Hooch's 1st Haircut

I believe that it was right after Christmas that we took Hooch to get his hair cut. We had attempted to cut his hair before, but had never paid someone to do it. We weren't quite sure how he would react because he isn't really all that fond of strangers, especially when the have hair clippers that make a weird noise.

Here is a shot of Hooch before we went in. This is essentially his "before" picture.


We arrived a little early, which allowed Hooch some time to play with the toys. He was having a good time and even liked sitting in the haircut chair. It didn't hurt that it was a fire engine with a steering wheel. He likes to pretend to drive. As you can see, the lady is coming with the apron so his enjoyment was short-lived.

He didn't keep the apron on very long and once she turned on the clippers, he tried to jump out of the fire engine. Luckily he was buckled in. We even gave him his pacifier, which he is not supposed to have, and he still would not calm down.


We also tried candy and other snacks, but to no avail. He did not like getting his hair cut. Notice how he is pointing to the ground. That is his way of saying, "Get me out of here!" For all the lady had to put up with, I thought she did a pretty good job.


Once we got him outside he was fine and was able to enjoy a Tootsie-Pop; one of his favorites.


Here is our attempt at an "after" picture. This was right before we put him in the bathtub. Not too drastic a change, but enough to make his mom happy.

Hooch Pictures

Here are the promised pictures of Hooch. These are just random shots from the past few months.

Hooch loves to look at himself in the mirror. He sits on our plastic filing cabinet and admires his good looks.

Here he is playing with Lambert. He is giving him Eskimo kisses.

He also likes to climb under the end tables. He thinks it's funny when we get down there to pull him out. He also likes to try and sit up when he is under there. He doesn't quite understand that he is too tall to do that.

This is his smile face for the camera. The necklace is Tracy's but he thinks it is his. He gets it out of her drawer and puts it with the rest of his toys.

The updates will continue within the next week. Stay tuned for Hooch's first haircut experience.

Quasi-Update

I thought it was about time I checked in. It has been awhile since the last post despite the fact that there are plenty of things to blog about. I guess the combination of being lazy with more pressing things to get done make for an oft-neglected blog. Anyway, I will try to be less lazy and post some pictures by the end of the week.

One of the main highlights of the past few weeks was getting the flu. If you haven't had the flu, I would recommend staying away from it. Charles started our family off when he vomited in the middle of the night. He was sick for a few days, but seemed to be feeling okay when I got sick. I have had my fair share of flu-like illnesses, but this time ranked up there with some of my experiences in Brazil. Tracy was the last one to get sick, and to our knowledge we were successful in not spreading our flu. We stayed home from church, school, and work to ensure we did not spread the illness.

Other than that, we have been trying to adjust to life without holidays. Tracy is back working her normal full schedule, and I have started my last semester of law school. We are excited for me to be done with school, yet a little scared of the task of preparing for and taking the bar exam. We are currently counting down the days until our next vacation. I believe we are about 60 days away.

Finally, I feel like doing something that I haven't ever really wanted to do; talk politics. I promise not to drag it out or get too preachy.

I guess there was some big thing happening in Washington D.C. today. I heard something about an inauguration of Barack Obama. I wasn't really sure what it was, but almost all the tv channels were showing it so I thought it might be important. In the end, I thought he gave a really good speech. I liked that he was straight-forward with America in outlining the challenges we face. I also liked how he placed a great deal of responsibility on us as Americans. I feel like it is our responsibility help solve our problems. We are all too good at being problem identifiers when we should be problem solvers. I hope President Obama continues to expect us to do our part. I think it will make us a stronger nation if we are forced to take responsibility and figure this mess out on our own, without a government bailout. Anyway, just thought I would share some thoughts. For your viewing pleasure, I will include a picture of the inauguration.

Here's hoping he meets expectations (establishing world peace and fixing the financial crisis).

'Tis the Season to be Merry . . .

Well, we survived Christmas and finals. If everything goes according to plans we should only have one more finals period to get through and then the Bar Exam. While I was "away" for finals, Tracy and Hooch went to Discovery Bay for the Boat Parade (the boats are decorated with Christmas lights and parade around Discovery Bay). I think they had a good time, and I got in some study time at home.

Here is Hooch and his mom trying to stay warm while watching for the boats.

