Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in danpre's LiveJournal:

Friday, December 23rd, 2005
2:48 pm	Web Page Updated! Merry Christmas Everyone! The end of the year has arrived quickly and the last couple of weeks of school were very hectic for us. Needless to say, I've been remiss in keeping the webpage current with pictures. There are 3 new sets up including several from his early stages of walking!!! Good stuff! I'll keep this short as currently we are in the process of writing and mailing Christmas cards with our annual Christmas letter. God Bless to all and have a joyous Christmas and a safe New Year. -Dan, Allison and Kaz. Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 3rd, 2005
11:56 am	Reuion pics are up! Ok, ok, I know I said I'd have some pictures up in a "bit" but little did you know that a "bit" would be a month. *grin* That being said, the picture selection for this year's reunion left a lot to be desired. For whatever reason, a lot of the pictures came out blurry or off center. There was a lot of jockeying for position during the photo shoot and I spared you the pictures of the backs of someone's arm or head. *laugh* I think the camera is ok and my guess is that it is probably due to the photographer drinking a little too much coffee. Allison and I are both teaching this semester and Kaz is in daycare. We just finished our first week and things have been going very well. Actually, Kaz has been in daycare 2 weeks. We were of course very worried about how/if Kaz would adjust to being without us 8 hours a day. To our surprise, he didn't cry at all the first week and on some days, he didn't want to leave. So then we were worried that maybe he doesn't need us. *laughing* This week showed a few cracks with him crying for a few minutes after we dropped him off. But overall, he's appears to enjoy being there and they do a lot of things that we can't really do here at home (mass finger painting, playing with brown sugar and colored ice, or anything else that requires a room that can be hosed down after a wild pack of toddlers have completely demolished it). Classes are going well for Allison and me. I'd go into more detail but it's the weekend and I'd rather not think about all the things I need to do next week. Enjoy! -Dan Current Mood: indescribable (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 11th, 2005
1:26 pm	Back from Hurley Reunion We are back from a great time at the annual Hurley family reunion. Things are kind of hectic (gee, nothing new there) so I will get the pictures and some commentary up in a bit. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 27th, 2005
9:47 pm	July is almost gone I've sat down many times to write a new entry but every time I start to write, I'm needed elsewhere. First off, we are all doing well. Our summer is going quickly and we are scrambling to do all the things we had planned to do before school starts. Of our completed projects, we managed to put in a sizable garden in May. I was again called upon to dig up the yard (the shed being the first endeavor) and managed to bend and crack the very same shovel because of all the rocks in the ground. We then had to haul the sod away, get our neighbor to till it for us, and then we had mushroom soil delivered on top. Whew. Allison then planted zuccini, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, squash, lettuce(never sprouted) and corn. Two weeks post-planting we found a little rabbit investigating the place. Allison implemented the wire fence defense mechanism and so far, it seems to have kept the fur balls from our plants. Harvest-wise we've had a bumper crop of zuccini and cucumbers with the rest well on their way. MMmmm. Kaz is now walking and his vocabulary is coming along, albeit both of these things slowly. In fact, he didn't actually start walking until he was 18.5 months. Everyone said, "Oh, he'll walk when he walks" but to be honest, as a concerned parent, it doesn't matter what other people say, especially when everyone else's kid was walking by 15 mos. I'm sure any other parents out there reading this can relate. You start to think, "Is there something wrong?" "Is it something we did?" "What can we do?" You know? Don't take this the wrong way, we LOVE our son more than anything in this world and we want to make sure he's ok. I'm leaving out a few things but he's definitely mobile now and we have an appointment to interrogate his pediatrician shortly. *grin* We managed to sneak away for a vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for a week. We had a wonderful time and Kaz enjoyed getting splashed by the waves (except his face). We all look like big white beached whales but you know what? We don't care. Ha! Nice to get away and see the ocean. Can't think of anything else at the moment. Dan out. Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Sunday, April 24th, 2005
