Matt and Marlene plus 1

Brooks not Manolos

2009-11-07T09:33:00.000-08:00

I know its been a while since I have posted but in my defense I've been busy. Being a father isn't easy. Plus, I have been celebrating the 27th world championship of a little squad that plays in the Bronx. (Sorry to all my Philly people especially Marlene who might take offense to that last line).

Who the hell am I kidding, I've been lazy these past few months. Marlene might be the greatest mom ever (sorry mom, but I don't remember those first few years) and Robinson is a very easy kid. I have no excuse for not posting more.

Marlene and Robinson and I travelled east a few weeks ago and the little man got to meet all his great grandmothers and a lot of aunts, uncles and cousins. He has no idea what nuts he is related to. They stayed back east while I returned to Seattle for a few days before I start traveling again for the next few weeks. I will end up going 17 days without seeing them and that's going to be really hard.

I had planned to live this amazing bachelor life out here, a male version of Sex in the City but set in Seattle. I would of course be Carrie as my obsession with shoes is borderline problematic. Unfortunately for me, the last thing I want to do is be single and childless. I miss Marlene and Robinson so much its kid of pathetic. Not to mention the fact that our apartment is basically a shrine to Robinson and I cant go 5 feet without seeing something that reminds me of him.

This has given me a new found respect for people who are away from their families for long amounts of time. The incredible sacrifice that our soldiers make, not only risking their lives but leaving their families for months and sometimes years at a time is incredible. It makes me feel very selfish for worrying about 17 days.

I wanted to end on a positive note and so I thought I would explain the magical powers of my sperm. In 2009 both Carolina and the Yankees won championships. That's not a coincidence. Clearly there must be some greater force out there and I am pretty sure that its me. There are of course limits to my powers, sorry to my fellow Knick fans, I dont think anyone is powerful enough to help them.

"Call in the Righty!"

2009-07-25T17:48:00.003-07:00

Marlene and I went to the bullpen a few weeks ago for some reinforcements and we were lucky enough to have an ace waiting to come in and help us out. Marlene's mom (or Lola to Robinson) has been here for a few weeks and is a huge help.

Serious Robinson

2009-07-25T17:47:00.001-07:00

Here is Robinson showing off his serious face

Robinson working hard

2009-07-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

Here is the kid, tired as usual after a tough day in the coal mines.

-matt

Twice the Robinson for half the price!!!!

2009-07-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest (mostly) and greatest (definitely) pictures of the kid. He is now doing long division in his head and can juggle 5 balls. Its really quite amazing.

I have been receiving hate mail for my less then frequent posts and so I PROMISE a new picture every day for the next week.

Check back and keep me honest

-matt

You asked for more Robinson and guess what...you got it!!!!!

2009-07-11T09:38:00.000-07:00

Time is a really sad thing. It's actually quite maddening really. It never stops, never, not even the first week you are a parent and you just want to remember every single thing that happens. He is now 10 days old and already changing. It's amazing how fast he is developing. He can't read or count yet (which comes as a disappointment to me) but he is gaining weight and he is changing shape by the day. He is amazing and Marlene and I are ecstatic every second of every day.

Below is the second set of pictures for your enjoyment.

Matt

ROBINSON ANDREW MEJIA WEISS!!!!!!!!!!

2009-07-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

Normally I am not short with words but these speak for themselves.

Marlene and I are in love and thanks so much for everyone's thoughts and prayers the past few days.

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Okay Kid, Let's Go

2009-06-22T14:23:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was beautiful in Seattle - sunny, relatively warm and lots to do to celebrate the summer solstice. Unfortunately, I can't attest to any of this because Marlene and I spent the weekend indoors organizing our apartment and getting ready for the upcoming arrival. It was perhaps the most productive weekend of my life.

The baby's room is totally set up and ready to go and we even cleaned out the closet and have a ton of extra space. We also managed to clean out our bedroom closet with each of us finding relics (some from high school) to donate to charity. Marlene was positively giddy at the sight of all this cleanliness and was downright elated when I installed the car seat on Sunday morning.

