San Juan

First, congratulations to Alexis on the birth of their second daughter! Yay!!!

Got so busy that I forgot to post pictures of our vacation to Puerto Rico. It was unbelievably nice to be warm again, especially after our awful winter. Unlike when we got married in August, there was very little humidity accompanying the 85 degree days. Warmth is awesome. My sister Lori and her family were down there as well and our trips overlapped a few days. Thus we hung out at their pool and went to their beach during the day and they came to our free wine happy hour before heading to dinner downtown in the evenings. It was a nice swap.

We found out that the pina coladas at the Caribe Hilton are not that good and that they ARE very good at Barrachino's and La Concha Hotel. Good information to know!!

For only the second time that I can remember, I rented a car on a trip in another country, though PR is technically not another country I guess. Still, I couldn't translate the signs so I'm counting it. The $40 per day car rental helped me avoid the $200+ cab/limo fees to and from the golf courses. Well worth it! Though one of the courses was pretty awful, the other one, El Legando, was pretty sweet and only $60.

We ate at all the old places: Cafe Puerto Rico, Cafeteria Mallorca, Barrachino, Cafe El Punto (awesome stuffed avocados that are huge!) and at the Hotel El Convento (where LL had them recreate our wedding dinner, which I was physically unable to consume the first time around). And we tried two new places La Cueva del Mar for seafood and Don Esteban which is a little mom and pop place not far from the rain forest.

Now for pictures!

Hotel El Convento from the courtyard.

The El Convento church from the hotel.

The new courtyard look. This was all open for our wedding. They've added the bar on the right and they have a partially retractable roof now to cover more tables during meals. A wedding in the courtyard would definitely not be as nice as ours. 

LL on the patio during one of our nightly happy hours at El Convento.

In the courtyard before our "wedding" meal. If you didn't recall, I was so nervous about singing to LL at the rehearsal dinner (a surprise inserted in front of our first dance), that I couldn't eat the wonderful meal we were serving our guest. Having never been that nervous before (and not realizing I even WAS nervous), my body started to shut down and I almost left the reception for the bedroom. Right after the song was done though, I was 100% again.

A quick shot of the meal, or part of it at least. We also had white sangria which is amazing there.

From the beach at the Caribe Hilton.

My first infinity pool, this one at La Concha. It actually looks like it goes into the ocean doesn't it? We are like 75 yards from the edge of the ocean in this picture.

The golf course, about 45 minutes away which in PR is "forever". 

This dude was huge! Probably 4'+ snout to tail. 

This was the big guy's little partner, much brighter and smaller. It went running when I drove up in the golf cart.

Our standard breakfast at Cafeteria Mallorca. Not as good as La Bombonerra, but pretty good. LB closed down for renovations and over ownership issues, re-opening soon though.

Cafe Puerto Rico shrimp stuffed plantain bowls. Yum.

Pork stuffed avocado at Cafe El Punto. 

The first and tallest waterfall in the rain forest. 

Just a rain forest shot of a big tree.

The small waterfall into which I fell. I was being very careful since the water was very cold and the rocks slippery. I went to take a step and there was no bottom. Too late, down I went. It was about five feet deep, just enough to completely engulf me in freezing cold water.

Here's Marissa talking to as via FaceTime as we did almost every night. I don't think she understood that it was really us. 

Back from San Juan

The weather is still crap in Chicago, but it was nice to have a week in San Juan.  Unfortunately, as often is the case with vacations, I was super busy leading up to the trip and have work piled up now. So I'll try to tell the story with some pictures and maybe even a video:

Probably my favorite picture to date!

Perfect example of Marissa wobbling down the hall with that great look on her face.

She has gotten into cleaning....I guess that's good huh?

Seriously, cleaning and laundry.

Waiting expectantly for her aunt to come push her down the stairs (inside family joke).

The first picture of her walking down the aisle. Can't wait to break this out on her wedding day.

She loves eating and making a mess....guess it's good that she cleans.

Earlier on walking while holding cups. She walks much better now.

Identifying herself in a picture. So cute!!

More pics

No time to post, so here are pics! Marissa's birthday party courtesy of LL's mom and dad.

This was cute because she was past her nap time and got a bunny as a gift. She immediately jammed her fingers in her mouth in preparation of sleeping. 

Dad is also having a birthday, Saturday actually, and so I got a few gifts as well. Marissa needed to check them out!

