was probably enough to tip the scales, nevermind the fried cod and french fries at Eammon's. Oh well.

Update

I know, I know-- it's been almost a week since my last post. If I didn't have two tiny kids, finding time to blog would be easy. But, the topics would probably be centered around food or news or.....hmm, what did we do before kids?? I think we had some interests and hobbies, but it's fuzzy now. Right before Sadie was born, we met a Mom at Cherry Hill park who had two little ones about two years apart (maybe five and three). Ali asked how she was doing and the Mom said it was really hard the first year. So far, her story checks out:

It's hard.

Fun, but hard.

I think Ali would back me up on that.

I finally uploaded some new pictures to the Flickr site (see Photo section) and more photos of the airshow (see below) will be coming shortly.

My homecoming was so nice. I got back from Orlando on Friday morning, and Ali and the kids arrived about an hour later. Jake was so happy to see me and that felt so good. We played and played and goofed around all day. Sadie was happy too, but she' such a happy baby. She's already smiled more than Jake has in his two years. But over the next few days and nights, Jake showed us his rebellious side a little bit. I think he was either upset at me for leaving for a week, or just going through "terrible two" stuff. We had a talk Saturday night before bed, after he refused to put on his PJs, and things seemed to go better after that. It's hard to tell what he understands at this age, but I told him it was ok to be upset and that I missed him too all week, and then he quietly walked over and picked up his PJs that he'd thrown across the room and asked me to put them on.

The next day we got up early and went to the Andrews Air Force Base open house. I used to go with my Dad and I couldn't wait to take Jake. He is still a little young, but he seemed impressed with all the planes and helicopters. I think he might have been most impressed with the bus ride from the parking lot to the show, but that's ok. We ate Italian and Polish sausages under the wing of a Navy transport plane as we watched some acrobatic planes do their tricks.

Later that day we had a nice visit with my folks, and played Bocce ball on the front lawn and grilled burgers for dinner. I didn't get any pictures that day, but I did get a request for some shots of the proud (paternal) grandparents, so here's one from my birthday earlier this month:

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there, especially Ali, Pat and Carol!

Both kids slept in a little bit, so that was a nice present. Jake helped me cook breakfast for Mommy, but he insisted that it was her birthday. He wasn't buying the "Mother's Day" thing. We had a really nice morning and now we're off to Gravelly Point to kick the soccer ball around and watch planes takeoff.

Yesterday we went to Burke Lake Park and rode a 1/3 scale train. Here we are in front of the engine. More pictures coming soon.

Sadie's first baby shower

Ali and Sadie just left to go to our friend Stacey's baby shower. Stacey and Mike are expecting a little girl in a about a month. I just had to take a picture of Ali and Sadie - they both looked so cute (the theme for the party is pink).

Easter Weekend at the Lake

We're down at Smith Mountain Lake for Easter weekend with Ali's family. It's chilly, but beautiful with all the tree blossoms. Ali and I took Jake over to the state park where they had live bunnies and an easter egg hunt right on the edge of the lake:

Here's Jake and Poppi coloring eggs. Jake was more interested in coloring his hands a nice shade of blue. And here's Gram and Poppi with Jake and Sadie.

Leave it to Beaver

Today we tested out the family model that was pretty popular in this country up until about the time Ali and I were kids. In 1980, just half of married moms worked outside the home. By 1999, the number rose to 70 percent. The number is probably higher these days, but Google has let me down and I can't find more recent statistics just now.

In any case, Ali's first day at home with the kids went off without a hitch. She made a game out of cleaning Jake's jelly-fingered smudges off the windows, and then took everyone to the park to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. When I pulled into our driveway I saw little Jake look up from his tricycle, excited to see me (well, probably more excited to see the scooter), and Ali cuddling Sadie in the warm sun. I'm sure Ali's day had its hiccups, but the scene I came home to beat anything from Leave It to Beaver. For one thing, there was no Eddie Haskell around. And for another, everything was in color. Black and white just can't capture spring buds on the trees.

