"I'm just crazy, just like you [Daddy]"

That's what Henry told me last night as I was changing his diaper. He had his camera in his hands, and was snapping pictures of me Austin Powers style ("give me angry" ... "Yes ... Yes ... Yes ... No!") swinging the camera around wildly. I asked him "What the heck are you doing?"

His response (and I repeat): "I'm just crazy, just like you".

So, for the record, we are both crazy. And, in case you were wondering, this is a picture of me at work. Yes, I wore this to work today. Yes, I wore it all day. Yes, that is our office Xmas tree (with a pirate flag on top) behind me. Yes, I wore a disco outfit to drop off my son at daycare. And it was ... glorious!

Now it's time to batten down the hatches for Christmas ... the Michigan Rayos are coming down today, and we will be having four days straight of various renditions of Christmas. It will be a grand time. It will also be Annalia's first Christmas. And Henry's first Christmas of Santa awareness.

Air Criminals

This is how I know that I'm old: I've found a situation where I'm pining for how it was when I was young.

The Family Murano is quite vociferous about telling the driver (and everyone else in the car) when the tire pressure is low. It does this every time that you turn on the car. And it's loud.

We checked the onboard thingamajigger to find out which tires were low (and how low) to find out that three of the four tires were dangerously low. They have a slow leak, and I guess we've been negligent for some time about getting the pressure checked. So I, the responsible pater familias for our tribe, determined to fill up the air after filling up on gas.

Easy, right? Well, it was when I was filling up my bicycle. That, though, was when it was my primary form of transportation.

Not now. We pulled up to the very impressive looking machine (a far cry from the random hose with the half-rusted "Air" sign from my youth) to find out that it cost $.75 for three minutes of air. Yes you heard me .... FOR AIR! Such is life, right ... so we dug for quarters. No dice, because we've been giving them to the Salvation Army bell ringers -- which led to some very un-Christmaslike thoughts.

Instead of breaking my $10 to get quarters, we hit the next gas station. It wanted $.75 for air. And the next one. $.75 for air again. So, at the fourth one, I broked down and trudged to the attendant.

Because it was 7:00 PM on a Sunday in granola / hippie Clintonville, (my neighborhood) all of the doors were locked. I knocked on the window, and got my quarters through the "criminal" window ("put your ten in the hermetically sealed chamber, please") while the cashier-dude stared at me. I wanted $2 of quarters, and the rest in bills. I got $3 in change, including nickels and dimes. Guess my voice didn't go very well through the circa-1970 intercom device that they installed.

I got to the car, put in my quarters, and started to work the machine. It had a spring retraction system, so there was no slack. So I was working in the rain, in the dark, in the cold, with one foot stepping on the hose, one foot keeping my balance, one hand positioning the hose to lessen the impact of the tear that was leaking my precious, precious air and one hand trying to connect the hose nozzle to my tire valve.

It sucked. In fact, that's what I said when I got back in the car. Which Henry repeated. A lot.

There. I feel better. Hope it was as enjoyable to read as was frustrating to live.

O Tannenbaum!

Sawing away
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

It must be Christmas ... I mean, don't pay attention to the lack of snow, the gale force winds, the thunderstorms (yes, I said thunderstorms) or the spring jacket that I'm wearing.

Instead, focus on the cryptically priced Canaan Fir tree that I'm killing while my son and wife look on. And focus on Henry's winter boots, jacket, and hat (which he can put on himself, thank you very much!)

We jumped in Papa Thornburg's enormous F-350 (with dual-ies ... did I spend that right?) and motored over to the Xenia / Yellow Springs area to Young's tree farm (also known as Young's dairy, Young's petting zoo, and Young's Fake-Amish-Beard-a-go-go). Although we were told by less than reliable meteorological sources (I'm looking at you, Gaga) that the rain would be letting up, it misted on us through the entire tree procurement process.

Thankfully the weather decided to erupt only after we had paid, picked up our hot chocolate and popcorn, and jumped back in the truck.

We also got to see Henry's Great Grandma (Gaga) Ida (which he pronounces "Ider")

Whew! Christmas!

Workin' hard

What choo lookin' at?
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

It has been a a very fruitful, but very busy November. My brother asked me what I was doing for my birthday, and I told him I was doing exactly what I wanted to be doing ... installing laminate flooring.

We have made sure to enjoy all the great November events (the Bucks victory over that school Up North, both of our birthdays, Thanksgiving, Henry time), but have all been pitching in to FINALLY start living in the basement.

And, for me, get a new job. I'll be working for a Healthcare interactive marketing firm, Blue Diesel, starting on Tuesday. Sayonara Cardinal Health. It's sad to leave, and it's great to start something new. We'll see how it all goes.

As always, click the picture (or the pictures on the right) to see all of our Flickr pictures.

P.S. That board with the nails was whisked away, never to be seen again, immediately after this picture was taken. Henry didn't even see it.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

Ah, November 11th isn't just Veteran's Day in our household, but is also my birthday. Every year, actually, if memory serves ... and although I don't plan on ever being a veteran, I'm honored to share my birthday with them. I won't get into all the political tangents I'd like to on this topic ...

The Buckeyes must have been a little confused, because all they gave me for my birthday was the egg that they laid at the game against Illinois. Maybe they just really wanted to go to the Rose Bowl instead of the National Championship game. Maybe not. Who knows.

The weather didn't do any favors, either. High 30's and rainy. All frickin' day.

But my family and friends came through. I got well-wishes from Columbus, OH, Tampa, FL, Ypsilanti, MI, Bradenton, FL, and Delhi, India. Pammie even sent me a picture of her in front of the Taj Mahal. My first intercontinental birthday message! Surreal!

