Some New Pics from Around the House

Matthew's First Rainbow Cookie!! His reaction... "Mmmmmmm"

A Few More Random Pics

Just a few good ones from this past weekend.

Rainy Day in Boston - At Least the Pats Won

Yeah, rainy day here today but caught some good footage of Matthew doing his thing around the house.

New Pics!

Good news for all the Matthew fans! We figured out how to load pics from Jodi's phone onto the computer and there are a few gems. Here are just a few. More to come.

I'm Sorry

I know people like to check this blog every once in a while and you probably have noticed, the updates have become few and far between. I could give you a whole list of excuses (our camera battery is dying) but instead I will just post a quick pic of Matthew in his PJ's.

Aw, What the Heck, Here's a Few More Wedding Pics

Needed to post a few more pics ..... check out Matthew's Boat Shoes!!

Kara and Sean's Wedding

Matthew had his first big night out last night and I happy to report it was a smashing success. Not only was this a first-rate wedding for a couple of good friends but Matthew was the toast of the town and was a very good boy, despite the fact he was out, partying way past his bedtime.

These days, Matthew usually turns in around 7:30 but last night, he was on the scene. Matthew is the kind of guy that needs to shake everyone's hand at the party and make sure he says hello. He is also not above charming a lady or two. Needless to say he was a pretty big hit. Of course it was all possible because Matty was on his best behavior.

Sean and Kara got married at a church in the North End in Boston and had their reception at the Omni Parker House (a venerable institution) located right on the Boston Common. It was a very nice affair with a great big crowd. We had a chance to catch up with a bunch of old friends as well as some family members (our cousin Erin and her husband Ian was there). We had a chance to grab a couple crappy pictures and hopefully will be getting some more emailed from friends. Here are a couple snaps from before and during the wedding.

Wrigley Field Roof Deck (UPDATED WITH MENU ITEMS)

So my business unit at IDC decided to break from tradition. We wanted to do a customer event so we could showcase our products and services. Rather than the usual meeting where we bring in some speaker to talk about various subjects, we thought we would try something that was actually really fun. My colleague Rob, who lives in Chicago ended up setting up a block of seats on one of the roof decks right outside of Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Yesterday I went out to Chicago for the day - we had our event during a Cubs game and it was a pretty great time. Who knows if we drum up any business but at least we had a solid time. Here is the setup: there are a bunch of these walkup browstone-type buildings surrounding the ballopark and most of them have sightlines right into the ballpark. So what people have done is buy the buildings and completely renovate the top floors and turn them into bars with open air lounges and then set up bleachers on the roof so you are even more elevated, allowing you to easily see almost the entire field.

The whole thing was catered and we had unlimited food and beers.... plus it was a really nice sunny day. Here is a pic from the rooftop bleachers.

!!! UPDATE !!!!

I was remiss in not posting a complete menu of the things served (most of which I ate)

> Beers (like 6-8 different kinds) served at 3 different bars

> Wine

> Cokes

> Snack mix

> Bags of chips

> Pizza

> Cooler full of ice cream (incl. chipwiches, ice cream sandwiches, chocolate covereds, etc.)

> Butler-passed BBQ rib sandwiches

> Butler-passed pulled pork sandwiches

> Butler-passed roast beef sandwiches

(and the butlers were pretty girls)

> Hot dogs

> Sausages

> Hamburgers

I am not saying I ate all of this stuff, but I did check the scale this morning and appeared to have gained 5 pounds.

Happy B-Day, Curious George

This past weekend we went into the Boston Public Library for a Curious George event. It was actually his birthday although I didn't catch how old he is.

First, some Curious George trivia:

1. Jodi and I read CG books when we were little; Matthew is more familiar with CG the TV series, although we plan on introducing him to the books once he starts learning more english.

2. There were seven original CG stories published from 1941 through 1966

3. Original credit for the story and illustrations were given to H.A Rey although later his wife Margaret was given credit for the writing. Now both names appear on original CG books.

4. The CG event this past weekend was held in the Rey children's room in the Boston Public Library which is named after the aformentioned couple.

So anyway, a harmless Curious George birthday party turned into your typical overcrowded Boston event replete with a long line. Of course Jodi and Matty and I were ready to wait it out and in the end Matthew got his chance to meet Curious George.

Sorry we didn't great pics - it was a little chaotic. Oh and we did see the Man With Yellow Hat but didn't even bother hanging out.

Big Win for Michigan!

By now you've probably heard the story that is gripping the sports world ... am I talking about Tiger Woods shooting a 62? Brett Favre being named captain? Jeter breaking Gehrig's Yankee hit record?

No, we're talking about the biggest story in college football. Michigan's pulse-pounding win over ND at Michigan Stadium, this afternoon in front of 100,000+ Maize and Blue-clad partisans and not fewer than a few thousand Irish fans. Today Michigan came back and beat No. 18 Notre Dame, 38-34, in the biggest win since the Tom Brady era.

Feel free to check with ESPN for the specifics... and please get some highlights via Sportscenter because there were ALOT. All I will say is that Michigan did a great job staying on the field against a pretty potent Irish offense and this kid at QB, Tate Forcier (pictured) had an amazing and unbelievable game.

Forcier efficiently drove Michigan's offense today to the tune of 240 yards and 2 TD's but he also rushed for a crucial TD in the 3rd quarter (a 31 yard run up the gut on a 4th down!) AND after throwing a late interception which lead to ND taking the lead, he drove the team 58 yards with 2:13 left for a game winning TD.

Again, check the highlights and listen to the sports guys talk about this because this was just a HUGE win, plain and simple. And Forcier burst onto the scene, big time. As Sean McDonough said "there's a new star in college football".

On a side note, there's a new Michigan fan in college football and his name is Matthew. Check out the pics of him watching the game.

Day at the Beach

Today certainly wasn't a day at the beach (it rained all day) but we did get a chance to grab some sand and sun recently when we met up with my parents and sister on Wallaston Beach in Quincy this past labor day. (Disclaimer: our collective mission was to eat some fried clams but the weather was nice enough to hang out and let Matthew play in the sand). Here are the pics.

Matthew Can Use Chopsticks

I actually wasn't even sure Koreans used chopsticks but we went to a Korean restaurant and next thing we know, he's eating and gesticulating with chopsticks like any yuppy you see in a sushi bar.

More Playing in the House and Riding a Carousel

Went down to the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence RI this weekend. Met up with my good friend Steve (from IDC) and his wife Melissa and their little girl Catherine. Steve and Melissa played a central role in our adoption process by providing a lot of background on their own experience with adoption. Little Catherine is from China. Steve is actually the one who encouraged us to think about international adoption and reminded me about Korean adoption. So anyone who likes Matthew, you owe a debt of gratitude to this guy.

So we had a really nice day down at the zoo. Matthew wasn't as sleepy as I was as we were leaving so we decided to check out this carousel near the zoo. We got a little footage. There are a few regular pics I will post later on.

PS - Steve even got me into the zoo for free.

Labor Day Weekend

Matthew playing around the house .... sorry, my shirt is off in this video.

Matthew Has a Toy Guitar

So we have been trying to start Matthew off pretty early with an appreciation for music. Of course, everyone has different taste and opinions on what babies should be listening to. I think it's pretty interesting how kids programming throws a lot of different type of music at you. For instance, Sesame Street has some pretty basic stuff on music like teaching about musical instruments. Meanwhile, I have noticed Baby Einstein actually has a soundtrack which seems to be predominantly classical music. Barney is 90% percent singing (although 100% excruciatingly annoying).

So, when we are around the house, or especially in the car, we throw a lot of tunes Matthew's way. So far, he seems to really like his Pink Floyd baby lullaby album (actually it puts him right to sleep, but I like it) and he has danced along to various Bon Jovi songs. I caught him really digging Van Halen the other day (it was on the radio). Another Matthew favorite: Insane in the Brain by Cypress Hill (I guess it's catchy).

Anyway, we'll graduate him on to the Grateful Dead some day but at this point he is happy to listen to just about anything. He hasn't yet picked up an instrument but Jodi gave him a little guitar that plays music when he presses buttons. It leads to some funny moments - like these ...

Swan Boats!

We headed down to Boston to check out the Public Garden today. It was a really nice day but Labor Day weekend in Boston can be kind of crazy with all the college kids who show up this time of year.

Turned out to be as crowded as advertised but we had no problem getting down there and finding a spot. We hit the Swan Boats, which, if you are wondering are these little boats with swans on the back (I didn't really get a good picture of one) that paddle around a pond in the middle of Boston's public garden. It's a pretty nice scene.

So, good day all around. Ate some spaghetti and Michigan won its opener.

Random Pics (part2)