Papa == Good Food

Tif & Kian are back from Korea, with tons of stories. One of them being that when Tif or Brian tell Kian, "Say Hello!" in Korean he waves at them. Yeah... my 18 month old grandson knows Korean. :)

Anyway - the point of this post. Tif said that they ate out quite a bit while they were there; and a number of times in some pretty good places. They were in an Italian place eating pasta and Kian took a bite, then looked around and said "Papa?". Brian said, "What did he say?", and Tif said "He's looking for my dad." Apparently this wasn't the only time that happened.

Yup... that's my grandkid. "Hey... this is pretty good food... Papa must have made it." Or maybe it was "Hey this is good, I bet Papa would like it." Whatever it was, when he eats good food he thinks of me. AWESOME :)

Kian 6 month pics

We were down at Tif's for Kian's 6 month birthday. First eating of a banana. Yeah... not everyone may enjoy food smeared all over a baby's face... but I think its very cute. :)

You can check out all the pics.

The Biker Pea - Bad to the Bone

PeaBaby's first "ride" on a Harley. OK... so we didn't actually move, but it was on so he "felt the rumble!" He told me he can't wait till he's old enough to go for an actual ride!

Kian Pics

Uploaded some pictures of Kian. Birth through our last trip down there in Sept.

Work hard, play hard.

We were down in AZ last weekend. Kian's one month birthday. How cool. He's such a cutie and it was go good to go down and see Tif, Brian and him. I am extremely blessed that I can work off-site. We went down Friday, got there that evening and stayed till Tuesday. Didn't get off as early as I had hoped, and ended up getting home about midnight that night - then up at 5:00 the next morning for work and had tons to get caught up on. Worked remotely - but there is a lot going on right now so had to do numerous meetings.

And then this week I've got quite a bit going on, meetings, getting some deliverables caught up, and then it is off to DC the following week.

My boss, Hans went to UofA in Tuscon, and suggested we go to eegees, so we did. Very good. Had a lemon eegee and the pastrami sandwich. Yum.

Anyway - been busy and lots going on, so not much blogging of late. Expect it to be a very busy week this week - then like I said, off to DC. Leave Monday and get home late Thur - and Fri morning (7 AM) we leave for a bike rally in 4 corners. I think there are 14 of us going! We are going with some friends and they are setting it all up, so I don't know the exact details. Staying in a condo - so I don't think I'll have internet which means no connectivity for several days. How weird.

Anyway - its all good.

Firsts...

So the Pea and I are watching the National Collegiate Paintball Championship semi-finals... because hey, his Dad is totally into sports, and I'm an ex paintball competitor (yes... I have a few trophies to prove it), so who knows. Anyway, we are watching the championships. Well mostly he is sleeping, but once in a while he wakes up.

I'm a little sweaty, because even with air conditioning its a bit warm here and I have this 6 lbs of warm snuggly human all curled up against me. He is mostly laying on my hip, but he starts waking up so I move him up to my chest. He makes a few squeaks, we watch about another 20 minutes of paintball (he wanted Penn State to win - go Big 10! - and they did), and then he starts looking awake enough that I should go find mom.

So I take him into his room and put him on his "tummy time" mat and he starts practicing paintball moves. Well ok, so he mostly just lays on his back and squiggles around - but hey, that's important in paintball. So I'm laying there starting to cool off, now that he is no longer attached to my body; when I notice that most of my shirt is cooling off except for one spot that feels a little sweating now. So I look down...

OK Pea... you don't have to live up to your name. Yup, a nice wet round circle about 4 inches across in the center of my shirt. I guess all that squealing wasn't just waking up. :O

Well I'm sure it won't be the last time. ;)

Pea Baby - more pics

Here is a link to a photo album that contains pics of the first few days of the Pea's life.

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Update:

Looking back through the entries, I don't see one announcing PeaBaby's birth. Hmm... in all the commotion I guess I forgot to do that.

