August 2011

August has come and gone and we have spent a majority of it trying to figure out our new routines. As some of our friends have told us, trying to work, spend time with Allison, make dinner, doing laundry, clean the house, hang out with each other, working out, etc. can be difficult to squeeze into a 24 hour day. However, whenever anyone asks me “How are things going?” I quickly respond that Allison seems to make it easy on us and then Deb makes it even easier on me. I try to help out, and don’t ever feel like I am “slacking” but when I am trying to go to bed earlier than Debbie, you can understand how much she is doing in a day!
We spent our first weekend in August heading up to St. Joseph, MI for our annual “Beachmo” trip. I’ve explained it in the past years, but this is a weekend where we head up to the beach with my uncle’s family and spend the weekend at a hotel, playing cards and enjoying the lake. Each year, some people come and some people go, but I don’t think any of the immediate family members of these 2 families have ever missed in the past 20 years we have done it. I know it wasn’t a holiday, but this was probably the first “traditional” event we had since Dad passed, and I think it was lingering in the back of all our minds. They say with each event, it will get easier, so we will hope “they” are right. Deb has consistently bragged about it “never raining” in the past 7 years at the beach, and her luck ran out as we were rained out on Sunday. Allison did great all weekend, being passed around, sleeping in the hotel room, and doing well at the beach.
Deb's dad and friend John stopped by on their way to WV from Colorado. We took them to the Broad Ripple Brew Pub and introduced them to some local brews and then had a nice dinner at the condo. Randy of course enjoyed a little extra time with Allison. Jason and Stacey Depp came to visit us in August and we headed out to the Colts vs. Packers preseason game. Mom babysat for us, so we were able to head down for a nice dinner at Weber Grill and then enjoyed great tickets (thanks to Deb’s work) while watching a pretty competitive preseason game which the Colts lost on an onside kick. I tell you what, onside kicks are the Achilles heel of the Colts! Allison did really well for Mom, so that was reassuring since it was the first time someone other than Deb or I have put her down for the night. Now, I act like I may put her to bed, but it is more accurate to say that Deb always does it!
Allison had her 4 month check up with Dr McAteer. She is doing fantastic. She is 26 inches long and weighs 13.3 lbs. She is deinitely long and lean. Dr. McAteer was pleased with her progress she is making with her neck therapy and feels she is meeting her milestones appropriately. We are still going to PT one time a week and it is going well. Her therapist Erin is pleased with her progress and says her neck muscles are getting much stronger. She is going to continue to see us once a week for the next month and then we can decrease to only 2 times a month!

A few more items from this month:
*Pete, Laura and their family moved back to OH this month. It completed a pretty up-and-down 5 months for our family that contained lots of happy and sad events. I, for one, am glad the roller coaster is slowing down.
*After not playing any fantasy sports for the last several years, I have been invited to 2 different leagues and am pretty excited about it. I think Deb and I are going to have some arguments about who I should “start” and inevitably, she will be right.
*I am off to France in September to work on a computer implementation (which is why I normally travel for work). During my past travels, Deb always said that if I went to England, France or Italy, she wanted to go. Well, my chance to travel to England was in May (neither of us could go) and now that I am heading to France, she is jokingly upset. Deb’s parents will be coming to visit for part of the time I am gone, which is appreciated and will make me feel better about being away.
*The time has come to grow up and possibly move a little bit away from Broad Ripple. The condo is a little small and we met with a realtor this month to start the process. We anticipate the search will take some time, with our goal of moving in early 2012. Since we are allowing for plenty of time, odds are we will find it soon and have some decisions to make!