mmmburp

best youtube video i've ever seen

2010-08-12T07:38:00.002-04:00

this is easily the best you tube video I've ever seen and the reason you should have respect for every soldier you meet. i could never leave my family for a year or more at a time and go to some God forsaken country to liberate them or free them or anything else them. I'm thankful that while i was in the national guard i never had to go anywhere. these guys are real soldiers and real heroes. seeing those little kids cry and hug their daddies like they would never let go of them again is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen and also one of the most sad. those guys shouldn't have to do what they've been doing anyways. Thank God for every American soldier that volunteers to make these huge sacrifices. I pray that all these guys come home safe tonight.

I Am Lucky

2010-07-11T12:33:00.006-04:00

When I was a child I experienced the love of my parent(s) and family, I took this love for granted as a youngster and never really thought about it at all. When I got a little older, I was lucky, and met a very special person, Melissa, and fell in love. I gained a new appreciation for what love is. I learned that love is powerful and life changing. I learned that I would do many things for love because I had appreciation for it and no longer took it for granted, I wanted to keep it.

A short time later, I was lucky again, we were blessed with a child and I found a new level of love. I honestly never knew my heart was capable of the depth of love I felt, and continue to feel, for my son Grady. Before he was born people warned me that loving a child is different than any emotion I had ever experienced. I paid little attentions to these statements and was completely caught off guard by the immediate and powerful love I had for him. I truly had never felt that way about anyone in my life. I am convinced that the love a parent has for his or her child is the strongest emotion we will ever know. Along with this new love for Grady the love and appreciation I have for my wife was also deepened by the birth of our son. Having Grady was the greatest accomplishment of our lives and the most meaningful experience we had ever shared together.

Now, I am lucky again. We have been blessed with another beautiful son, Harry David. While Melissa was pregnant with little Harry we experienced several common pregnancy emotions together; joy, anticipation, nervousness, etc but I felt a little guilt inside as well. I knew how much I loved Grady and questioned if I could love a second child as much. I was worried that I would have a favorite son. (I knew that a parent having a favorite son is possible from my experience with 3 older brothers. I am obviously the favorite son of my parents) I was truly worried. I had never experienced anything like my love for Grady before, could I possibly experience the same immediate, intense feelings twice in my life? The obvious answer to this is, of course, yes. The moment Harry was born I felt just like I did when Grady was born all over again.

Before Grady was born I was told I would be surprised how much my heart could love. Then, before Harry was born I was told not to worry because my heart would double in size if it had to in order to love that much again. I think my heart may have done that. I love my wife and both of my boys so much I could never describe it with words. I can't understand how some parents can choose drugs, alcohol or anything else over their own children or, equally as bad, do anything to physically harm their own children. I pray that nothing bad ever happens to any of my family and may God have mercy on anyone that hurts any of them because I surely will not. God has truly given us a great power to love one another and I hope everyone gets to experience it on the levels I have with my own family.

truth is

2010-03-03T22:33:00.001-05:00

if you think you have a friend that can "fart on command" the truth is that person just farts a lot and sometimes it works out that its "on command"

my boy,

2010-02-15T23:32:00.002-05:00

tonight i was rocking Grady before putting him in his crib for bed. he was looking around and rubbing his little eyes and grabbing my fingers and stuff. pretty much a normal nightly routine for us. this is one of my favorite times of day with Grady, just about 5 minutes of quiet time alone with him in my lap. its so peaceful. tonight i was thinking about what a total miracle he is and a real blessing from God. i am so thankful for my son and even more thankful that he is so healthy and happy all the time. i'm just amazed that he's 17 months old and has just been a perfect boy health wise. i don't know what made me think of it really just being thinking i guess.

what its all about

2010-01-01T12:56:00.001-05:00

photo credit to Mom, probably the best picture she ever took.

Merry Christmas

2009-11-21T23:44:00.001-05:00

paste this link into your address bar!

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/NR2RxswVRwHO9ATgLMNn

even more hilarious

2009-11-15T01:18:00.001-05:00

hilarious

2009-11-13T00:42:00.001-05:00

ha ha halloween

2009-10-27T22:27:00.002-04:00

the ride home from halloween store

2009-09-30T15:44:00.002-04:00

more halloween store

2009-09-30T15:42:00.001-04:00

sleepy

2009-09-30T15:04:00.000-04:00

halloween stores wit mommy and daddy are too much fun for the little one!

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halloween store

2009-09-30T15:03:00.002-04:00

halloween store

2009-09-30T15:02:00.000-04:00

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dr appt

2009-09-15T00:07:00.002-04:00

Grady had 4 shots at the doctor today and he is 23 3/4 lbs and 32 inches. he's skinny and tall, still off of the chart for height in his age. poor little guy cried a lot today though. he got 2 shots in each arm. that's the first time he got them in the arm all his other shots were in the leg. he had a fun rest of the day though with mommy and daddy!

Happy first birthday Grady

2009-09-11T23:40:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was Grady's first birthday, sunday was his birthday party but yesterday was his actual birthday. It has been the fastest year of my life by far! Grady has certainly changed my life in many ways and all of them have been better. Tonight Melissa was tickling Grady and i could not stop smiling and laughing. the only thing better than hearing Grady laugh is hearing him and his Mommy laugh together! i have been blessed with many things in my life but my family is definitely the biggest blessing.

