I'm getting very excited about the reveal of the The Riddle tomorrow -- and so is Brayden! Look, his hair is practically flying straight off his head!
Days to The Riddle: 1!! (less than 24 hours!)
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The cousins
As we wait out the final couple days before The Riddle is revealed (Thursday!!), I'm excited to show you some pictures of the cousins that were taken last week while Ethan was visiting. These are the first formal pictures they've taken together, so enjoy.
Days to The Riddle: 2!!
Days to The Riddle: 2!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sick puppy
We're not doing too well here at the Girata house -- B is sick. He got a cough about a week ago, a fever a couple days ago, and now the doctors think he may have some sort of pneumonia (after a chest x-ray this afternoon), although a very early and light case. But, he's on antibiotics and ibuprofen to keep his fever down. We'll let you know how things go, but as for now he's not in much pain except for his cough (making his throat a bit sore).
I'll have some great pictures tomorrow of Brayden and Ethan (his cousin).
Days to The Riddle: 3!!
I'll have some great pictures tomorrow of Brayden and Ethan (his cousin).
Days to The Riddle: 3!!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Here comes the name
As many of you know, we have yet to reveal the name we've chosen for our new baby girl. That was mostly because up to this point we hadn't decided... BUT, the decision is in. We know the name we will use for our little girl.
So, perhaps you're wondering why we don't simply tell you what it is? That's because we're much more fun than that! The name is a game... that's right, a game!
At 8:00 AM on Thursday, November 1st (All Saint's Day -- for our little saint), we will reveal the riddle that will help all of you, our favorite people, to guess her name. We promise it will be fun! Don't forget to check back on Thursday -- you might be the first to guess it right!
So, perhaps you're wondering why we don't simply tell you what it is? That's because we're much more fun than that! The name is a game... that's right, a game!
At 8:00 AM on Thursday, November 1st (All Saint's Day -- for our little saint), we will reveal the riddle that will help all of you, our favorite people, to guess her name. We promise it will be fun! Don't forget to check back on Thursday -- you might be the first to guess it right!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The Fall Festival (for real!)
The Weitzs have been visiting this week, and that was cause for some fall fun. Nicole heard about Cox Farms, a great fall festival west of DC. So we loaded up the boys and headed out. Brayden was so excited to see the pumpkins that he practically jumped out of the car.
(and even though it wasn't raining at the time, it was very overcast... always prepared, Brayden made sure we had our umbrella)
Just inside the gate, the pumpkins began...
I was so excited to be here -- I believe this was my first, genuine fall festival (in the "classic" sense). Being from Florida, we don't have much of a "fall." We basically have 9 months of summer and 3 months of colder-than-summer-but-not-winter. Actually being in an almost-real pumpkin patch, eating fresh-off-the-tree apples of all kinds (with apple cider by the barrel!!) was fantastic.
As with any good country festival, there were animals to pet (cows to milk... no joke)...
...and a bunch of games and "rides"
Some of the best fun came on the slides. The slides were everywhere! As you can see, Brayden loved them.
Here's a quick edit of three slides. There would have been a video of a fourth (and biggest) slide, but I sent Brayden down on his own (I must want my wife to kill me) which made Nicole freak out and she never started recording. Needless to say, he loved it, but it is lost to memory... ;)
(You'll notice that the video begins with "the slowest slide ever" -- EVER -- but it's hilarious to see them work to get to the bottom...)
Of course, we were not alone -- the Weitzs were there, too!
The boys loved all the painted characters, especially those under copyright restrictions...
Elmo was one of only a few hundred well-known characters from screen and film to be placed all over the farm.
Back to the festival... Ethan loved the slides, too!
...said Ethan, "'sup?"
Before we left the farm, we had to find a quality pumpkin to take with us. Luckily, they made it easy to look:
...and my favorite picture of all comes from weighing our own special little gourd.
What a deal!
(and even though it wasn't raining at the time, it was very overcast... always prepared, Brayden made sure we had our umbrella)
Just inside the gate, the pumpkins began...
