Walkin' and Sleddin'

Before we begin, I heard on TMZ that some folks thought I left them hangin' in terms of Rachel's health post-surgery. The truth is, I never saw her after they took her to the OR. She was kidnapped and the FBI is using all of their resources to find her.

Wait, how did she get in these videos? I guess she made it back to us. Overall, she's doing very well but is in a bit of pain when she sneezes and laughs. So don't get her sick or make her laugh, ok?







No one ever told me it would be this hard to lug a 23 1/2 lb baby in the snow when you're already out of shape. I guess I found out the hard way.

























All Done!

GB (and not the Packers!)

As everyone knows Rachel is having some surgery today to remove her gall bladder. I am in the surgical waiting room right now so I don't have any updates yet. I'll let everyone know ASAP.

On another note, we took Simon to his one-year-old checkup yesterday (even though he's 13 months today!) and everything went well. He now weighs 23lb 3.6oz and measures 31'', which puts him in the 60th and 80th percentiles, respectively.

The Next Step

There's a lot to tell since my last post. I am actually a bit surprised that I haven't gotten too much of a guilt trip for not posting in three weeks, but perhaps the complaints were only among the rank-and-file and never got to the executive wing.

Before posting pictures/videos, I want to acknowledge GG for having the strength to go through with her surgery. She has been recovering fantastically and is an inspiration.

Here's a shot from January 4th. The hat was a gift from Simon's cousin, Dylan, and his fiancee', Lizzy.



Playing in the basement on January 8th.



Did I say playing on January 8th? I mean LOTS of playing.



Visiting GG & Papa the next day.



He does pretty well on the changing table, but obviously here he was very happy. Taken on January 15th.



Of course the emotional pendulum swings the other way as well the next day.



I was gone earlier this week on a business trip to Florida. Mommy got Simon outside in the snow. Looks like he had a good time.







This was taken from my hotel room in St. Petersburg early in the morning on January 20th.



And here's a little tribute to Billy Idol.



And of course I must give credit where credit is due. The Packers deserved to go to the Super Bowl this year, so I guess I am ok with Simon's outfit. But only for so long!



And the grand finale. I think someone will be walking very soon. Here's a snippet of what's on the horizon.

Already?

Well, 12/26 has come and gone. Could it be that Simon is one? That is just plain nuts.

Mommy would do much better as a general contractor than me, so we put her in charge of building the toys. We (I mean she) put this little gym downstairs and he's LOVING it.











Now on to the birthday party. We sincerely thank everyone who braved the elements of snow and our busy street to attend the festivities.

Here was a little lunch before most of the guests arrived.



Grandma Fran was a big help over the weekend.



I want that yogurt, and I want it NOW!



Of course not all of the food ends up where it's supposed to go.



The birthday boy got a special visit from Jack Dempsey (AKA Papa).



With Nana.



With great-aunt Liz.





And what would a birthday party be without the singing of a certain song (also, please forgive me for the outburst you'll hear, but I had to make sure Theo didn't destroy the cake)...



This past weekend one of our friends, Michelle Mertz, was visiting. She was in an earlier post as we stayed with her when we were in Santa Rosa in July.