Like i said, Grady is one year old and i can't believe how much he has grown and how much he has changed in one year. When Grady was born i had virtually no idea what to do with him, my experience with dogs told me that, for the most part, he would survive one way or another. Grady did require more attention than a puppy and i guess because he was my own son i was more comfortable with him than any other baby. Babies had always made me nervous but since Grady was my son i never felt nervous with him, on the contrary, i was actually extremely calm with my boy. i never thought that i would enjoy fatherhood so much but i have never enjoyed anything more in my life. i think its something that i am honestly good at.

Grady gives me more pride in my life than anything else. My big boy is walking now and he can say a few different words and raises both hands to signify "all gone" and everything he does and every minute we have together makes me happy. he is growing up so freaking fast i can't believe it. i look forward to him growing more and more and cherish all the time that we have together. i am so thankful that at this time he is able to stay home with his mommy and i can spend my days off with him on days she has to work and even though i have to work four long days each week the whole family gets to be together one full day every week. we might not be the richest people we know as far a s bank account but we make up for it in quality time. i know i can sacrifice and his mommy can sacrifice to make our current situation last as long as possible. we think its worth it for mommy to be home with Grady while daddy works and daddy to be home when mommy works.

thank you to everyone who attended Grady's birthday party in person and thank you to everyone who wishes they were there but couldn't attend in person. it warms my heart to know that so many people love Grady so much! i know that i never knew i could love someone so much until Grady was born. GRADY YOU HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE SO MUCH AND FOR THE BETTER IN EVERY WAY. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND CAN'T IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT YOU. MY FAMILY IS MY LIFE. I HAVE NEVER KNOWN SO MUCH LOVE!

SO PROUD

2009-09-06T23:33:00.003-04:00

i have gotten straight A's in school, I have gotten promotions at work, i have graduated boot camp from Fort knox Kentucky but i have never been so proud...

Grady

2009-09-02T02:10:00.001-04:00

i love this boy!

RIP JP

2009-09-02T01:52:00.003-04:00

someone i know and worked with passed away unexpectedly today. he was a very good person and one of the nicest, funniest, most enjoyable people i have ever had the pleasure of working with. he taught me a lot about my current job and i'm not ashamed to say i try to emulate his style at work. he was succesful without screwing over other coworkers to reach his own goals.

this is a shocking loss and makes me reflect on how lucky i am to have what i have. ,my friend leaves behind 2 young daughters (one a few months younger than Grady) and a wife. i can not imagine what life would be like for the people in my family if i was suddenly taken from them or if one of them was suddenly taken from me. my thoughts and prayers are with the entire family at this time.

life is never perfect but it is always precious. today has reminded me of this and reminded me to not take a single day for granted. i have always placed a high value on family and the small things in life but something like this makes me realize even more how important normal everyday things can be. to anyone who reads this make it a point to appreciate every day you have with family. don't sweat the small stuff. work is work and when your done with work live your life to the fullest. i don't love my job but it lets me provide for my family, the family i love more than anything. if things are not going your way then keep a positive attitude and know that things will get better.

rest in peace JP. thank you for being my friend. i'll see you again when the time comes.

water works

2009-08-17T15:59:00.001-04:00

Harry

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2009-07-12T09:23:00.001-04:00

becoming more and more mobile! video courtesy of mommy.

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Give Grady a 10!

2009-07-06T20:39:00.002-04:00

http://beautifulbabies.trb.com/wjw/babies_home_gallery,0,5306465,permalink.ugcphotogallery?u=thecatalinawinemixer

This site is up and running again so go ahead and vote fr Grady if you want to!

2009-07-02T13:08:00.002-04:00

water works and nap time

1st father's day

2009-06-22T00:03:00.002-04:00

Today was easily one of the best days of my life. We had Grady baptized and the mass service before the baptism was awesome. Sometimes at church i feel like the preacher is speaking directly to me. I mean its like i heard exactly what i needed to hear. The readings and homily were just so much more than i expected today. to be honest i was just focused on getting Grady baptized that the timeliness and message of the scriptures and homily caught me off guard and were a huge bonus for me.

Grady's baptism went really great also. I'm so happy that he is finally baptised! i only blame myself for it being more than 9 months after he is born but, better late than never, as the saying goes. I would like to thank everyone who attended the baptism since it was pretty short notice. if you didn't attend don't feel bad and i apologize that we didn't invite more people to share the special day with us. i was so filled with the spirit today during the mass and baptism i felt like i could do anything. it certainly was a great feeling. i think it has something to do with being happy for myself but being way more happy for Grady too.

After the ceremony we had family back to the house for a little cookout and everyone ate and had a good time and enjoyed the beautiful weather today and the great company of family. i know this is only my 1st father's day but i think this will be a hard one to ever top!

also, Grady started crawling today. he has been working on it for a few weeks but up until today had only been successful at pushing himself backwards and turning himself in circles. today, however he just started crawling ;ile a little pro. there is a possibility he only did it since there was a big crowd of people standing around watching him. seems to be a bit of a showman! at any rate, he crawled a foot or two and he did it a couple times. it was very exciting for all of us and we were so lucky that so many people got to see him crawl for the 1st time!

