J.P., "petting" a stingray at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Hockey Cards
J.P., just prior to our departure for Chattanooga, studying the Predators' hockey cards I got for Jude at Thursday night's Predators' game.
Hula Hoop
Weekend in Chattanooga
A few weeks ago, Jude suggested we plan a weekend getaway to Chattanooga. Our last visit was almost exactly three years ago, our last trip before J.P. was born.
The weekend couldn't have gone better, really. Chattanooga is such a family friendly city that really caters to activities for children. Frankly, it completely kicks Nashville's ass in that regard, which is surprising, since Nashville is generally considered to be a tourist destination (Grand Ole Opry, County Music Hall of Fame, etc.). What it comes down to, Jude and I decided, is that Nashville's tourism industry is geared toward adults, while Chattanooga's tourism industry is geared toward families.
Within walking distance of our hotel - the Hilton Garden Inn - was the Tennessee Aquarium, AT&T Park (where Chattanooga's AA minor league baseball team, the Lookouts, play), the Children's Science Museum and a myriad of restaurants and bars. It's a perfect setup.
We left Friday, late afternoon. Unfortunately, we got caught in traffic heading out of town on I-24, but it wasn't too bad. The trip went well until we were about 10 minutes outside of Chattanooga. J.P., who had been sleeping, woke up crying and immediately vomited. That's par for the course for him, given his penchant for carsickness. We were so close to the hotel, though, I thought we might have made it without an incident. As usual, as soon as he threw up, J.P. was fine.
We checked into the hotel, took the elevator up to the 4th floor and, suddenly, J.P. was in heaven! First, he explored the suite, then delighted in opening and closing, repeatedly, the closet and bathroom doors. It was hilarious. Truth be told, our hotel room was probably the highlight of the trip, for J.P. More than once during the weekend, he reminded us how "cool" our hotel room was.
Late Friday evening, we had a nice dinner at the Blue Plate. Somewhat of an expert, J.P. pronounced the grilled cheese sandwich he ordered as "the best grilled cheese sandwich ever." Bold statement, indeed.
Saturday morning, J.P. slept late, which was nice. After breakfast downstairs, we walked next door to the Children's Science Museum. We spent a couple of hours there and J.P. had a blast. There were a ton of kid friendly, participatory activities - water tables, a farmer's market, pretend garden, rooftop playground, doctor's office and kitchen - to name a few. Again, just a nice way to spend some time with your child. It was great and J.P. loved it.
We ate lunch at another good restaurant - Blue Water - then it was nap time for Jude and J.P. I went for a 4-mile run along the Tennessee River, then had a couple of beers at an outside bar a block or so away from our hotel. When J.P. woke up, we walked over to the Tennessee Aquarium and spend a couple of hours there. It was kind of nice, because in the early evening, not many people were there, so we kind of had the run of the place. We toured the salt water aquarium, then the fresh water aquarium. It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Aquariums - when you've seen one, you've seen them all - bit it was fun to watch as J.P. took it all in.
We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby, then packed it in for the night. Today, we left Chattanooga about 10:30 a.m. and, other than a quick vomiting episode just past Monteagle, it was an uneventful trip home. At J.P.'s request, we drove straight to Bongo Java for brunch, then played a rather funny game of hide-and-seek in the courtyard of an apartment complex. When it was J.P.'s turn to hide, he ran and hid - beside, not behind - a nearby tree, in full view. Jude and I couldn't stop laughing.
Across the board, it was a great family weekend.
The weekend couldn't have gone better, really. Chattanooga is such a family friendly city that really caters to activities for children. Frankly, it completely kicks Nashville's ass in that regard, which is surprising, since Nashville is generally considered to be a tourist destination (Grand Ole Opry, County Music Hall of Fame, etc.). What it comes down to, Jude and I decided, is that Nashville's tourism industry is geared toward adults, while Chattanooga's tourism industry is geared toward families.
Within walking distance of our hotel - the Hilton Garden Inn - was the Tennessee Aquarium, AT&T Park (where Chattanooga's AA minor league baseball team, the Lookouts, play), the Children's Science Museum and a myriad of restaurants and bars. It's a perfect setup.
We left Friday, late afternoon. Unfortunately, we got caught in traffic heading out of town on I-24, but it wasn't too bad. The trip went well until we were about 10 minutes outside of Chattanooga. J.P., who had been sleeping, woke up crying and immediately vomited. That's par for the course for him, given his penchant for carsickness. We were so close to the hotel, though, I thought we might have made it without an incident. As usual, as soon as he threw up, J.P. was fine.
