I haven’t posted anything in a while because honestly, there hasn’t been a lot to post that seems ‘blog-worthy’…it’s all more Facebook-worthy. But, since I know a few readers are not also Facebook friends, I thought I would post a quick update on our family.

First, Alayna did have a cardiology update August 27th. Absolutely no new news to report there. She did really well for EKG…well, as good as a 1 year old will do having stickers and wires all hooked up to her. I got a few pictures, but only a few because I needed to help hold her hands so she didn’t pull them off, and her feet so the stickers/wires didn’t fall off, and just her body in general because the girl is super wiggly.

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1. A US 90 Multi-Use Trail Feasibility Study is underway by the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) to examine the feasibility of constructing a paved 10 to 12-foot multi-use trail along US 90 from Pedrick Road in Tallahassee to the Monticello Bike Trail in Monticello.
2. This update video will poorly inform you on some things that happened quite awhile ago and will more importantly serve as an apology plus a 'fresh' starting.

After the test we got the all clear and they opted, again, to skip the ECHO. She will not need to be seen again for a year. Yes, you read that right, a full year. Happy days!

Late September both Jessica and Alayna both had their routine checkups with their pediatrician.

Jessica’s Stats – 3 year appt: 25 lbs (3rd percentile), 36” (25th percentile)

Alayna’s Stats – 15 month appt: 22 lbs (63rd percentile), 33” (95th percentile)

Did you catch it? Alayna is 3” shorter and 3 lbs lighter than Jessica…and just so happens to be 21 months younger.

Today I had an ultrasound for Johnathan (yes, I haven’t told you his name already, it is Johnathan David Karel…Johnathan after daddy and David after his grand-daddy…and yes, I do mean to spell it that way). Anyway, I’m 38 weeks already (wow, where does the time go?) and they were determining how big he is and when they would induce if I didn’t go into labor prior on my own. Alayna was too big and got stuck, so they don’t want that happening again. Currently he is about 7 lbs 6 oz, about the 60th percentile for my October 24th due date. Not big enough to talk inducing early, but big enough for my doc to say that they will at least induce at/around my due date if he doesn’t come on his own sooner. So, I guess we’ll just have to be patient.

What else have we been up to? Jessica started ballet/tap this year. She was essentially kicked out of her first class after being told she is very sweet, but just too young. We have since found another class at a different studio and she is doing fabulously well in it. She LOVES her tap shoes and dances around the house and constantly asks to put on her ‘dancing dress’. She is so full of energy she just makes me smile.

A Long Overdue Update Report

Jessica also started Cubbies (AWANA) this year! This is something that truly melts my heart. I have such fond memories of all my years in AWANA. I was so excited to find that she was to start this year (two years prior to Kindergarten). She is the youngest in her Cubbies class and does struggle to pay attention a bit, but she does love to learn and be with the other kids. I’m sure she’ll get better as she learns how to be in class, too, as this is really her most structured (and longest structured) thing she’s done so far.

We are in the process of switching all of our bedrooms right now. Tim just built Jessica a castle princess bed (I’ll post more on that later). Alayna will move into Jessica’s room and Johnathan will be in the nursery upstairs (where Alayna is now).

Alayna, as I mentioned earlier, is 16 months old now (almost 17!), and her personality is coming out more and more every day. She is VERY strong-willed, but has a tender heart. She is a mommy’s girl through and through and breaks down in tears when I leave her…breaks down in an absolute temper tantrum if I’m around and not giving her the attention she feels she deserves. That should be fun when Johnathan comes along (oh help us all). In spite of being a ‘second child’ she has all sorts of words that she says/uses all the time. Apparently second children develop their motor skills early and language skills late. Well, nobody told Alayna this and she’s ahead in both categories. Like her sister, she loves to be outside, especially at the beach. She also loves animals (stuffed and real) and is starting to love books. She’ll sit on my lap and listen to me read short books far longer than Jessica did at her age…and even longer than Jessica often does now. I suspect, though, that this is also due to her desire to just always be by mommy.

Its Long Overdue

Alayna is also getting over a double ear infection. We are so thankful that she hasn’t had the ear problems that Jessica did, but this time when we brought her in ‘just to make sure’ she had a pretty bad infection in both ears. Poor baby. She is doing better, though. We’re thankful for modern medicine (when we can actually get her to take it) and Mickey Mouse.

Johnathan is just hanging out waiting for the time when he’ll grace us with his presence, which based on my previous notes about the ultrasound doesn’t seem to be anytime really soon, but soon enough. He doesn’t move around nearly as much as Alayna, but Alayna was pretty crazy, so she’s a tough act to follow. I’m so excited to meet him and be a mommy to a little boy, though at times it seems so surreal still that I just cannot fathom having another child…and a boy at that. I often sit back in wonder at the amazing blessings that God has heaped on us. That’s about the time those amazing blessings start screaming and fighting or climbing all over me. Never a dull moment and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Well hello faithful blog readers (and boy do I mean faithful since I haven't posted in ages!)It has been so long since I posted - over a year. Needless to say life and work has been keeping me busy. So busy in fact I feel like I have time for little else, although I am starting to realize that I need to get back to blogging. Expect more updates soon.For now, let's talk about some of the exciting things going on:

• I spoke at Velocity in June. I gave a presentation on software failures. And you can view the blog post with my content here, and the video is embedded below.
• I am speaking at OSCON next week - giving two talks one on big data and one on scaling rails. I am really nervous about both talks!
• We went to Kauai, Hawaii in March for a wedding, and that was a load of fun.
• I have been working like crazy, and we are hiring like mad (and paying $12k for referrals)

Long Overdue Or Long Overdue

As usual life has been a wild ride - lots of excitement, lots of fun and lots of progress. I feel like every month that goes by I get better at my job, make more progress towards my goals and just become a better person. And I am pretty excited for what lays ahead.One of my coworkers are I are working on a series of blog posts for the SEOmoz blog, and unlike our seo tools type posts - these are focused on management - the first one is on reviewing resumes, and the second will be on effective 1:1s - I am really excited about how these posts will turn out.And for those of you who have been following along, you may also be aware of my fear of public speaking, networking, or most things involving being social. Well, you may also have noticed that I am actually doing these things! I am super proud of the fact that I am now speaking at conferences, and making progress towards overcoming these obstacles. Of course, it hasn't been easy and it takes me much longer than other people to prepare, but I really feel like I am making progress. I am hoping to keep doing more of this in the future.Anyway, that is all for now - more updates to come! Get ready because I am back!