What a great day!

2009-06-21T00:03:00.001-04:00

classic

2009-06-11T23:44:00.000-04:00

9 months

2009-06-11T10:15:00.002-04:00

Grady had his 9 months doctor appointment today. He is 20lbs 13 ounces and just under 31 inches. he was given a clean bill of health but the doctor did say he was a little slug since he doesn't crawl or pull himself up to a standing position. Guess we're gonna have to start so me physical training. ha ha. i actually am enjoying the last weeks of him not being mobile. i know once he gets moving he'll never stop! the doctor also pricked his little foot to draw blood to test for anemia and Grady didn't even notice. As a matter of fact he actually had to poke him twice since the 1st one didn't bleed enough and Grady didn't even look at him funny. i expected him to cry for that part. Next check up is at one year and they warned that he gets to have a lot of shots for his birthday!

Grady and Daddy

2009-05-31T22:49:00.003-04:00

semi crappy self portrait of Grady and i outside at the fire tonight. i think we have the same chin in this picture. ha ha

p.s. Grady wasnt out there very long and he was dressed warm

sunday 5/31/09

2009-05-31T22:45:00.002-04:00

today was a very average day at work followed by a night with family. the brief night with family was so much better that the day at work. i cherish my time with family so much. there seems to be a real shortage of time with loved ones.

sleepy time (right now)

2009-05-30T22:49:00.003-04:00

Mommy set Grady in the crib for a few minutes while she got her self ready for the day. After a few minutes Grady fell asleep, sitting up leaning against the crib padding. Needless to say Mommy had to lay him down and let him finish his nap before she could leave the house. too cute and too funny. Cant believe he fell asleep like that.

NOT learned from Daddy

2009-05-26T21:37:00.002-04:00

stream of thought

2009-05-23T00:04:00.002-04:00

on a day when things really aren't going my way i don't really know what to do with myself. on one hand i am very disappointed today. on the other hand, when i get low i unfailingly begin to look at the positive things in my life. i find myself looking at the many blessings that i have. i have always felt my positive mental attitude was one of my better qualities. does this make me an optimist or a settler? i'd like to think i'm an optimist (here i go again) but maybe i am a settler. there is a distinct possibility that i fall short of things because i allow myself to fall short. i am easily comforted by the things i have. i can't decide if i'm content and that makes me accept failure or i cope with failure by by being content. i know some people in life who think that 2nd place really is 1st loser and for whatever reason i have never held that mentality. i can accept someone else being better than me. does that make me weak? probably. should i feel guilty that i am content in my life?

i feel like the only motivation i have is my family. Everything i do is for them to have it better. a better tomorrow, a better week, a better year, any little thing i can do to make it better for them i will do. undoubtedly though if i fail to make things better i will fall back on counting the blessings. i feel like there must be some balance between being content with what you have and striving to be better. i think i am almost completely at the content end of the spectrum. i need more strive in my life. i don't really strive to do anything for myself, except my physical fitness i guess.

is it possible for me to look around and be thankful for what i have and strive for more at the same time? i've never done it in my life. i have never looked around and said "this is great but it could be better if..." maybe i would try harder if i found something i was good at? does it count as striving if i am already good at it, or is that just more of being content? i know i have to motivate myself someway because someone else telling me to do something generally has the opposite effect on me. this is quite a question to ask myself tonight. something needs to change because i want better for my family, i want them to be happy. i want to be a better husband and dad.

(why don't i think i should be the best husband and dad? i mean really? that's what comes to my mind. i want to be better. that's what i wrote and then i thought why don't i want to be the best? i don't think i can be the best so i won't even make that my goal. i've never been #1 at anything in my life so why would i expect to start being #1 at anything now. i really can't think of one thing i've ever won. i am a loser. how can i think my life is great and think i'm a loser in the same breath)

i am a strange person.

now, i don't want anyone to get the wrong impression and think that i am sitting around feeling sorry for myself tonight. that is certainly not the point. i don't feel sorry for myself one bit.(i'm an optimist after all, or a settler) i love my wife, my son and the rest of my family very much and that is what makes my life happy. not jobs or possessions or winning. if they are happy then i am happy.

p.s. my apologies if that makes no sense at all but it was written more for my benefit than anything else. after all, it is my blog.

God i love this guy

2009-05-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Mommy for getting the pictures. Mommy sure can make her baby boy smile, and his daddy!

God i love this guy

2009-05-23T00:01:00.000-04:00

God i love this guy

2009-05-22T23:57:00.000-04:00

you can see his little tooth a little bit

little pool, big boy

2009-05-21T19:30:00.002-04:00

Mommy got the big boy a little splash pool. looks like he loves it! Mommy takes such good care of her boy. that little pool is so tiny i don't even think it holds 5 galons of water. just big enough for him to cool off and splash around.

big boy

2009-05-14T22:10:00.002-04:00

Grady has a visible tooth and another one trying to come out right next to it. the one that is out is just barely through and you can see the white of it but not good enough for a picture yet. he also got himself from his belly up to his hands and knees today with no help. he was on his belly and his papaw bob showed him how to get up on his hands and knees and next thing you know, Grady just pushed himself up on his hands and knees. it was too cool.

