Happy Halloween

Daylight Savings Time meant later start times for trick or treating this year, but Jeffrey and Laird still had a great time. Laird lasted half of the street (about 9 houses) and Jeffrey went for the other half. Jeffrey thought handing out treats was much more fun than collecting treats. Here they are in character:


And some other assorted pictures from the past few weeks:

Laird pretends to go to school

Jeffrey testing out his new bow and arrow

Quote: "Now I'm just like Enos"

Happy October

Sheralie's bedrest has now been lifted, since they (the midwives) want her to be extremely active and actually prompt labor. This seems to be a fairly dramatic shift in policy. I don't understand it one bit.

My actual theory is that they see that Sheralie is pretty much ready, but the midwives have big plans this weekend, so they want her to have the baby before the weekend so as not to disrupt their plans. I know, that is cynical of me, but I don't trust doctors one bit (though the midwives I trust a bit more than actual doctors).

I think my mistrust of doctors stems from their creed: "Do no harm". That is not very inspiring. At least with lawyers, you get "zealous advocacy" so you know your lawyer is on your side. A doctor is just trying not to screw up. He's done his job as long as you exit with all limbs in place.

Post Script: After our experience with the midwives on November 1, 2007, I must say that all of the healthcare workers, including the doctors, nurses and midwives, were amazing and awesome. I apologize for my earlier derisive remarks.

On fires and balmy days

Some updates:

1. My in-laws' house did not burn down. There was some wind damage, but everything is in pretty good shape. Quite a few homes did burn down though.

2. Sheralie did not gain 2 inches in girth as previously reported. The gain was only 2 centimeters, which is not nearly as impressive. If we could all just agree on which system we were using, we would not have these problems.

3. Our heater turned on for the first time in a while. Unfortunately, Sheralie has an unborn baby to warm her up, so our bedding is a bit unequal.

4. It is a beautiful day here in Houston. One of about six per year.

And just to get you warmed up for babies, here are some pictures of baby Jeffrey:


Just home from the hospital


Hardly looks like Jeffrey at all

Update

Sheralie visited the doctor today and they were very impressed that as a result of her bedrest, she has gained 5 pounds and 2 inches (in girth? Probably not height). So they would like her to continue "resting" and gaining weight, though Sheralie convinced them that light housework was okay. So no major worries. Thanks for your concerns and offers for help.

The major drama today is wild fires in San Diego area that are threatening to burn her family's house down. Stay tuned for more updates.

Laird B.

No news on the baby front. Looks like it might be 2-3 weeks yet, so don't hold your breath. Sheralie is slowing down and resting up. Hopefully she will want to watch plenty of college football this weekend.

Laird is our baby that will soon no longer be the baby in the family. Here are some photos of him over the years:


Laird the aspiring musician (he does show talent)


Cool Hand Laird


Looking for something sweet


Right back at ya

Not to worry

Sheralie went in for a more in-depth ultrasound today and they said the baby looks fine, just small. They may just have the due date wrong - it might be later in November than we thought. It's a little hard to believe though, since Sheralie is so big. No worries though.

Year of the Golden Pig

As many of you know, in China, this is the year of the pig - and not just any year of the pig - the year of the Golden Pig, which is a very auspicious year to have a child. It definitely sounds a lot better than year of the snake (by birth year).

Some of you may have heard that Sheralie is on bedrest. That is true. We could be having this baby sooner rather than later. Stay tuned for more updates.

New Blog Alert

While I have notified some of you, I do have a new blog that I update frequently - there is a link on the right (Pete Thinks Out Loud) or you can go from right here.

It is basically my thoughts on how things can be improved. Feel free to post or email - I have enjoyed several people's comments and discussions. If you disagree or think I'm weird, I don't mind.

Thanks!

Happy Birthday to Steve

Happy Birthday to my younger, but bigger, brother Steve, who turns 29 today. A photo tribute:


Our rivalry started at a very young age



It's hard to beat Steve on style points



Steve and baby Laird

Life at Home

A couple of funny things from Jeffrey lately:

I was showing him this blog with all the captions and entries, to which he asked: "How does the computer know so much about us?"

I mentioned that Jeffrey's uncle Steve is turning 29 this week (October 10). Jeffrey replied: "Dad - when he catches up to you, you will be twins living in different houses."

 

Laird the Fireman

Summer is finally gone

Well it is October. That means the baseball playoffs are upon us. My pick, for the record, is the Red Sox over the Rockies in 6. Granted, the first round is half over, so it is a little biased, but who knows? My only dog in the fight is cheering against the Yankees and for the hapless Cubs.

Summer being over also means our family zoo pass expired - on the last day of September - so we will take a leave of absence from the beloved Houston zoo. This year's pass will be to the Children's Museum. One last picture from the last zoo trip.

Weekends in New York

Recently I went to New York City to testify in an arbitration. It was a memorable experience. It makes me very happy that I am not a litigator and don't have to ask people tons of questions.

Anyway, I forgot my camera, but I did visit Christina and Charlotte (they have plenty of pictures of themselves in and around NYC - click on the "Ericksons" blog on your right) on Saturday and I learned an important lesson: Never ride the subways on the weekend. The weekend does not have express service and they take that opportunity to close down areas they want to work on. Thus, the entrance near my hotel was closed. So I found another entrance, but this was to a different line, so I had to go to a different intersection further south (I was going north). Upon switching trains, I went all the way from 4th to 145th (my goal was 168th) when they told me to get out - this was the end of the line. Switch trains again and finally get to 168th. It took me 1 1/2 hours to go 8 miles. I could have run that distance faster (though with luggage it would have been awkward).

So no pictures, but I will offer this old time photo of Christina and me when Christina was not much older than Charlotte is now. Steve is also in the background.


Broadbent kids, circa 1981?

Halloween Preview

Halloween is just about on us, and Jeffrey and Laird are ready. They provide this modeling session as a preview for the Night of the Great Pumpkin:

Laird the Chicken

Jeffrey the Lion

The Dynamic Duo