And the kicker: we took Henry to see his first movie: Ratatouille. He was a total big boy stud. He burst out a couple times ("Whoa, Mommy, Whoa" was my favorite when some rats got struck by lightning), but watched quietly throughout. This was even more poignant due to a five-year old that had a total meltdown in the seat in front of him. About halfway through the tantrum, Henry whispered to Sarah, "What's wrong with that little boy?"

It was a great time. It was a great birthday.

Can I please have some candy?

Can I please have some candy?
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

This dude is cute in a puppy suit. I have to admit that, upon first glance, the testosteroney Dad in me surfaced and I longed for a Superman costume or baseball player (or a hobo, even!). Little did I know how with it Henry was in this getup.

He was the center of attention everywhere he wore this thing. He killed at school. He heard a steady stream of ooohs and aaahs as we went around the neighborhood. At the height of the evening, he was in the center of no less than 8 high school girls, showing off and hamming it up. What's a puppy say? "Ruff"

Ruff, indeed.

Halloween is once again magical, by the way. Next year should be off the hook. And for all of you wondering, Henry has found his sweet tooth that has alluded him since birth. Gaga will be so proud.

Greetings from San Diego

OK, so I've only been in San Diego for 18 hours. And I'm already at the airport, ready to go home. This trip is all business, no pleasure, but I did get some whiffs of ocean air, I didn't see any fire damage (I'm sure that's just dumb luck), and I (think I) got everything accomplished that I wanted to. So, back to Columbus!

Sitting in the Cardinal Health office, I was just finishing up my day when I got a Skype "call" from one Ms. Sarah Thornburg. Back at the Homestead, Sarah and Henry were just finishing his bath. I got to say goodnight to Henry in the middle of what was otherwise a very typical office cube jungle.

It is really spooky and awe inspiring that just being able to see my family while I converse with them really lets me be close as I'm so obviously far away.

Henry was up to all of his tricks. He likes seeing his picture as he knocks over the camera. The picture goes crazy on my side, accompanied by an infectious giggle coming through the computer speakers. Priceless. He also told me how he voted for (with) Mommy. Mommy made all of her decisions in the booth, and Henry got to hit the big "Vote" button at the end. Sarah was absolutely beaming with pride ... she's such a Government/Civics junkie, and to see her 2-year-old vote was a big moment for her. I gave her a hard time about it, but it is really cool to see Henry get excited about voting (or anything else that lets us dream about him being an informed, productive citizen). Hopefully he keeps his enthusiasm in the face of a system that can easily drain all enthusiasm and hope in the voting process and government in general.

OK ... enough grandstanding.

See you all back in Columbus! (and if you're not in Columbus, I guess I won't see you!)

The highlight of the Bucks game

Henry with Dr. Woods's baton
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

My bestest friend Shannon scored tickets to the Buckeyes game last weekend, so the fam got our bus fare together and trucked down to campus.

Unfortunately, the tickets didn't quite make it with us. Which freaked us out. Especially the Shannon part of us. Shanny and I split up with Henry and Sarah, who went to hear the band play (a really cool tradition before every home game). We jumped a bus to get back home.

We checked the house. No dice. We checked his car. Nada. So we walked to the bench that Shannon was sitting on before he boarded the bus to campus. As we got there, we saw what appeared to be one piece of cardboard amongst some bus stop trash and debris. It was not one, but TWO TICKETS. They were face down, and they had been there for 45 minutes. inSANE.

So we jumped back on the bus, all smiles, and met up with la familia just as the band was finishing. As we were mulling around St. John's afterward, Dr. Woods (OSU's Director of Bands) came up to Henry and gave him his baton to direct with. He decided to twirl it instead. He said "I see ... I guess he'll be a Drum Major, not a conductor."

I think Henry just didn't want to upstage him. We have, after all, raised Henry to be a polite young man.

The game was great (we killed 'em), I had a great time with Shannon, and getting there was indeed half the ??fun??

Alright, I'm in ... Blog Action Day

Alright James, you got me thinking about this. Blog action day is about a simple concept: what if we all (I mean all the bloggers here) blogged on the same topic on the same day? What would happen. I just found out about this, so I have 47 minutes left to officially be part of the movement.

So I'll need to type fast.

How do I fit in a plea to think about and save the environment into our blog? What grand statement can I make? I am, after all, the owner of two cars with V6 engines (although both sport high-20's MPG on the highway, it's not sayin' much), a house with less-than-efficient windows, a two-year old in disposable diapers, and live in a country (proudly, I might add) that contributes more than it's fair share to global climate change.

Here are my meager contributions to the environment. I am buying local produce and goods whenever I can. I am only buying pocket fluorescent light bulbs to replace the incandescents that burn out. We're reusing food containers instead of buying disposables. And we're paying to recycle, even though it's free to just throw out anything we want (this one burns me ... how will recycling take off it costs more, in effort and $$$, than just pitching it?)

OK, so I'm not doing as much as I can. Duly noted. Maybe this post raised a bit of awareness though.

Annalia came to town!

Precious cousins
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

This is just one of the ton of pictures that was snapped of Annalia's first visit to Columbus, and the first Columbus meeting of the Rayo Cousins. Annalia, Asia, and Henry all mugged for the camera the whole weekend.

Annalia is changing so fast! People tell me that Henry is, too, but it's really crazy to see Annalia once a month and realize how much I've missed in Bryan's, Sarah's and Annalia's very new life together. And how great it is to see them when we can get together again.

Asia and Henry, as usual, were thick as thieves the whole weekend. They cackled, giggled and ran (and ran and ran) through the house endlessly.

Snoozing after the tailgate

Snoozing after the tailgate
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

We have been busy ... don't let our total lack of communication fool you! Henry (and Tenzin) have showed us that you're never too young to tailgate. Because of Henry's uncanny ability to always follow an "OH" with an "IO", he was invited to our friends' tailgates (before we were!). Tenzin and Henry piled into the bike trailer, and we trucked down to campus (click the picture to see some of the other pics).