2009-05-10T19:05:00.000-04:00

here i am grilling in the custom apron that Mom made for me years ago. i really use it all the time...

Mother's day at the natatorium with mommy and GML

2009-05-10T19:01:00.001-04:00

Mother's day at the natatorium with Mommy and GML

2009-05-10T19:00:00.002-04:00

then and now

2009-05-05T23:41:00.000-04:00

getting bigger and bigger but he still likes his swing sometimes. probably wearing out the motor on that swing with his big butt but who cares. he's also getting his first tooth on the bottom. you can't see it yet but Melissa can feel it. (with her finger if anyone was thinking something else)

peace dude

2009-04-24T22:30:00.002-04:00

more pics

2009-04-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

some Easter pics

2009-04-24T22:14:00.001-04:00

i make anything look good

2009-04-02T09:09:00.001-04:00

Grady's thoughts on the New York Yankees

2009-03-29T16:35:00.001-04:00

Grady with Great Grandma

2009-03-29T13:39:00.002-04:00

I love it when Grady gets to see his grandparents and great grandparents. i hope he gets to know all of them for a very long time. they all love Grady so much.

Grady meets his Grandpa Harold

2009-03-29T13:18:00.002-04:00

he liked his beard

What a difference 6 months makes!

2009-03-20T16:55:00.000-04:00

Happy 1st St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T19:07:00.003-04:00

pics

2009-03-15T00:07:00.000-04:00

just pics

2009-03-15T00:03:00.000-04:00

just pics

2009-03-14T23:58:00.000-04:00

just new pics

2009-03-14T23:52:00.000-04:00

six months

2009-03-10T22:25:00.003-04:00

Today Grady is six months old! Momma and Dadda are so proud of the little man and we love him more and more everyday. Grady has his check up with the doctor in a couple of days so we will be able to see how big he is and how much he weighs officially. He is doing new things all the time. His oldest trick is growing, he seems to still be bigger everyday when i get home from work than he was when i left in the morning. He will roll over every now and then but he doesn't really like to be put on his belly to play or practice rolling around. just as well if you ask me, he will be mobile and presenting all new types of challenges for momma and dadda soon enough. when we lie him on his back he likes to push himself forward with his legs and if we let him go he'd probably end up with a friction burn on the back of his head. i still think he will skip over crawling or only use it for a short time until he can walk. he really likes to spend time standing up either with one of us holding him up or in his jumparoo. he does sleep very well for us at night by now and has been for quite some time.

i don't know if this next story is going to be impressive to anyone else or not but i was impressed by this story and its my blog so i am going to write about it.

a couple of days ago i was putting batteries into a new flashlight i had bought and Grady was watching me. once the batteries were in, i clicked the button to make sure the light came on and as soon as i did; Grady looked up at the ceiling and spotted the little dot of light. i was so impressed and made the light go in circles and lines and shapes and he watched and watched and then as soon as i turned off the light he looked right back down at the flashlight. i know it may have been luck that he saw it on the ceiling at first but when i turned it off and he looked right back at the flashlight i could tell the little man knew exactly where that dot of light was coming from. we play with the flashlight from time to time still and click the light goes on and he looks right at the ceiling until he finds it and as soon as i click it off he looks right back down at the flashlight every time. like i said i don't know if this is normal for a six month old baby but i sure didn't expect that from him. i may be biased, but i think it means he has inherited my superior intellect. (there's the funny part) actually, i assume he will be more smarter than i ever was or ever will become.

in closing i say happy six months to Grady. Thank God for the single greatest blessing of our lives. Thank you to all of the family who has shown so much love to Grady.

P.S. a VERY VERY special one happy 1 month to baby Benjamin Joseph! we love you soooooooo much too!

i love hulu

2009-03-06T00:02:00.002-05:00

circa 1995

2009-03-05T22:56:00.003-05:00

here's a picture that Josh emailed me today. we are pretty sure it was the 1995 season. it's so strange to look at a picture like this one and feel like it happened last week and also feel like it was forever ago. we had so much fun going to indians games together back then. we had so few responsibilities i think i spent every dollar i had every time i went to one of those games. i would have to go the next week with no money for gas or anything but it was worth it. Josh just spent money up there like it was going out of style. he probably bought me as many beers as i ever bought for myself up there. thanks again brother. thanks again for getting the tickets. those games we would sit in the sun or under the lights and drink overpriced beer and cheer for the Indians like they were the only thing that mattered in our lives, what a simple and fun time. i would like to thank God that nothing bad ever happened due to a few of the more careless decisions we may have made back then. speaking of which, that box which appears to be a 12 pack of beer in Rod's hand is actually full of peanuts to sneak into the park. we would never think of breaking any laws by drinking and driving.

p.s. the can in Rod's other hand which appears to be a beer also is full of more peanuts. i challenge anyone to prove me wrong! don't ask me why we filled boxes and cans with peanuts. like i said we were careless.

the dogs

2009-03-01T16:29:00.002-05:00

Melissa and i have figured out that Grady knows which dog is which now. i am very impressed that he knows this at such a young age. Grady recognizes the white dog as Kosmo-no and the black dog as dammit-buddy. when Grady is a little older we will tell him that really their names are just kosmo and buddy, but for the time being its just fine.

