Jordan and Joseph - sharing childhood memories

It was a beautiful day to launch the start of summer (unofficially at least). There was steaks, chicken, and salmon on the grill ... beer in the fridge ... and something called snikers salad for dessert. Oh, and of course watermelon.

Jae, Cynthia, and Jordan were once again kind enough to invite us for another delicious BBQ. There we met-up with another couple from our lamaze classes, Christopher and Shannon and their little girl, Tiffany. Just as Jae says, it seems some of the best things to come out of the classes was meeting the other people. It is nice to know that the blow-out diaper accidents and the many "is the baby ok?" questions are not just happening to us. All three babies are all healthy and growing ... sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow. And today they were great, they slept while we ate and ate while we chatted ... one could not ask for a more pleasant afternoon.

Christopher plays with Tiffany as she wakes from her nap

So we took Joe out to his first movie theater experience today ... and what better to start with than Star Wars playing on the big screen. (Funny note: I was born in the year Episode 4 was released and Joe was born in the year Episode 3 was released ... coincidence?) The movie was quite enjoyable ... the fight scenes were fun and it fit into the star wars realm just fine. Sometimes I think people put too much weight on a series of films that were only ever intended to be fun. As for this 3rd film of the series, it really pulls the strands together ... though it was a little depressing seeing our "hero" turn evil, if thats a spoiler ... oops! but that is just it ... your not surprised, more thinking "how?" than "if?" In the end it felt sudden, but that may have just been the disappointment of destiny (the problem with writing the future before the present).

We caught the 10AM movie to avoid the crowds ... we were bringing a baby after all. Figured the early showing was for kids ... as it turns out that only about 1 in 5 were kids (strange?) but the theater was not busy. After the show we grabbed lunch at AppleBees before heading home to a relaxing afternoon.

Picking up the waitress

Helping Dad do some work

"Now ... my Nuk is that way right?"

Joe and I tried something new today ... we tried to have a bath in the tub. Mom previously just gave sponge baths - so this was a big step. The water was warm and helped with the belly gas, I think he likes just being clean. In fact, he quite enjoyed the experience ... I am sure bath time will become quite the event.

Ahh dad!

Remember to scrub behind the ears

Everyone should get a turn, taking dibs on a whole evening!

Well, Joseph is growing ... guess chugging down 5 1/2 ounces of super juice at a sitting will do that to a boy (then again, he only eats about every 5-6 hours). Just for knowledge, the "books" seem to say that the boy should eat every 2-3 hours (wake 'em up if you need to) and they should eat 2-3 ounces. Today the doctor decided to change the tune ... "only feed when he wants to eat, he is gaining weight fine" ... little does he know, we have been doing that already. What is nice is the once-a-night feeding, either at 3am or at 5am ... hope that lasts.

For the books (at 3 weeks):

Weight: 9 lbs, 4 oz (4.2 kg)
Length: 21.25 inches (54 cm)

Congrats Darren!

This past Thursday Darren took "the pledge", the pledge of allegiance. He finally sold his soul and took the final step in naturalization - which makes Darren a full fledged american. And any such event is worthy of a party, and it was a great one put on by his dad.

The man may give up Tim's, and good tasting beer ... but, can he still consider himself a Leaf fan?

Joseph meets Jordan

This evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Jae and Cynthia's place with their newborn baby girl; Jordan. Jae and Cynthia (and I guess Jordan) were in our Lamaze classes and then ended up next door during delivery. As it turned out, Joseph and Jordan have the same birthday (only just hours apart) - so we thought it would be fun to get together and introduce the two of them.

Dinner was excellent (BBQ ribs and chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed veggies ... yummy! ), the kids were extremely well behaved, and we all enjoyed an evening of getting to know each other ... though as it turns out Jae found our website while searching for information on the Tandor restaurant, so he already knew quite a bit. All in all, it was an evening of good food and great company ... thanks guys!

So, it has been a couple days since the car went into the shop so I decided to give the guy a call and check on the progress.

"Well ..." he said, "... it works just fine. Did you say there was a problem?"

Turns out, he went out to the car and it would not start. Grabbed the diagnostic equipment and the technician ... hooked everything up ... and Ta-da! Now the car started just fine ... no problems. Starts, runs, everything is good. Technician apparently said something like "what do you need me for again?"

