Me and My Shadow

I finally have a son that I can call my own. He is a funny, extroverted, positive little guy - very much like his mother - but I too can take credit for his smile, calm disposition, his meaty thighs and full head of hair. I often joke with Lisa that he is all me. From his little, flat stubby feet to his love of water, bath time and a regular afternoon nap - I see so many similarities.

While I am enjoying our guy time together playing and doing things that a 5 month old does with his Dad, I am most excited about seeing him take his first step, hitting his first home run and racing him down a double black diamond in Colorado or Utah - though he better not beat me down the mountain on his first try.

And don't worry, I'll be patient with our son and let him develop other interests and hobbies - but I can just tell (can't you?) he wants to get outside and experience the thrill of competition and the excitement of being part of a sports team. Competition has caused me to work harder, seek higher achievements, evaluate myself with rigor and it often drives me to do my best. I want nothing less for my son, my shadow.

Do you have a sports story to share about your kid(s)? What was his/her first sports equipment purchase and at what age? When did you realize your son or daughter was a faster or a better athlete than you?

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

I was recently reading about the negative impact my carbon foot print has on earth. And as you can see, I was a bit shocked. I may be little, but I can still make a positive difference for the environment. We need clean lakes for me to water ski on. We need to take care of our mountains so I can bike down them in the summer and snow ski down them in the winter. And we all need our air to be clean so we can breathe as we run and play outdoors.

I am challenging each of you to pick one thing to change this year to improve your carbon foot print. It can be simple - start recycling, call the circular and get your address removed from the junk mail list, bike more instead of drive this summer, use a sponge instead of paper towels - it really is all of the little stuff that can have a huge impact. This year, I'm committed to burping less so my dad gets to do fewer loads of laundry. I'll also be strolling instead of driving (but that's because I can't reach the pedals yet!).  So what one thing will you do this year to keep our planet healthy?

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

What's in a Name?

When we choose Bodie's name, we had no idea how many things it would be connected to or the number of nicknames that would result from it. As most of you know, Bodie is named after his two grandfathers, Boden Vernal (Lisa's dad's middle name is Boden and Dave's dad's first name is Vernal). Both grandfathers are very active and love sports. We thought we were simply naming our child after two terrific men. Little did we know...

- There's a Bodie Lighthouse in Nags Head, NC
- There's a Bodie state park in California
- Through Bodie's name, Lisa found out she's related to her childhood friend's (Amy, aka Tito) step kids
- There's a Boden Candy company, great anncestors of Bodie (who knew!)

And then there are the funny nicknames he's been called by family and friends including Bodieman, Bodiemiester, Bodierama, and two of our personal favorites - Bodilicious and Bodinator. We think the first comes from Destiny's Child's song Bootylicious and the second, of course, is after the Terminator.  Everyone of these nicknames make us laugh and oddly enough, fits him perfectly.

So what's in  your name? Any crazy connections? Any clever nicknames?

A Day at the Park

Tonight we went to the park for a picnic with our friends the Cooks. Tristan is a little older than me, so he showed me the ropes on the playground. I tried out a few new things - the swing and the slide. So far, I like the swing better. Compared to me, the slide is huge; I can fit sideways down it and roll to the bottom. The rolling part isn't so comfortable, especially on my nose. So I'm sticking with the swing until I get a little bigger. And I promise I was having a lot more fun that my face may show.

Heavy Weight

Lots of you have asked how I'm doing since my surgery. I'm terrific and thank you very much for asking. The number one question is "How much does Bodie weigh?" I'm told that some day this - and the question about my age - will be offensive. However, right now I'm proud to share that I tip the scales at nearly 14 pounds and have recently added some attractive fat rolls to my thighs. With the warmer weather, I plan to head to the pool in my swim trunks and shades to show off my new physique, so look out ladies.

And the Blog is Launched!

For starters, thanks for reading our family's blog. I enjoyed blogging on Caring Bridge and think this new site will be a lot of fun, though I have one concern...the outfits. This blog gives my parents a reason to dress me in ridiculous get-ups and post the photos on the Internet. Don't they know I have an image to maintain? Seriously, does it look cold enough for me to be in this much gear inside on a leather couch? Oh well, I guess it's just part of the deal when you become a Piantanida.

This is a picture of me on our recent trip to Utah. I'm sitting in the lodge at Snowbird ski resort. No skiing for me this year - I figure I should master holding up my head and maybe even standing before I strap some skis on, but my dad says for sure I'll be on the slopes next year.  Anyway, we hope you subscribe to our blog so you can stay posted on all of our family's fun. And of course, I plan to be the best blogger in our family, so look for my posts!

Launching the Piantanida Family Blog

It's official, the Piantanida's have joined the blogging world. We had a great experience connecting daily with friends and family through Bodie's Caring Bridge website; many of you followed his progress and offered us much needed love and laughter during his surgery. And well this, sort of evolved from that -- though we hope the most complex health updates we post on this site involve only skinned knees and an occassional bee sting. Each of us will post - and yes, by popular demand, that includes Bodie. For being so little, the kid sure has a lot to say. (For starters, he says he says the green genie pants he's wearing are so "1980, MC Hammer," and he can't believe we're using it for our first picture - oh well, he was out-voted.) We look forward to sharing our little familiy's adventures and hope you will join us for the ride.