Come on, people, sing it with me:

Dun dun dun dun [pause] Dun dun dun dun [clap clap]

OK, so the 90210 theme song is not so easy to write out, but fellow fans of the show, you hear it in your head, right?!

I am really excited for the two-hour premier of the new 90210 on the WB (oh, sorry, the CW) tonight! I realize the show might suck, but I have to at least watch the premier (and I think it means that we’re officially old, if they’re remaking shows from our youth). I loved the original 90210, although I didn’t get to watch very much of it, because my mom forbade me from doing so after watching a few episodes. She was right to — the subject matter was way too mature for a fifth grader! However, now that I’m a woman of the world , I think I have permission to watch it. (Right, Mommy?)

8 p.m. can’t come quickly enough! I will be enjoying the premiere over a bowl of gnocchi with pesto sauce and green beans.

Well, folks, Gesina and I successfully ran the Disneyland Half Marathon this morning! I’m so glad I decided to enter this race (thank you, Gesina). The course took us through California Adventure Park and Disneyland, and there was entertainment along the route (Disney characters, marching bands, cheerleaders, awesome volunteers, etc.). It was also exciting to be running a half marathon with more than 14,000 other runners (just under 11,000 finished)! It was a well-organized event, and the giveaways were pretty high-quality … they should be, since Disney charged $100 per runner, so you do the math … that’s well over $1 million in entry fees alone.  

I finished in 2:25, which was three minutes slower than my Philly half marathon result (one additional minute for each year that I’ve aged … just kidding!), but I’m really happy with it. I set out to run this half marathon under 2:30, and to run every step of the way, and I did those things. When I finished, more than half of the other racers were still behind me. Also, more importantly, I felt really good throughout this race, compared to the Philly half marathon. This time, I paced myself pretty well, at about 11-minute miles. This is about a minute slower than I usually run, but I didn’t want to risk what I did last time: Ran really fast (like 1:30 faster than my usual pace) the first few miles, then practically crawl across the finish line. I remember during the Philly half marathon, I had the shivers and thought I was going to die about 2/3 of the way through the race. This time, I felt much breezier. Of course, the last couple of miles, I was thinking, “Hmm, where is that darn mile marker?!” but I also didn’t feel like I was going to collapse. I think this time around, my body is actually stronger, despite the whole having-a-baby thing (or maybe because of it?), and even though I had to skip a lot of my midweek runs because of Jack, I was able to accomplish my two main goals! A year ago, Jack was seven weeks old, and I couldn’t even contemplate being in fighting shape to run a mile. I seriously thought that maybe I’d never get back into running, and now I’ve finished my second half marathon. Yay! Now, as for beating that 2:22 Philly time, there’s always next year!  Unless I’m baking bun #2 by then … we’ll see.

Of course, I didn’t do this alone. It was only because Johnny is such a supportive husband and good dad that I got to squeeze in my long weekend training runs. Johnny and Matt (Gesina’s husband) both got up at the crack of dawn (3:40 a.m.!) with us today and dutifully carried our cell phones, and they staked out spots along the route to take our pictures and cheer us on. June and Charles took great care of Jack overnight yesterday so that Johnny and I could stay at a hotel room near the start line with Matt and Gesina. And, of course, Gesina gets the kudos for encouraging me to enter, being my virtual training partner/coach (we traded many tips — or rather, I gleaned many tips from her — via email. For instance, the two PowerBar gels I took today definitely gave me big energy boosts … something I didn’t have in Philly, and the “thirst-quenching” sport gum that Gesina slipped to me this morning also helped out when I was flagging at miles seven and 10), and being planner extraordinaire for our race day. She seriously had this down-to-the-minute schedule for the morning. After seeing that and seeing her Excel training logs (which even included details on how many miles she had run on each pair of running shoes … very important for a runner!), I’ve decided that the honor of Most Organized Woman must now be taken from my lovely mother-in-law and handed over to Gesina. (No worries, Mom, you’re still above me in the organization ranks.) Anyway, speaking of all this, I should brag a little on Gesina’s behalf, because I know she never will! She finished in two hours (and 16 seconds, to be exact), which I think is so unbelievably fast. You’d have to tie jet packs onto my shoes for me to finish in two hours. She definitely placed well within the top 500 of runners in our age bracket — if you consider that more than 18,000 runners participated, and that many of them were in our age bracket (25-29), that is really impressive. By comparison, even though I finished in the first third overall, I was well into the thousands (I think somewhere in the 4,000 range?) in our age bracket. Well done!

