Potty Training Breakthrough

I'd say we had a breakthrough - Jules went numero dos 10 times today! We're talking the real deal, not rabbit pellets. That seems excessive so I hope she wasn't holding it or was having issues. It's such a positive experience for her though that I can't fully discount the fact that she ate a lot the past day or two (fact) and just wants to please Mommy and Daddy. At any rate, today she asked and practically pooped on demand (we're talking 2 minutes or so). She was so excited that she ran out of the bathroom tonight with her undies and PJs around her ankles to tell me. I guess we'll have to teach her that part too. One step at a time...

Hampster Dance in the Backyard

On the way home from the hospital I stopped by Pioneer and got a truckload of gorilla hair for the backyard. Technically I think this stuff is Washington cedar but anyone familiar with the look and function of this mulch knows why it's called by that name. I put some down on the side of the house and it looks great. We had some severe (and I mean severe - it ripped the gate of the hinges) wind the same night I laid it down and it didn't move an inch. It looks great - much better then rock in my opinion. In the next few days I'll make some holes in the mulch and set some walking stones up the side of the house so I can get to the water spigot, when needed. Although only functional, we'll be getting some window well safety covers for the kids too. Probably the best part about the mulch is the smell. About all I'm missing is a giant water bottle hanging upside down from the fence and a wheel...

The nursery also delivered and planted the Autumn Blaze Maple we purchased. It's the third of its kind on our lot. Since we have aspens and a cottonwood in the neighbor's yards (they turn yellow in the fall) we went for red. In addition, these guys grow really fast. Soon it will block most of the house behind us. Right now it's far from full since the leaves are just coming in. In a few weeks it won't look as Charlie Brown as it does now. You can see this tree out the back door all the way from the front door. It's positioned to where it will always be visible from the main area of the house. Space limitations not withstanding, I would have preferred the branches to start much lower like they do on the tree in the front yard. However, the current height allows for traffic immediately under the tree so it doesn't take up any yard space. Eventually it will get wider as it grows...I won't be trimming it narrow like nurseries do to maximize the number of trees they can cram into each row.

We're really getting close now...if only the weather would start feeling more like spring. We had a few minutes of snow again today and we may get a dusting in the early morning hours tonight. Rule 1 in Colorado: don't plant flowers until a week or two into May.

The Baby Name Game

Two letters are missing...can you guess the name of our baby boy? We are going to call him by his full name - hold the shortening. Post your guesses. First correct person wins. I'll give you a hint: it's not Aonzjhts.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ David Sudduth

32nd Birthday

Hmm....well, today I'm 32 years old. For most people their 32nd birthday isn't an interesting one. Mine kind of was in a weird sort of way.

First, I woke up this morning to snow on the ground. Seriously, it's almost May and it's still snowing. I don't commit everything in my life to memory, but I can't remember the last time it actually snowed on my birthday. I guarantee that it didn't happen in Washington, California or Hawaii, so if it has happened in the past it was at least 10 years ago. Maybe my parents can remember a year growing up when it snowed on my birthday. Of course, being Colorado, the snow had melted by lunchtime.

Second, I got two jib jab e-cards both from my immediate family. Not only had I never heard of nor received a jib jab e-card before today, but I got two in the same day from Michelle and my parents. All I can say is that both were funny and yet a bit disturbing...one involved talking/suicidal eggs that ended up in my birthday cake, and the other, my dad and my mom's head on top of disco dancing bodies. I suggest you check out their line of e-cards - much better then Hallmark! I also received a call from Stacey's Dad, which was a nice touch.

Third, Stacey made dinner tonight and decorated but it ended abruptly with an hour-long session of "poop on the potty". I ate the rest of my chicken standing up outside the kid bathroom upstairs. Julia is still struggling to go numero dos in the potty even thought numero uno is a breeze. So, since she's now wearing underwear she'll just hold it until it's visibly painful to everyone. At dinner she let out another little cry and squirm. So, between our birthday dinner and birthday dessert/card opening (Stacey and Julia both made me a card), we coached, instructed, and made Julia sit on the potty until she finally went. It took an hour, but afterward the party continued. This may sound mean, but when it's completely obvious to everyone that she really has to go and is in pain from holding it (but will go in about 2 minutes as soon as we put on a diaper), this was a battle worth fighting. The timing was just bad. My hope is that after a few times of doing this she'll get over whatever is causing her to hold it (fear, familiarity, comfort, etc) and it won't be a big deal. It's just something we need to get past.

