Hello Hello.  Here is the latest and greatest with the ol' escalante family:

Ahhhh...It just makes your heart melt, doesn't it?

Anyways,
It got really warm here for a few days last week...warm enough to let Dominic hang out in only his diaper, which is what I have been dying for.  Something about a little guy hanging out in his diaper is so cute.  Maybe it's the cute round bellies that all babies seem to have...

It got so hot one night, neither of them could bear to wear their shirts. 

This was us on an evening stroll trying to cool down.

For those of you who haven't seen Dominic in a while, his hair continues to grow longer.  And yes, it still sticks straight up on it's own!  No product necessary.  We keep wondering when or IF it's going to fall!

Catching some rays (not really-I'm a responsible mother and had him in the shade)

Yep-he pretty much sticks his tongue out at everyone.

We went to the beach with some of Michael's classmates last week.  We bumped a volleyball and had high aspirations of getting in the water, but it was pretty cold.

That didn't keep me from wanting Dominic to experience the Atlantic Ocean for his first time.

Needless to say, he also thought it was too cold and didn't really enjoy his first encounter with salt water.

I love our little family

Not sure what he's doing here, but I thought it was pretty funny and worth showing!

Natalie and Ian (friends from church) also joined our beach excursion.  Ian loved digging in the sand.  I'm sure Dominic will enjoy the beach more as he gets older.

I love my little guy

His eyes are often wide open and very attentive.  He's always taking in the world around him.
(Not to mention, this is one of those photos that we'll look back on in 20 years and laugh at my swimming suit!)

Saturday we went to a pig roast and Dominic got to give his first attempt at slack lining.  

(picture taken on my phone)

vs. picture taken by my friend Tahria on her Canon.--Thanks T!

We don't see him sucking his thumb very often...

...it usually looks more like this!  He tries to fit as many of his 10 fingers in at once!

Dominic loves to distract daddy from his homework.  Look at his face!! --He's very distracting!

He is so fun to play with.  He loves to smile.

For those of you who can't spend more time around him, I hope these videos give you a sense for how happy of a baby he is!

The last few days haven't been quite as warm as last week.  It has rained off and on this week, and now all of a sudden, New Haven's trees are sprouting fresh life.  The roads are beginning to regain their beautiful canopy of green leaves.  I have been out running and biking (still trying to recover from 9 months of pregnancy).  Michael has also been going to the gym a few times a week with our friend Todd.

As for a rough idea of the fun things we have been doing (in addition to the photos above):

Sunday April 15-We had a lovely Indian dinner with some friends, Priyanka and Gabriel (from Brazil) before going to the Bergin's house to watch their son (Ian) for a couple of hours.  Natalie had flown to Utah for her grandmother's funeral.  We watched Ian (while he slept) so James could pick up Natalie from the airport on Sunday when she returned.

Monday April 16-Dominic and I went to play with some friends (Audra and Andrew Grange, Alejandra and Mikaal Shafi, Julia and Bonica Teja, and Elizabeth and Kenny and Joseph Taylor).  See the pictures above with Dominic laying in the grass.

That evening, we had Julia, Hans and Bonica Teja, as well as Priyanka and Prashant over for a pizza party.  Michael and I really love making fresh pizza with fresh ingredients.

The coloring is a little off in the picture, but doesn't that look delicious?

Tuesday April 17- The day we went to the beach.  We had some delicious sushi for dinner (from Miyas-my favorite place in town), then headed to a comedy club to hear some of Michael's classmate do stand up comedy.

Wednesday April 18- I came down with a nasty fever so I took it easy for most of the day.

Thursday and Friday April 19-20th- We had a prospective Yale SOM student stay with us.  John was from California and came into town to check out Yale.  He ended up really liking the school/area, and I think he decided to come here in the fall.

Thursday we went to visit our friend Prashant, who missed a few days of school from an old injury flaring up, and ended up hanging out and chatting for a long time.  We had a great night.

Friday we went to dinner with Prashant and Heui Li and enjoyed some fresh seafood.

Saturday April 21st-Michael and his friend Danny released their first music album on Bandcamp.com.  They have put a lot of work into the album, and it is really exciting to have it up for sale.

In the evening, we went to the pig roast. (see pics above of Dominic slack lining).

