August 15, 2008
August 3, 2008
Photo Update
So, as usual, I've gotten behind on updating photos on the web site.
Idaho
First up are photos from the trip Damon and I took to Idaho to spend time with the family. Click the photo to see the rest of the pictures.
While we were there, we also rented a tag-along bike that Damon rode on with his Papa and had a great time. Here's short video I took:
Damon on the bike from Chris Henry on Vimeo.
The Orange County Fair
Last week, we went to the OC Fair for the afternoon. Click the image below for more pics.
March 17, 2008
Playing Monkey
I looked out of the garage yesterday, and there was Damon, he had the jog stroller parked under the tree and was standing on it to try and climb up into the tree. It was moving around a fair bit since he hadn't locked the wheels, but he almost had it.
Daddy: "Damon! What are you doing?"
Damon: "Playing monkey. I want to get up into the tree"
I'd seen him trying to climb up the trunk several times already, and I guess he'd decided that he needed a leg up.
We put the stroller back, and I gave him that one little boost that he needed and he climbed up into the tree. He even climbed down. The second and third times up the tree, he was able to do it much more quickly, but did get himself wedged in and had to be "rescued".
The first thing he wanted to do when Mommy got home was run outside (in the rain) to show her how he could climb the tree and after that first little bit of help from me, he scampered up it like he was born to it.
Any bets on how long the "you can only climb the tree when Mommy or Daddy are helping you" rule will hold?
February 6, 2008
Photo Update
So, once again I've gotten behind on posting updates. Here are some photos of our adventures in December and January. We had a trip to Alaska, Christmas, lots of cousins, and Disneyland all in a pretty short period of time. Enjoy the photos...
 Santa! |
 Piling Snow on Baron |
 Nana & Damon |
 At Grace's School |
 Cousins |
 Papa & Grace |
 Papa & Damon |
 Daddy & Damon |
 At the Park with Alana |
 Christmas morning with Rena and Alana |
 Stockings |
 Rena and Elmo |
 Lightning and Mater |
 At Disneyland |
 Hanging out with Maya |
 On Small World |
 New Shirt |
September 22, 2007
What I did on my summer vacation
Summer's over and we were able to have a pretty good time, even though I worked so much it felt like I pretty much missed it entirely.
I've got some photos and videos to share of stuff that happened this summer.
Photos:
Videos:
This first video is some misc. clips from the summer that starts with some clips at the pool, some random dancing, clips from his swim lessons, and ends with a trip to the zoo with Caesar.
The last video is from our trip to Disneyland on Friday. We haven't been since March or April, so it was a lot of fun. The best part, for me, was that he's now big enough to go on the big kid rides. So we did Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and he totally loved it. We also did Autopia for the first time, which he totally loved.
The video first has clips of Damon driving the car in Autopia. Next, I taped him on the Go-Coaster. Finally, I included the clip I took last October of him on the Go-Coaster so you could see the different facial expressions.
May 5, 2007
Birthday Stuff
Damon's birthday party was last weekend and here's some photos & stuff.
Here's some video of Damon in the bounce house:
One of his gifts was this outfit from his cousin Grace
Lastly, Damon's present from Mommy and Daddy was this:
(decorations courtesy of Nana and Papa)
January 13, 2007
Cookie
Damon's Grannie Linda knitted him a sweater for Christmas this year. He wears it everytime we go anywhere. It was a little cold tonight (50s), so he needed more warmth, but insisted on wearing the cookie monster jacket. So, we ended up putting a sweatshirt under the cookie monster sweater.
December 30, 2006
Some Christmas Photos
And so, Christmas begins...
Damon's present opening skills have increased from last year. Rip and tear baby!
Some loot:
Mommy and Daddy got him a "big boy" bed too. It's super cool.
We also managed to get a short video clip of Damon jumping onto his new bed. (Click the video to watch)
November 4, 2006
Damon's Halloween Costume
March 1, 2006
Disneyland
Is it evil to tell your mother that they don't allow cameras into Disneyland any longer due to security concerns? I'm reminded of the Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy:
One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.I'm sure that I'm building up some sort of karmic debt here, but I just can't help myself.
Wanna see photos from today's trip? Click Here.
