Commercial Space

We've moved on to commercial real estate. Rather than continue to torture ourselves searching for a house, we decided to refocus our efforts on nailing down the ideal commercial space for the new office. We've been scouting out areas for a couple of months and had developed a short list of possibilities.

Today we toured each site and met with the various developers. Luckily, we've had much better luck on the commercial front than the residential. We've pretty much narrowed it down to 2 finalists and there's a good chance that we'll develop both properties. One will be our main office, and the 2nd will be a satellite office, like our current location.

We did tour one residential option, as well. We both liked it a lot, but it's completely different than anything else we've previously considered. We'll see what happens.

3 to 9 Months

Today I officially retired Baylor's 3 month clothing. He is only 10 weeks old, but the 3 month stuff is snug. Some of the shorts won't even button. As I packed those pieces away, I placed the 6 month outfits into his dresser. I picked out an outfit to try on him and was shocked to discover that most of those pieces are also too small. Luckily, they're all hand-me-downs from his big brother and not things I just purchased. So the 6 month stuff was also packed away, and now his dresser is stocked with nine month clothing. Unbelievable!

Sleep

Something amazing happened last night. Baylor slept for 5 1/2 hours straight! He fell asleep at Midnight and slept until 5:30am. He drank his bottle, passed back out, and is still sleeping! That's at least another 4 hours!

We were excited when 2 days ago he slept for 4 hours, woke for a bottle, and then passed out again for 3 hours. I certainly wasn't expecting this. I can't even remember when Jax first slept this long, but I want to say it was closer to when he turned one. Jax was not a sleeper. Baylor is 10 weeks old today. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this becomes the new norm.

Piggies

I caught Jax playing with Baylor's piggies (toes) this morning. He didn't know that I was listening.

The Piggies according to Jax:

"This little piggy went bye-bye...this little piggy helped Mommy...this little piggy ate cookies...this little piggy went in time-out, and this little piggy went 'wee wee wee' all the way home."

Then he moved onto the other foot.

"This little piggy went to Toys 'N Us...this little piggy rode his bicycle...this little piggy ate chicken nuggets...this little piggy played Cars, and this little piggy went 'wee wee wee' all the way home."

Slightly different than the traditional version, but way more interesting.

Improving Attitude

We have come to an agreement over the potential rental house. Originally, the owner wanted us to sign a 1 year lease with the stipulation that after 9 months he was going to relist the house for sale. I was less than thrilled about this possibility, as you might have gathered from one of my recent entries. I don't want to deal with showings. I did that with my own properties, but I had something to gain obviously. Dealing with that while renting would just be a huge pain in the ___.

Luckily, the seller understands my frustration and has agreed to not list the house until after the 12 month mark if we sign a 1 year lease or after the 24th month if we sign a 2 year lease. I'm still not happy that we weren't able to just buy a house and be done with moving, but at least the rental option is seeming like slightly less of an ordeal.

"I Don't Like Cereal."

That is what Jax told me this morning as I poured my bowl of new Chocolatey Delight Special K cereal. It's true. He doesn't like cereal, never has. He does, however, like cereal bars. So that is what he had for breakfast, along with a yogurt. As I sat down at the table with him, I again heard, "I don't like cereal." I nodded at him, letting him know that I had heard him. He continued to eat his breakfast, and I took my first bite of cereal. "I don't like cereal," he repeated yet again. I looked at him and said, "I know Jax, but Mommy does." He watched me take another bite and noticed a little piece of chocolate on my spoon. He glanced in my bowl and stared at the little pieces of chocolate mixed in with the flakes. Then I heard,"Oh! I like that cereal. Can I try it?" Then I sat there wondering, "Why didn't I see this coming," as I enjoyed my cereal bar and yogurt.

Like Sands Through the Hourglass...