OK, enough talking. Here are some pictures.

Gesina and I, waiting to go into our corrals. This was shortly before 5 a.m. … it was still dark out, but thousands of people had already gathered! And also, Matt and Johnny, wondering why they married us crazy ladies.

Me, about to depart to line up in my corral (mooo …. )

 Johnny took this picture of the starting line

Johnny took these pictures at a spot between miles 3 and 4 (I think). Gesina’s waving in the one on the left, and I’m passing through, waving also, in the one on the right (bonus points if you can find us!). I’m including these pictures so you can see how much time passed between when Gesina was there and when I ran through — it was still kinda dark when she was there! I thought this was hilarious: “… and then the next day, we saw Beverly pass by the same spot.”

Near the finish line — there’s Gesina, in the pink shorts and white hat! And in the picture to the right, it’s my turn!

Brandishing our well-earned finishers medals

Sweaty but happy at the family reunion area – that was me!

Since I didn’t carry a camera throughout the race (a lot of people did! I couldn’t believe it), I didn’t get shots of the cool parts of the course. So Johnny took a picture of me with the Fantasia hat to prove that I did run this at Disneyland

Unfortunately, poor June and Charles got caught in the nasty half marathon spectator traffic, so they missed me at the finish line. They had to drive around Anaheim for an hour before we finally met up and dropped Jack with us at our hotel.

“Eww, Mommy, you’re so sweaty!”

OK, so that was the half-marathon. Believe it or not, I have more pictures from our Labor Day weekend thus far! I’ll go backward in time now.

Friday, Johnny had the day off, so we took Jack to lunch at Curry House, where he devoured some curry noodles (he loves curry! Another strong taste), shrimp tempura, orange wedges, giant kernels of corn and a meatball.  I have never seen him eat so much in one sitting. Afterward, he leaned back in his high chair and (seriously) sighed and smiled. It was funny. He was pretty happy waiting for his meal, too:

“How does this work?”

Saturday, June and Charles ran the 5K with their friend Jen. I was so proud of them! This was June’s very first foray into running (and I think it may be the last?), and she did really well. After they ran, Johnny, Jack and I met them at Goofy’s Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel for a breakfast buffet. Disney characters come in regularly and greet the kids. Unfortunately, Jack found it to be utterly frightening! He was especially scared of Baloo — no wonder, I guess — if you had never seen a fuzzy blue 7-foot bear coming at you, you’d be scared, too! Anytime one of the characters came by, Jack cried and wanted to be held by Daddy (when big things scare him, he only wants Johnny! When he falls down and gets hurt, that’s when he wants me. Or when he’s hungry).

Notice Jack’s expression! When we took this picture, Goofy was exiting the door that Jack’s looking at.

The little family at Goofy’s Kitchen, and Goofy with Charles, Jen and June (who weren’t afraid of him)

So the Goofy’s Kitchen experience convinced me that it would be a waste of time and money right now to take Jack to Disneyland. I had been thinking about it, but now I think we’ll wait at least another year, maybe even longer, before taking Jack there. A lot of toddlers I know around Jack’s age enjoy Disneyland, and I know Jack would enjoy the rides, but I think the characters and the crowds would scare him. Jack’s social and likes to have fun, but he really takes his time to observe a situation or new people before getting into the scene. (I like to think this is because he’s so clever, but I’m afraid it’s probably pretty typical for toddlers!) Plus, this afternoon, when we got home from the half marathon, I noticed how delightedly he played with an empty plastic milk container for 10 minutes … if he’s still entertained by that, then I think we might as well save our Disneyland money for a while, so that when we do go, we can spoil Jack rotten by buying him junk food and souvenirs.

Well, there is at least one dog who doesn’t scare Jack, and that’s Atari, of course. Take a look at this sweet picture, taken right before bedtime tonight:

Hope everyone has a great Labor Day tomorrow!

I’m happy to report that Jack’s eating has improved greatly over the last few days. Maybe it’s the fact that three out of his four molars have grown in. Maybe he realized, “Hey! I haven’t really eaten in the last week!” In any case, he’s actually eating a reasonable amount of food at each meal.

