Friday, March 31, 2006

Emma's Birthday


Emma celebrated her 4th birthday with a party at Chuck E. Cheese. Many of Emma's good friends from school and playgroup were there to celebrate with her. They had pizza and cake and played games for hours. There was even a special guest appearance from Chuck E. Cheese himself. Everyone had a great time and Emma can't wait for her next birthday!



Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Andy Takes NYC

Andy made his first ever trip into New York City this weekend to see The New York Rangers play the Atlanta Thrashers at Madison Square Garden. It was a Father/Son day and we joined Ted and Tige in one of the luxury suites.

We rode in on the train from Northern New Jersey and Andy loved looking out the window. He made friends with many of the other passengers too.

Unfortunately the Rangers lost the game in overtime, but Andy had a great time running the halls of MSG with Tige.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Ice Skating

Over the last couple of weeks we spent a lot of time watching the winter Olympics. Emma especially enjoyed watching the women's figure skating so I decided that it was time that I took her ice skating for the first time.

I started out by putting on her skates and making her walk down the hallway several times to get used to the feeling of the skates. Since she fell several times walking on solid surface, I knew that we were in trouble on the ice. The first time around the rink took us about 30 minutes and I picked Emma up off the ice about 423 times. However, within about an hour, Emma was making it around the ice with only my one hand to help stabilize her. She even ventured off on her own a couple of times. We both had a great time and Emma can't wait to get back out on the ice. Watch out 2018 Olympics!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Great day for Aggie Basketball


Yesterday was a huge day for Texas A&M and their men's basketball program. Last night the Aggies beat the #7 ranked Longhorns to give themselves a chance at the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. It was a tough defensive battle all night, but the Aggies came up with a 3 pointer at the buzzer to win 46-43. It was an amazing sight to see students from the sold-out crowd rush the floor in celebration. It's something I have NEVER seen in Aggie basketball.

Things turned around for A&M last year when they hired new head coach Billy Gillispie and the team went from 0-16 in the Big XII to 8-8 in one season and a trip to the NIT postseason tournament. This season they are 9-6 and poised for an NCAA tournament birth after this huge win.

Gig 'Em Aggies! BTHOtu

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Renee's 4 month check up

Well, time flies when ...?

Renee turned 4 months on Monday and saw Dr. Charlie today, so I took the 3 Turkeys for a visit. The kids were quite the hit with the nurses. Emma found a xylophone and played it loud and hard while singing (yelling) a version of a Christmas song with "angels on high and nursery miles". (I really should write down her lyrics someday.) She sang at the top of her lungs while Andy opened and closed the exam room door about 40 times. Andy flirted with the nurses playing peek-a-boo and wearing his Mardi Gras beads. Laughter is a good stress reliever.

By the time the doctor came in, the novelty of the office had worn off and Emma and Andy had to find new things to do, including leaving the room and coming back, throwing immunization cards and Renee's clothes all over the floor. While Andy was out of the room, Emma decided that's where he should stay and pushed and held the door closed... on Andy's fingers. At the same time as Renee decided she could wait no more for her bottle and started crying at the top of her lungs. All this happened in the middle of my conversation with the Doctor, who jumped up to rescue Andy and rub his hand. Then the doctor looks at me and says incredulously, "How do you do it?" I'm going to have to come up with an answer to that question some day.

So, in the midst of all that, I learned that Renee weighs 18 lbs 13 oz and is 27 1/2" long. Just like Andy, she's off the charts in all categories. The doctor predicts she will be taller than me. Renee got 2 shots, which she handled very well and will have to see a dermatologist to keep an eye on the birthmark on her ankle. She's still light enough to stay in the baby car seat, so no coats for her yet! I'm very happy about that news even though I am developing calluses from it.

On our way out, the first Turkey received a sticker and a sucker, which as soon as we left the office, got dropped in the dirt. Though I pondered dusting it off and sticking it back in her mouth, I actually used my better judgement and left it on the ground. Well, you know what happened, don't you? There were tears and proclamations of starvation so loud that people down the block turned around. When we got home we sat in the car through 3 complete Laurie Berkner songs because, God bless the legislature, the 3 Turkeys were strapped down... and so was I.