WE Made it to Year 1!

Shaye's 1st birthday was on Wednesday, 9/22. Kara was in town so we ventured out to the local Farmer's Market and had a picnic at the park. Aunt Kara also gave Shaye her very first birthday present.

Ryan came home late afternoon and we all went to the local shopping center so that Shaye could play in the pop-up water fountains. She had an absolute ball and although the water would pop up in her face, she would keep going back for more! A bigger thrill was being able to turn around her car seat. Shaye does not like being in the car since she can't move around and because she can't see anything. At least we've resolved half of the problem so car rides aren't so bad anymore. Phew!

On Sunday, we had a celebration of her birthday at our house including family and some friends. We planned to have an outdoor party, but it was 100 degrees (what are the chances?!) so the majority stayed inside but some enjoyed the new putting green and the pool. Shaye had her first taste of birthday cake and loved it! She was tentative for the first 5 seconds but quickly figured out how yummy it was and shoveled it in her mouth as fast as possible. She seriously would have eaten the entire mini cake had I not taken it away after she ate at least half of it. She is definitely my daughter and has begun her love of sweets! It was so special to have my grandparents in Ohio on the other end of a webcam so they could take in the sights. It was an absolutely picture perfect moment.



The party was lovely. Shaye received some nice toys and clothes. I am excited that she will have some new things to investigate and play with.



Two friends of ours made the venture out of the house and brought their tiny little newborn boys - Mason is 4 weeks old and Thomas is 10 weeks. We loved having the little babies around and they were so good!

Ryan and I are so proud to have such a special little girl in our lives. We were also happy to celebrate making it through this last year. That may be my biggest accomplishment yet. More of those to come!

Business Trip #1

I haven't been sent away on travel since I worked in software sales back in '99-'03. It's a much different experience now that I'd rather be at home with my family. It was even more difficult being away from Shaye for more than one night. But everyone survived.

Ceradyne's division in Oklahoma (www.ceradyneboron.com) sells products to the nuclear industry and has many "green" energy saving products, and thus, they are growing like crazy. The plant is sold out for the next two years and our GM believes it will be sold out for the next 20 in no time.


Needless to say, much of my recruiting efforts are focused on that facility. I've hired a lot of great engineers there amongst other key positions. Usually the HR Supervisor from our Kentucky facility goes there to help out when they need it, however, she was being sent elsewhere so that meant they needed me Monday through Friday to go out there to interview for Production Operator positions as well as help with the Job Fair. I don't typically recruit for production openings so it was a very different experience, not to mention a very different type of workforce in the midwest.

I stayed at the Downstream Casino & Resort which was very nice.


The Job Fair was an intense experience being that our booth had a lot of visitors. Ceradyne is fairly well known around there since it is the "big tower" in the middle of Quapaw, next to Baxter Springs, KS. Two days of interviews also went well and I enjoyed meeting many of the employees I have either hired or worked with over the past few years. Experiencing such an incredibly small town environment was really interesting. Everyone is so friendly and so simple. I took pictures of my drive to work in the mornings because I couldn't believe how little there was around in terms of infrastructure, but how rich the land was in terms of agriculture and beauty.





Ryan, my parents, and Joyce & Rick did a tremendous job with Shaye all week. We are so blessed and thankful to have such a strong support system! Two big things were learned on this trip: 1) Business travel can be very lonely (so hopefully I can bring Ryan along on the next one) and 2) Neither of us EVER want to be a single parent!

Putting Green

After I suggested that we invest in artificial grass in the backyard, Ryan took it up a notch and convinced me that it would be so much fun to make it a putting green. It's a fairly small patch on the side of the yard, where bunnies loved to tear up the grass and weeds loved to grow. It turned out to be more expensive than we thought, but we negotiated to get a a fairly good deal. Here's hoping this is really an investment for Shaye's golf scholarship (and maybe I'll actually pick up some putting skills)! Before, During, and After shots of the installation...