Grace started holding her own bottle today, and it was a very cool moment. She's always fiddled with her bottle, but she's never shown any inclination to hold it herself. Tonight, when I sat down to feed her, she just reached up and grabbed it with both hands, gave me a look that said, "I got this", and then proceeded to down the bottle.
I kept signing milk with my suddenly free hand, grinning at her goofily, and showering her with praise. She just kept looking at me with a face that very clearly expressed that I was over-reacting and that it was no big deal. I can't help but feel like she could have done this for the last two months but she didn't want to hurt my feelings. I mean, she's taken away one of the few things I'm good for.
So with only a couple hold corrections, she managed most of 3 ounces of milk. At the end her eyes became a little heavy, and it took some convincing to get her to let go and put her arms down.
"I'll take it from here Grace."
She fell asleep in the next minute. I guess I still have my uses in the bottle realm after all.
2010-10-27
2010-07-22
The International
Betsey and I watched "The International" last night. The movie spawned a couple of interesting conversations.
The first was about something we had both heard on NPR a little while ago, which is actually primarily about the ascendance of female characters in pop-franchises.
First, a little beef about the piece. In it, the author gives a pretty good description of the "conservative fantasy of romance". By pretty good, I mean, it would be easy to take the given description and derive a liberal fantasy of romance. The author also throws out the phrase "liberal fantasy of perfect justice". I'm a little lost here because I can't really derive, from the descriptions given in the editorial, what makes a fantasy of perfect justice liberal or conservative. I can think of many things that could differentiate liberal and conservative justice, including sentencing, but it seems the author would like to associate vigilantism with liberal, which irks me, because vigilantism may in fact be a "dark side of [...] righteousness", but I think it can affect both sides equally.
What the editorial was good for was reopening my eyes to the concept of perfect justice as a theme in media, and vigilantism as a method of achieving it. "The International" subscribes to this method, and Betsey and I had the opportunity to discuss our thoughts on the matter. Thanks pause button!
At the end of the movie, I also started thinking about another topic of interest to me: The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies. Maybe having a daughter has brought this back to the forefront of my mind, but I couldn't stop considering it at a particular point in the movie. I'd have to watch the movie again to be sure, but I think "The International" fails the test.
So, after instantly streaming the movie via Netflix, I decided to rate it. The movie was entertaining, and I could probably watch it again sometime, but the ending was less than satisfying since they left it wide open for a potential sequel, and I had these nagging thoughts about glorifying vigilantism and the Bechdel Test going through my head. "The International" received my first lower than 3 star rating - 2 stars (I didn't like it). Is that fair? I don't know. It was entertaining, I'd watch it again, some of my favorite movies have some of the same flaws, but the ending was so dissatisfying that I'm going to let that rating stick.
The first was about something we had both heard on NPR a little while ago, which is actually primarily about the ascendance of female characters in pop-franchises.
First, a little beef about the piece. In it, the author gives a pretty good description of the "conservative fantasy of romance". By pretty good, I mean, it would be easy to take the given description and derive a liberal fantasy of romance. The author also throws out the phrase "liberal fantasy of perfect justice". I'm a little lost here because I can't really derive, from the descriptions given in the editorial, what makes a fantasy of perfect justice liberal or conservative. I can think of many things that could differentiate liberal and conservative justice, including sentencing, but it seems the author would like to associate vigilantism with liberal, which irks me, because vigilantism may in fact be a "dark side of [...] righteousness", but I think it can affect both sides equally.
What the editorial was good for was reopening my eyes to the concept of perfect justice as a theme in media, and vigilantism as a method of achieving it. "The International" subscribes to this method, and Betsey and I had the opportunity to discuss our thoughts on the matter. Thanks pause button!
At the end of the movie, I also started thinking about another topic of interest to me: The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies. Maybe having a daughter has brought this back to the forefront of my mind, but I couldn't stop considering it at a particular point in the movie. I'd have to watch the movie again to be sure, but I think "The International" fails the test.
So, after instantly streaming the movie via Netflix, I decided to rate it. The movie was entertaining, and I could probably watch it again sometime, but the ending was less than satisfying since they left it wide open for a potential sequel, and I had these nagging thoughts about glorifying vigilantism and the Bechdel Test going through my head. "The International" received my first lower than 3 star rating - 2 stars (I didn't like it). Is that fair? I don't know. It was entertaining, I'd watch it again, some of my favorite movies have some of the same flaws, but the ending was so dissatisfying that I'm going to let that rating stick.
2010-07-08
Pam to the rescue
June 21st
I guess all the resting that Grace did on Sunday was bound to catch up with us, and it did Sunday night. It was a rough night and as a result, I ended up sleeping in and going to work late. Going in late equates to coming home late.
I've been really thankful that the daylight hours have been more plentiful, and this was the most daylight in 24 hours the year was going to see. Ideally, of course, I'd not work at all on such a glorious day. I'd probably travel to Seattle for the parade. Maybe next year. In any case, since I did have to work late, it was nice to not come home in the dark.
Upon arriving home, it was pretty apparent that Grace had an upset stomach.
June 22nd
An upset stomach rolled us into Tuesday much the same way that we came into Monday. I went to work late; I came home late. Coming home had one significant difference though, our family friend Pam had come down to watch Grace and give us a date and a good night sleep.
So we dated! We went down to the water front and checked out some restaurant menus before settling on our old friend Cloud 9. We split some quail kabobs, a spicy burger, and some stuffed mushrooms. It was delicious. Getting to spend time alone on a date with Betsey was fantastic. Pam had given us the rule that we couldn't talk about Grace, and while we skirted talking about her, we were largely successful in following the rule. Feeling reconnected, we paid for our bill and went out to walk the waterfront. The previously mentioned long nights of this time of year made for the perfect night.
After a little while, we found ourselves drifting over to our favorite gelato shop Francesco's. We took our gelato to go and continued our river front walk while racing to beat the heat's assault on our dessert.
As the sun started to set, we headed home. Pam welcomed us back and sent us right to bed. Sleep! We did. Alone. With the lights out. It was fantastic: almost as fantastic as Pam.
I guess all the resting that Grace did on Sunday was bound to catch up with us, and it did Sunday night. It was a rough night and as a result, I ended up sleeping in and going to work late. Going in late equates to coming home late.
I've been really thankful that the daylight hours have been more plentiful, and this was the most daylight in 24 hours the year was going to see. Ideally, of course, I'd not work at all on such a glorious day. I'd probably travel to Seattle for the parade. Maybe next year. In any case, since I did have to work late, it was nice to not come home in the dark.
Upon arriving home, it was pretty apparent that Grace had an upset stomach.
June 22nd
An upset stomach rolled us into Tuesday much the same way that we came into Monday. I went to work late; I came home late. Coming home had one significant difference though, our family friend Pam had come down to watch Grace and give us a date and a good night sleep.
So we dated! We went down to the water front and checked out some restaurant menus before settling on our old friend Cloud 9. We split some quail kabobs, a spicy burger, and some stuffed mushrooms. It was delicious. Getting to spend time alone on a date with Betsey was fantastic. Pam had given us the rule that we couldn't talk about Grace, and while we skirted talking about her, we were largely successful in following the rule. Feeling reconnected, we paid for our bill and went out to walk the waterfront. The previously mentioned long nights of this time of year made for the perfect night.
After a little while, we found ourselves drifting over to our favorite gelato shop Francesco's. We took our gelato to go and continued our river front walk while racing to beat the heat's assault on our dessert.
As the sun started to set, we headed home. Pam welcomed us back and sent us right to bed. Sleep! We did. Alone. With the lights out. It was fantastic: almost as fantastic as Pam.
A Great Dad's Weekend
June 19th
Saturday morning I woke up a little early. I had to get ready for the World Cup. Grace, Nick, and I were going to watch it at Corvallis Sports Park, or more specifically, the Upper Deck Pub located above and around the indoor soccer facilities there.
So I readied Grace and myself, and I called Nick. No answer. I waited. I called Nick. No answer. Well, I wasn't going to pack Grace to the pub without support. As a last ditch effort, I called Anne-Marie. Success. Yes Nick is there. Yes he'll get out of bed and be ready.
Grace and I snapped and buckled into the car and took off. Nick was on the way to the pub, so we managed to get there shortly after the starting whistle.
Watching the game with Nick was great. It was a game nobody really cared about, so the pub was basically empty, and it was quite easy to keep Grace happy. What was harder, was finding a way to hold Grace, when she was awake, where she couldn't see one of the many large and compelling TV screens, but we managed.
After the game, Grace and I dropped Nick at Anne-Marie's and went to get Betsey. The next stop for the day was the Corvallis Saturday Market. At the market we bought some kettle corn to eat for breakfast, listened to some blues, and bought strawberries for dinner's dessert. Grace kept it real by sleeping in the Baby Bjorn.
After getting home, we relaxed for the rest of the day. Grace, especially, took that task to hand.
June 20th
Father's Day... apparently. We didn't realize it until the Saturday, so it was not something we'd really prepared for. Separately, we'd made plans to meet with our friends Jeanette and Annmarie and their kiddos. It occurred to us that our Sunday morning brunch plans may have just become a little more crowded, given we were sans reservation. We pressed on undaunted. We did end up waiting in line for a very short period of time, but the kiddos seemed to handle it pretty well.
Brunch was at the Broken Yolk restaurant downtown. It's a kid friendly location with free wi-fi. The food was standard breakfast fare, but Betsey seemed to think the sausage links were above average. The restaurant makes their jams in-house, which I think is cool. I asked for a jam that didn't contain corn-syrup and they looked at me like I was crazy. Uncool!
During brunch, each of the three children managed to have some sort of melt-down. The staff had cleverly seated us at the back near the rear exit and restrooms, so it was easy for us to step outside with a screaming child, or make any necessary diaper changes. I found it a little odd that it is now perfectly acceptable for me to walk into the same single person restroom with my wife and child, but didn't let that stop me from helping with the diaper change.
At the end of brunch, I was especially touched when our friends covered the entire bill. They said it was a father's day gift to me. I gave big hugs all around and felt pretty special. Unexpected gifts make for great presents, but the greatest gift at that moment was having amazing friends. We're really looking forward to our next get-together.
The rest of the day was very relaxing. At night we finished off the Saturday Market strawberries in some delicious ice cream. A perfect end to a great Dad's Weekend.
Saturday morning I woke up a little early. I had to get ready for the World Cup. Grace, Nick, and I were going to watch it at Corvallis Sports Park, or more specifically, the Upper Deck Pub located above and around the indoor soccer facilities there.
So I readied Grace and myself, and I called Nick. No answer. I waited. I called Nick. No answer. Well, I wasn't going to pack Grace to the pub without support. As a last ditch effort, I called Anne-Marie. Success. Yes Nick is there. Yes he'll get out of bed and be ready.
Grace and I snapped and buckled into the car and took off. Nick was on the way to the pub, so we managed to get there shortly after the starting whistle.
Watching the game with Nick was great. It was a game nobody really cared about, so the pub was basically empty, and it was quite easy to keep Grace happy. What was harder, was finding a way to hold Grace, when she was awake, where she couldn't see one of the many large and compelling TV screens, but we managed.
After the game, Grace and I dropped Nick at Anne-Marie's and went to get Betsey. The next stop for the day was the Corvallis Saturday Market. At the market we bought some kettle corn to eat for breakfast, listened to some blues, and bought strawberries for dinner's dessert. Grace kept it real by sleeping in the Baby Bjorn.
After getting home, we relaxed for the rest of the day. Grace, especially, took that task to hand.
June 20th
Father's Day... apparently. We didn't realize it until the Saturday, so it was not something we'd really prepared for. Separately, we'd made plans to meet with our friends Jeanette and Annmarie and their kiddos. It occurred to us that our Sunday morning brunch plans may have just become a little more crowded, given we were sans reservation. We pressed on undaunted. We did end up waiting in line for a very short period of time, but the kiddos seemed to handle it pretty well.
Brunch was at the Broken Yolk restaurant downtown. It's a kid friendly location with free wi-fi. The food was standard breakfast fare, but Betsey seemed to think the sausage links were above average. The restaurant makes their jams in-house, which I think is cool. I asked for a jam that didn't contain corn-syrup and they looked at me like I was crazy. Uncool!
During brunch, each of the three children managed to have some sort of melt-down. The staff had cleverly seated us at the back near the rear exit and restrooms, so it was easy for us to step outside with a screaming child, or make any necessary diaper changes. I found it a little odd that it is now perfectly acceptable for me to walk into the same single person restroom with my wife and child, but didn't let that stop me from helping with the diaper change.
At the end of brunch, I was especially touched when our friends covered the entire bill. They said it was a father's day gift to me. I gave big hugs all around and felt pretty special. Unexpected gifts make for great presents, but the greatest gift at that moment was having amazing friends. We're really looking forward to our next get-together.
The rest of the day was very relaxing. At night we finished off the Saturday Market strawberries in some delicious ice cream. A perfect end to a great Dad's Weekend.
