December 2014

Annnd missed last month's update. Not sure where the time's going, but it's going there fast. As I'm sure that all of you are experiencing, our family is staring down a pretty well loaded schedule for the upcoming weeks - so going to try to touch on all that's happened!

Update for Matthew

This little guy is growing up fast. He's starting to really develop a sense of identity and beginning to show preferences - which is fascinating to watch. He did amazing with Anna in their trip down to Texas for Thanksgiving (I had to stay home due to some schedule conflicts with work) and had a blast with her family. He also learned how to say "cheeseburger" - which has become somewhat of an adorable past time (he doesn't say it much...but when he does, everyone celebrates).

He's also starting to really enjoy all those toys people have been trying to get him to play with for the past 19 months - I think it's starting to click that these things are awesome. His latest fascination has been trains and over the past couple of weekends, we've visited downtown where there's a burger place that is FILLED with trains (and yes, he's in absolute heaven the entire time). I'm looking forward to getting him down there again soon now that we're able to say "cheeseburger" and "choo choo".

Update for Anna

Three more classes! Getting pretty excited for the upcoming completion of the Master's!! Anna's going through everything and doing a great job - she handles the combined pressure of taking care of Matthew and I in addition to her schoolwork and day job with a patience that I'm pretty sure I'll never come close to accomplishing. It's truly amazing and I'm thankful more and more that I get to share this amazing experience with her.

Update for Jay

Work has officially hit the "hold on" phase - which for the past week or so has translated into an average of 10 hours at the office and trying to fit everything else in when I get home. Thankfully, we had a good vacation for Thanksgiving to prepare for the insanity that we're going to be experiencing these next few weeks until the start of January - hopefully it'll be enough!


As is usual, if you're going to be around, give us a shout so that we can get together and catch up!

October 2014

Well it definitely feels like I just sat down to write one of these things yesterday - of course, with everything that is going on, I'm pretty impressed that I'm getting this out this close to the start of the month!

Update for Matthew

As was stated previously, our little guy has come a long way.  He's becoming more and more talkative (although we're still working on the whole language barrier thing) with everyone and wants to make sure that you know exactly what he's thinking about whatever it is going on at any particular point.  And we're starting to get a bit of temper too - definitely figuring out what it is that he wants...and if he doesn't get that, bar the door, because he'll let you know about it.

Update for Anna

We're getting closer and closer to the end of classes (for the Master's degree, at least).  Which makes for a pretty crazy schedule - but Anna's handling it like a champ.  Still not sure how she manages to take care of all of us, work, and go to class (and keep up with those classes).  But she does.  And we love her for it.

Update for Jay

Work is still in the gear-up stages for the next project, after hitting a few minor snags with some details.  However, we're still going strong and hope to be getting into the thick of design of the next phase of our program upgrade shortly.  Needless to say, that means that the smaller projects that we have floating around currently need to have determinations on if they're going to be able to be completed or put on hold made.  Which is always fun.  And super stressful.



With all that being said, if you're going to be in our area - please let Anna or I know so that we can try to get together for a cup of coffee and catch up!

September 2014

Well September has been a busy month!  Going to try to get everything down that has been going on since the last update here for everyone.

Update for Matthew

We're definitely seeing more and more communication from our little guy - though he still hasn't quite broken the English barrier, he's making sure that he's being heard by everyone that is around him.  And he has a ton to say about everything that is going on.  Especially food.  And his dog.  And playing outside.

He's getting more comfortable around the kids that he sees at daycare as well, which makes it so much easier for us to drop him off in the morning!  Whereas before he seemed to not be able to wait for us to show up and get him home to see his dog and have dinner, now he has a tendency to want to play just a little bit longer once mom shows up in the afternoon.  And we're alright with that.

Update for Anna

The 'final class' has begun (sort of)!  This semester is actually kind of an odd one - half being on one day for one class and the second half on another day for another class.  But this is the final semester for Anna to get her Master's degree!  I know that she's really looking forward to being done with the degree (though she'll still have to take a few more classes before she can completely cross off the prerequisites for both CPA exams).  And while she's doing an amazing job balancing everything going on with us currently, I'm pretty sure she's pretty pumped about getting to a point where she has one less thing to have to worry about.

Update for Jay

As stated in the previous update, work has just been getting busier and busier.  With the upcoming kickoff for our "Phase 2" project, our team has had to kick some other projects into high gear in order to free up enough time to start to get our hands around the prerequisite work that is needed in order to get ready for everyone else to get ready to start.  Putting that down, I realize that it sounds a lot more confusing than it did when I think about it.