10:21 pm	New Pictures! After some very "blatant" subtle "hints" from both of my parents I figured I'd better get on the ball and put up some new pictures. 1) The first few are before Allison and her Mom left for an American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego. Allison's friend, Kim, was on break and came up to visit for a couple of days. We had a few laughs and of course Kaz got lots of attention (the San Diego pictures are separate). 2) Kaz pulls himself up very easily on almost anything. He's usually waiting for us in the morning, standing in his crib, ready for breakfast. *grin* 3) We had no outside toys for Kaz. Sticks and rocks kept him happy for a little while but our neighbor's yard is like "kid paradise" with a sandbox, swingset and slide. Rocks and sticks don't compare to towering, brightly colored, plastic toys! So we had to break down and buy a pail, shovel, ball and *trumpets sound* the plastic castle! Daddy spent about 30 minutes putting together the plastic castle and had all kinds of help from both Kaz and the neighbor kids. Kaz can't quite climb up on the slide yet but the swing is just his size. Actually, Kaz was more interested in Daddy's tools and helping daddy tighten all the plastic nuts and bolts (Grandpa Paul is grinning as he read this I'm sure). Of course, after spending $100 on the towering, brightly colored, plastic castle, Kaz was more interested in playing with the box (probably worth $1). I tell you what, I remember having a sandbox and some toys but the only plastic I had was some PVC sprinkler pipe I found in the shed (oops, you didn't read that Dad). Until next time. -Dan Current Mood: awake (Comment on this)
Monday, April 4th, 2005
1:04 pm	Long time no update Hello! We havent posted any new pictures or updated the journal in a while. Up until Kaz was one year old we made an effort to take pictures of him every month. I can't really tell you why we stopped after his first birthday, but we just haven't been as diligent. Speaking of the little guy, he's 24 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. He isn't walking by himself yet but as long as he has something to keep his balance he walks along or around things. His height has been somewhat of a surprise to us as we see this little hand reach up onto our counter tops in order to quickly grab something of interest. He's very curious and loves opening drawers. As far as what we've been up to, Dan has basically been sick with various illnesses since Thanksgiving and Allison has been working. We've quickly discovered (as other people with kids have told us) that whenever Kaz gets sick, we usually get sick as well. Allison did attend a conference in San Diego in March for about 4 days. She took her Mom along so that they could see the San Diego Zoo and take in the sights at the harbor. They had a wonderful time and we will try to get some pictures up shortly. We hope everyone is doing well. Dan was very sad about Pope John Paul II's passing but is happy he is not longer suffering. He was a great man and an inspiration to many, many people. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
Wednesday, January 19th, 2005
12:31 am	Huh? Wha? Where? November and December came and went like a flash in the pan. I will get some new pictures up this month once I get a spare moment. We'd like to extend our prayers and thoughts to all those who died and are suffering due to the tsunamis. We saw a lot of family over the holiday and some "surprise" friends who we haven't seen in ages. It was a great way to end 2004 and begin 2005. Kaz hit the motherload of toys and gifts especially since his birthday is so close to Christmas. Of special note, he got a bunch of "little people" from his Maama Betty and Cousin Christa. He loves to crawl around with a "little person" (or little animal) in each hand. Allison and I have lots of inside jokes like: "Power to the little people!" and "Oh no! I'm stepping on the little people!" The last one actually happens quite often since they tend to get underfoot via Kaz's transportation service (free of charge!). Allison is back to the grind at the University and I just finished a short but fortuitous job drawing some figures for a biochemistry textbook. I will be teaching next fall, just not sure where yet, stay tuned. One quick note about this online journal. If you notice, you can click "comment on this" below this post. Anyone can do this and you don't have register. Here's all you have to do: 1) click "comment on this" 2) select "anonymous" 3) type your subject and message 4) then click "post comment" It's that easy. So for anyone visiting, feel free to leave us a message! -Dan Current Mood: dorky (Comment on this)
Monday, November 1st, 2004
