Our family consists of Michael (Daddy), Chrissy (Mommy), Aiden (Boy #1) and Gavin (Boy #2).  Chrissy and I managed to time Aiden so that he would be born in the summer (although a little later into the summer than we had planned). We had a little more luck in timing Gavin’s arrival, hitting our late July target.  We’re not planning on having any more children right now, but you can never tell what the future will bring.

Michael

Currently, I’m working at the University of Chicago as the Manager of Technology and Data Integrity.  The department of intellectual propery, UChicagoTech, didn’t have any data-management processes in place when I was brought on, so I introduced them to data quality analysis and data cleansing methods.  Our databases are much cleaner now, and we have powerful reporting tools that help our team at every level.  I also have direct input to all things IT and I still work a bit with project management.

Michael Outside With Sukiyo Michael with Aiden

At home, I’m working on some sort of home remodeling project more often than not.  When I’m not slaving away on the house, I’m collecting Transformers. A while back, my buddy Carl took some panoramic photos of my collection (you can see those below). The collection has expanded since then, and we’ve built custom shelves to store all my toys. Custom built-in oak shelves that are six feet tall by two feet deep by twelve feet wide. It’s hard to believe that I’m already out of shelf space.

Special thanks to Carl — pic one (1.48 MB)
For Providing the Panarama shots — pic two (.78 MB)

When I can, I teach at Indiana University Northwest.  I teach “Introduction to E-commerce” at the undergraduate level whenever there are night classes that are understaffed.  Sometimes it’s fun, and I think that I bring real-life experience to the role.

Chrissy

Chrissy is still teaching at Eisenhower elementary school in South Holland, Illinois. She is very happy there, but she’s not averse to staying at home to be a full-time mom from time to time. You can do that when you’re tenured: skip a year of work to stay at home with your baby. The school district holds Chrissy’s classroom for her until she gets back.

Chrissy at the Petting Zoo Chrissy

Chrissy is still enjoying her favorite hobby: scrapbooking. When we finished the basement, we created a wall of scrapbook cabinets that hold up a twelve foot long countertop for workspace. Chrissy’s downstairs office is a veritable scrapbooker’s dream come to life.

Aiden

Aiden was born on August 29th, 2006.  He’s very good-natured, and we never experienced any of the horror stories that other parents seem to have.  Luckily, there was no projectile vomiting, no colicy screaming at all hours of the night, and no strange illnesses to plague us.   People always tell us how good he is. We love to dress him up in his little IU outfits.

Aiden by the Flowers Aiden's Smash Cake

Aiden is growing into such a big boy. He is enjoying his new position of “Big Brother”.  He loves to hold Gavin, and Aiden will often run over and give him a kiss on his head.  It’s hard to imagine that Aiden used to be as small as Gavin, even though he was still a little peanut just a year ago.

Gavin

Gavin was born on July 22nd, 2008.  He is a healthy little boy and loves to be held, which is fine because we love to hold him. He started off a little jaundiced, but that cleared up fairly quickly. There are plenty of comparisons with Aiden when he was tiny.

Gavin In His Crib Gavin In His Boppy

Although we were reluctant to take Aiden outside of the house as an infant, Gavin took his first shopping trip at five days old. We often take both boys for walks in the double-stroller. We’re excited to see his little personality come out, but right now he’s happy to just eat and sleep.