Rocket Girl

How did you spend your Saturday? I bet your day wasn't like mine.

Monday night Julia met me at the garage door and asked, "can we build a rocket ship"? Talk about a question from left field. She had seen a play rocket ship on television and wanted to build her own so she could fly to "empty outer space". She waited patiently for my answer since I told her I needed to get in the door before discussing important matters such as space travel.

Since Stacey was leaving the house all day on Saturday for her birthday, I decided that this might be a good use of our time. Jules was very excited when I told her we would build a rocket on Saturday and kept asking about it all week. I kept talking it up too, which ended up being a problem since Friday came and I hadn't thought much about it. I had to deliver, so I decided to "go big or go home". On the way home from work on Friday I stopped by Home Depot in hopes that I could find something useful. We were always going to use aluminum foil and tape, but I needed something to make the frame with. Luckily, I found some diamond sheets and plastic ties that would work well for my Apollo 13 style rocket.

Saturday morning rolled around and at 7 a.m. Julia wanted to start the project. Between snacks and feeding Jonathan, we finished up around 3 p.m. This is one of many reasons why my blogging has tailed off a bit lately - we have no time to ourselves anymore. Instead of relaxing on the weekend I'm working multiple other jobs, in this case, as a NASA engineer. As a side note, considering recent events, I debated whether or not to include the Russian flag instead of the American flag on our rocket ship. Anyway, I think that our space vehicle stands a little under nine feet tall. Go big or go home - refrigerator boxes are for chumps.

Julia obviously loves her new toy. We blasted off into outer space many times, especially to the moon and back. When we landed in outer space, entirely on her own (probably based on what she saw on television), she started to walk funny with her arms out. I think she was trying to simulate lack of gravity. Usually the trips to the moon meant going to the office and turning the lights on and off really fast, since that's what we decided shooting stars would look like. The rocket is big enough for Stacey or me to climb inside with her. The fun part was getting inside and commencing the launch sequence that included a countdown from five and pushing some buttons before yelling "blast off!". At one point after we blasted off I tried to make engine sounds but was promptly told by Julia to stop making the noises because it didn't work that way...

The tell-all sign that Julia has had a good day is directly related to how fast, how loud, and how long she talks. After we started playing in her rocket ship, she really didn't pause to take a breath the rest of the day. I was tired and hungry, and my hands were all cut up, but this Saturday was worth it. Julia sat on my lap at dinner and wanted me to get her ready for bed - but more importantly, said she had a great "Daddy-Daughter Day".

35 Hugs And Kisses

Happy 35th Birthday Stacey! The kids and I are very fortunate to have such a caring mother and wife. You're doing such a great job juggling all of life's priorities. I hope you enjoy your day off and shopping spree! We all love you very much.

Endocrinologist Visit

This week the endocrinologist was able to fit us in for an appointment. We were scheduled to go a few weeks from now but a slot became available because someone else canceled. I left early from work and the entire family drove over together.

We gave them a full family history and answered questions from the physician's assistant and doctor. The doctor talked through some things but didn't really see any need, based on what we told him, to run any tests on Jonathan at this point. He talked about possibly running some tests in the future but for now just wants to monitor his progress. We made a follow-up for six months from now.

In his opinion, Jonathan isn't showing any signs of growth issues related to his area of expertise. Jonathan is small but appears to be normal. In this area it seems like there are some pretty clear symptoms - none of which he is showing.

We'll see where we're at in a month when we visit the gastroenterologist. Jonathan continues to grow and put on weight - hopefully it's at a fast enough rate.

A Long Wave Goodnight

I think we've been blessed with another good-natured child. Just like his sister, Jonathan doesn't fight going to bed like many other kids do. When it's time to go to bed he instead waves at the rest of the family before being carried upstairs. He starts moving his arms as soon as we tell him it's time to go ni-nights.

He never cries nor makes a fuss when we put him in his crib. What he does do, however, is roll over on his side and wave goodnight to whoever put him to bed. It's pretty funny to see an 18 month old wave goodbye and goodnight from his crib as if to say, "see you tomorrow morning".

His little personality is so fun.

Bachelor Pad No More

Two weeks ago we shipped the only remaining pieces of furniture from my bachelor days out the front door. At least they went to a good home. My inspiration for the change? Believe it or not, the movie "Little Fockers".

This is the area of the house where we live. Upstairs and the basement are definitely used, but they usually serve a specific purpose. Not only that, most guests spend time in this area of the house as well. After watching "Little Fockers" I realized that our current living room was not set up to sit more then about four to five people, the furniture and tables that had been beaten to death by the kids were too big for the area, and we couldn't really fit our Christmas tree anywhere. This room was not worthy of the memories that we have and will create in it.

We tried to throw in a modular set, but it was massive and tall and the Feng Shui was all wrong. The set blocked something no matter which way we arranged it. We lost out on the delivery cost when we sent it back, but it was definitely worth it. Having learned from our first try we settled on a much smaller profile and shorter set. We gained an additional seat by picking the right sized set, not too mention it was significantly cheaper then the first attempt. The great thing is that even though we gained an extra seat, the room feels much more open. I guess that's the advantage of buying furniture for a specific space - something we've been fortunate to do since we've moved in. Of course, it ties in well with the rest of the house.

Assuming nothing breaks and not counting something for Jonathan as he gets older, we're definitely done buying furniture now for years to come (thankfully).

Veteran's Day

A few days ago I finally received the below letter stating that I had been "honorably discharged from all appointments in the Unites States Air Force". Per Uncle Sam, I've been assigned for almost the past five years to the inactive reserve, just in case. As of a month ago I am 100% civilian again, just like you. Well, except that I can build a bomb with three batteries in the below picture and kill a man with two fingers...other then that, just like you.

I digress. It's hard to believe it's been almost five years since I put on a uniform. I guess the last thing I need to do is to clean out my closet. I can now get rid of my uniform and everything that goes with it. Actually, I'm going to save some of the key things and put them all into some sort of display case...which I'll then probably box up and put in the basement. Someday, when I'm seventy years old, I'll pull it out and tell everyone my old war stories.

Ferocious Beast

Tricks Or Treats

This year was the first time we've dressed the kids up and taken them trick or treating. Dorothy and the Lion followed the yellow brick road all the way to Toto's (aka Symba's) house.

Jonathan actually caught on, taking a piece of candy from the neighbor and putting it in his bucket. Julia was still a bit shy, but loved the bunny, stickers, and candy. Both kids were super cute and had a great time.

Best Autumn Ever

We've had record highs over the last few weeks, meaning the colors in town have been the best I've seen in the past five years. The freezing temperatures have stayed away long enough to allow the leaves to "mature". Our maple trees have been a gorgeous combination of greens, oranges, and reds. Speaking of gorgeous...

Wild Man

Put shoes on a little boy and he turns into a wild man...

This weekend Jonathan decided that he wanted to learn how to jump off of things. It first started at my parent's house, from the top of the fireplace hearth. Today he extended his platform diving show to the chair in Julia's room and the first stair on the main level. We had to remove the gate from the stairs since earlier in the day he pulled it over while trying to scale it, hurting both his head and the wood floor. One of these days he's going to catch his foot and do a face plant. For now, he's learning how to walk/jump off edges in typical boy fashion. Julia clung to the wall and went down backwards at this age. Not Jonathan. He thinks it's more fun to go flying over the edge. He's stuck the landing a few times...

I'd say Jonathan is entering my favorite age range. In a few weeks he'll be 17 months old. The next year and a half are going to be pretty entertaining. He'll start talking, will be very playful, yet will still be dependent enough to want Stacey and me. He's such a cute little guy.