Suffice to say, it's super hectic around our area of the office and doesn't look like it's going to be slowing down for us anytime in the near future.


As is usual, if you're going to be in our neck of the woods, give us a shout so that we can get together and catch up!

August 2014

So July got away from us before we realized what was happening - hence the skip in blog posts.  I will try to capture everything that has happened as much as possible (it feels like a ton has happened and that it's only been a few days since I posted last).

Update for Matthew

The little guy is moving more and more confidently around places - especially when it comes to places that he's familiar with and/or really wants to get to.  Things are becoming more and more interesting for him to manipulate (i.e., cabinets are really, really cool because that's where we're not supposed to be and have things that look like toys and make the adults kinda freak out when we play with them).  Independent play is still...tenuous in regards to the true definition of "independent", but we're definitely getting to the point where we can hand him something and have a reasonable chance that he'll entertain himself for a few moments before requiring either another item or our attention.

Teething is starting to really pick up (at least it seems that way - might not be as back-to-back as it was for the first few, but the ones that are coming in now make up for the slower pace by the size of the tooth and the pain that they cause).  Dancing is definitely still one of our favorite activities - in fact just about anything with a rhythm becomes "dance-dance music" for him.  We're also really starting to notice a more concentrated effort on his part to communicate - we're not always sure what exactly is being relayed to us...but it's definitely something that takes a few minutes and is very, very, very important that we know.

Update for Anna

As many of you know, Anna has completed just about all of her classes for her Master's program (she's only got 3 hours left!) and is really starting to get excited about closing this particular chapter.  She's doing great with the handling of everything (Matthew, class, me, work, etc.) and we're all starting to get excited about what the future holds for us when we don't have to worry about the next paper/exam/homework assignment.

Update for Jay

Work has been insanely busy lately - so there really isn't a ton of 'updates' for myself other than just trying to keep everything in line and stay afloat.  We're getting closer to kicking off the next 'phase' of the CapitalStream program, which is going to mean a huge amount of behind-the-scenes balancing acts to keep the system alive and moving while also upgrading and updating the setups that are all flowing in and out.  Which I'm sure is about all you really want to hear about it - sometimes Anna just tells me to stop trying to explain what it is that I'm doing and tell people that I perform 'technical magic' and make the things work better.

I know that it's not a ton of verbiage - but, again, it feels like we just got done posting about our last update...and honestly, most of the updates that we all care about are in regards to Matthew anyways.  ^_^

June 2014

This month has already started out going nearly the speed of light - and it looks like there's no slowing us down anytime soon.  Which is both terrifying and awesome.

Update for Matthew

Now that he's over a year - our little guy is pretty dedicated to walking and letting us know his mind (even though he hasn't fully mastered any particular words yet...he's a talker).  He is definitely developing favorites with his toys (currently one of his most sought after item is a small ball that we found and got on a whim...can you say success?) and is starting to really understand basic patterns when it comes to certain times of the day (most notably his bed time routine).

He's also really started to play independently - although this usually tends to require more monitoring than when he was playing with us.  Our current favorite game is to rummage through the trash and find the random 'cup-like' objects and take them with us around the house.  He's also started really enjoying music - the more bass and rhythm, the happier the 'dancing' that we get to watch.

Update for Anna

Anna is doing amazing - she just finished a concentrated semester (full semester in 3 weeks) of a graduate class and is diving into a summer semester of two more.  I believe the plan is to be complete by the end of the year (although I could be mistaken - you'd have to ask her, because it feels like every time I turn around she's finishing another course).  I know she's stressed, but watching her maneuver through these classes, the workload that she shoulders, and taking care of Matthew and I, you really wouldn't know it (although she'd probably love to tell you all about the craziness that is going on).

Update for Jay

These past few weeks have been a rather concentrated whirlwind of action for me professionally - I was recently promoted at the bank to a position that, so far, seems to be much more in line with what I want to be moving towards.  Instead of being solely dedicated to the CapitalStream program as an System Administrator, I'm now a System Analyst for our Credit area (which, while I'm still heavily involved with the design and implementation of the CapitalStream solution, is a more behind-the-scenes position focusing on the actual breaking down of systems to identify how they operate with one another and help identify ways in which to create a more efficient process overall).  A lot of my time is spent discussing ways in which the world that we exist in currently can be moved into a more streamlined environment at the moment, but with some of the big projects that are on the horizon at the moment, it's definitely going to be getting interesting here soon.