???

He has since tried to get it to fail and nothing. So ... he will try again tonight and tomorrow morning. Then do a wheel alignment and I will pick it up ... only to be stuck Saturday morning with a non-running car in our parking lot ... AND with the mechanic no at the garage until Monday. Gah! You know its going to happen.

Suggestion ... give the car a good kick in the butt. No seriously, apparently you can "kick-start" the fuel pump if you bang the gas tank while you turning over the engine. Added bonus ... if such a "fix" works then it is a 90% chance that the fuel pump is gone and we can go ahead with the $700 repair.

My poor Cavalier

So, this morning I get up, head downstairs, get in the car and .... roov-roov-roov-roov ... roov-roov-roov !!!!! She was turning over but not catching. Maybe she needs a cup of coffee as bad as I do?? So it was back upstairs and to the phone for me - time to find a mechanic with a couple hours to spare.

Suspicion is the fuel pump. We have been noticing a problem starting more and more over the last few months ... progressively getting worse. I was hoping that it was the fuel filter and spark plugs and had those replaced ($200+) a couple weeks ago ... but I guess not eh! (I knew this before today but just have not put her in the shop)

So ... I am still waiting for quotes from a couple places, but according to the GM dealer it will be about $780 to fix the fuel pump (ouch!) on the 2000 Chevy Cavalier. Since I was taking her in I figured lets check on a couple other things coming up ... so front wheel alignment $79.95 ... and the clutch (5 years and 115,000+ km) is $1800 (double-ouch! Heck I could get a new transmission for that!). So I am really hoping for some better prices from these other places.

Man ... when it rains it pours eh?

It has been a busy couple weeks

While it was an exciting few weeks with family in town (check out some photos Krishen has up on Kurts' last day), it is also nice to have a weekend break. We got the house cleaned up, shared in family time, and got some much needed sleep. I even got a chance to give my first feeding ... which I must say was pretty cool. Up until now I have been seen only as the "one who changes dippers and holds me when the 'bottle' (ie Mom) is busy" ... not no more!!!

My turn to shared in the food services industry

We also managed to provide some much needed belly time to Joseph as we cleaned the house. He has been really active on his belly, building both his upper and lower body strength ... plus he does not seem to mind unless he is hungry or dirty (Kurtis? You around??). Hey, it seems easy to sneak in a nap when one gets tired :)

Sleeping comes after playtime

Though he and his friends also enjoy watching us work around the house from 'the chair' ...

Cuddling with his first ducky (thanks Heidi)

Sharky is snuggles in just perfect

... from Kurtis

Having both Kurtis and Dad in town over the last several days (weeks) has been great. We enjoyed the company and all three of us are sad to see you leave. Dad (Grandpa) left Wednesday while Kurtis is heading out bright and early tomorrow morning. (Coffee is on right?)

Over the last few days the guys got a chance to see the plant and catch a sunset (never missing the ice cream). Kurtis managed a day down in Venice looking for shark teeth, though I think he spent more time playing in the water than actually searching for teeth since he is the only one I know to not find any. And today ... we enjoyed Siesta with sand, sun, and good food.

It has been great having you here, catch you again in July!

The boys...

Joseph enjoyed the visit

Enjoy the snow back at home :)

For the one week old we thought we would do something special ... head to Tampa for his first visit to Dad's favorite theme park :) Truly, we were up there for "my" Dad who wanted to check out some of the new software (Tiger, iLife, iWork).

Joseph was a natural

After a couple purchases we enjoyed dinner and headed home. Turns out iPhoto 5 does not work on my iMac 350 ... oh well. What we have works just fine ... and I will get a new machine one of these days ... start saving for that PowerBook G5 - should have the money by the time it arrives :)

It was a long night...

Since my brother and father are in town I thought it would be a good idea for them to at least see the sights. So on Sunday we headed to the Kennedy Space Center for a little tourist action. This is one of the few times I have managed to catch the shuttle on the pad, we actually were hoping that they would launch early May here ... but that got pushed back to July as they have to take the Shuttle back to the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) for some repairs post last minute 'return to flight' tests. Melissa and I are both hoping that the launch will be late July so that we can catch it, this will be the first launch since the Columbia tragedy in 2003.