January 20, 2006
Recent Photos
Yes, it has been a while since I published any photos of Damon. Sorry about that.
I'm trying out a new program (iWeb) and a new service (.mac) that look like they might make publishing photos a lot easier.
Click here to view the photos. Let me know what you think of the new interface.
October 9, 2005
Phoney Mud
I know it's been a while since I've posted photos. I'm also still planning on posting the family reunion photos at some point.
Damon's recently taken to mimicing a lot of the things we do. A while back Marnia called me at work to tell me about him using a plastic hot dog bun as a pretend phone. Today, I handed him my razon and he put it up to his face and rubbed it around a little.
We gave him one of Marnia's old non-working cell phones a while back:
Last week the Stuewe girls came over and spent the evening with us. Damon decided that Torie was worth having around after all:
And finally, Damon had a lot of fun playing in the dirt at the stables this morning (sorry, no photos), and really had fun this afternoon playing with the water and making mud:
July 31, 2005
Sunday at the beach
Last Sunday afternoon we got the great idea to go to the beach for a little while. Damon hadn't been to the beach before, and it seemed like a good idea. So, we sunscreened everyone and loaded up and took off for the Balboa Peninsula. On a Sunday afternoon. In July.
So here's the thing. There's nowhere to park on the peninsula on a Sunday afternoon. We drove around for 30 minutes looking for a place to park and never found one. So, we came home and played in the sprinkler.
This morning, we decided to give it another go. We left home arond 9:00 and there were plenty of places to park. We even found a spot that didn't have a parking meter
Damon thought the sand was pretty cool, but the ocean and the surf scared him a little. So, we played in the sand for a while and had a good time.
Bonus photo:
July 26, 2005
More Photos
Damon got a new ball a couple of weeks ago. It's a slightly oversized volleyball. Here's some pics from a trip to the park:
Tonight we went to the Orange County fair with the Stuewes. Damon had a blast in the petting zoo. He was tearing around after the animals and having a great time.
July 10, 2005
R.I.P. B.U.T.
Well, I finally did it. I traded in the B.U.T. (big ugly truck) this weekend on a newer set of wheels.
Old & Busted:
New Hotness:
I know, I know. It's an SUV. SUVs are evil. Gas sucking, road hogging, ubiquitous evil. But here's the deal. I looked at a lot of vehicles to replace the truck. First option was a minivan. Lots of cargo space, very practical. However, the minivans I looked at were generally more expensive and got worse mileage than the small & mid-size SUVs. Hmmm. Next option was a station wagon. Not really enough cargo space and I like sitting up higher. That really left the SUV. I was gonna get a hybrid-electric one but they're just too expensive for us right now. Bummer. Next was the decision to buy new or used. I looked at the new Saturn SUV, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe and Tuscon, and at the Kia (online anyway). They all seemed fine, but when it comes to build quality and endurance of a car, nobody can match the Toyota. The problem was that the new Highlanders were out of my price range. Hello used car lot.
So, I ended up getting a 2002 Toyota Highlander with the 4 cylinder engine (better mileage, less expensive). It has leather seats and a sunroof, both of which I wanted to get. It even is silver, which is the color that I wanted - doesn't show dirt as much. What's also cool is that it rides more like a car than a truck. I learned through all of this that SUVs are either built on truck frames (such as the Toyota 4-Runner, Ford Explorer, etc.) or on a car frame (Highlander, Honda CR-V, Saturn VUE, etc.). If you want towing and ruggedness, go with the truck version, if you want a nicer ride and better fuel efficiency, go with the car version.
Anyway, I've joined the SUV nation, and I like it.
July 4, 2005
4th of July Helper
Damon "helped" me out this afternoon when I washed the car.
He did really well tonight watching fireworks on the block. He only started getting cranky when we go to bedtime. And off to sleep he went.
What a great kid.
June 11, 2005
Ketchup
Okay, time to catch up a little bit. Since I last posted, Damon and I flew to Oregon so the Oregon branch of the family could throw Damon a birthday party. We went to Lincoln City, which is where my parents live, and hung out for a couple of days. My brother and sister in law came over for the weekend too, so it was a big party. One nice part of the trip was that I didn't take a camera with me because I knew that the grandparents would come through with the digi pics, and I wasn't disappointed.