1:33 pm	November is here??? Been a LONG time since I updated the web page and the journal. Allison has been busy with classes and I've been busy with Kaz and the house. At last you can see the shed we purchased. It's under the September pictures and as you can see it's pretty darn big. Right now it's full of junk but we could park a car in it if we really wanted. Kaz is a crawling machine now and very tall for his age. Still cute (and always will be since we're his parents) and getting to be very mischievous. My folks are coming for Thanksgiving which we are very excited about. Kaz hasn't seen grandma and grandpa since the Baptism. Can't wait! -Dan Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Monday, August 23rd, 2004
4:52 pm	August is almost over??? Been meaning to post some new pictures but for whatever reason, haven't gotten around to doing it until today. Allison's family reunion was the second weekend in August. We spent a week with her mom in VA and had a great time. Kaz was all smiles and big hit with everyone which made us very happy. This year marked the first time I met Allison's Great Aunt Anne (93 years old). She came down from Fries with her son Doug. This was also the first year I visited Shady Valley which is where Allison's mom, Betty, was raised. It's a very scenic and quaint area, secluded by mountains on all sides. While there, we visited Allison's Uncle Bud and Aunt Mabel (see August pictures). They have several grandchildren and great grandchildren and were fantistic with Kaz. I think he laughed the whole time. Allison starts back teaching Aug 30th and I'll be full time Mr. Mom. We're very happy with this arrangement and glad that we are able to pull it off. Several people have asked to see pictures of Kaz's teeth. While neither of us are dentists, Allison managed to snap one while he was eating. See the last picture under "August 04" and you'll see his two bottom teeth. Current Mood: pensive (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 18th, 2004
9:29 pm	Been busy! My summer teaching finished up a week ago. I had a great group of students who, pretty much hated chemistry but said my class was the best chemistry class they'd taken. *laughing* It went very well despite the grueling schedule. The shed has been delivered despite some minor problems. I did clear and level the property but upon getting a quote for the stonebed, they informed me that the dirt I had put down would probably not support the weight of our shed over time. So, they had to come in with a frontloader and dig up my spot. Ah well. Good exercise I guess. *grin* Haven't taken any pictures of it yet but hope to remedy that shortly. Kaz is doing great. He has at least 4 teeth now with more poking through weekly. He seems to be coping with it well. We have him on stage 1 baby food and baby cereal. Some days, when he's eating, he's pretty clean and then other days he becomes the cereal monster! He's also got quite the reach now. We can't leave the food bowls on his high chair because he has a tendency to grab them and dump them. *laughing* Mobility-wise he's rolling around like he's on fire but still not crawling. You can tell he really wants to crawl but just ends up "surfing" on his belly. It's a riot to watch. I have actually demonstrated the crawling technique for him but I think he likes the surfing better. "Like, surf's up dad!" The weekly question from our parents has been, "When are you going to put a gate in across your stairs?" No guilt quite like parental guilt eh? *joke* Our house was sort of a custom built bi-level. We have some oak stairs that "fan out" from the front door to the upstairs. We debated for a couple weeks about how to actually put a gate across the stairs due to the large opening and odd shape (you'd have to see it). We ordered a gate from a pet supplier that fits odd shaped openings. It's really good quality and it took me about an hour to install. What we finally decided was to close off the living room, leaving the stairs free. We then bought one of those gates for doors/hallways and will use that to seal off the other side. Overall, I'm really happy with it. Allison is doing great as well and has been busy putting in flowers and mulch around the front of the house. Our house is actually looking like an "abode" rather than rental property. *laugh* Have more I could say, but should get going. -Dan Current Mood: relaxed (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 17th, 2004
12:04 pm	6 months old and a tooth! Kaz is 6 months old now! We can't believe that time has passed so quickly. I took him to Sears on Monday to have his picture made and they turned out really well. He smiled big for the camera! Yesterday he had his 6 month checkup at the doctor. He now weighs 18 lbs and is 27 1/2 inches long. He only got one shot yesterday and he didn't cry! Last night he was chewing on my finger (a favorite pasttime) and I felt something sharp. Kaz is getting his first tooth! It is one of the upper teeth and to the side so he is not following the usual order. He also is trying sweet potatoes for the first time this week. He didn't like them at first but has become more accepting of them after a few tries. Dan started teaching his summer class on Monday. The next few weeks will be very busy for him as it is a grueling schedule. Meanwhile, I am holding down the fort at home. The spot for our new shed was leveled yesterday and we are now waiting for the shed to be delivered. Allison Current Mood: sleepy (Comment on this)