Born: 12-Jul-2007, 04:52
Weight: 6lbs, 0.7oz
Length: 19 inches

What a cutie!

There are kids at rallies

PeaBaby,

Those folks we road in with from Denver to the Red River Rally - they had a 10 year old girl with them. And I've seen a number of kids at the rally - some dressed in leathers. Not too many... but I figured I'd mention it anyway.

Maybe Red River won't be your first rally - but we'll have to take you somewhere! :)

Love ya,

PapaJames.

The pros and cons of getting older

Getting older is very cool because then you have grandkids. I cannot wait to come roaring down the street on Capt'n Jack and to have PeaBaby come bursting out his front door yelling "PapaJames PapaJames" - similar to how Jaime would welcome me home from work when she was little. I just cannot wait and I think about him all the time when I see little boys on the plane, in restaraunts, etc. Yeah... I obsess.

And its cool that I've worked my way up and have the money to do things like have Capt'n Jack and go on rallys, etc.

On the other hand... you start realizing you're not going to live forever. Little aches and pains and high blood pressure and the doctor worrying about your glucouse count, etc. make you realize that your body will eventually break down.

Its just one of those reflective mornings... Like Sis says - she can't imagine us not being close, as her dogs miss us terribly when we are gone - she can't imagine how PeaBaby is going to handle it. So I just can't imagine not being around for ever and seeing PeaBaby (and all the other babies) grow up and then seeing their kids and on and on. But you take the good (we can make some trips down there and its going to be so cool) with the bad (we can't live next door to them and follow them around the us) and make the best of it. But sometimes you still think "Wow - I'm getting older and I'm just not going to be able to do everything I want to do. But I'm so blessed, so quite whining and get to work." :) [Some times I have to snap myself out of it].

I am a blessed person and love my family so much.

Long distance is hard

PeaBaby,

Just read your mom's latest post about our visit.

While it was amazing and fun and I'm so grateful that they were here, I can't help but be really heartsick at the fact that visits are all we will have, and too brief and infrequent at that. I really wish we could live near them during this pregnancy but more importantly after he's born. I can't believe he won't get to spend the weekend at grammy's whenever he wants.

:( Yeah - no kidding. It was so awesome being down there. We missed Jaimer tons - but it was so great to hang out with your parents. That is always such a good relazing time of just catching up, eating good food, and playing X-box with your dad! And buying stuff for you was so fun. When we were looking at furniture I just *had* to buy your crib. Something for my kid - and for her kid. So every day you'll be sleeping in the crib I got you. Makes me feel closer to you - given we are so far away.

And we buy stuff like little Harley vests and discuss, "Some day you'll have your Fat Boy and I'll still have Capt'n Jack and PeaBaby will be up for a summer vacation and we'll take him to a Rally and then he can pick out his own patches and get them sewn on his vest! It will be sooo coooool!"

I wish your folks lived closer too. Even if it was Albq - we could make it in one day on the bike. As it is, I'm thinking about 4 day weekends... I don't think we could make it in one day on the bike - so probably lots of car trips. Long day down - spend a day or two with you guys, and then a quick day back and back to work. I just can't imagine only seeing you once or twice a year though. And that's only for another year or so - after that who knows where your folks will end up and if its in FL or something - the trips will be way less frequent.

Anyway - it was an awesome time down there and we can't wait to come down in Aug and see you for real.

Keep getting bigger, and stronger, and have fun playing with your mom.

See ya in a few,

PapaJames.

AZ State Rally - Day 3 of the Rally

As noted, Tina slept in, but when she did get up I talked her into heading over to the rally pretty quickly. I didn't want to miss anything! We checked out the vendors, which were fewer than "big" rally's we had been to (such as Thunder in the Rockies), but were still cool.

We found the "cool vests" - but they were kind of expensive and we don't really need them that often, so skipped buying any. There was a vendor selling patches and sewing them on. There usually is, and I had counted on it and brought some patches with me - so got those sewn on my vest plus a few more. "Loud Pipes Save Lives" - plus had her sew on my HOG patch with the "Pikes Peak Chapter" and also the "HOG State Rallies - Arizona" patch. I figure I'll add the CO and the National on as well. Vest is starting to fill out some.

