Wedded Bliss Expands!

Semi-retired

2011-02-21T07:33:00.002-05:00

Lately, I've been wrestling once again with what to do when I grow up - maybe I'll figure that out before I grow up, maybe not. One of the trends that I've taken up is that photography should play a more central role.

And with that thought, I've launched a new blog -- http://dklotz.blogspot.com/ -- and this one will become semi-retired. At the new blog you'll find my portfolio and a few new pix every week that show my continued exploration in photography.

It will be interesting to see where this journey ends up, or whether I will actually ever grow up...

- Dan

More photos from the summer

2011-01-20T06:52:00.005-05:00

Meg is showing these at CJ's school today. Enjoy!

How to use chopsticks

2011-01-09T21:02:00.003-05:00

(apologies for not posting in ages; more to come again)

More vacation photos

2010-08-31T07:11:00.004-04:00

Continuing to slowly move through the photos, I have a few more from our western odyssey. These were all taken in Sequoia National Park.

CJ among the redwooods:

Taking photos on/next to a fallen giant:

The rest of the redwood landed in a meadow:

The girls share a giggle in front of the General Sherman tree, the largest tree on earth by volume. FWIW, I don't think you really need to clarify that kind of claim...

The moon over the trees in our campground, first thing in the morning:

Yes, I'm missing it!

Vacation - Family Style!

2010-08-23T21:34:00.004-04:00

It took forever to finally arrive, but Meg, CJ and I spent almost two and a half glorious weeks on vacation in California. We did quite a bit of sightseeing: the really steep hills of San Francisco, the really big sequoia redwoods, the really big cliffs of Kings Canyon, the really interesting history of gold country, the really beautiful valley of Yosemite, and we even managed to go to a wedding at the end. (really, no fooling!)

It will take forever to sift through all the pics, sorry, but instead of posting them all at once I thought to post a few at a time. The whole lot, once finished, will get posted to our flickr account. And at some point soon, Meg will post a longer recap of Vacation: 2010.

Enjoy!

The view from Morro Rock in Sequioa National Park (when focusing on the moss on a dead branch):

The "Tunnel View" of Yosemite Valley, just before sunrise:

Yosemite's Half Dome, from Glacier Point, just after sunrise:

Little tree in the middle of a big cliff, viewed from Glacier Point, just after sunrise:

Morocco, solo again

2010-07-12T07:16:00.004-04:00

At the end of June, my job sent me to yet another corner of the globe, this time to Agadir, Morocco, for the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting. To start things off, while I was waiting to switch planes in the Casablanca airport, my wallet got picked -- on Father's Day no less. The meeting was as stressful and difficult as they all are. The World Cup provided a welcome relief, and the locals even tried to recreate a few games on the beach, but without the vuvuzelas.

Afterwards I tried to spend a few days in a very picturesque but crushingly poor town called Essaouira. The town was overrun by a music festival that was at times quite entertaining (and free, fortunately).

I've spent the past few weeks trying to recover, and reconnect with my family after too much travel over the past nine months. I'm going to try to post more regularly here, as it seems to be a better way of communicating than through facebook or twitter. But we'll see what the summer brings -- aside from an actual family vacation, of course.

Photos from Morocco can be found here.

Photos from Cairo

2010-04-17T08:24:00.003-04:00

As I mentioned in the last post, after spending two weeks in Doha last month I decompressed for three days in Cairo. Decompress is probably the wrong word to use; Cairo is the most frenetic town imaginable. Great fun if you like to take photos, mine can be found here.

Name this bird? (and I'm back)

2010-04-04T07:21:00.003-04:00

After two weeks of CITES, the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (in Doha, Qatar), followed by a three-day stopover in Cairo and five days of yard work and household chores, I'm getting back into the swing of things.

Work should be interesting -- everything has revolved around CITES for the past six months. We failed miserably, getting absolutely no protections for eight endangered sharks and Atlantic bluefin tuna. It's time to put the experience in the rear view mirror and move on now.

I have plenty of photos from Cairo that will take a while to sort out, of course, but in the interim I thought we could play a round of "Name this bird."

I also have a photo of CJ amidst the cherry blossoms for those interested...

Crazy trip

2010-02-13T06:50:00.004-05:00

At the end of January, I traveled on a crazy, four-city business trip that was probably the least stressful business trip I will ever take. The point of the trip was to meet with journalists, and everyone I work with claimed every single part of the trip. So I got to spin through Madrid, London, Doha and Dubai with nothing to do really but hold my spokesperson's coat.

One interesting side trip we took was to Doha's wholesale fish market. I found it interesting; for all my years in NY I never poked around the fulton fish market, only sniffing at it from a few blocks away (it's just north of the South Street Seaport).

That being said, here's the no-frills Doha fish market:

The "high" light of the trip was the Burj Khalifa, the newest tallest building in the world. To get to the observation deck on the 120th floor will run you US$130 if you just show up, but only US$30 if you book it week's in advance.

Instead, we ate dinner across from the reflecting pool and watched the show:

Not bad for a desert city, eh?

My photos from the trip can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/80262249@N00/sets/72157623294959739/

hot cocoa greetings

2010-01-02T11:03:00.002-05:00

For those who haven't seen this yet, our apologies for getting it out so late!

And here's the appropriate follow-up shot, of course.

snow day

2009-12-21T06:24:00.002-05:00

I'm not quite sure what the official measurement was in our neighborhood, but I think we got about 20" of snow on Saturday. CJ had been sick all week, but needed a little motivation perhaps for getting better.

Our neighbor was quite helpful in showing CJ how to build a snow house.

It took a while to clear the driveway, but I managed.

All in all, it was a good weekend to have a home. But I'm a little sore this morning from all that shoveling...

Brazil

2009-12-05T18:26:00.006-05:00

The highlight/lowlight of November was a week and a half-long business trip to Brazil. It's always interesting checking out a new place. That's why it was a highlight. But if there is an enchanting location in Brazil -- and I'm sure there is -- we were pretty far from it. You won't see the petrochemical refinery two miles up the beach from where we were (I didn't photograph it). But let's just say that the ocean looked more like it does off Jones beach than in your typical pristine tropical venue.

We stayed at one of those all-inclusive resorts, and attended a big fisheries meeting at another. It's kind of hard to tell the resorts apart, although this one liked setting up for the day during high tide.

A large rock shelf blocked off the surf from the sand. It made for interesting photos, but not so much for swimming.

Here's the view with my back to the refinery. Fairy nice, but that water just doesn't have the blue sheen it should.

The egrets seemed pretty content with the place, although the tidal pools didn't hold much of anything except a bunch of sea urchins.

A few miles south of us was the tourist village of Porto da Galinhas. In ten days, we escaped to eat here three times. At least the water was a little cleaner here.

Porto da Galinhas is an hour south of the industrial port of Recife. The name means "Chicken Port," and it was one of the main ports used in the slave trade (chickens being derogatory slang for the slaves waiting to be sold). Now, the town takes its name literally, and chicken imagery is ubiquitous.

The town did have its unseemly parts, of course.

Recife, incidentally, is the shark attack capitol of Brazil. They filled in the estuaries along the coast where the bull sharks breed and built a nice strip of hotels on the beach. The only estuary left has a slaughterhouse upstream that is known for unregulated wastewater discharges. So the tourist hotels basically sit on a beach with a lot of confused bull sharks smelling blood in the water and not sure of where they're supposed to be. Very typical of Brazil, I think.

And for those who are curious, here's what the big meeting room looked like where I was stuck for all that time. Note that I was inadvertently filmed while taking the picture...

Making a Jack-O-Lantern

2009-11-01T16:15:00.005-05:00

Step 1: take the top off of the pumpkin.

Step 2: take the seeds and junk out of the pumpkin (and separate the seeds for roasting).

Step 3: ask CJ to pick out a design from the jack-o-lantern design book (!) and then spend all afternoon carving out the intricate pattern that she selected.

Step 4: enjoy nifty jack-o-lantern.

Step 5: pose in front of jack-o-lantern before going trick-or-treating.

Step 6: for a nightcap, watch Charlie Brown's gang celebrate Halloween their own special way.

Repeat as necessary.

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

2009-10-27T13:30:00.004-04:00

CJ and Tomoki took everyone apple picking this past weekend. The Pumpkin patch was an unexpected bonus. Everyone had a good time; it was one of those spontaneous and fun outings where nothing is really planned and not a whole heck of a lot actually happens but you have a great time doing it.

The LA Times had an article in today's paper declaring that kids age 2-5 watch an average of three hours and 48 minutes of video content daily (up eight minutes from last year). For what it's worth, we find the outdoors to be much more interactive.

The fireplace is operational

2009-10-20T05:55:00.002-04:00

The one good thing about a week of cold, wet and rainy weather is that it served as a great motivator. CJ enjoyed the first fire in our fireplace.

It's hard to believe we've lived in our new house for less than five months. There is no place like home when it's your home.

Cranes

2009-10-18T06:33:00.004-04:00

One of my brother's favorite excursions was to the Middle-of-Nowhere, Indiana, to watch sandhill cranes fly south for the winter. His wife's family had a bit of a crane obsession, and they found an idyllic marsh where, every October, tens of thousands of cranes stopped for the night.

He would wax euphorically on the beauty and serenity that he found there, and one of my regrets is that I never drove 14 hours to spend a few cold and wet October days in this swamp with him.

At the beginning of this month, I attended the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin (an interesting affair on its own merits). Journalists being journalists, they spend one day of their conference checking out various environmental stories where ever they are. And for this year's meeting, one of the field trips was an exploration of the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge and efforts to reintroduce Whooping Cranes into the wild. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity. (You'll find a few photos are at our Flickr page)

True to the spirit of the outing, the day was cold and wet. But I couldn't recommend it more. The International Crane Foundation is working closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to repopulate the whooping crane species. At one point after world war 2, there were only 14; now there are several hundred.

When the cranes are hatched, scientists and staff dress up in hazmat suits with a crane head puppet attached to one hand -- the mommy cranes, if you will. They train the cranes to fly south behind an "ultralight" plane cranking out crane songs while wearing the hazmat suits. And then one day in October, when the weather is as right as it can be, they head south. They fly 30-60 miles a day, land in pre-arranged backyards or parks (the whole journey is elaborately choreographed), and then in the spring the cranes magically head back north on their own.

Climate change threatens the whole operation, of course. Rising sea levels are driving out the cranes' favorite winter food, blue crabs, from their winter wetlands. In fact, projection show that these wetlands, in Texas regrettably, will be under water by the turn of the next century.

But despite this ominous future and tenuous present, the reintroduction program has had much success. And, for a day, I felt wonderfully close to my brother.

Remembering Bill Brainard

2009-09-20T07:20:00.000-04:00

There are people you see in life whom you never quite go out of your way to connect with, whom you know would enrich your life but for whatever reason – distance, the routines of your respected lives, work, whatever – it takes far longer to make that connection than it should.

Bill Brainard was one those people, a completely honorable man who eschewed the pursuit of money for the pursuit of helping as many people as he could. He passed away several weeks ago.

While the loss I feel, for not connecting with him as best I could, is substantial, it pales in comparison to the loss that those in his immediate yet broad circle feel, for he helped an incredible number of people directly and substantially.

He was an attorney who worked on housing issues. I once worked on housing issues – trying to insert plans and incentives for affordable housing to be built into the luxury housing that the Bloomberg administration propagated throughout New York, a hypothetical tilt at windmills that never quite worked out (hence our flight to DC because it was more affordable).

The housing issues that Bill worked on were real and immediate, working to keep ordinary or hurting Americans in their homes as the inhumane banks and landlords tried to force them out when rents or mortgages went unpaid. He was a people person, and he embraced both his cases and his clients. Countless colleagues spoke at his memorial service of how special Bill made everyone feel – even as he performed the invaluable service of making sure they did not become homeless.

There is so much to be learned from such an unselfish life. And perhaps the worst of it is that there is one less teacher in the world today.

---

Photos from the reception after the memorial service can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/80262249@N00/sets/72157622291173687/.

If folks want access to other family photos, please shoot me an email.

Out and about...

2009-09-10T06:11:00.003-04:00

...and really enjoying the Mini...

Sorry for the delay in posting. FYI, I've started to upload more and more photos and video to our flickr account. If you want to see those (they're not available to the public, sorry) please join flickr (it's free, and simple if you already have email or something with yahoo) and let me know.

Cash for Clunkers

2009-08-07T06:59:00.004-04:00

Before:

After:

CJ watching anxiously as the nice car salesman installs the license plates.

CJ found the new car to be just as comfortable, maybe more so.

It's been a busy summer, and I hope that our coming vacation will allow me to catch up and post more photos. The biggest development has to be the new car. It's small, with hopefully enough room so that we can go on vacation (fingers crossed). Overall, we're getting acclimated to the new house, and loving it. Life is going quite well indeed. And it's great that when we finally are ready to move forward with some major life purchases (i.e., new house, new car), the federal government provides some great incentives...

Summer time and the living is easy

2009-06-14T06:37:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since the last entry, mostly because moving is, well, not so much fun and moving into a house is, well, not as easy as it looks. But I am happy to report that we are in, the house is shaping up, and the the backyard jungle is just about tamed. Let's put it this way: the tomato plants go into the garden today.

I have to say that living in a house you own is a completely different experience from anything else. In a month and a half, I have taken on the jobs of contractor boss, building super, tree guy, and safety expert. The amount of new knowledge crammed into my head lately has been insane; it's been one of the more enjoyable and tiring aspects of home ownership.

The neighbors to the right of us are nothing short of amazing. Our first night after the move, when we were sweaty, dusty, and swamped in boxes, they brought us dinner. Seafood risotto with jumbo shrimp and scallops. Need I say more?

The other neighbors have all been very nice and welcoming as well, but that seafood risotto will always be one of the tastiest meals I've ever had. Even if we ate it on the staircase (the only flat surface we could find.

CJ, shown here cruising the house with her buddy Tomoki, has adapted marvelously. We were more than a little concerned how she would handle her third major move in two and a half years -- that's a lot of transition for a three and a half year old. But after maybe one rough week, she settled in nicely and is quite happy. She's been helping with the gardening and tree pruning, and even mowing the lawn.

The best part is that yesterday was her second day at the swimming pool and after only a little hestation, she was swimming like a champ. Takes after her mom, of course.

That's all I have for now. I'll have a more complete photo tour of the new castle, and maybe some video of the backyard at some point. Right now, I'm going to sign off, snag the sunday paper, and finish my coffee on the front porch.

Keeping up on current events

2009-04-30T10:06:00.003-04:00

Scary headlines just can't chase away the morning appetite, apparently...

Life moves pretty fast sometimes...

2009-04-16T06:07:00.004-04:00

There are times when the wisdom of Ferris Bueller trumps everything. "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." And that would be one of the points of continuing this blog, an occasional glance at where things are and how they look.

The latest "distraction" is our hopefully soon-to-be new house. We agreed to the seller's counteroffer on April Fool's Day, of course, and the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of inspections, disclosures, decision-making, happiness, and anxiety. But it is a cute house, don't you think?

Yes, that screened in porch is as good as it looks.

Built in 1927, the house is a "Sears Kit" home, meaning that the blueprints and materials were selected from a Sears catalog and then assembled by a local contractor. It is also in really good shape (for the most part) and has no additions whatsoever (many of the houses here are kinda dull with additions that are even duller).

Aside from being exceptionally cute, the price fit nicely into our budget and we locked up the mortgage two weeks ago, when rates were at an all-time low. We're very happy.

Jammed into all the home-buying craziness was a three-day frisbee tournament where a large number of friends from New York came down to play and visit, and then a spring break-Easter family visit/invasion. Much fun was had, and the dust just settled.

Meg and CJ came to watch one day of the ultimate tournament, which was very nice because, at my tender age I'm not quite sure which tournament will be my last. I am particularly fond of this shot:

So now we brace ourselves for packing and moving, followed by the ups and downs of home ownership. But hopefully, we'll be settling down in our new house for a while. We've been living in transition for an eternity, it seems. It's time to lay down some roots.

they call her...

2009-03-22T18:20:00.000-04:00

...bucket head?

Sweet dreams...

2009-03-17T23:02:00.002-04:00

'nuff said.

Field of dreams

2009-03-09T04:47:00.002-04:00

We've been into milk mustaches lately.

Enough said on that. What this post is all about is a nice diversion that our realtor, Bill, took CJ and I to after looking at yet another house on Sunday. It was so nice and warm this weekend that all the crocuses (crocii?) came out in full force, and seem to have concentrated in one vacant lot. CJ had a lot of fun, needless to say.

If only we could find a house that suited us as well as this field did...

At the zoo

2009-03-03T05:37:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday, Mommy called in sick. So I had to take care of CJ for the day. We went to Chinese class and then spent most of the day at the zoo, where CJ bonded with the one panda that mingled with everyone. Afterwards, we went home to make chicken soup. End result: Mommy is all better, and Daddy had a great day.

