Summer is over

Now I can say earnestly that the summer is over. There's chill in the air and the sky is generally clouded, threatening to rain. I am such a baby about the cooler weather, I am not as excited to go out and its not truly cold yet. Lydia is content to stay at home, also, but for different reason, which I honestly do not know. It just takes me a while to talk into going outside and the only way I am successful is if I promise her playtime with her friends. Sadly, I can't always deliver that, because her little friends are not always home. But it gets her out anyway, and she has fun playing with whoever she sees at the playground.

It has been so fun watching her greet her friends. She knows all of their names and she runs and hugs them whenever she sees them. There is nothing like watching two kids running and squealing from excitement as they run toward one another. They often give each other hugs and hold hands as they walk. It is so cute!

Recently we have been invited to participate in a preschool of sorts. It is two times per week. We, parents, take turns hosting it. The kids love it; Lydia never wants to go home and she talks about the kids she sees there all the time. It's nice, cause once a week I have about 3 hours to run errands or do something at home. It is not complete freedom since Tyler is still with me , but he does sleep for a part of it. And one hour out of that time I go to a Core Training class while Paul watches the baby.

That leads me into the next chapter of new events. I decided to take a couple of exercise classes so I can get in shape and maybe, just maybe, lose some weight. I have been feeling down on myself for not being able to fit into my old clothes. People say to give it time, but three months have gone by and I have not moved an inch in the weight department. I figured if I take classes, I will be more willing to haul myself to the Gym. One of the classes I am taking focuses on training the core (or abs). We do exercises on the fitness ball with the aid of medicine ball (a weight). It is an incredibly difficult class (teacher has called it Pilate's on steroids), but I feel like I am getting better. Now, I feel retarded only a portion of the time in class, but then again, I did just have a baby.

The second class is at 7 am and it is hard to get up that early. It incorporates weight training, abs and cardio workouts. I have been to class only a handful of times, but I can sure feel the muscles we put to work there. All in all, so far, I have not lost a pound, but it feels great to be this physically active. But I've got to admit-it wipes me out by the middle of the day. Naps become my only hope to get through the day.

Workshop in Banff

I attended a workshop (on entropy rates of hidden-Markov processes) related to my research in Banff, Canada. It's in Alberta, near Calgary, in the Canadian Rockies. I remembered to pack shorts for the trip, but forgot to bring my coat. As you can see in the picture, I didn't need it. :) Four layers of shirts make an okay substitute for a coat.

The workshop was very fun. It was very different than conferences that I've been to. It had only one session. All of the speakers spoke for an hour, including me. There were only about 30 people there, and it was fun getting to know them. There were some people math and statistical physics, and I think nine information theorists. On some nights the workshop went until 9pm, including a problem sessions where we discussed open problems.

My talk went as well or better than I had hoped. I got the audience involved by teasing them with puzzles related to my topic. Several people told me afterwards that they really enjoyed the talk and found it fascinating. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough to say and that what I did say wouldn't be related enough to be interesting. I'm glad it went well. Some people thought it was interesting that I would encounter hidden-Markov entropy rates in communication problems.

We had one afternoon off that several of us used to climb Sulfur Mountain, which you see in the picture. It was beautiful there, and we stayed in a nice place (the Banff Center) that had sports facilities and a nice dining room with a view.

Update on Tyler

Everyone notices that Tyler is a very pleasant kid. Not only does he not complain much, but he smiles at everyone as well. It's very easy to get him to smile.

He's a very cute kid. I hesitate to say that because I know that because we thought that about Lydia at this age and the pictures prove otherwise. But it might actually be true with him. Andrew Gardner (a friend from church) thinks he looks like the new James Bond (Casino Royale).

He had a problem pooping through all of his diapers, which was really annoying. They'd always leak up the back. Somehow that problem went away. I'm also glad that I've never experienced him peeing all over when we change a diaper, except during a bath.

Tyler actually plays with his baby toys. When we sit him in the bouncing chair with toys hanging near his face he sits and tinkers with them. Lydia never did that. He also scoots out of his chairs a lot. We can't leave him in a swing or anything without strapping him in.

Update on Lydia

Lydia's favorite phrases:
"What are you doing?"
"What happened?"
"You do it."
"Open it."

She loves to dance (as usual) and listen to "zuzic" (music). Sometimes I play the keyboard or guitar and she enjoys dancing to it. The moment I stop the song she says "again."

She's getting more and more stubborn, like when she doesn't want to wear a particular item of clothes (I found her the other day in bed without her shirt on), but she's also more obedient about some things. I think that comes from more understanding of what we are asking of her. She usually eats the food we give her now.

We just started putting her in a real bed. We're trying to move her out of the crib so that Tyler can occupy it soon. She really likes the idea but has an amazingly small amount of self control. We give her three tries to stay in bed and then move her back to her crib. The first several days she couldn't even stay in bed for more than 10 seconds. She always heads straight for the door or the light-switch, which are dead give-aways. I figured that after the first day of putting her back in the crib (accompanied by much crying and screaming) she would know that we are serious and stay in bed the next time. But that was not the case. Even when she knew exactly what was coming, she still got right out of bed. I even laid on the floor one time to help her stay in bed, and she would sit up every few seconds to start climbing out of bed.

On about the fifth day we forgot about her and thought we had put her in the crib. In the morning I went to get her and was shocked to find her playing with toys rather than in the crib. Since then she's been doing pretty well in the bed (most days).

Here's something a bit scary (oh, that's also a word she likes to use now, "scary"). One day I found her in the kitchen cutting a grape on the cutting board with a paring knife. We're more careful about putting the knifes away now.