Reagan Is Crawling

Reagan began crawling on Sunday. What's amazing is that she only uses her arms. She is very strong! When she sees an object that she really wants, she focuses on it and makes a determined effort to get it. Now that she's crawling, she's napping about an hour longer each day. :o) I got video on the camcorder, but unfortunately it died shortly after I started shooting. I was able to get a few seconds, but you get to see her crawl.

Kyle Made The Varsity!

I found out that Kyle made the varsity soccer team at Our Lady of Mercy High School. He is the only freshman to make the team. The good thing is, that when Kyle was Christian's age, he would stand on the soccer field and just cry, and not do anything else. So if Kyle can accomplish making varsity as a freshman, maybe there's hope for Christian yet! ;->

Christian's "First" Soccer Practice

Christian finally practiced soccer yesterday. His first real practice was 2 weeks ago, but I failed to find the school, thanks to bad directions. Last week, he made it, but wanted to sit in my lap the entire practice! He only wanted to practice when the practice was over. All my dreams of him being signed to the Manchester United Academy were dashed. :( Well yesterday started the same way as last week. He did have Rhian to cheer him on this time, but it didn't seem to help. Finally, after about 10 minutes, he started participating in the drills. After a few minutes, he really starting enjoying himself. Of course, he is Christian, so he would still do things that he wanted to do, once he was done doing the drills. The coach, who I should mention, does very well with the kids, said that it will only get better. Christian was proud of himself after practice, and said he looks forward to the next practice. Maybe Manchester United is in his future after all. :-)

Click Here for pictures of His practice.

A Work of Art From "Pudcasso"

As some of you may know, Christian is affectionately known as "Puddin'". Rhian came up with this name when he was about 4 months because, in her words, "He looks like a Puddin'". So when he displays his talent for art, we call him Pudcasso (for Picasso). When he shows his magic with a soccer ball, we call him Puddindinho (for Ronaldinho) or Puddane (for Zinedine Zidane). You get the idea. While he was over at my parents last Wednesday, he learned to draw a smiley face with the help of my parents. He loves to draw, (we have marks on the wall to prove it! ;->) and has drawn shapes and letters, but nothing elaborate. This was a pleasant surprise and hopefully a sign of things to come! :o) He has also become quite adept with a computer. He's been able to point and click a mouse for about a month now, (he does this to watch his train videos on You Tube). At the library today, he surprised me by being able to click and drag an object into fixed spot. Mind you, I never showed him this, he learned it on his own and does very well with it! I was able to record the video on my phone, so there is proof! I have yet to come up with a savvy computer name for Puddin', but I'm working on it! Anyways, enjoy the art of the top artist of his generation, and the video of the future Bill Gates in action. :-> (Click on the arrow to play the video)

First Set of Family Photos Ready for Viewing

I've finished scanning and fixing the first photo album for viewing and uploaded them for viewing. These are pictures from 1967-1970 including Karen's Baptism. I've captioned the photos to the best of my memory. I'm sure Mom and Dad will correct any errors or give me names of people with whom I was unsure. Click on link below or on the slide show on the right.

Family Photos 1967-1970

Old Family Photos

I have taken on the task of going through our old family photos with the hopes digitizing them all and restoring those that need it. If you knew how many pictures our family has taken over the years, you will understand that this is no easy task. And this was before digital cameras! My dad has said that when we're dead and gone, the world will know that the Sharps were here! With the hours of video and 1000's of pictures we have, it is definitely true. It will fun going through all the old memories. I will post photos as I go. This picture is my 2nd cousin Pat Krishock with me on my Pap Pap's swing. (Click Photo to englarge)

Gloria's Leewah Celebration

Yesterday my mother-in-law (Madre) had what is known as a "Leewah"(sp?) Celebration at her home in Clarkston, which to my understanding is sort of a Trinidadian post-Christmas get-together. After having celebrated this for quite a few years, I should know what it means by now. But Rhian, who has celebrated this all her life, isn't really sure what it is either. Google doesn't help either. Maybe it's my spelling. Well I digress. All of her children, grandchildren, son-in-laws, and some of her friends attended. The food and drinks were quite good along with the company. Rhian's callaloo was a hit. Madre's macaroni pie was a hit as well (as usual). The highlight of the evening was when Christian and his friend Reese (both aged 2) started dancing to the soca music that was playing. They even started playing instruments and formed their own conga line. They got on real bad. ;-) Everybody left full and entertained.

View all the pictures here: Gloria's Leewah Celebration

(Jan 23) Side note: It's actually spelled Lewah (Les Rois) meaning feast of the Kings, and is an end of Christmas celebration in Trinidad n Tobago, usually January 6th. (End of the 12 days of Christmas). Now we know! ;-)

It's Snowing! Again!

Right now it is snowing pretty hard. I'd say there's a 1/2 " to an inch of snow on the ground. The forecast is 2-4 inches. My boy Kirk Mellish is saying 1-3 inches, with isolated amounts up to 7 inches, especially south of the city, which is where we are. Looking at the radar, the heaviest precipitation is near Macon, about 60 miles south of us, and they're getting rain. I'd say we're going to be somewhere in the 2-3 inch range. I say let it snow, and snow a lot!! Here's 2 pictures from an hour ago and one from about 5 minutes ago looking out into the back yard.