The previous weekend, we went up to NYC to visit NaiNai and YeYe and Bogey and wish NaiNai a happy birthday. CJ and NaiNai had a lot of fun playing with Bogey in between helpings of birthday cake, of course.

Winter hiking can be fun

2009-02-16T16:17:00.002-05:00

You just can't argue with this smile.

After five days in Lisbon, Portugal, and one day in Camden, Indiana (my very first work junket--the Lisbon leg, at least), I was very happy to be home for a three-day weekend with no work to do the entire time!. While Mommy rested, CJ and I checked out a nice piece of woods an hour north of us. Much fun was had, apparently...

Glory Days

2009-02-02T07:31:00.001-05:00

CJ's really getting the chord changes down pat, don't you think?

Our new laptop is coming!

2009-01-30T11:44:00.003-05:00

Tracking the path of our new laptop (a Lenovo/IBM, made in China). We probably should have stayed domestic, but we are supporting a number of fed-ex depots, from the look of things.

01/30/2009 1:56 P.M.
DELIVERY

LAUREL, MD, US
01/30/2009 4:39 A.M.
OUT FOR DELIVERY

LAUREL, MD, US
01/30/2009 3:04 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

BALTIMORE, MD, US
01/30/2009 2:39 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

BALTIMORE, MD, US
01/30/2009 12:03 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

LOUISVILLE, KY, US
01/29/2009 2:25 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

LOUISVILLE, KY, US
01/29/2009 10:57 A.M.
IMPORT SCAN

LOUISVILLE, KY, US
01/25/2009 8:47 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

ANCHORAGE, AK, US
01/24/2009 5:59 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

ANCHORAGE, AK, US
01/24/2009 3:23 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

INCHEON, KR
01/25/2009 2:10 A.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

INCHEON, KR
01/25/2009 12:37 A.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

GUANGZHOU, CN
01/24/2009 9:00 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

GUANGZHOU, CN
01/24/2009 8:00 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

GUANGZHOU, CN
01/23/2009 8:53 P.M.
EXPORT SCAN

GUANGZHOU, CN
01/23/2009 7:00 P.M.
ARRIVAL SCAN

SHENZHEN, CN
01/23/2009 4:50 P.M.
DEPARTURE SCAN

SHENZHEN, CN
01/22/2009 10:58 P.M.
ORIGIN SCAN

CN
01/23/2009 10:02 P.M.
BILLING INFORMATION

Watching history

2009-01-20T14:45:00.001-05:00

Musical interlude worthy of the day

2009-01-20T07:32:00.003-05:00

Today represents so many things: the beginning of hope in exceptionally dark times, an end to the worst presidency ever, but most importantly the realization that anything at all is possible--that anyone no matter what skin color can become president of this fine country. It's beyond fantastical.

Regrettably CJ had a cold on Sunday so we did not go down to the free concert on the National Mall to see these boys in person. But, in the absence of poetry suitable for today's historic moment, we will rely on Bono, Edge, and the rhythm section.

Oops

2009-01-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

In a wonderful moment that perfectly captures how frustrating this month has been, I spilled a cup of coffee on our laptop at home. I thought I was ok until it started making weird noises... Most of the data is backed up, with the exception of photos and videos from the holidays. So I don't know if I'll be able to save those, and I don't know when I'll be able to post any others. Until then, you'll have to make do with the photos from our Hong Kong-Taiwan trip, which you can see on the side column here.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T06:04:00.001-05:00

In some instances, a picture is worth so much more than a thousand words.

(vacation photos will be posted online soon)

Catching up, all the way to CJ's birthday party

2008-11-18T06:50:00.010-05:00

Let's first start out with the best shot from Halloween, when CJ was a pirate (briefly) at her school parade. It was a typical kid's halloween. CJ was sporting an outrageous pirate costume that Meg spent much of the previous two weeks concocting, and all the other kids ooh'd and ah'd over her accessories (which included a well-stocked treasure chest, below).

CJ, of course, took one look at some of the store-bought costumes and got her own case of costume envy. Mayhem ensued. Film at 11. When the the time came to actually go out trick or treating, everyone was so tired of the holiday that we just went to the park so CJ could run around with Tomoki.

The following weekend, we went for a nice walk in the woods with Tomoki and his parents to catch the last of the fall foliage.

The next day, we hung out with Felix, who tried to show CJ just how cool it was to play in a box. From the looks of things though, CJ was clearly thinking outside of the box.

This past Sunday, we took a handful of CJ's friends from school and the neighborhood out for a dim sum birthday party. Much fun was had by all.

We ate at the restaurant's first seating, which thankfully meant a clean floor -- as the kids pretty quickly took the party under the table.

I'm not too sure what's going on here. It's been a while since I was three.

After CJ blew out her birthday candles...

...most of us continued the party at our apartment. CJ and Sloan decided to drive over.

Katherine's mommy read a great story:

And then it was time to open the presents.

After all was said and done, we were wondering what had happened to CJ's guitar and new camera. It turns out that, while she was more than happy to hang out with her buddies, CJ still needs to work on sharing. She chose instead to put her prized possessions under lock and key (or behind bars at least).

Vote early and vote often?

2008-11-04T12:14:00.007-05:00

Not in this country. It took us three hours and twenty minutes to vote this morning. No one told us we were supposed to be disenfranchised.

Here's CJ, contemplating our country's future:

And if you haven't voted already, what on earth are you waiting for?

UPDATE: Unlike the last two elections, enough smart people voted so that the good guy actually won. Every now and then, this country can be quite an amazing place.

Plug for a non-Pug and that singular breed of human known as Birders

2008-10-27T18:44:00.050-04:00

Home for a Husky and the timely A Husky Howl-O-Ween are the first in a series of children's books a dear friend of mine from high school has written about a nature-loving girl and her canine companion.

CJ was howling with joy upon receiving the advance copies; a million thanks, Rebecca!

For more information about "The Husky Tales," visit wolfjumppub.com.

Luke Dempsey, the significant other of another high school bud Liz, has just published A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All.

The book is touted as "an environmentally sound This Is Spinal Tap with binoculars." Armchair amusement for us nightowls -- who who!

Read The New York Times review or check out this recent interview on the Late Late Show.

Better yet, have one fly off the shelf to you from Borders or Amazon.

Liz, I would love a copy (hint, hint). P.S. Sending it by carrier pigeon would be just fine.

October: visiting family and friends, starting school (!)

2008-10-25T10:45:00.030-04:00

We were too busy to attend the shows in New York last month but hear tortoise will be big next year. Here's hipster CJ in her Carter's.

Of course, a girl can't always shop for bling. One must eat, but oh the choices...

But when confronted with the ultimate in style and taste, CJ was completely unimpressed.

This month, Aunt Annie came to visit. CJ's friend Tomoki and his family joined us on a visit to nearby Brookside Gardens.

Despite the tranquility, the paparazzi were out with a vengeance and we didn't know which camera to say "Cheese" to.

CJ and Mommy also took Aunt Annie to the National Mall on an exceptionally picturesque day.

The big news this month is that CJ began attending a cooperative pre-school. She loves playing there, and especially enjoys sensing and exploring the water table and the sandbox. She also likes to create. This day, she was having fun with red.

Now that she's in school, one pair of sunglasses simply won't do.

One weekend, we drove up to New York. Our whirlwind visit began with a glorious fall day watching cousin Jay play defense for Manchester United. Here's the king of the pitch:

CJ and Grace scored great sideline seats. Way to go, gals!

The match got a little intense, so we took a break from the action.

Then, as luck would have it, it began raining in broad daylight.

Fortunately, the day cleared, and we attended Mommy's high school reunion. While Mommy got to schmooze...

...CJ caught up on gossip with her pal Blythe:

Paparazzi and shutterbugs were out in full force, leaving no attending alumnus undocumented. This early photograph by CJ displays her fine motor skills as well her budding social grace; what she now calls "conceptual" was the deliberate obscuring of an otherwise dull moment.

For those of you not in the know, note the fetching Arlene Kirstein CJ is wearing.

The next morning, CJ awoke early and was ready for action. She and Grace took the train uptown to a little hole-in-the-wall they know to do a little shopping.

Later that afternoon, we met in Chinatown with two of the families with whom we travelled to China for the adoption.

Although still full from a lunch of wondrous soup dumplings, we could not resist the allure of CJ's milkshake stand. Boy, can she make a mean shake!

