Piper was in a great mood this morning when we were hanging out with her. Of course we had to snap some Mothers’ Day shots.

We broke out some timer action for a family shot.

Before we left, Reagan snapped the shot below. I think that it might be one of my favorite shots that I have, of me holding PJ. That goofy little grin melts me every time.

Here is a link to a few more that we snapped this morning.

In a couple of weeks, one of the most important moms in my life will have been a mom for 3 years. It is pretty crazy to think back on things. I am, of course referring to Reagan. Coincidentally, the photo below is of Reagan and my Ma B, hanging out with lil’ PJ, the week that she was born.

I would have to say that I am pretty lucky to have such a couple of great moms, both a part of my immediate family.

One thing that has always amazed me about Reagan, is that no matter how stressed we were about Piper. Reagan has been happy to spend every minute that we have had, with her. We had no idea what to expect, when Piper was so little. But I feel like Reagan’s genuine joy, to be Piper’s mother shows through in these photos, during a time of such uncertainty.

So much has changed in the span of three years. Piper has changed so much and made so much progress. One thing that has certainly not changed one bit, is Reagan’s dedication and love for her daughter. (Below: Piper using Reagan’s head for an armrest, Reagan loving every minute of it [shot yesterday])

I am truly grateful for the example of Reagan, Ma B, and all of the other wonderful mothers who have inspired me in one way or another during my life. Motherhood is no small feat. You are truly amazing women.

The photo above pretty much sums up the way that Piper and her aunt Melinda feel about each other. Piper was really excited to meet her aunt Melinda, who she had heard so much about.

Piper did take a break from hanging out with Melinda to play footsies with Reagan (above), and meet Melinda’s sis-in-law Margret (below)

Piper was so tuckered out from all of the excitement that she fell asleep in Melinda’s lap after watching a couple of videos.  It was good times all around.

This is my weekly running evaluation, that should have actually been posted yesterday. But, we have family in town. So, you know…  Anyway, I have decided that it will be easier to follow the normal Sunday to Saturday week, since that way Nike adds my totals for me. I may post it on Saturday, maybe Sunday (I know that people are super worried about it) Hahahahaha.

I have climbed out of the F- grade, with a couple of pretty decent outings last week. I only got out three times. But one of them was a 10+ miler. So that counts for a few extra points. My new shoes have still been giving me blister grief, to a degree, and we have family in town. So, given all of those factors, I earned a C+, this week. We have the Healthy Kidney 10k coming up on the 15th, and the Brooklyn Half Marathon, the following weekend. My goals for both: HK10k: 40 mins, or faster; Bk Half: 1:30 or better.

I spent Tuesday morning at the SoHo Burton showroom, getting the lowdown on their gear for the 2011 line. I can’t wait to spill the beans over on SoJones.

Burton is also throwing a Cinco de Mayo party Wednesday night. I really wish that I could attend. I have been to a few of their other parties, and they totally rock.

But, I’m even more excited about the reason that is preventing me from stopping by the party. My youngest sister Melinda will be landing tomorrow night. She and her sister-in-law will be staying with Reagan and I through the weekend. It will be Melinda’s first time meeting Piper. Get amped.

I’m a fairly new convert to the Pinback sound. This is because I have only discovered them, fairly recently. It’s embarrassing to say this, but I heard them on Pandora, last winter on my Radiohead station. So, I guess you could say that we met online. Hehe. I suppose it isn’t that big of a deal to meet online, anymore. Unless it is like, through the Craigslist “casual encounters” or something.

Reasons that Pinback is cool: They are from San Diego. Can’t go wrong, there; They are a true indie band. Even their scheduled 2010 release won’t be on a major label; They have drummer drama, which makes them real people; They don’t follow the stereotypical rock song formula (verse, chorus, verse, bridge, etc..) This makes some of their songs a bit repetitive. But for the most part, it is a refreshing diversion; They have the cool aspect of the Death Cab sound, but without all of the whiny depressing crap.

Click this link, to hear “Blue Harvest.”