My folks.

Auntie Lori.

Aunt Bee.

Marissa LOVED the noisemakers. Sooooo excited. 

Studio shot one.

Studio shot two.

When LL and I were headed to the Hawks game.

Just love this devilish look. WHAT am I going to get into next.....bwah-ha-ha-ha!!!

Happy Birthday Marissa!

It's late, so just pictures for now. Note to self: don't have Marissa open gifts first thing in the morning and she's not a big fan of cake. Interesting.....

She loves her balloon and in this cake picture I think is asking for "more" already through sign language. She didn't want "more" though. 

Looking a little tired with the bright flash.

Much happier moment from the day before.

Eating time is usually happy time!

I think she's pointing to herself saying "Me" which is what she does if you call out Marissa. Very cute.

Congratulations Joisey Ken!!!

Joisey Ken welcomed his second daughter into the world this morning! She's 7 lbs 4 ozs and almost 20" long. No name selected at the time of this writing, but come back for updates. All are doing well, but since it was another c-section, wife Dawn will be in the hospital a few days at least. Ken is now surrounded by women in the house...including their dog!!!

Okay, back to Marissa

Our little angel turns one in a week so it's probably time to start celebrating her. Actually, we celebrate her pretty much every day, but she makes it easy as she seems to do something adorable or learns something new every day. She really has "no" and "yes" and "more" (in sign language as well) down pat. The other morning I was pushing her around on her stuffed panda scooter and when I stopped she both said "more" and made the sign for more. Very cute.

In addition to words, she getting very good at animal noises as evidenced by this video (you may need to turn your sound up):

I tell ya, it's heard to not get super excited when I hear her responding like she does. Last night, after she went to bed, she started crying more than normal. When that happens, one of us will go in to console her, calm her down and put her back to bed. She's been sleeping through the night, so it seems to work well now. So I went in last night and she sees me coming through the door and she drops from a standing position in the crib to her tummy while crying "NO!" It was very cute, despite the clear indication that she wanted her mama. Anyway, I picked her up, calmed her down while we rocked in the chair (which really only takes a minute) and rocked a little longer to get her sleepy again. She went right down and was good for the rest of the night. Still, not the best welcoming for her ol'man. 

Laura snapped this picture of her as she was frustrated about getting her flashlight to work the way she wanted. So cute. Oh and she now says "Doh!" with great regularity. Thanks to dad for that one!

My favorite tree

There are so many Marissa topics to post about, but I'm taking a break to mention my favorite tree. I've included a picture below, so go ahead and check it out. Not much to look at when you think of the grandiose trees that line my street, fill the nearby parks and line the lake front. Nope, nothing too spectacular about it's size. It's also not a very pretty tree as you can clearly see (that was sort of Dr. Seuss-like), but it is winter after all and trees rarely look good in the winter. This one doesn't look all that great in the spring, summer or fall though either.

It's odd in a way, that I should even have a favorite tree, seeing as I'm allergic to them (as well as grass, mold, dust, dander, mites, horse hair and many other things). But I do have a favorite tree and this one is it. It's not near my house, which you think it would be, seeing as it's my favorite and all. But no, I have to drive there to see it....or more appropriately, hear it.

Yes, my favorite tree makes a noise. Actually, it makes noises while all other trees around don't. In the middle of winter, and all winter, as you can see in the picture, it has dead leaves still attached. No matter the wind gusts or snow accumulations or cold temps, my favorite tree clings to its leaves. But that hardly makes it extraordinary now does it? Many trees have leaves all winter. Well, maybe not many, but certainly some.

My favorite tree though happens to not only be one of those with leaves, but is also a tree I pass frequently in winter. Well, not as frequently as I would like truth be told, but often enough I guess. It's around the corner from my gym. In the summer I usually ride my bike and then don't pass the tree. But in winter, I drive the mile or so distance and usually park down the street from the tree, which is why I walk past it.

But I don't just walk past it, at least anymore. I stop underneath it for at least a few seconds, depending on just how cold it is. Even on the stillest of days, the leaves will rustle and take me back to the nicer days of the other seasons when all trees have leaves. Yes, my favorite tree with its dead, brown leaves, provides me a slight respite from the winter that surrounds it and me in that moment.

On top of all that, I then proceed to the gym to workout which for me, is a labor of love. My favorite tree reminds me of the good things to come.