So, in addition to work I can say that this was a pretty routine yet still interesting day. Despite everything it made me thankful for a roof over my head, a good job, and a loving family.

Crunch Time

Well, the results this weekend went pretty much as expected. Spurs lost to Manchester United, City gained 1 point, and Villa and Liverpool both won their matches. The race for 4th place is tighter then ever with 2-3 games left to play.

This past weekend, while putting in the sprinkler heads and lines in the backyard, Matt and I talked about the different scenarios and tried to figure out what might happen this weekend (the second to the last weekend of play). Or, to put it another way, what was the ideal result(s) that would give our team the best chance to end up in 4th place come the end of the season.

While I was in the shower this morning I came to my final decision on how things will break down this weekend. Spurs v Bolton and City v Villa are both being played at 8 a.m. on Saturday. I concluded that the result most beneficial to Spurs in the other game really depends on what happens in the Spurs match...and vice versa.

For example, if Spurs win then the best result in the other match is a Villa win. That would keep Spurs in 4th place on GD with a game in hand against Villa and 4 points clear of their next opponent, City. Essentially, that simple combination would mean that Spurs' next match against City would be irrelevant and they would only have to win their final game to take 4th place. Liverpool wouldn't factor into the equation even if they won their remaining 2 matches. If Spurs only get a point this weekend then the ideal result in the other game is also a draw. That would keep the advantage in the Spurs camp and with a draw against City and a win in their final game, 4th place.

So, since I'll be rooting for a Spurs win by default I'll be watching that game first. Here's hoping for a Spurs and Villa victory this Saturday.

Silly Putty

I love silly putty. Josh was given a physical therapy variant of silly putty to help rehabilitate his hand. In between uses I play with it at work. A week ago Josh made the comment that when he leaves it on his desk it's usually a blob by the time he gets back. So, last Tuesday I rolled it into a nice ball and set it on the tip of the coolest shape I could find in my cubicle. At first the ball descended quickly. The next day it was already half way down the stein. However, we had to wait another 6-7 days (essentially a week from the start) until it oozed all the way down.

This was a good office distraction. People kept checking up on the progress in between their duties. I think it's pretty cool that you can see the design of the stein through the silly putty. Don't worry, the shot of the stein without the silly putty was taken afterward. It all came off.

Home Security

On Saturday we have an ADT installation tech coming over to our house to upgrade our system and turn on their montoring service. We've lived in our current house for the past 3 years without an active system. Since we now have children, the house outfitted, projects almost complete, etc, I felt like it was a good time to sign up for the $34 a month service.

We don't have issues with burglaries in our neighborhood as far as I can tell, so I'm not too worried about it. But then again, most of the houses in our area have alarm signs on their front lawn. In the end though, it was the proper thing to do even if it's just a deterrent. There are other issues that are addressed with this system too, such as fire, police, and emergency services. For example, if we're out of town and a fire breaks out, the fire department will be called immediately (via the smoke detector and system) to minimize the damage. In the end I think it's a small price to pay for an added layer of protection. With the keychain remote we'll also be able to contact the authorities at any time with a push of a button if we suspect someone's in the house. As long as we have the remote on our nightstand at night we don't have to move or get involved and can exit the house from upstairs.

Even if you don't have an alarm, there are other things to think about. A few weeks ago a friend from church had their house broken into. The thief didn't take any valuables or electronics. He took their tax returns, social security cards, etc. This is, in my opinion, another big issue to consider. Where and how you store your important papers. Stacey's late grandmother gave us a portable fire safe. Obviously it won't protect against theft (insert Jeff Foxworthy number here), but it will preserve our documents in case of a fire. However, after hearing what happened to our friend's house, it dawned on me that I should probably safeguard our documents. Instead of keeping everything with sensitive information on it in the most obvious location (e.g. neatly labeled in the filing cabinet in the office), I'd recommend hiding it in a non-obvious or very secure location in your house. For me, I will be moving them from neatly labeled folders in the office to somewhere not that obvious. After all, I'll probably only access them once a year. Additionally, I've password protected the computers. On the computer with sensitive information I've turned on the firewall and encrypted the entire home folder. If you have information on your laptop, that's another easy target for physical theft (and other kinds of non-physical theft that you all already know about). Someone could still take my laptop, but unless they are a trained hacker (or know someone who is), chances are they won't be able to use or access it. At the very least, it might buy me enough time to contact the right people.