We also bought a small child genuine leather vest for PeaBaby and had an Air Force sticker sewn on it! We then went and watched some bike games and just hung out. We then went and had lunch - and ate in a Bud area and got a beer. I mention this because this is the first time I've seen a "beer tent" type area that had a sign "No Firearms Allowed!" You can carry firearms in the open in AZ - just not where they serve alcohol. But you can take them into banks. We talked to a guy who says he does it all the time. Tombstone and the wild west live on I guess!

We then watched some more games and then went back and had a Harley patch sewn onto PeaBaby's vest. It probably won't fit him till he is 2 or 3 - but its still very cute.

Basically just hung out most of the afternoon and then went and gathered for the parade. Talked to some folks from Phoenix, did the parade and then headed back to Tif's. We discussed hanging out for night activities - but decided that spending the last night with Tif was the better thing to do.

We say "Hi!"

PeaBaby,

Wow - finally got to "meet" you. Grandma patted your mom's tummy and started laughing. Your mom is *so cute*. "I'm hugh!" - We both started laughing. Not so much - she is going to get much bigger.

After dinner we were all on the couch. Grandma was pushing on your head, at which point your dad said, "Hey - be careful". Yeah... its not like you have much room to get out of the way. Grandma and your mom asked if I wanted to feel your head. Sure! So they grab my hand, stick in on her tummy and push it. "Can you feel it?" "No."

They look at each other, "Yeah, I guess its a girl thing." OK... push here. Do you feel that? I feel *something*. That's the head! HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT. Well you can just tell!

Ok... girl magic I guess.

But I keep my hand there and you kick me a few times. Very cool. :) I stick my mouth on your mom's tummy and say "Hi PeaBaby - This is PapaJames!" And your mom laughs and says my mustach tickles.

So - we've now officially said Hi! In the next day or two I'll get your mom on the bike and then you'll go for your "first" Harley ride! I know... I'll go *very slow* and be careful - but at least it will be a ride and you'll feel/hear it. :)

Love ya,
PapaJames.

Getting close

PeaBaby,

Your mom posted another entry. She is *so cute*. Well to you she'll probably seem all grown up and adult like, but to me she is still my cute little girl. And if you read her blog... yeah, she doesn't have the "I'm an adult and have this all figured out" attitude... but then many first time parents don't.

I read Mighty Girl's post on her labor yesterday. Excellent post. Perhaps a bit graphic in spots, but really took me back to when your mom and aunt where born. Yeah... its the most magical of times. Hopefully when we get the news that you are arriving we can make it down to AZ in time. I'd love to be there to say "Hi!" when you arrive.

Speaking of seeing you... Only 11 more days till we leave to come down there! We got packed (while we are there and summer clothes) this weekend and grandma will be shipping them on Wed. We are hoping to take a nice leisurly trip down - maybe taking 3 days... But given the weather is good, I think its more likely going to be a "Get up at the crack of dawn and see how far we can make it in one day - arriving mid-afteroon of the second day" kind of trip. Yeah - we are pretty excited to see you and your mom - and you dad too. :)

The bike is all piped and ready to go. Your grandma and I have been talking about getting you on a bike when you are only a few days old. A few issues with that, like getting the bike down there or renting one and convincing your mom that its totally safe to have you on a motorcycle with a little skull cap and your Harley booties. :)

Well that was just exciting... I was just writting this when your grandma asked me to move your aunt's car, which was blocking her from leaving and going to work. So I went out (in my bathrobe - yes its 37 degrees outsdie) and got in the car and started it up. It takes a sec 'cuz I'm not used to driving it and looked down to see how to release the parking brake - when I noticed your grandma about to run into me. Yes - it was time for her to leave and the fact that I was sitting a couple of feet behind her was not apparently going to stop her from leaving. So I jammed it into reverse and stomped on the gas - shooting back a few feet - only to notice someone coming down the street. So I hit the brakes and looked back towards your grandma's car. Lukily I had put a few more feet between us, and now the other car was passed the driveway so I backed out into the street. By then grandma had notice me, stopped, and then continued to back out. That got my heart pumping and my already too high blood pressure sky-rocketing. I'm sure you're gradma will say "Hey - I saw you there, I was just *slowly* backing up." But yeah - it didn't feel like that at the time.