They had so much fun, though, that they didn't quite make it back to the house! This is how we found them upon arriving back at home. OUT!

It was a great time. As Henry says, "Go Buckeyes!"

$220 and a big brown welcome

I just got back from Baltimore, where I had a great time hanging out with ergonomists, cognitive psychologists, and various other "-ists". I was invited to speak at the annual Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (of which I am a member) conference. I spoke on the topic of Medication Safety technology in the ICU ... sexy stuff.

I found out at the conference that I won the student paper award in the Healthcare subgroup. Since I didn't even know I entered the competition, I was both surprised and pretty excited. The exposure and the $200 check were both quite welcome.

This unexpected windfall (I'm counting it as a windfall!) came on the heels of my first paycheck as a fitness instructor at my gym. Ok, ok ... substitute fitness instructor. And the check was only $20. But it was a very cool $20.

So, I was pretty high on myself as I returned from my three days out of town. We touched down in Columbus, I got in my car, and as I was closing the garage door at home, Sarah and Henry rolled into the driveway. This cemented my transition from conquering hero to mild-mannered father. I made some dinner for the fam, and got Henry in the bath.

This is where Henry made sure that I knew the definition of humility. As the bath was winding down, I saw that he was, well, farting a lot. We started talking about how big boys go poopy in the potty, and we both agreed that the potty was the proper place to do such things. After about two minutes of this conversation, though, Henry must not have been convinced. You probably already know the punchline: more poop in the bathtub! Arrrgh!

I think that there's a parable in there somewhere. Fill in your own moral of the story.

At least it wasn't poop, Bryan ...

My brother just got inducted into the club: My Baby Went to the Bathroom on Me. Check it out:















All I can say, bro, is at least it wasn't poop. Like it was for me ...

Gramma and her babies

Three generations
Originally uploaded by bryanrayo.

You use your imagination about who the babies are.

Anyhoo, it was Ann Arbor time again this weekend, and this time Henry got to see Gramma Schmidt, whom his cousin Annalia was meeting for the first time (woo hoo!).

We had a great time, Sarah cooked up some great grub, and we had a life-changing experience at Ikea (have you ever been there? How do they do it?). Oh yeah, and we got back home safely.

Alas, we will not be going to see my lovely niece again this weekend (and she is lovely ... ask all of her grandparents!), so we will be scouring the blog just like everyone else to get tidbits of her loveliness.

Just in the nick of time

The carpet went in last night, and it is lovely! There was one problem, and that had to do with a really boneheaded mistake I had made the night before on the floor ... instead of having a nice level floor, I ended up with an unsightly mound of concrete right in the middle of my floor!

I had planned to rectify this tonight, but five minutes after I walked in the door, the power went out! There goes my night of productivity!

Luckily, the carpet made the basement a great place to camp out while we waited for the power to come back on.  The rest of the house was pretty much unbearable in the near-100 degree heat.

And we got to camp out in our new basement! Which was much more enjoyable than the work I had planned to do.

Annalia Kathleen Rayo!

She has arrived, she has arrived! In what is indeed Rayo Family News, Bryan and Sarah have had their child, and she is beautiful.

Her name is Annalia Kathleen Rayo, and she was born on August 19th, 2007, at 10:51 in the morning (or somewheres about there). If memory serves, then she was born at 7 lbs. 6 oz and measured 19 1/2 inches (and if I'm wrong, correct me).

Bryan and Sarah are doing quite well, although they're just getting used to The Tired. You know The Tired, right? I'm just getting used to it myself.

I'll let them tell the gory details themselves. Check them out at http://littlerayo.blogspot.com/. It won't be updated for at least a couple of days ... they're not even home yet!

Henry's Pooptacular

While Mommy has been on her Ohio Historical Society "World" Tour in Athens, Chillicothe, Marietta, and finally Columbus, Ohio, we've been keeping busy getting drywall installed the basement, going to a baseball game, and, unfortunately, working late (Henry got to skip that part and play with Gaga.

When we finally got a chance to catch up with our Rockstar Family Member and stake out our place in the moshpit (Henry likes to be up front and near the action when he's a groupie) at the Ohio Statehouse, Henry made it count. The venue was the Rotunda, seen below. (It's a virtual tour ... click and drag to see the whole thing!)



Henry stepped right up to the middle of the rotunda, looked up, and unleashed his bowels on the place. Pooptacular! The good news for us is that he, indeed, was in his diaper and there was no mess. Just memories...

We weren't so lucky this morning. Henry is trying to decide where big boys go to the bathroom. We'll let you take the quiz, too:

1. In our diaper
2. On the floor
3. In the bathtub
4. In the potty
5. A, B, and C

If you said "E", then you and Henry would be in total agreement. Unfortunately, you'd also be wrong. Dead wrong. Anyway, we performed a scarcely-heard-of morning bath when Henry woke up, and he decided that the best thing to do was to start peeing the minute he got undressed (this would be answer B). Mommy moved him over to the potty, but he convinced her that he was now done. Whew! On to the bath! The minute his feet touched the water, the fountain started flowing again (Answer C). This time, he turned his back to us and said "I'm not peeing in the bathtub!" Who's kid is he, anyway?

So Mommy drained the tub, explaining how peeing in the tub made the water "dirty". Henry seemed to understand. With brand new bath water, the bath was ready to resume. I went in the other room to do some very official parenting stuff, and wasn't out of the room 30 seconds before hearing "Daddy ... we have a problem!" Poop in the tub. I repeat, poop in the tub. We hauled him out again, got a a diaper on him, and again started explaining how poop is dirty and how big boys poop in the potty. So we asked him where big boys poop. First answer: "In the bathtub". Second answer: "In the shower". Third answer (after coaching): "In the potty."

