future hockey player?

Yesterday after work some of my labmates and graduate school friends went ice skating at Munn Ice Arena on MSU's campus. Jana and Drew joined us as well. Both Jana and I got into skates and were out on the ice because there was no shortage of volunteers to hold Drew while Jana and I took some laps around the rink! Going to the hockey rink was Drew's first exposure to a sports arena. Does this mean we have a future hockey player on our hands?

Ritu, a graduate student in my program, the Cell and Molecular Biology program, got the first turn holding Drew.

The next person to grab Drew was Sarah, who is also a graduate student in my program. Sarah started graduate school with me and works in a lab right down the hall from mine.
Emily got a couple turns holding Drew as well. Emily is an administrative assistant for MSU's Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Center.
Alexis waited very patiently, and eventually she got a turn holding Drew too. Alexis obtained her Masters degree in our lab and has stayed in the lab working as a research assistant.
We spent a lot of time distracted by Drew, but we also got some skating in too. From left to right, Sarah, Ritu, and Gabby are making their way around the ice. Gabby is a Genetics graduate student working in our lab.Drew had many female admirers at the rink, but this one was the youngest. This four-year-old girl came over to Drew and wanted to touch him. She liked petting his face and she gave us some "help" with the pacifier.


With all our outings lately, Jana gets pretty tired. Sometimes after feeding Drew she falls asleep before making it back to bed, so she and Drew sleep on the couch. I have to give a plug for Jana here because she has been a real trooper. I am nicknamed the "weak link" in our household because I don't do well without sleep (I immediately get sick). Therefore, Jana handles the night feedings for us (she's the strong one) and very occasionally I help out with one. Despite getting small amounts of sleep, Jana still manages to have a smile on her face during the day!
We've been going out more lately, so Drew has become more accustomed to being in his car seat.
After sleeping the whole time we were ice skating, Drew woke up and was ready to play last night. I love it when he's awake at night because then I get a chance to play with him.