Benjamin Joseph Arnold

2009-02-17T11:47:00.001-05:00

BJ

2009-02-13T11:22:00.005-05:00

more pictures to come!

who needs a binky?

2009-02-13T11:22:00.004-05:00

Welcome

2009-02-10T16:31:00.002-05:00

live from Akron General Hospital.

Baby Benjamin is officially here! 8lbs 8ounces and head covered in hair!

We love you baby BJ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(pictures to follow)

live blog!

2009-02-10T08:38:00.002-05:00

live from akron general medical center! Danielle is in labor and we are waiting for Grady's cousin, and sure to be best friend, Benjamin to be born. today is exactly 5 months after Grady was born. Grandpa Bob predicted today would be the day. its the most boring excitement you can have, sitting and waiting for the baby to be born!

boo

2009-02-05T16:05:00.003-05:00

i learned how to play this game from Mommy. this is as hard as I've ever made him laugh. momma can make him laugh harder. he was also laughing harder before i got the camera. i think he saw the camera coming a couple of times and was less surprised. still fun for daddy and Grady.

double yolk

2009-02-03T21:45:00.003-05:00

what happened to all of the eggs with 2 yolks in them? when i was a kid i used to get one every now and then, like making scrambled eggs or helping Mom bake a cake or something. grab an egg, crack, bam 2 yolks! i was hard boiling some eggs the other day and one of them looked abnormally long and i thought maybe it had two yolks in it, then i started thinking that its been forever since i saw an egg that had two yolks in it. "when i was your age, eggs had 2 yolks in them" ah, the good ole days. by the way, the long egg only had one yolk in it, so it was just an ordinary abnormally long egg, which is kinda gross. so in summary, 2 yolks=neat - abnormally long=kinda gross

2009-01-24T23:52:00.002-05:00

Melissa can get Grady to laugh so hard when she gets in and kisses him on his neck. i keep trying to get it on video but as soon as i grab the camera he gets bashful and doesn't laugh as hard. during this video though he made his little eyebrows go up and down and its very funny. neither of us noticed that he did it when it happened but it is noticeable on the video. it happens about 45 seconds into the video. too too funny.

cereal anyone?

2009-01-24T22:55:00.003-05:00

here is a short video of Grady eating solid food for the first time. its the baby cereal. we don't think he was a big fan of it at first. he didn't hate it though. now he eats it pretty regular but this video was his first try. can't wait to see him eating different fruits and veggies to see what he likes and doesn't like.

Grady gets in the jumparoo for the 1st time

2009-01-24T22:41:00.003-05:00

Grady seemed to have a good time in the jumparoo. he thinks its a walkaroo though. i still think he is going to skip crawling and go straight to walking. no matter what he does he sure doesn't look like a 4 month old baby sitting inside that thing. what a big boy.

P.S. pay no attention to Buddy eating his imaginary popsicle on the side of the video, he does that constantly.

smiley

2009-01-24T16:50:00.003-05:00

picture taken with my cell phone. in case you're wondering, i like having my fingers in the picture some times...

1 year ago

2009-01-14T00:08:00.002-05:00

Poppy was taken home to heaven one year ago today. we miss you Poppy but we know you are in a better place and watching over everyone of us. i will always remember sitting with you every holiday and listening to your stories. i always had a great respect for you and the life you lived. i still am amazed you built your house with your own two hands. we miss you Poppy and always will.

ten years ago...

2009-01-13T23:34:00.002-05:00

On /January 13Th 1999 Melissa and i met face to face for the first time!

i was living with my brother Josh in Kenmore and Melissa lived with her mom in Firestone park. one day, josh tells me he is going to buy a Webtv and I immediately tell him what a stupid idea it is, waste of money, useless etc. josh wisely purchases the webtv despite my advice. meanwhile Melissa has had a Webtv for about a year but didn't know she could use it to go to chat rooms. at about the same time i decided to give Josh's webtv a shot Melissa figured out how to get into chat rooms and we both happened our way into a chat room called "Ohio Flirts" i typed in a simple question "Who's in Akron?" Melissa answered "me."

