Smart Ideas

I was reading the New York Times this morning, and there was a great article titled "My Dad, American Inventor." The article talks about how more and more fathers are taking on more and more of the day to day kid challenges, and in doing so are creating new products for their kids. My favorite product discussed in this article is the BabySport nipple (www.babysportonline.com). Tommy Habeeb was at a park with a cold bottle of water and no way to offer that water to his todler who was slung across his chest. After some rough starts, he came up with a nipple with a twist bottom that can fit on most water bottles. SO SIMPLE, SO SMART.

Another pretty good invention mentioned in the article is called "Toteatot." It's basically a car seat with straps that allow you to safely secure it to your suitcase. Again, simple and smart. This picture below explains it all!!!


JOHN

Anniversary Time

Aug 20th marks our 6 year anniversary as a couple. I can still remember when I first met William, and all of the thoughts, hopes, and dreams that came flooding in with a simple handshake. For me, William is everything I dreamed of finding when I was younger. He is everything I could hope to be, he makes me a better person everyday, he can make me laugh at all times, and continuously amazes me day by day.

I wont embarrass him on our blog, but I knew immediately after meeting him on our first date that he and I would end up together. I knew then that we would one day be fathers, creating an amazing family together, and knowing that a hug was always waiting for me when I walk in the door. It does not get better than that!

Ok, so I will embarrass him a little bit with some Celine Dion lyrics.... I first heard this song in the car with William during the holidays. I quickly ran out and bought the CD... I played this song over and over, so many times in fact, that there was one time I found the CD hidden in a spare bedroom, but William said he never touched it..... I could not say it better than these lyrics how much William means to me.

I cant wait for the next chapter in our lives as parents.

"These Are Special Times"

In these moments, moments of our lives
All the world is ours
And this world is so right
You and I sharing this time together
Sharing the same dream
As the time goes by we will find
These are the special times
Times we'll remember
These are the precious times
The tender times we'll hold in our hearts forever
These are the sweetest times
These times together
And through it all, one thing will always be true
The special times are the times I share with you
With each moment, moment passing by
We'll make memories that will last all our lives
As you and I travel through time together
Living this sweet dream
And every day we can say
These are the special times
Times we'll remember
These are the precious times
The tender times we'll hold in our hearts forever
These are the sweetest times
These times together
And through it all, one thing will always be true
The special times are the times I share with you
These tender moments
When heaven is so close
These are the moments that I know
These are the special times
Times we'll remember
These are the precious times
The tender times we'll hold in our hearts forever
These are the sweetest times
These times together
And through it all, one thing will always be true
The special times are the times I share
Are the times we share, are the times I share... with you
Special times I share with you



Best,
JOHN

Summer fun (in the future with a baby)

I don't know if you agree, but John and I love summer. I know we've mentioned several times in the blog about going to museums, and theatre, etc (because even at a young age there are SO MANY fun things for kids to do at museums), but we are also looking forward to helping our future baby explore the outside. Summer is such a great time - even if it can get a little too hot from time to time. For us it also brings back so many fun memories for John and I, and hope of some of the fun things we'll be able to do with our child. We both love being outside, and we can't wait to share our passion for being outside with our baby. Although a great plus to living in Georgia is that we can go outside year round, it's even nicer in the summer. Almost every day we take walks through our neighborhood. Growing up, my grandmother would take me on walks and point out every tree, bird, caterpillar, and ant. It's really amazing that with the right guide, and a little perspective even the most mundane walk can become an adventure in learning about the world we live in. I just can't wait to teach our little girl (or boy) about all the wildlife the lives in our little surburban neighborhood.

