Who does Ty look like?

Everyone has been saying that Ty either looks like me or Tim. Well, I think he favors both of our families. Check out pictures from both Tim and myself. Actually, the two pictures of babies in the baby seat are of my brother, Kirby. I think that Ty got his laugh and smile right from Kirby. Sorry for the grainy quality. I just scanned these in from old originals.


Baby Tim


Baby Tim


Baby Lesley


Sleeping Baby Kirby


Baby Kirby

Stroller Business

As you may have noticed, Ty is sitting in yet, another stroller. For those who have been keeping track in the pictures, I have been playing musical strollers. I've decided that strollers are like pretty purses or luggage that happen to hold a baby. I could probably open my own stroller shop, as I have test driven and critiqued tons of strollers. I like to check out all of the shops in the Bay Area just because. And, since I don't hoard luggage or purses anymore (I haven't carried a purse since Ty was born), I need some sort of vice.

Stroller #1 - We bought a Mutsy - cool, heavy humvee of a stroller.
Stroller #2 - Mom bought us a small Maclaren for traveling and small jaunts.

Now, I killed stroller #1. It has some design flaws (frame had alignment issues and wheels fell apart). So, we decided to trade that stroller in for stroller #3 and stroller #4. In the meantime, I sold stroller #2 on craigslist.com. I realized that #2 didn't recline at all and Ty wouldn't be able to ride in it for a long time. But, I sold it within 3 minutes after I posted it for sale. Apparently, it is a very popular stroller for traveling abroad with toddlers. Back to the hunt...

Stroller #3 - We got a BOB jogging stroller. We just call him Bob. But, it was also cool because it could hold the infant car seat. But, while still smaller than #1, it is still kind of big and not always safe in cute San Francisco shops.

Stroller #4 - We bought a different Maclaren for traveling. It is good, but I find it a little squirrely and I can't hang my diaper bag over. So, I'm going to sell that one after our next vacation.

Stroller #5 - I had been looking for a Bugaboo stroller, which is popular in San Francisco and New York (where people mostly don't get into cars and walk everywhere). Well, they cost a small fortune and resell on eBay and Craigslist for 80% of original cost, even with damage and after being used for a few years. But, I found one on craigslist for cheap from someone down in Palo Alto. Apparently, she knew she could get more money for it, but didn't want to deal with the hassle. It looked like the stroller had been sitting outside for a while, as she had just hosed it off. But, I washed everything and it is great. So, I got an $800 stroller for a quarter of the price. I like it because Ty can face me, which cuts down on whining immensely.

If you're keeping track, we are down to #3, #4 and #5, but #4 is about to be sold. But, there may be a #6, as we need a mini-cooper friendly stroller. Do you realize hos small the Mini-Cooper trunk is?

Friday Night Pizza

We walked to a local pizza place tonight that was filled with kids. It seemed friendly to whatever Ty would have to say or what he would like to throw. He is far more interested in what we are drinking or eating. He "gummed" a piece of pizza dough. I think he liked the way it was squishy on his teething gums. He hasn't been interested in any of the fancy teething toys I keep giving him.

Bragging on my friend, Anne

Back in 2002 when I was training for my second marathon (St. George), I met another runner in an online running forum. She lived in SF and was also training for the same marathon. So, I emailed her and we ran together before the race. Then, I found her in the middle of the marathon around mile 7 and hung out for a few miles. I persuaded her to join our running group, even though she thought it was crazy to PAY for running with other people. Well, I was persuasive and she joined our running group (www.pacwestathletics.com). Meanwhile, while I've been in cruiser mode, she has gone on to run several more marathons and then switched over to triathlons.

Now, Anne didn't just complete any triathlons...she just completed her first Ironman. That is 2.1 miles swimming, 100+ miles biking and 26.2 miles running. That's impressive enough, but she is also a Type 1 diabetic. I can't even fathom all of the calculations she has to make to keep her levels okay during a race. I'm simply astonished that she can check her blood while running and cycling. (I've seen her do it!)

Anne is raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). I'd like to welcome anyone who has diabetes or has a family member with diabetes to consider learning more about life with diabetes. Also, if you are looking for a great place to make tax-deductible contributions, you can help with her fundraising efforts. You can contribute at Anne's JDRF personal page.
Also, you should check out her website to read about her training for intense endurance efforts with Type 1 diabetes at : http://annetics.blogspot.com.

Oh yea...the best thing about running with Anne is that she always has skittles and smarties in her pocket!

New Children's Park In GGP

We walked through the new children's park in Golden Gate Park today. The picture is grainy, but every single area was jam packed with munchkins. I can't wait until Ty wants to climb monkey bars!

Crime Scene Cleaners, Inc

I was walking around the block yesterday and saw this pickup truck..."Crime Scene Cleaners, Inc." "specializing in suicide and homicide cleanup". I was sort of horrified at the blatant explanation of what they do. Are there so many homicides and suicides that they need to advertise on their truck?

New toys

Ty has not been interested in playing on his back or anything else. He just wants to be upright. Well, I have to eat sometime. So, I got Ty one of these heinous exersaucers at one of my favorite used baby stores. I LOVE the used baby stores. I've been buying and selling stuff as I need. Of course, Tim is horrified by the plastic and colors.

Just hanging

Dalia Garden in Golden Gate Park

I'm not too much into specific flowers, but I love the dalia garden in Golden Gate Park. It is just starting to bloom. I caught this picture in the fog a few mornings ago. It's one of my favorite things in the park.

Ty trying to decide if he is happy or sad

More Ty doing tummy time

Ty doing Tummy Time...and NOT hating it for a change

Ty trying to eat my phone

Ty and I were waiting in the backseat of the MINI while Tim was at the grocery store. I thought he was looking sort of cute and decided to take a few pics with my camera phone. Except he kept trying to EAT the phone. Hence, the pictures of half of his face and only one eye. Ty is far more interested in OUR food and OUR phones than any of his own toys. We are starting to need to be careful about our "stuff" being everywhere. And, we live in a definitely non-child friendly home, so we are now watching more of Ty's "grabbing".

Ty at Golden Gate Park

Ty and I checked out the new children's park at Golden Gate Park. Actually, it has just been re-done. It is way cool and I wanted to give Ty a taste of the fun we have to look forward to. He is too small for actual "swinging", but I wanted him to FEEL the upcoming fun.

Susan Vidrine - please tell Whit and Fox that the slides are still in the park. They demolished everything except for the slides.

Lots of fun

Lots of fun lately...Ty and I have been working hard to get on a good nap schedule...some days good and some days are simply too fun for sleep! We've been hanging out with Ty's girlfriends. Check out the pictures of Ty with Sonya below.

Big decisions for me...while I pulled off interviews for my internships only two weeks after Ty's birth, I was not able to pull off appropriate daycare or nannyshares for Ty. I simply balked at paying $2000 a month for someone else to take care of Ty PART-TIME! I couldn't find not one daycare that had any openings for infants, so we made the family decision that I would stay home with Ty. I'm still going to take classes slowly, but I'll wait a few years before I to my unpaid internships. I'm rather relieved, though. I don't think I was ready to enter any new relationships with babysitters or nannies. New adventures are a'coming!

Mom & Brooke's Visit

My mom and my cousin, Brooke, just left us. We had a great long weekend (not long enough) running around San Francisco and taking pictures of Ty. Unfortunately, it was foggy all weekend, so I suppose Brooke will have to come back for a sunnier SF vacation. Tim tolerated our girliness, as we shopped and got makeovers and stopped in way too many "cute" stores.








Links to all of the pictures:

Brooke Carney-SF Trip