Melissa and i met almost every night in the same chat room from mid November until this fateful day in 1999. it was a normal January day in Ohio. it was snowing inches by the hour and Melissa didn't have to work, and almost her entire family had stayed home due to the heavy snow. i worked at 4pm and Melissa and i were chatting before i had to go to work and she suggested that i could come to her house and meet her since she felt safe due to everyone in her house being home with her. i hopped into my little red ranger pick up truck and drove from Kenmore to Firestone park, normally a 10 minute drive, it took me about 40 minutes due to snow. when i found the address and knocked on the front door Melissa answered and changed my life forever. She couldn't have been more beautiful in any way. i couldn't take my eyes off of her. we were both so nervous all we did was sit on the couch and smoke cigarette after cigarette. it was quite a scene. me being nervous to meet her, sandy, billy, bobby and her 2 roommates all at the same time and her being nervous that i was a psycho killer from the internet.

it feels like it was ages ago that we met but i can still remember it like it happened yesterday. Melissa you are the love of my life and when i think i can't possibly love you any more than i already do i take one look at you and realize i have only begun to love you. Thank you for giving me a chance, thank you for putting up with me, thank you for being my wife, thank you for giving me a child that we both love more than anything, ever.

I LOVE YOU MORE NOW THAN EVER!

check up

2009-01-12T12:32:00.002-05:00

Grady had a check up today, and 2 shots. he is just over 16lbs and is 27 inches tall. that puts him off of the doctor's chart for babies his age. our suspicions are confirmed, he is one big baby. everything else is fine from the doctor's point of view. Grady cried longer when we lay him on the table to be looked at by the doctor than he did when the doctor gave him his shots. still not fun to see him crying. do those needles for his shots really have to be so long? i mean he gets the shots in his legs and those needles look long enough to poke him in the bone. at any rate, doctor visits are over for another 2 months...hey, maybe it will be warm by then!

1/3

2009-01-10T09:46:00.002-05:00

who is 4 months old today? GRADY IS! Happy 1/3 of a year old to our big boy! he got about 6 inches of snow so far to help celebrate. :(

for everyone's enjoyment

2008-12-28T21:34:00.003-05:00

Mom bought me this hat in the hopes that it will become a holiday tradition for Grady to look forward to, at least that's her story anyway. this has to be the most ridiculous hat of all time and everyone in the house laughed like crazy. Mom and Aunt Jane are laughing as loud as anyone you've ever heard. Siara did like it and kept asking for me to push the button again. i hope everyone enjoys the video. you can't tell from the video but it plays "have a holly jolly Christmas" and the bell on the end rings loud. i don't know very many people who would wear this hat as a joke, let alone post it on the internet, but if you can't laugh at yourself then who can you laugh at. i laugh at myself all the time. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Christmas get together at Grandma's

2008-12-28T21:17:00.003-05:00

can't believe how big all of these kids are getting. they all got nintendo DS for Christmas and it was the quietest Christmas ever.
Siara with her Elmo that uncle josh got for her. it was her obvious favorite. she kept hugging it over and over and over. i think Josh got her a present last year that she loved too. Uncle josh is a good gift giver.
Mom smiling as usual as she finally opens a gift for herself after passing out what seemed like hundreds of presents to the grandkids.
presents everywhere, all given with love.
Like winning the lottery when we get lucky enough to get a picture of Grady while he is actually smiling. he smiles a lot but with the digital camera its like i always have a picture of him .5 seconds after he stops smiling. at any rate, i really liked how this picture turned out. two people who's smile light up the room smiling with each other!

Life of the party. Zzzzzz

2008-12-26T21:49:00.002-05:00

thanks for coming to the party Andy! wouldn't have been the same without you!

Three months

2008-12-10T12:47:00.002-05:00

Baby Grady is three months old today. He is growing up so fast, feels like we just brought it him home from the hospital last week. This has been a week of change for our little man. Momma went back to work for the first time on Monday :( Grady misses his full time Mommy. Granny Sandy spent the day watching him on Monday and daddy has been home with him Tuesday and today. i think we are doing okay but i know he misses his Mommy being home with him. his mommy sure does miss being home with him too. just goes to show that the only constant is change.
we are still in awe of our little man. every time we turn around he is a little bit bigger. he is more and more aware of the things around him. he melts away any stress we may feel when he flashes his toothless smile. he smiles more and more all the time. he recognizes our voices and gets excited when we get home from work. today i had Melissa on speakerphone and Grady looked right at the phone when she talked to him. we are so thankful for our healthy little man. he is more loved everyday. we promise to never take a day with Grady for granted.

Baby got a brand new hat!

2008-12-03T14:52:00.003-05:00

Mommy got Grady some new duds, including a new hat. its a little bit big but he really likes it!

Hat, picture, and cute baby boy courtesy of Mommy

finally

2008-12-03T14:36:00.004-05:00

here is the 1st video i have successfully uploaded to the blog! nothing earth shattering and i hope the sound doesn't really come through because i sound like an idiot but that's okay. i am off work today and Melissa is shopping and I'm home with Grady and gave him a bottle and got him to go to sleep and had some time to mess with this thing. if you ever need to post a video to a blog just convert it to a lower quality WMV file then it will upload in a few minutes. if you already knew that, screw you. if you didn't already know that, i just saved about an hour of your life.

this is a video of Grady from a couple of days ago. we gave him a bath in the early part of the day instead of at night like we normally and it put him to sleep pretty quickly. his mommy also dressed him in a little man outfit including the first time he ever wore a pair of shoes. he looks very handsome and i predict he will be very popular with the ladies! hope you enjoy the video.

update:sound works fine and i sound like an idiot for sure. oh well

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T21:33:00.002-05:00

his thanksgiving shirt says "baby's 1st Thanksgiving"
Grandpa Bob's 1st bottle!

My big cousin Jake

Me and daddy

short story

2008-11-21T22:31:00.001-05:00

Shrek, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were all having lunch together.
Shrek said, “I have always thought that I ' m the strongest man in the world, but how can I be sure?”
Angelina Jolie agreed. “I ' m told I ' m the most gorgeous woman of them all, but sometimes I wonder.”
Brad Pitt said, “I ' m pretty sure I ' m the sexiest man alive but I've never had it confirmed.” They all decided that the best way to find out if their beliefs were true was to ask the famed talking “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” to confirm for them whether Shrek was the strongest, Angelina was the most gorgeous and Brad was the sexiest. They agreed to meet again the next day for lunch to discuss their findings.The next day Shrek walked up with a smile.
“Well, it's true. The mirror told me that I am the strongest man in the world.”Angelina Jolie perked up and said,
“And I know for sure that I' m the most gorgeous woman of all. But Brad Pitt lifted his sad, face and said...
“Who the heck is Harry Lehman?"

Diaper Genie

2008-11-17T19:50:00.002-05:00

for anyone who doesn't know; a diaper genie is a container for used diapers that holds in the stink. here is a quick 3 step process for how it works.

Step 1: Fill diaper Genie with disposable Genie bags.
Step 2: Fill diaper Genie with dirty diapers so full that you can't even fit a used wet wipe in it.
Step 3: Wait for Daddy to empty diaper Genie.

ready for pictures!

2008-11-13T22:03:00.004-05:00

here are 2 new pictures of Grady! he looks like such a handsome little man. this is the outfit Momma got for him for his Christmas pictures. he was so Handsome we took pictures of him at home before we left for the picture place. he also had a doctor's appt today for his two month check up. he has gained about 2 pounds and about 2 inches since his one month check up. he looks giant sized to us and actually is growing out of some of his 3-6 months clothes! we also bought a camcorder to start taking videos of Grady. we have already taken some videos but for some reason i can't get them to upload to this website. videos will be up when i figure it out.

Short video

2008-10-25T10:24:00.003-04:00

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

this is a short video taken with my cell phone. you wil need quicktime player from Apple to play it on pc. Quicktime is free to download at www.apple.com/quicktime

kind of ironic that verizon doesn't make an agreement to sell the iphone but have to use apple's media player to play videos.

Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

2008-10-23T21:51:00.002-04:00

this is a fun game if you need something to do while staring at a computer. use caution though because time flies while playing this simple game.
Fantastic Contraption: A fun online physics puzzle game

Posted using ShareThis

Do they think we are ignorant?

2008-10-19T22:28:00.011-04:00

while i am enjoying gas for $2.65 a gallon it also makes me very angry. i mean gas was $4.00 a gallon a month ago and suddenly it is down to $2.65? is that a strange coincidence or could it possibly be due to the upcoming election? the dirty bastards are all in bed together.

dirty worthless politicians to big oil company guys

"hey guys, we have let you guys bleed America for every penny they have while you guys rake in record setting billion dollar profits; can you give us a break for a couple of months so we don't have to answer questions about gas prices during our campaigns?"

big oil company to dirty worthless politicians

"OK, but you know once the election is over we are going to have to raise the price higher than ever to make up for it."

dwp to boc

"that's okay. we still get our cut of the action right?

boc to dwp

"as long as we get every penny from the middle class then there should be plenty to go around!"

dirty worthless politicians and big oil companies together

"ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha"

who in America doesn't think that as soon as this election is over the gas prices are going to start creeping back up again. first we'll hear from "opec" (gee haven't heard from them lately have we?) then there will be some possible hurricane or under water earthquake or some other near disaster that could "disrupt production" and before you know it gas will be right back at $4.00 again. then politicians will say they are doing everything they can and we need alternative energy and blah blah blah. worthless bastards. the worst thing about the whole situation? there is nothing we can do about it. we are like the lady tied to the train tracks in the old black and white movie. we can see the train coming down the tracks but we are all tied up and can't get away. can anyone do something to help us all? is there a lone ranger to save us from the train? i doubt it.

SMILEY!

2008-10-18T21:38:00.006-04:00

Momma was just trying to get a picture of Grady looking into the camera and look who smiled big for her. i may be partial but i think he is a very cute baby. He has only just started smiling and it is kinda rare. it was a minor miracle for Melissa to catch it on film. Way to go Mom!

