Maurice Klitzman Award

Sean is part of an association for intellectual property attorneys called the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). The association has an annual conference in Washington D.C. and this year they introduced an award for young corporate attorneys/patent agents called the Maurice Klitzman award. Guess who won? Sean! :) Guess who got to go with him? Me! 

They paid for his airfare, conference fees, hotel, etc. Sean says the coolest part about winning the award was the fact that they set him up with a mentor during the conference and he was able to network with some pretty amazing people. His mentor is a patent attorney for 3M. Other notables he got to meet: David Kappos (Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office), Judge Randall Rader (Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit), Paul Michel (Former Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit), and many others.

Receiving the award at the luncheon

From left: Bruce Klitzman (Maurice's son), Sean, David Hill (President AIPLA)

A bit fuzzy since this was taken by cell phone. There was a professional photographer there who took a picture, so I'll post that later if we get a copy.

Photo from the AIPLA newsletter:

Pretty cool. Congrats, Sean!

A HUGE thanks to my sister-in-law Erin and her family, as well as my parents, for adopting two little boys for a few days so I could go!

For anyone who is interested, here is AIPLA's description of the award:

The Maurice Klitzman Award

Through the generosity of the Klitzman Family, and Mrs. Mary Ann Klitzman as the initial benefactor, AIPLA is proud to introduce The Maurice Klitzman Award.  The Award is intended to provide a junior corporate attorney or corporate patent agent the opportunity to attend the AIPLA’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. and to be connected with an experienced AIPLA mentor.  The award was established as a lasting and appropriate memorial to Mr. Klitzman, who passed away in January 2010, for his active service to AIPLA, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors and a member of the Amicus Committee, as well as the active role he took in educating many new patent attorneys, both as a senior corporate patent counsel and as an adjunct law professor. His heart and soul were dedicated to training young patent attorneys and helping them to develop a broad approach to IP Law with a conviction to moral principles and ethics.  Mr. Klitzman also promoted and recognized innovation by helping found the National Inventors Hall of Fame.  His career was a unique blend of corporate IP law, heart-felt support for the inventor and shaping the mindset of future IP leaders.

Lagoon

We went to Lagoon a few weeks ago with Sean's sister Erin and her girls, along with some of their cute friends. Jackson and Sean went last year and Jackson has been pining to go again ever since. We had a such a great day!

Jackson and Remi cruisin' on the boats

I didn't realize Lagoon is so kid friendly. There were a ton of rides for the smaller kids.

 Jackson is waving in the back :)

 Roxy, Jackson, and Remington ready for the swings

One of the kids' favorite rides was the new Bombora roller coaster. It was really fun and we rode it several times. Jackson seems to have no fear when it comes to rides. I was actually kind of surprised he was old enough to go on it.

Jackson and I in the back on Bombora

 Oh my sweet Bode.

Hanging out in the stroller all bundled up. It was pretty dang cold the first half of the day. Luckily it warmed up slightly in the afternoon when the sun decided to finally peek through the clouds.

 Hooray! Sunshine!

Jackson also loved this ride. It is a smaller version of "the rocket" ride for adults. He liked putting his hands up (until we actually dropped, that is!)

So much fun spending time with cousins :) And such good cousins to help out!

Sean and I riding "the rocket: re-entry." Just before the ride started we heard an employee ask another worker over the loud speaker to re-check Sean and I's harnesses. Um, what?!!!

Trick-or-treating

Before anyone could stop him, Jackson hopped in this ride with this random little girl. Smooth move buddy! ;)

Remi and Jackson

An overall great day. I think this needs to become an annual event!

6 months

This guy is 6 months old.

I can't believe it. Watching him grow and learn is so exciting and fun, yet hard at the same time. I wish babies were babies longer!

He's such an enormous blessing in our home. I am so grateful he is a part of our family.

Bode is a happy baby. It is so easy to get him to smile and giggle. All he ever wants is just to be around people. He loves his brother and lights up when he sees him. Jackson loves making him laugh.