So are the days of Jaxon's life. Preschool can be such a soap opera. Jax comes home with some pretty interesting tales. I'm sure they'd be even more interesting if you could get him to share all of the details. Instead you get bits and pieces of the story after an hour of playing 20 questions. Here's what I've been able to figure out from this week.

• Gonzi, one of Jax's 2 best friends from the regular school year, has been replaced by Daniel. Daniel was there during the regular session, but evidently didn't make the cut. Since Gonzi isn't participating in summer session, Daniel was accepted into Jax's circle of friends.
• Baylor, Jax's other best friend, cried on Tuesday. Jax confessed to hitting Baylor "by accident" with his lunch box, but promises that's not why he cried. After lots of questioning, we figured out that Baylor cried because he fell out of his chair.
• Jax still doesn't know any of the girls' names, but he somehow managed to tick one of them off this week. Evidently she made a "mean" face at him. He even demostrated, and it was definitely "mean." When I asked him what he did to her to make her mad, he said, "I didn't do anything." Right!
• The playground mulch has also led to a lot of drama this week. The teachers have uttered the following phrases this week:

"Stop throwing the mulch!"

"Don't put mulch in the boat!"

"Put the mulch down!"

Stay tuned for next week's episodes!

You Take the Good with the Bad

My blog is essentially an online diary. It's a forum for me to share stories and pictures. It's a place where I occassionally express my thoughts. I am sorry that those thoughts aren't always bright and sunny. They are real though. I titled my blog A Little Dose of Reality. That's what I'm sharing, my reality. You have to take the good with the bad. You don't have to agree. You don't even have to read. Your level of participation is entirely optional.

Press Release

I need to formally state that I will not be entertaining offers from McCain or Obama to run for Vice-President. Just like the others that have declared over the past few weeks that they aren't interested, it's not that McCain and Obama don't want me. My press release should not be misconstrued as an attempt to save face after all my recent media grandstanding. Nope, it's just that I'm not interested in running at this time. I'm super busy. Thanks!

Why Do I Even Unpack?

I'm seriously asking myself that. Since 2000, I have orchestrated 7 moves. I've moved 5 times, and moved my in-laws twice. I know what you're thinking...the in-laws' move doesn't count. Wrong! I didn't count all the other moves I've assisted with, like siblings' moves. Nope, I moved the in-laws. It was the same as if I was moving my things, same stress, same amount of work.

Well, it looks like the count will now be 8 moves in 8 years. Then, if I'm lucky, it will be 9 in 9. We're packing up yet again, just not under the conditions that I defined. When we moved from Georgia to Florida and into our current rental house, I made it very clear that when we moved out, we would be moving for the last time (at least for the foreseeable future).

That's why I've been so incredibly picky during our house-hunting. The house has to be as close to perfect as possible to avoid another move. Despite my best effort, the count will not end at 8. We are moving into another rental house closer to Anh's new office because we weren't able to find a house. Well, actually we found multiple houses. We just weren't able to close the deal.

So now I'm dwelling on the fact that move #9 will be looming over my head. I don't really know how to describe what I'm feeling. I am disgusted with the sellers. I'm annoyed with Anh because it's his career that has forced us to move this many times. Not even the military moves this often! I'm dreading the packing, the nightmare of cancelling or transferring services, updating our address info with everyone under the sun, cleaning this house, cleaning the new house, unpacking, organizing, and knowing that I get to do it all over again in a year, if I'm lucky and it only takes that long to find a house!

Does anybody want my crap? It might just be easier to deal with "living in transition" if I had less stuff. I'm seriously thinking of not even unpacking the boxes next time. Who cares anymore. Can you tell I'm not happy?

Drumroll Please

Sorry to keep you in suspense all day. Kidding! I'm sure you have better things to do than wonder about my kid's weight. First, the really good news. Dr. N was unable to hear the heart murmur this visit which is a big relief. I believed her when she said it was normal, but I'm definitely glad it's gone. Now, the entertaining news. Baylor is just over 24 inches long and weighs in at an astonishing 14lbs, 12oz! That puts him in the 90th percentile for height, and the 97th percentile for weight. Out of 100 babies, there are only 3 that are chunkier than our kid. We're so proud! Seriously though, this is quite a difference from Jax who was perfectly average (50th percentile) across the board. We may have a future linebacker on our hands!