We'll take that as a victory.

That's it for now. Thank God.

We got online!

It is with great pleasure that I inform you of the smashing success of our plans get Sarah, my wife, onto the Ohio University (OU) network, and, subsequently, onto the internet. This enabled us to have a videophone session last night. We enjoyed a very lovely conversation in which Henry told her about the baseball game we went to, showed her his boo boo, and, well, pooped his pants (which Mommy was still present to see the changing ceremony).

For those not up on this latest happening, Sarah's spending the week at OU chatting with history/anthropology/archeology types, and is just about to get her $2500 check to do some research and reporting on the project of her choice in one of those fields. Pretty cool, huh?

Anyhoo, one would think that getting Sarah onto the internet on the campus of an American University would be a snap, but to say that it was difficult is an enormous overstatement. Some of the highlights:

1. At Sarah's orientation, one of her instructors made it very clear that no one was to venture on to the OU network. No way, no how.
2. I called a friend of mine, a professor at OU, to hook a brother up. He was more than happy to help, but was stuck in an airport on his way back from Ecuador. Slacker. He advised to go to a coffee shop on campus. Bingo!
3. Sarah went to the coffee shop. It closed at 9:00 PM. Her scheduled sessions end at 9:00 PM each night. She arrived at the coffee shop at 9:30 PM. Rats!
4. I enlisted the help of some OU students that I know. She found a double-secret way to hook her up. One offered up the drive-by use of the wireless connection in her apartment! (she was in Columbus, but was pretty sure the wireless was still turned on, functioning, and available from the street).
   
5. Sarah tested out the triple-secret method, and SUCCESS!
   

Luckily for her no one has perfected digital smell yet ... that diaper probably didn't look half as bad as it smelled!

Work hard play hard

We're going to try a new styley for showing pictures ... give us a shout if you are excited or morosely depressed by this.

Henry has been a real trooper about the basement. He's been pitching in with his Pat (hammer), Turner (flat head screwdriver), Felipe (Philips-head), and Stretch (tape measure).

After we're done working, he hangs out in the pool. What a life!

Add to my blog

All Frickin' Day!

We've been through 3 and a half days without Mommy, and have witnessed the following:

• Daddy commenting to Mommy on the webcam that Simon (the cat) was crying "All Fricking Day" to then hear Henry start cackling "All Fricking Day" over and over and over again
• one more crushed finger, this time cracking the nail in two, at the hands of the basement renovation
• the last Amoxicillin dose from the accursed Strep Throat Incident of 2007 (that was terrible ... when babies can't sleep, it's just like being a newborn again)
• a four-hour stretch in which there was multitasking between framing walls and doing laundry
• a lot of really adorable phrases from Henry, including 'mommy airplane a ca-GA-go' and talking about the hospital that Henry and Daddy were born at (how does he remember this stuff?)

Mommy, don't worry ... the animals are still alive and everyone is pooping where they're supposed to.

Where's Mommy?

... in Chicago (Henry's pronunciation: ca-KAH-go!). Mommy is off saving the planet in Chicago, at a conference for a week. I know, a week! Of course the toilet broke yesterday, I cut myself shaving this morning, we're out of bread, the sink was filled with dirty dishes, Henry has what might be poison ivy, he didn't go to bed until 10:30 last night and we're just getting started on Day 1!

The blogs this week may be a bit more detailed, as I chronicle for Mommy all the comings and goings on the day.

Henry went to Gaga's today to play, and will go again on Wednesday. Then it's Grammy and Grandpa on Friday. This morning, Henry asked me about a zillion times on the trip over where we were going. I turned it back on him: "Where are we going, Henry?" He'd get a big smile and say "Gaga's House!" I think he just liked to hear himself say it. We made sure to bring his "Cars" board book (he's addicted to that movie), and he carried them very matter-of-factly like a briefcase ("... and we're running a special on these wonderful children's books ... would you like to take a look?").

That's about it for now ... more later.

Happy Fourth of July!

Old Glory
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

OK, OK, it's the 22nd of July, but I'm just trying to catch up! Sheesh!

Henry followed up his gigundous birthday bash with some well-deserved rest on the 3rd. Then we took a big breath and plunged into the Fourth! We got up early to go to Grammy and Grandpa Rayo's for UA's parade, which seemed much longer than it has in the past. It was great except that now mid-80's cars are now technically "vintage" -- but still ugly -- and they were featured more prominently than ever in the parade.

We collected Henry, Mom (Gramma), and Tom to take them back to our house and wish Gramma safe travels back to Florida. Then we were off to the Doo Dah parade! We found a great place on High St. (which we later found out was the end of the parade route) and settled in for what we thought was the 20 minute wait until the parade got to us.

An hour and a half later, still nothing. I need to remember that, of all the wonderful thing that Doo Dah is, it is not punctual.

Or reverential. We saw the dancing Fidels, the Popemobile, the Columbus Gay Color Guard, more fishnet and facepaint (think Rocky Horror) than I care to think about, and other reverie. (EDITOR'S NOTE: why is it always the folks that are "pleasantly plump" that decide to wear their lingerie out in public? Maybe it's the fattening of America that I'm witnessing ...)

We took our second quick breather, nixed our picnic plans because of a torrential downpour, then went to dinner with some friends (I know ... dinner out on the Fourth? No BBQ? Sacrilege!!!). The irony was that it was bright in Sunny as we walked into Hunan House to commemorate the birth of our country.

We booked it back home to stroller over to the Clintonville fireworks. Henry loved the "twinkles", but really didn't like the "loud loud loud." I cupped his ears throughout, and he fell asleep midway through. He didn't even blink through the finale!!!!

Then we went home and slept. And he woke up early the next morning. Drats!!!!

Ah, to be green!