Now that her fear that we wouldn't be ready has been assuaged, she has her kobe face on and is ready to deliver. Today is 37 weeks and I fear for my life if I am writing a blog entry saying anything about 41 weeks. Hopefully, I will be writing about my week old kid.

Here are some pics from our very busy weekend.

- Matt

45469 miles and not counting

2009-06-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

45,469 is how many miles I have flown with Delta this year. Throw in a few flights on American and United and I am over 50k for the first 6 months of the year. Flight status is a big deal for me and getting over 100k is for some reason something I pride myself on. Clearly I am a little deranged, but in the office there is a kind of machismo associated with how many miles you have flown.

The bad news for me is that I am stuck on 45469 for a while as I am off the road for the time being. The good news is that I am off the road for the best reason of all. After my final flight touched down last night I had two thoughts. 1) The kid can come any time since I am home. 2) The next time I fly I will be a father. I travel so much there is kind of a rhythm to it and thinking that I am home for a while and that my life will get turned upside down is crazy for me.

Life here is great. We haven't had rain in a month and the weather is gorgeous. Marlene is holding up very well. She is being so tough it's crazy. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely moments when she is cranky and complains, but they just aren't nearly as frequent as they should be. If I had a little monster growing inside me I would bitch constantly, making sure everyone knows my pain. Marlene takes almost everything in stride and has a glow to her that is beautiful. She truly amazes me.

I will update more frequently now that I am home for a while and I should have more pictures this weekend.

Matt

Half Jewish Carpenter

2009-05-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

So perhaps the title of this is misleading to all the religious zealots out there. This title is not a reference to Jesus, but rather to me, who for one day in May was a half Jewish Carpenter. That's half Jewish, not half carpenter. I spent more time then I would like to admit assembling the crib, but the final result was well worth it.

There are a couple good shots of me hard at work and then a few shots of the baby's room. You also get to see the dresser that I spent a few days painting so basically everything manly I have ever done is pictured here.

Of course the only picture that matters is the one of the little lady posing with the kid. He is getting bigger and feistier by the day and Marlene is looking forward to the day he starts kicking me instead of her.

Marlene is doing great and by great I mean very healthy, but not very comfortable. The kid on the other hand is like a spring breaker, partying all day, resting when he feels like it and not caring at all about trashing the hotel room. Marlene is really looking forward to being able to move freely without the star point guard of the Carolina 2029 team weighing her down.

As for me, I am doing well, enjoying the hell out of the NBA playoffs and trying to help Marlene as much as I can. This is a very exciting time and I am convinced that someday we will look back on this as one of the best times of our life. The anticipation is amazing and the fact that there is no getting around the wait makes it brutal at times, but also incredibly nerve-wracking.

More posts to come as I am not traveling for a few weeks.

Matt

Super ultra flyweight...

2009-05-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

In our final ultrasound last week the Doctor gave us the weight of the baby and the kid is weighing in at 3.5 lbs. For whatever reason I thought that was a lot. After seeing the fight on Saturday night I realized that Marlene is basically running a boxing training camp inside her body. Now this isn't some fancy high-tech gym with the latest performance equipment. This gym is old school, Rocky 4 style. This is Siberia in the winter with nothing to do but train and focus on growing.

Think about it...this kid never has to think about his meals or what he is doing tomorrow or who he needs to email back. All he needs to do is get bigger. So all day he eats and works out, punching Marlene in the abs, and the back, and the kidneys and the...you know where this is going. He does pull ups on her ribs and squats against her stomach. Basically she is growing the next Manny Pacquiao but he is treating her body like Ricky Hatton.

And the worst part is that much like the Pac Man, he is only going to get bigger and stronger and he isn't getting any more room in there.

I realize now that I have no idea what my wife is going through. I eat a big meal and I feel terrible. She is stuck in a Groundhog Day of Thanksgiving dinner over and over. She is wayyyyyy tougher than I am.

-Matt

April showers bring May construction?