Bode started solids at 5 months. He was a champ at eating from the very beginning. I'd say he was ready, judging by how he kept grabbing our hands and pulling the spoon to his mouth! Just working on  maintaining his awesome bod ;)

First bites

By pure luck I was able to snap a picture of his sad face. He heard Jackson crying in the other room and his little lip started quivering.  

 This face just kills me.

So does this one.

And this one.

Sean's happy to have another little buddy to watch the game with.

Don't you just want to squish those cheeks and legs?!

Bode's never been a big fan of tummy time, but he's starting to come around!

Look who can sit up!

(And yes, we have those body suits in several colors.)

His first tooth finally broke through. He's drooling all over the place and likes to have something in his mouth at all times.

A few additional notes about Bode at 6 months old:
-Sleeps from 9pm to 7-8am. Takes a morning and afternoon nap.
-Loves eating solids. Will eat everything so far, but bananas are his favorite. He tries to eat his bib after every bite of food.
-Will often scrunch up his nose when he smiles
-Always wants someone near him and someone to play with. Doesn't self-entertain for very long.
-Loves the exersaucer.
-Very vocal :)
-Gets really excited when he first sees you in the morning.
-When he sees the boppee he gets impatient and wants food right away!
-Loves blowing raspberries.
-When he gets really excited he wiggles his head from left to right and does a little dance with his feet.
-Likes to grab onto his toes and put them in his mouth.
-Still takes a pacifier. When it is time for bed, after nursing, as soon as we put the pacifier in his mouth he falls right asleep. It is like magic!
-Loves taking baths.
-Gives great hugs and kisses. Grabs your face and sucks on your cheeks.

Before Bode was born I wondered what he would be like. I am so glad he is who he is. As his mom, I of course think he is absolutely perfect.

He's our second little miracle and I feel so lucky to have him.   

I am overwhelmed at the love I have for my boys. 

It's been a great first 6 months.

Masters Plus -- Race License School

A few weeks ago, I went down to Alabama to go to driving school again. It was an amazing experience, and it was also an excuse for me to visit my brother in Alabama.

The class I went to was a three-day race licensing school that is about 90% track time and 10% class time. The class/instruction is done by world class racers, (One of my instructors at the course was Andrew Davis who won the 2011 Grand-Am Road Racing GT Championship the week prior racing for Brumos Racing) and all of the track time/racing is done in Porsches.

I attended the class with my friend Rob, and we were the only two in our group of 16 who did not own at least one Porsche, but that didn't stop us from dominating on the track. Here are some pics and vids:

The video below is during one of the coaching sessions where an instructor was teaching a method called "trail brake modulation" I told him to just call it what it really is: "power slides."

This is a lap at Barber Motorsports Park. I got to within .5 seconds of the instructor's hot lap time. Thank goodness for PSM (Porsche Stability Management), it saved my bacon more than once!

It was a fun time and now I am eligible to apply for my SCCA Regional License so I can start racing!

First father-son campout

Sean and Jackson went on their first father/son campout this past weekend with their buddies Sam and Dax. They went up to Mutual Dell, and from what I hear, had a great time. Here are some pictures of their adventure:

Tinfoil dinners for the big boys, hot dogs for the little boys

Setting up the tent

Ready for bed! 

I love this picture.

Jackson was a little nervous about sleeping in the tent. I guess there was a moth that flew in (a "butterfly" as Jackson called it) and he refused to lay down until the moth was out of the tent. Sean said it took a few episodes of Donald Duck to get him comfortable and fall asleep.

In the morning they discovered they had been robbed by raccoons during the night! The raccoons got in the cooler and ate the rest of their marshmallows, a dozen eggs, pistachios (they even shelled them, which I find very impressive), an entire bag of popcorn, cookies, etc. Sneaky buggers! 

Not sure what this sad face is for.

All smiles on the way home :)