anti-wisdom, spewed as often as we can spare it

Brothers,

Please take a moment to review the attached letter by clicking the link below.  Please consider making a contribution and helping us to take advantage of the amazing matching opportunity offered by Mr. Pickens of $2 for every $1 we raise with this effort by 2/27/11.

Yours in the Bond,

Chris Cardoni, OKB# 1065
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On March 16, we welcomed into the Cardoni & Jones families, Master James Cesare Jones.  Kimberly and Keith’s new addition, arrived at 8:50 am, weighed 8lbs, 4 ounces and was 19.75 inches long.  Of course, this gave our little clan all the excuse we needed to load up the car and head to Conway, Arkansas to meet the newest member of our growing family.  Zac was very excited to meet his new little cousin, and thankfully, bestowed him with a kiss.  We were so proud of his model behavior, we somehow found it easier to dismiss his repeated attempts to put James’s toys in the toliet.  The whole family had a great time and we can’t wait to get over to see Kim, Keith and James again.

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The following weekend brought an unexpected snow storm.  After a few weeks in the 60s, 70s, and even 80s, we thought we had kissed winter goodbye for 2009.  We were promptly reminded that in Oklahoma, you should never pack away your winter clothes before mid-April.  Zac had a great time playing in the roughly six to eight inches of snow in our backyard.  This was really his first time to play with snow.  All of his previous experiences have been with ice. 

Thankfully, Mary Catherine loaned us Jay’s old snow suit and “dingo boots” and Zac was able to spend the morning tromping through the snow.  Being “snowed in” for part of the weekend, Meg decided that it was time to give Zac a violin lesson.  Previously, he has been only allowed to sit in the violin case and listen to Meg play.  I’m telling you, this kid is going to have some musical abilities.

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The past few weeks have proven themselves to be eventful, with plenty of surprises for our little family.  Most expected events, and one that wasn’t so expected. 

Since my last post (and the subject of this post):

• Zac’s mobility continues to improve and we love watching him explore the world. He’s been frequenting Whiteside park where there’s a toddler playground that is much better for little ones than the Riverside playground. Recently began giving good kisses (less drool, more kiss), loves digging in potted plants (oh no! so messy)
• Papa John and Grandma Robin paid us a visit over President’s Day weekend and really helped Chris out since Meg was sick all weekend.
• Zac experienced his first broken bone.  A broken clavicle or collar bone after a hard fall, first urgent care visit, first x-rays
• Meg and Grandma Robin hosted a baby shower for my sister, Kim, in OKC,
• Zac (and his parents) attended Jefferson Roby’s 2nd birthday party,
• Zac and Meg were involved in a photoshoot for St. John’s Hospital after our urgent care visit.

Zac’s increasing mobility and verbal skills keep Meg and I entertained daily.  As we’ve experienced nicer weather lately, we have loved watching him explore the world.  He’s also learning new words and has now clearly said the words MILK, WATER, EAT, BREAKFAST, THANK YOU, HI, and can sing part of Row, row, row your boat, including the word “gently” after which he believes himself done with the song.

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My parents, now known as Papa John and Grandma Robin, traveled to Tulsa to visit us for the weekend, including the Monday of President’s Day.  Meg turned up sick with the flu that day, so I was greatful for the extra hands around to take care of Zac so I could take care of her.  Zac had a blast with his grandparents, and it wasn’t until working on this that I realized I didn’t get any pictures of him with Grandma Robin.

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The Tuesday following President’s Day, Zac was playing in the backyard and took a pretty hard fall.  We were concerned due to his prolonged crying and the manner in which he was clearly favoring his right shoulder.  So, Meg and I took our first emergency trip to St. John Urgent Care to have Zac checked out.  Zac was pretty scared, as were Mom and Dad, but he was really a trooper.  X-Rays showed a broken right collar bone, and I’m actually glad we saw the x-ray, because we would never believe today that Zac has anything wrong with him.  After about two or three days of favoring his right arm and wearing a small sling, he was “back to normal”.  Although he will take several more weeks for the break to heal, he acts as though everything is all better.

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The very next weekend, Meg and Grandma Robin hosted a baby shower for my sister Kim at my parent’s house in Del City.  All went well, and we had a blast.

The first weekend in March, we attended Jefferson Roby’s 2nd Birthday party at the home of our friends Josh and Jenny Roby.  The whole family had a blast, especially Zac, who tried to kiss everone kid there on the lips.  You never know what embarrassing thing your kid will do around others.  Anyway, Jeffer had a great birthday as evidenced by the pictures below and here.

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Finally, the whole family took place in a photo shoot for St. John’s Hospital after Zac’s heroic visit to the urgent care clinic.  It helps that we have friends who work for St. John in the public relations department and that both Meg and Zac photograph well.  You’ll have to look about Tulsa to see if Meg and Zac show up on any bilboards, magazines or buses!

Last week was an interesting one.  The week brought Zac’s first experience with ice.  He was only five weeks old when last year’s historic ice storm left us without power and living out of a hotel for days.  This was the first time he could actually walk around.  He had a good time interacting with the foreign white substance, which was mostly in snow form the day he was walking around in it.

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Meg and I now wonder if we have a future musician in our midst.  Zac absolutely loves music.  I think his favortie time of day is when mommy plays the piano for him and he gets to show off his piano skills.  This week, Meg and Jay introduced Zac to the xylophone and the violin (well mainly the violin case).

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Last but not least, we took in some basketball games on Saturday afternoon at Leon’s Sports bar in Brookside.  Zac had a great time, showing off his new hat and flirting with the waitress.  He has a fascination with beer bottles and with playing peek-a-boo with his napkin.

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I continue to learn how to use WordPress to design the new blog.  It’s been fun, but I owe Josh Roby a great deal for his help on the blog and for looking the other way as I basically ripped off his site so I could learn how all this stuff works with a working example.  Over time I will make it more our own, but I’m grateful for his help.  You can check out his blog at http://blog.therobyfamily.com.

 I’m still floored by how easy this has really been.  I showed Meg how to add new posts to the blog so I’m sure she will begin adding content soon.  I have to admit, her interest in this surprised me.

So for now, enjoy and check back often.  Oh, and be careful on all the ice out there.

It’s always hard to get started.  Thinking of the first things to say on the initial foray into blog world have me dumbstruck.  I’d love to throw something truly inspirational out there, but I’m not quite up to it.  It’s late and I’m still learning just how everything works.  There also happens to be ice everywhere outside.

The blog is starting to feel a little more personal now that I have some pics of the family up and running.  We’ll try to keep them updated.  Someday we will actually get www.cardonifamily.com up and running, but for now, this will have to suffice.

I haven’t decided just how often to update the blog or just how mundane of details to share with the world.  I guess you’ll have to keep tuning in to find out.  Don’t hesitate to email me if we haven’t updated in awhile and you just have to know what we’re up to these days.

Hello out there.  More to follow . . .