2009-05-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

Here is the little lady as of 30 weeks. The kid looks good in green doesn't he? Marlene is doing well and the kid continues to impress with his physical activity, he might come out more defined than his father!

Marlene's baby shower was last Saturday (actually 2 Saturday's ago) and it was quite the event. She was happy to be home and the 90 degree temps made her even more salty when we returned to the Pacific Northwest.

One thing that I have started to notice lately is that many of the things that we are getting for the kid require quite a lot of assembly. Being not the handiest guy, I am starting to dread all of this work. We picked up the crib Sunday and the sheer weight of the box has me terrified to open it and see what's inside. I look at the box and see myself losing an entire weekend of free time.

I am very excited lately and I can't wait for the summer to finally meet this kid. I have a few co-workers whose wives are due around the same time as Marlene and I had a dream that they gave birth before her and I was so jealous. I am becoming that guy, the one who gushes about everything that their child does and guess what, I could care less. I can't wait for him to do stuff just so I can tell the world!

-matt

Sleep, or lack there of

2009-04-22T20:10:00.000-07:00

My apologies for the delay in getting this update out. I know it's hard to believe but I have actually been working a lot lately.

We are back East for Marlene's baby shower and so this is perfect time to get some new pictures up. Here is the little lady at 28 weeks, showing off her new armrest.

Mom and baby are doing great. Both are healthy and kicking (especially the kid) but only one keeps ME up at night. I can't help it that Marlene and I are unable to trade places. If I could, I would.

In related news, everyone I talk to about being an expectant parent tells me the same thing, get your rest now because you won't get it after he is born. The past week and half has been tough for me between work and travel, I was running seriously short on sleep and so I got a small glimpse into what life will be like in a few months. Suffice to say I am not looking forward to a lack of beauty rest. If only I was a bear and I could hibernate for the next 2 months.

-Matt

Thanks Roy

2009-04-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

What a glorious night for the Carolina faithful in Seattle last night. To celebrate Carolina's 5th national title Marlene and I decided to rage Franklin St. Style. As we left the bar Marlene was so fired up she flipped the first car we passed and soon the block looked like this

In the past 2 posts Marlene has demonstrated her jumping ability and now her Ant like strength. I hope the kid winds up with her athletic skills and not mine.

Speaking of the kid, he is doing well, growing a ton (now well over 1lb) and he can hear us so I often speak to Marlene's belly. She has also taken to updating him on the goings on in our life. He was very happy that the heels won.

We got married in 2005 and the Heels won a title, and now we are expecting in 2009 and they win again. You think Roy wants us to have another kid soon?

-matt

Filipino Women CAN Jump

2009-04-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Babymoon. Marlene's terminology, not mine. It refers to a trip couples take in the months before their child is born. We went to LA for a few days and soaked in the vitamin D that we are so desperate for in Seattle.

The second picture down was taken on the courts where "White Men Can't Jump" was filmed. Marlene wanted me to jump but after embarrassing myself flexing in front of Muscle Beach I felt I had done enough to hurt my reputation so she jumped. I should get some credit for capturing her leap at its peak, but she definitely still has some spring in those legs. The other photos are from the Getty Museum and the top one is the 2 (almost 3) of us on a tandem bike.

In baby-related news, we had an appointment on Friday and all is well. Marlene has felt like the baby is nestled on her left side and the Doctor confirmed as much when she grabbed her stomach and showed us exactly where he is sitting. Marlene has tried to force him over but for the time being he is liking the left coast.

I now have to suffer for the next 23 hours until the NCAA final tips off. Time is moving very slooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwlllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

-Matt

Jordan week pictures (23)

2009-03-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

Greetings from sunny California. Marlene and I are down here for a few days basking in the sun and warmth that Seattle lacks in March. This was the first flight for the baby and mother since he has grown to over a pound and though we were back with the commoners in coach Marlene was still comfortable. (FYI Virgin America is a pretty cool airline.)

Here are a few pics from last week and I can assure you as I look at Marlene that not much has changed in the past 5 days.

