“Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy.” – Edgar Bergen

so it’s true, we’re the laziest bloggers on the planet … but we’re attentive parents! the fact of the matter is, the reason we have this blog is to keep you all updated on what’s going on with the kiddo, but we’re so focused on raising her that we neglect this here destination of information. so i’m here to bring a brief not-so-much-related-to-baby update that will be followed by a five-month update at a date yet to be determined. ;)

about a week and a half ago, a great friend of mine, jeff (we’ve almost known each other for 10 years!) came to visit from texas. yes, texas. it’s a great state and, if you know anything about me, you know that it holds a nice, comfy spot in my heart among other things that i love and have fond memories of … annnnyway, jeff’s trip came to be by way of a great promotion that southwest was running a few months ago. it ended up cutting the cost of a flight from austin to oakland by around half and that was hard to ignore, especially since we hadn’t seen each other for a little more than a year. so, with tickets in hand and an approving wife, jeff made his way west.

since we were obviously very familiar with the man, his first challenge was impressing the new lady in our lives, ellie. being a dad himself, jeff was up for the challenge and quickly won her approval due to his willingness to play with her and hold her on command.

but this trip wasn’t just about impressing four-month-olds, it was about tourism, and we made sure we crammed in as much as was realistic. first we did alcatraz, which, as a local, i actually found really interesting even though i had done it before. i really just didn’t remember any of it, but that didn’t matter.

not surprisingly, some of the highlights of our first day out had nothing to do with the attraction we were taking it, but more the food and drink we consumed. we experienced the wonderful feeling of paying $10.50 for a vitamin water and root beer before leaving for the rock and we also hit a nice seafood restaurant on pier 39 before heading back. mmm, seafood.

then we made an impromptu trip the at&t park, home of everyone’s favorite bay area baseball stepchild, the san francisco giants. it was a pretty nice tour that took us through where the rich people sit and eat, the visiting clubhouse, the dugout and field, and into some of the inner workings of the park. it was definitely worth the 12 bucks we paid for it.

there was even some texas tech action (bottom left-ish).

we also made a trip to the marin headlands. the only downside to the headlands is that the most we ever get out of it is a photo opp, but we always leave feeling like it was well worth it. this was especially true because the pictures turned out so well. not only did we get a couple of great shots of each of us alone with ellie, we got a great family shot (lots, if not all, of you have seen the latter already, so i give you some variety here, namely jeff missing his wife).

last but not least, we hit an a’s game. had to do it, especially since the giants were out of town. it was a good experience overall (a’s kicked ass), but i got hot sauce all over my overly expensive a’s sweatshirt and came to realize that it is, indeed, ruined. oh well, it was worth it. please ignore the gigantic double-chin. she made me do it.

in between all of this was plenty of grilling and caring for baby, but all in all it was a great, great time. i’m so glad that he came because the amount of time that goes by between visits due to our proximity is always way too long. we can’t wait until february!

you see in the dark
right past the fireflies that sleep in my heart

ryan and i were married in a backyard ceremony on a warm summer afternoon in june of 2007. we stood in front of our closest friends and family and promised our hearts to one another in soft voices, quivering some from holding back tears. it was beautiful. magical. the best day of our lives.

since becoming husband and wife, we’ve experienced things many young couples never do. from vacationing through europe on our amazing honeymoon to the incredible thrill of skydiving for the first time, our first year of marriage has provided us stories upon stories to share with our children for years to come.

i speak of our children, while they do not yet exist as more than a twinkle in our eyes, because this blog was created for them. i hope it will serve as a memoir of the last few months before they came to be, so that they may see how much we love them already, and how eagerly we’re anticipating their arrival.

we don’t know yet how many children we want. i know both of us want more than one, three at most, although baby #3 is going to take a little convincing on my part. raising our children in the same place we both grew up is a dream of mine, but financially, more than two may be unrealistic. though as they say, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans, and so however many children we’re blessed with, i know we’ll be happy.

i am starting this blog today, january 30, 2008, because this is the start of a new way of living in anticipation of babies. that means (among other things) less television, more books; less alcohol, more water; less time in the snack aisle, more time in the produce section.

i am unsure of the meaning of life, but i know our purpose will be our children. words cannot express how excited we are to begin this journey.