Meeting Asher, and all kinds of awesome

The Jones family had the privilege of meeting Asher Heiman recently. Evey even got to hold him, which really excited her.

We kept asking Evey if she could believe we'd soon have a baby boy the same size in our family. She'd smile. She so doesn't know what she's getting into. ...neither do I.

Asher's a real sweetheart. It's cool that the Heimans just had a son, and the Rockholds are also expecting around the same time as us. This could be a formidable group of Jayhawks in about 19 years.

***

Evey fell asleep on my chest the other day, enabling me to turn the channel to the old sci-fi movie "Forbidden Planet" on TCM, a movie I'd somehow never seen before. I looked over at Adro, then looked down at Evey. I whispered to Adro, "Just think... here in a few weeks, it'll be even numbers... instead of 2-on-1, it'll be 2-on-2!"

Adro looked over the top of her glasses at me and said, "More like 3-on-1."

***

Someone smelled something in the living room tonight. I don't think it was me, but I've learned that I don't have to be cognizant of it to be guilty of it.

"Dad farted," Evey told Adro.

"I did not!" I said.

"Mom, he did. I saw the smoke come out of his butt."

***

Me and Evey went outside to do some yard work a few days ago. My garden looks like hell... I had to pull out some serious weeds. Frustrating.

Anyway, I had Evey watering some plants. She ended up playing in the hose. Then she needed to go to the bathroom, so I sent her inside.

While she was inside, she changed out of her wet clothes. She was chatting with Adrianne.

"Mom," Evey asked Adrianne, "When am I going to be awesome, like Daddy?"

***

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Air Hogs

My Mom bought Evey and I an "Air Hog" recently. We took it out to test it this weekend.

I asked Adrianne to come out with the camera because I figured either me or Evey was going to get hurt. Somewhat surprisingly (based on these photos) it was Evey.

I thought the Air Hog would fly down the street. That's what I was prepared for. Turns out it BOOMERANGS and does a loopty-loop right in front of your face. Don't I look tough trying to avoid taking one in the nose?

Turns out this thing was a blast. Evey isn't big enough to throw it yet, but she would try, and then giggle every time I chucked it and ducked it.

Don't let the one photo fool you where the Air Hog seems to be peacefully sailing around us... most times this thing went up, then right back at me. I felt the wind come off it more than once.

But then our fun ended when Evey tripped and scuffed her knee. I was going to string-trim a few spots in the yard while Evey played with the Air Hog and had pulled out the extension cord. She got tripped up by the cord. Dangit!

Still, a good time, and we'll get it out again. I figured it'd disintegrate after a few wrecks, but it held up pretty well.

I really like the first photo. It reminds me of a photo my sister and Dad would have taken back in the mid-70s. I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt (classy!) and Evey's hair is wild and she's dressed like, well, a little kid. I think this will be a photo I'll cherish for a long time. Someday, I'll show it to Evey and say, "This was right before your little brother came along and started hogging all the attention!" Thanks to Adro for coming outside and shooting a few pics!

Good and terrible

GOOD:

Evey was named "soccer player of the week" at her "happy feet" soccer class this week. ALRIGHT EVEY!!! Way to play some soccer! Kick it, girl! You make daddy proud!

TERRIBLE:

Evey came running into the living room this evening.

"Oh my gosh, guys!" Evey shouted, sounding like a valley girl. "There is something bad... terrible... in the bathroom."

"What is it, Evey?"

"There's poop. On. The. Floor."

"What?!?"

Sure enough, Evey somehow managed to get a streak of poo on the floor. Unless I did it during the day and I just totally somehow didn't notice. Maybe I was too enthralled by the new issue of Esquire? I don't know. It's a mystery.

Soccer, good. Poo on the floor? Terrible.

Building blocks at the library

Brought Evey with me his afternoon for a few errands. Squeezed in some time at la biblioteca. Next stop, lunch at Casa Agave with Teresa.

Was in Charlotte Monday and Tuesday for work. Got to catch up with Lervik for an afternoon, which was nice. My performance at pool was not-so-nice.

Was in Atlanta the week before for the PGA Championship. It was an excellent trip for me, check out some of the interviews I did at www.golfdom.blogspot.com. interviews include Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Jim Furyk, Lee Westwood, among others.

Excited this weekend for Buzz Under the Stars 2. Incubus, Bush, Jane's Addiction (among others) at LiveStrong Park. If you are going, let me know, so we can catch up for a beer. Right now it's four of us... my sis and bro-in-law and Danny P. I'm jonesin' for a concert right now since apparently they allowed Lollapalooza to go on without me.

Adrianne and Evelyn are doing well. The nursery is all finished, clothes folded and in the drawers. We are all really excited or Baby Brother to get here. Due date of Oct. 7th, but doc thinks he'll be here early.

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Do me a favor?

If you still have Thursday's Lawrence Journal-World, save me the sports page... I wrote the Gary Woodland story on the front page, and I'd like to mail a copy to dear ol' Mom.

Thanks!

Nice photo from a nice golf course

That I visited recently. Somewhere in Georgia.

We took Evey to get her haircut on Sunday. I got a lot of great photos. They're on my small camera, once I download I'll share.

We met the Kaminskis -- all four of them now -- for lunch and then the haircut. Those two girls are really cute together.

