Sarah is lucky in many ways, one of which is the mere fact that all of her immediate family lives here in the St. Louis area. Her parents, her brothers, her grandparents, her aunts and uncles. You name it, they’re here.

For my side of the family, things are a little more scattered about. I have a grandmother and uncle who live in the area. That’s it. Two people. Everybody else is elsewhere.

I have one sister who lives pretty far up north, and another who’s been moving all over the country for the past two years on short-term medical contracts. My parents have lived in Springfield, Mo., for 14 years. I have aunts in Vegas and LA, along with a grandma who’s been staying with her daughters in these various locales since moving from her permanent home in La Joya, Texas, about seven months ago.

Growing up, I faced a similar situation. I hardly got to know some of my relatives like I wish I could have done. I’d see some people, like my Aunt Shirley and her family, once every few years. The times we’d spend together were always memorable and awesome, but there was always that initial awkwardness the first hour or day, when you’d feel like, “Who are these people again?” Thankfully, we’ve had bar/bat mitzvah’s and weddings almost every year since 2000, so we’ve been able to grow closer, but it’s still hard looking back on my formative years and thinking about the lack of family contact.

I don’t want our boy to not know his family, so that’s why it’s exciting that modern technology has allowed us to bridge the gap, sort of, in terms of face time with each other. We’ve been using the Skype Internet phone service, utilizing our computers, Web cams and microphones to talk, much like they on the “Jetsons.” Picture phones. It’s pretty cool stuff. My mom gushes when she sees and hears Oliver coo as I hold him up to my laptop. My sister tears up when she sees the boy wave his tiny arm around in circles. Grandma grins ear-to-ear as she catches a glimpse of Oliver for the first time. It really is amazing.

My only fear now is that Oliver will think of his grandparents and aunts as the “people in the box.” It makes sense when you see what I’m talking about. This is what our view of Grandpa Neal and Grandma Sharon looks like:



So what do you do to stay close to distant relatives, short of traveling? Has modern technology allowed you to connect like we have? Any other suggestions?

Oliver is really lucky to have met five of his great-grandparents. He’s so blessed to have been able to meet these wonderful family members (and share in the collective 400-plus years of wisdom!). This past weekend, he met his Great-Grandma Carol for the first time. She was in the St. Louis area by way of Springfield, Mo., by way of Las Vegas by way of La Joya, Texas (long story!).

Anyway, it was awesome, and you could really see the love in Great-Grandma Carol’s eyes. We can’t wait to see her again.

The great-grandparents are wonderful people, all of them, and we love them very much. Pictured with Oliver below, from top, are Great-Grandma Carol, Great-Grandpa Gilbert and Great-Grandma Marie, Great-Grandma Frieda and Great-Grandma Lil.

My first Father’s Day is pretty much over (Oliver’s in bed for the evening — well, at least until his next every-two-hour-every-night feeding). It was nice. We spent the day over at the in-laws. We barbecued and played Wii Fit, which was pretty cool.

Afterward, I made the long trek from this hills behind Six Flags and Jellystone Park down to Brentwood for an ice hockey game.

This afternoon, Grandma Annette took some nice pictures of me and the little one. I thought I’d pick the best of the bunch to put into the new swivel picture frame that Oliver Sarah picked out for me. Then I can put it on display at my office. Here’s where I need your help. Please let me know what picture you like best. Just leave a vote for your favorite photo as a comment. At the end of the week (say 6 p.m. Friday), I’ll tally the votes and have a print made of the most popular shot (unless I change my mind, of course, which I have the right to do!!!).

Option A: Giving the boy a lift.


Option B: Monkey/senior pic pose.


Option C: The Charlie Brown and Linus shot.


Option D: The neither-one-of-us-really-knows-how-to-play-piano shot.

Sarah’s first day back at the office after a three-month maternity leave was this past Monday. She says it was difficult being away from Oliver. “Obviously, he was in me for nine months, and I felt him kick and move and then, after he was born, I’ve been around him 24-7 for more than 12 weeks,” she said. “Not having him with me was like losing a little part of myself.”

Yes, Sarah has found the experience of leaving little Oliver behind for the day to be sad. She’s probably going to kill me for writing this, because she’s the type of person who hates to show her emotions, but she confided in me that she cried several times on Monday. It started as Grandma Annette drove off Sarah’s work parking lot with Oliver in tow. It continued just about every time somebody asked how Oliver was doing, how she was doing, whether she wanted to grab lunch, and just about anything else. You name it.

Her second day back was today, and she said it was a little easier. However, I don’t think she’ll ever really get over not being able to spend her days with the boy.

On Monday, I captured a picture of Sarah and Oliver in the classic “first-day-of-school” pose. Check it out:




And, after much anticipation, here’s the first really good Oliver smile photo we have been able to capture. Enjoy: