Swimcoachfinder.com

Justin has been quite busy during his 12 weeks of paternity leave (and not because he's been taking his turns with the 2am feedings either...ahem). He decided last summer to launch a social networking site that would pair up swimmers/triathletes and coaches for training opportunities. The number of people doing triathlons has skyrocketed in recent years and many athletes consider the swimming portion of the race to be the most challenging. Thus, the idea for Swim Coach Finder was born. The idea is that athletes and coaches can find each other and make arrangements for coaching services. The site went live in January and I'm really proud of all the work Justin's put into it. I keep teasing him that he needs to get in shape for his cover shot in Fast Company or Wired magazine. :)

So, if you're a swimmer or triathlete looking to enhance your skills or meet your goals in the water, check out swimcoachfinder.com!

Luke's Doppelganger

Sometimes I think my baby looks like the dad from Juno. Maybe not, but I see it every now and then.

Luke On the Go

Luke has been a busy little boy these past 2 1/2 months. He had his first 2-night stay away from home in the bay area when he was 5 days old because our heater AND gas fireplace went out at the same time! (Not the greatest day for a brand new mommy.) At a month he stayed in his first hotel for our cousin's wedding in Aptos (near Santa Cruz). And at two months and some change he went on his first mini-vacay with mom and dad in Monterey where he got to fall asleep to the real live ocean as opposed to the wave sounds coming out of his white noise stuffed animal. Not to mention the two times he's been to the movies, the two UOP basketball games, and the countless upon countless times he's been on walks or out to eat. I estimate he has eaten out at least 50 times in his short life. (We may sacrifice some of life's luxuries, but food is definitely not one of them!) I don't know what we're going to do when he stops sleeping in his carrier and becomes less portable! Oh well, these days of being on the go are about to slow down as Justin heads back to work next week (thank you Bank of America and your 12 weeks of FULLY PAID paternity leave!) and I follow on March 1st.


Luke at the El Torito in Monterey at almost 1 month


Luke in Monterey at 2 months 1 week



Getting ready to go to a Pacific basketball game. Go Tigers!

Two Months!

Luke had his two month check up and vaccinations today. He smiled at the doctor several times (yay for a friendly baby!) and only cried a little after the nurse stuck him (3 times!) Mom did good too. :) It must have been shot day today at Kaiser because there was a whole chorus of screaming babies in the rooms around us. I tried to prep Luke (as much as you can prep a 2 month old) for a few days, reminding him that daddy has to give himself lots of shots everyday for his diabetes, so it wouldn't be a big deal. :)

He's been going through a real growth spurt his week, wanting to eat non-stop in the evenings for hours at a time. Thankfully, I think we're past it today. The girls are tired. Despite this, he's still a skinny guy and I'm proud of every single one of the 55 ounces he's added since birth. :)

2 month stats:
Weight: 9 lbs 4 oz (um...under 5th percentile)
Height: 23.5 inches (50-75th percentile)

Yea buddy! :)

Celebrity Doppelgangers

Since Luke just finished eating and is out cold with every appendage completely outstretched, I thought it'd be a good time for a quick blog. I was inspired by Shelly's recent post about celebrity doppelgangers. I've always secretly hoped that if someone were to play me in a movie (and would stay true to my more natural hair color), that that someone would be an A-lister like Jennifer Garner or Anne Hathaway. Or, if we decided to go with a shorter, blonder Becky, then it would be Reese Witherspoon. Although, I am pretty positive that those personal favorites are just wishful thinking. Ha ha.

The only celebrity I have been compared to - a couple of times actually - is a random throwback to the 80's.



Yes, Dana Plato from Diff'rent Strokes. Sadly Dana grew up to be a drug addict who robbed a convenience store and eventually OD'ed. Nice. Awesome. I added this recent photo for a comparison. Not sure if I see the resemblance...



So, since Dana isn't available to play me in the major motion picture about my life, I am hoping that Jen or Reese will answer the call.

Who's your celebrity doppelganger?

