PEPS Birthday Party

Our PEPS group got together, today, to celebrate all of our babies birthdays!  Since all of them were born within a month of each other, it was only fitting.  The party was held at the Seattle Aquarium.  We hung out in a conference room where Sammie the Sea Lion came to visit followed by some starfish for petting.  After that, we had some birthday cake and purused the aquarium. 

Following that, Shaundar and I hung out with our pals and fellow PEPS parents, Tom and Jodie and their son Braden.  Here are the pics.

Upon arrival of Sammie the Sea Lion

Touch Tank

Jodie made these cute little picture boxes for all the kids.

Blowing out his candle. I realized today, that he's done this 3 times, now. I think we're done.

It's hard to see, but there are jelly fish in the tank.

Desi, Braden and an octopus.

Same picture, but with flash. I can't take very good pictures in low light.

This fish wouldn't stop staring at Desmond. (upper right)

He's supposed to be a Jelly Fish.

With Braden on the carousel

Daddy's boy.

Random nothings

Nothing exciting to this post.  The first pic is Desi looking at all the people at the MS Halloween event in my building.  The second is the service award I just received for 5 years at Microsoft. 

Shut Up, Quincy!

Clearly...I need to watch what I say around Desmond.  We knew this could be a problem during pregnancy when we were discussing how to curb our Sailor mouths.  We've gotten pretty good about refraining from swearing around Des.  What we forget are other things.

For instance...Quincy is a very whiney dog.  He will frequently lose his ball under the couch.  Or, he will want food.  Or, he's just bored or lonely.  When this happens, he will give a pathetic little whine or whimper.  If we don't notice, he will begin to give increasing louder high-pitched barks.  For the 5 years that Quincy has lived with us, my reponse has been to yell, "Shut up, Quincy!"  It's automatic, at this point.  Much like belching after beer.

The other day, Quincy was yapping away.  I think it was one a lost ball.  Unprovoked by me, Desi pointed at the dog and said, "Yah Yah Da!" or somthing that was not very intelligible.  Although, the number of syllables and the cadence of the blabber, as well as the intonation, reminded me an awful lot of, "Shut up, Quincy!" 

Do you realize what this means?  It means I have to be aware of my tone and what I say at ALL times.  When I am driving and someone cuts me off.  When the Mariners are playing.  When the Mormons come to my door.  There is nothing that Desi can't pick up on.

Maybe I'll still keep my routine when the Mormons come to the door.

Happy Birthday, Desi!

Yeah, yeah...I know his birthday was actually on the 17th. We held his party, today (Saturday). On Tuesday, we gave him a half of a mini cupcake, sang Happy Birthday, and called it a day.

Today was the big shindig.

We had a small gathering of family and neighbors. Nothing huge. Just a few peeps.

Here are some pics.  Videos at the bottom.

A cupcake on the Real Birthday.

With Mommy...this hat actually stayed on for a record amount of time.

With Keely

Ryan

Auntie Kelley

With Mom, again.

The Birthday cake.

Eating the cake...in case you couldn't tell.

Presents...after a change of clothes.

Blowing out the candles from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.


Cake from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

Neti Pot

We've had a gross head cold floating around the house.  I think I caught it at the Microsoft Halloween party (snot nosed brats).  Desi got it shortly after.  Now, Shaundar has it, too.  We're a family of grossies.

Years ago, Kelley told me about this absolutely disgusting invention called a Neti Pot.  It's basically a pot with hot salt water that you stick up your nose.

Here's how it's supposed to work:




Although that chick makes it look much more graceful.  What you don't see is the snot and mucus that comes out with it. 

This guy shows you how to really do it.

Halloween

I always have mixed feelings about Halloween. Not in the "day of the devil...filled with evil...go to the fall harvest instead" way. More of the "you're 15 years old and you're not wearing a costume, you little punk," way.

Every year is the same. You get your super cute kids showing up wearing great costumes. So far, today, we've seen a mummified colonel, a ninja, some character from GI Joe, about 6 Spidermans (Spidermen?), and a Michelle Obama.

Then...you get the brats that show up in their street clothes with a backpack wide open on their front.

Anyway...Desi did his first Trick or Treating, today. It wasn't much. We basically went over to the neighbors to show him off, snapped some pictures and that was it. It was pretty chilly, so he went out in his Northwest Robin costume, complete with ear covering hat. He wouldn't keep the face mask on.














And...for your viewing pleasure. Greg Behrendt on Halloween. Funny stuff...beware, adult language.

Sloppy Guts! OR Pumpkin Sloppy Joes

The internet actually called these "Sloppy Boos," but that's lame, so I changed the name.

We served it at PEPS tonight and the reviews were strong, so I figured I would post. Great for Halloween.

It's low fat and pretty easy. I doubled the recipe and it barely made it through 14 people. I'm not positive if everyone ate.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 medium chopped onions
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt to taste

Directions:

In a large heavy saucepan brown the ground turkey over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions. Cook until the onions are almost soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for additional minute or two. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Desi says his first word...and we have it recorded!

Check it out, here.

When you're done...check this out!!!

Always wanted to do that!

Courtesy of Grandpa P

The new Tommy Lee:

Rolling in the dirty sheets

Quincy loves to roll in the dirty sheets. Apparently, so does Desmond.

(Before everyone freaks out...if you don't know Quincy, he's generally loud. This is him being playful)


Rolling in the dirty sheets. from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

Happy (Late) Birthday, Grandma Kathy!

I mentioned Grandma Kathy was in town. We figured, while she was here, and since she hasn't been to our new place in Seattle, we would take her out for a belated birthday celebration. We went to the Sky Cafe atop the Space Needle. Very very awesome place to dine.

Clearly...I need to remember to take fewer pictures of the baby and more pictures of our guests, when we're out...

Getting ready to leave:


Desi eating with a view


With his favorite Mommy in the whole world.


With one of his favorite daddies.

Admiring Grandma's birthday dessert...The Lunar Orbitor.

Trip to the Zoo

Grandma Kathy has been here for the week. Today, we all took the day off and went to the zoo. Here's some photos...in no particular order:

That's the size of a hippo print. Desi loved the Hippos.


Hangin' with Daddy. Oh...wait, sorry...that's a gorilla.


Lovin' his leaf. Or Canada.




That's a lioness in the background. Rawr!
















Snow leopard


An exotic Squirrel from the Northwestern Region of Central North America got loose.

The Next Tommy Lee?

Where's Pam?

Tommy Lee? from Jason Pankow on Vimeo.

Did somebody else figure out how to stack the vote?

Not that I'm stacking the vote or anything...but, really.

What should we do for Desi's birthday?

This is currently the hot topic in our house. Desmond's big Numero Uno is coming up in just over a month. What should we do?

Shaundar wants to have a party at our house. She wants to have our closest friends over to hang out and chill and give Desi presents. Then, Desi gets to make a huge mess in his own little cake.

Me...I want to go out. And, I don't want the cake.

I know, I know...I'm a horrible dad. Kids are supposed to make a big cake mess. Well...Desmond has never had cake before, so he won't know what he's missing. Plus, that leaves a big mess to clean in the kitchen, not to mention a messy and hyperactive baby. Not my idea of a fun party.

I say, let's all go grab pizza with Grandpa P (who will be in town) Brian, Lise, Kelley and (Godfather) Ryan, put a little hat on Des (which will stay on for about 4 seconds), sing happy birthday, take some pictures and be done with it.

Bing Bang Boom. Birthday celebrated. No hyperactivity. No huge mess (any mess at all will be cleaned up by the help...I mean the waitstaff), and, we're done. Time to hit the mall.

Anyway...I put a poll up on the right. I am looking for the opinions of my 5 readers and anyone else who may occasionally peek at the site. What do you think?

So far...100% of the voters agree with me. That's one smart guy that voted. Smart, and good looking.