“See… I can eat this avocado all by myself!”

Spending a day or two each week with our rapidly growing baby grandson, Nathan, gives us the chance to enjoy occasions like the one shown above. He is very proud of his eating accomplishments!

Above, I think he’s saying, “I’m not going to swallow until you tell me how good I’m doing!”

You can click on either photo for a larger image.

Sure is a wonderful feeling of thanksgiving to see him progressing so well after his imperiled start in the neo-natal intensive care unit as a six-week “preemie”. He’s now approaching eight-months-old (May 8) and is quite the normal little guy in virtually every way.

Two things are especially good. He loves just about any kind of baby food, and he can throw a happy grin clear across the room. Plus, he takes perfect care of grandma and grandpa whenever we go to see him.

What could be better than grandkids (just check out recent posts)? Nada. At least from this old guy’s point of view.

Granddaughter Talli Runs Another PR in 3,000 Meters

Our Frosh granddaughter Talli ran the 3,000 meters in a personal record time of 11:28 this afternoon in Gresham, Oregon at the Centennial High School Invitational Track Meet. Above, fourth from left, she is hitting the stretch and passing people.

My initial understanding is that she ran a very disciplined race and came in 7th. This is VARSITY, folks, and she was running against sophomores, juniors and seniors from all over northern Oregon.

She’s learning fast how to pace herself and position herself for optimum results. She held to her splits really well, and while others initially got a bit ahead of her, she was rapidly gaining ground and passing people on the last lap.

Wow. VERY NICE run, Kiddo! You have a bright future in high school track.

Easter Weekend in Oregon

Just got these pics from Gregg via email. They reflect our fun weekend in Oregon with Gregg and Elaine and granddaughters Talli, Hayley and Aubrey. Gregg gave a great sermon on Sunday (will try to post on it later) and we had a wonderful meal together in the afternoon.

Above is Hayley showing her Easter-appropriate “resurrection” bun; next to her is her friend, Casey. Do you know why the rolls are so named? Because when you bite into one, there is an “empty tomb” inside. Yikes, what you can learn on this blog! Below is Aubrey getting ready to color Easter eggs, and below that is the beautiful finished product.

It was a damp, chilly day and we had to put the dogs outside on the porch for a while during the egg coloring. They begged to come in by looking pitiful at the door. Above is the neighbor’s Pom-Poo, Shadow, at left, Gregg and Elaine’s Jack Russell Terrier, Jack, in the middle, and our Cav, Buddy, The dogs were just like kids – they wanted to be part of the action, too. Their ploy worked.

Major League Baseball Is Finally Underway

Today was opening day for the baseball season—well, yesterday actually was, but there was only one game—and of the teams I follow, the Mariners won, the Cubs won, and the Giants open tomorrow.

Newly re-acquired Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 612th career home run today in Minnesota tieing him with Frank Robinson at the MLB record eight opening day home runs. That’s more than Mays, Mantle, Bonds or Aaron ever hit in all their openers. Photo above shows him being welcomed back into the M's dugout following his shot.

Looks like a great baseball year is in the works. Don’t know how many early-season Mariners games we’ll get to, but two are on the horizon – a late May game against the Giants and a late June game against the Padres, both during interleague play.

There is nothing like the Springtime aromatic mixture of freshly graded dirt, sprouting green grass and a newly-oiled leather mitt. If you’ve played the game, you know what I mean.