April 16, 2008
My Son Is on the DL
Last Saturday, while trying to keep up with his bigger cousins at a soccer game, Sam fell and hurt his left arm. He favored it the rest of the day, crying whenever he tried to pick anything up -- or push himself up -- with it. We thought that, maybe, his wrist was either strained or sprained, but, by Monday morning, he seemed to be better. The arm didn't seem to bother him, as he was using it as he normally would and not acting like it hurt.
Yesterday, as a precaution, Melissa took him to the doctor. X-rays showed a tiny fracture just above his wrist. He's now in cast, and will be for the next three weeks -- including the week we're on vacation.
Neither Melissa nor I have ever broken a bone. I have to tell ya, it just breaks my heart every time I look at him.
I'll post some pics soon.
Posted by colrus at 06:50 PM | Comments [2] | TrackBack
November 26, 2007
My Brother-in-Law: Medal Recipient
Yes, I know. I haven't posted in a few weeks. But here's something good with which to resume...
My brother-in-law, Sgt. First Class Roy H. Lewis, currently serving in Iraq, recently received a medal.
Here's the army's account:
The Army Commendation Medal with Valor Sergeant First Class Roy H. Lewis For valorous achievement while serving as a National Police Transition team member. On 11 March 2007, SFC Lewis charged through withering small arms fire, successfully leading the National Police in an assault on an enemy position.His dedication to mission success and exceptional leadership are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon him, task force Thunderhorse, the Dagger Brigade, and the United States Army.
Given under my hand in the City of Washington,
Col J.B. Burton
Here's an excerpt from Roy's online diary:
The award was for what I believe was the time that I and another officer were shot at while on a walking patrol in a neighborhood. Hey folks, all that military verbiage sounds good, but I am not going to lie: This brother was scared!It is true what they say about when you're in a dangerous situation: When it happened, I thought about my wife. I had thoughts of never seeing my children again. Even though this little skirmish might have lasted only a few minutes, it felt like hours. I remembered the captain called my name and told me to prepared to move out from our position. I remembered how dry my mouth became as I just acknowledged him by simply nodding. It was then that I heard the sweetest sound: my friend positioned on the 50-caliber machine gun letting his presence be known by letting a few rounds go downtown. I remembered the sense of relief I felt when I heard the very loud -- but very effective -- gun do its thing.
I don’t know about all that valor stuff. Heroes aren’t people. They're my favorite deli sandwich.
Congrats. We love ya, Roy.
Posted by colrus at 12:10 AM | Comments [9] | TrackBack
September 12, 2007
Video: My Brother-In-Law Is Home from Iraq!
Click here to see the story.
Posted by colrus at 04:42 PM | TrackBack
April 19, 2007
When in Doubt...
...SMILE!!!
At least that's what my son says.
(Click here for more new pics.)
Posted by colrus at 04:20 PM | TrackBack
March 31, 2007
Items I Recently Purchased for My Son That Are Actually a Bit Too Old for My Son, and, Thus, Are Really for Me...for Now
1. Schoolhouse Rock: Special 30th Anniversary Edition dvd set.
2. Sesame Street: Old School - 1969-1974, Volume 1 dvd set.
3. Baseball cards.
Posted by colrus at 12:07 AM | TrackBack
February 21, 2007
Even Poppy Can't Help But Love the Grumpy Baby Samta
(Click for bigger view.)
Sam and his poppy.
Christmas, 2006.
The boy was born with attitude.
(Note: We had NO IDEA about Sam's, uh, finger placement until I yanked the pics off my camera...)
New pics can be found at my Flickr page.
Posted by colrus at 11:27 PM | TrackBack
February 12, 2007
My Boy's First Portraits
While I'm able to guard my emotions fairly well most of the time, I almost lost it when I went to pick these up the other day.
His mother and I have discussed it, and we've decided that, yes, Sam is indeed a ham.
(Click for bigger views.)
Posted by colrus at 01:51 AM | TrackBack
January 08, 2007
Sam: Pimpin' with His Duck
More blog postings later, my peeps...
Posted by colrus at 04:54 PM | TrackBack
November 29, 2006
Catching Up is Hard to Do
You'll have to forgive me for not blogging more lately, but I'm pretty much madly in love with the two people in the above photo and I haven't wanted to do much else lately but spend time with them.
I'll try to play "blog catch-up" sometime on Wednesday, but here are some quick tidbits:
1. I turned 33 on Monday. Seeing as it was a press day and I was operating on two hours of sleep, it was a blur.
2. Our paper turned three last week. I wrote a little about it here.
3. I've added a few new photo albums to my (now professional grade) Flickr account. Click here to see all that I've posted thusfar. I'll try to add some captions to the pictures soon so you'll know a little more about what you're looking at.
That is all. It is 3:37 a.m. and I am still not asleep.
Posted by colrus at 03:37 AM | TrackBack
November 19, 2006
More Photos of Sam
This was taken by the lady who shoots all the pictures of all the babies in the hospital.
Click here to see more photos of Sam.
(More to come...)
Posted by colrus at 02:13 PM | TrackBack
November 12, 2006
Samuel William Colrus is Born!
Five days after his due date, our first child, Sam, was born yesterday afternoon.
To say we're ecstatic is an understatement. Melissa did a phenomenal job, and we've been truly blessed by the love and support of all of our friends and family over the last 24 hours -- as well as during the duration of the pregnancy.
You can see a few pictures of the Red Sox' future starting catcher below:
Samuel William Colrus
Born: November 11, 2006 @ 5:02 p.m.
Weight: 7 pounds, 12 ounces
Length: 21 inches
(Click on pics for bigger view.)
Posted by colrus at 08:30 PM | TrackBack
September 26, 2006
My Brother-In-Law Has Left for Iraq
My brother-in-law Roy left last Thursday for two months of training prior to his year-long deployment to Iraq. Once there, he will be training the Iraqi Army. To say we're proud of him is an understatement.
Click the above picture to read the piece the Charlotte Observer did about him.
Posted by colrus at 01:30 AM | TrackBack
August 18, 2006
Our Vacation in Pictures
During the first week of August, Melissa and I spent a much-needed vacation (our last one before the baby comes) on Lido Key on the southwest Florida coast. Lido Key is adjacent to Sarasota, Longboat Key, Siesta Key and St. Armand's Key.
(Click on each photo for a larger view.)
After exhaustive Internet research at the beginning of the summer, we booked a room at the Helmsley Sandcastle. While the hotel is in need of a wholesale updating, it was clean, not at all crowded, and located directly on a private beach.
The hotel also had two pools and a REALLY good restaurant. We ate breakfast there every day, out on the porch amongst the birds that call the hotel home. The funniest moment of the trip happened when a crow swooped down onto a neighboring table, stole a jelly packet, and flew away with it.
Just down the street was St. Armand's circle, an upscale shopping/dining area on St. Armand's Key. We became quite fond of the neighborhood pizza place, which was manned with guys with New England accents and tasted like Naples back home. Good stuff.
In the center of St. Armand's Circle is a green area bordered my monuments to circus performers and personnel. Circus magnate John Ringling originally developed the area.
We decided to rent a car for the trip. We got a good deal on the car -- a Suzuki Forenza -- and it got great gas mileage. Though the air conditioning left a lot to be desired.
Food was a big part of our vacation. We ate very well. Here, Melissa smiles upon receiving a lobster roll at the Lobster Pot in Siesta Key. I had the clam strips. Both were phenomenal. We will be back.
We spent a few hours at the Mote Marine Laboratory up the street. It's as much a hospital as an aquarium, and it was interesting to watch a manta ray get its shots. In addition to sharks, dolphins and a wide variety of fish, sea turtles and manatees were also on hand. Ever since a manatee swam up to me at Fort Pierce a couple of summers ago, I've really dug manatees.
Here's a fun fact about manatees:
After leaving the hotel on Friday, we met Melissa's parents at a hotel about 45 minutes from Tampa so that we could go to the Red Sox/Devil Rays game (the only one the Sox won in the series) that night. The Red Sox got Javy Lopez that day, and he caught Curt Schilling, who had a steallr outing. David Ortiz hit two home runs, and Gabe Kapler made a KILLER play right in front of us in right field, cutting down a guy trying to stretch a single into a double. Red Sox fans far outnumbered Devil Rays fans, so cowbells were given out to folks sporting Rays gear. The Sox fans were still louder, however.
We spent our last day of vacation at Melissa's folks' house, where they threw us a surprise baby shower upon our arrival. While we still have a long way to go in the baby supply department, we got lots of great stuff.
So, there you have it. Our vacation. In pictures.
Posted by colrus at 12:11 AM | TrackBack
April 12, 2006
Parents v1.1
I know no better way to resume activities on this blog than by posting the first-ever photo of our child. The above ultrasound is from March 23, the day our doctor verified the heartbeat. This was an extremely joyous event considering our last pregnancy. Melissa is 10 weeks along as of today. She is tired a lot these days. And when she isn't tired, she's hungry.
So happy we are. And blessed.
Posted by colrus at 02:00 AM | TrackBack
My Nephew the Soldier
My nephew Ryan recently completed Army basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. He shipped out the same day for Fort Huachuca near Tucson, Arizona. At Fort Leonard Wood, he earned a sharpshooter badge and was amongst the company's fastest runners and leaders in push-ups and sit-ups. His company earned Honor Company for the best overall scores. The Drill Sergeants told my brother-in-law Roy (who, himself, is a drill sergeant in the reserves and who might be going to Iraq to train the Iraqi army) that Ryan was a "darn good soldier." Ryan will be at Fort Huachuca for AIT training until the first week of August. We are very proud of him.
Here are some pics:
(Click for a larger view)
Ryan during basic training.
Ryan and his dad (my brother-in-law Roy) at graduation.
Soldiers talking about whatever soldiers talk about.
Ryan with his mom (my sister Wendy) at graduation.
Posted by colrus at 12:17 AM | TrackBack