For good measure

I have to post something of Luke. Here he is in a too big onesie - but it's from the O'Neill shop, so it's basically one of the coolest things he owns. He's being squeaky and wiggly. Typical. This video isn't that interesting, but Grandma will like it. :)

Getting Lost Again

I was a big fan of Lost for the first 3ish seasons. Then I got frustrated and got behind on my viewing - lack of cable can do that to a person. Recently hulu.com posted all past episodes of Lost and I was able to watch season 5 to gear up for the final season starting next week. Even through the all the frustrating plot points, the ridiculous number of characters, flashbacks, flashforwards, back stories, time traveling, polar bears, etc. I have wanted to stick with the show because I am hoping for a big payoff at the end. I am hoping that loyal viewers will be rewarded with a killer finale that will be on par with other kooky endings like Newhart and St. Elsewhere. Although, if Lost ends with a kid holding a snow globe I'm gonna be pissed.

Mallow Out Zippy

It appears that my cat, Zippy, is a fan of marshmallows. She normally doesn't try to eat people food, so this is an odd development. We have had an almost empty bag of them sitting on the counter for a few weeks now and she has succeeded in getting into it on more than one occasion. I have found squishy, moist marshmallows on the ground three times, which means she has not only gone through the trouble of getting into the bag, but actually sampled the goods while she was at it.*

And because I seem to make random confessions on this blog, I will say that the only reason I haven't thrown the marshmallows out is because I enjoy standing in the kitchen and eating handfuls of rice krispies out of the box with the marshmallows. It's like an instant rice krispie treat in your mouth! That's probably gross and sounds like something I will yell at Luke for doing in a few years.

*A google image search for "marshmallow cat" turned up a few photos and youtube videos, so apparently cats and marshmallows aren't an uncommon combination.

Kind of Ridiculous

I've blogged about my love for animated produce before, but I felt the need to reiterate it with this photo. I cannot express how happy this picture makes me - and it's only partly due to the cute baby. I mean, look how excited they are all lined up in a row with their bright smiling faces. I think the orange and the lettuce are the most photogenic, don't you? The corn is pretty cute and the banana is just being modest.

Okay, maybe I AM a little sleep deprived and delirious...

Non Sequitur

This is kind of a gross post, but I realized tonight* that Justin has used one of the bowls to my Kitchenaid mixer for several inappropriate things. Fortunately we have a back up bowl, but it's not as nice as the big one, which is probably why it's Justin's go-to bowl.

Here are some not so great uses for said bowl:

1. Moving dirty and/or clean water to and from the fish tank.
2. Holding soapy water and rags when washing the car.
3. Housing dead/presumedly dead/transient fish

Brownies anyone?

*I came to this realization as I was washing the bowl that goes to my salad spinner - the latest victim to Justin's fish tank cleaning process. Note to self: Buy a bucket and a special receptacle for Justin's nasty fish water.

The Escape Artist: And So It Begins

We bought the Snuggle Nest a couple of weeks after Luke was born so mommy would feel more secure during the night. The second night we used it (when Luke was just shy of 3 weeks old), we awoke to find that our little wiggle worm had almost succeeded in squirming his way out of the nest. After being repositioned, Justin found him in the same position about an hour later. Needless to say we gave up on the Snuggle Nest rather quickly. It wasn't a total waste though and still comes in handy for nights away from home and the occasional morning nap with mom and dad. I fear the day he decides the crib itself can no longer contain him.

Zippy Meet Luke

When we arrived home from the hospital with Luke, Zippy immediately checked out the car seat to see what we brought home. She was not pleased with what she found. Thus began two weeks of evasive manuevers on her part, some vigorous hissing, and a self-imposed banishment to the living room at night. She has since warmed up to Luke, albeit cautiously. She no longer runs away when he cries, but instead runs in to check on him. One morning Justin and I didn't get up quite fast enough when Luke was crying. When I went into his room, I found Zippy crouching on the floor looking out for him. She gave me a very disapproving glare.