As in the past, beef is Jack’s favorite protein (Ann, you will have to pass that knowledge on to DM! ). I am really thankful to cows for providing the only protein that Jack will unquestioningly accept. Chicken is often rejected, fish is so-so, and tofu is objectionable unless mashed with fruit, but beef? It’s always great, according to Jack. He likes ground beef, low-sodium roast beef, cut-up pieces of steak, and even beef broth. Yes, Jack is a manly man with his love of red meat. Now, all we have to do is teach him to appreciate only fine cuts of steak, drink black coffee, pair wines with different foods, drive a top-of-the-line vintage stickshift sports car, and he’ll be ready for the laaadies.

Johnny and I don’t believe in freeloading, so in exchange for all his clothes, food, baby gear and entertainment, Jack has started cleaning up after himself.

Gotta get ‘em started young. Kids these days, they have it too easy, you know?

After all that sweeping, Jack got to eat some vegetables.

And since he’d done such a good job, we had some reading time. I look so drugged out in the first picture, but it’s a really cute one of Jack!

I know all of you are just eagerly waiting for the latest update on Jack’s eating (actually good today!), but I’m going to interrupt my regularly scheduled programming to tell you about my two latest loves.

1. Lancome Remove-All Deep Cleansing Oil. I’ve read about Japanese facial cleansing oil for a few years now; I think Shu Uemura first brought it to popularity stateside with its adorably-bottled version. However, because parts of my face regularly produce enough grease to keep an entire McDonald’s in business, I always steered clear of it. That is, until I saw June, who is also prone to oily skin, using the new Lancome cleansing oil. The bottle said “for all skin types,” but I was dubious. June reported that it moisturized the dry parts of her face, didn’t aggravate the oily parts, and that it effectively removed all traces of makeup (including mascara)! I tried it, and I was sold. (Or rather, a bottle of it was sold to me soon after the trial.) It feels really luxurious and gentle on my skin. And since I’ve started using it (two weeks now), I’ve actually gotten compliments on how “great” my skin looks, which always makes me laugh. I receive my share of compliments (and I’m grateful for all of them), but they’ve never been about my skin before — especially when I’m not wearing makeup, so I think this product is a must-have. I no longer have flakiness around my nose and mouth, and my oily T-zone is not any oilier than usual. I haven’t broken out, either. I’m now convinced that using products that remove excess oil from the skin just causes my face to produce more grease in retaliation.

2. Citizens of Humanity petite jeans. Shorties of the world, rejoice! I’m sure many of you have been there before: You decide to splurge on (or hunt down at a discount store, even better!) an awesome pair of designer jeans. They fit perfectly! However, they’re about a foot too long. Apparently, the jean manufacturers think that we all have supermodel-length inseams! So, you’re left to either find a tailor who is skilled enough to shorten the jeans while leaving the original hem intact (so that you’re not left with the dorky, tell-tale yellow stitching and too-neat hem that screams, “I got these hemmed!”), or, if available, use the in-store hemming service, which means you could be waiting two weeks before stuffing yourself into your precious new pants. Annoying, and potentially expensive!

Well, finally, Citizens of Humanity has come out with petite jeans! They come in all the regular waist sizes, but the inseam is much shorter — 31.5 inches … perfect for me! (Good lord, my inseam is equal to Jack’s height … now I feel really short!) I recently got a pair, and without alterations, they are the right length to wear with everything from flats to a 2″ heel. Woo-hoo! If you want a pair of jeans to wear with sky-high stilettos, I would recommend buying the regular supermodel-length and hemming it down. Anyway, not only is the length just right, but the pockets and whiskering are actually in the correct place for a woman who is not 5’10″. I love mine so much, I briefly considered going to get the dark wash (I got the medium wash). Considering that I now have 11 pairs of jeans, in all washes, I nixed the idea of getting a second pair of petite Citizens. If I still really want them in a couple of months, then it will make an easy Christmas present for Johnny to get me. (Are you reading this, husband? )

So those are my recommendations of the week. Have a great weekend, everyone!

After a record-breaking lunch in which Jack won two Olympic gold medals (in the 25-Meter Food Toss and the 6-Ounce Milk Dribble), I bundled my angelic (looking, at least) child into his stroller and headed off to the park. Jack and I ran around for half an hour, climbing the jungle gym, going down slides, digging in the sand. Then, it was off to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few groceries.