Take a Guess

Tomorrow Baylor goes to see Dr. N for his 2 month check-up and his first round of shots. I'm dreading the shots and the crankiness that will follow, but I'm excited to see how much he weighs now. He's currently wearing 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers. So I'm going to guess that he'll tip the scales at over 14lbs. I'll say 14 lbs, 6 oz to be exact. Anyone care to also take a wild guess?

We just gave him a bath and were laughing at how many rolls the kid has. He's such a chunk!

2 Months

Today Baylor is 2 months old! I can proudly report that he has made some progress over the past few weeks. Here's what our little man can do.

• He enjoys a little cereal with his formula. He regularly drinks 4-5oz, but can drink up to 8oz at a time.
• His hands have discovered each other. He holds them together like he's praying. He does this a lot in the car. So he really might be praying since Anh is behind the wheel.
• He has started to reach for objects, like the toys hanging from his floor gym.
• He grabs ahold of your finger or hair if it's within reach.
• When you talk to him, he'll sometimes make little noises in response as if he's trying to talk.
• When he's watching you eat something he'll lick his lips and move his mouth like he's trying to chew.
• He LOVES "standing" with help, of course. He even takes steps. It seems like he's on a mission to out-do his big brother who walked at 9 months.

His favorite activities:

• He still loves his window blinds.
• He also now seems fascinated by his big brother. Although he's often scared by him too, especially when his big brother wants to hold him. Jax doesn't seem to understand that the headlock position might not be super comfortable for Baylor.

Shadow

This morning Anh had to check in on a patient and then swing by the office to check on our receptionist. She was at a bar last night when a fight broke out. Just so you don't think we hire gangster thugs, let me briefly explain. She was sitting at a table with a group of friends when the people at the table next to her's got into a fist fight. They ended up knocking over her group's table, and she wound up with a cut on her leg. She's a really sweet girl, not at all the type that would get in a bar fight. It was just one of those "wrong place, wrong time" situations. Anyway, since Anh had promised Jax that they would hang out all day, Jax got to tag along with him.

Anh left Jax at the nurse's station when he went in to his patient's room, and when he returned to pick him up, the ladies shared some of the details of their conversation. They said they asked him his name and how old he was, but then thought they'd give him a hard question. Someone asked, "Is your Daddy a doctor?" Jax answered, "He's a plastic surgeon." Then someone asked, "What does he do?" Jax responded, "He operates and fixes people." They all seemed to get quite a kick out of him. As Anh and Jax were heading out the door, Jax turned around as said, "Thank you. Call me if you need me!" The whole group cracked up. Anh obviously needs to get some new lines!

They had some time to kill before heading over to the office so they stopped into the doctor's lounge where Jax snacked on some cereal, a cookie, and juice. I guess he felt important hanging out with all the doctors. I can only imagine what kind of things he overheard and might possibly repeat in the future. Clearly the kid doesn't miss a thing.

Once they made it to the office, Jax sat outside of the exam room while Anh stitched up our receptionist's leg. Well, at least he was supposed to stay outside. Jax couldn't stand not being in on the action and barged right in after a few minutes. When he opened the door and saw what Anh was doing, he said, "Ooooo, nasty!" Then he walked closer and said, "Can I do it?" Anh laughed and said, "No, maybe in 20 years." Our receptionist laughed and told Jax it was okay if he watched. I guess that was good enough for him because he stood there and watched the whole thing. It seems like Anh's little plan to have Jax follow in his footsteps is shaping up nicely.

Yeah...Ummm...

All that keep your fingers crossed stuff from yesterday...Nevermind. Someone has changed their mind, and it's not me. Back to the drawing board. That's all I have to say.