I was so excited to be here -- I believe this was my first, genuine fall festival (in the "classic" sense). Being from Florida, we don't have much of a "fall." We basically have 9 months of summer and 3 months of colder-than-summer-but-not-winter. Actually being in an almost-real pumpkin patch, eating fresh-off-the-tree apples of all kinds (with apple cider by the barrel!!) was fantastic.
As with any good country festival, there were animals to pet (cows to milk... no joke)...
...and a bunch of games and "rides"
Some of the best fun came on the slides. The slides were everywhere! As you can see, Brayden loved them.
Here's a quick edit of three slides. There would have been a video of a fourth (and biggest) slide, but I sent Brayden down on his own (I must want my wife to kill me) which made Nicole freak out and she never started recording. Needless to say, he loved it, but it is lost to memory... ;)
(You'll notice that the video begins with "the slowest slide ever" -- EVER -- but it's hilarious to see them work to get to the bottom...)
Of course, we were not alone -- the Weitzs were there, too!
The boys loved all the painted characters, especially those under copyright restrictions...
Elmo was one of only a few hundred well-known characters from screen and film to be placed all over the farm.
Back to the festival... Ethan loved the slides, too!
...said Ethan, "'sup?"
Before we left the farm, we had to find a quality pumpkin to take with us. Luckily, they made it easy to look:
...and my favorite picture of all comes from weighing our own special little gourd.
What a deal!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The little sister
As promised, here are the ultrasound pictures from yesterday's visit. She's already a little cutie. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes and support -- we were so excited to hear from so many of you yesterday!
So, here she is, in all her profile glory:
...and in case there was any doubt, she is a little girl.
We are very near the half-way point already (only a few days away!) and time has gone so quickly. Nicole's feeling great and is already looking at little girlie things. We've begun to figure out what we'll need (think pink!). My favorite quote from yesterday is Nicole's Mom (Mia) who, when told that we'll need some girl's clothes, said, "Just TRY to keep me away from those little girl outfits!"
So, here she is, in all her profile glory:
...and in case there was any doubt, she is a little girl.
We are very near the half-way point already (only a few days away!) and time has gone so quickly. Nicole's feeling great and is already looking at little girlie things. We've begun to figure out what we'll need (think pink!). My favorite quote from yesterday is Nicole's Mom (Mia) who, when told that we'll need some girl's clothes, said, "Just TRY to keep me away from those little girl outfits!"
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
and then there were two
Yahoo!! We had our ultrasound this afternoon and are so excited about our new baby girl! More things to follow (like pictures, etc.), so stay tuned!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Roenick Wedding
Congratulations to Steve and Katie Roenick -- just married TODAY!
The wedding was wonderful. It was held in Baltimore, so we drove up for the evening. The Giratas got to see the Weitzs... it's been too long. There will be great pictures of Brayden and Ethan coming soon, but they're staying this next week to play, so I'll hold off until then.
In the meantime, here are some pictures from the event. Brayden was very good through the reception, eating as much as he could:
I just need to take a moment to say that this kid is the cutest ever. Ever! Look at that face!!
Okay... back to the reception. B behaved himself very well, but, as to be expected, we did need to venture outside a few times to feel the breeze in our hair, see the koi pond, and play with the hotel's lighting...
I swear it had fallen before we got there. Maybe Brayden "helped" it out of the mulch trap it was in... but it was already trying to break free. (promise!!)
They both looked great -- Dear Katie: gorgeous. high five. bravo. I'll try to find a picture of her dress. It was fantastic.
And finally, after much cake action, here is my budding family.
I tried to get a picture of the baby bump, but the time was never right (sorry Bums). It's too bad I didn't, though. Nicole totally brought sexy back with this dress... one hot mama!
In other news, we had our 18-week check up last week and everything looks good. The doctor only had one concern: Nicole needs to gain more weight! That means more wedding cake, right? Doctor's orders! We find out the gender next week... stay tuned!
The wedding was wonderful. It was held in Baltimore, so we drove up for the evening. The Giratas got to see the Weitzs... it's been too long. There will be great pictures of Brayden and Ethan coming soon, but they're staying this next week to play, so I'll hold off until then.