EDITORS'S NOTE: this has nothing to do with Henry. Read accordingly.

Kermit's right ... it's not easy being green. Whether it's going without Chinese-made goods (even for a year!) or trading in your F350 for a Prius (and I know, I know ... that Prius can't haul your fifth-wheel, which I see as the only excuse to have that big truck), it's a serious sacrifice.

Uncle James (that's Thornburg, not LeBron ... sorry Henry) turned me onto a great book called WorldChanging, which turned me on to an even better blog: http://www.worldchanging.com/. He's since started a very amusing green-tech-humorous-cheesehead blog here:

http://insourceoutsource.blogspot.com/

(alright, disregard the cheesehead part)

I've also subscribed to it on this blog, so you can see his most recent over there on the right ----->

If you've read James's stuff, you know that he has a unique (and quite welcoming) sense of humor. I dig it ... check it out if you want to. And I promise, the next post WILL be about Henry.

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Birthday boy!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

COLUMBUS, OH - There has been much hubbub about this anticipated event in Clintonville, OH. And then there was much procrastination in writing about it.

Here is a transcript of an interview on the day of Henry Rayo's second birthday.

Dad: So, how old are you going to be, Henry?
Henry: Two! (holding up all five fingers)

Dad: What day is today? What day do you turn two?
Henry: July second.

Dad: What do you want to do on your birthday?
Henry: Do SummerFarts (somersaults)!

We had every intention of making this birthday a smaller one (we planned for 40 last year) but once we started writing invitations, we knew that the small party was never going to happen. So we made the menu smaller: Ice Cream Social!

So it was still 40 of Henry's closest friends. We still decked out the house. But we didn't overstress our kitchen or our parents with chicken and sides for 40 ... we just bought a chest freezer and pointed everyone to the ice cream bar.

Henry practiced with Mommy all week to blow out the candles, but had a little stage fright when it came to the big moment. Asia helped.

Then Uncle Jimmy crawled in a box and fell over (see earlier post).

Fun!

Poor Boxman!!

In true cart before horse fashion, here's a video of the end of Henry's birthday party ... we'll tell more about the actual party soon!!!

(That's uncle Jimmy in the box, and I'm the big jerk with the hippity hop ... sorry, Jim!)

Happy Father's Day!!!

Henry and Daddy
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Whew! We're just recovering from Father's Day weekend. The whole thing started on Friday night. After putting Henry to bed, Sarah got started on Father's Day gifts, and I packed us up for a trip to scenic Ypsilanti, Michigan, to visit the soon-to-be newest father (and mother) in our family, Bryan and Sarah. We both got finished around 1:30 AM.

So, whose bright idea was it, then, that we try to get on the road by 6:00 AM? Crappers, it was mine. I shoveled myself out of bed, threw Sarah in the car, and almost got Henry in before he woke up. We thought that if we left early enough, he'd stay asleep, and keep sleeping through most of the trip. He didn't agree with the plan. He was great, though, and did sleep about 45 minutes of the 3 hour trip.

When we got there, it was baby shower for Sarah (and Sarah and Sarah, by the way), and it was a manly bike ride for the three Rayo dudes. We rode through some of Ann Arbor's finest paved trails, and had a picnic lunch (packed in Columbus, OH, I'll have you know).

We had a cookout that evening, brunch the next morning, a thrilling (and I mean thrilling) trip home, and dinner with Gaga and Papa on Father's Night (that is what the evening of Father's Day is called, right?)

Then I fell asleep. I just woke up.

Loving the Rose Festival!

Henry blowing a kiss
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry has been growing and changing and is still absolutely adorable. This is a picture of him at the Rose Festival in Clintonville. We strollered up with Tenzin and Aunt Rachel, and Uncle James met us there. Henry danced and ran and "smelled" the roses. Actually, he tried to smell them by exhaling through his mouth (which we tried to explain to him was "blowing", not "smelling"). He then found a stick and started "fixing" the trees. And he hiked his first hill. I successfully taught him that it is proper form that, once on top of the tree, it is proper to collapse in a heap of exhaustion, wheezing "Hoo ... hoil ... that was hard!" He was a big fan.

In other news, bedtime has once again changed, and I think we've finally got the hang of this round. We negotiate how many books (default: 2) and how many songs (default: 1) that we'll have before bedtime, then a quick hug and a kiss and Night Night. There was a week of short-lived crying about this new plan, but we're cool now. Weird aside: Henry started talking about his "sister" during bedtime this week. And no, there's nothing to it ... it's actually kind of eerie ... does he know something that WE don't know?

Destroying the crib ... part II

Destroying the crib ... part II
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

This is Daddy giving explicit instructions on how to reduce Henry's crib to kindling

Never (I mean never) expect to sleep in

Destroying the crib ... together
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Oh Patron Saint of Insomnia, in what way did we vex you? Was it our hubris in thinking that Henry was ready for a big boy bed? Was it our naive assumption that, since Henry got up early the day before and went to sleep late, we might be able to sleep in? Do you simply have it in for us since we're parents and you obviously don't like parents?

Please consider the destruction of Henry's crib as a peace offering. A token, really, of how much we are willing to do to garner your favor. Destroying a bed is the ultimate symbol of insomnia ... take this crib so that we can live (and by live I obviously mean sleep)!

Please consider last night our penance and let us go on our way. Please consider Henry's 2:30 AM nightmare and his subsequent wailing and inability to get to sleep. Please consider that, after all other techniques were used, we brought him into bed with us, ensuring that sound sleep would not be visiting either of us. Please consider Henry getting up at 6:00 in the morning, when both of us knew that he would not go back to sleep. Please consider all of this as you determine our fate! I know, I know ... we've had it easy the last year as Henry's been sleeping well. The simple fact is that we're not used to it anymore ... and Henry isn't taking naps all day, and if the dude is awake, he's running (and running and running).

