"i love you"

Today, in the midst of a very hectic, exhausting day of Hannukah shopping, Gracelyn hugged each of us separately and said, "eye-yuh-vew".

Later that day, she shit on daddie. What the *^%$. She was lying!

had a turkey; did some stuff

The SJ-based Jacobs went to Seattle for the week of Thanksgiving to visit the AZ-based and SEA-based Jacobs. We were greeted with perfect weather, no drops of rain. A lot was packed into the few days we were there.

The first evening, we went to dinner and met my sister's boyfriend. I have only ever met two of my sister's boyfriends and they both were poop. (No offense, Barrie.) Jonah is the latest and has been for some time. He should be given a medal for being able to handle my sister for so long. Seriously, he seems like a good chap.

On Wednesday, we went to a winery that offered nothing worth finishing and then followed that with trip to the Red Hook brewery. "Best $1 EVER SPENT!" Who says the dollar isn't worth shit. We got drunk off decent beer for a dollar while listening to an annoying guide.

That evening, we went to an Italian restaurant, which was decent, and had Captain Jack Sparrow as our waiter. He must have been on something because I couldn't help but feel sea sick every time he came to the table. He constantly moved back and forth and dipped in and out. In the end, he offered me some Grappie or something. This is a very potent drink and I had to enlist the help of another soldier (Jonah) to make sure we left no wounded.

Thanksgiving was nice. We ate food that fits the holiday and everyone helped out to make it, even Gracelyn. Unfortunately, after this, I had to watch Private Practice with more than Amanda. I hate this show. But, it is more bearable than watching Grey's Anatomy with 3 chicks. I HATE this show!

Friday, we went down to Pike's Place, the giant Seattle Farmers market and watched the fish fly and admired the the gorgeous food. We tried some chocolate linguini which was clever. We even jumped into a maritime museum where Gracelyn loved the water exhibit with the boats.

Saturday was another day in downtown Seattle. We spent most of the day near the Space Needle and went to the Children's Museum. This was a very good museum, better than the one in SJ. It had too many things to do for Gracelyn. (We simply couldn't get to them all.)

Then, the highlight of the trip. I got some sort of food poisoning right before our plane. I visited more public restrooms in the span of 4 hours than I care to admit. And, while all of this was happening, Gracelyn puked in the security line and then again on the airplane. Holy shit. I was glad to take a shower and go to bed.

Some random photos from the week...

Latest addition to the Costco team...

Making some fushe...

Prepping for terrible television...

Unloading the fish from the deadliest catch...(Maritime Museum)

Don't say Picasso, say Gracelyn...(Children's Museum)

halloween fun

Hooray for Halloween! The day before "All Hallows Eve", Gracelyn and I went to a pumpkin patch, where we picked out a few pumpkins for our decorations (see the post entitled "sorry...again..." for a picture of the pumpkin family we chose...baby pumpkin, mommie pumpkin and daddie pumpkin!). Here are some pictures of Gracelyn having a grand old time at the pumpkin patch!

On Halloween, we went trick-or-treating with the Williams/ Cooper/ Allen/ Low/ Clark/ Moore Family. The babies (Gracelyn, Max, and Molly) were dressed in a safari theme; Gracelyn was a giraffe, Max and Molly were monkeys. The big kids (Kelyn, Will, and Marina) decided to go for the scarier costumes - a dead bride-monster, a dead ballerina, and an evil viking. All the kids had a great time! Afterwards, we went back to the Williams' house for some of Lou's delicious spaghetti. Halloween is so much fun when you are with friends!

Max, Molly and Gracelyn

Gracelyn and Kelyn

Trick-or-Treat!!!

This little giraffe is passed out!

weekend in paradise...er, i mean, groveland

The weekend before Halloween, we packed up the car and drove up to Groveland for some much-needed rest and relaxation. For those of you unfamiliar with California geography, Groveland is a teeny, tiny town about 45 minutes outside of Yosemite. My mom and dad, Billy, Megan, Judd, Gracelyn and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend up there. A friend of the family recently remodeled his cabin in Groveland, and he was generous enough to let us stay there for the weekend. (Note: I use the term "cabin" here very loosely, since it was in actuality closer to a dream home than a cabin! With a bedroom on the main floor, three more upstairs, another huge one down below, four spacious bathrooms, hardwood floors and granite countertops everywhere, this place was amazing!!) The house is set back in this cozy residential area, with a backyard that opens onto a private lake. Yes, we found ourselves in paradise, and no, we weren't ready to leave when the weekend ended.

