JT: July to December

Ok so I'm lazy, Here is a photo Montage of JT, the family and even the deer that visited our back yard.



Here is a link to the actual pictures:

12-28-2009

The early returns are in...

JT's early favorite in the birthday gift department appears to be the Duplo/lego farm set from Aunt Kathy. To clarify it is not the whole set, rather it's just the cows and the blue tractor and they have been going to bed with JT every evening since the 19th. The cows and tractor have caused more than their fair share of "Mine" fights between JT and Caroline (the little girl that Christina watches). I will either need to get a second set of Duplo cows or convert them to at home only toys to keep the peace.

Thank you to everyone for the great gifts and we will see how the gift front changes over time...

JT in some new videos

Here are a few new videos of JT taken on the Flip Mino over the previous weekend. The first two are of JT playing with his new train table. Although it's birthday present, we decided to give it to him early as we were hosting friends with children and were looking for extra distractions. Parenting side note: never give your child something awesome at 8PM and expect them to go to bed a 8:30PM; calamity will ensue..

Next we have a video of JT playing with Isabella, Delaney and Gavin in an inflatable pool. We had the Lake/Paladino clans down from Philadephia for a wonderful weekend which was further extended when Shawn stopped by for dinner. Filming was cut short due to water hazards created by the children, however a good time was had by all. The visit was great and JT enjoyed having other children invade his "crib".

Last is a short Video of JT opting for cookies over a real dinner. To my surprise Areti actually gave him a cookie before eating a real dinner, a rare event.

JT and Benji Hughes

I cleaned out the truck the other day and I found a CD that Andy made me, god knows when, of Benji Hughes "A Love Extreme" down in the fries and toys under the seat. I've been listening to it on a loop ever since. JT and I like the Mummy song the most. It's certainly a nice break from listening to Jack Johnson's Sing Alongs for the billionth time...

Thank you Uncle Andy!!!

JT gets tubes!

We are happy to report that JT's surgery this morning went off with out a hitch. The little guy was grumpy all morning as he was woken early and then not allowed to eat. The wait for the actual surgery eas made even worse when JT got hit with an automatic door, which left quite a bruise on his left temple.

The actual surgery itself took only about ten minutes and Dr. Bahadori said it was a great success. We have a cycle of antibiotic drops which we have to complete and provided there is no abnormal discharge in the next couple of weeks the little guy will be as good as new.

From Going to the Hospital

From Playing with the Phone

From Prep

From about to go in

From Recovery Room

JT, Grandpa, tubes and Greeks

We were stuck inside on our latest visit to Winchester as according to JT "Too hot, no go outside", however a good time was still had by all. Here are a few pictures of JT and Grandpa "playing" at Grandma's desk. Playing, as in taking all the scotch tape off the roll and sharpening pencils down to nubs in the electric sharpener.

From Playing

It was a good visit, which is nice as JT is getting tubes put in this Thursday. After battling through countless ear infections we've decided the best option was to go ahead with the Surgery. Tomorrow in the early AM we head to the Fairfax Surgical Center to have the procedure completed. Details to follow.


Provided that everything goes well with the tubes, JT would like to invite all the locals to the Greek Fair this Sunday. One dollar off to all people showing a millitary/law enforcement ID (hint hint), that's practically free! The fair is somewhere near DTC and Route 28:


View Larger Map

JT goes to the petting zoo!

After getting scourched at Lake Fairfax, we were able to salvage the day at the Reston Petting Zoo. The three of us really enjoyed the goat and sheep feeding area; some of us because it was covered and others because of the actually animals. All in all the Zoo has quite the racket going and they seemed to be making money hand over fist on the actual feed.

From JT and Mom at Lake Fairfax

From Posed Shot

From Petting Zoo

From Feeding time

JT goes to DTC with Iliana

He are some pictures of JT and Iliana at the DTC, unfortunately they mainly road the carousel and my Cannon PowerShot took a lot of pictures of the kids behind or in front of them. When I happened to get JT or Iliana in frame the pictures were too blurry to be worked with, so the bulk of the pictures were scrapped.