All that pretend gulping made us thirsty, so we stopped for some bubble tea...

...and a snack. Known for her esoteric tastes, CJ found the turnip cake a bit lacking.

Did you find last week unsettling?

2008-10-05T20:42:00.016-04:00

Are you fearing for your retirement fund? Or your current savings account? Do you find that strange republicans are actually trying to wink at you through the tv camera?

Well, you're not the only one who's hair is standing on end these days...

Not only that, but we're still in catchup mode! Here's a shot of CJ and Tomoki in Shenandoah National Park that got stuck in the camera (it was taken back at the end of August).

We went swimming after the hike.

And here's an early September tea party, held in our bathroom.

CJ and her friend Alicia enjoyed a fun day at the zoo, especially frolicking in the sprinklers.

On our next hike, also in Shenandoah National Park, CJ did her best 'masked marvel' impersonation.

And then she had fun goofing around with Tomoki and his parents.

When we returned from the hike, it was time for one last dip in the pool. CJ seemed a bit unhappy at having to leave her floaties behind.

Tomoki managed to eke out a good time though.

A few days later, CJ and Mommy visited the Potomac River's Great Falls two days after a tropical storm blew through:

Sadly, the parents of our neighbor Min Wen were returning to Beijing. CJ and Mommy presented them with a paper wreath they had made of their hands waving goodbye. We will miss you, Li Xiansheng and Xiao Taitai!

And now we catch up to last weekend, when NaiNai and YeYe came to visit. They brought CJ a pair of duck feet that went just swimmingly with the Dr. Seuss book "I Wish That I Had Duck Feet."

CJ always wants to see what the photo looks like after it's taken. Patience, xiao hai!

Who knew our galley kitchen doubled as a fashion runway?

We took NaiNai and YeYe to Great Falls, after yet another rainstorm. First, we crossed a few boardwalks through a swampy forested island.

And then we saw the great falls:

Even the little tributaries had nice little falls:

We had dinner with long-time family friends in a real hole-in-the-wall downtown with wonderful Belgian pub fare:

NaiNai and YeYe also brought CJ some clothes and games.

Lastly, Mommy, CJ and I went to a street fair in Takoma Park. CJ got a tattoo (!) and a dog balloon (as opposed to a balloon dog). Afterwards, we took in some blues:

What was it that Ferris said? "Life goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Many are called...

2008-09-24T13:08:00.016-04:00

Very few are special enough to answer that call on their key chain...

And then take a photo afterwards.

It's been a while since we've been able to post anything, thanks to some pernicious viruses (virii?) and a lack of free time. A special shout out goes to Sanj, who purged our laptop of nasty malware (THANKS!), and now without further ado let's catch up on the past few months.

Here's CJ and Daddy with cousins Alyssa and Sara, who visited us way back over fourth of July weekend:

Tomoki and CJ, poolside:

CJ sleeping with "Min Wen" (one of the Olympic mascots, renamed after our neighbor):

In July, Meg and CJ visited with Aunt Susan, Uncle Frank, and cousins Jay and Grace at a beach house in Massachusetts:

Here's a video of CJ and Grace at the playground:

And here is CJ and Grace with Aunt Annie:

After the Massachusetts trip, Meg and CJ visited with Liz and Chuck and their kids, Devin and Blythe. Here's Blythe and CJ on the town in Nyack:

In August, the three of us went to the beach in Southern Maryland:

Back home, here we are again poolside (and in the pool):

In early September, we traveled up to NYC to visit NaiNai, YeYe, and Monique. NaiNai ended up in most of the photos:

Where's CJ?

We then went out to dim sum with Wendy (our former Mandarin teacher) and her boyfriend Bill. The camera in this shot had a mind of its own, focusing on the food not the people (go figure).

One place worth recording for posterity is Rock Creek Park, where I have been running in the early morning. While it's not Van Cortland Park, it's pretty enough in its own right.

In September we also took a number of daytrips with Tomoki's family. Here we are at Great Falls, Virginia:

And here is Rock Creek after a tropical storm blew through town:

We also took a few trips in Shenandoah National Park with Tomoki's family.

Eating grapes after the hike:

And then back in Shenandoah the following weekend:

[insert musical play on words here]

2008-09-03T16:44:00.003-04:00

The summer is done, but CJ continues to rock on. Perhaps she's excited about the coming football season?

We'll have more pix and video of our end-of-summer escapades once I get all the viruses cleaned out of our home computer... ("Daddy, why are you working?" "Because the computer is sick, sweetheart." "The computer has a booboo? Why?")

Smiling again

2008-08-18T12:54:00.001-04:00

We have a bunch of photos to share from Meg and CJ's travels earlier this month, but I thought I would post a good shot from the swimming pool yesterday. Perhaps the smile is helped by the fact that she's standing on the sprinkler head?

More trouble with smiling

2008-08-05T23:36:00.005-04:00

Meg and CJ are on vacation right now, hanging out at a beach house in Massachusetts with Uncle Frank & company. I drove them halfway up, to NYC, where we saw YeYe and a few close friends. Meg will have more photos and videos when she gets back next week.

Here we are with the Khannas:

And here is CJ and I with Linwood:

And here is CJ and YeYe on the subway:

CJ's on-camera smile is not quite what it used to be. You would think, taking four or five shots, at least one would have her smiling and then that would be the keeper. But nope. I need to break out a few new tricks, apparently. Of course, to be fair, I could use a little help with my smile, especially on that second shot...

Need a little extra bounce in your weekend?

2008-07-26T09:54:00.005-04:00

These videos really speak for themselves:

As you can see, CJ is handling the ups and downs of childhood quite well, all things considered...

Yet another woman in my life is tired of me taking photos

2008-07-21T11:58:00.002-04:00

CJ and I went for a great hike yesterday while Mommy finished recuperating from a nasty cold. We found (with the help of a guide book) a great swimming hole in Shenandoah National Park. We had a great time walking in the forest (nothing beats holding your daughter's hand while walking through the woods and listening to songbirds), splashed around a bit, found a bird's nest, saw a pretty waterfall, and then I tried to take a few photos. Though CJ really wasn't having any of the whole photography scene, I'd still call the outing a success...

Ice Creammm...

2008-07-12T10:41:00.003-04:00

One of the unexpected advantages of living in Silver Spring is Moorenko's, which serves up some of the tastiest ice cream we've ever had. Here's CJ, all business with a black-raspberry-chocolate-chip sugar cone.

Summertime fun

2008-07-10T06:35:00.003-04:00

We've had a good time the last couple of weeks, visiting family and getting the hang of summer here in DC. Here's CJ, living large down at the pool:

At the end of June, we drove back to NY to visit family. CJ and Cousins Jay and Grace had a good time on the seesaw, even after someone fell off.

CJ and Grace made themselves quite busy on the patio.

We had a good time seeing the DC sights with the gang from Riverdale and Woodstock (although the National Mall, take note, is quite jammed on July 4th weekend). Here's CJ passing time at the Lincoln Memorial:

CJ and Alyssa had a good time at Mt. Vernon as well.

And what is summer without the proper accoutrements?

Swimming with the floaties

2008-06-26T22:42:00.002-04:00

CJ is loving the pool in our apartment complex. The lifeguards have become quite taken with CJ, giving her "VIP status," and she has made fast friends with a three-year-old boy in our building. They go swimming every afternoon together, and even do a little drag racing on occasion.

The exciting news is that we put a bid down on a house that we liked. One of the sellers was an architect who did such a great job redesigning the kitchen that we overlooked the wall-to-wall carpeting in the basement. Our offer was too low and we lost the house, unfortunately, but it was good to get our feet wet in the real estate market down here. We're all determined not to let the next house get away.

But it's not all bad. If we had bought the house, we would have had to move out and lose access to the pool before the summer was done...

Photo ops and non photo ops

2008-06-15T10:59:00.002-04:00

Nice holiday, father's day. There's always a good excuse for a photo-op.

In the non-photo-op category, we've been shopping for cars lately and had the perfect test drive. Our car, you see, flunked the Maryland inspection and we've been exploring whether to buy a new car instead of fixing the old one.

Yesterday we made it over to the Mini dealership in Annapolis to test drive their "clubman," a station wagon of sorts that gets respectable gas mileage. Meg in particular has been wanting a Mini ever since BMW reintroduced the brand a few years back. But leaving the apartment yesterday was a bit chaotic, and Meg ended up leaving her license at home. Much to her chagrin Meg spent the test drive in the back seat.

But that calamity was nothing; ten minutes into the test drive CJ threw up! It was only the third time she threw up that we know of. The first time was a few hours before we met, when the orphanage drove her to meet us. The second time was two months ago, five minutes from our old home. The third time, yesterday, was a bit more complicated. But we're happy to report that the mini clubman is big enough to be able to clean up a mess without bumping your head. Actually, CJ was kind enough to keep the mess confined to her and her car seat, much to the salesman's relief.

CJ is fine today, as you can see from the photo above. Maybe she was just test driving herself...

Catching up and moving in

2008-06-01T14:03:00.004-04:00

My apologies for not writing for so long. As we learned firsthand, an interstate move is quite the learning experience. And starting a new job can also be quite intensive.

First things first -- everybody's doing well, the new place is great, the new job is fine. Lots of nice people abound. The only truly negative part of the past month was when I tried to get phone service (Verizon is such a horrible company). But we're getting phone service when our cable and internet gets hooked up, hopefully this Wednesday, so we'll be more in touch and posting more entries.

Before we left, we had a great going away party at An Beal Bocht, the local Irish pub in Riverdale (highly recommended). Family, friends, and a few of CJ's playground buddies came over to give us a proper send us off. Here's CJ with Emma having a good frolic.

The moving company packed most of our stuff -- CJ did most of the supervising. When she wasn't reliving Halloween, that is.

Under CJ's watchful eye, the movers packed everything with the greatest of care.

Our old apartment was loaded onto the truck on a Friday, and our stuff was delivered to the new apartment on the following Monday. In between, we spent the weekend with Uncle Frank, Aunt Susan, and cousins Jay and Grace. Here's Jay leading everyone through some impromptu martial arts exercises.

Jay is quite the skateboard fiend these days.

While I was busy wrapping up loose ends at the old place, everyone else went out to Long Island to celebrate cousin Bobby's graduation. Here's a gaggle of cousins posing for the camera.

We drove down to Maryland on Sunday with Nai Nai, and stayed at a bed a nearby bed and breakfast. At the B&B, the innkeeper looked after her granddaughter in the mornings, and CJ happily pitched in.

On Monday morning, we went to our new home when our stuff was delivered. Here's CJ and Nai Nai, supervising as the movers unload the truck.

CJ really likes the new apartment, although she was a little lost among the boxes at first.

But now we're mostly unpacked, and celebrating Mommy's birthday today.

Transition: CJ Takes Over

2008-05-08T12:12:00.003-04:00

While Daddy was cleaning up his office, CJ tied up a few loose ends at work for him...

On leaves, and leaving

2008-05-05T09:50:00.002-04:00

As my previous post noted, we are leaving New York City. I have accepted a job offer from the Pew Charitable Trusts to publicize their environmental work. We move on May 16; I start the new job on May 27.

To those who know us, this comes as no surprise. We had been making noise about leaving town for years. New York City is no longer a welcoming place for the middle class. The housing stock is too expensive, the schools are horrible and getting worse, the subway system is also deteriorating, and the overall cost of living – emotional as well as economical – is far too high.

But I have called this city home for all of my 40 years; breaking up is indeed hard to do.

Yesterday morning I went for a run in Van Cortland Park, traveling a route I had taken many times before. It leads through a stand of woods squeezed between a major street and a busy parkway, yet there is a half-mile stretch in a small ravine where the valley’s ridges and trees shut out the sound of traffic and humanity and you are left to enjoy the sounds of a forest. You could be anywhere, not within the New York City limits.

I have run this trail countless times, through rain and snow and sleet and even bright sunshine and glorious autumn mornings. But this morning, with the mist settling delicately on the new leaves of the oaks and tulip poplars, I thought about all the many crises and personal storms that I ran through as well.

These woods were more than my refuge, the trees did more than shelter me. They absorbed the angst and anguish and anger from innumerable crises, sucking it all in like they breathe in the car exhaust and exhaling peace and tranquility and a friendly space for the red tailed hawk that’s buzzed me more often than not as I’ve run past.

I’ve been in such desperate moods, my brain lost in turmoil as my feet find their way through the well-traveled trails, that sometimes I can’t recount a single detail from my run but feel infinitely better from the trees lifting burden after burden from my shoulders. I’ve run through the recent deaths of my brother, my mother-in-law and a dear friend and mentor; the aborted pregnancy of our first child; the needless travails of too many crappy bosses; and the achingly long road that led to our adopting CJ.

Perhaps they stand so tall and solid because they also saw me through happier times as well. They also shelter enough raspberry bushes to make most of the Bronx happy, it seems.

We are moving to Silver Spring, Maryland, a stone’s throw from Rock Creek Park. When I first started looking at the map of Washington, DC, my focus immediately fastened onto Rock Spring, the largest green swath in the district’s boundaries. We drove through the park during one of our househunting trips, and while the trees are sufficiently large the presence of the road itself raises doubts about the seclusion that the broad branches offer. But this will be home for at least the next year or so, and hopefully we will find a new home close to enough to another stand of trees that can shelter me from future storms aplenty.

My apologies for waxing poetic; one gets more than a little nostalgic contemplating such change in life.

- Dan

Birthday season

2008-04-26T16:10:00.002-04:00

It's been a crazy crazy month, and there's the mother of all blog posts getting written to provide all the details. But here's the basics:

1. We're moving to Washington DC on May 16
2. Dan starts a new job, as Communications Officer for Pew Charitable Trusts' Environmental Group, on May 27

Specifics on the going away party to be announced soon. And now, here is CJ serenading the birthday aunts:

Did you catch that goggle reference at the end? She needed a redo...

Easter!

2008-03-24T23:02:00.003-04:00

We have a few more photos and some video to post, but we'll use this one as a placeholder for now...

NaiNai's birthday (and follow-up visit)

2008-03-17T22:18:00.002-04:00

At the beginning of March, we helped NaiNai celebrate her birthday with a fabulous brunch. Here's CJ bending NaiNai's ear on what it means to be a big girl now:

After we ate, CJ then taught Bogey a new bone trick.

And then, everyone's favorite entertainer tickled the ivories for us.

This past weekend, NaiNai and YeYe came by for a follow-up visit. NaiNai read CJ a great story:

And then all of a sudden, a pillow fight broke out.

It's just another day in the life.

An interesting take on how to look at China

2008-03-07T09:57:00.002-05:00

As the parent of a Chinese-American girl, all of the criticisms and scandals swirling around China trouble me. Not that the news lacks justification -- I'll be the first to point out that China's government has an incredible amount of room for improvement. But we are very much on the edge of an era where it becomes acceptable to blatantly discriminate against China -- and by extension, anyone Chinese. (in fact, we're probably there already in most parts of the U.S.)

That is why I enjoyed this post from the China Beat. It effectively discusses how to look at China with a more holistic, big-picture perspective.

I'm also interested in hearing people's thoughts on this rather weighty topic.

Catching up

2008-03-02T07:04:00.005-05:00

February was a pretty hectic month. My apologies for not posting all too much. To make up for it, this post will have to be very large...

But larger than Babar? Here's CJ in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, hanging out with her favorite elephant. We were in Washington this past week for Uncle Herman's funeral. While I worked the day after the funeral, CJ and Meg went sightseeing.

Earlier this month, we added an extra day to President's Day weekend and hung out in the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks. Here's CJ and Mommy in a refurbished covered bridge:

Meg and I have been going up to the Adirondacks since the early '90s and were somewhat amused that the High Peaks area had just been "discovered." We had a fun time hanging out with one of Meg's high school buddies, Claudia, her husband John, and their son Joseph. CJ had a fun time goofing around with (and riding on) Joseph:

The six of us then went on a snowshoeing expedition to Roaring Brook Falls (on the south flank of Giant Mountain). The weather was global-warming-weird, fifty degrees in the middle of February in the mountains of Northern New York. Here's CJ, Meg and I at the top of the falls:

And here's Claudia, Meg and Joseph:

CJ, Meg and I continued uphill for another half mile or so, took a break to figure out where we were and whether we should continue. The place where we stopped was a large grove of birch trees, which would have been gorgeous had there been sunlight. Even so, there was plenty of beauty under the gray sky. Here's CJ taking in the sights:

With us, taking photos is like eating potato chips. You can't just take one.

We finally decided to continue on, but only snowshoed another thirty yards or so before coming to the place where the trail crossed Roaring Brook. With all the snow melt coming off the mountain, the brook wasn't quite passable.

And then it started raining, of course.

Here are a few shots from earlier in February, goofing around at home.

With Meg and I wearing our glasses ("goggles") around the house, every now and then CJ snags Mr. Potatohead's glasses and does the same. Here she is "shopping" on the coffee table:

She's a bit of a wackadoo, to be honest.

Way back at the end of January, we got together with three of the families with whom we traveled to China. Due to an unfortunate need for CJ to powder her nose, she missed the group photo. Here are Olivia, Cara, and Gabriella, wondering where CJ wandered off to:

The photo was taken at the tail end of the visit. Folks had to get going, but the three of us stayed a little bit longer with Gabriella, Jana, and Pete. Here's Meg, CJ, and Gabriella:

CJ even led an impromptu yoga class for all the girls.

Finally, CJ had a lot of fun hanging out and watching all of the Giants playoff games with me. We even dragged Meg to the Superbowl party hosted by our friends Josh and Betsy. We were all quite thrilled by the amazing game, but the experience really tired CJ out:

While CJ and Meg did not make it down for the ticker-tape parade, they didn't miss much. This is as close as I got to the Superbowl trophy:

Party on!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T21:34:00.001-05:00

A special thanks to my colleague Liz, who gave CJ this balloon...

Happy New Year!

2008-02-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Lunar New Year was Thursday -- this year is the year of the rat. We had wanted to take a photo of CJ next to one of those really big inflated rats by a union picket. But perhaps as a token of better labor-management relations citywide, we were unable to find one.

So instead we have a photo of CJ showing off her New Year's loot.

Chinese custom is to give kids a little red envelope with money, the more 8s in the serial number the better, as 8 is a lucky number.

Special thanks to Louise, who had no idea how lucky her cash was until I rifled through her wallet.

Monique visited us tonight

2008-01-24T19:57:00.001-05:00

CJ was yet again a most gracious hostess with the most-est!

A new addition to the website

2008-01-24T17:47:00.000-05:00

What with Super Tuesday approaching, I took the liberty of providing all of our blog viewers with a counter to when our current president leaves office. Technically speaking, it's not really related to CJ, although I could perhaps rationalize it as that her world will certainly be a better place once he's gone...

Catching up

2008-01-17T05:55:00.000-05:00

We've been hard at work this month, at home and at the office. Can't you tell?

The weekend after Christmas, we visited cousins Sara and Alyssa, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mark. We gave Alyssa an airplane ride:

CJ played us a few soulful ballads from her latest album:

And then the visit degenerated into a big game of twister.

Last weekend, Wendy, who used to teach us Mandarin, came over to teach us how to make dumplings.

CJ was taking notes.

After the dumplings, Meg and CJ rode out into the sunset...

CJ has also taken an interest in photography, or at least taking photos with Mommy's camera case.

It's good to have another shutterbug in the family!

One year anniversary

2008-01-15T22:35:00.001-05:00

CJ, Meg and I just had a lovely dinner to celebrate the first anniversary of when we all met. The past year has been quite crazy in so many ways, but she has been an amazing beacon of light and love through it all.

I have wished on occasion that the adoption process had moved more quickly, but if it had then we would not have met CJ. We are completely blessed to have her in our lives.

Many thanks to everyone who gave us their love and support while we waited for CJ and during the trying times afterwards.

We are very grateful for the time we have had with her already, and look forward to a more tranquil second year.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

Here's to a more tranquil 2008!

(fyi, our holiday cards will be mailed by the weekend. Sorry for the delay!)

Christmas presents and feasting

2007-12-28T06:55:00.000-05:00

Christmas with CJ was wonderful, as joyous as the holiday is supposed to be.

The presentfest began on Christmas Eve, with a visit from NaiNai and YeYe. CJ liked bringing everyone their gifts.

The best gift was a little tea set for CJ. Here she is serving tea for the ladies:

Christmas morning, there were more gifts. CJ especially liked the book about you-know-who.

Later in the day, we visited Jay, Grace, Aunt Susan and Uncle Frank. CJ enjoyed Grace's new kitchen set.

The adult's liked Jay's new racetrack.

Jay was happy jamming on his new guitar.

Earlier in the week, the whole family went to a lovely dinner at Aunt Susan's and Uncle Frank's country club. It was nice to have everyone all dressed up for family photos.

The gingerbread man, unfortunately, may not have had such a nice time.

One last shot that I thought I'd sneak in -- Meg and CJ had a surprise party for me at the beginning of the month featuring many of my oldest and bestest friends. A special thanks to all involved in that special event.

Happy holidays all!

No piggies!

2007-12-28T06:48:00.000-05:00

Christmas photos to come next.

Children can be very disarming

2007-12-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

And CJ? Moreso, of course.

CJ and Daddy are healthy, but Mommy of course took care of everyone so she needs some extra catch-up work on her sleep so she can get better too. Here we are this morning, catching up on work.

Out sick

2007-12-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

This week, we have been sick. First Mommy, then CJ, then Daddy. CJ hasn't been sleeping at all, so Mommy and Daddy take turns catnapping and watching CJ as their fevers burn.

CJ's been a trooper for the most part. It's her first time being sick since she joined us. It helps that the tylenol is super sweetened and tastes much better than that fake cherry drek we had as kids.

Because we've been sick, we're way behind on Christmas cards (not to mention buying a Christmas tree!), so look for your card in the mail before New Years.

Another "almost christmas card" shot

2007-12-16T06:46:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'm biased, but I do think she's quite photogenic.

The holiday season begins!

2007-12-13T22:26:00.004-05:00

Here's a cute shot of CJ, from one of several photo shoots for this year's Christmas Card:

For all those interested, I think I took the winning shot today, but don't be too surprised if you find this one in your mailbox.

The Sunday after my birthday, we visited with the Dailey's (of Dailey Update fame. CJ got everyone doing the 'remote-control conference-call' game. You might remember Father's Day?

You could say she really knows how to throw a good party line!

-- Dan

Birthday season

2007-12-13T22:26:00.003-05:00

The end of November is officially birthday season: CJ's birthday and Daddy's birthday bracket Thanksgiving.

For CJ's birthday, we hosted our family and Dan made them Peking Duck. There was some good story reading to be found in the living room:

And then, somewhere between stories and cake, the duck was served. Apparently, no one bothered to take a photo, and the duck didn't really last too long. And then the birthday cupcakes were a big hit:

On CJ's actual birthday, we gave her a nice doll of an ethnic group from her home province (something you can only find shopping in New York).

On Thanksgiving CJ watched her first football game:

She then did her best Joe Namath imitation, much to Bogey's delight:

And then goofed around with her cousins.

Once again, we were too busy eating to take pictures of the food. The next day, we all met for breakfast, and then took Daddy on a surprise jaunt around Van Cortland Park. Here we are at the diner:

CJ wasn't too enthused about Talk Like a Pirate Day this year, but next year might be a different story.

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we went out for breakfast, where a somewhat furious game of "Telephone" broke out.

And then, back to the birthday celebrations, here's CJ helping Daddy blow out his birthday canoli.

I think she liked it. She's definitely getting a leg up on the whole eating scene!

Catching up: Halloween up through the birthday season

2007-12-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

CJ thoroughly enjoyed herself on Halloween. Here's CJ in her ghost costume, taking a break with cousin Grace from preparations before going out trick or treating:

Meg reported that CJ thought trick or treating actually meant trading pieces of candy; here she is enjoying the back and forth:

And, after the craziness, here she is sucking down a nice cold one in front of Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan's house:

This fall was unusually warm and the playground season lasted through November. CJ was happy about that:

In the beginning of November, CJ and Mommy visited Cousin Susan and Great Aunt Jane in New Jersey.

The Halloween decorations were still out.

We also went for a number of nice long walks in Van Cortland Park this fall, taking advantage of the global-warming-extended foliage.

CJ loved the fall foliage. We still have a number of leaves around the house that we collected on our walks.

Daddy turned 40 today

2007-11-28T21:17:00.000-05:00

Here's all we have to say on the matter:

The eyes have it

2007-10-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

Here's looking at you, kid...

The Chappaqua Halloween Parade

2007-10-26T08:34:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, October 21, we all marched in the Halloween Parade that the Village of Chappaqua puts on every year. A good time was had by all, although CJ grew a little tired by the end. She perked right up for the playground at the end of the parade (it seemed like a good idea, something all parades should have).

Two days later, we went for a nice walk with my parents on my brother's birthday. Here's a nice photo of CJ, who thoroughly enjoyed her first taste of autumn in the Northeast.

Rembering Mike.

2007-10-24T10:54:00.000-04:00

My brother Mike would have turned 35 yesterday, an occasion that we commemorated by visiting the cemetery and then taking NaiNai and YeYe for a nice walk among some fall foliage.

CJ of course charmed the weather into cooperating, and brightened what could have been a gloomy day.

It’s hard to believe that he passed away more than six months ago. So much has taken place since then, but the passage of time is always accelerated when you have a little one at home.

In some ways, we are at a crossroads. As CJ grows, the size of our one bedroom apartment seems to dwindle daily, and the looming question of where to live next tosses out more questions – do we buy a house? can we buy one in the NYC area? and if we leave, what does that entail?

But every day you face decisions that could impact your life and your family’s life. The worst thing in life is to avoid making these decisions, to become too timid to chart your path and be content with letting the wind blow you where it will.

One of the many things I admire about Mike is that he always dreamed big, and always tried to follow through on his dreams. Even after being laid low by the peritonitis whose complications eventually killed him, he continued pushing his dreams and secured his graduate degree. He had the audacity to look for a job even while trying to figure out how to get nourishment when his digestive system failed.

Can you imagine going on a job interview when you have no idea when you will be able to eat solid food again?

I need to start living like that. The stakes for me, with a little daughter, are certainly high. But to not live life to its fullest, to not chase your potential come what may, is to not live. I think that is one of the most important lessons I have learned from my brother.

I only wish that the lesson hadn’t come at such a high price.

-- Dan

(photos from yesterday, and the weekend, to come eventually)

Steam Eat!

2007-10-22T21:20:00.000-04:00

Our friend Sanj just opened a cafe bistro in New Rochelle called Steam Eat. The food is quite yummy!

Here's the Mayor of New Rochelle, Sanj, and his Dad at the grand opening ribbon cutting this past Thursday.

And here's CJ looking for more desserts!

Steam Eat
179 Main Street,
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Phone: 914-355-2063
http://foodpage.us/cafebistrorestaurantPeetscoffeeteabakery

At play and on tour

2007-10-19T22:41:00.001-04:00

A week ago, we visited with Stefanie and Karen and their families. Stefanie and Karen worked with Dan at the American Cancer Society (and are still with ACS).

The kids all got along quite well.

After brunch at Stefanie's, we went to a nearby park and zoo in Teaneck, NJ. CJ had a good time scouting out the new playground.

And all four kids got in some good Halloween practice.

Last Tuesday, Meg and Aunt Annie took CJ to places they associate with their grandmother Naomi. Here they are at the Landmark Inn in Warwick, New York. CJ was puzzled by the old doors that had been used to create a patchwork ceiling in the main dining room. As Meg and Aunt Annie reminisced, CJ spent most of the meal looking up!

We then proceeded to the hamlet of Cragsmoor, an artists' colony begun in the 19th century, to go to the 1830s mountaintop farmhouse where Naomi lived in the summer. The outhouse was gone, as was the well and flagpole, and everything looked a wee bit smaller than we remembered, but seeing the house brought back many happy memories.

Here is Aunt Annie on the porch giving some pointers to CJ on how to rock.

Unfortunately, the dozen "No Tresspassing" signs prohibited us from visiting Chetolah, the summer estate just down the road from Naomi's that was built by artist George Inness Jr. and was the focal point of the artists' colony at the turn of the 20th century. As children, we loved to play at the mansion and surrounding grounds. Especially in its dilapidated state, it was fun to explore and imagine what living there must have been like. However, we were able to visit the local library and look at photographs and other documents of the mansion in its heyday. It was indeed a magical place.

Reading with Nai Nai

2007-10-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

There are plenty of photos to post from an outing Meg and CJ had with Aunt Annie on Tuesday, and a family visit that we had with two friends and their kids. But I couldn't resist posting this photo of my Mom and CJ last night.

Hopefully, we'll get the other photos up shortly.

At Katarina's birthday party

2007-10-14T09:19:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, we took CJ to a birthday party for Katarina, a 3-year-old adopted from Hunan Province in China. The party was held at a "gym" in Northern Westchester that was not quite like other gyms we've been to. Workout equipment, for example, was rather hard to find...

But I think CJ had a good time.

A trip to Woodstock, and a few other photos

2007-10-09T21:55:00.000-04:00

Before we get to the current events, we came across the following photo that somehow didn't make it on the blog yet. Here's CJ back in August, showing her cousin Grace the proper pinwheel technique:

More recently, we visited Dan's sister and kids this past weekend. On a walk alongside the Ashokan Reservoir, CJ, Cousin Alyssa, and Nai Nai (Dan's mom) stopped to smell the flowers.

Here's the family photo:

On the way home, we took Ye Ye (Dan's dad) to Kaaterskill Falls. The half-mile hike through pretty woods presented a few good photo ops.

The falls themselves were running fairly low, but were still pretty spectacular.

Here's Meg, CJ, and Ye Ye on the walk back to the car.

When we returned home, we gave CJ some dark chocolate as a reward for behaving so well over the weekend. But in a crazy girly-girl fit, she used the chocolate as lipstick...

She does have her own inimitable style!

CJ celebrating Autumn

2007-10-02T20:09:00.000-04:00

CJ can cut a mean rug:

This past weekend, we went to the Hammond Museum in northern Westchester to celebrate the Autumn Moon festival. We helped CJ paint a paper lantern.

The families paraded the decorated lanterns to a lily pond.

Candles were placed in oversize grapefruits that had been scooped out and scored. These votives represented lotus flowers and were launched into the pond to summon the spirits of our ancestors.

On Sunday, we met up with three of the families in our adoption travel group for dim sum. Here are all four girls in attendance (from left: Olivia, Gabriella, CJ, and Erin):

Group shots of the girls can be a bit of a challenge. The paparazzi parents proved too much for Erin. After she bailed, the photo op quickly devolved.

But when we had the girls hold hands they looked ready to take on the world!

Or at least, have fun at the nearby playground. Woo hoo Gabriella!

In the never-ending quest to get a decent group shot, we tried putting the girls on the playset. James, Erin's brother, sits in for Olivia.

But before Olivia could enter the fray, Erin took a tumble. Through it all, James waited patiently with Gabriella and CJ.

The second group shot proved as elusive as the first. At least the peanut gallery of local kids had fun watching the spectacle.

More from the Portland vacation

2007-09-19T21:44:00.000-04:00

Sorry this has taken so long to post, but I finally downloaded and sorted through the Portland photos from Meg's camera. And there's some really good stuff.

First, a video of our walk in Portland's Forest Park with Stefee and Fergus. CJ was a little skittish around Fergus, although by the trip's end she really did like the dog...

When we were camping, CJ, Meg and I went for a nice walk through the woods. This little clip is especially popular for its soundtrack:

Back in Portland, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is a great place to visit with your family. They have the cutest little chipmunk costumes (next to the sandbox, of course).

And finally, on one of our last nights in Portland, we went out to eat "huo guo" or hot pot. CJ was especially fond of the noodles!

Lower Manhattan, Maryland, Richmond, she's everywhere!

2007-09-17T22:29:00.001-04:00

Ok, so we're having some problems keeping up with the blog postings. My apologies for getting behind (again).

Here we have CJ and Grace, who get along quite well:

Last week, CJ and Meg visited cousin Chrissy down by the South Street Seaport. Here's CJ at her charming best:

And here's CJ, Meg, and a fairly stiff breeze:

This past weekend, we visited Uncle Jack, who lives near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

There was a wonderful boardwalk that CJ enjoyed:

We then stayed with Art, who's known Meg and her brother Frank since childhood. Art is pretty tall:

CJ was impressed, of course.

On Sunday, we went to Richmond for the wedding of Meg's high school friend Rebecca. CJ and I chose to go incognito:

We had a great time at the wedding. After all the funerals and memorial services of the past year, it was great to attend a real happy occasion. Much fun was had by all.

-- Dan

Portland vacation

2007-09-06T22:38:00.001-04:00

We spent ten relatively fun days in Portland, Oregon, to close out the summer. I say relatively because during this time about half of CJ's teeth came in. That part was the only not-so-much-fun part. But we had a great time hanging out with our friends Stefee and Mike, and their parents.

In fact, Bob, Stefee's Dad, took us camping -- CJ's first camping trip. And this was no casual jaunt. Bob knows how to camp in style.

Mom and CJ quickly adapted to this new way of roughing it. Here they are lining up for breakfast:

The site, a secret location in the Mt. Hood National Forest, was beautiful. Here's CJ trying to adjust one of her new teeth:

And here I am with CJ, hiking along an old logging road:

CJ had a lot of fun with Stefee and Mike's pets. They have a big German Shepherd that CJ liked but had a hard time getting up the nerve to pet. She mastered the cats in no time, though. Here she is showing Tigger the door:

We also checked out the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Here's Meg and CJ test driving a replica of the Gemini spacecraft that launched the day Meg was born:

And here's CJ holding court in the museum's sandbox:

No, we don't know why the museum had a sandbox.

On our last day, we went for a great hike to a cliff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge:

There's a few more photos and some videos from our trip that need to be pulled off of Meg's camera, and I'll try to post them at some point this weekend.

It's too bad the summer ended. With CJ, the season just sped past us!

Frisbees, cookies, and the beach

2007-08-21T15:19:00.000-04:00

CJ watched her first ultimate frisbee games this past weekend. She didn't quite get the whole spectator sport scene, to be honest, but she did seem amenable to frisbees in general:

She also liked jumping into the huddle:

But when it came time to actually watching, well, let's just say she spent most of the time searching unsuccessfully for me. And it's not like I was moving that fast either.

- - -

Monday night, she had her first chocolate chip cookie--straight out of the oven!

At first the cookie was too hot:

But unbelievably, she just didn't like it!

- - -

Last week, Meg and CJ went to the beach house in Massachusetts that Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan share with her family. Here's Uncle Frank and CJ with pinwheels:

Overall, the beach scene worked for her.

And she enjoyed playing the piano with cousin Grace.

- - -

After the beach house we all met up at our friends Chuck and Liz's summer pad in Newport, RI. We didn't really stray too far from the pool. The poolside scene was pretty chipper, all things considered:

More with that coffee table

2007-08-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

We got home kind of late last night, stuck in traffic after a weekend in Newport, Rhode Island. Meg was pretty beat, and I worked from home. At about 2:45pm, I sent Meg back to bed to get some rest. At about 2:47, CJ went berserk, cleared off the magazines from the coffee table, grabbed a noisemaker, and started dancing.

If I didn't grab my camera no one would have ever believed...

Tupperware party, and one more mountain stream

2007-08-05T22:02:00.001-04:00

Making dinner this evening was a bit labor intensive and distracting; while I knew CJ was buzzing around and staying out of trouble I wasn't quite sure what she was up to. Meg, however, was able to catch CJ in action:

We also made it back up to the Catskills, and had fun splashing around and staying cool:

Enjoy!

Another Catskills trip, more photos..

2007-07-27T09:23:00.000-04:00

We went up to visit Aunt Lisa, Uncle Mark, Sara and Alyssa last weekend, and had a fun little hike up in the Catskills.

Here's Aunt Lisa helping CJ on the trail:

Here's CJ and Alyssa hanging out on a neat rock:

And here's the group shot. I managed to get everyone looking at the camera except Bogart (my parents' yellow lab).

One last pic, from earlier in the month -- CJ still has that shoe fetish:

Cooling off

2007-07-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday we went up to the Catskills to visit my sister and her daughter, and also swim in a cool mountain stream. It was a completely successful outing.

I'll post the group shot tonight, hopefully.

Reunion get-together

2007-07-04T11:47:00.000-04:00

A week and a half ago, we got together with four of the five families with whom we travelled. The other family had cold/flu issues; the odds of six girls being healthy enough to get together at one point are pretty slim. Factor in the complexities of family schedules and it's a miracle that we had such a great turnout!

We put the five girls on the couch for a group photo. This was the best one from my biased opinion (i.e., CJ was looking at my camera):

Keeping the five of them on that couch, of course, wasn't exactly an easy task...

Hopefully, I'll have some more photos to post at some point soon. I'm only one and a half weeks behind now...

Another photo tour

2007-06-26T22:48:00.000-04:00

A fun time was had this past weekend, with CJ's cousins having a joint half-birthday party and then a reunion of the group we traveled with in China.

But first I need to catch up on a few older photos. Here's CJ on Memorial Day Weekend, trying to keep cool. I'm too busy with the camera to point out she needs ice in that cooler for it to work:

Here's CJ back in Aunt Susan and Uncle Frank's pool, test-driving a hot new water toy:

For Father's Day we had Nai Nai (Grandma) and Ye Ye (Grandpa) over for brunch. CJ decided to have a conference call:

And lastly, here's CJ at the half-birthday, all sippy-cupped and ready to party:

I'll have the travel group photos up shortly. Please enjoy these in the interim.

-- Dan

Photo Tour

2007-06-14T14:28:00.000-04:00

I'm finally getting around to posting some photos in my "new" office (my company while I was on leave in April) and I thought I should post some of the photos that I will be hanging on my walls. There's no self-copyright infringement as far as I can tell.

This first photo is of Shangrao, the city where CJ was born. This is the Rao River, which flows through Shangrao. And yes, the air pollution is that bad (in fact it's worse--I photoshopped this image).

Next we have a nice reflection of new leaves on Van Cortlandt Lake, in the Bronx. Much prettier. CJ was with me when I took this photo in April (and how dare I not include her in the shot somehow!).

When we were in Utah, we caught the sunrise at Bryce National park. Highly recommended. The morning light hitting the hoodoos is not to be missed.

We visited a few slot canyons in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Here, Meg and CJ are playing peekaboo in Spooky Gulch (we checked out Peekaboo Gulch as well).

Also in the Grand Staircase, we saw a neat rainbow-halo surrounding the sun, through Grosvenor Arch. The picture says it all.

On the way home from Utah, we stopped in Milwaukee for a great visit with Aunt Sara and her parents. CJ always gets so inspired to walk around her...

-- Dan

More photos from vacation

2007-06-11T17:24:00.000-04:00

Here's a few shots of us in Bryce National Park, and one of CJ after a day of hiking and playing in Zion National Park.

I'll post a few more soon--I'm halfway done sorting through our photos!

-- Dan

CJ's first time in the pool!

2007-06-07T22:31:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day, CJ took her first swim in Aunt Susan and Uncle Frank's swimming pool. She had a pretty good time, and apparently doesn't mind when the water is, um, refreshing...

(the videos might take a little extra time to load; please be patient)

Two more photos from vacation

2007-05-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

It's a little difficult finding time to catch up. The photos that I post this week may not exactly be current or in chronological order, but they will feature Miss CJ.

The two photos above were taken at Bryce National Park; the one in the previous post was taken in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

-- Dan

Communing with sandstone

2007-05-14T00:10:00.000-04:00

We're out and about in Southern Utah this week, taking in a little bit of R&R along with the many different shades of sandstone.

CJ is enjoying herself, and although you can't tell from this shot, she seems to like the forests much better than the desert.

-- Dan

Going for a hike; getting back to normal

2007-05-03T23:04:00.000-04:00

CJ took me for a hike last Sunday on what was supposed to be a sunny day. She provided more than enough sunshine, however.

It's nice to have such a beautiful daughter.

-- Dan

Thank you

2007-04-15T18:45:00.000-04:00

Without a doubt, I am so grateful for all the thoughts and prayers from the past week--so grateful, in fact, that I posed my daughter for another photo. Yes, it's a posed shot. Hard to believe, I know.

Seriously though, without everyone calling, emailing, writing, et. al., I don't know where I would be. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends and family to show me there's more to life than crappy diapers.

Thank you.

-- Dan

Saddest News from Wisconsin

2007-04-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

My brother Mike passed away last night, after an incredibly arduous journey through kidney failure, two failed transplants, and subsequent internal infections and complications. His drive and determination through so many physical and emotional insults inspire us all.

Through it all, his wife Sara has been loving, steadfast, and devoted. The bright spot of the day yesterday had to have been when CJ took her first unsupported steps towards Aunt Sara while we were trying to comfort her. But that's CJ for you. I think CJ has a keen emotional intelligence that senses when it's her responsibility to entertain a bunch of completely dejected family members.

Arrangements will be determined later today, probably taking the form of something in Milwaukee and New York City. I will post them here when finalized.

-- Dan

CJ on the phone, and at play

2007-04-01T11:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, CJ was "evaluated." We took her to our adoption agency, where the conference room was decked out with toys galore. She met up with her buddy Gabriella, and the girls had a fun time with all the toys while occupational therapists assessed where they were developmentally.

The girls managed to have a good time I think.

On Friday, Meg bought CJ her first kitchen set: pots, pans, a colander, even a potato masher. CJ loves the set. Only catch is, right now she thinks everything--even the mixing spoon--is a phone:

I think the specialists would call this behavior "early-onset teenager."

-- Dan