Soccer!

Putting aside the fact that we haven't updated the blog in 6 months, and we have lots to share -- the start of soccer season here in Takoma Park seemed to be a good reason to post some photos. Maybe some random summer pictures or videos will follow, but for now, these seemed sufficiently cute to share!

Soccer!

soccer from bnzvideo on Vimeo.

Benji's One Month Birthday

It's hard to believe -- but Benji has now been with us for an entire month.  He still sleeps alot, seems to be crying a bit less (knock on wood...), and he's eating a whole lot more.  He has his 1-month doctor's appointment later this week.

In our first multi-media video post, you can see Benji trying out tummy time! He's still a little shaky, but he's slowly starting to hold his head up high!

Benji celebrated the big day with Uncle Alan, Aunt Renee, and Cousin Ez at the annual MOTH (Mom's on the Hill) picnic.  It was quite an event!  Benji wasn't all that aware of his birthday -- but we got some great pics anyway.   Click on the link below to see some pics of the big event. (Most are of Ez -- who is quite photogenic these days!)

MOTH Picnic

Our Visit with One of Baby Z's Friends

Baby Z has no idea how many friends he already has (even if he still is in utero)!

This past weekend, we went to visit Carter - one half of Chris & Ashley's twins who you've all heard about. Alanna, the female half, is hopefully coming home later this week.

Anyway, it was great to see Carter at home (after 2 visits at the hospital) AND we got to hold him. It was lots of fun!

Chrissie gets a turn first (after he FINALLY woke up!)....




And then Dan!



Dan got to hold him for awhile, but then Chrissie got tired and hungry so we had to leave.

By Popular Demand

Despite having pledged not to fall victim to the infamous belly shot, the moms (grand-moms, actually) have spoken. So, we're posting a belly shot. Don't get used to it though, this will not become a regular habit. As of today, baby JZ is 25 weeks EGA (estimated gestational age). And the mama to be is starting to show it (though proud to say only 18 pounds heavier!). So enjoy the shot below.



In other news, we are making progress on all the various "to-dos" that need to be accomplished in the next 15 weeks. We have put up all new wood work in what will be the baby's room, have an electrician (hopefully) coming this week to put in an overhead light, and have even registered for all the things the little one will "need" when he enters the world.

We're taking next weekend off from baby prep as we journey to California for Oliver and Alanna's wedding in what should be Chrissie's last plane ride for the foreseeable future. Look for pics late in the month as we are close to picking a crib, colors, and have pretty much finalized the "theme" of the room.

It's a....

Below are family-friendly pictures, but we are happy to report that we did indeed see some external genitalia Monday morning so... It's a boy!

Dan is proud to say he saw "it" before the sonographer confirmed its presence. Chrissie is proud to say that all the "old wives' tales" that imply boy, like being all baby in the front and craving mad protein, held (Dan keeps telling her those are stupid).

The pics below are from the ultrasound, probably our last glimpse until the big day.

The face - still looking a little alien like - is below. (We have some concerns about the size of his nose...)



Here's one of him waving.



These two are "full body" if you will - the greyish dot is the heart, which was beating at a healthy clip.

Pardon the interruption

Sorry for the long delay between our postings... it's been a crazy few weeks. Where to begin?

While its no longer breaking news generally, there's exciting news in the blogosphere. Our kitchen is renovated, we've cooked up a storm, but now... there's a very different sort of bun in the oven. That's right! On or about May 24, 2009 -- our blog will be getting a new staff writer. The writing skills may take some time to develop -- but we're convinced that we're making a good new addition to the blog. Photos are below.


Above, you can see the baby waving! The other photos show other angles of the little tyke.

As for other developments from the past few weeks -- stay tuned! There's more to come. But no more babies!

Reflections from Our Election Day in "Real" America

We spent election day volunteering at a precinct in Manassas, VA. We'll keep the exact location between us so as not to further embarrass the folks we're about to mock, but suffice to say that while Mark Warner was elected to the Senate with about 63 percent of the statewide vote, his opponent, Jim Gilmore, beat him 51-49 in our precinct. McCain also won 63ish to 35 percent over Obama in our precinct, compared to 51-48 statewide, so there's the context.