Note: It stopped snowing shortly after the last picture was taken. We ended up with about an inch of snow. :-(

ATC Peachtree City 5K/10K Run

Rhian, Mom, and myself traveled to Peachtree City this morning in the cold rain for an Atlanta Track Club race. It was 35 degrees and rain (with the threat of snow) at the start. Rhian and I ran the 10K (6.2 miles), and Mom ran the 5K. Mom finished in 38:02 and got 3rd in her age group. Rhian finished in 62:21 and finished 3rd in her age group. I finished in 57:58 (didn't place in top 3). I had biked 20 miles in 51 minutes and swam a half mile in 21 minutes on Thursday, so today was really a training run for me. (Not that I would have placed; there are many "hosses" in my group). Considering the conditions, it really wasn't that bad. The course is mostly rolling hills and on a trail with lots of scenic views. All 3 of us are competing for what is known as the "Bunny Award", an award given to those that run all 15 Atlanta Track Club races throughout the year. Had it not been for this, I think we would have slept in, ate breakfast, enjoyed the impending snow, and postponed our run until tomorrow. I'm glad we didn't.

Where's Reagan?

Reagan complained to me and said that this blog seems to be all about her brother and not about her! She also said it's not her fault she's too young to enjoy the snow. So here are some recent pictures of the beautiful girl.

More Snow?

Depending on who you listen to for weather, Atlanta can receive anything from mostly rain with snow mixed in with no accumulation to rain changing to snow with up to 3 inches. The person with whom I refer to and is very reliable, Kirk Mellish of WSB radio, says that the computer models are predicting anywhere from 0-7 inches, with the average being 2 inches. He says that there isn't enough historical data with the type of storm that is moving our way to accurately predict, but that the trend is towards little or nothing, and expect maybe about a 1/2 inch. But, he says that could change easily, and that if it does become a snow event, the southside could expect more than the northside. It all depends on when the rain from the south and the cold air from the north reaches Atlanta. I enjoy this kind of stuff. Can't you tell? :-). I'm sure Kyle and my dad are getting the toboggin out. Here are a few more pictures from the "blizzard" we had Wednesday.

It Snowed Here!

We received an inch of snow here in Stockbridge before it turned to plain ole rain. Christian got to see snow for the first time! He knew what to do with it, because shortly after he got outside, he was eating it, sticking his tongue out, running through it, and making snow angels. He didn't want to come inside. He's definitely his dad's son when it comes to weather, because Rhian would have been inside after a minute! My dad had predicted snow for January 17th a month ago. He's right, because there's still snow on the ground. He said it will snow again on February 24th. He's been right over the years, usually within a day or two. Maybe it will snow enough that he can take Christian tobogganing.

Christian's Soccer Pictures

These are the pictures of Christian before his first ever soccer practice. Christian was supposed to start his Under 3 soccer season yesterday. Unfortunately, the league website had the wrong address and the practice was supposed to start at 5 pm in McDonough, which is about 10 miles south of us. Fortunately, Christian and Reagan had fallen asleep about 10 minutes after leaving the house. Unfortunately, by the time I figured out the correct address and dealt with the traffic, I finally reached the school where the practice was held at 6:30, highly stressed, 2 hours after I left the house. The Under 4's were practicing and I got to meet the coach. He was sincerly apologetic , gave me Christian's uniform, and offered to let him practice with the U-4's after the U-3 practice next week. Christian was fine with it, he was very happy to have his uniform, and I told him he'll start practice the following week.

Pictures

Here are some recent photos of mainly the kids from this past weekend. Enjoy!!!

Christian and Reagan Pictures

Latest Info about my family

Just to get everyone up to date on my family, Reagan turned 6 months this past Monday, and Christian will be 3 on March 10th. My wife, Rhian is currently a National HR Director with McKesson Pharmaceutical and I work from home doing photo restoration and produce slide show videos (www.sharperpics.com) , along with taking care of the kids. Reagan smiles all the time, except when she's hungry, when she screams so loud you expect the windows to shatter. She eats 3 meal a day along with her formula. She can sit up, roll over, support her own weight when standing (we have to keep her balanced) and hold her bottle. She loves to watch Christian and her Daddy. Christian is very independent. He wants to do everything himself. He is nearly 100% potty trained, dresses himself (he still struggles with putting his shirt on), loves to help cook (he uses the little red stool I had when I was little), loves trains (especially Thomas), loves to run, loves to jump from high places, knows his alphabet and numbers (he can tell you what each letter or number is), loves to play soccer and throw and catch the football, and loves to watch Noggin, and loves his sister (of course!). We currently live in Stockbridge, Georgia, about 10 minutes from my parents house. Rhian and I both run and compete in the Atlanta Track Club. I am also training for a triathlon, (swim, run, bike) and still play soccer in an Over 30 league in West Gwinnett. I am currently doing research on our family tree, and have found some very interesting things I will post later. This is part of the reason I have started this blog.

The Sharp Family Blog is Finally Up!

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, and have finally done it. This site is for all members of the Sharp family (and those related to the Sharps) to share info, pictures, video, links to websites, etc.