If that isn't enough, then there's a fiver in my jeans on the dresser just for you.

Oh our glorious hammock!

Sarah's hammock
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

So, momma got a hammock for Mother's Day! Which means that Daddy got a hammock for Mother's Day! After poring over which hammock to buy (do I buy a brazilian? nicaraguan? mayan? **gulp** american rope? cotton? polyester? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!), I finally pulled the trigger on this Nicaraguan number.

I got the whole thing online (stand and all). I was a little nervous, but when it came, it all looked good. Then I went to the hardware store to get the lumber for the stand. After realizing how big a 10 foot treated 4 by 4 is, I started wondering again what I was getting into. This stand is 6 foot tall, 10 feet long, and is supported by two 4 foot legs as a base. It is ... gigundous. But it is glorious once you get in.

I left Sarah to take a nap as I went to get Henry from his. When I returned 20 minutes later, she was completely enveloped in it, cocoon style. Henry had absolutely no idea where she was, and she was in Thornburg sleep mode (if you don't know what that is, thank your lucky stars).

So I'm counting this in the "finally got her the right gift" pile.

Happy Mother's Day, mommy!

What a good lookin' family!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Mother's Day went off without too much collateral damage. There were reports of two toddlers running laps around Confluence Park in Downtown Columbus, but the authorities came up empty when they got to the scene. There was also some underage bike riding (isn't 22 months too young?) and a growling lion sighted (he's showing his teeth in this picture).

All in all, though ... another weekend successfully tamed!

Henry in his big boy bed!

Henry in his big boy bed!
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

I know, I know ... he doesn't look too excited about this quite impressive milestone. That's just how he wakes up ... he gets it from his mother.

Over the weekend, we decided to have Henry try out his futon for naps, but keep the crib for night-night. He seemed pretty cool with it. The first day, he slept the normal nap time and we heard from him as soon as he woke up. Sunday, though, he took what I thought was a three hour nap. I'll never know for sure, though, because when I finally went up to wake him up, he was sitting down on the floor happily playing with his shoes. How didn't I hear him, you ask? Funny story, actually ...

I was getting the house ready for a cookout we were having with friends, so I was out doing yardwork. I had not planned on going in to get the monitor because I was just finishing up as Sarah left to do some teacher junk. At least she said it was teacher junk. Anyhoo, I was just putting all the gear away to start fixing the food when I noticed that my ... wedding ... ring ... was ... gone. PANIC! I looked around quickly to survey the scene, only to see a yard bag, filled with yard waste, staring ominously at me. It had to be in there. So I dumped the entire thing out again and starting wading, handful by handful, through ivy guts, plant clipping, myrtle shavings, dead leaves, and the bits of Christmas tree that must have fallen off on the way to the front curb (still there from January!). After searching through the WHOLE F'ING THING, I found my ring! I rejoiced, stapled the thing to my finger, cleaned up, and busted inside.

So anyhoo, Henry did great with the naps. Last night, to up the ante, he asked to sleep in the bed. So we tried it. After crossing our fingers, we awoke the next morning and Henry was good to go (except for the vacant expression and extreme displeasure at having his photo taken this early.

We'll see how it goes!

Henry, mess

Yogurt closeup
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry has been learning so much ... his vocabulary is skyrocketing, his dexterity and balance are crazy-improved ... but, alas, his messiness has not improved. Or you can say his ability to make a mess has also improved mightily. This face is the result of him literally painting himself with yogurt after he decided that he didn't want any more.

He had a great time. And the best part? We threw away all of our bibs two months ago (check out the glop on his shirt) and the blue cartoon pipe-looking things behind his head are part of his placemat, which dad (in)conveniently forgot to put on the table. You can check out the rest of the Flickr gallery (click on the picture) to see how the table fared.

Instead of telling him no, I ran to get the camera! I'm sure that won't bite me in the ass in our very near future.

Great weekend

What a great weekend ... Henry learned how to plant flowers, turn on the hose, hit Teddy with a stick, and throw all the decorative rocks that are in our garden. Oh yeah, and break the glass spheres that are (were) in the garden.

And the big news: Henry has a play area in the back of the yard that (1) does not have a bunch of piles of yard waste that Daddy had neglected to deal with for three years and (2) is not overrun with ivy that, again, Daddy had neglected to deal with for three years. It is lined with pine bark nugget mulch, is surrounded by evergreens and has a Maple tree smack dab in the middle. We call it his "campgrounds", and his tent has already been set up. His tent has also been hastily taken down minutes before a spring deluge hit and blew over just about everything in the yard, including our patio table and anchored umbrella.

We also tested out the bike trailer ... Henry now has his pick of the buggy (his wagon), the 'troller (his original stroller), and the bike trailer whenever he wants to traipse around the neighborhood. He doesn't much like the trailer.

We'll have some pictures up anytime now. Like, at least before Winter.

Greetings from Florida!

Henry reaching
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

Henry wanted to make sure you all knew that he went on vacation! Click on the picture to see this and all of the pictures from the vacation.

Henry's new car

0326070817
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

... with Elmo riding shotgun! Henry was laughing in his seat (which is in the backseat of the car) when we rolled up to day care. The minute I unbuckled him he shot across the console and ended up in the driver's seat. He worked the steering wheel, changed gears, checked out the parking break, mugged for this picture, and made sure that Elmo was sitting up straight. Like a good driver should.

But ... no seat belt! Luckily the car wasn't moving, the keys weren't in the ignition, the parking break was on, the driver's door was open, and Henry was content with all of it.

Next ... flying lessons!

Graduation!