As is usual - if you're going to be in our corner of the world (or if you'd like to get together and put something down on our calendars to plan on a trip here), let us know!  We'd love to get to see you and introduce you to Matthew!!

May 2014

So as many of you know, Matthew's birthday was this month - which basically means that we've been pretty busy with family visiting.  So I'm pretty impressed that I am getting this update posted so soon.  We also just got back from visiting the Peytons for the baptism of their newest son the weekend before...so we're definitely playing catch up on general rest and recovery.

Update for Matthew

Other than turning 1 (which was an awesome milestone to reach, btw), our little man has been growing more and more confident with his mobility.  He's truly becoming more and more interested in independent movement, although at the moment that is basically crawling and 'walking' with the assistance of his walker (or just about anything that he can easily push around and use as a 'walker').  He's also playing more and more independently (although sometimes this results in us needing to be more vigilant on what 'toys' he's discovering around the house) as well as becoming more and more interested in playing/cuddling with our dog - although she's still trying to figure out just how she feels about this.

Update for Anna

Anna is starting to gear back up for her return to the classroom here in the next few weeks - something that I know she's pretty nervous about...although she's going to be awesome (but don't tell her I said that).

She survived another tax season (this time with two people needing her to take care of them, instead of just me) and I know that this break between the end of the working craziness and the upcoming insanity of classes/work/taking care of Matthew and I is something that she's treasuring.  So hopefully we didn't stress her out too much with all the traveling and partying that Matthew and I did over this last weekend (there was cake.  And lots of sugar...)

Update for Jay

While I don't have the excuse of more classes to explain my running around and forgetting just about everything that I do after 12 hours have passed (which is why we have checklists, smartphones, and emails, right?) - I can't deny that it's been an eye-opening experience.  I never realized how much is needed to keep something alive and moving...or that it was something that our team was capable of (trials by fire are truly...interesting).  That being said, the experiences are not something that I would give up - they have truly opened my eyes to what we are capable of when we get pushed to the line and asked the impossible.  Our team has risen to the challenge each time (even those that require some extra coffee and burning the candles at both ends in order to keep up at the office and at home).  I couldn't be more proud to work with who I do or more impressed at what we've managed to accomplish.  And it only looks like we're going to be moving forward.  That's what truly is exciting - not what we've accomplished, but rather what lies in store for us to conquer.

As usual, please let us know if you're in our corner of the world - we'd love to catch up with you!

April 2014

In the same vein as the last month's update - this is probably going to be a pretty short post.  We're nearly through the worst part of the tax season...but there's still a week or so to go before we get free from that particular beast.

Update for Matthew

The little guy has really started moving on his own, both with crawling and 'walking' (with his walker/anything else that is about knee level in the house).  He's basically all but mastered the turning of the walker, and really can get just about anywhere that we don't want him to.  This past weekend we finally had to put up a gate to cut off access to the mystical stairs which hold a good level of his fascination (and when we're downstairs, we're having to constantly 'help' him to steer clear of trying to climb them.

In other aspects, he's quickly becoming more and more interested in playing independently (which we're not all that disappointed with, to be honest) and exploring the areas of the house that are opening up to him as he becomes more confident in his ability to move around.

Update for Anna

While we're getting close, we're still in the thick of the dreaded tax season.  Anna is doing amazing with balancing being a mom and the demands of work - although she will probably be to busy to actually acknowledge anything other than the details that require her immediate attention currently.  Lots of weekends with Matthew and I playing while she helps out at the office and keeps everything and everyone above water.

Update for Jay

Work has been a steady rate of a blur of activity for the most part.  Between the new projects that our team is being pulled into for assistance/advice, the maintenance of our live system, and the design of the new phases that we're getting ready to either roll into production or implementation for a later deployment this year...I'm not sure sometimes if we'd still be able to walk around at the end of the workday without the coffee that we imbibe.  But it's still an amazing process to be a part of - the growth is undeniable to anyone who looks at the situation we're in and it's exciting to be a part of such a vibrant environment.  Stressful sometimes, but exciting none-the-less.


As is usual, I want to let anyone who is passing through our area to know that we'd love to see you - so please don't hesitate to shoot us an email, text, or call Anna or I.  

March 2014

Well this is probably going to be a pretty short update - to be honest, Anna and I have both been super busy at work, so there hasn't been much that has occurred for us since last month's update.

Update for Matthew

As many of you saw on Facebook in these past couple of days, Matthew has finally started getting more and more impatient about not being able to move around himself, and has started to really show some interest in walking.  Just this morning, we stroller-walked around the house for about 20 minutes - with the only assistance needed when it came to making some turns and transitions between our carpet and hardwood floors.

He has also started to eat more 'grown-up' food, mostly due to his not really being all that interested in baby food other than his cereal (which we're having to supplement with the fruits and veggies due to his not wanting anything to do with them on their own when they're pureed).  It's pretty fun to introduce him to some of the more basic foods that we eat (mostly rice, mac and cheese, some meats from time to time, and, one of his favorites, stew).

Update for Anna

Again, this update is pretty much summed up with the phrase: "Tax Season."  Anna has been running nearly full speed for the past couple of months - and it doesn't look like she's going to be able to slow down until at least the end of April...at which time, of course, her classes are going to resume.  Thankfully, she and Matthew have both seemed to gotten over the never-ending bug that was plaguing them finally, which means that her energy is starting to somewhat come back (although between the tax season and having a 10 month old demanding her attention, I don't quite understand how she can move without an inordinate amount of coffee to assist her).

Update for Jay

Work is definitely starting to pick up for me as well, with most of the preliminary planning complete, we're now starting to identify which gun barrel we're going to be staring down for the foreseeable future in regards to oncoming projects for the next phase.  Which is both exciting and rather daunting at the same time - sometimes the sheer amount of information that is required to be processed is rather unnerving...especially when it feels at times that there isn't enough hours in the day to get the tasks that we already have on our plates finished.  But our team is amazing, and we haven't come up against anything yet that we haven't been able to overcome, so my hope is that, while it's tough, we're going to continue that track-record.


As is usual, I want to invite anyone who's passing through the area to give us a shout - we'd love to see you and catch up (and, in light of this weekend's forecast, give you shelter from any literal storms that are about to hit our small corner of the world).

February 2014

First off, I wanted to apologize for the lack of a post last month - we were all super busy with holiday travels and then all got sick, so there wasn't a lot of free time in which to sit down and compose.  Hopefully, I'll be able to cover everything in this month's update.

Update for Matthew

Needless to say, Matthew has gone through quite a lot these past couple of months.  We drove down to Dallas to visit some close friends for what has become somewhat of a new tradition for New Years Eve - which was no small event this year.  Of course, even without an infant in the car, an 8 hour drive can be tedious...and Matthew did a great job both on the way down and back up.  We got to finally meet the Case's new arrival, as well as catch up with the Hornsby and Mech families.  Overall the trip was a blast that ended too quickly.

Of course the next experience for Matthew wasn't nearly as much fun, as soon after getting back home, we all got hit by a bug and have just recently gotten back to our normal healthy selves.  Both Matthew and Anna got hit a bit harder than I did, but we've all been down and out for the most part of the last couple of weeks, so it's nice to start seeing everyone getting back on their feet.

Matthew has also started attending daycare twice a week, to better help Anna survive tax season, and has been doing quite well, from what I've heard.  the other development that has been going on is that he seems to finally start to show some interest in getting independent mobility - although he still obviously prefers the big people to carry him around.

He just recently got his two bottom teeth in, so we're also having fun getting through the pain of that whole process (him obviously moreso than Anna or I) as well as starting to really become interested in chewing on just about everything that he can get his hands on (food and otherwise).

Update for Anna

Tax. Season.

No, seriously.  It's tax season - so the fact that she is able to take care of Matthew and I on top of keeping her head above water at work is beyond impressive.  And she does it with a smile (generally...unless I do something that I shouldn't) - which is only more amazing.

As I mentioned in Matthew's update, Anna has also been going through some illness (the weather is definitely not helping the situation).  So that, on top of the normal load of stress that is present around this time of the year has not improved matters. But we're getting through it (with the help of a lot of hot tea and cough drops) and are getting closer to the end of the tax-tunnel every day.

Update for Jay

As is normal, work has been pretty busy for me - though now that the holiday season is coming to a close and everyone is back from vacation, it's calming down.  We're looking at another few projects that will probably be starting here soon and will be taking at least a few months to design and implement - which is one of my growing points of interest.  In my mind, the development and implementation of systems have kind of always been more my cup of tea when compared to maintaining the systems after they go live - I'm definitely guilty of having more interest in design than in maintaining new programs and procedures.



As usual, I want to invite anyone who is passing through our area to give us a shout - we'd love to see you and catch up over a cup of coffee (or hot tea).