3.5 months

excuse me while i gush, but...
to your left is one of the cutest baby pictures that ever existed in the entire universe.
(too much?)
maybe, but i mean come on!

the big news since last we checked in is that the planet's latest superhero baby can fly!
on a plane of course.
wait. you didn't think...

here he is with mommy dearest (but in a good way) as they board the plane for his very first flight.


is it cliche to say i see where he gets his crazy cuteness from?
too late!

anyway, the flight was great. he didn't cry at all. just slept and ate.
and pooped.
then pooped again.
did i mention the poop?
which brings us to this weeks installment of...
"how to change a diaper in an airplane lavatory"
i'm sure many of you out there have done this before but i hadn't. not until our trip that is. fact is it wasn't so bad since the changing table is roughly three-quarters the size of the bathroom itself. hell, i almost crawled up there myself to take a nap. in fact, i would have and if not for the chance of having it break off the wall and drop me in the toilet where i would be sucked down by the jet-engine-like flushing mechanism and spit out somewhere over kansas.
but resisting my toilet-nap wasn't the hardest part. the hardest part came during one diaper change when i realized i also had to pee. without getting too graphic about it, here are the basic steps:
- put down changing table
- change baby
- unzip pants and prepare "self"
- pick up baby and put up changing table
- pee
- put down changing table, place baby on it
- put "self" back
- et voilà

anyway, we took our first official family trip out to the area near the bay that surrounds the city of san francisco.
(there's got to be an easier way to say that.)
why take our baby clear across the country at the ripe young age of 10 weeks?
why indeed!
it was time to meet the family, including...


grandpa bob and grandma kaaren!
(not a misprint. her name is spelled with two "a's". hi kaaren!)

... cousin hana and cousin kobi

looks like PD has his first non-mommy crush!
he also met his namesake, uncle parker, his uncle speed, and his aunt hae-sin, and - funny thing - i didn't seem to take a single picture of this despite the fact that we spent the entire week in their lovely new home.
bad daddy!
bad... daddy!
rest assured, this will be remedied in droves upon the morrow.
(not sure why i went all "middle english" on ya there... just felt right.)

PD also met...

uncle glenn and aunt liz.
may their kindness and good vibes rub off.

cousin reuben...

are you guys looking at the hair, the baby, or the boobs?
just pick one (or two) and go with it.

and the hardest working uncle in show business,
the multi-talented uncle who needs no uncle introduction but i'll give it to you anyway...

uncle ed!
may his talent and determination rub off.

of course, what trip to anywhere near san francisco would be complete without a day in san francisco...

look out! it's a classic cable car! ahhhhh!


PD with mommy, new sun hat, and infamous island prison in background.


the famed golden gate bridge.
i'm told that beyond it lies shangri-la.
and just beyond that, marin county.

developments?
i can name a few.
the little man...
- realized his hands are attached to him
- realized his thumb is attached to his hands
- realized his thumb fits snugly in his mouth
and yet skeptics of evolution remain.
balderdash!

he has also started making what i guess can best be described as "non-accidental sounds". i love having extended conversations with him and convincing myself that we are in complete understanding. i don't know what it is. he just seems to get me.

he's taking a music class with mommy. they're taking long walks in central park thanks to the springing of spring. he spent his first day with a nanny - a lovely young woman named cindy. and he played on his first swing...

this is actually his second swing but you get the point.

on a personal note, i've always considered myself a fortunate man, but after witnessing the past few months i realize even more then before that i really did hit the jackpot when i met ellen. then i hit the jackpot again almost two months later when she interrupted a date i was on to tell me to call her.
(if you don't know the story, i'll be happy to tell it. she's quite a gal!)
with that in mind, this edition's song is inspired by the mother rather than the son.
it's The Four Tops' "Ain't No Woman Like the One I've Got".
dig it...

Every day the sun comes up around her
She can make the birds sing harmony
Every drop of rain is glad it found her
Heaven must have made her just for me
When she smiles so warm and tender
A sight for sore eyes to see
Ain't no woman like the one I've got.
Oh, no, they don't come better.

(too much?)
too late!

one last note: my boss announced this week that he has signed a contract through june 2013. yes, i've been there for nearly 14 years now, but i think i'll stay. unless anybody out there knows another place i can make 17 million dollars a year (give or take) writing jokes.
i didn't think so.