Higher!

Swing 2,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

We need one of these in the back yard. Parker loves it!

The "big" slide

Park 1,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Cathy and Parker at the top of the "big" slide at Bryan Park.

The tunnel

Park 3,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker and me at Bryan Park in Bloomington.

Mother and Son

Mother and Son 2,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

One of my new favorite pictures.

Paparazzi

498619891107_0_ALB,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

"I said no pictures! Now give me that camera."

From snorgtees.com.........

So that's how Pac-man works?! I always assumed he was organic. Buy the t-shirt from snorgtees.com

Where did those things come from?

So, Cathy noticed yesterday that Parker had two more teeth in! That's 4 new teeth in a week and a half. There's no stopping this kid!

Wake up guys!

102_1911,
Originally uploaded by chmcelwee.

This is the precious little smiling face that Cathy and I wake up to every morning. Parker is awake, standing, smiling and has his favorite blankie. He's ready to start the day!

I'm Your Man

I learned yesterday that there is a new documentary/biography/concert film coming out about Leonard Cohen called "I'm Your Man". I'm not a big Leonard Cohen fan, but I do enjoy his work. The film features performances by Rufus and Martha Wainwright, The Handsome Family, Nick Cave, Beth Orton and most importantly, U2. The film is highlighted by a performance by U2 and Cohen on his classic track, "Tower of Song" from a tribute concert in Sydney Australia in January 2005. "I'm Your Man" is scheduled for nationwide release on June 21st, but as of now no soundtrack album is planned.

Transformers Movie?!

Not only is a Simpsons movie in the works, but there's also a "live action" Transformers movie in production. It's about as live action as any other current action movie, with the main characters being CGI animation, but they interact in real space with human actors, so it's not necessarily "animated." I had doubts about this concept until I saw this clip from blackfilm.com. The movie is set to open July 4, 2007.

Helen, Nigel & Ellie

Helen, Nigel & Ellie,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Here's one of the first first pictures of our friends Nigel and Helen with their baby girl Ellie. Born just in time for Mother's Day.

Parker photo update

parker 1,
Originally uploaded by chmcelwee.

Here's our crazy baby with a death teeth grip on one of his bath toys. It's hard to beleive he'll be 8 months old on Friday!

All I want for Mother's Day.......

............is my two top teeth. At least that's what Parker was saying yesturday as his two top teeth poked out from his gums. He now has 4 shiny new choppers ready for all kinds of food. This weekend: fish tacos.

Google Sketchup

I created this image this week using Google's new free version of Sketchup, a powerful, yet simple 3D modeling program. From the Sketchup web site, the program lets you:

• Click on a shape and push or pull it to create your desired 3D geometry.
• Experiment with color and texture directly on your model.
• Real-time shadow casting lets you see exactly where the sun falls as you model.
• Select from thousands of pre-drawn components to save time drawing.
• Interactive Sections.
• "Sketchy Rendering".
• Dimension & Annotation.

Check it out! It lets you quickly and easily create a 3D visualization of objects. I'm sure I'll use it at home and work. Google just keeps getting better.

Roach house,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Update: Cali's New Home

cali,
Originally uploaded by chmcelwee.

We have found a new home for Ms. Cali McButterpants! She is going to go live with our friends the Hills. This is so exciting because I know that Cali will love all of the attention she will get from Maddie, Macy, and Molly - and - we will still get to visit her! Thank you to Kary and Josh for agreeing to take Cali!

Congratulations to Nigel and Helen!

Ellie Virginia Pizzini was born at 9:05 AM on Thursday, May 11th at Bloomington Hospital. She weighed in at a little over 6 lbs and is 27" long. Nigel reports that mother and baby are recovering nicely.

Welcome to the world Ellie!

Free to a good home

Ms. Cali McButterpants before yawn,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Cathy and I are trying to find a new home for our little Cali McButterpants. She is a great cat, very loving, playful and yet still lazy, friendly with strangers and good with kids. It's just become to be too much to handle with two cats and a baby.

If you or anyone you know is looking for a cat, please let us know. She's a 5 year old, spayed, long haired female and she's tortoise or "muted calico" colored. She has no front claws and is up-to-date on all of her shots.

Golden Smog song previews

As previously reported, Golden Smog has a new album coming out on July 18th. Like a lot of bands these days, they've created a MySpace.com page to promote themselves and their album. They have previous of 4 songs from the new album, "Another Fine Day," streaming from their page at www.myspace.com/goldensmog Check it out!

Cousins

Cousins,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker playing with his cousin Jake at his 2nd birthday party. Parker jumped right in with the big kids to play. Although all he really did was chew on the wrapping paper!

Parker Photo Update 2

726737181107_0_BG,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker and Dad on a beautiful afternoon in the back-yard.

Parker Photo Update 1

Peek-a-boo 3,
Originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker loves playing Peek-a-boo with his "play wall." When he goes behind the wall, we call out "Where did Parker go?" and he comes bounding through the curtain! Great fun!

Finally, new music from Ben Folds

I got an e-mail this morning from Ben Folds. Well, not really. It was from his web site's automated mailing list, but still, I was excited. Ben Folds is getting ready to release his first new music in over a year. He has 5 songs on the "Over the Hedge" soundtrack scheduled for release on May 16th. Three of the songs are new, one is a cover and one is a reworking of an old song. I'll be sure to grab these on iTunes.

• Family Of Me
• Heist
• Lost In The Supermarket (Cover of a song by The Clash)
• Still
• Rockin’ The Suburbs (Over The Hedge Version featuring William Shatner)
• Still (Reprise)

Surgery update

Just a quick update, Parker came out of his surgery fine. We were afraid he wouldn't be able to have it done because his ears were infected again on Friday and he's run a fever all weekend. But they were able to do it and the whole thing took about 10 minutes. He's home recovering with Cathy today. Thanks to everyone for their kind words of concern.