This week, I have figured out how to put Dominic to bed with very little effort (I'm hesitant to mention this because I don't want to jinx the process):  Around 9pm I feed him and lay him in bed right after burping him.  Although he is happy and playful, if I lay him in his bed, with the light off (and lamp on), he has been drifting into a peaceful night’s sleep!!!—No fuss, no drama.  I love it!  He has been sleeping until about 8am with this strategy.  Not too shabby!

Aside from that exciting discovery, Michael and I have both been busy.  He is heading into the last week of classes and then finals.  Not to mention he is trying to promote his album!  If you want to support a good cause, you should purchase the album.  It's only $6 and they've worked really hard on it.  They aren't hoping/expecting to make millions.  They just want to raise enough money to help pay for some of the equipment they purchased to record the album.  Check it out:

http://songsbecomewater.bandcamp.com/album/hypnopompy?autoplay=true

I have been busy with Dominic, auditing a class, trying to find an apartment in Boston to lease for the summer, planning our trip to Europe, not to mention I have been working (yea!).  I am working remotely with a doctor (from Utah) interpreting brain scans (EEG's) used in diagnosing ADHD in children and teenagers.  This is great, because I can do it around my busy schedule (and around Dominic's schedule).

Well, I best be off to bed...we are headed to Boston first thing in the morning!!! This will be my first real trip into Boston.  We've been to Massachusetts a few times, but never really into Boston.  We are going to check out the city and look at some apartments!!  Should be a great trip!


Hasta luego!

We kicked off our tennies and headed to the Ball

Saturday evening we left Dominic and his diapers, wet wipes, blankets, pacifier, spare change of clothes, burp cloths, etc. etc. with some friends, took off our tennies and T's and dressed up for a night on the town.  The business school was having a formal dance event so we headed downtown to meet up with some friends and dance the night away.  We had a great time.

We've been hanging out with Prashant and Priyanka a lot lately.  They are both Michael's classmates (the tall guy and the cute gal).  They are from India and always seem to supply us with delicious Indian food when we are together!  They are both graduating from SOM in May and Prashant will be working with Innosight full-time after graduation.  We are excited to be in Boston with him for the Summer.  (For those of you behind the times-Michael will be working with Innosight for his summer internship and hopes to receive a full-time offer upon his own graduation.)

We also spend a lot of time with Huei Li (on my left) and Anna (on the far right-dark hair).  Anna's boyfriend, Sam, will also be graduating in May and starting at Innosight full-time.  We look forward to being with them in Boston as well.  Huei Li will also be graduating, but she has an offer to work for Deloitte (in D.C. I think)

Anyone else having high school flashbacks after looking at these pictures?  We stayed up late, like young college kids do...before we were sore and tired and our feet hurt :)  (Michael having played soccer for 3 hours earlier that day and me dancing in 4 inch heels--not to mention gallivanting around NYC the day before!).

The dance provided great food, friends, and dancing.  All in all, we had a great night.

New York City, you're so pretty

Michael had an innovation conference in New York last Thursday, so Dominic and I decided to tag along and spend the day in The City.  The train was packed with Yankee's fans since it was the season opener (home game).  We hope to make it to a Yankees game soon!

Dominic's first train ride-I think he enjoyed it!

I wonder how many movies have be filmed in Grand Central Station.  I was really excited to see it in person!  It really is a cool building.  It's huge and gorgeous inside.

We dropped Michael and his classmates off at the innovation conference and Dominic and I hit the streets of Sojo.  I could be entertained by the shopping there for days!

His first time in the streets of New York...I'm sure you can see he is very enthralled.

Beautiful trees in bloom.  New York City does a great job of keeping the city beautiful with lots of parks

The new Freedom Tower under construction (replacement for the twin towers I believe).  You should "Google" images for computer generated images of the final product.  It's going to be a really pretty building I think.

A view of the Statue of liberty and Staten Island.  I loved seeing all the people out jogging and pushing strollers.  Lots more people then I expected to see during the middle of the day.

City Scene

Our lovely tour guide, Lisa.

Lisa was an absolute sweetheart and took us to lunch and then gave us a tour through Sojo, Tribeca, and Battery City Park.  We had a great time catching up and taking in the sites.  She was a good sport and endured my picture-taking.  I feel like we walked miles and miles!!  By the time we met up with Michael after the conference (around 6pm), Dominic and I were tuckered!!

We stopped by an Indian Restaurant and had a delicious dinner with some of Michael's classmates before racing back to Grand Central Station to catch a train back to New Haven.