Grady goes to lunch

2008-10-15T22:44:00.002-04:00

today Grady went to his first restaurant. one that Mommy and daddy go to a lot, Otani. we went for lunch with uncle Bobby and aunt Danielle. the first picture is Grady all dressed up and ready to go, the second is him enjoying himself at the restaurant. it probably looks like he is sleeping at the restaurant but he really is having a good time. he was a perfect little gentleman at the restaurant and didn't cry at all, he did take a little poop but i think i was the only one who noticed because i heard him push it out but never smelled anything. he was popular with the other lunchers at our table (otani is a hibachi type place). there was one blue hair at our table who kept asking me questions despite the fact that she was obviously hard of hearing. i tried to speak especially loud for her but i could tell she didn't hear 2 words of what i said. oh well i guess she was just being nice.

p.s. if you are that old blue hair and happen to be reading this his name is GRADY (NOT BRADY) he was born SEPT 10 and he weighs 11 POUNDS 11 OUNCES.

buddy and kosmo

2008-10-15T22:37:00.003-04:00

look at these 2 friends. they were just chilling on the couch together. i like how they both have their front paws crossed. i can't believe i was able to get the camera and take their picture without them moving. it helped that they were both looking at me like i was nuts. i was holding Grady and stretched out to get the camera out of one of the tables in the living room and stood up to take their picture. we still love our puppies. they still get plenty of love and attention now that Grady is here.

thanks to uncle josh for finding this video

2008-10-15T15:31:00.000-04:00

90 and 97

2008-10-14T22:42:00.002-04:00

Grady went for a routine check up today, including a shot that he didn't care for at all. he weighs 11 pounds 11 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. the doctor says that puts him in the 90th percentile for weight and 97th percentile for height. I'm not sure why I'm proud of this but i am. I'm proud of his Momma for working hard to make sure he eats good and gets his rest. I'm so happy he's healthy and growing up big and strong.

so here's to the big boy and his great momma!

one month

2008-10-10T00:11:00.004-04:00

Check out the big boy! he's one month old today! talk about time flying. definitely the fastest month of my life. i can't believe its possible but i love Grady more and more everyday. the first month has been an up and down month for all of us. Grady was a big sleepy head when he came home from the hospital now he's Mr. Fussypants. we are getting by the best we know how and trying all kinds of stuff to keep him content. admittedly it was a much tougher battle before grandma got him a swing. also, thanks to grandma for the one month birthday cake. thanks to everyone who has been helping Melissa and i with Grady, whether you come once a day or once a week it always makes me feel so happy to have people come and love our baby boy.
looking forward to the next months and years who knows what will happen in our lives together but if its anything like the 1st month then we are in for some kind of ride together. hopefully it will involve a little more sleepy time than we have had the past couple of weeks. if it doesn't then oh well its still fun!
p.s. kosmo and buddy are completely content with the baby being here. kosmo is acting better than we expected and seems to get a little better each day. buddy doesn't mind Grady one little bit, never has and probably never will.

Got your nose!

2008-10-10T00:04:00.003-04:00

"I got your nose Mommy!" Melissa and i both noticed that Grady holds his hands like this pretty often. we both thought he was playing got your nose with us.
Our little Cutey-pa-Tutey!

mr new dad

2008-10-06T22:09:00.002-04:00

i got to feed him a bottle one time. it was neat. it was almost over as quick as it started. there was barely time to get a picture of it. Grady doesn't get bottle fed. Momma is doing 99% of the feeding. she had done a little pumping so we could mix in a baby vitamin. he doesn't like the baby vitamin right out of the bottle. he actually almost chokes on the vitamin when we try to give it to him straight from the little eye dropper. we have subsequently quit giving him any bottles so that he can be a good little breast feeder and not get confused by sometimes having bottles, pacifiers and real momma nips. we want him to focus on the real mccoy!

who knew?

2008-10-06T21:45:00.004-04:00

who knew having a newborn baby would cut into all that spare time i used to have to make a blog? here are a couple of pictures of Grady. he is crying during his bath, he doesn't seem to like baths at this point. special thanks to Momma for telling me to hold the wash cloth over his wee wee so we would be able to post picture to the web. he is sleeping in his new(used) swing courtesy of grandma Loretta. thanks Grandma. Grady is doing well. he grows and he cries and he likes to eat on a very irregular schedule. Melissa and i getting into bed seems to really make him want to eat. all in all we are adjusting to our new lives as a family.

EVERYBODY LOVES GRADY!

2008-09-22T17:59:00.001-04:00

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

who's most tired?

2008-09-18T14:52:00.004-04:00

its a tie!

easy transition

2008-09-18T14:52:00.001-04:00

here's buddy giving everyone a lesson in how to make the transition now that Grady is home. its really been rough for buddy...

Introducing Grady James Lehman

2008-09-13T12:55:00.010-04:00

Grady James Lehman

Born September 10, 2008 at 4:54pm

8lbs 12.4 ounces 21.3 inches long

Momma did awesome during delivery and she is recovering now at home with the baby and the daddy. she is sore but doing well. so far Grady's favorite things are: sleeping, eating, pooping, peeing when is diaper is removed, and being uncontrollably cute. Grady is breastfeeding about every 2 hours now which means momma only gets about an hour of sleep at a time but she is amazing and has not complained at all. She loves her baby boy and will do anything for him! we are all very blessed and thankful for a healthy baby, safe delivery with no complications, and loving family for support.

in case you can't read his little shirt it says "I'm kind of a big deal"

photo courtesy of uncle Bobby

2008-09-13T12:48:00.004-04:00

here is Grady on his first day home. uncle bobby got a few nice pictures of him with his eyes open, which doesn't happen very often. good job to aunt danielle for holding him and pinching him on the leg until he woke up.(kidding)