Could It Be?

Could we have found our house? Today we went to look at the yellow house with the pool again, the one that we put an offer in on, but couldn't agree with the sellers on the price. Well, it looks like we have come to a verbal agreement. We went up a little, and they came down. I think both sides are happy and feel like they're getting a good deal. Tomorrow we'll call the bank to start the official process of buying. We've already been pre-approved. So no worries there. We just have to get the house appraised and inspected. Again, not too worried about either of those. Hopefully, if all goes smoothly, we'll be entertaining the family at our new pad over Labor Day weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for us, but this could be the end of our search. I'll let ya' know!

Issues

The boys have had some issues lately. Jax has somehow developed chronic nose bleeds. I now suspect they occur because his nose dries out overnight, but originally I was convinced they were a result of him picking his nose. Jax gets very upset about his nose bleeds, and rightfully so. He's a gusher. He'll wake up with one and run to my room for help. Jax isn't a kid that cries and complains when he's hurt or sick. He internalizes EVERYTHING. So to hear him say, "Mommy, I have a nose bleed" in a troubled tone, tells me that he's pretty upset.

The troubling thing is that once we get his nose to stop bleeding, it's only a matter of time until it happens again. He'll usually have at least one recurrence later in the day. I plan to set up a humidifier in his room to see if that will help, but I'm confused about why his nose could be drying out. I would expect it during the colder months when we run the heat (not that we use it much in Florida), but not while I have the air conditioning blasting. I guess air flow is air flow. Hopefully, the humidifier will help.

As for Baylor, he has developed a pretty severe case of Smiling Syndrome. The boy can't seem to stop smiling! He used to crack a smile with lots of pleading and prompting by his insane Mommy. He was stingy with them too, usually sharing them only with me early in the morning. Every now and then he'd smile at Daddy, but now he can't seem to control them. He just smiles at anyone for no reason! I guess if you're going to have a syndrome. This isn't a bad one to have. ; )

Random Moments

Chillin' "There's that bright light again."
Jax never misses a photo opp.
After weeks & weeks of trying to capture the elusive smile. I catch the grin.
And a bit of a smile.
"Cheese!"We had to improvise because he has a bit of a bobble head, but loves trying to stand.

Lunch

As promised, pictures of Baylor's 2nd experience with rice cereal.

"What's that?"

"Oh, I remember."
"Pretty good."
"That's it? No more?"
"I think I've had enough."
"I said ENOUGH!"

"Yeah, something to wash it down."

Wonder Who He Learned This From?

Jax: "I want water!" (Shouted from the upstairs playroom.)

Mommy: "Well, you better ask nicely and come downstairs to get it."

Jax: "Aunt Nguyen, I want water!" (Completely dismissing Mommy's response.)

Aunt Nguyen: "Uh-uh, I don't think so!"

Silence. Several Minutes pass.

Jax: "I want water!"

Mommy: "Come downstairs and get it! That's not how you ask!"

Jax: "Aunt Nguyen will get it!"

Aunt Nguyen: "No, she won't!"

Jax: "Yes, she will!"

Aunt Nguyen: "No, she won't!"

Silence. Several more minutes pass, and Jax walks halfway downstairs.

Jax: "Aunt Nguyen, I want water!"

Aunt Nguyen: "Jax, I want water!"

Jax: "I want water!"

Aunt Nguyen: "I want water too! You come fix it!"

Jax: "No, you fix it!"

Aunt Nguyen: "No, you fix it!"

Jax: "No, you do it!"

Aunt Nguyen: "No, you do it!"

Jax: "No, you!"

Silence. Several more minutes pass.

Jax: "I want water." (Using a much less bossy tone.)

Mommy: "That's still not the correct way to ask."

Jax: "Please."

Mommy fixes Jax a cup of water, and he walks over to retrieve it. Jax disappears back upstairs. Where did that rude little punk come from? What happened to my sweet kid? Jax, Grandfather may have everyone trained to fetch him drinks, but he always uses a nice tone. He doesn't try to boss people around like a dictator.

A Natural-Born Eater

Baylor was truly born to eat! He came into this world hungry, and he's been that way ever since. The boy can put away some milk. Poor thing just never seems to get full, and he's not shy about voicing his frustration. Baylor's appetite seemed to be stabilizing somewhat over the past week, but for the past 24 hours he's been starving despite my efforts to fill him up. So not only was he frustrated, I reached my breaking point as well.

I decided that at 7.5 weeks old, Baylor was ready to try very liquidy rice cereal. I know some people would argue that it's way too early to introduce cereal, but my gut told me that he was ready to give it a try. I mixed the cereal with formula until I had a liquidy consistency. Then I fed it to him using a baby spoon. He gobbled it up like a champ! I wasn't expecting him to be able to eat off a spoon this early, but he did it instinctively. I seriously couldn't spoon it fast enough. He loved it!

I'm going to try feeding him a tiny bit of cereal a couple of times a day to see if that takes his hunger down to a manageable level. He's such a happy baby when he's full, but it's like you're fighting a losing battle to keep him feed. Oh, and sorry I don't have any pictures to share. I didn't have the camera ready or anything because I really expected him to reject the spoon and assumed I'd be feeding him his usual formula bottle. I'll do what I can to capture the spectacle during round 2.

Strange Abilities and Behavior

Jax has been behaving a little strangely for the past few days. I first noticed it last Friday after we came home from the Nascar event. While we were checking out the Border Patrol car, an agent came over and presented Jax with a light-up bouncy ball. He held onto that ball the entire time, only putting it down once to build a wooden race car at the Home Depot exhibit. He even napped with the ball once we returned home. So it came as no surprise that he wanted to bring it with him when we were heading out to watch the fireworks.

Knowing that the ball would get lost if he took it out to the crowded park, I persuaded him to leave it behind. The odd thing was not that he readily agreed (actually that was pretty shocking), but that he insisted on hiding the ball before we left because "it would get stolen." Um, okay? Who's going to steal it? We're all leaving. Surely a burglar would be interested in the higher dollar items like electronics and jewelry, but I wasn't going to explain this to a 3-year old. To Jax the ideal hiding place was in a shoe. Convinced that his prized possession was safe, we all headed out. By the time that we returned home, I had completely forgotten about the ball, but not Jax. Nope, he headed right for that shoe and sure enough, the ball was safe.

A few days passed, and I had forgotten about Jax's paranoia until a package from Grandfather arrived. Jax is always excited to receive a Grandfather package, but we were all a little relieved this time because it had actually gone missing for about week while in transit. Inside were Kung Fu Panda toys (because Grandfather knows he's currently obsessed with this movie), a kite (which he has asked to fly every day since it arrived), a Boy Scout mug (which now must be used every day at lunch), Silly Putty (which oddly ended up on Baylor's belly when he was napping), and 2 new Cars toys (yeah, just what he needed, more Cars). So you can see why we were all worried the box had been lost. Priceless items!

Anyway, Jax was playing with his Cars toys when we were trying to get packed up to go house-hunting. When it was time to go, he wanted to bring the toys in his backpack because "they would get stolen" if he left them behind. Again with the paranoia. I still don't have a clue where this is coming from, but he's truly convinced someone is after his things. So that's the latest strange behavior.

The oddity I've recently noticed is his newly acquired ability to sniff out monsters! Yes, he'll go walking through the house, sniffing, and then suddenly stop and announce, "There's a monster in there" while pointing to where the evil creature is lurking. I've yet to see these monsters, by the way. When that happens, you'll know that we both need to be committed.

