My favorite new picture + some creepy pictures

I love this photo.. I just think it's the cutest.

Last night, we had a belated Christmas party for the Kirby's staff. I had a lot of fun. I think I was successfully able to get the two female bartenders a bit drunk by feeding them a lot of white wine. Somehow our dear Ellis (pictured below) ended up on the giraffe tent.

Everyone is always creeped out by Ellis, or at the very least, intrigued by his weirdness. He's been a good source of entertainment for me for about 15 years. If you've never met him, say hello to our little friend. He rarely waves back, mostly because he has no hands or forearms.

Alex's b-day/Solomon video

I have posted a few pictures below of Alex's birthday party. I surprised him by inviting a few of his out-of-town friends to Wichita. Jason and Sol came in and hung out with us along with the other Wichita folks. We had dinner at Sumo, drinks and a lovely cake (made by Abby) for dessert, and then went to The Alibi Room for drinks. It was very fun.

The Birthday Boy, not being very nice.

Sol, Alex & Jason (snuggling on the couch) Sara, Chris & Abby (The cake Abby made is pictured as well)

Alex was out of town Wed.-Fri. as his mom had her knee replaced last week. He went to KC to help her out, so Solomon and I just hung out together. We had a good time. Solomon really likes our dog Coco. I've posted a cute video below of the two of them snuggling.

One big curl and one big fall

I love the picture above b/c I just love that giant curl on his forehead. It's so cute.

We had a good weekend. Solomon received lots and lots of attention as Alex's mom, brother, sister, spouses and kids all came down Saturday and Sunday for a visit. We ate tons of food and made a visit to our bar. The only bad thing that happened was Solomon fell down the stairs. The baby gate didn't get latched properly one time and he just went up to it and knocked it down and fell with it. It was horrible and Alex completely freaked out. Fortunately, Solomon is fine and the steps are carpeted so he is okay. I think it just scared him pretty bad.. along with scaring the s&%t out of us. Solomon has decided that his Uncle Zach/Ray is his favorite (pictured below). He kept getting jealous when Zach's son, Sam, sat on Zach's lap. It was pretty cute.

Solomon has really been enjoying standing on things or getting up high or climbing (see above) as well as plastic things with lids of some sort that he can take off and put back on.

KU had a couple of lovely victories this past Monday versus Oklahoma and then they killed Mizzou yesterday. It made a lovely end to the weekend.

I enjoyed the above picture of Alex. He was headed to softball practice on a very cold day and he looks just a bit odd.

Work has been crazy for me lately, but will hopefully slow down a bit for the next week or so.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

The scene of a crime - filmstrip style

The pictures below appear to show some sort of suspicious activity taking place. They were pulled from my camera about a month ago.

I'm glad to report that the monkey escaped alive! The car was identified later that afternoon next to a sit n' spin, several stacking cups and Elmo's Kitchen. No arrests have been made.

New toy=new pics

Alex got me a new camera for Valentine's Day. He wouldn't have spent that much normally for V-Day, but my old "small" camera was getting bad. His bigger cameras just aren't convenient to pop out when needed quickly. Therefore, I have some new pics and one new quick video of Solomon of course.He's currently very intrigued with our old coffee pot/caraffe container.Grandma Thomas got him "Elmo's Kitchen" for Christmas and he can't get enough of it.Ready for bathtime.. Loves being naked.

I was just going in to get him from a long nap. I love when he wakes up so happy.

Other Stuff: Alex bought a classic car last night that he wants to gradually restore. It's a '64 Chevy Impala. My dad went with us to Hunnewell, KS (population 84 is what I found online) to look at it. It will definitely need some work, but after all, the car is 55 year old! My dad listed off a few cars that he had back in the 60's that would be worth ridiculous amounts of money if he had kept them. Too bad, but seriously, who knew? It should be a fun project and look pretty cool when it's in better shape.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

I told you I would post a V-Day related photo of Solomon and now I've done it. I think the first one is so "Risky Business". Hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

Busy Bees

Life just never seems to slow down for us. The bar stuff is still rolling along. I think the local NBC affiliate is going to do a business news story on us owning Kirby's sometime soon. They're taping it today. It should be fun. Alex is always really good at the soundbite thing.
I wanted to post a picture of Solomon that Alex took a few weeks ago, but he just hasn't had time to "process" them in the program he uses to make them look their best. Hopefully I will get one on here before or on Valentine's Day since that was the purpose of taking them.
I just found out something fun today. My friend, Sara, is pregnant and due in early September. It could be an Aug. 31st baby though.. you never know.
Alex and I have been recycling since the beginning of the year. It's gone really well so far. I didn't want to say we were doing it until we actually were doing it. They have a great one-stop dump it all recycling place that isn't too close to our house, but not so far that we can't go once a month. We are recycling glass, food and beverage cans, plastics, cardboard, mixed paper and plastic sacks. It's just amazing how much less is in our garbage can every week. Alex gives one of his customers the alluminum cans from the bar and we are trying to recycle at least the mixed paper and cardboard (most of it) from the bar as well. So far, it hasn't been too hard. We have the coolest Rubbermaid recycling containers too. I really like their functionality.
Alex's old friend Jason, former Ophil trumpet player, got married last weekend. It was like a mini-reunion and it was a lot of fun to see everyone. Alex was a groomsman, a duty he's held many, many times.
Solomon had a mild case of RSV a few weeks ago, but he's feeling much better now and has returned to his mostly crazy, giggly, silly self. People like my mom keep telling me to cut his hair a little bit, but it's so cute right now, so I'm not sure. Does anyone have thoughts? It's not like he has to go to a job interview anytime soon! Solomon has been taking Tumble Tots class once a week. It mainly consists of him running around and loving all of the open space. He isn't quite ready for the parallel bars in competition but I do expect him to be just about any day.
Work has been crazy again lately and I expect it to remain that way for a few more weeks and then maybe there will be a slight lull again.
Sara and I are going to my friend, Chenay's baby shower, this weekend. She just had a boy and already has two other girls. Congrats Chad and Chenay ! Then, I'm off on Monday for President's Day! Hooray!
I'm having coffee with Tammy tonight. I haven't seen her in a while.
I have to go run some errands for work, so I'm off.