I'm off to enjoy a few hours of sunshine. I hope I don't get burned.

Good luck to the Heels tonight and thanks to Barbie and Max for putting us up for a few days.

Matt

Destiny's Child

2009-03-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

The title of this blog has nothing to do with Marlene's pregnancy, although, he will be a special kid. Rather, the title refers to the all-female group of the late 90's and early 2000's. Remember that group? It was Beyonce and...a bunch of random girls no one can really remember and who have since faded into obscurity.

That's kind of how I feel right now. In the past 5 months no one has asked me anything about myself. God forbid someone cares about how I am feeling. Instead, I have become the other members of Destiny's Child, just trying to harmonize so the lead singer can get all the glory. For my older readers, try to name the other Supremes. After Diana Ross, it gets hard.

Now don't take me to be a bitter person. I am happy for Marlene, but I have basically become a glorified sperm donor. For those who care, I am doing fine and seesawing between excitement and nervousness. I have a theory that both of these emotions add to 100% but vary depending on the day. Today, for instance, I was 85% excited and just 15% nervous. Tomorrow, there is a good chance I will be somewhere closer to 50/50. The rough days are the ones where I am 95% nervous and only 5% excited, but those pass quickly. Overall, things are great. Seattle is beautiful in the summer and Marlene shouldn't have to deal with too much heat and humidity (I am imagining a subway platform in July), so the next few months should be a blur. The guest room is also coming together as we are expecting plenty of visitors in the near future.

Not much else is going on in my life, The heels are through to the Sweet 16, but now it gets really hard. Gonzaga is a very similar team to us and I am as scared of them as any team we have played all year. I am very happy just to get this far, even though I want more from this season. I can't get greedy as there are plenty of teams who would love to be here and we still have the chance to play 4 more. As Jim Valvano said, "survive and advance".

Matt

Glory Days

2009-03-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Forgive me for feeling my inner Springsteen these past few days. I am back in North Carolina for a few days of work and one day of college basketball. I will be in Chapel Hill tomorrow and I am more than giddy for a night out on the town. Of course, I am pretty sure I will be constantly reminded of how old I am as I look over campus and remark, "Back in my day, those buildings used to be trees," etc.

It is also weird to think that in a few months these trips will get a lot harder as I will be leaving more than just Marlene at home. It's already tough enough to leave Marlene and travel now. I can only imagine how rough it will be when she and the kid are double teaming me. Of course, I will probably enjoy the sleep on the road so that might be the consolation prize of traveling.

This is Marlene's Jordan week (Shame on you if you are a Carolina fan and you don't know what that means). For those of you with a life, it's her 23rd week and she is still doing great. We owe you some pictures and I promise I will get them up this weekend. I will also throw in a shot of me just so no one forgets what I look like.

That's all for me-
Matt

New York Times...Sports...Kvetching

2009-03-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Since so many of you have complimented Matt on his writing skills for this blog, check out his published letter to the editor in the NY Times Magazine from a few weeks ago. The best part of this is that it says he is from Bothell, WA. Seattle would've sounded so much cooler, but he didn't get a chance to clarify that he works in Bothell and lives in Seattle...oh well.

Matt would never think to tell everyone about this so I took it upon myself to do so instead. It's my wifely duty. This isn't the first published letter to the editor for Matt. He's made it into the NY Times Science section and Sports Illustrated before.

All the articles that Matt has written about publicly deal with sports. If you didn't know already, he is VERY, VERY, VERY into sports. He constantly watches sports on TV and online - sometimes at the same time especially during March Madness, memorizes random and obscure sports stats, reads a ton of books about athletes and important moments in sports history and of course keeps up-to-date with daily sports news through the NY Post Sports section, ESPN.com, Tarheelblue.com, Deadspin.com, Letsrun.com, and Flotrack.com. I wish he could show the same amount of zealousness for reading baby books!!

Alright, hope everyone is having a good day. I love how it has been staying light out for longer. I'm slowly getting out of my Seattle funk because of it. Now I just need consistently warm weather. I can't wait for summer to come!!