Back to the Drawing Board

I guess this one wasn't meant to be either. After realizing that I'd be choosing dolphins over my children's financial security, I let go of the idea that we should make an offer on the waterfront house. We both decided the best option was the big yellow house. It's in my favorite neighborhood and there's plenty of room for the kids now and when they're older. BUT, as we expected, we weren't able to agree on a price with the sellers. They say they're ready to sell and move out of state, but I guess they're not really all that eager because our offer was fair. They would have made a profit, just not as much as they want, I guess.

I think we're going to once again take a break from the hunt. It's just too frustrating. These aren't just houses. You're looking for a home for your family. You're looking for a place where memories will be made. When considering a property you picture yourself living there. You mentally move in and picture your family there. Obviously, if you make it to the point where you present an offer, you like what you've imagined. So it's hard when you then have to wipe that image away. I guess we'll just continue to rent until some of these sellers come to their senses. I'm tired of the disappointment.

A Real Possibility

This one is probably our front runner right now, assuming Crazy doesn't come to his senses. These are the best pictures I have of it. The inside is really nice. The lower level is a 4 car garage, guest suite, and a HUGE playroom that opens out onto the pool deck. The main living area is on the 2nd floor along with the master, 2 additional bedrooms, and an office. The main negative for me with this one is the thought of lugging all my groceries upstairs to the kitchen. I guess it would save me money since I'd never have to buy a Stairmaster!

Another Contender

This is another top contender, if we decide it's not really that important for the boys to eat.

Front ViewMother-in-Law Suite over the 3rd GarageView from Front BalconyRear Patio/DeckRooftop Deck over Lower Patio/DeckLiving RoomDining RoomKitchenMasterBedroom 1

Bedroom 2
MIL Suite

Do We Have a Winner?

We spent Monday afternoon house-hunting, and I am disgusted to report that we have now seen every single property in the area that remotely seems like it could suit our needs. We've even looked at a few properties that haven't yet been listed. Yes, we are a realtor's worst nightmare! Even though our realtor assures us that we're her "dream" clients, I know she is lying. ; )

Anyway, we did find one property that we liked yesterday. Too bad it's DOUBLE what the Crazies want for their house thanks to the waterfront location. I really, really like this house. It has that "vacation home" feel, but that's okay with me because if we bought it, we'd never be able to afford another vacation. I think this one will quickly lose it's spot on our short list.

Oh, I forgot to mention the dolphins. You see a dolphin about every 30 seconds when staring out at the view. DOLPHINS!

The Front

View from Upstairs Front Balcony
Floor Plan

The Mother-in-Law Suite over the Garage

The Crazies

We spent yesterday house-hunting, and big surprise we had no luck. One would think that I'd be used to wasting my time by now, but I actually had high hopes before yesterday's outing because we had an appointment for a 2nd look at a house that we saw a few weeks ago. I liked this house the first time we saw it, but ruled it out because it was a 3-bedroom, and we need 4 minimum. It's in my favorite neighborhood though, and it really is pretty much everything we want. I thought it would be worth our while to go back for a 2nd look to see if there was space to add on, if needed, down the road.

Yesterday was actually our 2nd attempt to schedule another tour of this property. We tried to look at the house a week after we initially saw it, but the owner's refused to let us come by. In a week's time, he had decided to let the house go into foreclosure. Our realtor is the listing agent for the property, and she was unable to convince him that this was a horrible decision. He made her remove the key lockbox and take down the for sale sign in the front yard. He was deadset on letting the house go. Evidently, they built the house when the market peaked and paid top dollar. Now he owes the bank more than the house is worth, a situation a lot of homeowners find themselves in right now.

Rather than just staying put in the house until the market has a chance to somewhat recover, they have already purchased and moved into a new house and are now sick of carrying 2 mortgages. So rather than sell the house for what they owe or slightly less, they'd rather ruin their credit and my chances at finally finding a house! When he had his meltdown and refused the 2nd showing we began referring to them as the Crazies.