2010-07-05
Check your work
June 18th
Summer hadn't quite arrived yet, and mother nature decided to remind us of that fact. Having just had the AC installed at the house, I woke up surprised to find that I wanted the heat on. I went over to the thermostat and slid the mode select over to heat, the heater started clicking like normal, everything went blank on the display, and the heater shut down.
Uh...
So, I stayed home and called Rice Heating the second they turned their phones on. I know this because I dialed and got the answering service, and then I hung up and immediately redialed and got a drowsy employee.
I apologized for starting her day off this way, but explained what had happened. She said they'd have a technician out in an hour.
Fifty five minutes later, our technician arrived. Betsey knows the technician pretty well, because the way Rice Heating works is that they assign a technician to each house, and that person is the person you always see. We've had our heater serviced twice since we bought the house (normal maintenance) and he was in charge of the AC install. The technician did his job and found the problem very quickly. The AC installer had left a wire in the heater touching ground, which had shorted the system and blown a fuse. A simple fix, but I'm glad we found it now instead of that first cold day in Fall. The technician rolled his eyes and mentioned that he was going to have to start double checking the other guy's work from now on.
We stood around a couple minutes and chatted about babies, since the technician had just had one of his own. I really like the small town feel of dealing with companies in Corvallis. The folks at Rice, especially, have treated us well, and we feel like we have a good relationship with the company.
The heater incident made me late for work, but it was nice to get to blame something besides Grace for once.
Before I left, Grace treated me to some cuteness.
Summer hadn't quite arrived yet, and mother nature decided to remind us of that fact. Having just had the AC installed at the house, I woke up surprised to find that I wanted the heat on. I went over to the thermostat and slid the mode select over to heat, the heater started clicking like normal, everything went blank on the display, and the heater shut down.
Uh...
So, I stayed home and called Rice Heating the second they turned their phones on. I know this because I dialed and got the answering service, and then I hung up and immediately redialed and got a drowsy employee.
I apologized for starting her day off this way, but explained what had happened. She said they'd have a technician out in an hour.
Fifty five minutes later, our technician arrived. Betsey knows the technician pretty well, because the way Rice Heating works is that they assign a technician to each house, and that person is the person you always see. We've had our heater serviced twice since we bought the house (normal maintenance) and he was in charge of the AC install. The technician did his job and found the problem very quickly. The AC installer had left a wire in the heater touching ground, which had shorted the system and blown a fuse. A simple fix, but I'm glad we found it now instead of that first cold day in Fall. The technician rolled his eyes and mentioned that he was going to have to start double checking the other guy's work from now on.
We stood around a couple minutes and chatted about babies, since the technician had just had one of his own. I really like the small town feel of dealing with companies in Corvallis. The folks at Rice, especially, have treated us well, and we feel like we have a good relationship with the company.
The heater incident made me late for work, but it was nice to get to blame something besides Grace for once.
Before I left, Grace treated me to some cuteness.
Sailing away from sailing
June 17th
At 6 weeks, I attempted to go sailing again. I had a blast, but it was clear that it was too soon for me to be off having that much fun and leaving Betsey at home. It's not so much that Betsey begrudges me going out and having a good time, but sailing truly requires a lot of time. With a soccer game, I'm out of the house for maybe two and a half hours tops, if we have drinks. With sailing, I'm gone for about 4 hours of the day, and I'm nowhere near the house in case of emergency. It just doesn't feel right.
The skipper has been really understanding about this. He's lost a lot of crew to babies, and he fully expects that I'll just stop showing up. He has even found a replacement for me and has started training her. It's almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy though. He's made it too easy for me to not sail. I feel no guilt now that I know I'm not letting the crew down. The only thing I feel is longing. I miss the crew, the boat, the water, and the competition.
I came home before going sailing to find some snoozing girls looking adorable.
We had a good day on the water.
At 6 weeks, I attempted to go sailing again. I had a blast, but it was clear that it was too soon for me to be off having that much fun and leaving Betsey at home. It's not so much that Betsey begrudges me going out and having a good time, but sailing truly requires a lot of time. With a soccer game, I'm out of the house for maybe two and a half hours tops, if we have drinks. With sailing, I'm gone for about 4 hours of the day, and I'm nowhere near the house in case of emergency. It just doesn't feel right.
The skipper has been really understanding about this. He's lost a lot of crew to babies, and he fully expects that I'll just stop showing up. He has even found a replacement for me and has started training her. It's almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy though. He's made it too easy for me to not sail. I feel no guilt now that I know I'm not letting the crew down. The only thing I feel is longing. I miss the crew, the boat, the water, and the competition.