M MJR MSR
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

It has taken a week, but things have finally cooled down enough to document the fateful day, March 18th, 2007, in which a degree a degree was conferred on me. Here's me with my Mommy and my Daddy. And that is the Horseshoe in the background (O-H!). Archie Griffin spoke at the gathering, and is slowly convincing me to give money to OSU as a proud alumnus.

We had a great breakfast, the ceremony went smoothly (albeit slowly) and then back home to hang with family and, of course, watch the NCAA tournament. Duh!

Unfortunately, Henry didn't have a good week following. He couldn't hold his ... uh ... raisins at the ceremony, and had all manners of gastrointestinal problems the following week. Poor kid! He was, as he always is, a trooper through all of it and barely complained although his tummy was in knots and his backside was in open mutiny against him.

Now I have to figure out what to do with my Degree!

Oh G'Dosh ... I Keezy!

Welcome to Henry's first phrase! As he was launching himself around his futon, which we've opened up into bed (in addition to his crib ... he calls the futon his "summer bed", much like our place is the Hamptons is our summer house), he overheard me once again saying ... OH MY GOSH! YOU'RE CRAZY! So he started repeating it over and over, but realized that I was talking to him, so he changed the pronouns accordingly.

Therefore .... "Oh g'dosh .... I keezy!"

He also seems to know the difference between crazy and silly. A quick dance or bopping his head side to side or sticking out his tongue ... silly. Trying to jump off the bed, or run through the jungle part of our backyard, or wrestle with Teddy ... crazy.

He is keezy.

Henry found his shadow!

... and, in an unrelated story, loves Cous Cous! First, the shadow. Henry started waving to ghosts about a week ago. He's just started waving to the air! After seeking paranormal assistance, and finding none, we realized that he was waving at his shadow. He waves like crazy, then says "Hi." There are a couple of really great place for shadow waving, and he has found just about all of them. He has also mastered this new word ... it comes out "Sahdow".

He is also stringing together sentences. As we rolled into the garage, Henry saw the Murano. He said ... "Mommy ... Hi ... that's your car-car". He also is routinely asking for "Ga-ga and Papa" and wants to call them on the phone. Then he plays shy, doesn't talk, hangs up on them, then looks at the phone and says "What happened? Ga-ga bye-bye?"

Crazy galoot ...

Einsteins to the rescue!

It's no surprise to most that know him that Henry is a devout Little Einsteins fan. He sees his four favorite cartoon characters and starts jumping up and down. When he wakes up on weekends, we tell him that it's time and he starts saying "Einstein, Einstein". So much for our efforts to keep TV away from our infant and toddler son!

We love the show, too, as we are both total academic geeks and get into hearing Beethoven, seeing Leonardo paintings, and teaching our son about Diminuendos, Presto, and Accelerandos. By the way, for all of you that don't know and have children watching this show, it is slowly turning them into music aficionados. Of the classical variety.

Little did we know, though, that the Einsteins could save dinnertime! After trading out the high chair for a booster seat (at Henry's insisting), he lasted about three days until figuring out that he wanted to sit in the big boy chair. We relented for a couple meals, until he came much too close to taking a header off the side, straight to the ground (I think we wanted to reach for a butterfly, or the trash man, or Elmo, or some nitroglyceride ... I can't remember). So, back to the booster. We tried showing him that Elmo dug on the booster ... that worked for about three and a half seconds. Then Daddy had the great (dare I say brilliant?) idea to ask him if his seat belt is buckled (just like the Einsteins do in Rocket). Bingo! No tears, no two-year-old wiggle, just mealtime Henry. I must admit, there's still some food throwing, but Sarah has just about cured me of it.

Whew! Bring on the next (not-quite-so) crisis!

Oh $h!t

Alright, the bets are over. Money can change hands. The day has come. Henry has said his first swear word, and he did it by repeating me. I could have sworn that Sarah would have been the culprit (pun most certainly intended) but it was me.

As I was making my soon-to-be signature dish, ginger chicken stir fry, for dinner, Henry and I were playing in the kitchen. He is getting to be a great helper in the kitchen, stirring batter, putting ingredients in bowls, and sneaking little tastes of some of the more tasty foods that are destined for the meal (blueberries and other fruits are the usual larcenies). As I'm putting dinner on the table for the three of us, Sarah confirmed that the back gate was open, and Teddy was out running around the neighborhood. I had put the trash out earlier, and forgot to close the back gate.

As all of this was going through my head, two words slipped my lips: Oh Shit. It was quiet. It wasn't punctuated. But it was enough, because Henry has the interest and the vocal vocabulary to repeat anything and everything that is said. So, he started spouting off "Oh sihit, oh sihit" (his pronunciation, not mine). I grabbed my shoes and coat to go corral the black hairy greased lighting bullet that was traversing the neighborhood, Teddy faked me out and had raced around to the front of the house to be let in at the front door, and Henry was in the kitchen swearing.

So technically he didn't utter a swear word. But he was trying to. And he learned it by listening to me. Tragic.

Henry at school!

Today was Kaleidoscope, Columbus Alternative's open house for eighth graders, so Mommy was doing her best to tell all the kiddos that are making their decision of which high school to attend that they would like nothing more than to be Pegasuses. Rather, Pegasii? CAHSmic? Uh ... she wants them all to want to come to Columbus Alternative next year.

Henry wanted to get in on the fun, and cement himself as the real mascot of CAHS. He did just that, surprising Mommy and all the other teacher-heads (and principal-heads) by running down the hallways, cackling at the artwork, and trying to hack into every computer he saw.



Then he settled down with a good book (his trusty Dictionary!) and started studying for the SAT's. That kid's determined, I tell you what.



All the teachers ooh'ed and aah'ed at him. They all commented on how adorable he is. We're trying to keep this from going to his head, but I think we're too late. He knows just how cool he is ....