Take care - Marlene and baby...OUT!

2009-03-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

Hi All!!!!!

This is Marlene. I'm glad everyone is enjoying our blog. We've gotten some great comments back from some of you. Matt has taken editorial control over the blog however I wanted to take some time to clear up a few things. First, I'm more than just my good looks. I am better than Matt at a lot of things - spelling/grammar (I clean up any mistakes I see on this blog after Matt posts.), cleaning, typing, having rhythm, lifting weights, folding laundry, and juking (I juked Matt in an alley once wearing my kitten-heeled boots. If you're confused, just look for videos online that show what Brian Westbrook did to the Giants this past year.) to name a few. Also, our baby will be so much more than just good-looking (which he will be...duh) and being great at picking the NCAA tournament. Hopefully, if we do our job right as parents, he will be kind, thoughtful, smart, funny, compassionate, etc., etc.

Matt didn't mention this yet, but I kind of freaked out when I learned we were having a boy. I never thought I would care either way. I just wanted a healthy baby. However, once the nurse told us at our last ultrasound, my first thought was that I would never connect with him. I thought he and Matt would become besties and do everything together and leave me out. But, as I told more and more people, everyone reassured me that there is a strong bond between a son and his mother so I'm happy now knowing that he will be a little mama's boy!

Alright...that's all from me. You won't hear from me a lot since this is Matt's outlet, but I just wanted to say hi to everyone and throw in my two cents!

Much love...Marlene

Fly Threads

2009-03-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

Being the dapper Don (Draper, shout out to all the Mad Men fans) that I am, it's important that the Kid maintains a similar fashion ethos.

Allow me to define this ethos and further expound. What the baby and I will have in common is that when we want to look good we allow Marlene to dress us. The only difference is that she doesn't have to physically dress me. I can dress myself. There are lots of things I am better at than Marlene - I am better at cooking, complaining, writing letters to editors, and predicting the NCAA tournament (watch out for Louisville). What I am not better at is looking good. She has me beat hands down in that department. Hopefully some of that (a lot of that) rubs off on the Kid. If he can look like his mom and pick the NCAA tournament like me, then he is a winner.

We (by we I mean Marlene) had another check up this week and all looks good. She and the baby are both healthy and growing well (the baby not Marlene). 22 weeks down and hopefully only 18 more to go.

We are off to go buy the crib and some other supplies. This is all happening pretty quickly. Send any comments my way.

-Matt

Picasso I'm not

2009-02-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Today I started to repaint a dresser for the baby's room. It's a really old dresser that my father used to use and in a time of poverty Marlene and I rescued it from my grandmother's attic. We actually painted it for the first time almost 5 years ago when we first moved in together. My apologies to Marlene's folks for the 16 months we lived in sin. It's pretty rough around the edges but it holds sentimental value so we decided to bring it to life again. I also think the vast amount of HGTV that Marlene watches deluded me into thinking I am more handy then I really am.

After sanding, I spent a few hours painting and when I was finishing up I wanted to write a note on the back of the dresser to our kid. I thought about writing "love dad" or something to that extent. I realized at that moment that I had never referred to myself as dad and I became somewhat emotional. I guess I should get used to it because it's not the last time, but it was definitely a new feeling. I shared this feeling with Marlene who responded by patting me on the ass. Yes, patting me on the ass. Imagine what one teammate does to another before a big free throw...that's what she did.

So now I am sitting here drinking a beer and feeling somewhat manly.

More pictures to come tomorrow, perhaps of the dresser and perhaps an updated shot of the big momma.

It's a Boy and What a Boy It Is....

2009-02-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite moments in Simpsons' history is when Bart is born and Dr. Hibbert says, "It's a boy" and Homer mistaking the umbilical cord for genitalia says "and what a boy it is!" I like this moment because it captures the desire every parent has for their child to be extraordinary from the moment they are born. Luckily for me, I don't have to worry about this. My child WILL be extraordinary from the moments it is born.