Saturday morning, we drove into Yosemite where we feasted at the Ahwahnee Hotel (we missed the breakfast, but arrived just as they were opening back up for lunch). Then we drove/ walked around a bit, looking at the beautiful scenery that Yosemite is famous for. We saw Half Dome from several different angles (thanks, Dad, for that one! That bus ride was awesome! hehe...), hiked for a bit on the trail near the Falls, and even took a picture of all of us sitting on a fallen redwood tree beside the trail. The drive back home was very quiet, since almost everyone passed out from the combination of full tummies, mountain air, and walking.

The next day, we had breakfast in the cabin, relaxed on the deck, went out on the lake in the canoe, and got ready to leave. :-( It was an amazing weekend, but next time, we're going to make sure we can stay for a week, at least! Two days in paradise just isn't enough!

The view from one of the cabin decks

My dad and Gracelyn in Yosemite (Half Dome is in background...you can't see it)

Billy and Gracelyn washing up after dinner

The private lake (Billy, Judd, Gracelyn and I are in the canoe)

sorry...again...

So, October came and went...without a single new blog post from the Jacobs Family! We suck. We know. Get ready, though, cuz I'm about to release a few new posts in a row. These are long overdue. Our deepest apologies for our neglect of the site.

just make it nice and neat...

We took Gracelyn for her first hair appointment this weekend. Her wig was wild and just not doing it for the little boys out there. We went to Kid's Kuts in Arizona. (As an aside, I got my first haircut in Arizona visiting Grandma, so we brought the one-time activity to the next generation creating the beginnings of a tradition.)

Before...

...during...

...more during...

...after.

She did great actually, despite what you see in the picture above. She only was pissed there because she had been in the chair for so long and the lady was taking too much time to style her shit.

Overall, it was perfect. I am so glad we didn't put a cereal bowl over her head and go to work. The cut is very clean and Gracelyn is not the mess she once was. We even stopped by a bow specialty store to get her some new accessories.

16 month weigh-ins

Today was Gracelyn's 16 month birthday. Her day started off pretty good. She slept in, had an exotic fruit breakfast, and then went with Mommie to a Gymboree music session. Following this, she ended up a the doctor's office for a regular appointment. Here is where shit goes down hill. They say she is on track and doing fine. (This is probably right.) They say this and then stab her 3 times in the leg. As a result, the rest of her afternoon was shot - no pun intended - since her legs ached so badly.

Her latest stats:

• 32" above ground (75%)


• 20 lbs round (20%)


• 18" dome (25%)

Okay, and if that wasn't enough for the little one, this bitch stole her bear from her. Now, if you don't know, her bear (her GUY) is her comfort toy, her friend, her everything. At first, Gracelyn pointed to her GUY and was trying to figure out where this little girl was going with him. She followed her and asked for it back, in baby talk of course. The little bitch ran off acting like Gracelyn was out of place. Then her mom told her to give it back. They were speaking another language, but I think that is what she said. The girl refused and then finally her mom took it from her and gave it to Gracelyn. Gracelyn was happy until the girl swooped in when her mom wasn't looking and stole it back. Gracelyn was pissed; she burst into tears. The mom looked up, got mad at her daughter, and gave Gracelyn her GUY back. We took off right after this because I was so close to retiring a 2.5 year old. Woo-sah...

Popping bubbles is WORK at Gymboree

Hmm...let me take off my bandaids and stick them on my head. Awesome.

drink and be maui

We recently got back from Maui. It sucked...mostly because we had to leave at some point. We dodged a few natural disasters - canes 'n quakes - and managed to a have a good time along the way.

Thing to note:

1. We drove the road to Hana for about 3.5 hours and never saw Hana. Most everyone was car sick. There were some nice hikes, waterfalls, and beaches, but if we knew in advance what we were getting into, uh...we wouldn't have gotten into it.