There was a kiosk where TJ’s was giving out free samples. Today, it was a thick layer of black olive tapenade, topped with smoked canned salmon, all atop a cracked pepper wafer. I picked up a little plate and started to take a bite. Jack — he who refused all but a fistful of mac and cheese, tofu nuggets, steamed veggies and watermelon at lunch — started saying, “Mmmm, mmm.” So I let him have a bite, and you know what? He gobbled down that entire cracker, with its half-inch high topping of tapenade and smoked salmon. Seriously, those are two very potentially strange, strong tastes. I don’t even like tapenade that much. Little did I know that I don’t need to slave away in the kitchen for Jack — all I need to do is crack open some jars of fancy cocktail food!  Just kidding. You know, if I’d bought those items, Jack would probably toss them on the floor as soon as they hit his high chair tray!

I’ve now talked to and emailed with several other moms of toddlers Jack’s age (including some of you guys!). I think the overwhelming consensus is that toddlers don’t eat a lot, and sometimes they fixate one just one food for several days, so I’m not going to sweat it. Our pediatrician did tell me to expect “three days of poor eating, one day of fair eating.” And that Deceptively Delicious cookbook mentioned that a typical serving size for a toddler is approximately the size of the toddler’s fist. (You know, I think I’ll follow that as my own portion guidelines. Seriously, if I ate only portions that were just the size of my fist, I could probably lose 10 pounds in a week!) I’ll just continue to make good foods available to Jack, and keep my cool when he competes in his Food Olympics. After all, he got his stubbornness somewhere! You’ve met the source of it, Jack! You can’t win! ::evil laughter::

Finally, in the category of “The Big Guy Gives Me a Break,” as I was walking in the extreme heat to Trader Joe’s, I spotted a $5 bill laying on the sidewalk. I looked around, but no one was there. I briefly considered turning it in to “the authorities,” then realized that a) who are the authorities?, and b) what would they do with a $5 bill anyway? Launch a citywide search for the owner? So, with a smidgeon of guilt, I pocketed the extra money. A few steps later, I decided to view this as God telling me to take a coffee break. So, since Coffee Bean is right next to Trader Joe’s, I purchased a Caramel Ice Blended with my newfound fortune. Thanks, God!

OK, ladies (and those few men who actually read this) … although I’m a late (and reluctant) addition to this bandwagon, I am now officially a fan of Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. It contains all these recipes that incorporate vegetable purees into kid-friendly dishes — like mac and cheese with hidden cauliflower and beans, or chocolate cake with beats, or chocolate muffins with avocado. There are breakfast, lunch/dinner, dessert and drink recipes in this book. Plus, it’s got an adorable design and tips from nutrition experts sprinkled throughout.

My friend Donna first told me about this book, and then Shelly got a copy, and so did Julie. I thought it seemed like a cool enough idea, but I was certain that Jack would love vegetables in their original, unaltered form. After all, I slaved away for 6+ months, pureeing all his foods for him! Fast-forward to the present, when Jack tosses all food except fruit and dairy from his tray with vim and vigor. He’ll even go as far as to brush the offending food off of his tongue with his hand.  He likes edamame (sometimes), and he’ll eat the shredded spinach that I hide under the layer of cheese on his cheese toast. I don’t know why, after months of loving the veggie purees I made for him, Jack is suddenly resisting all vegetables and most meats. He’s turning into such a cliched toddler!  I would say it’s texture, but he loves whole fruit! (The good news is, he gets about twice his daily allowance of fruit. I do give it to him after he’s picked at his entrees.)

Anyway, I started thinking about the book when I noticed that Jack eats much better if he witnesses me enjoying the food first. (But no matter how I try, Jack won’t copy my voracious consumption of vegetables.) I was in Borders yesterday, and I saw the book on the shelf. I thought, well, if I also eat these healthy, veggie-laden meals, Jack might eat them, too. So I bought it.

And now, I’m a convert. I made the mac and cheese with pureed beans and pureed steamed cauliflower today, and it was actually really tasty! Jack had some, too — about 1/4 cup before he started removing it from his mouth. But then he followed that up with about 3/4 cup of diced watermelon, so I count that as a pretty healthy meal. This book also says that blueberries — one of Jack’s favorite snacks — are a really healthy, antioxidant-loaded food, so that makes me feel better about Jack’s rapid consumption of them. I think he eats between 3/4 cup to 1 cup of blueberries for his afternoon snack each day.