Of course, when in Oregon, one must do one's best to blend in. Below is a photo that accurately describes what my parents did to my innocent son.
Click here for the rest of the photos.
Here are some other recent photos:
Found some cheapo kids sunglasses in the junk drawer the other day. Damon's one cool cat.
Frozen blueberries are the best
Playing around on the deck.
April 29, 2005
Birthday o'Rama
Yesterday was Damon's first birthday. He had lots of fun at daycare and at home.
Here are the photos we took at daycare as he his cupcake. After he was finished with his, he then stole the one from his neighbor as she was eating slowly.
Then last night, we had some friends over and served Damon's favorite foods: Peas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bread, and most importantly, watermelon. He then had a slice of carrot cake, which was destroyed in much the same fashion as the cupcake.
Not a bad first birthday. Two parties down, two to go. After all, you only turn 1 four times.
March 27, 2005
Easter Photos
Our neighbor Heidi came through again with some great Easter themed photos of Damon.
Damon also recently got this cool rocking chair that belonged to Marnia's mom when she was a little one.
He has also taken to helping around the house. Below you can see how he's helped out with the laundry as well as with putting together a new piece of IKEA furniture.
February 10, 2005
Photo Catch-up
Okay, so I've finally had time to upload all of the photos from the holidays.
This first set is some Black & White photos taken by our neighbor. The theme is something like "Seriously, Merry Christmas."
This is another set taken by our neighbor when Damon's cousin Alana was in town.
These were taken over the holidays and after we got home from our trip to Oregon.
December 23, 2004
Merry Christmas
I'm really behind with the updates. It's been really busy here the last several weeks.
Coming soon are pictures with Damon and his cousin Alana, Santa, and more.
Here are a couple to hold you over until then
December 4, 2004
From my phone to you
You may have noticed the Seen Recently section of the web site. It's a new feature that I've been working on for a week or so that allows me to post photos to the web site from my cell phone without having to use my computer to upload the photo. It's pretty slick, I send the photo from my phone to an email address in Japan, and the server there logs into my web site and posts the new picture. Mobile Web Logging (aka Moblogging) is very popular in Japan. Of course the instructions are written in Japanese, so we'll just have to wait and see if the service stays around.
I tried a bunch of different mechanisms to get this working, and finally decided on this Japanese service. I used a service called Flickr for a couple of days, but didn't like that they put the photos on their site instead of uploading them to mine.
November 17, 2004
Sitting Bull
Damon's new "trick" is that he sits up on his own without needing to be held. As with all of his new skills, he's pretty proud of this one. When he first started sitting on his own, he'd last for a few minutes then begin listing to one side or the other and eventually fall over. He would also do face plants as he leaned too far forward.
Over the past week he's gotten a lot more skilled at sitting and falls over a lot less often.
Here are some pics from the night last week when he decided to show off for his "cousins" Victoria and Natalie.
November 8, 2004
Little baby, Big baby, Grand baby
The Retrospective
First off, a little before and after. The picture on the left was taken when we were in Chicago when he was about a week old. The one on the right was taken a couple of weeks ago when we were going through his clothes to weed out the ones that he'd grown out of. It appears that he's grown a little.
The surprise inspection
Last week my parents called to say that they were coming to visit for the weekend. While they were here, they snapped off a few (dozen) pics of the boy.
How can you not love this picture? (photo credit: the old guy)
Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend...
Lazy boy
Shirtless boy
That's all I've got for now.
October 18, 2004
Angelic haircuts with a side of rice
Well, as usual things have been really busy. I noticed tonight that it's been a while since I posted any new photos. So, here's a few to catch up on.
First off, we stared feeding Damon rice cereal a couple of weeks ago. He's not enitrely sure yet how he feels about it, but he's getting the idea. The biggest challenge is to get him to actually open his mouth so we can get the food in.
When the Angels were playing what turned out to be the last game of the series, Damon and I put on our Angels jerseys in an attempt to shift the balance of team mojo in the Angels favor. All looked good with Vladimir Guerreor hit a grand slam to tie the game, but Boston ended up winning in the end. Oh well, at least we got a good photo out of the deal.
