Content little guy.

Bennett watching Dora

Note the fresh haircut!

Daddy covered in kids.

"Personally, if it were MY binky..."

"Let me think about that..."

Chubber Cheeks!

MWAH!

Good morning! I'm awake.

A few more from the first day.

sporting one of his hats made by Great Grandma Caskey

Bennett loves her new baby brother!

Some Updates

Welcome to the world Miles James Janosky!

Born Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 4:14PM

8lbs, 10 oz., 19.5in

Little man taking a nap after eating

Epidural is in effect!

Still Waiting...

We're still waiting patiently (sometimes) over here for our little guy to arrive. At my appointment on Thursday, we decided to schedule me to be induced on Tuesday. I am really still hoping that he decides to come on his own before then, but we'll just have to see. I'm glad that there are only 3 days or less left though! I'm feeling huge and ready to be finished with this pregnancy and meet our little guy!!

Also, Bennett had been sick much of this week with a fever, lots of congestion and a cough. She had to stay home from school and dance class on Tuesday which was a big bummer, but she was finally feeling better enough to go back to school on Friday. Today, there's still a bit of a stuffy nose left, but she is much much better. Although I've been anxious about this baby getting here, I guess it's better for everyone to be healthy when he arrives!

So...we will try to get some new pictures posted on here as soon as we can after he is born. Stay tuned! And for now...I'm off to take another walk!

Bennett's frist dance class

Bennett had her first dance class today! The only kids that signed up for the class were Bennett and her two friends Peyton and Hollye Anne. After having school this morning, Bennett was so excited about dance class that she didn't nap. I found out that neither Peyton or Hollye Anne napped either! She couldn't wait to put on her leotard and tights! They had a great time, and we got to sit in the room and watch the whole time. I was impressed with her listening skills and how well she followed directions. After we left, she asked me if she could keep her leotard and tights on when we got home. She didn't want to take them off! Well, I finally convinced her to and we sat down for dinner. At 6:00PM, she fell asleep at the dinner table! She was so exhausted! What a fun day though! We got some amazing pictures of the girls, but here are a few of my favorites...

Bennett told her teacher that she wanted the "hot pink scarf!"

This is by far my favorite picture!

Such a good little listener!

Having fun with her buddies

They learned how to "freeze!"

Hollye Anne, Peyton and Bennett

Chicago Trip Recap - Gonzaga vs Illinois

My buddy Nathan and I have made a tradition out of taking an annual trip to see the Zags whenever they visit the Midwest.  We've seen them in Memphis a couple times, Indianapolis, and they even played SLU once here in St. Louis.  But this time, we went to Chicago to see our beloved Bulldogs exact revenge on the Illini for an ill-gotten beatdown we suffered at their hands back in ...oh... about 2006. 

With Nana and Papa in town for a few days to celebrate Christmas with us, the trip morphed into a father/son event.  To maximize his quality time with Bennett, we flew back and forth for this trip, whereas we normally pile in a car for these adventures.  We got into Chicago on a Friday evening and hopped the "L" right downtown where we exited the subway a half-block from the ESPN Zone where we all met up.  Thankfully, we didn't have to walk far, as temps were in the single digits.

Immediately, games ensued.

I love those pictures of us shooting hoops.  It's not every day that a guy gets to shoot hoops with his dad at our ages.

After a short wait, we were called to our table.  We all enjoyed dinner and a couple pints while telling stories and rehashing memories of past Zag-trip shennanigans.

Dad and I got to crash at Aunt Kris' condo for the night.  Thank you, Kris.  What an incredible view.  And not only that, but she graciously offered us a ride to the United Center so we wouldn't have to walk to the subway, and spend an hour being frigid while transferring trains and walking to the arena.  She took us on a quick tour and pointed out some of Chicago's coolest features to my dad, who had only ever seen Midway airport before.

Once inside, we mingled with the GU Alumni group for a bit, and then found our seats and anxiously waited for the action to begin.

The game and the atmophere were electric that day.  I've never seen so much orange!  The Zags pulled out a huge win in the form of an overtime thriller.  Our seats were with lots of other Gonzaga fans, so it was fun to commiserate and celebrate with them druing and after the game.

After the game, we followed Nathan's lead - he has a nose for autographs - and looked to catch a few players.  Legit 7-footer, Robert Sacre, stands next to Nathan in the picture below.  Nathan is already standing on a step, and RS is still hunching over a little!

Below is a perturbed Bruce Weber.  Poor guy.

And also, there's Zag-fan Stephen Bardo, giving us the thumbs up because he knows the Zags are "the best in the West."

That wraps up another installment of the Annual Midwest Zag Game adventure.