As Christmas quickly approached, we realized that Hooch hadn't seen Santa. He did okay last year, but we were a little concerned with how he would react this year. We decided to go to the mall early on the Saturday before Christmas. We found Santa waiting for visitors; I was ready with the camera.

Here is Hooch right when his mom dropped him on the guy in the red suit. As you can see he doesn't quite know what is going on.

He didn't last long. Santa told Tracy to go stand by the camera, and Hooch didn't really like that idea. In case you are wondering, the only thing Hooch asked Santa for was to go back to his mom.

For Christmas Santa brought Hooch a Lil' Kawasaki quad. It has a button he can push to make it go. He is pretty good until he has to turn. We end up having to pull it away from the walls so he can continue on his way.

Here is the present and his stocking waiting for him. Didn't Santa do such a good job putting on those awesome decals?

Hooch and his dad opening a present. Hooch is wondering why he got a box of Christmas Tree lights.

Christmas morning Hooch got a little too excited and fell on his face on the tile and got a fat lip. After some love from his mom and some presents he started to feel better. He had a good Christmas despite the fall, and really loves all his new toys.

How Lovely are your Branches

Ta Da! This year we have graduated from a Charlie Brown tree to a real and a little bit expensive tree. We went to Apple Hill with all of the Busath Family to get it, which is always a little crazy but a lot of fun. If you can believe it we put the Christmas tree inside our car to bring home. We thought we were so smart and even put a tarp down. But afterward we found a spider in the car, so I doubt that will be repeated. I tried to have Charles help me set up the tree but all he wanted to do was pull off the lights and play with the ornaments. So I had to wait until after he went to bed. I was smart and created our tree in layers. Toy-like ornaments on the bottom, then ornaments still in his reach that if they got broken I would be okay with it and then ornaments I would have a funeral for if they died. Sad, but true; I am very attached to a lot of my ornaments. My Grandma Healy gave me one each year until she passed away and now because Hallmark still comes out with a Crayola one (at one point my grandma started giving me a Crayola one each year) my mom buys me that one each year. My mom has also picked up where my grandma left off and buys her grandchildren one each year. I’m very lucky to have my mom because the silly ornaments are a big deal to me. This year’s ornaments are featured below. Lights are up on the tree, in the hallway, around a window, and on the balcony. We are officially all decorated for Christmas. The tree pictures are with the flash, without the flash, and Chad's creative picture.

Christmas Barnyard Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Busath Family Cruise

Christmas came a little early for the Busaths. Tracy's parents took the kids and their spouses on a cruise in lieu of individualized Christmas presents. Tracy and I were able to justify skipping out on work and school to enjoy a little time to ourselves. My parents watched Hooch, and all we had to get them was some Mexican vanilla (or brown water). It was a nice few days away from the stresses of life. If you have never been on a cruise, you should look into it. Contrary to popular belief, they are not THAT expensive (although there are some expensive options), and even if you feel like you might get seasick there are medicinal remedies for such things. Do some research and make it happen.

Anyway, back to the cruise . . . Tracy and I drove down to Los Angeles on Friday morning and got on the boat. The rest of the Busath family were already in L.A. and met us on the boat.

Here is Tracy on the gangway, getting ready to board the boat.

While we were waiting for the rest of the Busaths, we played a round of mini golf (this was on the boat).

We also checked out the arcade. Tracy thinks she could be a motorcycle racer.

After we checked out the boat and got some food, we had to sit through an emergency drill and then we went to dinner. While we were at dinner we set sail, which is always a little interesting because you don't really know how you are going to react to the "motion of the ocean." On Saturday morning we were in Mexico. We went to a ranch for a Mexican Fiesta, which was great. The food was good and the entertainment was decent.

Here we are at the Ranch waiting for lunch.

I thought it was funny that everyone looked so "happy" to be there. It wasn't only Tracy and Samantha, everyone had a scowl on their face. I think they were just hungry, or maybe they were expecting bigger things from Mexico.


The entertainment was okay. The Mariachi Band was pretty good. The dancers were okay. There was a pinata, and this 72 year-old lasso master. He was doing all sorts of crazy lasso tricks.


On the way back to the boat we stopped and took pictures of the real Black Pearl. This is where she is docked.

Here is me and Samerz. This was on Sunday, which was a whole day at sea. We didn't do too much, other than lounge on deck and eat. If you look closely at her right wrist, you can see the fake tatoo that Samerz got.