This past weekend, we took Damon in for his first haircut. His hair on top was really starting to get out of control. Marnia really wanted to leave it long on top, kind of a chocolate mullet I guess, but the guy cutting Damon's hair had other ideas. Damon's hair is now very short, and I think it looks good, but Marnia still prefers it long and poofy - Kramer-style.
Here are the pics we took:
When we got home:
September 17, 2004
Phone Home
Some new photos...
This week he's starting to reach for toys and grab them. Then into the mouth. He seems to like the taste of his little red phone.
September 4, 2004
Standing room only
With the new job and everything over the last month, we haven't had time to take many photos of the little guy, and even less time to post those photos. However, I do have two new ones for your viewing pleasure.
Before we get to the photos, however, Damon went in for his four month checkup this last week and came through with flying colors. He didn't even put up too much of a fuss about getting four immunizations. Cried a little when he got stabbed, but then was fine.
His new dimensions were:
Weight: 14 lbs. 4 oz (48th percentile)
Height: 26" (90th percentile)
Also, lately he's really taken to "standing" up. He just loves it. He seems also to be very proud of himself when he's standing. Of course, he looks like a drunken sailor.
(the third photo is him trying to stuff his shirt into his mouth)
August 17, 2004
That's my boy!
This photo has not been doctored in any way. Just sheer luck.
WARNING: The contents of the photo are PG-13.
August 15, 2004
Alaska
Last Wednesday was my last day at Starbright and Thursday morning Damon and I left for a couple of days in Anchorage visiting my brother and his family.
We were a little late getting to LAX Thursday morning, we had about an hour and ten minutes before the flight left. It took us almost 40 minutes to get checked in and as we were nearing the front of the line, I smelled that Damon had filled up his pants. Since we were so close to the front, I didn't want to get out of line to change his diaper. As we were coming up to the security checkpoint, I heard them calling "all rows" to board our flight. As I picked him up out of his carseat to go through security and realized that he had blown out his diaper. No time to stop though, so we just kept going.
We sat down in our seats and I asked the flight attendant if I had time to change Damon's diaper. She said yes. So I took Damon in to change him and he had a super-colossal blowout. Poo everywhere. While I'm cleaning everything up, I hear the front of the plane asking if the aft cabin was secure. "Aft cabin NOT secure" was the response. Yikes, gotta hurry. They ask again, "Aft cabin NOT secure". Finally I get everything cleaned up and get back to my seat. No sooner had I sat down when I heard "Aft cabin secure". Then we waited another ten minutes before we could leave.
During the flight, I decided to be proactive and I started making a bottle for Damon prior to him actually needing it. I had the bottle on the tray table with the formula powder and water in it, and then I accidentally knocked the bottle off the tray table and INTO the diaper bag and all over my computer bag. Now all of his dry things in the diaper bag weren't dry any more.
The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful and through the whole thing Damon was a champ.
Here are some photos that we took while we were there...
For those of you who don't believe it gets warm in Alaska, here's Grace playing in the sprinkler at 8:00 at night.
August 3, 2004
The baby that laughs at soap stars
We were playing with Damon tonight on his changing table and tickled him and he started laughing, which was a first. Fortunately for you we had the presence of mind to run and grab the video camera. Click Here to download and watch the movie. On slower connections it might take a few minutes to download, so be patient.
Also, last week I took Damon into the office for the day one last time. While we were at lunch, someone at our table spotted a soap actress - Jill from the Young and the Restless. Not being one that watches soaps, I had no idea who she was, but the people I was with thought it would be fun to get Damon's picture taken with a celeb. Here's the photo:
July 26, 2004
I've got a drinking problem
In college I saw a bumper sticker one time that said, "I've got a drinking problem: Two hands and only one mouth."
Tonight Damon was doing his best to find a way to get both of his fists into his mouth. Apparently one isn't enough.
July 18, 2004
Grandmas and mustaches
For the record, none of Damon's three grandmas have a mustache. I just thought it would be a funny title for an entry.
Marnia's mom was down for a visit last weekend and we had a good time. She helped me replace a rose bush in my front yard that had died a premature death. Ironically the breed pf rose was called "Diana, Princess of Wales."
Here are a couple of the photos we took while she was here:
This is a photo I took of Damon the other day while I was working on my computer. Thought it was cute to have a photo of him with a photo of him in the backgroud. Not all that artsy or anything, but pretty cute.
Lastly, today we took Damon to the stables to visit and for him to meet Marnia's horse buddies. The guy in the photo below is Jeff, Marnia's friend who got us the free plane tickets to Chicago for our last trip. How cool is that. Damon was enthralled with Jeff's mustache, not that anyone blamed him.
July 7, 2004
Smilie baby
How could you not love this kid?
June 29, 2004
Pic's and Pokes
Time for a little catch-up. My hosting provider did a bunch of changes this weekend and I'm finally able to post new content today.
Marnia's Dad was here this weekend for a quick visit and we got some good pictures, especially when Marnia and Jim took Damon to the stables for the first time.
On Monday, Damon went in for his two month appointment. His specs now are:
Height: 23 2/4" (80th percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs 13.5 oz (40th percentile)
He also got his first immunizations on Monday. Two shots in each leg. He was VERY put out by the whole needle thing. Can't say I blame him much. He did calm down after a while, and doesn't seem to be having any reactions.
Lastly, we started his lifelong TV addiction tonight. His cousing Grace sent down four of her Baby Einstein videos. As I write this, he's watching Baby Bach and seems to be liking it. And yes, we realize that we're bad parents by letting our child watch television at such a young age.
As John Stewart says at the end of The Daily Show...
And now, your moment of Zen...
June 2, 2004
Photos from this weekend
Here are some photos that were taken this weekend while my parents were in town. We enjoyed having them visit and also having another set of hands around to help with Damon.
 Lunchtime |
 Come on baby, smile! |
 Paydirt! |
 Again! |
 One reason the Baby Bjorn is a good thing |
 Let's go already |
 Damon's "cousin" Torie holding him |
 Proud Grandma |
 Proud Grandpa |
 Just plain cute |
Since my parents were here, Marnia took the opportunity for a quick trip to Sacramento to visit with Emily and Alana. Here are some photos:
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|
May 29, 2004
Grandpa gets baby to smile for the camera
In a move that proves that he's his father's son and knows when to suck up for best result, Damon put on a smiling exhibition yesterday evening for Grandma and Grandpa Henry. The smiles lasted long enough that we were actually able to get a photo of one.
May 25, 2004
Emily and Alana
Here's a photo we got a photo tonight of Emily and Alana.
The bath photo
It seems that every kid's gotta have his photo taken while he's in the bath. So, here's Damon's bath photo from a recent bath.
May 21, 2004
Hokey Pokey
Here are some photos from the last couple of days...
China trying to convince me that she's cute too
Damon doing the Hokey Pokey
Yesterday, Damon and I spent the day at the STARBRIGHT offices. The camera was running out of batteries, so I only got the two photos. There were several offers to kidnap him and even a volunteer to change a really nasty diaper. Who can say no to that?
Here we have photographic proof that Dana knows how to hold and feed a baby. Photoshop was not used in the creation of this photo.
Damon and Ilana, with Laura and Heather looking on. He was VERY popular with the ladies at the office.
May 16, 2004
Some photos
Learning the finer points of the recliner
Marnia and Damon checking themselves out in the mirror after a bath
May 13, 2004
News Bytes
Damon had his first Doctor's appointment earlier this week and the doctor said everything looks good. He's 50th percentile weight, length and head circumference for babies two weeks old. Right down the middle baby.
The people at my office threw me a "welcome back" type of party yesterday. They all brought in some really yummy baked goods as well as getting us a very nice gift of a comforter set that goes very well with the green and white in Damon's room.
In addition to the party and the gifts, they had some fun decorating my office:
Here's a photo of Damon in his crib. It's a little bit of an upgrade from the laundry basket he started out in.
Lastly, here are some misc photos of Damon since we've been home:
 Damon with Auntie Judy |  Ready to go |
 Damon and Auntie Mickey |  further proof that my kid is cuter than yours |
May 7, 2004
The rest of the Chicago photos
Here are the rest of the photos that we took in Chicago. Now that I'm not stuck on a dialup internet connection, I can upload the rest of these.