We checked into the hotel, took the elevator up to the 4th floor and, suddenly, J.P. was in heaven! First, he explored the suite, then delighted in opening and closing, repeatedly, the closet and bathroom doors. It was hilarious. Truth be told, our hotel room was probably the highlight of the trip, for J.P. More than once during the weekend, he reminded us how "cool" our hotel room was.
Late Friday evening, we had a nice dinner at the Blue Plate. Somewhat of an expert, J.P. pronounced the grilled cheese sandwich he ordered as "the best grilled cheese sandwich ever." Bold statement, indeed.
Saturday morning, J.P. slept late, which was nice. After breakfast downstairs, we walked next door to the Children's Science Museum. We spent a couple of hours there and J.P. had a blast. There were a ton of kid friendly, participatory activities - water tables, a farmer's market, pretend garden, rooftop playground, doctor's office and kitchen - to name a few. Again, just a nice way to spend some time with your child. It was great and J.P. loved it.
We ate lunch at another good restaurant - Blue Water - then it was nap time for Jude and J.P. I went for a 4-mile run along the Tennessee River, then had a couple of beers at an outside bar a block or so away from our hotel. When J.P. woke up, we walked over to the Tennessee Aquarium and spend a couple of hours there. It was kind of nice, because in the early evening, not many people were there, so we kind of had the run of the place. We toured the salt water aquarium, then the fresh water aquarium. It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of Aquariums - when you've seen one, you've seen them all - bit it was fun to watch as J.P. took it all in.
We ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant nearby, then packed it in for the night. Today, we left Chattanooga about 10:30 a.m. and, other than a quick vomiting episode just past Monteagle, it was an uneventful trip home. At J.P.'s request, we drove straight to Bongo Java for brunch, then played a rather funny game of hide-and-seek in the courtyard of an apartment complex. When it was J.P.'s turn to hide, he ran and hid - beside, not behind - a nearby tree, in full view. Jude and I couldn't stop laughing.
Here's a photo I took after church last weekend. Jude's grandmother, Rita White (a.k.a. "Great"), and her dad went to church at St. Patrick's with us, which was a treat. J.P. wasn't too interesting in having his picture taken.
After church, "Great" treated all of us to lunch at Panera. Good family time.
Soldier Boy
Here's a photo of J.P. and our next-door-neighbor's son, Greg Lehrer. Greg is a sophomore at Belmont University. He's in the ROTC program and, at this point, is pursuing a nursing degree at Belmont with an eye toward becoming a combat medic.
When we moved into our house, Greg was 12 years old. We watched him grow up and, as you can see, he's grown up now. Time gets by you, doesn't it?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Potty Wars
Lately, we've been smack in the middle of "the potty wars."
Several times a day, after a little - okay, a lot - of cajoling from Jude, Carley (our nanny) or me, J.P. sits on the potty. And, the great thing is, the last week or so, he almost always "goes pee pee in the potty," as he describes it. "Just like Daddy!" It's not exactly "just like Daddy," since he's sitting down and, well, never mind. You get the idea.
We're not to the point where he asks to go potty, but we're getting there. I think that's the next step. We're also not quite to the "poo poo in the potty" stage either, but Rome wasn't built in day, as the saying goes.
Last weekend, I bought J.P. a Sesame Street potty seat to use in the bathroom in his room. It was huge hit, as he wanted to take it down and look at it every few minutes. The best part was he wanted to sit on it, so he could look down and point out all of the Sesame Street characters on it (Big Bird, Elmo, etc.). If I had known it was going to be that big of a hit, I would have got it a few months ago. It's funny - things like the Sesame Street potty seat - we just stumble into and they work, while others don't.
Today, at bedtime, Jude proudly announced J.P. had worn "pull ups" all day long and had not gotten them wet once. Instead, he had "gone pee pee in the potty" every time. Another first and another sign that my son is growing up faster than I'd like him to. The idea of not changing his diapers, while somewhat liberating, is a little sad to me, too. Strange, but true.
Several times a day, after a little - okay, a lot - of cajoling from Jude, Carley (our nanny) or me, J.P. sits on the potty. And, the great thing is, the last week or so, he almost always "goes pee pee in the potty," as he describes it. "Just like Daddy!" It's not exactly "just like Daddy," since he's sitting down and, well, never mind. You get the idea.
We're not to the point where he asks to go potty, but we're getting there. I think that's the next step. We're also not quite to the "poo poo in the potty" stage either, but Rome wasn't built in day, as the saying goes.
