SJ Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche - 11/30/07

This was the annual "take my brother to see the Avalanche for his birthday" game. It was the first game I had attended at the arena this year and I was very impressed with the new technology they had on display. They completely replaced the giant, 4-sided scoreboard hanging above center ice with a new, high definition one. They also replace the banner ads between the first and second levels with a screen that wrapped all the way around the arena. This opened up a lot of possibilities for getting the crowd going with cool graphics and huge moving images. Finally, they replaced the old sound system with a much better, and easier to understand, one. Below is a picture of the new technology during construction.

Oh, and the game was good, too ;-) The Sharks got off to a fast start with a power play goal from Joe Thornton two minutes in. Five minutes into the second period, Thornton scored on the power play again to increase the lead 2-0. The Avalanche got their first goal shorthanded when Milan Hejduk beat Nabokov with 3:30 left in the period to cut the lead in half. The Sharks struck back quickly when Mike Grier scored 1:30 later to increase the lead back to 2 goals. The Avalanche wasted no time in making it a 1 goal game again when Andrew Brunette scored 1:30 later. After that flurry of goals to close out the second period, neither team scored in the third and the Sharks held on for a 3-2 victory.

Overall, it was a very physical game and both teams looked pretty good and had many scoring chances. The Sharks just played a little better and were fortunate to get a great game from Joe Thornton. One other note, during one of the breaks in the action, a guy in our section won a dance-off with a person in the competing section which meant our whole section received a $10 Dave & Buster's gift card. Not bad for some other guy's work (he was wearing a USA flag shirt, so I think he might have had an unfair advantage). Go Sharks!

Score: W 3-2
1st Period
SJ - Joe Thornton(PP) (Milan Michalek)
2nd Period
SJ - Joe Thornton(PP) (Milan Michalek, Sandis Ozolinsh)
Avs - Milan Hejduk(SH) (Paul Stastny, Scott Hannan)
SJ - Mike Grier (Joe Thornton, Kyle McLaren)
Avs - Andrew Brunette(PP) (Paul Stastny, Joe Sakic)
3rd Period
None

SJ SOG: 29
Avalanche SOG: 20
Winning Goalie: Evgeni Nabokov
Losing Goalie: Peter Budaj

Tickets: Section 221 Row 4

First Thanksgiving

Kaitlyn's first Thanksgiving was a very busy day. We kicked off the day by driving to San Jose for a Thanksgiving brunch with Gramma Cutforth. Kaitlyn enjoyed hanging out, playing on the floor with Gramma and sleeping in Gramma's arms. She seemed oblivious to Baji (the cat), although Baji seemed a little jealous of all the attention Kaitlyn was getting and needed to make her presence known (see picture below). After a few hours of eating and playing, it was time to move on to our next destination.

We headed to Fremont for Thanksgiving dinner with Shawnna's family (Grandma & Grandpa Pride, Uncle Mike, Amanda, Uncle Dan, Aunt Gayle, Cousins Heidi & Mark, Uncle Bill and Aunt Lois). From the moment we arrived, it was a game of pass the baby. Everyone got their turn (more than once) and Kaitlyn seemed to handle it very well. She did some playing on the floor and showed off her rolling ability. Grandpa Pride had the video camera rolling most of the time to capture it all on film. Kaitlyn barely fussed at all until the end of the evening between dinner and dessert. She finally reached her limit of fun and needed to recharge her batteries. We quickly finished dessert, loaded her into the car and she slept all the way home. She woke up just long enough to drink a bottle and was out for the night. It was a long day for a baby, but I think she enjoyed seeing everyone.

4 Month Checkup

Today, I took Kaitlyn to the pediatrician for her 4 month checkup. She was measured (25.5 inches long), weighed (15 lbs 8 oz) and checked for overall good health. Everything looked good and she's now taller and heavier than 75% of the babies her age - at least she's proportional.

Of course, the worst part of the visit was the vaccination shots. She had to get 3 more shots that were a follow-up to the 3 she got last time. Luckily, I didn't have to hold down her legs this time and I was able to just watch and wait until it was time to pick up the crying, hurting baby. Although, this time didn't seem to be as bad as last time. Sure, she was crying pretty hard by the time the third shot was given, but she didn't scream like before which I was thankful for.

When it was over, I held her for a bit until she calmed down, strapped her in her car seat and drove home. She didn't seem to have any ill-effects from the shots and was playing and sleeping like normal. That was good to see and now we're safe for 2 more months until her 6 month round of shots. Ugh - the fun never ends. I know it's for her long term health, but it's still hard to see your baby in pain - particularly pain inflicted on purpose :-(

Cabbage Patch Baby

Kaitlyn has taken to sucking on her bottom lip at times and when she does, she looks just like a Cabbage Patch Kid.

Halloween & Sick Baby Update

Kaitlyn spent Halloween at daycare after being sick the night before (see the previous post). We thought she was all back to normal, but apparently she wasn't quite feeling up to par as she threw up a couple more times during the day. We picked her up that night and decided to stay indoors for the candy grabbing madness. Of course, we still had to put her in her costume to take pictures - below is a picture of her Halloween day outfit and her costume.

I took the day off on Thursday to spend with Kaitlyn and she seemed to be feeling much better. She ate almost her usual amount and most importantly, she didn't throw up. The next day (Friday), Kaitlyn was completely back to normal, but the bug was transferred to me and I spent the day bowing to the porcelain god - better me than her.

Shawnna spent quite a while carving a pumpkin for Halloween, so I had to post a picture - very impressive.