The Sefcik Weekend.

Seffy and Julie were in town for the weekend, which was just so-so at best, but I guess they have to go somewhere.

Just kidding of course, as Seffy and I have been hanging out since before this blog even started! Come to think of it, we were in each other's weddings even, and we had a great visit.

I have precious few photos, so really what I'm putting up is from Saturday morning, which followed a Friday night Hope happy hour downtown. Good turnout for that, and lots of drama!

One photo is Seffy with his two boys, and the other is me with my little boy. Yes, the boys are different but they all count on us as their primary care givers!

Van Halen (Redux).

It was pretty much as fun as the last show (which was really the first show), and the best part was being so close to home and this time getting to sit (stand) with my brother. He's one of the bigger VH fans of all time, and that's really understated. Okma and some of his buddies came along for the ride, and some of my high school buddies were around as well. Not too many photos though.

Connor and Grandpa.

My Dad and Tina came out Monday, and I love this photo I got of Connor and him. I didn't shrink it, so it may take a couple seconds to load.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my Mom, the actual owner of this great new house, and All Around Great Provider of Pretty Much Everything!! ;-) We act like this place is ours, but it's my Mom's and she will finally, after 10 years of owning it, spend her first summer here. I think maybe Connor had something to do with it!

Memorial Day Saturday.

Note Connor making his first entrance into the new beach house, or should I say, the beach house that he'll someday, long long in the future, have to share with his little brother or sister. Wait, more on that later...

Memorial Day Weekend.

Not a lot to say about Memorial Day weekend. The weather was not great, but we still entertained a fair amount each day. Also, it was basically our first weekend at the new cottage, so there's nothing wrong with that. We really don't have furniture yet, but my Mom has plenty on order. As it is we're using an old sofa and whatever else we had laying around. Although the dining room table is here, since we picked it up at some antique place in Eastown the weekend prior, when we moved everyting else in.

Dinner.

This is what happens when Jodi feeds Connor. When I feed him (OK, admittedly it's just Tuesday nights) it's meat, cheddar cheese squares, crackers, chips, etc. No yogurt, no pasta, no sauces, and I cannot stress this enough... no soft cheeses of any kind! (What's that from?)

My theory is that since he's just going to throw it all on the ground, hide it in the sides of the high chair, rub it all over himself, or generally do anything but actually eat it, easy clean up is the centerpiece of the meals I feed the boy.

Mother's Day.

As usual, Jodi did really well for Mother's Day. Besides the several sonnets I wrote in honor of her gifts as a mother and a wife**, there were material items too! This year it was a couple nice beach chairs, as the stuff we're using in Holland could use some updating. And what's that other item?? Why it's a whole house water filter of course. Many a mother requested that item this year I bet. Now if I can just get one of my buddies to come over and help me install it...

P.S. I also took her to Centennial Country Club for brunch, but we didn't bring the camera. Just ask Sara Duthler (avid reader of this blog, btw) if we were there though!

**See Appedix A*

*There may not be an Appendix A

Grandma Baas!

It was her 85th birthday, but I think in her case 85 is the new 65. I'm not even joking on that one, the way she gets around and is still sharp as a tack. Just a couple picks of the boy, as I don't know where the rest of them went.

Best Friends Forever.

These are just some of Connor's BFFs, as he has many. We had a small dinner the other night with some friends from GRCHS (if you don't know that one, you shouldn't be reading this blog!), and the kids got to play.

Connor's Dad threw a party or two back in the day, it should be noted.

Holland.

They finished the side decking work the other day, which means we're pretty much clear for our CO. What's a CO you ask?? Why it's a Certificate of Occupancy of course! You pretty much need one to move in, although we've had permission to move some things in for a while now, as long as we're not living there. Which we're not.

The Cats.

Connor was running around with the cats the other day, so for those of you questioning whether they're still alive, see for yourself.

Indianapolis Indians!

If you think a trip to the petting zoo and an afternoon spent at the Children's Museum is enough for one Saturday, think again people. We went out for dinner at night and I got to see my sister* Lea for our semi-annual visit and chance to catch up, then we were all off to the Indians (AAA baseball) game. The weather didn't cooperate, but it didn't affect us much since we were in one of those corporate suites. It was a great game with lots of offense, and the Indians won.

We'd like to thanks our hosts for a really great weekend!! Connor is looking forward to our next trip already, and he was amazed that Daddy got the drive down to a manageable 2.5* hours.

(Items marked with an asterisk '*' may require further explanation.)

Children's Museum.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the world reknowned Indianapolis Children's Museum. One of the main things for Connor was that they had a big Curious George exhibit, and C-man is into Curious George big time these days. Alas, like a lot of the things we do with the boy when my Dad is around, he was a little young for most things. It was still a lot of fun though, and Connor got a kick out of it. The "Man with the Yellow Hat" was no where to be found, 'curiously'...

Petting Zoo.

No, I'm not referring to the old Hope College party house, circa 1993 or so. Saturday morning Tom and Tina took Connor to an actual petting zoo and he even went for a couple pony rides!

Politics.

I had no idea they were in town, but Friday afternoon I got to meet and even get a photo with two of my *all time* political heroes! I at first of course was filled with "hope" because of all the potential for "change", but then I was reminded how darn "bitter" I am at the world because I live in "flyover country" and have been "forgotten". Good thing I have "religion" and "guns" to "cling to", or I'd be in really bad shape!!! At least there was no "sniper fire" getting to and from my car!

Indy! (Again!)

We went down to Indianapolis this weekend to see Grandpa Bast and Grandma Tina. My Dad tends to get a little ahead of himself with all the stuff he wants Connor to be able to do, seeing as the boy is only 18 months old, but it's all a part of it (as my Uncle Dave would say). Since there's only one grandchild, a lot is put on his little shoulders I guess. On this trip Connor got a baseball mitt and baseball (miniaturized of course), as well as a sort of 'nerf' bat and another ball. A variation of this game included my Dad balancing the bat and ball on the improvised 'tee', and Connor's objective was to smash it all to the ground. He was better at that than hitting the ball regular, it seems like.

Connor on the Phone

Connor's new thing is to pretend he knows how to use the phone and I'm pretty sure he thinks he's having meaningful conversations as well. He picks up a device, be it a phone, a remote control, or whatever is lying around, and holds it to his ear saying "hahwoh", or some variation thereof. After that it's usually random shrieking.

My Birthday

Jodi took me out to dinner for my birthday. Mark & Kristi were nice enough to babysit, then that weekend we went out downtown for dinner and then to Cambridge House. There was a time when that's the sort of thing I did every weekend, but no longer. It's for the best I'm sure.

Hope Basketball: NCAA Tourney

Hope had a bye in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, then hosted a sectional series at DeVos the following weekend. They won both games, which put them in the Final Four (Division III of course). So they went to Salem, VA, but lost Friday night's game. They won Saturday, which was nice in that they won their last game together, but obviously it was a bit of a let down. We toyed with the idea of going to Salem, but in the end it's best we didn't. It was an incredible season though, and it will be tough next year without all the graduating seniors.

Just some cute photos of Connor.

These are the cutest photos of Connor and Emma. I just wanted to share them with everyone. Chris will do some more updates soon.