Growing up on the coast of Maine I have a lot of great memories that involve water, and the beach. My father has always had boats and airplanes, and on top of that loves having family and friends visit him on them. My Dad is always asking for me and John to come and visit, and once the baby comes we plan on spending as much time as possible on the boat with my dad. Luckily it's big enough so that we can all stay the night on the boat without feeling too cramped. Below is a picture of my dad's newest boat that I took with my camera phone... not a very good picture - but you get the idea. This picture is actually the first time this boat was ever in the water. I flew up to Maine for a few days to help my dad take delivery of the boat he ordered. It turns out that "taking delivery of the boat" isn't to much work. They put it in the water - presumably to make sure it doesn't sink - and then test the engines, electronics, etc. All in all it's pretty exciting. Looking at this picture makes me realize I don't really have any pictures of his new boat. My dad was really focused on making sure the engines worked properly, and I made sure that all the TVs, the shower, microwave, etc were working. As I recall everything worked perfectly except for the satelite radio - but that was just a reception issue. I'll have to email my stepmom and ask her to send some good ones!

John also has great summer memories of his childhood. He tells great stories about the many times that him and his father would go to his uncles cabin on "the lake." I gather that John and his cousins (Nick & Ryan) were pros at riding the inter-tube and water skiiing. I guess they managed to do some pretty amazing tricks! Like me, beyond the exciting things (boats, planes, etc) he has lots of great memories of just exploring the outside. Anyway, the point is we're really looking forward to taking our future child outside to the beach, to the forest - to explore!

Thanks for reading!
~W

WeeRide

In a recent NYT I read a great article about all the new baby/toddler seats for riding bikes. They article reviewed several, but by far my favorite was the WeeRide. I love that it's in front of the rider. The article did say that it's much safer then the old seats that are on attached on the back of the bike. I think it's also better, because if the little girl (or guy) gets cranky you can see exactly what's going on without having to pull over. I also really like that it's got the enlarged holding pad in the front. Not only can the little one hold on and feel as though she's driving, but she can also just lay her head down and go to sleep if she gets tired during the ride. Plus, to us it makes so much more sense to have the baby up front. In the old carriers the baby would just stare at the riders back, but with the WeeRide the baby gets to see everything. Love it!

~W

Family visit...

After we adopt we're really looking forward to having our family and friends from out of town come and visit us to meet our new baby. It's so comforting to know that we have so many great family members and friends that will be around to support us and our baby. If the saying "it takes a village to raise child" is true - then we a REALLY well prepared to adopt!

Thursday night my cousin Nick and his friend Sarah were driving through Atlanta on their way to Florida. Luckily, it worked out that they were able to spend the night with us and have breakfast with us in the morning before they got back on the road (they had already driven 13 hours!!!). Nick was helping Sarah move all of her stuff down to her new home in Orlando from Nebraska.

Both Nick and Sarah are recent graduates of the University of Nebraska. Sarah was accepted into a very competitive graduate program in Orlando. Out of the the thousands of people who applied she was one of only 30 people chosen! Wow. Nick is basically a genius, and could get a job anywhere. I seriously think that his business card should read "Professional Genius." He's also a pretty amazing athlete, so after graduation he was asked to be an assistant coach at the University. They have great program at Nebraska so this will be a great resume builder for him. I have no doubt that in a few years he'll be the head coach for an amazing team. So, yes folks we have yet another teacher in the family. That makes 5 of us with either coaching / teaching degrees. Nick will be fantastic at this, as he is one of the nicest, most patient, mature people I have had the pleasure of watching grow up.

As I mentioned before Nick and Sarah are / have been very active with college sports. You can check out Nicks YOUTUBE video on the post below this of him and some of his teammates pole vaulting!!!!

It was great to see them both, and am so proud of Nick and Ryan for the guys they have grown up to be. With great family and friends, like Nick and Ryan around, our future child is sure to be succesful in whatever she/he chooses to do.

Best,

JOHN

Nick's vaulting video

NEW YORK CITY HERE WE COME... AGAIN!!!!

This year seems to be a good year to visit New York City. After we adopt we're so looking forward to traveling with our child. There are SO many great places for kids in New York - museums, parks, theatre, etc. Luckily, William has to go to NYC at the end of this month for some meeting and I happen to be off for two days, so I will be traveling to NYC to spend time with William. He will be working during the day, but we are planning on having some great evenings while we are there. I'm looking forward to doing some walking around and enjoying all the city has to offer! We are also thinking about seeing a show. We were thinking about seeing "Wicked." William has read the book that it's based on, and my cousin Matt and my aunt Sue just got back from London where they saw it, and said it was fantatsic.

JOHN