Yesterday I passed a truck with a bumper sticker that said "Home Security System - Buy A Gun". I've thought through this issue and decided not to bother with this approach. Not only will it require a large additional expense, but if I ever purchased a gun it would probably just collect dust in the safe. Regarding home protection, I have concluded that the costs and benefits about cancel each other out. The likelihood of someone coming into our house with the intent to actually use a firearm against us is very low indeed. In fact, I would argue that if an intruder enters a house with a gun, they are much more likely to use it against a family member if the home owner pulls out their own weapon. That is, it will only escalate the situation unnecessarily. The best approach is to just to get out of the house. 99.9% of the time intruders aren't there to kidnap or shoot someone...that is, unless you threaten them with your own weapon. Additionally, there is a minor but important issue of having a gun in the house with kids, although that can easily be overcome with locks and training. A final issue to consider with guns is accessibility. If the firearm is locked in a safe in your bedroom or basement, it does no good if you can't access it when you need it. That is, if you're having dinner on the main floor and someone comes in, you can't exactly tell him to wait there while you run and unlock the safe. If you do have time to access a gun, as I've mentioned already, you're probably better off leaving the house then starting a firefight. Or, at the very least, if family members are scattered throughout the house, approaching them in a non-threatening way. Point is, practically, financially, and probabilty speaking, this really isn't the best approach for us.

All in all, nothing is completely foolproof. Usually, the perpetrator is a neighborhood kid or like character. I think these measures are appropriate, sensible, and should cover us for the vast majority of break-ins - if it ever happens at all. Statistically speaking, I think we'll be covered. In the end, I really don't care about the stuff in the house. Hopefully, after these things, all that will be available for the taking will be the TVs.

CU Boulder On Tuesday

Even when I went to school there I had no idea how big this really was. I guess that's what happens when you hang out with the Christian ROTC crowd.

It's unbelievable that this happens on University property. For obvious reasons I never attended, don't approve, nor have ever tried any kind of drug...but this is just too staggering not to post. The AP article that alerted me to this content on the internet estimated the crowd at 12,000-15,000 people.

My apologies for some of the song lyrics.

Backyard Edging

What's more boring then watching grass grow? Probably seeing pictures of the edging that surrounds it. Even though pictures aren't that exciting, it's exciting for me to see in person because now that it's in, it allows me to visualize the yard.

I added some curves to our otherwise square lot to compliment the patio and to soften the edges. The white flag in a few of the shots is where the tree will be planted a week from today. We'll do the sprinklers this weekend...which means we're probably only weeks away from being done! Of course, the fun stuff like flowers and furniture will come later, but the work will be complete.

Patio Helper

Backyard Marathon

Boy am I pooped! I worked from 7 to 5 in the backyard today. Although it doesn't look like I did much, I worked pretty hard.

First and foremost I cleaned out the backyard. From the patio project there were a lot of stones and a massive pile of dirt just sitting in the middle of the yard. I picked up all of the stone pieces and distributed the dirt pile throughout the rest of the yard. In the end, it was probably good I reused the dirt to level out the slope away from the house.

In the afternoon I tackled the stairs. They took longer then necessary, but it was mainly due to the fact that I was experimenting with paint colors. In the end I went with all gray. Any area of white was too much of an attention-getter...and quite frankly, the last thing I want to see are the stairs. Since I painted it the same color of the house it kind of blends in and you don't notice it. Eventually we'll add some color, but the stairs weren't the place to do it. I went with the composite treads for wear and maintenance. I hope they last a long time. The stairs turned out well but not perfect, which is why they needed to be hidden. The patio needs to be the focal point anyway.

So, during the week I'll put down the landscape edging in preparation for the grass and mulch. We're getting really close to finishing the major aspects of the backyard....

Tottenham 2, Chelsea 1

I can't believe it. Spurs convincingly beat league leaders Chelsea today regaining the 4th spot in the league. Not only that, but Manchester United did us a favor and beat Manchester City with a goal in the last minute of their match. In the span of 4 days Spurs knocked off two of the best teams in England (and possibly Europe) and regained control of the final Champions League spot.