I'm sure you'll have many such stories to tell your folks as you grow up. Grandparent stories are so fun. :) So I'm just giving you some background info early. :)

Love you kid - see you in less than 2 weeks! Yeah, you won't be able to see us, but we'll read to you and I'll be the one poking your mom's stomach when you are both trying to sleep - so I can play with you. :)

Papa James.

PeaBaby's first pics

Tif fixed the uploading of her pics so her ultrasound pics now show up. So if you haven't seen them yet, go check them out.

Little Boys

Pulled into the garage last night and got off the bike - two little boys (5 and 7 maybe?) came sliding up into the driveway on their skateboards and popped them up, grabbing them, then stood looking at me.

Boy1: Hi
Me: Hello
B2: Hi!
M: Hi!
They look around for a second.
B2: My dad broke his arm on his motorcycle
M: Oh?
B2: But he can drive it really good now! and grins
M: That's good
first boy skates off - second boy looks around
B2: Is Darren still here? next door neighbor kid
M: No
B2: He moved?
M: Yeah
B2: Ok... and skates off

Hey... I'm going to have one of these pretty soon! :)

Pictures play through my head of pulling up to Tif's on the Harley and PeaBaby comes skating down the street on his skateboard yelling "PapaJames!" - Yeah... I'm all choked up now. This is going to be *so cool*!

PeaBaby is a boy

At work and busy... but just had to announce that PeaBaby is a boy. How cool is that? :)

PeaBaby,

Sorry about calling you she and her. Won't happy again.

Love ya,
PapaJames.

Boy or Girl?

Tif goes in for an ultra-sound today and they say the can find out if PeaBaby is a boy or girl. Since they were "sure" Jaime was a boy (and she obviously isn't) - I'm not sure I trust the results... But I guess they've come a long way in the last 20 years. :)

Tina is going to call me... So today is the day we find out. I'm all nervous for some reason (or maybe exicited is a better word), all of a sudden.

PeaBaby's Mommy

Tif if starting her own blog. PeaBaby's Mommy. How very cool. :) - Now I can read it and cry. :)

Speaking of PeaBaby... Here are a couple of pictures. One of PeaBaby's first present from us. Yeah... Harley booties. Who would have guessed? ;)


And a pic of Tif at 16 weeks. I probably won't post to many more pics of Tif here - since she'll be posting them on her own site now! Yeah!

Baby Stuff

PeaBaby,

We stopped at the Harley store this weekend while out riding. Saw something really cute and had to get it for you. I think its in the mail, but if not, will be soon. Can't say what it is in case your mom is reading the blog.

Love you,
Papa James.

PeaBaby - pre-birth - week 12

PeaBaby,

The first picture I have of you! Well ok... its kind of hard to see you, wrapped inside your mom like that - but still - proof positive that you are making an impact! It makes me kind of cry when I see you and your mom like this. Time warp back to when your grandma looked like that with your mom. Tons of flashbacks to Montana.

We are *definately* coming down in May to see you and attend the AZ HOG State Rally. The trip will be great, the rally will be great... but seeing you will be the best of all. Speaking of motorcycles... we were thinking of going for a ride today - because it was supposed to be in the 50s - but woke up to an inch or two of snow on the ground. Maybe it will melt today and we'll be able to ride tomorrow.

The worst winter we've had in CO in 12 years they say. I don't ever remember one this bad - and I've been here 17 years or so. Global warming... or preparation for your arrival? Whose to say. ;)

Love ya,

Papa James.