GrooveDirk: December 2006

After Xmas, Before New Years

We're back from our Christmas trip to Minnesota. It was Ian's first long roadtrip and he did pretty well. The drive to St. Paul is about 7 hours and for the first 5 or so Ian was fine. The last 2....well, not so much.

While in St. Paul we stayed with Kara's parents Bert and Judy. They did a great job decorating the house for Christmas and putting together a real feast for Christmas dinner. On Christmas Kara's brother Eric and his family came over and Ian was able to spend some time with his cousins: Alec, Jonah and Kira Rose. Ian's aunt Jane made some great alcohol-laced sweet potatoes and Judy cooked almost too many things to mention (including 4-5 different cookies, a pumpkin, and a trifle for desert). Eric's oldest friend Juan came by for a quick visit and Sam (one of Jane's oldest friends) stayed for dinner. A very nice time was had by all and Ian got lots of great presents.

We had a great visit but I was glad to be home. In our own bed. Ian did about as well coming back as he did going. Good for about 5 out of the 7 hours before he started to meltdown.

I don't remember exactly when I snapped this picture and strictly speaking the composition is off (he's too far to the right of the frame), but there's just something about it I love. Maybe it's the way he's looking away and the darkness behind him. Or the clarity of his brown eyes (just like his dad!). But for whatever reason I like it.

Here's a picture of Ian in the super stylish, musical themed track suit from my cousin Vicki and her husband Curt. It even came in a little plastic container shaped like a record. He looks great in it. It's a little big for him (the pants are a bit long), which is actually good since it means he can wear it longer.

Ian at Christmas

Here's Ian with his maternal grandparents Bert and Judy along with all his cousins: Alec, Jonah, and Kira Rose. The black blob that looks like it could be a rug is actually their dog Appa.

Professional Portraits Photos and new web album

Here are three of the professional portrait photos we had taken a few weeks ago. We got a lot of pictures taken (all in the course of 15 minutes) and ordered several prints, but these are the three pictures where we purchased the digital files allowing us to print our photos, post them here on the blog, etc. We know two of the pictures are very similar, but we just couldn't pick one over the other. The third picture is now our "official" family portrait.

We were very happy with the whole experience and the pictures taken and would definitely recommend the photographer, Tricia Koning, to anyone in Chicago looking for professional photos. It wasn't exactly cheap, but it's not like we are going to do this all the time (though it seemed some of the people there were doing EXACTLY that). Her email is tkoning@sbcglobal.net.

I use Google's Picasa for all my photo organizing and highly recommend it. They just added a new feature called "Web Albums" which allows you to post a large number of photos on a special webpage. I know it's nothing special or unique, but it's so convenient they way they have it tied into the program--much like this blogging feature (I probably would have never started this blog if it wasn't integrated into Picasa). Anyway if you'd like to see a bunch of photos of Ian without my notes, comments and musings...Ian ala carte if you will, goto the appropriately named...(wait for it)...Ian's Pictures at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GrooveDirk/IanSPictures

And enjoy!

Random Acts of Cuteness

New pics of Ian

Here are some candids of Ian taken over the last few weeks. The pic with Kara was taken just this morning. Also speaking of pictures this past weekend we went and had some professional family portraits taken. Once they are ready we'll let you know where to take a look at them. We're planning on using one of them for Xmas cards. That's probably kinda corny, but we don't care.

Other important (and not so important) news: 1). Kara goes away on business this week leaving me and the boy alone for 3 nights. 2). Ian's got a bunch of teeth now. Four on the bottom and three on the top. 3). He's been eating some foods on his own and can drink out of his sippy cup on his own (though he does tend to drop it alot). 4). He can pull himself up to standing position if he has something to hold onto and can sit up on his own. That's it for now.

Ian with Nancy

Here's Ian playing with our (and his) friend Nancy Kramer.

More new pictures of Ian

Here's Ian on his bed (which he probably won't actually be sleeping in for years) playing with his stuffed Totoro toy.

Here's Ian at his first Thanksgiving dinner. We kept things modest this year and just had a small relaxing dinner with the three of us. Ian even had a little bit of turkey.

Basement Remodel-Basement Bathroom pics

Here's some pics of the basement spa bathroom. It's got a fancy sink along with a Toto washlet equipped toilet, but the highlight is the large steam shower. It's got a massive 2-3 person bench and multiple shower heads. It came out great. Check the towel warmer by the shower door. So not only do our guests have their own bathroom downstairs, but it's much nicer than our's upstairs!

Basement Remodel-Family room pics

Here are couple of pics of the family room. There's a little sitting area next to the kitchenette (not shown), which has a microwave, toaster, kettle, sink, and more. The far corner (not shown) will have a nice new 42" HDTV (being delivered later today!) hooked up to the tivo and a stereo.