The First Ever Frozen Face Marathon

I went to a SLUG (St. Louis Ultrarunners Group) meeting this morning at Queeny Park, but I wanted to run before it started because it only seemed fitting.  My buddy John planned to meet me at 7 to get started, but he got there early... just like me... so we hit the trail at about 6:30AM.  The thermometer in my car read 3F.  There was also a steady 15mph wind all day.  We got started, and simply didn't stop until we had covered a little more than a marathon... just in time for the meeting!  We covered 26.6mi in 4:07.

Needless to say, there was some coldness going on.  Our face masks became solid blocks of ice.  And our jackets, once they absorbed some sweat, became shells of ice.  They lost their ability to "breath" or "wick" about 20 minutes into the adventure.  It DID block the wind though.  Ice is good at that.  As long as I kept moving at a good clip, my Under Armor base layer kept me warm enough under my ice-coat.  I had some trouble talking at the end of that video clip because there wasn't much feeling left in my jaw and lips.  So no making fun of that.

To keep me moving, I ate 2 Gu gels, 6 Fig Newtons, a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans, a few Teddy Grahams, and a decent amount of water.

For my next trick, I'll probably rest like it's going out of style.

Snow Day!

We got 3 or 4 inches of snow the other night, and it has just been bitterly cold! Meredith was nice enough to come over to play in the snow with Bennett so I didn't have to go out.  They had a lot of fun, but it got pretty windy, and Bennett didn't like the snow blowing into her face (can't say I blame her!).  Below you can find a picture of the two of them before they went out, and a little video of them enjoying the snow day.  

Christmas, Part 4

You thought, three parts of Christmas is plenty, right? Nope! It keeps going! December 30 through this morning, Brandon's parents came to visit and celebrate Christmas with us.  While they were here, Brandon and Wayne left for a little over 24 hours to go up to Chicago for the Gonzaga/Illinois basketball game.  While they were gone, Lorie and I got to do some shopping and we went to see It's Complicated.  Bennett had so much fun playing with both Nana and Papa! In fact, she wouldn't really let Brandon or me do anything for her while they were here.  Nana or Papa had to do it! They slept down in the basement, and as soon as Bennett woke up in the morning, she ran right downstairs to wake up Papa so he could play with her! We had a great time and opened even more gifts! Bennett just played and played with her new Little People castle from Nana and Papa and all of its accessories from Aunt Erin and Uncle Jake.  She truly LOVES it! Also, Wayne was able to accomplish some big projects around our house that I'm so excited about! He fixed my dryer which wasn't drying properly, he repaired a broken pocket door going into our kitchen that was hanging crooked, and the one I was most excited about, was that he drilled a hole through our floor and connected our ice maker on our freezer!! After having the feature for years, it finally actually makes ice! HOORAY!!  They left this morning, so now it is time to finally take down the Christmas decorations and start really thinking about this baby coming in just a few weeks! It's hard to believe that he will be considered "full term" this Saturday, and he could come at any time! 

Bennett and Nana playing with her new castle

Bennett loves Nana!

Snuggling on the couch with Papa

Not the greatest picture, but Bennett and Papa even braved the extreme cold to go play outside and jump in leaves for a little while!

Christmas, Part 3

The 26th was a break from Christmas festivities.  However, that night I had my 10 year high school reunion.  I was so excited that Courtney and Stephanie were in town for it! We went out to dinner with a few friends first, and then Brandon and Tim were exempt from attending the reunion, and they got to hang out and catch up at J Buck's while the rest of us went to the reunion.  It was fun to see some people that I truly hadn't seen in 10 years! I was disappointed, though, because again our little camera was acting up and saying the battery was dead even though I had charged it all day.  I did manage to get 1 picture at dinner before it stopped working.  I'll have to get some more from Courtney and Stephanie.  

Courtney, Mary Anne, Julie, Stephanie and me at dinner before the reunion

On the 27th, we headed up to Aunt Leola and Jim's house for the Reed Christmas celebration.  We really had a great time seeing everyone. Aunt Leola came up with a fun game for us all to play, we had a delicious feast, then we all opened presents and then enjoyed some laughs during the White Elephant gift exchange.

Bennett and GUS having a "heart-to-heart"

Cousin Sam had Bennett's name, and he gave her some great farm-themed gifts.  The Legos were a big hit!!

Great Uncle Tom gave Bennett an adorable rocking chair and giant bear to go with it! Thanks!!

Bennett and I enjoyed reading one of her new books

Brandon and Josh with their new shirts showing some "hostility" toward each other. (Don't worry, Gonzaga ended up winning the battle!) 

Uncle Jeff seemed to like his new "grill master" apron from us.

Brandon and Bennett both enjoyed a little "quiet time" after the present opening was finished.