Dylan was born on November 19 @ 1:26p.  He weighed 6 lb 15 oz, and was (and remains) in perfect health!  

Mommy & Baby are both doing well a week out, and Evan and Jessica are absolutely enamored of their new brother!

You can check out more pictures on my family photo album.

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That was one of the preliminary heats…later in the evening he kept walking back & forth between Diane and I.  He must have done twenty laps, walking to me, turning himself around (and not letting me help!), and walking back to Diane.  Turn, walk, repeat…

I’m a happy, proud Daddy tonight.

We went upstairs and Mike Braun (KB8ZYE) was kind enough to show her the ropes on working 20M phone. We contacted a Ham in the Honduras, and had a conversation with a gentleman working QRP portable from a Chicago city park. He was very nice, and stayed in the QSO with us long enough for all of the non-licensed folks to have a go at working the radio. When it came for her turn at the mic, Jessica played shy, but afterwards, she was very interested in tuning the radio, or “turning the big knob”, as she put it. She watched intently throughout, asked some really insightful questions, and was clearly taking everything in.

As we were getting ready to leave, we saw Mike Suhur (W8RKO) and Mike Murphy (KA8ABR) hanging around. They asked Jessica and I if we had seen the club’s satellite shack. We hadn’t, so they graciously gave us a tour. Mike & Mike showed us how they work the club’s 7.2 meter (24 ft) satellite dish.  The coolest part of the evening was when they asked Jessica if she wanted to bounce radio signals off the moon.

Of course, she did!  And even if she didn’t, her Daddy did!

Mike^2 showed Jessica how they had aimed the satellite dish at the moon, and let her key up the transmitter.  2.7 seconds later, a distorted echo of her press (just a tone) came back.  Now, this wasn’t good enough for Jessica.  She wanted to know how they knew it was HER radio signal that came back.  They said, “Ok…press the button in a pattern!”  So she did, and her pattern came back.  THAT impressed her…and the look on her face was worth a thousand tantrums.

I was all grins that evening and all the next day, until she told me, as she grinned from ear to ear, “Daddy, Ham Radio is my favorite Geek Hobby!”  I’m not sure…but I think that was meant as a compliment.  At any rate, she still wants to go to the next meeting with me, so I’m going to take it that way!

For some reason, she’s taken to Wii bowling like a fish to water. Her high score is a 202!

Now, I have a 250-something as a high score, but of late I have been having problems throwing the ball consistently. I’m scoring 150s, with the occasional 120! (ICK!) She’s throwing a mostly-straight ball, and getting 5 or more strikes per game.

Although I sure am glad that she actually has fun gaming with me, I can only come to one conclusion…..that I’m raising a precocious brat!!!