A Leach Family Christmas

Tonight my dad, Julie,and Joanna came over for our Christmas celebration.  Unfortunately Andrew was sick and wasn't able to join us.  We had our traditional Papa Murphy's pizzas for dinner, and we had a really nice night as our first Christmas in which Dad was also Grandpa Jim.  Joshua celebrated the event by spitting up on Julie, which he had only ever done once before.  The previous time it was on Joanna, so maybe he has a weird way of showing affection for his aunts.

Holiday Dinner

Tonight we had a dinner with some of my friends and their wives.  Jason, Callie, Sonia, John, Nathan, Meghan, and I all got together for a great dinner at McCormick and Schmick's.  Joshua joined us, and he was quiet and very good the entire time.  Most of us enjoyed the restuarant's signature dessert, the Chocolate Bag, which was delicious as always. 

A Nicholl Family Christmas

Today we celebrated Christmas with Peg and Ron and the family. It was nice to see everyone as well as getting to see Joshua get his first stocking and celebrate his first Christmas.

The Worst Time of Day

Joshua likes the shower quite a bit and he doesn't even really mind getting out because I dry him off before we get out and then I wrap him in a dry towel. But then I put him in the Pack 'n Play with a blanket because I need to comb out my hair and brush my teeth and stuff like that. He absolutely hates that part more than anything. This picture was right before he started to cry. It only takes me a few minutes to be able to hold him again and get him dressed, but he really is not happy during that time.

Special Delivery

When I landed at the airport late tonight, Meghan called me to let me know that Christine was sick and really needed someone to bring her some soup, Saltines, and ginger ale.  Meghan was going to have to go tomorrow, but we realized it would be easier if I took care of it on the way home from the airport.  So I stopped by a nice new Price Chopper in Platte City to buy the supplies, and then I headed off to Basehor to bring them to her.  To avoid getting sick, we agreed I'd leave the stuff on her doorstep and then text her as I was leaving.  I felt like I was leaving a bag of ransom money under a park bench, but the operation was successful, and Christine got her supplies.

Shots

Today I took Joshua to the pediatrician for his 2-month checkup.  Part of the visit was getting four shots.  He was pretty brave.  He cried a bit when he got them, but he got over it very quickly and was back to normal after a few seconds.  Here he is right before the stabbing started.

Naptime

When I am working during the day, usually Joshua sits right next to me on the bed. Sometimes he has tummy time and sometimes we just talk while he looks around, but he isn't a big napper. I am overall okay with that because most nights he sleeps 8 full hours. But today he did nap and he looked so cute propped up on the pillows right beside me.

Epic

When Sprint releases new phones, they initially don't make them available to employee accounts, because they want to make sure there's enough inventory for potential new customers.  Meghan and I are on employee accounts, so we were subject to this restriction.  I've been waiting months for the Evo 4G and the Epic 4G to be made available for me to buy.  Recently this happened, so I was able to get my new Samsung Epic 4G.  It's an amazing phone, and I'm elated to have it.

2 Months Old

Today Joshua turned 2 months old. He has grown a lot this month and we are curious to see how much he will weigh at his doctor's appointment this week. It's really exciting now because he has been learning things like cooing or sticking out his tongue or holding up his head longer and things like that. We know he will learn new things even more in the coming months so that should be a lot of fun.

C is for Cookie

Today Meghan made us some delicious sugar cookies.  She put on the wrap in case she needed to hold Joshua while making them, but he helped out by sleeping during the process.

Blind Guy

As part of our window replacement project, we are also replacing the window treatments in our master bedroom.  The first step of that was installing the new blinds, which I did today.  Next on the list are the new curtain rods and curtains.

Hall of Fame

There are two great halls of fame in Ohio: the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  I travel to Ohio a lot, so I've been hoping it would work out that I'd have time to see one of them at some point.  Today, I finally got to see a hall of fame in Ohio, except it wasn't for football or for rock and roll.  It was the Amateur Trapshooting Association Hall of Fame.  So not only is there an Amateur Trapshooting Association, but they have a hall of fame in Dayton, OH.  Needless to say (hopefully), this wasn't a chosen destination of mine, but it was just something I saw along the side of the road, and I didn't go in.  Hopefully the next hall of fame I see will be one that I'd actually like to visit, not just to use for a photo opportunity.

Playtime

Today we used the baby activity center someone gave us for the first time. I wasn't sure he would like it because he is just now learning to grab. But he did like it quite a lot. He reached for some of the things and also liked kicking the chimes with his feet.

New Windows

Today we had our windows installed, though they are finishing up some trim work tomorrow. We got them replaced in all the upstairs bedrooms.  This is Joshua in front of the new window in his room.

Feeding Partner

When we feed Joshua, Natalie always wants to be nearby for some reason.  We now know to save her a spot in the recliner during feeding time.  Here I am with Joshua as Natalie dutifully waits next to me.

Chairbreaker

While moving some furniture around the house I knocked over one of our wooden kitchen chairs.  It fell to the ground and the top pieces broke off.  Fortunately I used my master carpentry skills to do what any skilled tradesman would do: I grabbed the wood glue.  Using a bottle of Gorilla Glue, I was able to glue everything back together.  Problem solved.

Getting Medieval

Tonight we went to the Hansons' for dinner, and Vincent was excited to show me his knight costumes.  We fought with the swords until he eventually brought out a long battle axe, which gave him a decided reach advantage.  Here we are in our gear.

Chad Wears His Sunglasses at Night

One of my good friends from college, Chad, was in town for the evening, so Nick, Jason, and I met him out for dinner.  We rarely get a chance to all hang out together these days, so it was good we were able to have some time to see each other.  It was also good to get dollar cheeseburgers because it was happy hour, even though the waitress claimed the restaurant takes a $3 loss on every burger sold.  Chad provided her some free financial and operational advice on the benefits of buying in bulk which caused her to leave immediately.  Good times were had by all.  Except the waitress.

High in the middle, round on both ends

A few months ago I was assigned to work with a new sales rep whose territory is Ohio.  He's new to the company, so he's working extra hard to find sales opportunities.  So he's in Ohio a lot, and because I'm his sales engineer, I'm in Ohio a lot too.  Before this, I'd never even been in Ohio, and now I'm there every week.   

Meeting Donna

Today our friend Donna came by to meet Joshua and hang out. It had been awhile since we had a chance to chat so it was nice to get together.