Well, I guess Crazy came to his senses because he agreed to let us in for a 2nd look yesterday. Since he had made our realtor return the house key, he said he would meet us at 5pm to unlock the door, but when our appointment time came and went, we realized he had flip-flopped once again. He refused to answer his cell when our realtor called to check on his whereabouts. Obviously, we were all annoyed. He had completely wasted everyone's time. I guess this one just wasn't meant to be, but it's so frustrating because it was the absolute closest thing to perfect that we've found.

The one positive from yesterday is that my boys were extremely well-behaved. It's a bit of a hassel dragging them around with us because we're in and out of the car so much, but they were both real troopers.

Confusion

Baylor was quite fussy last night, and as a result, Anh and I are both completely exhausted today. So this morning we were quite lazy about getting out of bed. Jax eventually wandered into our room to see why we weren't up yet, and after seeing that we weren't in any real hurry to leave our bed, crawled in between us to chat. Conversation with Jax is always interesting. His thoughts are all over the place which is entertaining and worrisome at the same time.

One of the more humorous parts of this morning's chat was when Jax brought up Baby Baylor being in Mommy's tummy. I told Jax, "You know, you were in Mommy's tummy too." He smiled and responded, "Yeah. Baby Jax was in Mommy's tummy. Then he came out." Then things got a little confusing because Jax pointed to Anh and said, "Daddy was in Mommy's belly too." I laughed and said, "No. Daddy was in Ba Ba's belly." Jax's expression was that of complete confusion and he blurted out, "What?!" I told him, "Yes, Daddy was in Ba Ba's belly because Ba Ba is Daddy's Mommy. You understand that, right? Ba Ba is Daddy's Mommy, and Grandma is Mommy's Mommy." He looked at me like I was a complete fool, and said, "No." I guess we'll need to do a better job of explaining the family tree to Jax.

More Fun

We ended our 4th of July celebration by gathering with thousands of others on one of the Intercoastal bridges to watch the city's fireworks display. Originally, we had planned to light fireworks in the backyard, like we did for New Year's, but there's currently a burn ban in place because of the dry conditions. So our only "legal" option was to attend the city's display.

It was a fun street party atmosphere with food vendors and a band. We made our way through the crowd and managed to score a great spot on the bridge. The weather was great. A nice breeze created the perfect temperature. Much better than last year when it was really windy. So windy that the city's display was actually cancelled because they had planned to launch the fireworks off a barge anchored out at sea, and the high winds sent a wave crashing onto the barge ruining the fireworks. I guess the city wasn't going to be outsmarted by Mother Nature 2 years in a row and moved the celebration to the Intercoastal waterfront park.

The highlight of the experience wasn't watching the fireworks rocket into the sky and explode into a multitude of brilliantly colored patterns while enjoying the patriotic tunes played by the band. Nope, it was Baylor's perfectly timed "explosion." There we were on the bridge enjoying the show and the moment, and our kid decides that is the prime opportunity to set off his own "fireworks." So Anh was forced to change his diaper right there on the bridge. There really wasn't anywhere to go for privacy at that point. Those standing around us were treated to an extra special display. Kids! Ya' gotta' love 'em!

Fun on the 4th

The crowds are in town for the Coke Zero 400. Since Jax is a HUGE Nascar fan (Thanks, Grandfather!), we decided to take him to the exhibits they have setup outside the Speedway. We spent most of the morning hunting for the Jimmie Johnson exhibit, Jax's current favorite driver, but we didn't have any luck. Regardless, Jax had a great time. There was so much to see and do. Baylor, however, slept through the whole outing. Oh well, maybe next year he'll be more into it.

Part of the TeamGrandfather's Favorite, Jeff Gordon

Jax Still Likes Tony Stewart (Keep working on him, Grandfather!)

Still Looking for Jimmie Johnson

Daddy's Current Favorite, Dale Jr.
Mommy's New Favorite Car
Testing His Skills (All those hours on the Wii might pay off!)

Settling for the Old Favorite, Kyle Busch