With 4 matches to go we now control our own fate. If Liverpool win out, they'll finish with 68 points. That means we'll only need to pick up 4 points from our remaining 4 games (that include opponents Bolton and Burnley) to stay level with them. Next up, City travel to Arsenal and host Villa and we travel to United and host Bolton before the big showdown between the two teams on May 5. We are in a very strong position now regardless of what happens next week at Old Trafford.

Just like in Wednesday's game against Arsenal, Chelsea scored a late consolation goal. For most of the match we controlled everything and after we went up 2-0 I never once thought we were going to lose or draw the match. Bale and Gomes were fantastic again and our defense (2nd best in the league at home) shut them down.

I don't want to get too excited since Spurs have historically found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. However, things couldn't have gone any better for us in the past few days. We still have a long way to go yet, but after this week confidence is sky high.

Potty Training, Day 1

Stacey and Julia are camping out over the next few days in attempt to potty train Julia and all of her stuffed animals. We've switched to undies for Julia, and, at her request, all of her stuffed animals too. So far this morning we've had a few accidents and a few sucesses for Julia (and some trips to the bathroom for the stuffed animals). Here's hoping.

Tottenham 2, Arsenal 1

I can hardly catch my breath. After 11 years of not beating our arch rivals Arsenal in the league, we finally won today 2-1. By all accounts, this game will be remembered by Tottenham Hotspur fans for decades to come. Not only was this the first time we've beaten them since 1999, but what makes this even more special is what was as stake and who/how we scored the goals.

Apparently, today was only 2 days shy of the 100th anniversary that these two teams have been playing each other. Arsenal entered the game in a battle for the league title and Spurs for the final Champions League spot (4th place). It was such a big game that I took a 2 hour lunch to watch it. I won't go into all of the history and animosity between the two clubs, but let's just say this is the biggest game of the season every year for Spurs fans no matter what is at stake. After all, these two north London rivals are only separated by about 5 miles.

So, with their arch rivals "gunning" for the title and Spurs desparate to gain points from their next 3 games, enter Danny Rose. Danny Rose is 19 years old and this was his first ever start for Tottenham. His first start probably couldn't have been on a bigger stage. From a corner kick, the Arsenal goalie punched the ball about 20 feet into the air and 25 yards out. With his left foot, in full stride, Rose hit a 69 mph (it was clocked) rocket out of the air into the back of the net only 9 minutes into his first game. Unbelievable. As a player you dream about scoring goals like this. The fans went nuts. You absolutely have to see this goal regardless if you're a fan or not:

Danny Rose Wonder Goal

This could be a candidate for Top 10 goals of the season. A few minutes into the second half, Bale, our best player in recent months scored to put us up 2-0. Arsenal scored a late consolation goal, but Spurs hung on for the victory. I also need to mentioned Gomes (our goalie) who was absolutely amazing tonight. Within the space of a couple minutes he made 3 world class saves, 2 on great shots by Van Persie.

I was hoping for 2 points at the most over our next 3 games against the top 3 teams in the league, so these 3 points vault us right back into the hunt for 4th place. We probably ended Arsenal's title hopes and continue their streak of another season without a trophy. Happy days for Spurs fans after the dominating performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth on Sunday where we somehow lost. We're still in this thing!

Sweeter Then Candy

Last night Julia took a bath. I relieved Stacey of life guard duty and sat next to the tub while Julia played with her bath toys. After a few minutes Julia asked to wash my hands with her washcloth. I obliged and she started to wipe them down. While washing my hands she noticed that I had an "owie" on both hands from working outside. She asked me "what happen" so I told her. After I told her she let out a big "awwwwwww" and stuck her lower lip out to express her sympathies. Talk about cute. The more interesting thing though was that I couldn't tell if she was being serious or if she was doing that because she knew it was cute. It's hard to explain, but after the first time it was almost as if she knew what she was doing. Maybe I think that because she laughed with me as I laughed at her sticking out her lower lip. It was almost like she was flirting/playing around. Hmm...I hope not.

The Patio Is Done!

Today Matt and I finished the patio!

Throughout the week I prepped everything so that Matt and I could finish cutting the shapes around the exterior of the patio. Because I decided to make the pattern run 45 degrees from the house, we had to make a lot of cuts to finish it out.