2. My sister and I biked the volcano. We woke up at 2 AM to get up there for sunset. Very cool, but never again. It was cold and damn early. Plus, who wants to listen to a bunch of chipper vacationers bullshit with you at that hour.



3. We went on a snorkle cruise that turned into a boose cruise. That worked. We saw sea turtles and lots of cool fish.



4. We went to a very cool aquarium. You could see the sharks swim overhead and under you.



5. We ate at a Luau. All you can eat and all you can drink. Nothing else needs to be said.



6. We hung out on the beach, relaxed, drank, ate. Some of us got tan. We live in difficult times.

The road to Hana was tough for everyone...even Gracelyn broke down!

Amanda and Gracelyn, on the black lava beach near Hana.

Cool, sharks!

Gracelyn eating ice cream at Roys. This is bullshit. I told everyone, "No sweets!"

You don't have to know Hula to dance at a Luau. You go Gracelyn!

Overall, Maui is cool and I would like to return. It is not over crowded like Honolulu and there are no excuses for not sitting on your ass. Oh yeah, thanks ATA for losing our car seat; I hate you.

note of apology

We would like to apologize to you, our loyal readers, for our pathetic lack of new posts as of late. We have no excuses, reasons, explanations or rationales to justify our neglect of the site. Feel free to berate, criticize, ridicule and scold us as much as you want in your responses to this apology, but please forgive us and visit the site again soon. We promise you an update on the latest happenings in the Jacobs household, including our recent trip to Hawaii, Amanda's student teaching experiences, Judd's current rants, and Gracelyn's newest tricks.

Thank you,

The Jucoja Staff

our li'l swimmer

We signed Gracelyn up for some swim lessons at our local YMCA this summer, and she had her first lesson last week. Ummmm, let's just say that she was slightly less than ecstatic about being in the pool. For one thing, the water was so cold that even Daddie was shivering (all the while, trying unsuccessfully to convince Gracelyn that the water was nice and warm)! They practiced making bubbles (Gracelyn's better at doing that with her butt than her mouth), kicking their legs, jumping into the pool, and floating on their backs. Here are some photos of the first lesson:

We've had a few lessons since then, and Gracelyn seems to be getting more and more comfortable each time. Who knows, maybe by the end of the program, she'll be able to teach Mommie a thing or two about swimming!!

on your marks, get set...go!

This is a video taken at Caffe Boa, an Italian restaurant in Tempe, AZ, where it was decided that Gracelyn took her first official steps. About 1 hour earlier, we toasted to her 14 month birthday!

hot shit

First, in order for this post to earn its title... if hell had a comfortable temperature, it would be 117 degrees. Holy shit, it is hot in Fenix; but, at least there is air conditioning. Okay, so what do you do when you can't go outside because your skin will melt off like a Kraft single? Yes, you stay inside with 30 second sprints from the car to the deed and back to the car. We have packed our days with lots of indoor excitement. A couple of highlights are listed below:

• The Circus


• Storytime at the Library


• Kiddie Playground at Scottsdale Fashion Square


• Mojito Mondays at The Havana Cafe


• Dos Gringos Bar in Ol' Town Scottsdale with Scott and lady friend


• The Science Museum...Gracelyn crawled into a pit of rocks with barefeet. Ouch!?! Who does that?


• Gelato Spot...Gracelyn tried some sugar free Raspberry stuff. The funny thing about that was that it was sweeter than my mint chip. WTF!

So far, so good. I even stumbled on a killer recipe for a quick and tasty margarita while Amanda stumbled on a 'no more than once' mojito. She should have given up the idea when it took us three days to locate the mint ingredient! Also, Gracelyn has developed some rash, and we don't know what it is. At this point, we have it down to the climate (heat), the dog, or allergy culprit X. She is happy though, so it can't be too bad. And, Gracelyn is very fond of the dog (she calls his name first thing when she wakes up...'Guk' is the term...and all day after that) and is getting better with being in the pool.

Okay, I am going to get some water. Even computer exercises will drain you in this weather.

shoulda bought a pool...