In the meantime, here are some pictures from the event. Brayden was very good through the reception, eating as much as he could:
I just need to take a moment to say that this kid is the cutest ever. Ever! Look at that face!!
Okay... back to the reception. B behaved himself very well, but, as to be expected, we did need to venture outside a few times to feel the breeze in our hair, see the koi pond, and play with the hotel's lighting...
I swear it had fallen before we got there. Maybe Brayden "helped" it out of the mulch trap it was in... but it was already trying to break free. (promise!!)
They both looked great -- Dear Katie: gorgeous. high five. bravo. I'll try to find a picture of her dress. It was fantastic.
And finally, after much cake action, here is my budding family.
I tried to get a picture of the baby bump, but the time was never right (sorry Bums). It's too bad I didn't, though. Nicole totally brought sexy back with this dress... one hot mama!
In other news, we had our 18-week check up last week and everything looks good. The doctor only had one concern: Nicole needs to gain more weight! That means more wedding cake, right? Doctor's orders! We find out the gender next week... stay tuned!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Go to my pc
Brayden has taken to using the computer on his own. He's convinced himself that the mouse is the key to all things pc and tries to make it work the way we make it work (showing him the blog, etc.)
Being that our desk chair is on wheels and spins quite freely, we don't let him play too long on his own. When his free play time is over and we begin walking toward him, he quickly assumes the proper position -- "sitting like a big boy"
And, if that doesn't work, he flashes the pearly whites
One funny pc story -- The other day, he was very clever and began to actually click on some of our desktop icons. He obviously wasn't doing things intentionally, but he opened a recording of my sermon from a couple weeks ago. Nicole said she was startled when I began talking, but Brayden looked very satisfied. They decided to just listen to it on the sofa. As they were relaxing Nicole realized that Brayden was beginning to doze off. Yes, he fell asleep listening to my sermon. I'd love to say that he was so happy to hear my voice that he began to drift off... but let's be honest. My timbre during a sermon is not entirely exciting. Now I know how to get him to sleep when he fights me...
Being that our desk chair is on wheels and spins quite freely, we don't let him play too long on his own. When his free play time is over and we begin walking toward him, he quickly assumes the proper position -- "sitting like a big boy"
And, if that doesn't work, he flashes the pearly whites
One funny pc story -- The other day, he was very clever and began to actually click on some of our desktop icons. He obviously wasn't doing things intentionally, but he opened a recording of my sermon from a couple weeks ago. Nicole said she was startled when I began talking, but Brayden looked very satisfied. They decided to just listen to it on the sofa. As they were relaxing Nicole realized that Brayden was beginning to doze off. Yes, he fell asleep listening to my sermon. I'd love to say that he was so happy to hear my voice that he began to drift off... but let's be honest. My timbre during a sermon is not entirely exciting. Now I know how to get him to sleep when he fights me...
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Another update... loving Gymbo!
Although I promised only a monthly Gymboree update, this video was taken a few weeks ago when my grandparents were in town for a visit. I think it was actually a week after the last Gymboree video was taken, but he's doing some new-to-you things (and Nama's cute at the beginning).
Friday, October 12, 2007
More on the way
Hi all -- I can't believe that it's almost Saturday... where does the time go? I'll have a video up ASAP (as soon as YouTube processes the thing). Until then, if you're interested, read this passage from Luke and then you can proceed to the sermon I preached last Sunday. If you read it, your only obligation is to let me know what you think!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
The Noble Duke
Yeah, yeah... I know it's been awhile since the last post. So, here's a video shot TONIGHT with one of Brayden's favorite games. It takes many forms (including me on my back) but this was the best for video. We taped it primarily for you to hear some of his early words. You can hear him saying both "more" and "please." The "please" is our favorite!
Monday, October 01, 2007
Your Gymbo update
It's that time of the month: your Gymboree update!! Although this video is a week old already (what happened to last week?) I think you'll enjoy it, anyway. I spliced a few sections together, but you may notice a new groups of playmates. Brayden moved up to the next level a couple weeks ago and it has been great. He's around kids that can play like he's wanted to play. Enjoy!
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