Update from the womb…

Here’s a quick vid from our ultrasound appointment the other day. The doc wanted to see how big the little fella is getting. We are at 37.5 weeks and they figure he’s about 6 lbs 9 oz. Check out that little face!

It was a good day…

Got to work outside. Chainsaw. Trees. Lots of pine sap. Today was a good day…

Practice…

So two-and-a-half weeks before Staci is due, we became an aunt and uncle for the fourth time. Here’s a pic of Staci “warming up” with our niece – happy birthday GRACIE LOUISE QUILLINAN! Any day now Staci will be in this exact same position, but with our little monster. We just celebrated “Full-term Friday” with a little wine-and-swine double feature. Anyhow, it’s far too nice out to be tickling the office ivory….until next time.

34 Weeks and Growing…

So, I’ve still been trying to take Staci’s picture once a week to document the changes she’s experiencing as kid Clark grows. Here’s a video update (sans audio) to our last “First 20 Weeks” video. This one gets us to week 34:

He’s still there…

We had an appointment last week to make sure our kid was still there…turns out he is. The ultrasound tech said he was stubborn because he wouldn’t pose for any pictures. I think he’s like me and just doesn’t want to be bothered. Here are the few pics we were able to get:

Profile (they said they could see hair in this one...I can't)

A blury foot

Yep, pretty sure that's a beard

Stay tuned…I am updating the growth-by-week video of Staci…Should be up soon.

If I die, I won’t be mad at ‘ya…

How often do find yourself signing a legal document that, when you boil down all the lawyer speak, the point is “If I die, I won’t be mad.” While writing this post, I’m realizing that I’ve signed this type of release more times than I can count…and I don’t think I’ve ever signed a will…Is that bad? Here’s a quick look at my latest “this could kill or maim you” form:

I’ve never actually read one of these from beginning to end. The words in all caps, such as HAZARDOUS and DEATH, create enough of a distraction that I usually just sign on the line and finish breakfast. This latest “so fun you might not make it back” adventure was courtesy of my brother’s father-in-law and the backcountry guides at Ski Cooper/Chicago Ridge. I have a bunch pics and even some short vids from the trip – here’s a few shots to wet your whistle(s):

OUR RIDE

HALF WAY THERE

OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR

EVERYBODY OUT

READY?

Has the anticipation mounted? Are you on the edge of your desk chair? That’s exactly how I felt (minus the oxygen to make a deep breath actually worth taking). If you’d like to see the rest, send $1 to the following the address: HA…more to come…

Can you really upgrade a miracle?

We just completed 25 weeks of Staci’s pregnancy and we had yet another chance to see our little guy in 3D. It’s images like these that remind me what a miracle he truly is. Here’s a pic:

The wavy thing in his face is the umbilical cord and he apparently likes to play with it (note the hand).

And now the real reason for this post. Thanks to the amazing advances in modern sonography, we were pleasantly surprised to see that our son comes with a cup holder! An upgrade on our miracle – check it out:

Jackpot!

Jameson…

…a good Irish whiskey and a great dog. Staci and rescued a Black Lab from the dog pound a few years ago and we decided to name him Jameson. Funny part is we both think that one of us thought of the name first and because I (Andy) am writing this, it was obvioulsy me. I say “rescue” because it wasn’t one of those nice, “no kill” sort of places that we got him from. I was warned by the folks running the place that he was way too hyper and was going to be tough to train because he was already almost a year old and had been a stray for most, if not all of his life as far as they could tell. They let me take him into a small fenced in area for a test run and he was pretty hyped-up, just like they said, but so was I so we got along pretty good. I was running around in the cage chasing the tennis ball they gave us and after a bit he just sat down and watched me as if to say “I’m crazy, but that dude’s clinical.” Long story short, the whole “taste of your medicine” thing has been the best method ever and now we have a pretty well trained dog with a ton of personality. So why all the dog talk? Because it’s Winter and I think Winter is Jameson’s favorite time of year. He reminded me of that this past weekend. The roads were a little too nasty to head out on the usual route for a walk so I took him out in the yard for some snow wrestling. He is CRAZY about snow and eats a bunch until he sneezes and burries his head in it and inhales so much that he gags – just like we used to when we were kids. He’s 5 years old now, but can get just as wound up as did when we first got him and I love to instigate. Here’s a few pics from our snow fight:

A brief look back at 2008

Staci does this thing where she sits down with the calendar for the upcoming year and fills in the white space with everything that’s supposed to happen and all the recurring events like birthdays and anniversaries. As a guide, she refers to the previous year’s calendar just before recycling it. Maybe you’d say she’s thorough, or anal retentive – either way it ends up being a fun way to reminisce. Here’s is a brief look back at some of the highlights from our ‘08 calendar.

In March we took a trip to Costa Rica. Staci and I rented a car and drove all over. Here are a few pics:

We took trapeeze lessons (strange I admit, but true), chescked out the rainforest, soaked in hot springs at the base of an active volcano, and enjoyed a handful of beautiful beaches. If you can find a way to get there, we highly recommend it. We’re going back as soon as the little guy is old enough to surf.

In her infinite wisdom, Staci used the afore-mentioned vacation as bribery to get me to finish remodelling our home. It took three and a half years and a ton of help from family and friends and by early 2008, it was finally done! Here’s some before and after shots of the front:

I was able to travel a bit for work in ‘08 and saw a bit of the East, Midwest, Rocky Mountains, and West Coast. Here’s some pics:

Staci and I both turned 30 this past year and after several years of difficulties getting pregnant, we woke up to this on August 9th:

We are so incredibly blessed and can’t wait to meet the little guy in 2009! So many of our friends either had kids or got pregnant in ‘08. I guess we are at that age. Baby Clark is going to have a bunch of little pals and has even been mentioned as a candidate for a prearranged marriage.

August was insane for us. On top of finding out Staci was pregnant, I put my brother’s bachelor party together, took part in a 100-mile relay race, saw the Red Sox beat the Yankees in their last year at Yankee Stadium with this guy, and went to Toronto with Jenn and Steve, Brian, Kevin and Book. Here’s some more pics:

Seth's Bachelor Weekend

NOTE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FALL ASLEEP EARLY – YANKEE LEG – DISGUSTING

100 on 100 Relay

Sox vs. Yanks

After finishing as runners-up in 2007, our softball team won the league championship in 2008. Here’s a quick pic with one of my adoring fans:

In September, Staci and I travelled out to Denver, CO to take part in my not-so-little brother’s wedding. He and his new wife Sarah planned a beautiful outdoor wedding and reception at a botanical garden in the foothills of the Rockies. We spent just about a week with the family hanging out, helping prepare, partying, and then winding down after. Here’s a few pics from the trip:

I’m sure I’ve forgotten a number of things from ‘08 so I’ll call this post part one of _____. 2008 was a great year for us and we want to thank everybody who was a part of it. Can’t wait to see what 2009 brings…

Perspective…

Has perspective ever snuck up on you and smacked you directly in the grill? If you are like me and HATE traffic and the lack of convenient parking (or parking at all), then this time of year is especially frustrating with last minute holiday shopping and everybody travelling in inclimate weather. I volunteered last night at a Christmas service at the Colonie campus of Northway Church and to get there, I drove during rush hour down a major local route that also leads directly to one of the areas most popular shopping malls. I think my top speed was about 15 mph and it took 35 minutes to go just a few miles between work and church…angry… My task was to help direct parking for what ended up being the largest turnout to date at the small campus. The parking lot and street in front of the church were jam-packed – a car load of folks pulls up and the driver rolls down the window and asks if there’s any parking available. I informed him that the entire immediate vicinity was full and before I could continue with further direction, he says “Dude, that’s awesome! I’ll park somewhere down the road and just walk.” Perspective.