After a tear-filled first 30 mins of his first morning with Annette, Alan eventually settled in and had a good time meeting his new friends.  He wasn’t crying when I initially walked out the door, but 30 mins into the morning Annette called me with the update that she hadn’t been able to get him to stop crying.  But while we were talking on the phone, Alan suddenly stopped to listen.  As it would turn out, that moment was the turning point.

To my relief, Annette called again 15 minutes later to say that Alan was drinking a bottle quietly.  And 15 mins after that she sent a text message/picture of Alan smiling and playing with toys with Adriana.  At that point I could rest easier knowing that Alan had gotten over the initial shock of being left with a sitter.  He ended up having a good time and made it through the day.  And boy did I get a big smile when I came to pick him up at the end of the day!

We all miss Wai Po and wish she was still here to play with Alan, but at least we’ve found a Plan B that will work for everyone.  Of course we still hope that she can return again soon!  There’s just no replacing the void that’s left when Alan’s best friend has to leave.

In late March Alan started using a forward-facing car seat after out-growing the old car seat that came with his first stroller.  I could tell that Alan enjoyed the new perspective when riding in it for the first time!  He can see a lot more facing forward, including the driver.  The first few times I turned around to check on him I was greeted with a great big smile!

On April 4th Alan had another first: his first haircut.  While never a fun experience for a young child, getting a haircut went surprisingly well for Alan!  His grandma and grandpa took him to a barber shop designed just for kids, where Alan got to sit in a race car, hold a lolly pop, and watch Elmo on TV while getting a haircut.  Talk about getting a haircut in style!!  I’m interested to see this place for myself next time.

P.S. Elmo might be Alan’s favorite children’s character now.  One of his favorite toys is a talking Elmo that he received as a gift when he was a baby.  And recently his favorite book has become a Peek-a-boo Elmo book.  In an attempt to get him started on brushing his teeth, I bought him an Elmo toothbrush.  We’ll see if it helps…

Image Source: www.cleveland.com

I’m always proud to be a Buckeye, but today it’s even sweeter.  For the 3rd time in 13 years, Ohio State is in the Final Four!  It’s the 11th Final Four in school history for the Buckeyes, good for 6th all-time (not bad for a football school, huh?).  It’s Matta’s second Final Four, though this season has to be the best coaching job of his OSU tenure hands down.

After losing three times in a five-game stretch in February, OSU was being written off by many who felt that the team lacked chemistry.  But the Buckeyes rebounded to win at Michigan State in East Lansing on the final day of the regular season to claim a share of their 3rd consecutive Big Ten title (which puts Matta halfway to the “Jim Tressel special” if you’re scoring at home).

That game, won on a last-second jumper by Will Buford, seemed to refocus the Buckeyes, who may have just been looking towards the postseason all long.  In this tournament they’ve played three games against Gonzaga, Cincinnati, and Syracuse that were close on the scoreboard.  But the Buckeyes’ poise and balanced attack has made it feel like they’ve been in control of each game.

Now the Buckeyes head to New Orleans with Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisville.  It’s a heavyweight-only Final Four much like in 2007 when OSU was joined by Florida, UCLA, and Georgetown.  Certainly no Butlers or VCUs in this grouping.

The ’98-’99 Buckeyes got it started.  The ’06-’07 Buckeyes got a step closer.  And now the ’11-’12 Buckeyes will take their turn.

Our little guy is 18 months old!  Alan celebrated on Wednesday by walking/running all over the neighborhood thanks to the surprisingly nice weather!  Here are some updates on what he’s been up to lately…

Alan is really getting into his new hobby of watching Jeopardy.  He rocks in place to the Jeopardy opening, claps when Alex Trebek walks on stage, and LOVES when the audience applauds for Daily Double clues and correct answers!

He’s also starting playing with the basketball hoop that he got for his first birthday.  Usually once he sees a basketball game on TV (and points it out) he’ll go pick up his basketball, reach just barely over the rim, then drop it in.  Right after doing so he’ll immediately turn to us and clap. 

Alan has become an expert at identifying the Ohio State logo.  When he hears the mentioning of “Ohio State” he’ll point to the logo on his jacket right away.  Then he’ll also look around, smile, and point out the logo in picture frames, on shelves, in books, etc.  That’s my boy!

On March 18th Alan picked up his cup and drank from it all by himself!  Not a bottle.  Not a sippy cup.  But a real adult cup!  He didn’t spill it and we got it on video. 

He’s also eating more on his own and feeling comfortable using his hands to put food (especially Cheerios) in HIS mouth now instead of only feeding others.  We appreciated the generousity, but it’s also good to see him eat more and be more independent!

https://picasaweb.google.com/miller.family.photos.1121/AlanFebruary2012

https://picasaweb.google.com/miller.family.photos.1121/AlanMarch2012

Senator Glenn at the Wolstein Center on 3/2/12.

Today at the Wolstein Center, Cleveland State University and NASA put on a fantastic program to honor John Glenn.  I was one of about 3,000 people who were there to take part in the celebration and hear John Glenn speak.  It was definitely a thrill, as Glenn gave both a humorous and riveting personal account of his greatest accomplishments in life.  Even at age 90, he remains an engaging and eloquent speaker.  By being in attendance, I also got to take home a special coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of Friendship 7.  I’ll likely keep it with a report I wrote on John Glenn while in the 4th grade in 1992, right around the time of the 30th anniversary of Friendship 7.

Cleveland.com is doing a nice job of reliving 2/20/1962 as it unfolded:

http://www.cleveland.com/friendship-7/

And on Twitter, the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University (@GlennSchool) is also recreating the events of 50 years ago by “live-tweeting” the mission as it happened.

Pretty cool.

Meeting Jim Tressel on 2/2/12.

Tonight I had the honor of meeting my favorite coach of all-time, Jim Tressel.  Our meeting occurred at the Browns Training Facility as part of a fundraiser for the Berea Education Foundation.  My parents bought me a ticket to the event as a gift about a year ago.  They figured I’d enjoy this, and they were absolutely right.  The event was a thrill for me.

At the event I was given a few minutes to shake Coach Tressel’s hand, take a photo with him, and have him sign an item of my choice.  He was dressed in a suit since earlier in the day he had accepted a VP position at the University of Akron.  When it was my turn to meet him, I congratulated him on his new job, told him that my mom went to high school with him and my wife is one of his new colleagues at Akron (By the way, how cool is that?).  We took a picture together in front of a green screen, which put the image of Baldwin-Wallace stadium on the print-out of the photo.  He then signed a photograph of him standing on the sidelines at Ohio Stadium that I brought to the event.

My mind was racing and it all happened so fast, but it was awesome to speak to the man who led OSU to incredible heights over his 10-year tenure!  After I had my turn, it was interesting to watch him interact with the other fans.  It was obvious that he had the ability to turn on the charm and make you feel like you had been long-time friends, not strangers.  I imagine that skill landed him many recruits over the years.  If I was a high school kid with talent, I would absolutely want to play for the man.

Following the meet-and-greet portion of the event, which also included dinner, Coach Tressel gave a speech that covered topics from his book The Winners Manual to about 500 people at the Berea High School auditorium.  I sat front and center in the first row below the stage, took pictures, and captured about 10 mins of the 90 minute speech on video via my iPhone.  He gave an interactive presentation that highlighted his knowledge, humor, and ability to work a room.  He also invited former Buckeye center Alex Stepanovich, another Berea High grad and member of the 2002 National Champion Buckeyes, onto the stage for a Q&A session.

Following the Q&A session, Coach Tressel raffled off about 25 signed footballs and copies of his book to audience memebers.  Despite a 5% chance of winning, I actually won a signed book and got to hear Jim Tressel call out my name.  That may have been the highlight of the night right there.  It definitely felt like it was meant to be.  After all, it’s unlikely that anyone has a greater appreciation of what Coach Tressel did for OSU than me.

Following the memorabilia raffle, the presentation came to a conclusion.  Since I was in the front row, I was also able to approach Coach Tressel one more time.  Earlier I had forgotten to thank him for replying to a couple letters that I had sent him in the past few years.  I always admired that no matter how busy Coach Tressel was with the team, he always took the time to reach back out to fans.  So I told him that.  Finally, on my way out of the auditorium I was surprised to receive a third autographed item, this time a signed photo card that was passed out to all 500 attendees.

All-in-all it was a pretty amazing evening.  Coach Tressel was number one on my list of public figures I’d most like to meet (out of a very short list), and 10 years after the National Championship season I finally had that chance.  I had a blast meeting a lot of other true Buckeye fans throughout the evening as well.  I can only hope that I have this opportunity again sometime in the future.

I’m proud to announce that Alan has officially started walking this week!  Here is a look back at the steps he took to reach this big milestone in his life:

November 2011:  Alan begins to be excited about walking and practices with Wai Po every day.  Asks everyone to hold both of his hands and help guide him as he experiments walking in the house.  Perfects furniture-walking.  Also tries using Great Grandpa’s cane for fun.

December 2011:  Alan feels brave and now only requires one of his hands to be held while practicing walking.  Realizes that having a free hand allows him to transfer toys from place to place much easier.

1/8/12:  Alan walks (with assistance) for the first time in public at the Chinese Church.  Excited to show off his new ability to anyone who will look.

Mid January 2012:  Alan starts ”running” to the door (i.e. pulling Wai Po’s hand) every time V and I come home from work.  Learns to cover ground quickly.  Eventually even lets go of Wai Po’s hand and takes final 2-3 steps on his own into our arms for a big hug (of course V and I love this).

1/23/12:  Alan celebrates the first official day of the Year of the Dragon by officially walking on his own for the first time!  Surprises me when I get home from work by walking from the living room to the kitchen on his own (boy was I really pleasantly surprised!).  Smiles the whole time to let me know how happy and proud he feels to have that break-through and take a giant step towards increased freedom.

Congratulations Alan!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/miller.family.photos.1121/AlanJanuary2012

The following is V’s profile on BMD’s website:
http://www.bmdllc.com/?attorney=xu-veronica-jiajia

Congratulations and good luck V!