A couple of weeks ago, Judd decided that Gracelyn's toy situation was suboptimal for her proper intellectual and physical development as a nearly-14-month-old infant. So, we took a trip to Toys-R-Us to see what we could purchase to remedy this. After some debate over whether a toy shopping cart (complete with plastic groceries), a riding toy (convertible between three stages of riding) or a kiddie pool would contribute more to Gracelyn's growth and maturity, we finally decided to scrap those three ideas and go with a sand-n-water play set for her to use outside. One side is filled with sand, the other side is filled with water, and it comes with a few toys (boats, pots, and a shovel) and an umbrella for shade. Pretty cool, right? Here's Gracelyn the first time she played with her new toy:

As you can see, she's not too sure about the whole thing. Well, here's Gracelyn the second time she played with her new toy:

Guess we shoulda bought the kiddie pool after all!! :-)

daddie's day picnic

When it comes to buying gifts for Judd, I never know what to get him. Part of the reason for this gift-giving-difficulty is that he's not really into getting "stuff" (he's a little weird about receiving gifts, and he hates stuff-that-turns-to-clutter), and the other part is that the things he really wants are just slightly out of my price-range (i.e. a BMW, a bigger house, etc.). So, when I realized that Father's Day was coming up, I asked Judd what he wanted. His response: "black socks". So, Daddie got black socks for Daddie's Day. Yay. Actually, Gracelyn thought black socks were a bit boring, so she picked out the Borat DVD for Judd, too.

Yesterday, after giving Judd his black-socks-and-Borat present, we packed up some snacks, a blanket, and some sunscreen and headed up with Billy to the Savannah Chanelle winery for some eating, drinking, and merry-making. My mom and dad met us up there, and a good time was had by all. We ate our lunch up on the grassy knoll above the tasting room, under the shade of a huge apple tree, then went inside for a round of wine tasting. This is our second trip to this winery, and we'd certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a place with delicious wines and great scenery. Happy Daddie's Day!!

"where's your...?"

So, today, Gracelyn showed me a new game to play with her. Here's how it works. I ask her, "Gracelyn, where's your [insert name of body part here]?" and she responds by pointing to the appropriate body part. We're really good at identifying belly button and nose, and we're getting better at mouth and ears. When asked about any other body parts, Gracelyn responds by covering her face with her hands, too embarrassed to admit she doesn't know. She signals the end of the game by giving me a bored Mom-you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-I'm-way-too-big-for-that-silly-game look, then crawling away to something more exciting (her bear, for example).

Other recent milestones some of you may not know about:

• "giving love" (i.e. kisses)
• pushing her stroller all by herself (with Mommie or Daddie close by for guidance)
• throwing balls down the stairs (and then taking Mommie or Daddie down the stairs to get the balls)
• drinking milk from a straw

She's not quite walking all by herself, although she loves to walk holding our hands!! Also, she has demonstrated behavior that suggests a love for shoes; with any luck, she won't have her Daddie's sense of fashion...maybe she'll get Aunt Barrie's instead! We'll keep hoping for the best!! :-)

a long weekend

It is always a good thing when you have an additional day to relax (or keep busy with various activities). We took a nice ride to Saratoga on Saturday where we had a picnic lunch at the Savannah Chanelle winery in the Santa Cruz mountains. We ate way too much food and had some very good pinot. Gracelyn had a good time too.

On Sunday, we went to the Oakland zoo and hung out with the animals. There was an outburst at the chimp exhibit, but other than that, it was mild. Many of the animals just sit there and do nothing. I guess you need to supplement your zoo with the discovery channel to ensure you get some action.

After the zoo, the three of us went to spend some time with Helen and Oren before they leave for L.A. We enjoyed some wine and had pizza. Oren introduced us to the idea of Tapatio hot sauce on pizza. YES, it is very good! Gracelyn made a mess of their place, tossing crackers and tomatoes everywhere. We witnessed a cherry tomato launch from her mouth after she tried to bite down on it with her gums. Since Gracelyn was exhausted from the day, we went home before Ted, Lesley, Bram, and Erika showed.

(Later that evening, I snuck out of the house and went to Anthony's for some beer drinking with work pals. Anthony brewed his own beer and it was actually pretty good. We managed to leave for a bit and go to a dive bar. When we arrived at the bar, I quickly confirmed the dive part. It was fun, and I got back in the house before Amanda even knew I was gone!)

wtf

Our neighborhood is ghetto. You already know about the bums, the shit landscaping, the loud latin rap from passing cars into downtown, the constant sirens, the domestic disputes, the blah, and all that other shit. Well, now we have fucking singing assholes. Last nite, the old married couple with a baby managed to get to bed around 11 PM or so. (Baby was down around 9 PM.) Life is good. Then, at midnight, a group of singing assholes sprouted from the dirt lot across the way and began to make my eyes roll forward in my skull until I found myself cursing to Amanda about how shit our 'hood is. Fortunately for them, I hadn't been drinking; otherwise, I may have snuck into Gracelyn's room, grabbed a handful of Little People, and chucked it at them.

melvyn the monkey

For Gracelyn's birthday, one of the things that Oom Biwie gave her was a gift card to Build-A-Bear. So, last night, after work, Billy came over and the four of us headed over to Valley Fair for some bear-building fun - actually, in our case, it turned out to be monkey-building fun...Melvyn the Monkey, to be exact. We helped Gracelyn pick out her toy, then we headed over to the "stuff me" section, where we stuffed Melvyn full of fluff. Gracelyn picked out a heart for Melvyn which was placed in his chest just before being sewn up. Then we fluffed him, named him, and dressed him. Since it was Oom Biwie's gift to Gracelyn, he picked out Melvyn's outfit. So, now Melvyn the Monkey is also Melvyn the new QB for the SF 49ers. He now graces our living room, along with the rest of Gracelyn's furry friends. Thanks, Oom Biwie!!

happy birthday daughter

So, this post is way too long overdue, being that it's now the 21st of May and Gracelyn's birthday was on the 6th! But, believe me, things in the Jacobs household have been anything but lazy! What with Gracelyn's first birthday party (and first cold the week after), Mommie finishing Spring semester, Mother's Day and all the normal hectic happenings of the Jacobs Family, we've hardly had any time to relax!!

Gracelyn's first birthday party was lots of fun! Thanks to everyone who made it out to celebrate the big day with us (especially those who traveled from afar), and thanks also to everyone who worked to make the party a success!! Gracelyn had her first taste of cake & icing, and, although she was somewhat ambivalent at first, by the end, she proved that she loves her dessert, just like her Mommie!! Check out the pictures (courtesy of Gracelyn's great-aunt Tricia) of our one-year-old princess having her cake and eating it, too...

one more week

I can't believe that in less than a week, Gracelyn will be a year old! I mean, I know that everyone says it goes by so fast, but you don't actually realize just how fast it goes until it's your own little one. It really does feel like it was maybe a couple of weeks ago that we drove her home from Good Sam and maybe a couple of days ago that she started eating solid foods and maybe just yesterday that she started babbling and crawling! We've certainly been having fun this past year, and you know what they say about "fun" and what it does to "time"!

a's got lucky

Last Sunday, Judd, Gracelyn, Billy and I headed up to McAfee Coliseum to take in Gracelyn's first Yankee game. We tailgated for about an hour consuming a combination of beer and baby food. The weather was supposed to be shit, but it in our section it was perfect. Billy's friend Chante joined us a little later. It was cool seeing many of the ball players show their appreciation for Jackie Robinson by wearing number 42. (Check out Jeter grabbing his ass!) Gracelyn was well behaved, considering she missed her nap. She made a lot of friends in our section and even convinced an old lady to share her compressed Evian mister with her (and the rest of us). The Yankees had everything wrapped up until the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs. Mariano, the sandman, couldn't put these west coast sissies to bed. The A's hit a walk-off homer and what sucked most was that it would have basically landed in our section if it weren't for the foul poll. Sorry Gracelyn. We'll try again when the Yanks visit the Giants in June.

first playdate

Gracelyn had her first away-from-home playdate two days ago, on Wednesday! She had so much fun! Oma (my mom...for those of you who don't know any Dutch, "Oma" means "Grandma") was sick with the same cold that Gracelyn and I had the previous week, so I asked Heather if she would be able to take Gracelyn over to her house while I went to teach. From all accounts, the playdate was a success. Maxwell and Molly (Heather's nine-month-old twins), Kelyn and Will (Heather's older kids) were wonderful hosts! Max and Gracelyn played chase round and round in circles downstairs while Molly cheered them on. And Gracelyn even got to meet their kittens, Izzy and Penelope! Thank you, Cooper-Allen family for making Gracelyn's first playdate so much fun!

happy passover and happy easter

Judd, Gracelyn and I celebrated our first Passover together as a family this past Monday night. I usually have school on Monday nights, but I emailed the professor of my second class to tell her that I would be absent due to Passover (her response: "Wishing you a wonderful Passover meal with your family. Traditions and beliefs are as important to us as they are to the English Language Learners we encounter in our classrooms." Thank God for the multicultural, constructivist approach that the education industry has taken these days, huh?). We broke out the china and stemware that we got from our wedding (our first time using it!), and I prepared a delicious Passover meal, complete with charoses, barley & pignoli nuts, and matzo ball soup. Our seder plate that Auntie B gave us was full of everything that a seder plate should be full of; the only thing missing was the shank bone, but I remedied that situation by cutting one out of brown construction paper! :-)

Today is Easter Sunday (Happy Easter, everyone!), and we've already given Gracelyn her first Easter basket! Of course, she was more interested in the grassy filler in the basket than she was in the toys we gave her! The plan for today is to go up Mt. Hamilton to my grandparents' house for some eating, drinking, and visiting.

The Jacobs Family (and, coincidentally, the staff at jucoja.com) wish you all a Happy belated Passover and a Happy Easter!

gma spoils us

Mom Jacobs came for a visit this past weekend, arriving on Thursday evening (good thing Grey's Anatomy was a rerun, huh?) and returning to Phoenix on Monday evening. She apparently brought the Phoenix sunshine and warmth with her, since the whole weekend was so pleasant. Our house, which had been rather frigid since our return from SD, actually warmed up a bit!

On Friday morning, Gma helped me and Gracelyn babysit the twins, Max and Molly. (For those of you who don't already know, every Wednesday and Friday morning, Heather's nearly-eight-month-old twins come over for a few hours to play with us while Heather teaches at SJSU. It can be challenging taking care of three babies at once, so the extra help was definitely appreciated!) After Judd came home from work that night, Gma treated us to dinner at P.F Chang's. On Saturday, Gma and Gracelyn spent the evening together, reading books and cuddling, while Judd and I went out for sushi and drinks. Then, on Sunday, the four of us headed up to check out the Oakland Zoo and later met up with Mom Crane and Billy at Strait's for a delicious Asian-fusion dinner. The whole weekend was great, and we were all happy to spend time with Gma. Gracelyn especially misses her and is really looking forward to the first weekend in May, when Gma and Aunt Barrie come to help us celebrate Gracelyn's first birthday!

vacations are nice

Last week, the Jacobs family slept, ate, played, worked, crawled, pooped and babbled in San Diego, California - to be more specific, at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort. Judd had a work forum there, so we decided to make a family trip of it. We embarked on Saturday the 17th, mid-afternoon, stopping for the night at my Uncle Fred and Aunt Jan's house in La Canada (near Pasadena), and continuing our journey south on Sunday after breakfast. We also stopped to have lunch at The Grove with Jinny, Matt, Rodney, Ari, and Ma'ayan (I think I spelled that correctly...she's the 9-month-old baby of Rodney and Ari...just a couple of weeks younger than Gracelyn) and dropped by Aunt Judy's for a short visit with her, Wendy, John, and two of their friends. When we finally got into Coronado (after getting lost due to some wacky directions from Google Maps), it was rather late, and we were exhausted!! We put Gracelyn down for the night, and Judd and I shared a small bottle of wine (Testarossa Pinot Noir from our wedding, since our anniversary was on Friday!)

The next morning (Monday) greeted us with clouds and rain, even though the forecast, when we had packed our bags on Saturday, had said sunshine all week. Judd, not being a Boy Scout, was not prepared for such atrocities, so we had to do some shopping to ensure that he didn't freeze his li'l tushie off for the rest of our trip. Horton Plaza, the mall in downtown San Diego, is, like much of the rest of SD, ideal only in sunshine (or at least in something other than rain, snow, sleet or hail); it is an outdoor mall, so we found ourselves trying our best to stay dry without slipping and face-planting on the tiled pavement. Of course, the cold weather didn't stop me from taking advantage of the Ben-n-Jerry's coupon that we got with our parking stub: free waffle cone upgrade!! After finding a solution to Judd's clothing issues (a solution that became unnecessary after that first day due to a pleasant change in weather), we headed back to the hotel for naps. Later that evening, we enjoyed a delicious meal at The Brigantine Restaurant in Coronado; I recommend their lobster fettuccini...yummmm!!!

Tuesday morning dawned bright, sunny and warm (like SD is supposed to be!). Judd had to head over to the lobby to spend the day (and evening) with the rest of the Intuit folk doing whatever those Intuit folk do, while Gracelyn and I got to look forward to a day with the Menzers (my Aunt Monica, Uncle Stuart, and cousins Lauren and Michael). Lauren, Michael, Gracelyn and I went to the Rueben H. Science Center at Balboa Park to check out their new "Grossology" exhibit. The Science Center is childrens-discovery-museum-exploratorium-tech-museum-ish -- lots of hands-on science stuff to play with. The Grossology exhibit was pretty cool; it was all about the science of the body, specifically the gross parts: vomit, snot, farts, burps, etc. One exhibit had you squeeze different bottles to smell the odors that emanate from certain human body parts; I didn't actually test it out myself, but I was told that it was pretty nasty. Actually, I would've been more active in participating in the Grossology exhibit, but that morning I came down with some sort of stomach bug that had me feeling nauseous, dizzy, and all around crappy (turns out, the La Canada crew came down with the same thing, as did my Aunt Monica). I have to admit, I was not much fun to be around that day (sorry, Lauren and Michael! I'll be better company next time!). After we left the Science Center, we went back over to the Menzer's house in the Poway area of SD to walk Riley their yellow lab, meet some neighbors, have a family dinner, and watch some American Idol. Due to Aunt Monica's wonderful directions, Gracelyn and I made it back to Coronado safe and sound.

Wednesday was a lazy day for me and Gracelyn. Since I still wasn't feeling 100%, we just stuck around the hotel: walked around the perimeter of the hotel a couple of times, had lunch outside at the hotel cafe, took long naps in the room, etc. Pretty uneventful but fun, just the same. I even enjoyed a luxuriously hot bath during one of Gracelyn's naps. It was a lovely lazy day.

We left SD on Thursday and headed back up to La Canada to spend the night at Uncle Fred and Aunt Jan's once again. Before we left SD, we met up with Zach, Mike and Jessi (two of Zach's Wisconsin whazzmaster pals...along with their dog Parker) for a Sushi Summit at Seau's (nice alliteration, huh?). It was nice to meet Mike and Jessi, especially after having conversed with them via whazzmaster for awhile now. Gracelyn and Jessi got along really well, although our li'l one wasn't too sure about their li'l one (the dog, I mean). Everytime he would come close to her, she would scream at him. She did enjoy playing with their DVD's and their laminated map of SD, though! Just as we were heading out of SD, it started raining again, but, luckily, it didn't follow us all the way home. We made it back home on Friday early afternoon and spent the rest of the day unpacking and relaxing. Whew!! Vacations are nice, but sometimes it's just nice to be home...

drunk babie

Gracelyn is now 9 months old. And, for whatever reason, she thinks she now has license to do shit she shouldn't. Since learning how to crawl, she is picking up new tricks daily. She can now pull herself to standing on the couch, her toys, and other random stuff. She even figured out how to do this in her crib. (Of course, we had to adjust the settings so she doesn't leap out.) She is figuring out how to pull drawers out and is even capable of scaling the stairs. Recently, I busted her ass drinking from my beer bottle! I guess I should be happy that she is modeling the behavior that I am exemplifying. Anyways, she is so much fun. Below find her season stats:

Height: 28.5 inches (75%)*

Weight: 17 lbs, 5 oz. (25%)

Fat Head: 17.25 (45%)

*Results based on squirmy baby.

Also, we went grocery shopping together this weekend and she took a dump in the store. After quickly finishing up our chore, we rushed to the car to deconstruct the diapy and replace it with a fresh one. At one point, I could have sworn that Campbell's soup sponsored her - the Thick and Chunky brand. Her diapy was full of whole carrots and green beans. We just started giving her some table food, but it may be a bit early. Apparently, her system isn't advanced enough to break down the food that she puts in her mouth. Wow!