The Background
Several weeks ago, Dan volunteered to do voter protection anywhere he was needed in VA. Once he got assigned, Chrissie arranged to be at the same place as well to hand out sample ballots and the like. Our experience in real America started Monday night, when it took us about 3 times as long as it should have to get out there due to Obama's rally (which we did not attend). At 9:15, VERY hungry, and somewhat in the middle of no where, we put our liberal, moral compasses aside (not to mention our culinary judgment) and ate at Cracker Barrel. It was nasty. But we checked into our hotel in time to see Obama's rally on tv and then went to sleep so that we could get up to be at our polling place at 5:45.

The day's best quotes:

"Which would you rather get hit in the face with - a coconut or a pineapple?"
This from a 17ish year old boy who looked liked he might bring a bomb to a school and who Chrissie really thought was going to throw one or the other at Dan or the other lawyer that was stationed with us. (Turns out, he was just a kid with issues...)

"So I just vote for the dark one?"
We were giving out Democratic sample ballots, which like their Republican counterparts, list all the names on the ballot, but bolds the candidate that is the member of that party and should be voted for. Totally innocently, someone looked at the ballot and said the above quote. Once he went inside, we had a little laugh between us.

"Only to use it as toilet paper."
We offered a woman a Democratic sample ballot, and our Republican counterpart offered her theirs. When she looked at what we were offering, she said she'd only take one to use it as toilet paper. To her credit, when she came out of the polling place, she didn't quite apologize, but had clearly realized she had been rude and started on a rant about how she was a fiscally conservative Republican and that the religious right had ruined her party. Regardless of how she may have voted, Democrats and Republicans alike could agree that using these sample ballots as toilet paper may not be the smartest move (that is, it would not be very comfy for one's rear end).


"I hope the Bradley effect is strong"
This was said by a Republican voter to our Republican counterpart. No further explanation needed.

"No, we're part of the silent minority."

A middle aged white woman said this after being offered a Democratic sample ballot. We spent the day trying to figure out what she meant...

"If you don't pay taxes, own property, (fill in other ridiculous, possible racist comment here), you shouldn't be allowed to vote."
This was said by our last Republican counterpart at the end of the day. Note that this man was also one of those "excited" by the pick of Sarah Palin.

Powell: "This is not the way we should be doing it in America."

General Colin Powell was excellent on "Meet the Press" yesterday. To both Dan and I, the most phenomenal moment was not when Powell endorsed Obama, but when he said what few have been willing to say about the whole Muslim rumor (emphasis below added):

"And it is permitted to be said such things as, 'Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.' Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, 'He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.' This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

"I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life."

Read the full transcript, from which this was taken, or watch the interview.

Pick Your President Contest

The Washington Post is hosting a "Pick Your President" contest where you predict who will win what state, and thus, the entire election. Chrissie's picks - entitled "Who Needs Florida!?" - are below. Note that Dan does not approve this message (though the competitive side of him might have to do his own map now!).

<p><strong>><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008/pick-your-president/">2008 Election Contest: Pick Your President</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the 2008 presidential election and enter to win a $500 prize.</p>

Granite? Who Needs Granite!

Many months ago, while just in the planning stages for the kitchen, we picked out the world's most expensive granite (we didn't know it at the time). As we were trying to reduce the price tag on the kitchen, we opted to go with silestone, a quartz composite that is more environmentally friendly and allegedly better than granite (even though it does not have the chi-chi value that granite does). It was also the original counter material we wanted (before falling in love with the previously mentioned granite).

NOW, we look wise beyond our years! Yesterday's New York Times article about radon seems to have started a firestorm of granite warnings (maybe it wasn't the NYT article that started, but that's what started it for me!). If you haven't heard about the granite-cancer connection, check out the Times story and this Washington Post blog.

While I am totally using this to make us look smart, this will probably get filed in the same category as "saccharin and Nutrasweet might give you cancer," but we all drink it anyway. In the meantime, however, lots of soccer moms are going to be very stressed!