Prashant and Priyanka (our friends-both are graduating from SOM-School of Management-this year).

The little guy slept most of the train ride home.  He was so well-behaved and such a good sport.

I have many more pictures to show, of our recent adventures, but it will have to wait until next time!!!  Stay tuned!

Hugs,

Jodi, Michael, and D-man

Our latest adventures

Life has been good.  We are blessed with good health, family and friends, and abundant opportunities.

Dominic loves his daddy cuddles

Dominic thinks he is getting so big and likes to stand up all the time

He is beginning to experiment with his vocal cords

...and is clearly trying to communicate something.  Any interpretations?

Michael and I both have spring fever; Michael just finished building up his new bike (tailored for urban riding).  He has really been enjoying it!

Cute little bottoms gifted to Dominic from the Bethers family

We celebrated Michael's 30th birthday with friends at a sushi restaurant (and in case you were wondering, the dessert was delicious!!!!)

Dominic trying out Papa's new bike

Celebrating Holi with our friends (from business school)

Nithya (classmate) 

L-R: Mikaal, Alejandra and Danish (Danish is Michael's classmate)

Dominic didn't want to be left out so he joined the festivities

Dominic preparing to throw the colors.  He kind of looks like a troll, don't you think?! ( I can't help but notice that Michael's arm is as big as Dominic!)

Priyanka (classmate)

Mikaal wanted to play with Dominic, so Alejandra refereed :)

Michael had to leave the celebration for an appointment to get his hair trimmed...and yes, he showed up at the salon looking pretty colorful.

Needless to say, the haircut didn't go as planned and Michael was not pleased with the stylist that came highly recommended.

The result:

We have been loving family time on the weekends.

Dominic and daddy

ahh, how precious is this?

Such a handsome duo

I love his big (blue) eyes (hard to tell in this photo, but he definitely has blue eyes)

Not to mention he's getting really good at holding his head up. We're so proud.

One of my favs.  We are taking bets as to how long Dominic's hair will get before it lays down!

All the girls at SOM (school of management) love Dominic and rush to hold him when I take him to school.  He's quite the charmer.

Michael's classmate (Smita)

Thursday April 5th we celebrated Dominic's 3 month birthday.  We went to a few parties in the evening to celebrate!  Dominic loves the music and attention that are associated with large gatherings!

Friday's Michael doesn't have class, so we try to spend time together.  Last Friday, Michael joined our roller blading shenanigans.

Cruising around Yale campus

I think he likes cruisin'

Michael is way more talented on roller blades and can do spins and stuff. 

Around Yale campus

Our church (taken with a fish eye lens-hence the distortion)

Saturday we went to watch one of Michael's classmates in a South Asian dance performance.

A small sample (Michael's classmate, Nithya)

Dominic loved listening to the beats and seeing the bright costumes and lights.

Sunday we celebrated Easter.  Michael surprised me with a beautiful new pair of boots.  I was so surprised by his thoughtfulness.

Easter pics at a beautiful nearby church

Look at the contrast in hair color between the two!

I also snapped a few pictures of my friends' son, Ian, who came on our little photo shoot.

He is so full of life and such a happy little guy

Monday we went to a Opera recital.  The singer is a friend of ours who was performing her senior showcase and we all had a great time.  Jamilyn is so talented and did a great job.  The concert hall was beautiful, and she looked stunning.

Dominic listening attentively

Dominic receiving a smooch from the star of the opera

He was very excited about the kiss!

Notice how nicely we did his hair for the opera? (ok ok, his hair is actually doing the only thing it knows how to do--stick straight up)

Dominic wanted to check out the stage

I have been auditing a class this block with Michael called Consumer Behavior.  I am really enjoying the lectures and discussions.  This means that every Tuesday and Thursday, I drop Dominic off at my friend, Alejandra's house. (Alejandra, her husband Danish, and their son Mikaal are pictured above in the Holi pictures)

Dominic's friend Mikaal

He hasn't really grasped the concept of toys yet, but he has started to enjoy playing with his little stuffed monkey.

We just love him

Well, I guess that's all for now.  In summary: we are doing great.  Michael has been swamped the last few days, but is really enjoying his classes.  It's hard to believe that there are only 4 weeks left in his first year at Business School.  We will have a 4 week break before he has to start his internship, so we bought tickets to Europe!! I have never been and we thought the break would provide a wonderful opportunity (how many other times in our lives will we get a 4 week break?!)

HUGS to one and all!