Sunday, June 6th, 2004
11:24 pm	May 6 (D-Day) We've been pretty busy the past month or two. Kaz is growing like a weed and is now rolling over, taking a bottle and sucking his toes (blech!). He is, in our opinion, absolutely adorable. Early May we took a weekend and hit Allison's 10 year class reunion at Mary Baldwin College. Perhaps she will post a note about it as I didn't know anyone there. But I will say it's hard to believe that we are in fact, that much older; as in 10 years older!!! On May 21st we headed down to Winston-Salem to attend a wedding of two very good friends of mine, E and Charles. They credit me for setting them up, which, I guess you could say I "introduced" them. Beyond that, I tried to stay out of it as much as possible. *laughing* The wedding was beautiful and we got to see a lot of old friends, most notably, TA. We miss NC greatly and it was hard to leave. We ordered a shed to supplement our dire lack of storage space (our house has no basement) and the place we bought it from finished construction 2 weeks early. I of course, have only cleared the space and need to level it, and have to rocks delivered before the shed can be put on the property. It looks to be a busy week. Oh, and the summer class I'm teaching starts the 14th. -Dan Current Mood: energetic (Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 4th, 2004
12:29 pm	Big Boy! Hello, Kaz has been experiencing lots of new things lately! We have been trying rice cereal for about a week now and he is slowly getting the hang of eating from a spoon. It seems more ends up on the bib than in his mouth. As one of the chemistry students remarked, a least the bib is getting fed! We may have a whole set of giant, growing bibs on our hands! Kaz also has a high chair now and he has graduated to a bigger car seat. He has outgrown the infant car seat by height so now we have one that will last until he is 65 lbs. (we hope that is a while!) Dan and I hosted the chemistry department for a picnic on Sunday afternoon. Dan cooked up some tasty burgers, hot dogs and chicken on the grill and the students played volleyball. We had a great time! That's all for now! Allison (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 24th, 2004
11:59 am	visit to the doc Hello, With lots of prodding from Dan, I am contributing my first entry to the online journal! :) Kaz had his 4 month check-up with the pediatrician yesterday. He is a really big boy! He is weighing in at 16 lbs. 3 oz. these days and is 26 1/2 inches long. He is in the 95th percentile for length so we think that he is going to be tall like his daddy! :) He had his second round of shots yesterday as well. He didn't react very well to the first shots and ran a fever. This time seems to be better although he slept a lot yesterday! Poor little guy, I hate to see the nurse give him shots! Kaz and I are off today to do some investigating about which plants and shrubs to plant in the yard. Our yard is pretty boring now with just grass, weeds, some mulch and a lot of rocks! Allison Current Mood: calm (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 1st, 2004
11:14 pm	Spring should be here... Raining cats and dogs outside and I'm thinking about building an ark. Currently we don't have any pets though and I'm not about to go round up some rabid cats. ;) We are working on getting some more pictures on the web page. We should take more but it seems like we just don't bother with it as much as we could. Bad parents! Bad! We think Kaz is teething. He's been more grumpy than usual and he's really been sucking on his hand. Allison's students gave her this chew toy that is a plastic ring filled with water. I guess you put it in the fridge to cool it and then the little boy can kind of gnaw on it. Why wasn't this stuff available when we were kids? ;) -Dan (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 11th, 2004
7:26 pm	Web page is up! I've been on spring break this past week and finally got around to making my first web page. It's nothing fancy but it's functional. MANY, MANY THANKS to my good friend Ian for putting a web page up for me after Kaz was born. Follow that with more thanks to Rebecca and Jason who helped me with the web page and this livejournal deal (which is really cool). More to come! -Dan Current Mood: thankful (4 Comments |Comment on this)
6:07 pm	Stranded... 20th day stranded on this desert island. No sign of boat, plane or seahorse. Coconuts are getting old. I could go for a cold beer and some cheese fries right about now... :D Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)