Discovery sits on the Pad

On the way home I took them along the scenic route hoping to catch more of the "real" Florida - rather than just the interstate. Along the way we had a whole new adventure.

Cavalier's first blown tire

We had to make a short stop in Arcadia to fix the tire. $85 plus dinner later we were back on the road. This was the first time I have been driving when a tire gives out ... but we were all safe and sound. What a day.

Sorry Grandma ... I try to get your cuddles in too!

Grandpa Bahan got into town this evening after a trip to Honduras and is enjoying this time with little Joe. It is just a short visit, but we are going to try and get some fun in the sun before he heads home.

Joseph is an ambitious one. Not content to just sit at home eating and sleeping the days away ... NO! He requested that we initiate the learning activities immediately, so being good parents we had to oblige. So, it was off the the Mote.

And while we came out to see everybody ... it seemed everybody was interested in us, well ... little Joe anyways. The afternoon went quite well, and after a little ice cream on "the circle" we headed home.

Oh, the places you will go
Congatulations!
Today is your day.
Your off to Great Places!
Your off and away
- Dr. Seuss

	Joseph Lorne Bahan 2272 x 1704 1.3 MB
	Innocent 2272 x 1704 1.3 MB
	Bundled 2272 x 1704 1.6 MB
	Bonding 2272 x 1704 1.5 MB
	Family Photo 2272 x 1704 1.6 MB

First, we want to thank you all. The support from everyone has been great. Amy, Erik, and Madylne showed up yesterday for a full-evening visit ... and while our backs were turned they showered Joe with gifts. And he enjoyed them, Dr. Seuss is a delightful read at 2AM :)

Good morning ... now where is that coffee?

They were joined yesterday by Krishen who stopped by after work. He returned this afternoon with an entire gang from the office (Kai, Yawen, Mark, and Jeff). Darren also stopped by for a visit ... see all the babysitters you have Joe!

Uncle spoils continue

Darren is a natural

Tonight I look forward to a little more sleep with a few less checkups required for baby. Last night he enjoyed, not one but two, blood tests (due to clotting in the first) along with constant check-ins by the nurse. This was compounded by the fact that we both awoke when visited or if Joe was fussy. So ... tonight we look to a little more of shut-eye ... but then again, anything more than 30-45 minute catnaps should be good!

Mommy enjoys some quality cuddle time

Relaxing ... nothing beats skin time

Time of the water breaking - stage 1

As mentioned previously, the day started at 8AM this morning. The doctor broke Melissa's water and started the snowball rolling downhill. By 10AM she was in early labor and by noon she was starting to get strong and regular contractions. An hour later Kurtis and I broke for a quick lunch expecting a long, grueling afternoon ... but that was not to be. By 1:15PM I did not expect things to last another hour ... and I was right.

Joseph Lorne Bahan was born 7 pounds 14 oz and 20.25 inches at 2:00PM. He and mom are doing great. Melissa went without any drugs, things just went too fast, and was up and moving within an hour of giving birth. This was a completely incredible experience to be a part of. I am still in awe.

Here are some pictures from the day. There will be plenty more in the following days, so stay tuned :)

At 8:13AM the doctor broke Melissa's water and began us down the final path. We headed into the hospital this morning for a planned "Non-Stress Test" and the doctor decided that it was time to get the ball rolling. Melissa is currently being placed on antibiotics to help protect the baby during birth and then will likely get Pitocin to help initiate the contractions (if they don't start immediately). Kurtis and I have raced home to grab the bags and extras to make life at the hospital a little easier. Oh this should be a fun fun FUN day :)

Baby is fine and mommy is fine ... I am excited .... its time folks!!!!

My brother, Kurtis, arrived today from Calgary after just completing his latest round of exams ... so he thought he would treat himself to a little Floridian vacation. A good break before entering into another long summer of "scrapping enough money to pay for 3rd year" at U of C. He was also kinda pleased that he is going to be in town for the birth ... which still has yet to occur.

To help on that front, we once again walked down to Starbucks for our evening mocha. Contractions are getting a little stronger - but still not regular and the baby has yet to drop ... so we might still be looking at a couple more days. I must say, I am getting tired of this waiting - every little thing has me worried and anxious, I just want to get on with it!! However, things are all still well and I need to learn some patience ... but keep your fingers crossed anyways :)