I've got Sadie on my lap now, and we've been talking about her future, the Wizards future, our future family dinners -- anything to lull her to sleep. Sadie's a good listener. She makes eye contact to let me know she's paying attention, and she hardly ever interrupts. Ali's upstairs hopefully catching up on some sleep from last night. The house is quiet, the windows are open to let the breeze in, and the neighborhood dogs aren't barking. It's pretty much all a guy could ask for.

Chez Ali

We don't get out to eat as much as we used to, but we still love reading restaurant reviews and keeping tabs on what our favorite chefs are up to. If Tom Sietsema dined at our house tonight he would have had to award three stars to the meal Ali prepared. Jake and I came in from our evening trampoline jumping activites and were treated to Shrimp and Orzo with Feta, a perfect complement to a beautiful spring day. Warm rosemary focaccia was the accompaniment. The ambiance was just right, and the service was impeccable. I plan to dine at this establishment often.

This drive was different

OK, we're relaxing in our room waiting for the action to start. I don't think I'm supposed to be using this blackberry but I just read a study from Canada that said all those prohibitions on cell phones were bogus - that they interfered with hospital equipment as much as chewing gum does.

Anyway, this drive to the hospital was much different than last time. We talked about the rainy weather, our excitement, our family trying to get the baby's name out of us, etc. When we were on our way to the hospital to have Jake, the conversation was a lot different: "WHY ARE YOU DRIVING SO FAST!? ARE YOU TRYING TO HIT EVERY POTHOLE IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA?!"

Here she comes!

Ali had a checkup today and everything looks great and we're going in tomorrow morning at 7am for an induction! Well, Ali's getting inducted. But not like a Hall of Famer. I should say induced. Don't worry, this does not invalidate all the March 16th guesses. We didn't decide until a few hours ago, so it's still a surprise to you, our loyal readers.

My mental state is:

20% tired from Ali's tossing and turning

60% excited
5% nervous
15% curious about Jake's reaction

Ali's mental state is:
80% tired of being pregnant
90% excited
40% nervous
75% curious about Jake's reaction

I know Ali's numbers don't add up to 100% but I didn't want to be the one to tell her.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes. Keep your fingers crossed for us tomorrow over your coffee and donuts. But, be careful not to spill your coffee with those crossed fingers. Youch!

Still waiting...

Ali's contractions settled down a bit, so I'm at work now. Luckily, cousin Katilyn is with Ali today to keep her company and to drive her to the hospital if necessary. I drove the scooter in to work just in case I need to make a quick getaway. "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." - Guess the movie or click here for the answer

Due date

Today's the day. Ali's having some contractions this morning, but we're waiting to see how consistent they are before I decide to go into work or not. The probability of a baby being born on his or her due date is somewhere between 3 and 5 percent. Jake was born on his due date, so the combined odds of two babies being born on their respective due dates would be somewhere between 0.9 and 2.5 percent. Not very likely, but Ali did win $200 on the first quarter she ever put into a slot machine. Stay tuned....

Ali's last day

Here's Ali on her way to work last Friday. Do you smile like that on your way to work? How about when you're nine months pregnant? Ali's amazing, isn't she? I don't want to get too sappy here, but I sure am proud of this girl. She's the best mom and the best wife a kid and husband could ask for.

The last weeks of a pregnancy seem to be the hardest, but Ali's doing great. The closest comparison I can think of is our recyclables bin. I carry that thing out every Thursday night and sometimes it's pretty heavy (newspapers, bottles of champagne, etc) but I sure am glad to put it down and come back inside. So I guess it must be like carrying around the recyclables bin all the time, chasing after a big recyclables truck that never stops. Speaking of cool jobs, that guy seems to have it made. He doesn't have to get up as early as the garbage man, gets to hear that smashy-glass sound all day, and is probably a lot more popular with his friends now that Al Gore's movie is winning Oscars. I think I got off on a tangent here. In summary, "Go Ali!".