In Memoriam

Last week, my grandmother (and Colin's great-GM) Edith passed away. She was 85 and had lived a very full life. We had a nice ceremony for her in Wisconsin, and then my parents flew off with her to upstate New York to rejoin her with my grandfather who preceded her in death in 1978.

We're sad, but also happy that she was able to know her great-grandson before she left this world. That's the greatest gift that we could have received.

Lots of people have sent along wonderful wishes of support. Our thanks to all.

File under: Non-baby items

See, here's what I'm talking about when I mentioned we need the create a blog category for non-baby related news. From Gapers Block:

Fat Tire on the road to Chicago

Beer enthusiasts, especially those who've spent time west of the Mississippi, have reason to celebrate: Fat Tire Ale is coming to Chicago. While on a Friday night outing to Whirlyball for a friend's birthday, I spotted a sign proclaiming the impending arrival of Fat Tire, which is one of my favorite beers and has never been distributed east of the big river (though at least one Chicago bar sells it clandestinely). I emailed New Belgium Brewery to confirm, and they've told me it's true—22oz "bomber" bottles of Fat Tire should start showing up here in February.

While it's not Colin-related, some of his relatives (are you out there, Uncle John?) may be happy to hear this. And I'm not above playing a little Whirlyball to get it.

Beyond-belated holiday wishes

So, it's a new year, and we're finally starting to get our lives back to normal.

2005 ended with much traveling. First to Indiana for Xmas and Heidi's BD with her family. Then to Wisconsin for a couple of days with my family. It was great to see everyone, although Colin was fighting both a bad cold and extreme shyness throughout the week. He ended up with a plethora of new toys and outfits, some of which you'll be seeing in pictures here in the weeks to come.

So far 2006 has already found Colin turning 15 months old. The most notable changes are that he STILL has his cold, more teeth (including some molars), and an expanded vocabulary ("eyes" and "baaa" as in "what noise a sheep makes").

Also, he's decided that he is going to completely boycott several foods that he used to love, like bananas, macaroni and cheese, ANY veggies, etc. Utterly frustrating for his parents, but we'll get through it.

Oh, by the way, Heidi and I are fine too. Heidi turned 31 on Xmas day with much rejoicing. On New Year's Eve, we nearly made it to midnight without collapsing from exhaustion.

We look forward to reporting more milestones and other family news as the year progresses. Drop us a line if you can. We always appreciate comments and e-mails.

Incidentally, here's Colin favorite Christmas gift by far: