Last day in Virginia

Just a quick final note from northern Virginia. After 15 weeks, I graduated from the Army's Command and General Staff College this morning. Not sure I'd want to live here full time but being in the DC area was a great opportunity. And of course it was nice to have Shelly, Anderson and Daphne here with me until a couple of weeks ago.

Not that the boy will remember being at all the sights in DC but will be neat to show him all the pictures one day.We've certainly mastered the art of maneuvering a stroller on and off the metro and traversing all over DC. And if you plan to visit DC, I think we could recommend some great itineraries.

I fly back to KC tonight, will spend the weekend there, then head to Fort Riley on Monday. Then back in KC Thursday evening for the weekend. We'll move a few things to our house in Manhattan at some point in the next couple of weeks.

Talk to ya from the Midwest!

Mike
Springfield, VA

The Miracle Baby

First of all, let me mention how excited I am knowing I will see these guys on Friday evening at our house in Kansas City.I haven't seen the family in over a week and the days are certainly longer without them here.

So pardon my sensitivity today but since I haven't seen my son in over a week I decided to go back and look at some of the early pictures of him including his birth. I just can't believe how much he's changed.

Several of you have probably heard the "Miracle Baby" story. I'm not sure I ever blogged about it last year but the people who have seen the picture are usually pretty amazed.

**Let me warn you that the picture below is a little graphic**



I took this picture as Anderson was being born.

That is a true knot in his umbilical cord. Only 1% of all babies are born with a true knot. And of that 1% a percentage do not survive because nutrients and oxygen may not be getting to the baby. In addition, the cord was completely wrapped around his neck at least once.

Just to the right of the knot is his right food and you can also see his little hand grabbing the nurse's hand as if to pull himself out.

Shelly tells this story far better than me but I'll give it an attempt to summarize.

A few minutes after Anderson was born by C-section the nurse whispered to Shelly that she had a "miracle baby" and that he would do something very special someday. She then told Shelly about the cord. We didn't realize that picture captured it until possibly a couple of days later when we were reviewing the pictures on the computer. We have no idea how long the knot had been like that or how long the cord had been wrapped around his neck. But I get chills every time I look at that picture and thank God for bringing him to us safe and sound...and screaming his head off.So anyway, there's my retro sentimental post for the week.

See ya soon little buddy.
Mike
Springfield, VA

Slim pickin's

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

The other 9%

As I peer back through some of the pictures I posted here I noticed something. Little Anderson seems to be smiling in almost all of the pictures. And he is happy about 91% of the time. But just to prove he isn't some freak of nature kid who never throws a fit, I thought I should post a little proof...the other 9% of the time.These were taken a couple of weeks ago. I can't remember the occasion for the fit or the cause of the cry. But he certainly wasn't too happy here.

Those of you who have held him know he is very strong. He uses that to his advantage here as he arches his back, making it difficult to hold onto him.Our friend Matt Hooker found out how tough it is to maneuver him recently. Matt was trying to put Anderson in his car seat so we could head out to dinner. Anderson did the ole arch the back trick and also bowed out his elbows. He said it was like laying a board in the car seat.

But his fits don't last long and generally happen when he hasn't rested much or is out of his element. This picture was taken after he realized I am actually stronger than him at least for the next 15 years or so. Okay, maybe 12. Guess he figured his 2 minute tantrum was enough.That is a typical look for him following a tantrum. Flashing those baby blues makes us forget it even happened. Nice strategy on his part.

Shelly said he threw a little fit last night at her parents house. But he had traveled 300 miles from KC to Wakeeney and had been in and out of the car all day while Shelly stopped at 11 different houses in Manhattan. I think the boy was exhausted.

Mike
Springfield, VA

No longer homeless in Manhattan

Wow, amazing how so many things can happen in just a few days. I'll try to provide a brief recap.

Last Thursday we began our drive back to Kansas City. Stayed one night just outside Columbus, Ohio and one night in St. Louis. Arrived back in Kansas City around noon on Saturday. Total miles driven: 1,120! Anderson did very well. One of us sat in the back with him during the entire trip in case he got bored or restless. The trip was long but uneventful. It was nice to be back home.

These pictures were taken after church at our house in Kansas City.In true Essary tradition, the boy stuck out his tongue for the picture. Sure makes me proud.I flew back into Baltimore on Sunday evening and took the Amtrak down to DC then the subway to Springfield followed by a taxi to the hotel. Couldn't quite find a way to travel by boat that day but had pretty much everything else covered.

Today, Shelly traveled to Manhattan, KS to look at some houses. The organized girl she is, she had all the houses, condos, and duplexes printed out with detailed directions for each and appointment times coordinated. She called me sounding a little discouraged just before she looked at the last house. But the final house had everything we wanted! Here it is.The house is in great condition with new carpet, paint, and appliances. It's in a very nice area of Manhattan on the northwest side, not far from Kansas State and about 17 miles to Fort Riley. Shelly really fell in love with the fenced yard (as will Daphne) and how quiet and private the house is. So that will be our home at least until the end of the year. We'll maintain our house in Kansas City while it's on the market and will stay there on some weekends.

Shelly is now driving to her parents house a couple of hours west of Manhattan. They haven't seen Anderson since February so I know they are excited to spend a few days with him. I'll fly back to KC a week from Friday and will be looking for a big hug from this little boy.We plan to move a few things to Manhattan sometime the first week of May.

So let the transition begin!

Mike
Springfield, VA

Shelly and Anderson's last DC weekend

Last weekend was a very busy one, the last weekend in DC for Shelly and Anderson as we will drive back to KC on Thursday. I'll fly back to DC on Sunday to finish up my final two weeks of school while Shelly does some house hunting in the Manhattan, KS area.

Fortunately, it was a very nice warm weekend in DC so we tried to make the most of it. We attended a Washington Nationals baseball game, went to the National Zoo, walked around Union Station and Chinatown, and even made time to watch three movies (Seven Pounds, Marley and Me, and Quarantine). We had planned to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival but there were just too many people in that area. So we plan to go there tomorrow. Here's a picture recap.

This is us before heading to the Baltimore Orioles vs. Washington Nationals game on Saturday. We attended with Jayna and Matt. Jayna is friends with one of the catchers for the Orioles so he provided tickets for us.
At the game with Matt and Jayna.Jayna is such a natural mommy during his third inning snooze. We'll miss seeing you guys!Lots of fun and a great game. Washington won 6-5.Sunday after church, we met up with our friends David and Jeanne and kids Jeremy and Ethan, who all drove up from Richmond for a day at the zoo. It ended up pretty much being a day on the metro as we had a disastrous time getting down to the zoo. Between the festival and the crowd going to the hockey game the metro was jammed packed.

The short story is we spent about 90 minutes on the metro face to face with people. Oh, and we had two strollers between us so that made it even more interesting. Some mishaps included Shelly and Jeremy making it off the train while the rest of us were stuck on with no room to exit. And since Shelly's cell phone was with me in the stroller I had no way of reaching her once we got to the next stop. But Shelly, being the problem solver that she is, borrowed a phone so we could finally reconnect a few blocks down the street.

The zoo was pretty desolate. I guess we were there at the wrong time of day because pretty much the only animals we saw were an ape, an elephant, and some goats. The tigers, lions, bears, and pandas were no where in sight. Oh well, it was a nice day and we were able to visit and also laugh about our misadventures.

Here we are outside the petting zoo.Anderson enjoyed seeing the little goats.After a little while, a snow cone break was in order.Here's Ethan enjoying his. He dropped his on the ground a couple of times. But quick thinking by his dad and a little lemonade to wash the dirt off made it as good as new.We'll miss being so close to our friends, the Walkers.Goodnight for now. I'll leave with this picture. Looks like Daphne just whispered a funny joke to Anderson. Must have been a good one.
Mike
Springfield, VA

Little Buddies

Anderson is starting to get to the age where he likes interaction with people (or animals) his own age and size. For the past few months since we've been here in the hotel it's pretty much been Daphne and occasionally Ethan, son of our friends David and Jeanne in Richmond.. The above picture was taken in our room as he watched Baby Einstein while Daphne kept out any distractions.

These were taken in his room as they both napped together.And you'll notice from this picture that Daphne is typically within about 3 feet of where Anderson is.
He enjoyed hanging out with Ethan last weekend in Richmond. Ethan is a year older than Anderson so we're borrowing several of his toys and things while we're here in Virginia.Ethan and his family are also coming up Sunday afternoon so we can all go to National Zoo in DC!

This was also taken in Richmond and is a sight we see many times. As soon as a sporting event or ESPN Sportscenter comes on the boy is quiet and focused on the television. Sure makes me proud. Could have gone the Miley Cyrus or Strawberry Shortcake route but he chose correctly.Enjoy your weekend! We're heading to the Holocaust Museum tomorrow following by a visit to the Cherry Blossom Festival then off to a baseball game tomorrow night between the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals.
Mike
Springfield, VA