Back to the subject. Although I think most people know this already, Marlene and I are having a boy, or the prodigal son as I like to refer to him. Most people think that this must make me extremely happy, and while I am excited to have a son, I really just want a healthy baby. As long as the kid and Marlene are fine, then I am one happy dad.

That's all for today but for those who didn't know the gender this was a fairly informative post. Stay tuned for more posts this week including one where I break an incredible piece of gossip. (Please note that I will actually not break any stories. That's what we in the blog world call a teaser.)

20 Weeks Down, 20 Weeks To Go...

2009-02-23T21:14:00.000-08:00

After much demand from my adoring public I am back with another entry and I promise that I will update more this week. I would promise to update each night, but who am I kidding, there is no way I can actually do that. The big news for Marlene and me was North Carolina blowing a 16 point 2nd half lead to Maryland on Saturday. I was and still am beside myself. Would it kill Roy to have a play to run that go the ball inside in the last few minutes? I digress.

So today marks 20 weeks for Marlene and baby. Just another 20 to go. It should be easy right? If my experience running a marathon taught me anything its that sometimes the second half of things is a lot harder then the first. A lot harder. No seriously, a lot harder. Fortunately for Marlene she has me to help her during this time. Unfortunately for Marlene, she has me to help her through this time. Marlene is doing well as is the baby, both are growing although Marlene is just growing around and the baby keeps getting longer. (Side note: Marlene finally broke down and bought 2 pairs of maternity pants yesterday. She wore one pair to work today and she couldn't believe that she had resisted buying a pair of maternity pants for this long. She claims she can finally breath again. I guess in her head she thought that after giving in to buying maternity pants mom jeans wouldn't be far behind but I don't think she'll ever go there!) I think Marlene would like to get longer that way she wouldn't have to round her height up to 5' 4" from 5' 3.75".

We have our next check up next week. At 20 weeks, the baby is a size of a cantaloupe and is about 10 ounces and 6.5 inches long. Marlene read that the baby can hear voices now so I have been talking to her belly alot. We also received a thoughtful gift from Melodee - a Mozart lullaby cd for expectant mothers. I'm sure we will be falling asleep to this every night although I plan on playing a lot of Jay-Z, Biggie, and of course Bruce around the little one as well.

We have started to change our 2nd bedroom from a storage room (it never actually functioned as a 2nd bedroom) into a baby room and this has actually been useful. Its forced us to clean and get organized and with the kid coming we could use some organization in our lives. Marlene has also started to buy baby clothes, which is a somewhat problematic issue. Every time she seems something she likes she says "awwwwwwwwwwww" and then looks at me doe eyed and tries to convince me to buy it. I just see a really little shirt or shoes. Perhaps I haven't internalized yet that the shirt and shoes will be for my child, and that's why they are so cute, or perhaps I am fearful of them being covered in either, feces, urine, and or vomit.

That's all for now, I do promise to post more. Until next time here is a picture of Marlene at 20 weeks.

And We're Off!!!!!

2009-02-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

This blog will be our way of updating the world to our progress as we become parents. I've never blogged before mostly because I doubt I've had anything that interesting to say. I still don't have anything interesting to say, I just have news that some of you might be interested in. The past few weeks have been exhausting for me. I have to deal with Marlene being pregnant and let me tell you, that's a lot of work. Marlene on the other hand has been living in the lap of luxury getting her every demand catered to by her doting husband. (Please note that some of the elements in the previous paragraph may have been embellished.) On a more serious note, Marlene is doing great...she is healthy, as is the baby and we are very excited. We have some big doctors appointments coming up in the next few weeks so check back for updates. Here's Marlene at 16 weeks. She has a small bump but she swears she is bigger than what she actually looks like. She is still holding on strong to her regular clothes (she has resorted to putting rubber bands around her belt loops) but she is starting to look at maternity clothes or at least buying larger sizes of regular clothes. Below are pics of Marlene at 17 weeks and then at 18 weeks. Doesn't she look so beautiful!!!!!