Barry’s Daily Web News

Shannon’s Fourth Birthday Party

We went to one of Sean’s friend’s birthday party today. It turned out that almost all of the guests were girls, so Sean found himself frequently surrounded by girls. He didn’t seem to mind at all. They had an inflated jumper in the backyard, so Sean had a diversion from the girl activity. What was surprising was that Ethan went in too. I know when Sean was Ethan’s age, he wouldn’t go near one. Even though Ethan could barely stand up, and was bounced around by the bigger kids, he really enjoyed himself.

Some Light Yard Work

I worked on the yard today, probably for the first time in a month. Other than cleaning the pool filter and skimmer baskets, I mainly pulled weeds. Some of the weeds in the back yard looked like they were ready to turn into trees, so I was glad to get this taken care of. In a few weeks, the spring growing season will start here, and I will likely have to start working on the yard every weekend.

Still Working on New Design

I’m still working on the new web page design. I don’t want to “go live” until every thing looks just right. I did spend some time on it this weekend. So far, I’m pleased with the results, but I think it will be at least next weekend before it’s ready.

A Chocolate Affaire

We went to the Glendale Chocolate Affaire today. The highlight of the trip was riding on a double-decker bus to see the local chocolate factory. Other than that, it was a little too crowded to maneuver the stroller, so we didn’t stay long.

A New Garage Door on the Way

We ordered our garage door this morning. Unfortunately, it will take ten days for it to arrive and be installed. The good news is that this is a good time of year to get the garage door fixed. We don’t have to leave our cars baking out in 100 degree heat.

Garage Door Shopping

We went garage door shopping this evening, which was tough because neither Sean nor Ethan enjoy that kind of activity. We will be able to replace the double door, but purchasing a matching single door (we have a three door garage) is out of the question. We were able to get enough information so that I should be able to call in the order tomorrow morning.

Garage Door Opener Shot

Looks like we are in the market for a new garage door and opener. I don’t know exactly what is wrong with the opener. It seems to be slipping, preventing the door from fully opening. I tried fixing it by taking the chain off and putting it back on in the proper spot, but it slipped back again. We will have to open the door manually until we can get a new one.

Sean Goes to Gym Class

Since Cortney was tired, I took Sean to gym class this evening. There were only two other students beside Sean, so Sean had lots of one on one time with the instructor. I was impressed with Sean’s ability to follow directions in the class. This class seems to be a good match for Sean.

I Have A Favicon!

What’s a favicon? It’s the icon that shows up in the address bar and the favorites list. Having you been using Internet Explorer to view this site? If so, you won’t be able to see it, as IE saves the favicon in the temporary files list, which gets deleted after a while. Anyway, I highly recommend Mozilla or Firebird as a browser instead of IE. With either of these browsers, you can now see my mug on the address bar!

Chilly Evening

It was cold out this evening, so Sean and Ethan played indoors. I played a game of Candyland with Sean, and read books to Ethan. A session of Sean’s new favorite video, Dora the Explorer, and a bath for Sean and Ethan completed the evening.

Sean Starts a Gym Class

Cortney signed Sean up for a tumbling class, and Sean started this evening. Cortney dropped Ethan and me off at the library, so I could take Ethan to story time. Ethan had fun at story time, and it sounded like Sean had fun with his tumbling class. Cortney told me the instructor wanted Sean to take the Monday, rather than Tuesday class, since the existing students were more “advanced” than Sean. I don’t have a problem with this, as it will allow Sean to attend story time on Tuesday as well.

Some More Firsts for Ethan

Ethan ate pork for the first time today. Cortney made a delicious pork loin roast, and Ethan was just gobbling up the pieces we were feeding him. What is more amazing to me, is that he even preferred the pork to the graham cracker he had on his tray.

Ethan was able to go down the slides at the playground, all by himself, staying upright the whole way down. We have a small plastic slide in our living room, and I guess that Ethan has had enough practice with that slide, that he was able to apply himself to the larger slides at the playground.

Relaxing Sunday

We took it easy today, planning to enjoy the Superbowl. Sean and Ethan had other plans. They were full of energy when the game started. At least all of the best action in the game was at the end, after we had put Sean and Ethan to bed.