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Woo a whole year without a new post. I guess I’ve been busy... I wonder why that could be?

How about this little bundle of Joy!?

This is my baby Natalie Joy and she is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. There are no days off when raising a baby, but the highs are so high that it's hard to complain about the lows, so it’s all good. I’m very proud of Natalie and maybe even more proud of Felicia with how we’ve handled the past year. We're taking COVID in stride and now the three of us are closer than ever :)

There’s too much to say about parenthood to fit it all in this post, so I’ll save it for another day. Instead, let me recap the past year. Most days are like this:

• Eat breakfast
• Play with baby
• Shower while the baby naps
• Eat lunch
• Walk around the neighborhood
• Chores / workout during afternoon nap
• Dinner with baby
• After dinner walk
• Put the baby to sleep and cleanup from dinner
• Hang out with Felicia
• me-time before bed

It wasn’t so predictable at first, but we’ve settled into a nice groove and we can bend it without breaking, which keeps Natalie happy.

There have been a few special exceptions to the normal routine. I made it to a couple of weddings; one as a groomsman and the other as the officiant. Congrats to Kyle & Morgan, and Chris & Haley :) 

My family finally got to have a memorial for my grandfather, Scoop, over a year after his passing. There was a big silver lining with that. Since it had been so long, by the time we got together it was much easier to celebrate life rather than grieve loss. My family is a bunch of performers too, so they used the extra preparation time to put on an incredible show. We had speeches, songs, photos, videos, poems, singalongs, hymns, an ice cream social, and a pool party. We're gathering again next summer to spread Scoop’s ashes in the same place as my grandmother, Ellie's. She passed away at a young age, so I never got to meet her, but she was the love of Scoop's life.

We skipped our annual holiday trip to Tucson this year because we didn't want to travel with COVID and a baby. We missed eegee's and burritos the sun and our families. It’s ok though because Natalie enjoyed visits from all six of her grandparents. We plan on spending a couple months in Arizona this winter, so she’ll get to spend a lot of quality time with her aunts, uncles, and cousins too.

Plants - My houseplants are doing very well, thank you for asking. My greenhouse is beginning to overflow, and I’m realizing my dream of leaving a trail of houseplants in my wake. I think I’ve given away about 20 plants so far. If you read this far then we must be pretty close, so let me know when you want to come “shopping” in the greenhouse or if there’s something I can send your way.

Foyer 2020

Foyer 2021

Birthday - My mom and her husband, Ed, visited over my birthday this year. It was their first time meeting Natalie. We ate delicious takeout and home cooked meals, took walks through our favorite parks, played Phase 10, and watched the Olympics. USA USA USA. They were super helpful around the house and with Natalie, which was a nice birthday present for me. Speaking of presents, Felicia got me some new hiking gear. Natalie does really well in the carrier backpack on our usual small trails, so we’re excited to try her out on something bigger this year.

Speaking of birthdays, here's a pic from Natalie's!

Odds and Ends

• I finished a round of golf under 100 for the first time in my life. I shot 97 without losing a single ball! 45 on the back 9. I also birdied a hole for the first time ever. Time to retire.
• The Smash Bro’s league that I invented is still alive and well. Either the competition has gotten better or I’ve gotten worse - my best finish in a tournament this season is 3rd.

• Game development is going well. I reached a milestone with Salaryman where most of the systems are in place and now I mostly just need to build content… turns out that the iceberg is much bigger than the tip. I also started a new game called Basebrawl. Both of those games are on back burners though because I’m working with some friends on a 2D adventure RPG. I love sharing this hobby with someone. Hopefully I don’t scare them away.

Thank you for reading and hit me up if you want some plants.

TGIB