Sunday morning, we were up at the crack of dawn, for a bike ride. It was such amazing weather. We just pretty much stuck the to the usual and headed down the Hudson River path going south. Early in the morning, we pretty much had the park to ourselves. It was really quite amazing. As we approached mid-town, it was a bit of a zoo. There were two cruise ships at the docks, that appeared to be preparing to depart. So there was a ton of traffic coming in and out of the terminals.

As we were passing the Circle Line piers, we heard a loud crunch/crash, directly behind us. I hit my brakes and turned around just in time to see a dudes bike come flying out from underneath the cab that he had just been hit by. I dropped my bike and ran over. He was able to roll out from under the cab, which I took as a good sign, especially given the fact that he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Reagan was on the phone with 911, as some police officers showed up. It was a  pretty nerve racking experience. It was pretty scary, but luckily it wasn’t worse.

After the incident, we continued downtown, and had brunch at the North Cove Marina, before lounging a bit at the Battery Park City Promenade, and heading back up town.

After the bike ride, we headed up to visit Piper. She was in a foul mood again, Sunday, until I let her watch some ukulele videos on my phone. For whatever reason, that was all she needed. After watching one or two, she was all smiles and party-time.

We tried her out in the chair again, too. Since she was in a better mood, it seemed like she sort of liked it. Although, she still clearly preferred Reagan’s lap, understandably hehe.

Later Sunday evening, we had the really fun opportunity of visiting our friends, and their brand new baby, at the hospital. Their little guy is super cute. He was in a pretty mellow mood, too, considering the fact that we interrupted his lunch, when we arrived. Reagan enjoyed holding the little guy, and I enjoyed watching.

I didn’t mean to post so much this morning. But I woke up early to move the car, and run (which I intentionally park on a Monday side, last night, so that I would have to get up), and it is pouring outside. So, the running part, didn’t really workout for me, this morning.

Saturday night, Reagan and I attended the May Day gallery opening at the Deitch Gallery in SoHo. It’s kind of a big deal, because it is the last show for the Deitch Gallery before the owner moves off to LA to curate some museum. The other reason is because the artist is Shepard Fairey.

I wanted to get there kind of early, but track construction on the A line, made sure that didn’t happen. So we arrived amidst a sea of chaos that had already been brewing for about an hour and a half. We ended up not even being able to say what’s up to Shepard, since he was too busy being mobbed by all of the high-profile types that came out for the event.

Above, is a shot of Fairey talking to Russel Simmons. I know the shot looks totally sleazy and paparazzi-ish, but I swear it wasn’t like that.

Here is one of my favorites, from the night. As we were leaving, Tyson Beckford was coming out.

Friday evening, I shot a couple of events for forthcoming SoJones pieces. The first one was a look-see event for a dress designer. The collection was cool. But my favorite part about the event was the space. It was one of those lofts with high ceilings, where everything was painted white.

This shot below is probably my favorite one from the event:

Afterward, I ventured back downtown, toward the east village to cover some live music.

I wanted Reagan to come, but she was busy sewing cushions for Piper’s chair. Plus apparently she was pretty tired, since I came home to find her passed out with her book resting on her belly. Hehe. The band that I was there to cover was really cool. There was also this Russian beat box/rapper who opened for them, called Krussia. Sweet name, I know. The dude was amazing. He seriously could give Doug E Fresh a run for his money.

We finished the chair in time to take it in with us today, when we visited lil’ Piper. She fit in it perfectly. Unfortunately, she was in a really grouchy mood the whole time that we were there, today. I think that she was trying to fall asleep, when we arrived. So, to her, our visit was just pushing back nap time. I would have been annoyed, too. Here is part two of the chair building exercise. Again, no jaw-dropping editing or anything special. Soundtrack is Mighty Dub Katz, remixed by Norman Cook.

Here are a couple of more photos of working on the chair. I should have actually named this post “chair overkill” Because, I’m realizing that is what’s going on here, as I wrap this thing up.