Snowy Bubs

Henry went out and played in the snow today. His first snowfall! I suppose you can point to last year, but I really don't think he appreciated the snow that we lugged him through, car carrier and all, last year. When he grows up, he can decide which was his "first" winter snow. Until then, we're going with this.

First, Mommy bundled the bubs up. He had on snow pants, snow boots, a winter jacket, a hat with chin strap, and mittens. He had some troubles walking even inside! Even harder was getting up after falling down (think of Ralphie's little brother in A Christmas Story ... "I can't get up! Ralphie, I can't get up!")

Then Henry and I got to work. First we had to laugh it up with the dog, Teddy, who thought this snowfall was brought to Columbus just for him. He was in heaven all day, which unfortunately meant that we had to dry the snow out of his golden retriever-like fur. For those of you not quite following, I'm still talking about the dog. Anyhoo, Henry dug watching the dog make a dog out of himself in the wintry conditions, and his cackles were contagious.

Then Henry insisted that I let him shovel the driveway. I tried to keep the shovel to myself, but we all know how insistent Henry's can be. He wrestled the shovel out of my hands, so I sulked inside to watch the Bears game as he finished the driveway and the sidewalk. The Bears won, by the way.

You get to decide for yourself if I'm kidding. What is assuredly true is that we had a good time with the snow, and have decided that it is time for spring. On with the thawing, the pretty-pretties (that's flowers for you lay people), the ducks, and all that Easter hullabaloo! Oh yeah, and Daddy's Graduation (March 18th ... apply directly to your head ... March 18th ... apply directly to your head)

Nice hands, Henry, nice hands!

Henry is finally figuring out that if he doesn't pull Teddy's and Simon's fur, then they will hang out with him. Well, they'll hang out with him for a little while, then will get freaked out and run away. Henry has lured Simon, the cat, to him by casting a "fishing pole" with a stuffed animal fish on the end ... Simon can't resist it. Sometimes, though, Henry forgets that it's the stuffed fish that Simon's after, and instead assumes that it's the stick that's in his hands. So he runs after the cat bopping him on the head. Again, this game doesn't last too long ...

Winter has finally arrived, so both animals are trapped in the house when Henry decides to play. Teddy is pretty cool with everything until Henry breaks out out of his push cars. Henry cackles and runs through the house, transforming our house into an Indy street course. Tires squealing and dogs running for cover, Henry will go lap after lap through the house, or around our kitchen island, or do a kind of figure eight that encompasses both loops. It may just be his favorite game. It's certainly not Teddy's.

Henry's Journey

Henry the Big Boy

Man, is Henry getting to be grown up! Every morning, we get up and Daddy tries to convince the boy that, not to worry, that breakfast is waiting at school (daycare) and that he doesn't need a Mah-Me-NAH (banana) before he goes. Daddy is successful about half the time. If Henry is persuasive enough, then we all sit around the table and Henry sits in his new booster chair in front of his Superman placemat. Oh yes, the high chair is gone and the morning starts in big-boy land.

After the breakfast decision, Henry gets amped to see the car-CAR. Sometimes he dances down the hall and waits at the top of the stairs leading to the side door. We bound down the stairs and he peeks out the doorway, where his eyes get large and he starts bellowing "Car-CAAAAR, Car-CAAAR!" and running straight at the Honda. He crashes into the back bumper, starts smacking it and laughing, and waits for Daddy to put him in. That picture is of him carrying Daddy's lunch to the car-CAR. It slowed him down, but only a bit. I call the picture "I'm off to work, Dad!" He carried it from our living room out to the car. I had to snap the pic on my phone, so it's not that great (but funny!).

Winter hasn't really hit yet, so there are plenty of puddles to splash in ... we'll see what Henry thinks about his first snow fall (if it ever comes).

Daddy is Done!

Let's clarify, though ... Daddy is not done being a Daddy. I am, though, finished with my Master's Thesis, which means I am set for graduation from The Ohio State University in March. I will pay no more fees, I will study no more, I will write not another page of another paper in the quest for my degree ... I AM DONE!

This came at no small emotional cost. My expectations on what this process was like were way out of whack. I thought the paper was basically written 3 weeks ago (well before the January 2nd deadline), but I was really wrong. So I decided to spend my two weeks of vacation locked in a room on campus writing, analyzing data, revising, conferring, getting frustrated, then back for some more.

The paper has gone through 3 wholesale transformations. I literally had to gut it and start over. My frustration peaked on New Year's Day, the day before my defense, when I sent Henry and Sarah off to watch the Rose Bowl at Grandma's house while I sat in my cave and tried to finish. I may have been even more frustrated than the Wolverines fans that had to watch their team get picked apart by the accursed USC Trojans. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't very happen with my University or anything associated with it at that moment. I envisioned myself walking up to my defense committee and saying that I was pretty sure that the only thing that I respected at OSU was the football team. It sucked.

Shanny Fanny (that's really his name ... no, really) called and we talked about his Master's process, and how it's a learning experience, and how I was going to get through it. That helped. My brother had also called earlier in the process, so I knew I wasn't totally alone in this I HATE MY MASTER'S experience.

When I woke up on January 2nd to defend, I was barely keeping it together. The goal: get through my defense meeting, pass it, get my changes into the University, and have them accept it before the 5:00 deadline.

The committee grilled me, but when it was over they passed me! We shook hands, they congratulated me, and I turned my attention to the University requirements. I cracked open the 24-page Guidelines document and the 18-page Examples document, and got to work.

I turned my Thesis in at 3:30 PM. An hour and a half before the deadline. They accepted it!

My commencement will be on Sunday, March 18th. I am very excited to receive my diploma, which already has an OSU diploma frame waiting for it, thanks to my very intelligent and clever wife.

When I got home, Sarah greeted me with an O-H!

Grinning ear to ear, I responded in the only appropriate fashion ... I-O! Then I hugged the crap out of her.