Last weekend, I bought J.P. a Sesame Street potty seat to use in the bathroom in his room. It was huge hit, as he wanted to take it down and look at it every few minutes. The best part was he wanted to sit on it, so he could look down and point out all of the Sesame Street characters on it (Big Bird, Elmo, etc.). If I had known it was going to be that big of a hit, I would have got it a few months ago. It's funny - things like the Sesame Street potty seat - we just stumble into and they work, while others don't.
Today, at bedtime, Jude proudly announced J.P. had worn "pull ups" all day long and had not gotten them wet once. Instead, he had "gone pee pee in the potty" every time. Another first and another sign that my son is growing up faster than I'd like him to. The idea of not changing his diapers, while somewhat liberating, is a little sad to me, too. Strange, but true.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Pajama Day
Ah, Pajama Day. A time honored institution of motherhood. And, thanks to Jude's brief sabbatical, she and J.P. experienced Pajama Day earlier this week.
When I got home from work, they were in the kitchen, in their pajamas, making Valentine's Day cookies. Did I mention they were still in the pajamas? Jude loves to bake cookies and J.P. loves to decorate cookies, so it's a pretty good combination.
As I watched them together, I was reminded of how glad I am Jude is taking a little time off work.
When I got home from work, they were in the kitchen, in their pajamas, making Valentine's Day cookies. Did I mention they were still in the pajamas? Jude loves to bake cookies and J.P. loves to decorate cookies, so it's a pretty good combination.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Happy Birthday St. Patrick!
Today is the 120th anniversary of the church we've called home for the last 6 or 7 years, St. Patrick Catholic Church.
After Jude and I got married, we attended the Cathedral of the Incarnation for a while. It's where we were married and it's where Jude had attended church in the past. I had been really comfortable at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Franklin, which is a small church, so the Cathedral was a little too big for me. After I joined the Catholic church, we looked around and visited several Catholic churches before we discovered St. Patrick. Almost immediately, we fell in love with St. Patrick and it's small but vibrant congregation. We're there almost every Sunday. John Patrick, Jude and I love our priest, Father David Perkin.
Last Sunday, we celebrated our church's 120th birthday. Bishop David Choby held mass and gave the homily, which was a real treat. St. Patrick's former priest, Father Eric Fowlkes was there, too. It was a real treat to take communion from him again. Nashville's mayor, Karl Dean, and his wife sat in the front row. He read a proclamation at the end of Mass, which was a nice touch.
John Patrick warmly greeted Bishop Choby after Mass, which made us smile. All around, it was just a really special event, one we were blessed to be a small part of.
After Jude and I got married, we attended the Cathedral of the Incarnation for a while. It's where we were married and it's where Jude had attended church in the past. I had been really comfortable at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Franklin, which is a small church, so the Cathedral was a little too big for me. After I joined the Catholic church, we looked around and visited several Catholic churches before we discovered St. Patrick. Almost immediately, we fell in love with St. Patrick and it's small but vibrant congregation. We're there almost every Sunday. John Patrick, Jude and I love our priest, Father David Perkin.
Last Sunday, we celebrated our church's 120th birthday. Bishop David Choby held mass and gave the homily, which was a real treat. St. Patrick's former priest, Father Eric Fowlkes was there, too. It was a real treat to take communion from him again. Nashville's mayor, Karl Dean, and his wife sat in the front row. He read a proclamation at the end of Mass, which was a nice touch.
John Patrick warmly greeted Bishop Choby after Mass, which made us smile. All around, it was just a really special event, one we were blessed to be a small part of.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Big Bird & Bongo
Lately, J.P. is into all things Sesame Street. Not so much watching it on television, though, as listening repeatedly to a couple of Sesame Street albums I have on the iPod, talking about the characters continuously (Big Bird, Grover, Elmo, et al.) and playing with his Sesame Street puppets. You haven't lived until you've eaten dinner five nights in a row, at least, with Big Bird singing "the Farmer in the Dell" as your background music.
This morning, J.P. and went to Bongo Java for breakfast, as we typically do on Sunday mornings, before church. He wanted to take Big Bird (his Big Bird puppet, actually), so we did. As we walked up the front deck and inside Bongo, he proudly showed Big Bird to Sara and Chad, two longtime employees we've gotten to know well.
On the way out, I took a couple of photos of J.P. and Big Bird.
This morning, J.P. and went to Bongo Java for breakfast, as we typically do on Sunday mornings, before church. He wanted to take Big Bird (his Big Bird puppet, actually), so we did. As we walked up the front deck and inside Bongo, he proudly showed Big Bird to Sara and Chad, two longtime employees we've gotten to know well.
On the way out, I took a couple of photos of J.P. and Big Bird.
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