Ted's Random Ramblings

It's a girl!

She was born on Friday, 14 January 2005 and weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces. She was 18.25 inches long and is absolutely the most beautiful little girl that you have ever seen, and I am not even biased. I do not think that I can even attempt to come up with words to accurately describe the emotions surrounding the arrival of our first child. Sheer happiness and joy would have to be near the top of the list. Mixed in would be at least a sprinkle of fear. Tears are common, even from just spending a few minutes staring at her. There is a reason why babies are called little bundles of joy, although I never understood how true it was until I had my own. There will certainly be challenges ahead - but there will also be never ending love and absolute devotion.

Welcome to the world Kaley Nicole.

I love you,
Dad

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy New Year, and general joy, peace, and good wishes to all. This is our last holiday season as a couple - by next year we will have a family. We are very excited about the upcoming bundle of joy - due January 22nd. The nursery is ready, we feel like we have all of the newborn stuff that we need (although I am sure we are forgetting something), and are looking forward to seeing little Peanut next Tuesday for our 36 week ultrasound.

It's a Baby

Well, it all seems more real now. My wife Amanda and I have started to tell people about our impending visit from the stork. 14 weeks of keeping good new under my hat has been tough, but well worth it. Everyone is very excited, as you might imagine. The first pictures can be found here: Peanut

The basic rude FAQ is as follows -
Due date: 22 January 2005
Sex: To be determined at birth

New Deck

Amanda and I are very excited - we are having a deck built next week. It is fairly simple, ground level deck with one step and a couple of benches. it will be 12' wide almost the entire length of the house. We can't wait to enjoy our backyard all summer long.

San Francisco

Amanda and I had a wonderful trip to San Francisco this past weekend. Neither of us had ever been to San Francisso before so we focused on the 'standard' tourist activities. We started off on Thursday with a cable car ride to the Fisherman's Wharf area, and included a park with wonderful Golden Gate views and Pier 39. Lots and lots of walking every day of our visit! On the way back to our hotel for a rest we walked down Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the United States (well, at least in San Fran). We had a wonderful meal to celebrate my birthday at Scala's Bistro - including a steak tartare appetizer (yummy!). Friday and Saturday were spent with our nieces Ella and Galen. We went to the zoo, Lombard Street (again) and the SF Aquarium (which was not that great). On Friday night we went out for sushi at Ebisu with my Navy classmate Chris and his girlfriend. Chris also took us along to a party at a friend's place. We had a ton of fun hanging out with Chris and look forward to seeing him again! Unfortunately we had to come home on Saturady evening, but we will definitely have to go back again!