The family left the cabin at 7 a.m. so that I could rent the 14 inch diamond blade wet saw required for this part of the project when they opened. After we found an outlet in the living room that wouldn't pop the GFI (the circuit in the garage wouldn't work), we started cutting (at about 10 a.m.). Luckily we didn't take too many breaks and Stacey picked us up lunch...because I made back to the rental place 7 minutes before they closed at 4 p.m. We made our last cuts with just a few minutes to spare. I let Matt run the saw and I marked some cuts but spent most of my time hammering in the pavers and making sure everything looked and fit correctly. Quite frankly, I knew he could make better cuts that I could.

After I got home I dumped a wheelbarrow full of sand on the patio and brushed it into the gaps between each paver. After awhile I got out the hose, got the area and remaining sand really wet, and shuffled my feet for about 15 minutes all around the patio. This made all of the sand settle and pack into the gaps as much as possible. I will probably need to make a second pass in the near future with more sand as the current layer settles and works its way down the gaps. The second time I'll use finer sand that will fill better. The coarser concrete sand that I also used on the base provides a better lock since the grains aren't round but doesn't fill as smoothly.

The structure is literally rock solid when I walk on it. It looks great and it should last for years. I'm going to paint the cement area between the patio and the siding and need to build the stairs (and paint them too), but for all intents and purposes the major phase and cornerstone of our backyard is complete. It only took 2 intelligent, strong young men 5-6 full days to complete. I say "only" as if it were easy.

When I finished I let out a big yell. This was a fun but really big project - one I hope I won't have to do again in the near future.

Backyard Sprinkler System

Last night I dug the trench from the water supply/valves under the fence and to the backyard. It wasn't difficult even though I had my headlamp on for the last hour or so.

This morning I took the fam to Home Depot and bought everything I needed to add another zone on to the existing system. Everything works great. I have water gushing out of the end of hose in the backyard and no leaks. Of course, it only has water flowing when zone 4 is on - which is a good thing.

Tomorrow Matt and I hope to finish the patio and stairs. If we can accomplish that, the next step will be to put down edging so we can rock all of the exterior edges of the backyard.

You're Killin' Me Smalls

You're Killin' Me Smalls, Whatchu Talkin' Bout?, Butterfly & Eskimo Kisses

Race For 4th

After the games this weekend: advantage Manchester City. We lost to Sunderland in a game we needed to win. Liverpool drew with Birmingham, a difficult team, also missing their chance to gain an advantage.

The long and the short of it is that City and Spurs have some difficult games coming up while Liverpool and Villa have an easier run in to the final two games of the season. With only 5-6 games left, this morning I projected each team's points in their remaining games up to the penultimate round in the league.

In summary, City should be slightly ahead of everyone else. City and Spurs will drop a lot of points but I wouldn't be surprised if Spurs are still within 3 points of the current leaders for 4th place. To add complexity, Liverpool has the easiest schedule of the 4. I fully expect them to pick up 7-9 points vaulting them right back into the mix. Villa could slip, but they could also concievably pick up enough points to be within a game of everyone else as well.

So, it's looking like the race for 4th place could be essentially even going into the last 2 games for each of the 4 teams. Each team's last match should gain them 3 points. Coincidently, the second to the last match for each team sees them playing each other or the current league leaders. Bottom line, I think the race for 4th will be decided on May 1st and May 5th - within the same week. It should be very exciting if this happens. Even if it doesn't, it'll still be exciting since nothing this season has played out as planned.

Easter 2010

Considering it snowed last year on Easter, I couldn't really complain this year. We had a good church service in the morning and then Julia and I watered the trees and bushes before lunch. After nap time we went over to Umpa Oma's for Easter dinner. You're never too young or old to get an Easter basket!

Short And Sassy

Julia's hair now matches her personality. Her hair was getting pretty long and ratty in the back again, so I got out my scissors. She needed some sass in the back. I tried to go for the short and fun yet manageable look (as much as possible without cutting too much hair off). Let's be honest, it's still growing in so there's only so much I could do. I'm also not a professional and 2 year olds squirm. I think it's super cute regardless. The best part is no one got cut and it didn't end in tears.

30 Weeks

We're getting close. Stacey's checkups will be every 2 weeks from now on.