Monthly Update

so, as i thought i might, i've let myself down regarding updating the blog more often. no one's surprised, so we'll move on....

we're moving steadily toward parenthood, and it's a little scary. lol just not knowing exactly what it's going to be like and how we're going to be as parents, but i think that all new parents feel that way, and you just learn as you go. there's no doubt that Olivia will be showered with love at every chance, and that we'll give her the support and encouragement she needs. it's going to be an adventure, for sure! we also just completed our "special delivery" class this past weekend, which went well and answered some questions regarding natural vs. medicated vs. c-section births. toni is still planning on going completely natural but knows that she may change her mind once things get going. we're slowly but surely getting the nursery and other things done around the house but we've got a ways to go yet. luckily Olivia won't be in the nursery right away anyway, so we've still got some time.

made a few more upgrades to the Jeep as well. Got some bright LED bulbs for the interior as well as the license plate:





License Plate comparison:

License Plate final:

The photos don't do them justice - these things are BRIGHT, especially at night!

I also found out about a guy on ebay who sells decals you can put into the "Compass" stamped in the rear bumper. they come in a variety of colors, several of which also offer "reflective" so i opted for the "white reflective" ones since our jeep is white though i tried to get toni to go for a contrasting color to make it pop even more... Anyway when they came in they were more of a silver color when just looking at them, which i confirmed with the seller was correct. i was a little put out by this at first, but once i got them on, you can't tell as much and it looks really good. Here are some installation pics:

Before

Halfway done:

Finished (no flash):

Full View, Day, No Flash:

Full View, Day, With Flash:

Full View, Night, With Flash:


Toni drove behind me the other night and said it looks really good, so i'm happy with the looks as well as the added safety at night. And for only $11 shipped (from Canada) it's hard to beat!

That's all for now folks!

Birthday Bash and Jeep upgrades (kinda)

First off, I know it's been about a month since my last post. I know. I'm sure there are some excuses I could use to some extent, but honestly I'm just not that concerned about it at this time. Though I will say that I (again) am going to try to post more regularly. I know you're laughing on the inside, too.

Had an AMAZING rock star karaoke birthday bash in Bham this past weekend - all I can say is WOW! Such a great time! Toni did such an amazing job putting it all together and everyone got into it, which made it even better. By far one of the best birthday parties I've ever experienced. We're not sure it could ever be topped, so we may end up doing a sequel for my 40th! lol I'll be sure to post more info with pics as soon as we get them all compiled. And tomorrow, I'll officially be in my thirties....and have a baby by the end of the year! 2009 is definitely a great year!

On to other news: as I posted last time, we got a new 09 Jeep Compass and have been enjoying it thus far. I've always been into lights (just like the look of the whiter, higher temp waves rather than the somewhat dingy looking regular halogen), so I invested in some Silverstar bulbs for the fog lights. Here's a look mid-install (Silverstar bulb is on the right, stock on the left):



Pretty decent difference for me from the outside (you can see the higher temp range on the ground as the Silverstar is noticeably whiter), and from the inside the visual range immediately in front of the vehicle seems to be much better. Here's a shot with both fogs installed and headlights on:



Last night I also installed Silverstar bulbs in the headlights, but the images didn't turn out great. They seem to be brighter looking out, but looking at them head on, you don't see as much of a difference as with the fog lights, but I'm still happy with them, especially for the price I got them for.

I just ordered some LED bulbs for the interior and license plate and reverse lights, which I'm really excited about (what a dork, right?). I'll be sure to post pics of the before and after as soon as they come in, hopefully this week. I also plan on putting in (not sure if I'll do it myself yet, or get the dealer to do it) a Cold Air Intake by either K&N or Mopar (which is made by K&N from what I understand, but is blue instead of red and may go over better for the warranty). That may be the extent of my upgrades for this vehicle, but we'll see.

Well, until next time!

I haven't forgotten you, Blog

It’s hard to believe, I know, but I swear I haven’t forgotten you, blog. Got a little off track after (and before) vacation, which is really no excuse, but regardless I am back and fully intend on getting back in the rhythm of posting on a regular basis. Does that mean you won’t see another blog post like this? Probably not. But at least I’m willing to admit it.

Now, on to the show!

We had a wonderful time at the beach in Cape San Blas at the beginning of July. It was great to be with family and just hang out and relax. We enjoyed some pool time, some beach time, some fishing and boating, some great meals and just all around good times. We did get some pretty heavy rain several days, which bummed us out at the time, but I think that it was actually good since it let us just hang out together in the house playing board games and reading or whatnot. Seems like so many times on vacation you feel like you HAVE to go and do something down at the beach or whatever since you’re there, but the rain made us take it easy on those days. We’re already thinking about going back next year, and it’ll be so much more of a trip since we’ll have our little one with us. Which brings me to our other news…

We let everyone know last week that we found out that we will be having a GIRL! Say hello to the still-in-progress Olivia Marie:


It’s still pretty unreal, and I’ve half convinced myself that they got it wrong since I said from the beginning it was a girl, but now it’s really starting to sink in! We went to Babies R Us and got our registry filled out this past Friday. We had been in there a couple times before, but let me just say that that place is overwhelming! It’s hard to believe that babies have been born and raised without ever experiencing a forehead thermometer or a spoon that turns white if the food is too hot. It’s hard to comprehend how parents did it without all of these technological wonders, but I’m just glad we’re where we are now so Toni and I can benefit from them! But even with these great gadgets, it’s still quite overwhelming to think that in just a few short months, we’ll be solely responsible for the life of another human being during it’s most fragile and malleable state. Crazy! I know we’ll be great parents, giving our daughter the love, interaction and direction she needs to become a wonderful, caring woman. There’s no rush though! We’ll enjoy and cherish (and record in some fashion) every moment of her life as she grows so we don’t have to look back and wish we’d paid more attention, but even then I know we’ll do it still since Time seems to always one-up us right before our eyes. We’re sure gonna try though. :)

we're having a baby!

That’s right – as some of you already know, my wife and I are expecting our first child! She’s a little over 2 months along now, and we couldn’t be more excited! We saw it for the first time the other day, and were able to hear the heartbeat. Absolutely AMAZING. We already feel so much love for this tiny thing growing in her abdomen, and it’s crazy to think that it will be a little person by the end of the year!! Of course, we’ve both been battling the common sensations of not feeling prepared to be responsible for another human life like this, but I think that comes with the territory, and we’ll learn and adapt as we go along, just like every other set of parents with their first child. It's probably no surprise that I’m hoping for a boy, but I really don’t care either way. The idea of a boy is nice just for the sake of a little balance (to give you some perspective, in our house it’s me with my wife and our two female dogs, and my sister-in-law’s family of three girls who live about 10 minutes away), and I know that my brother-in-law Scott would appreciate having another guy around as well, plus just the thought of those father/son things is nice, though I am aware that I am somewhat ill-equipped to provide some of the “man lessons” (home improvement, car, etc.) that will be needed. But I guess that’s what Grandpa’s are for. Then the other side of me loves the thought of a little girl, who I know will have me wrapped around her pinky instantly. Of course my wife is all for a girl to do all those wonderful girl things with, which I appreciate. Like I said, either is a blessing to us, and I simply can’t wait to shower our child with all of the love I have to give.