Many Thanks!

Last night when we sat down for dinner, I realized it was the 1st time in a month that we had a "normal" night. 3 P-Nats homestands and Addie's birth will do that. Now that things have settled down a bit, I thought it would be a good time to individually thank those who have made Addie's first 3 weeks a little more special.

Mom & Dad Grant- for jumping on a plane hours after their granddaughter was born and spending a great week with us, and all the countless ways they have helped us.
Dad Kenney & all my sisters, brothers, nieces & nephews- for driving 4 1/2 hours to meet the new addition and for the wonderful gifts for Addie.
Mandie & Sarah- Mandie for coming down from Maine to help Staci during my first long homestand and for making enough meals to last us a month! And thanks to both Mandie & Sarah for buying those meals.
Mari, Ian & Sharon- for being among her 1st visitors at the hospital and for the great gifts as well. And special thanks to Sharon for driving through traffic to take care of Willie while we were at the hospital.
Paul- for visiting Addie in her first few days and for bringing both Addie & Daddy a much-needed gift!
Megan- for visiting Addie & bringing Addie's 1st playmates.

Thanks to everyone for making Addie's first 3 weeks so special. She is clearly loved all around, as are we. Don't know what we would do without all of you!

Addie's First Playlist

Just the start but here's what I've got so far:

Jessica Stone- Addison
Ben Folds- The Luckiest
Stevie Wonder- Isn't She Lovely?
Crosby Stills & Nash- Teach Your Children
Paul Simon- Father & Daughter
George Harrison- Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)
Michael Sembello- Maniac (her first dance song- video will shortly follow)
BoB (f/Bruno Mars)- Nothin' On You (#1 on the day Addie was born)
Frank Sinatra- Love Walked In
Beatles- In My Life

The 1st Week of Addie B.

Tomorrow at 5:41 Addison will start week 2 of her life. Where has the time gone? Why haven't I written before this? Well, between the sheer hectic pace of the birth, the 4 days in the hospital, and getting Addie used to her new home, there hasn't been much time to put my thoughts down. And there still isn't- but I've got so much on my mind, so I figured I better take a few minutes.

Addie is just beautiful. I know, so easy to say about your own child, but she really is. The wonder in her eyes as she discovers the world a little at a time, the sweetness of her snuggling up to you, even her cry is adorable. I can't lie- she has stolen my heart in no time at all. I can't wait to see her grow and become even more of her own personality. And raising her with my soul mate will be the icing on the cake.

More to come in future days and weeks. But for now- a few more pictures to enjoy.

Digging For Musical Gold

I finally got around to spending my iTunes cards that I got for Christmas. In the process, I found some great songs that I hadn't possessed in a long time. When you already have 4000 songs on your iPod, as I do, you have to be creative when looking for tunes. One of my tricks is to go through my old mix tapes from the '80s and look for missing songs. I especially like finding the songs that nobody else remembers.



Here's one example: Tony Carey, a one-hit wonder from 1984, with "A Fine, Fine Day." I hadn't listened to this in over 20 years, and found it this past weekend. And I haven't gotten it out of my head since.



Other digging can lead to an unexpected gem. I randomly searched "Addison" on iTunes, and after wading through some horrible stuff, found "Addison" by an artist named Jessica Stone. She sounds alot like Sarah McLachlan, very melodic and sweet. Here some of the lyrics:

"Addison, she's just two weeks new.
And already she's got a hook in you.
She's put her heart into you,
Oh Addison, won't you let me see the world through your eyes."

So now I've got my little girl's first song.

The lesson? Try and dig deeper than the front page on iTunes. You never know what you'll find.

Oh Girl!

As anyone who is my Facebook friend knows, Staci & I have announced the impending arrival of our first child together. And yesterday we found out the exciting news that we are having a girl. This makes me 3-for-3 in the daughter department, which is fine by me. I readily admit that when I found out about Abby and Alexis, I was rooting for a boy both times. This time I was quietly rooting for a girl, even if it means tougher teen years and no real shot of a kid in Major League Baseball. That doesn't she can't be Jenny Finch, though! I'm not sure what's changed my thinking over the last dozen years, but I think Staci & I both got what we wanted. More importantly, everything looks healthy on the baby, though we won't know for sure till Friday's doctor appointment.

A note on the Ultrasound itself. How far technology has come in 12 years! I don't why I'm surprised when look at the progression of other "electronics" (computers, video cameras, computers, etc). The best pictures we saw back in the 90's were grainy and limited to certain angles. Flash forward to 2009, our nurse was able to get every angle of the kid, including split-screen and 4-D (that's live-action 3-D. I didn't know either). And the pictures were as clear as a bell, as you can see from the picture above. It was like watching an embryonic version of "24."

So Addison Brooklyn will join us sometime in May. So we're now onto the fun stuff- like planning the theme and clothes (Staci) and figuring out which baseball game will be little Addy's first (me). Should be a blast!