On the fifth day...

Earlier I wrote about the eventful 4 days since Christmas, and when I say eventful, I do not mean it in a good way. Tomorrow that should turn around. It is back to the airport and back to the Bahamas to spend New Years in Nassau. We are not staying at Atlantis this time. We will be staying on Cable Beach instead.

The reason for this trip is the Bahamian Celebration of New Years Eve known as Junkanoo. Melissa and I have been to Junkanoo twice before and had a blast each time. It is hard to really explain in words what it is like. It will be easier to explain with videos and pictures when we get back.

In the mean time;

Here is to a Safe, Happy and Healthy 2011 to your and yours. Make it count.

Since Christmas...

It has been an interesting few days since Christmas around here.

WARNING: Some of the content below contains graphic content that may not be for those that get queasy easy. Consider yourself warned.

December 26 - I am sick all day (actually beginning the night of Christmas). I do not leave the house the entire day and don't eat anything until dinner.

December 27 - While I am at the Florida Cancer Institute getting my Iron Infusion treatment, Melissa calls me in obvious pain. Her clumsiness had struck again. This time it was her little toe, which may not seem that bad. Wait for the rest of the details. She jammed her to into the corner of our ottoman and bent it at a 90 degree angle. Needless to say it is broken. It actually a spiral fracture, which sounds even worse.

December 28 - Around 3 A.M. we wake to Braydon crying. I go into his room and my nose is immediately welcomes with the undeniable scent of vomit. I turn on the light s and confirm the fact that Braydon threw up all over his bed. And I mean all over.

December 29 - See December 28. Also take Braydon to his doctor to hear that it is a minor bug.

The good news is the December 30 brings some good events.

Christmas Morning

One thing we learned this morning is that Christmas will never be the same. The usual drill is for Melissa and I to open presents at our house, which takes about 10 minutes, and then head over to Melissa's parents house and open presents with her parents and siblings.

Last year with Braydon being 4 months old, things didn't change much. The same can not be said for this year. This year, trying to get Braydon to open up his presents was almost impossible. It is not that he didn't want to open them, it is that he was so involved with what he had just opened, that we couldn't get him to put it down. Needless to say, this year took a lot longer.

I guess that means that Braydon enjoyed it too, even though he doesn't quite "get" Christmas yet.

It took so long to open presents at our house, and we were in such a rush to leave that I forgot to take the after picture, but here is the before...

A Tradition Lives On

Growing up, it was always a tradition form my parents to read The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve night. Even before Beaydon came along, I have kept that tradition going. Now with Braydon, it takes on a whole new meaning. Despite leave the Christmas Eve Boat Parade/Party late, and not getting home until after 10, we still read, and as you can see, Braydon was pretty tired.

This Years Additions

We have made a tradition out of adding personalized ornaments to our tree every year. Here are this years...

Here is Braydon's very own masterpiece.

Tis' the Season

It is that time of year again. Time to wade our way through the Christmas party Season. We got off easy last weekend with only two. The weekend we have four including two Friday night and a Christmas concert Sunday night. Luckily my work does not do one until January and Melissa does the same with the studio.

Daddy's Little Helper

This was too funny not to share. I was unloading the dish washer and Braydon decided he wanted to help. Observe...

Santa Came to town Early

Today we took Braydon to see Santa Claus. After seeing the first three kids scream, cry, kick and yell, we weren't too sure how it was going to go down.

Here is how it went.

First, the stare down.

Then the high five.

He wasn't too sure at first.

He eventually got comfortable.

He even clapped for Santa.

R.I.P. Ronnie

Myself, and millions of Cubs fans across the world, lost a great friend today.

Ron Santo, former third baseman and radio broadcaster, died this morning.

Ronnie retired before I was even born, so I never got to see him play, and although he was a great player (deserving a spot in the Hall of Fame), that is not why I was such a big fan.

He was an amazing radio broadcaster. Since moving away from Chicago over nine years ago, my primary means of following the Cub has been through the radio broadcasts on the internet. Over the course of that time, I have probably spent 100's of hours listen to him on the radio. He was the heart of Cubs fans and was not afraid to show it on the air. He has some legendary calls of elation and depression. But that is not the the reason I am such a big fan either.

Ronnie had Juvenile Diabetes since he was 18. For most of his career, only a handful of people knew about it. As many times happens, the health implications of Diabetes caught up with Ronnie later in live. He lost both of his legs and had cancer that eventually ended his life.

Through it all, he was the eternal optimist. He loved baseball, he loved the Cubs, he loved life. No matter the hardships he faced, he faced them with his head held high and a smile on his face. This is why I admired Ron Santo and this is why he will be missed.