Recently in Family Category

Just before I got married a few of my friends told me I had better buy my last gadget before the big day because it would be the last for a long time. That logic might apply to other guys but I may be married to my technology just as much as I am to my Wife. Let's face it, a computer and a good internet connection can be an adequate substitute for a good wife. Guys, you know what I'm talking about ;) Fortunately my Wife has accepted my digital lifestyle and in fact, has embraced embraced that lifestyle as her own. So I'm lucky a guy. My house could be what Steve Job's had envisioned when he coined the term, "Digital Lifestyle."

Earlier this week I completed my collection and added a long absent piece of technology to the mix. I got an excellent digital video camera from Panasionic. The PV-GS300 It's a 3 CCD miniDV camera that takes some excellent video. So now, with an iMac G5, a Canon Digital Rebel, a Pentax Optio S4i, a Panasonic PV-GS300, great web hosting from Geeklair.net, and .Mac, my Son's life will be captured in it's entirety in full digital goodness. Most of which will be presented right here. So stay tuned to my version of the 1998 classic, "The Truman Show." Only this time starring, Andrew Joseph Fayne.

Andrew's a very good boy. He was born on Monday and we just got home last night. We didn't miss a single Pistons game. The Pistons finished up a short west coast trip and had the last 3 nights off. I guess my boy already knows the Pistons schedule. So, tonight is a big night. It's very fitting that Andrew's first Pistons game is Pistons vs. Bulls. Daddy is a die hard Pistons fan but Andrew was born in Chicago. So tonight Andrew can decide his life long affiliation. I'm laying it all on the line, If the Pistons lose, He'll be a Bulls fan. Fortunately, my little dude will be wearing his first Ben Wallace jersey courtsey of Uncle Keshun, so I'm confident his Piston power will be strong.

My Son was born this morning at 3:27am. He was 7lbs 12.9 oz and 20.5 inches. Brooke battled the boy for 19 hours. He put up a good fight but with mother nature on her side Brooke won. Check out Andrew's .Mac website for his Birthday blog post and all of the all of his photos. I 'll post more tomorrow when we get the little guy home. I'm posting this from Panera bread across from the Hospital and there's not much bandwidth here so, I will post more tomorrow from home.

It's almost Daddy time. Little Andrew was due last Thursday (March 2nd) so I went to bed every night last week hoping I wouldn't be at work in the morning. Alas, the kid gave us no signs of his arrival so I suffered through five days of misery. Normally the weeks fly by at CDW but last week was torture. I didn't have a lick of focus. I was hoping Tuesday's Apple product announcements would tide me over but they were disappointing so all I could do was count the minutes to Daddy time. It was kind of like knowing you're about to get a new car but you have no idea when it'll arrive. I don't know if that quite captures the feeling, but I'm sure you have all had an experience you can relate to. Obviously my persepctive was quite different from Brooke's. She's been home on maternity leave for the last two weeks so I think she's been bored more than anything else. I admit I've been a bit jealous because I could sure use the time off too but she's more than earned the break. It's been a long nine months and the changes Brooke has gone through have been amazing. She's been so brave and so cool through the whole pregnancy. She's so ready to be a mom that I think any fear she has is smothered with pride. Even now, on the eve of the big birthday, she's cooler than I am. Andrew has a very special Mommy. I just can't believe I'm about to be a Dad. I've known it was inevitable for the last 9 months and I've dreamt about it for a lot longer than that but I feel like it was only a few short years ago that I was cuddling my yellow blanket and tearing up the plastic in my diapers. So, a new era for me begins tomorrow. We went to the Hospital this morning and Brooke is now in pre-labor. Her Dr. thinks AJ will be born sometime tomorrow so keep checking Andrew's blog for Photos and stats, we'll be posting all the details as we get them and wish us luck.

I've also published a Photocast if you have iPhoto 6, just click on the following link:

http://photocast.mac.com/dfayne/iPhoto/andrew/index.rss

This Photocast will appear in your iPhoto Source list and you can use its photos just like any other photos in your library; for slideshows, your desktop, custom photo books, etc. And, whenever you are connected to the Internet, iPhoto will automatically update this Photocast so you see the latest photos I've added.
(Requires Mac OS X version 10.4 or later)

If you don't have iPhoto 6, you can view the photos in this Photocast with Safari RSS or any compatible RSS reader on Mac, Windows or other computers by using the link above. Just click on the link or copy it into the URL field of your RSS reader and bookmark the URL to return to the photos in the future.