Evey said something that made me feel good after we parted ways with the Kaminskis. "I like Sadie," she told us. "She laughs a lot!"

It's good to laugh together. Evey realizes this, even at the age of four.

That's a man, man!

Ok, now I like the sonogram tech. The worm turns.

Our son got an "A-plus" review from the tech. Currently 4.2 pounds. Good looking heart. Practicing breathing. Big head. And, excitingly, both of his balls have dropped. Which is exciting because mine didn't drop until I was about 17.

That's a picture of his equipment, by the way!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Baby sonogram 8/5/11 and a God complex

This is a pic of the girls right before we go in for another sonogram.

We're 15 minutes early for the sonogram because the sonogram tech won't do her job if you're 1 minute late. I once got here 3 minutes late, and Adrianne was already well into the process.

This, as you can imagine, doesn't sit well with me. Sure, lady, you can see inside women's stomachs, but that doesn't mak you God!

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

Captain America OK, not great

Took this pic of Evey in the Camaro the other day.

Took Adro to see Captain America this weekend. I thought it was OK. I'd heard some rave reviews of the film... the movie wasn't bad, but it was middle-of-the-road as far as these superhero films go. Thor was better. And this doesn't come within swinging distance of Iron Man.

The effects on Chris Evans, making him look skinny and short, were impressive.

For me the story never really got going until the end.

Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G

What a jhrag

Evey is already making plans for her birthday cake.

"Mom, Dad, do you know what I want on my birthday cake?"

"No, kiddo, what do you want?"

"Guess! It start with a, "juh," "juh."

"Hmm... could it be... you want a... GIRAFFE on your birthday cake?!?"

"Nope!"

"No? OK... what animal is it that starts with a 'juh?'"

"A 'juh'-RAGON!"

Palladia ROCKS!

We've added the best station to our TV package since MTV2 was still playing music videos...

It's called PALLADIA. http://www.palladia.tv/

It's mostly live music with a few music videos here and there. I'd even say they skew to alternative rock a bit... for example, this last weekend they introduced an hour-long performance of Soundgarden at last year's Lollapalooza (I was there in person, you know, but hey... good to see the TV version!)

Just now I watched Silversun Pickups performing for 30 minutes unplugged! Bad ass! I can't even find this on YouTube, or else I'd post a clip. I know Hendren hates Silversun because of their androgynous lead singer, but damn, that guy can play some guitar, too!

I also recorded Austin City Limits with Pearl Jam and Kings of Leon.

This is the station for ME!!!

Good pic of me and Grandma and Grandpa

This photo is from a few years ago.

Quick Grandpa Nick story:

My sister just got this shiny new red Dodge Daytona... I'm telling you, this was a hot shit car back in 1987. And my sister was appropriately proud of her new wheels (her previous car was a junker Pontiac Sunbird, dull yellow, the interior was all plastic and I could carve my name pretty much anywhere in the car with a fingernail.)

She parked her car across the street from Grandpa and Grandma's house. Grandpa had this huge conversion van. We had friends coming in town from Indiana to visit...

Grandpa had to run an errand, so he's backing his giant van out of the driveway. Our friends Larry and Mary arrived at the exact same time. Apparently Larry pulling up distracted my Grandpa... he kept backing up to get out of Larry's way, until... CRUNCH... Jessica's new prize got backed into.

So Sis is freaking out, Grandpa is pissed, Larry is like, "Hey, everybody... bad timing?" And Larry gets out of the car and mumbles to me, "Dammit, I saw that was about to happen, but... I didn't honk because I didn't want to give Nick a heart attack..."

And Grandpa looks at him and says, "Next time, give me the damn heart attack!"

Happy 4-0 to the Lip!

Hope he doesn't mind me celebrating the milestone here on the blog... but relax, Lip, I still look older than you!

Here is a blast from the past photo... Evey and Sean hanging out when Evey was just a little thing.

Happy birthday buddy! Glad we've stayed close all these years.

Grandpa's Obit

Here's how it looked in the Wichita Eagle.

67 years with Grandma Joyce.

39 years at Boeing.

11 great-grandkids.

Nice run.

Too bad they misspelled my wife's name. A-D-R-I-A-N-N-E is the proper spelling. Oh well, she's used to it, but she's married to an editor and things like that bug him.

(I remember when my Dad died, no one believed me that Nichol's name was spelled that way... and I had to leave the funeral home early so we could attend Adro's grandpa's funeral outside Topeka for a day and then turn back around and get back to Wichita for my Dad's funeral... as soon as we left, I called Melissa to confirm Nichol's spelling... got it changed before it made the paper. Whew! Stuff like that keeps me up at night!)

Visit with Asher

We had a great time on Sunday hanging out with Asher and his big brother Grey. Evey even got a turn at holding Asher. She did a nice job, I know she's excited to hold her own baby brother here in a few months.

Evey didn't see me holding Asher, she was busy chasing Grey around with a Star Wars blaster. She told me after we got home, "Dad, you really should have held the baby, it was really fun."

I told her that we'd have a baby of our own in the house to hold all the time, and I'd probably get to hold him a lot here pretty soon.

Evey then told me the plan:

"Dad, you get to hold me while I hold the baby. ...Mom gets to hold Grey's brother."

So, hopefully Asher and the Heiman family are down for that plan, or else Adro is going to really feel left out.

I'll have photos of Asher and Adro posted, probably not 'til next week though...