Here are the remaining pictures as well as a few shots that JT took himself, very modern compositions if I do say so myself.

From JT breaking in

From Ride Ready

From Iliana at DTC

From JT and Iliana at DTC

From 3 feet high

JT goes to Ocean City

The family trip/Anniversary to Ocean City was a complete disaster.

We Left for Ocean City around 1PM on Friday, JT promptly got sick with ear infections to boot and then after much family disharmony we left at 10AM the next day. We never even reached the beach proper, which was a big disappointment.

Next I came down with the flu myself which only made matters worse as at the time we were also hosting cousin Iliana from Boston. With the exception of JT and Iliana, a good time was not had by all, Grandma Gourzis thinks I have the swine flu and I've just gotten back to work after taking half the week off ill.

All is well now, and if work permits tomorrow I should have some pictures up of JT and Iliana enjoying the carousel at the DTC. It's not the Atlantic Ocean, but in a pinch it works for the kids.

JT gets redeye removed on Photoshop online!

Here is a picture which I corrected using www.photoshop.com. It can act as a replacement for Picasa/flickr too, they give you a 2GB to store your photos. I highly recommend the site to anyone who doesn't need to do anything fancy, other than fix some pictures. :

Original:

From Boston 2009

Corrected:

From Boston 2009

JT in Bean Town

JT had a great time in Boston hanging out with his cousin Iliana for her third birthday. JT and Iliana have much the same chemistry that Catie and Max have and were always running around getting into some sort of trouble with more energy than the poor collection of parents and grandparents following them.

He is a collection of pictures from a trip to the New England Aquarium followed by lunch at Faneuil Hall. Jt wasn't a really big fan of the aquarium as it was much too dark and crowded for his tastes but he loved the Curious George Discovery Center by the penguin tank.

A good time was had by all and with the exception of JT droping a number two in the security line flying was uneventful. JT was so engrosed by the Wonder Pets join the circus that I'm not even sure he knows he was on a plane.

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

From Boston 2009

Boston Update coming soon

Boston update coming soon, until then enjoy the following Parenting Guide.

JT and the airplane

JT is getting ready for his first plane ride, up to Boston to see his cousin Iliana. When I ask him if he wants to take a plane ride his answer is always "I do, I want more plane!" Fortunately for us, it is only an hour plane ride and we have Wonder Pets DVDs to keep the little guy occupied. JT loves the Wonder Pets!

From March 2009

JT has a new catch phrase

JT has a new catch phrase - "I need more mine!". Here are some pictures taken from JTs favorite park in Ashburn, Hadley's Park. There would be more picture, however my camera is included in JTs "mine"

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

JT at Frying Pan Farm Park

Funny story, so Areti takes JT to Frying Pan Farm Park and he sees this spotted horse and the following conversation ensues

JT - "Mommy, COW!"
Areti - "No sweetie, that's a horse. It does have spots though.."
JT - "Neigh!!!!!!!!!!!!"

JT loved the farm and all of the animals and was quite upset when it was time to leave; here are some pictures taken before the meltdown. Horse-Cow pictures not included.

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

JT at Han Sung Oak!

JT recently went out to Korean BBQ at Han Sung Oak. Hyo's brother Jason and sister inlaw Savina were taking us out to thank us for helping them with their recent move, although we didn't do much besides let them borrow the truck.

Here are some pictures of JT with Allison, Jason and Savina's Daughter. Allison is a bit older than JT so he likes to follow her around and do whatever she does. She is very funny and reminds me of Catie a little bit. These pictures were actually taken at Le Matin de Paris where we stopped for desert. If you are looking for a good restaurant in the Annandale I would recommend either Han Sung Oak or Paris.

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009

From March 2009