For dinner, Jack’s going to enjoy some more mac and cheese, and also a veggie cake (by Morningstar Farms — they’re made with sticky rice and a bunch of veggies. Jack actually like those). Over the next few days, I’m going to make the pancakes with beets, chocolate chip muffins and also a few of the dishes that involve pureed meat. Of course I’m also continuing to offer “plain” veggies so Jack gets used to eating them. Wish me luck!

p.s. Why is it that so many toddlers have food issues? I’ve heard that it’s a control thing — they want control of their world. But really, can’t they express that desire for control in other ways? I think, back in the day, I may have been the only toddler without food issues … according to all the adults in my life, I ate anything and everything, going so far as to steal random strangers’ food in elevators, swiping food off of people’s plates in restaurants, etc. Not much has changed.

I hope everyone caught the exciting Olympic coverage this weekend! Good show for gymnastics, and of course, historic wins by Michael Phelps for swimming! Did you all in Canada hear me screaming when he won his eighth gold medal?  Woo-hoo!

I did manage to pry myself away from the TV for parts of the weekend. Saturday morning, I ran nine miles as part of half-marathon training. This weekend, it’ll be 10 miles, then the weekend after that is the actual race! Can’t wait. After my run, Johnny, Jack and I drove to Tustin to see Victoria, who’s in town with Maddy, visiting her mom for a couple of weeks. Since we thought we wouldn’t get to see Victoria and Maddy until Christmas, this was a great surprise! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring our camera, so I didn’t get any pictures. But, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that Jack and Maddy were adorable together. Maddy had developed so much even since early July, when we last saw her, and was full of smiles and giggles.

Sunday, I went to Bar Method with Tomomi, then just had quality time with Jack and Johnny. We met another family for a play date in the afternoon. I forgot my camera then, too.

But, to make up for all this forgetfulness, I do have some other pics to share with you! First up, Jack’s first “real” haircut at First Cut in Santa Monica last week. Aunt June played photographer.

A bit dubious of the airplane seat

My dapper little man! I realize it doesn’t look like it’s much different, but he no longer has strands of hair covering his ears, and the back looks much neater.

Mealtimes have been … interesting … because increasingly, Jack wants to eat all by himself. Inspired by Liz, we let Jack try using a fork. It actually went OK!

Of course, eating with hands is still most enjoyable for the young prince:

Forget bowls — we have those suction kind, but Jack figures it out right away and flings it from the high chair!

Snacktime is also great fun, now that Jack’s figured out how to use those Snack Trap cups. I don’t generally let him walk and eat, but he was teething this weekend and wouldn’t eat much, and only wanted to eat while walking around, so I let him, for once. Here, Jack enjoys some original Puffins from his Snack Trap.

Even when Jack’s in a foul mood, bathtime’s sure to cheer him up. Now, I’m sure it’s wrong to post naked pictures of your child on your blog, but these are so cute! I’ll just do it this once.

Naked baby on the loose! After we strip him in his room, he immediately knows it’s bath time and marches off to the bathroom.

Nothing makes Jack smile more than a shoulder ride with Daddy:

Alas, today the teething pain has returned full-force. Jack’s getting his fangs now, and I also see some of those big teeth in the back poking through. Ouch! He wanted to suck on his paci while watching TV, so I let him. Normally TV is off limits, and paci is only for bedtime and naptime, but, well, I felt sorry because he was in such pain!

Jack even got the remote control! He kept changing the channels, too.

Hope you all had wonderful weekends!

Hey, everyone! Thanks to you all for voting for Jack … we find out the results of this round of voting tomorrow. I’m sure Jack won’t be the winner, but it’s always fun to enter his picture (and to ooh and ahh at other cute babies in the contest!).

I feel like I haven’t updated “for real” in a while, so this is going to be somewhat of a catch-all post. Here goes!

My New Job

… is great! At least, the part about being home with Jack is great. From here on out, I’m supposed to take on more behind-the-scenes roles, mostly just writing. I’m not supposed to be client-facing anymore, because that type of role requires being on call. I’m wrapping up a couple of projects, though, and of course things had to explode after my last full-time day.  It’s not even that much actual work — but it could be, say, 15 hours (over the course of a week) of just waiting for important emails to come in, versus two hours of actual work. I’ve had a crash course in juggling a crying toddler and a conference call (quick action with the “mute” and “unmute” buttons on the phone, plus a yummy snack for Jack, are essential), wearing a Bluetooth headset while, chasing after Jack at the park, and typing emails while singing silly songs. Oh, and Jack has been to his first press check. While I went to our print vendor with a colleague to check some printed statements, Jack busied himself for an hour and a half by walking around the room, trying to open cabinets and munching on grapes out of his Snack Trap cup. I was very proud (and relieved) of how well-behaved he was.