Please forgive me. It's Friday night, and Gentleman's Jack has shown up this evening, so my writing is a bit off. Despite my impairment, this post is important so here it is. It took about 13 years to achieve adequate retribution but it has been had. My Uncle has paid my cousin back. 5 million dollars snatched from reality lead to 5 million calls from Detroit's finest. I wish I could say more but my fingers feel like the they are wrapped in steel and my brain is waging like a happy puppy. So instead of making you suffer through drunken prose check this out:

Jack's 50th B-day retaliation

The poll has reinforced out original name choice. Our son will officially be called:

Andrew Joseph Fayne

Brooke and I want to thank everyone who has participated in this name game. We wanted to give our son a special name, a name that had a story behind it. Thanks to all of you, Andrew will be able to look back on this post to read the story of how he became the next Geek Fayne.

Thanks for the huge response on the naming poll. 40 votes in only a day. I don't think my blog has had 40 visitors all year.

Anyway, after we have digested the feedback over the weekend, we will be posting a revised poll with a few new name ideas along with their middle name combinations.

Currently out of the list below Brooke and I like Andrew and Joseph the best. However, we haven't really fallen in love with any of them. We both seem to like cool initial combos like AJ, JJ, CJ, TJ, JD, DJ, JT... but were having a hard time finding the names we like to fill in those initials.

We're open to some suggestions that aren't so conventional. So get creative, and make some suggestions. Thank you all for taking the time to participate in our lives!

Here are some links to some popular baby name sites.

http://www.cool-baby-names.com/
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
http://www.babycenter.com/babyname/

Ok blog readers, I know there is only about 4 of you but I need some help. Brooke and I can't figure out what to name the baby. Before you vote, I want to give you a few details. I'd love to name my son after my Grandfather but his name is Norman. My wife is 4'11" and only about 5'9" so needless to say our boy has a good chance of being pretty short. Not sure the name "Norman" will treat the little fella too well once he gets to school. So, with that said, we tried and tried to think of other names that began with an "N" but nothing seems to fit. Nolan, Noah, Ned, Norbert.... We're really out of ideas. I kind of wanted his name to have some significance. Maybe name him after my favorite Detroit Piston. I'd name him Chauncey but my good friend's dog took that one already. Tayshaun is good but well you know, his arms won't be that long. Ben would work but my that's my first cousin's name. Rip, nah, not a fan or the braids. Rasheed? Well, NO. The only thing I love as much as the Pistons is Apple. Even though the boy will have his own click wheel onesie I can't name him iPod. My Mom likes Nano but I don't think Brooke could handle that. I could go with Steven P. Fayne but then I think that I would cross the line in between fanatic and freak. So, with all of that said, I need some help. Brooke and I set-up the poll below. Please vote for your favorite name and if you have another idea, post it in the comments field.

Final Results

It's official my baby has balls!! I am so excited, I'm gonna turn this kid into the geekiest Piston lover there is. Wait, that's me isn't it? Well they say, appropriately enough, the Apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I'm starting the brainwashing early too, check out my Son's first outfit here. I can't wait to pick up a Pistons outfit as well. I'll have to wait a bit to find one with the new logo. Everything I've seen on-line has the old horse head logo.

Ok new Grandparents, Official and Honorary Uncles and Aunts, here's your Grandson and Nephew. Click on the family jewels below for a larger view.

Comments from Mommy:

"Well I of course think that this little one is the cutest baby in an ultrasound picture I've ever seen. His brother Gryffi is jealous already and his sister Alley is threatened by the fact that we just tore apart "her bedroom" for the baby. But I am pretty sure everyone else is excited about the little guy's arrival. The most surprising news at the ultrasound was that it seems as though he is either going to be a little earlier than expected or he is big for his age, he measured in the 70th percentile for size. Coming from me that sounds downright ridiculous, so I'm guessing that he's just older than we think. I'm hoping that's the case, I can't imagine carrying a baby in the 70th percentile in my 5th percentile body!"