Sam Eating

Sam is starting to eat solid food (actually he has been for a couple of months). Some things he likes a lot and others not so much (the foods he doesn't like are funnier to watch him eat). So, here is Sam's first experience with a Cheerio and trying some peas.





PS - we hope that you all have not gone through Sam video withdrawal lately.

NICE PAINT

I saw this bike on the street in Shibuya. It was a strange juxtaposition. I doubt there's any meaning behind it (a prayer for street safety?) but in a sense that makes it even funnier. When did this kind of painting of Jesus become fashionable on the streets of Tokyo?

Sam's Surgery

Friday was Sam's surgery to correct his hypospadia (a birth problem where the urethra is not fully formed). It was of course a very hard day for Kate and I to know that Sam had to have surgery. But of course he came through it with flying colors and all the nurses said what a great little patient he was.

The surgery was done at Kosair's Childrens Hospital, where Sam had been when he was first born.

Thankfully he did not have to stay the night there, we got to bring him home a few hours after the procedure was done.

He was kind of out of it right after he woke up (not a real surprise - that is the 3rd picture).

His first day post surgery was kind of rough, cause he had some bleeding (it was expected) and was just recovering from everything.

Yesterday we started to see our goofy baby coming back. He thought it was hilarious to put a diaper on his head and let him pull it off, he is also starting to love playing peek-a-boo.

One More Chicago Post

Just some shots of the traffic in Chicago as we were leaving today, and then the state that I was left in after driving through Chicago :) (sorry, I cannot believe that I just used the smilecon).

Sam in Chicago

Sam certainly seemed to enjoy his time in Chicago (even if he did not enjoy the trip up or back, 6.5 hours in a car is a long time, especially for a baby), but he did enjoy his time with his great-grandpa and also his time playing in the big bed that was at the hotel was stayed at. He especially liked the fort that his parents built for him to keep him from rolling off the bed, he thought it was great fun to peek over the top of it to see what was going on.

A Post for Tomo

Tomo, here are some penguins for you that are made from gourds, yep, gourds.

The Illinios Gourd Society was having their show and sale at the Botanic gardens this Saturday and I guess that this display won one of the awards.

Bonsai at the Gardens

Kate rightfully pointed out that I could have put all of these on a web album, but the quasi-Luddite in me wanted to do lots of blog posts.
These are obviously some of the amazing Bonsai trees that that the Chicago Botanic Gardens have. As I have now killed 2 bonsai, I have an even deeper respect for the craft of bonsai and to see some of the specimens that were on display at the gardens was amazing.

Trains at the Botanic Gardens Part I

Well, there really aren't any trains in these pictures, but the pictures are all from the trains display. All of the buildings that were part of the display were made out of materials that came from the Botanic Gardens. By far the most impressive structure I thought was the display of Wrigley Field that was on display. There were also several recreations of Frank Lloyd Wright houses, the coolest of which was the Falling Water house that was built over a small waterfall.

Trains at the Botanic Gardens, Part II

These are some shots from the trains display at the Botanic Gardens. The first is of Old Faithful, the second of Mount St. Helens, the third is of Amtrak in front of an old peblo, and that last is a bridge shot that I thought Kate would like.

Chicago Botanic Gardens

Here are some pictures of the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Grandpa Bob, Sam and I spent a nice couple of hours there on Saturday while Kate was in her American Library Association meeting. The first is of a newish foutain at the Gardens, and the other two are from the hill that marks that start of the Japanese garden.

Family Picnic

Sunday was one of the nicest days that we have had in the Ohio valley for a long time, it was bright and sunny, but cool. Since it was so nice, we decided to pack a picnic and walked down to one of the vacant lots in Utica to just hang out and enjoy the weather.

Sam had a great time just sitting around playing with his rattle toys and also with some of the clementines that we brought for lunch (he liked to roll them around the blanket).

Mom came down to visit from Earlham on Sunday afternoon so she joined us on our picnic.