As impressed as I am with my multitasking skills, I can’t wait for the projects to be over for real this week! Hopefully things won’t drag into next week. Whew! 

Jack

I have to say, Jack is so fun right now. He loves to initiate games — sometimes, I’ll just be sitting there, and all of a sudden, Jack will toddle behind the armchair. Then, I’ll hear this little giggle, and he’ll be peering out at me. When I start “looking” for him, he’ll laugh for real and scamper away to a new hiding spot. He also loves to pour attention on Atari. Unfortunately, Jack doesn’t really get the idea of “gentle” — what he thinks are loving pats are really little slaps! He’s always eager to have Atari’s company. Jack will see Atari under the bed, excitedly call for him, then grab Atari’s paw or tail (whatever’s sticking out from under the bed) and pull hard. We always reprimand him, and we’re showing him how to pet Atari nicely. In the meantime, Atari gets major kudos for his patience with Jack. One nice thing is that Jack has gotten into the habit of hugging Atari, resting his cheek on Atari’s fur. It’s super cute. It’s also almost always followed up by repeated attempts to poke Atari’s eyes out. Oh, well!

See? Hugs followed by torture

Last Thursday, we went to our first My Gym class. I was so happy to be able to take Jack to a weekday class! Jack enjoyed his first experience. Mostly he was obsessed with chasing after various balls. Oh, and he loved the zip line that they set up across the room.

Balls, balls, balls!

The dolphin zip line was so cute

Jack ditched circle time in favor of trying to climb this ladder

The other moms were nice, and their babies were all adorable! Jack was the youngest, but he was the second tallest! Most of them were closer to 18 months old, and there was one two-year-old. With Jack’s height and his hair, people always think he’s older than he is. They expect him to be talking and stuff. I’m like, no … he has a few words, but he’s only 13 months old!

In general, Jack’s been livin’ large. True, sometimes I have to turn my attention to my work email and stuff, but the boy still lives a very pampered existence. I’d love to have all my snacks made for me and to have such a cushy ride.

After such busy, fulfilling days, Jack is happy to go to bed:

Olympics Mania

For all of my working out, I’m not usually a sports fan at all. I’m thankful that I married a fellow non-watcher of sporting events; otherwise, my marriage would be in trouble. However, when it comes to the Olympics, I am a huge fan. I can’t get enough of the Olympics! I am always so impressed with the athletes and how they push their bodies. The competition, the achievement, the emotion … it all gives me the goosebumps. Interestingly enough, Johnny didn’t know until about my Olympics fever until the Summer Olympics began. It’s not often that we learn something new about each other, having been together so long, and he’s finding my “Olympics fangirl” status very refreshing.

I love watching most of the sports featured in the Summer Olympics (except basketball … sorry, I’m probably going to get a lot of flak for this, but I’ve never understood why basketball was an Olympic sport), but this summer, men’s swimming has been particularly exciting. Did you guys watch the 400m freestyle relay on Sunday night? Wasn’t it amazing how the U.S. team barely snatched the gold away from the French team? I was screaming at the TV in excitement. Speaking of men’s swimming, is there anyone who isn’t in love with Michael Phelps?! On Saturday, I declared to Johnny that I had a huge crush on Michael Phelps (Johnny’s response: “He’s goofy-looking.” I then reassured Johnny that of course he was way cuter. Whatever, if Johnny’s allowed a crush on Beyonce, I’m allowed to ogle an Olympic swimmer ). However, after this declaration, I found out that Michael Phelps is June’s age … ick! A younger guy (like, more than six months younger) is definitely a deal-breaker for me. Not that there was much of a deal going on there, anyway, haha. From now on I will just objectively admire the entire men’s swim team.

Hi, everyone! I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth … I’ve just been extremely busy! I will post a better update later, but first, I wanted to share my new favorite photo of Jack. Johnny took this just now:

It captures Jack’s personality perfectly!

OK, more later!