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This week I had the opportunity to visit NYC for business. We visited one of RegEd’s clients, to talk to them about implementing new functionality above and beyond what they already have. It’s a big opportunity and very interesting. During my trip I had the opportunity to visit The Gates in Central Park.

I have to admit that my initial impressions when I read about it and saw it on TV was a big ho-hum, who cares. But, after seeing them, I have a completely changed opinion. They were really cool, brought a lot of people out and created a ton of interest. By no means were they beautiful, but they certainly added interesting color to the landscape, something that is certainly missing in Central Park during a typical February.

Some house news: It was shown again yesterday and will be shown tomorrow at 10:30. Tomorrow will be the 4th showing. Again, I’m cautiously optimistic.

Ben is doing great. He’s becoming much more communicative as he is trying (and we’re encouraging) more speech. We’ve also made an effort to cut back on pacifier time. He’s always had it in the car, but now we’re withholding it. And he’s doing just fine. He doesn’t even have one at daycare anymore.

It’s late and I should be in bed already (Sunday mornings are my day to get up with Ben while Laura sleeps in). But, I hadn’t posted anything to the site in a week so, I wanted to post some quick items…

The house officially went on the market yesterday. I got a call today at noon about someone wanting to come see it. Things move fast, I guess.

Laura left this evening for a quick trip down to Houston to visit family. They are getting together because of Uncle Tom’s passing last week. It’s bad circumstances, but she’s excited about seeing the Kilcoyne clan and her mother. So, Ben and I are left alone as bachelors for the rest of the weekend and Monday.

Tonight was bath night and Ben did great…as usual. We have a bucket in the tub that he likes to play with and tonight he decided it would be great to wear it for half of the bath. He’s just so cute, it’s hard to describe. Earlier today, after dropping Mommy off at the airport, we hit a park with big, huge slides and Ben had a blast. He loves slides. I guess all kids do. Laura had been at this park with him earlier in the week and she told me that he had no problems with the slide. So, he goes up and starts heading down. And boy did he come down. It was like greased lightning. As he almost went off the end of the slide, Daddy had to reach out and catch him.

In other news, Laura and I have decided to put our house up for sale. It was a tough decision made easier by the prospect of something closer to work. Our daily drive is taking its toll on us, and Ben. When we were kid-less, 45 minutes in the car wasn’t so bad. It ended up being 80-100 minutes round trip. But, add in dropping off and picking up Ben from daycare, and suddenly we’re usually spending 90-120 minutes a day in the car. And he gets fidgety after 20-30 minutes. So, a home closer to work and daycare will solve some problems.

It’s sad because we love our house, our neighborhood, our neighbors and even the feeling of being away from everything when we get home. But, there are tradeoffs. So, anyone know someone looking for a beautiful house in Fuquay-Varina?

My mother just called to tell me that she and cousin Donna spent some time this weekend cleaning out my Grandmother’s apartment in NYC. Among her finds was Raye’s 1964 tax returns. Something tells me, that’s probably not needed anymore.

We found out some bad news yesterday. Laura’s Uncle Tom passed away at age 63 after a bout with cancer. He had a difficult life, especially over the last few years. As Laura has said to me on numerous occasions, he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. I have nothing but positive memories of a good man. Rest in peace, Tom.

I’ve got 3 stories about Ben.

1. Yesterday I picked him up from daycare and on our way home, everytime he saw a van, truck or SUV, he screamed out some unintelligible phrase. I have no idea what he was trying to say or why he was saying it. This went on for 5-10 minutes. The whole thing just makes me laugh.

2. Yesterday evening Ben and I sat down to give Cooper (our cat) treats. Ben gets one out of the container and he places one down near Cooper. Lately, Coop is getting a little friendlier and less scared of Ben. Well, Cooper actually let Ben pet him while he was eating his treats. Ben is learning that if he’s quiet and gentle, Coop will stick around, otherwise, he’s off to the closet, or under the bed, or behind the dresser or…

3. Tonight at dinner, we had spaghetti and meatballs. Ben was very intently watching me twirl my pasta onto my fork. He even tried to do it with his fork, but didn’t quite get it yet. It’s just amazing to watch him try to be just like Daddy and do what Daddy does. It’s somewhat awe inspiring really. It just makes me realize that my behavior will rub off on him. I guess I need to shape up!