I came home before going sailing to find some snoozing girls looking adorable.
We had a good day on the water.
Double the fun
June 16th
It had been over 6 weeks since Grace was born, and the time for Betsey's checkup was at hand. Chrystal came over to watch the girl, since I had to go to work. According to the doctor, everything was fine, which is what we expected.
We received word that day that Betsey's folks were both feeling a bit under the weather. Having just been up there with Grace, they wanted us to know. It immediately explained Betsey's muscle aches which she'd been having for about a day. Grace and I seemed entirely unaffected. We sent word to the Dausman's that we may have infected their household. We felt like awful friends, but there was really no reason to think we'd be sick when we went to visit.
When I came home, Chrystal swung around again to just socialize instead of being used. It was nice to sit and catch up a bit. It was also nice that she didn't seem to mind the threat of getting sick, such is the power of the draw of spending time with her niece.
It had been over 6 weeks since Grace was born, and the time for Betsey's checkup was at hand. Chrystal came over to watch the girl, since I had to go to work. According to the doctor, everything was fine, which is what we expected.
We received word that day that Betsey's folks were both feeling a bit under the weather. Having just been up there with Grace, they wanted us to know. It immediately explained Betsey's muscle aches which she'd been having for about a day. Grace and I seemed entirely unaffected. We sent word to the Dausman's that we may have infected their household. We felt like awful friends, but there was really no reason to think we'd be sick when we went to visit.
When I came home, Chrystal swung around again to just socialize instead of being used. It was nice to sit and catch up a bit. It was also nice that she didn't seem to mind the threat of getting sick, such is the power of the draw of spending time with her niece.
2010-07-04
Work Work
June 14th & 15th
Honestly, Monday and Tuesday went by with basically nothing to report. I stayed home a bit in the mornings to help with Grace. I came home late. We went to bed with varying degrees of success with keeping our girl down for the night.
Here's some pictures of the girl from those days:
Honestly, Monday and Tuesday went by with basically nothing to report. I stayed home a bit in the mornings to help with Grace. I came home late. We went to bed with varying degrees of success with keeping our girl down for the night.
Here's some pictures of the girl from those days:
Plans? We can make 'em or leave 'em.
June 13th
After such a full day, we slept in. We had no plans, and we liked it that way. Eventually we packed up the car for the ride home. Being in Portland, there were a few people we had yet to see, most importantly the Dausmans.
The Dausmans had been due the week after us, but with Grace being a week early, and their daughter D being a week late, their little girl was just approaching a month old. We gave them a ring from the Mathew's driveway to see if they could entertain guests on our way out of town. They could, so we made plans, and we liked it that way too.
Little miss D and our miss Grace were basically blobs the entire time they were in the sight of each other. They were both remarkably cute and remarkably different at the same time. Miss D is from long stock, whereas our Grace is from short stock. Miss D clearly had inches on Grace despite Grace's one week, by conception, advantage. The Dausmans seemed to think Grace was pretty cute, but of course, they only have eyes for one little girl right now.
The drive home from the Dausman's was uneventful, and we got ready for the work week to begin.
After such a full day, we slept in. We had no plans, and we liked it that way. Eventually we packed up the car for the ride home. Being in Portland, there were a few people we had yet to see, most importantly the Dausmans.
The Dausmans had been due the week after us, but with Grace being a week early, and their daughter D being a week late, their little girl was just approaching a month old. We gave them a ring from the Mathew's driveway to see if they could entertain guests on our way out of town. They could, so we made plans, and we liked it that way too.
Little miss D and our miss Grace were basically blobs the entire time they were in the sight of each other. They were both remarkably cute and remarkably different at the same time. Miss D is from long stock, whereas our Grace is from short stock. Miss D clearly had inches on Grace despite Grace's one week, by conception, advantage. The Dausmans seemed to think Grace was pretty cute, but of course, they only have eyes for one little girl right now.
The drive home from the Dausman's was uneventful, and we got ready for the work week to begin.
US vs. England
June 11th
Friday was a standard day with me coming home a bit late. My parents came up to stay with us. They were going to Chrystal's graduation the next day. Chrystal came over to say hello and finalize plans, and then we all headed to bed. It was after mid-night, and we all had a lot to do the next day.
June 12th
First thing in the morning I woke up, woke my parents up, and the three of us got ready. I needed to run them to campus a couple hours before the graduation actually started. Mum and Dad had come up the previous night to avoid any traffic rush into Corvallis, and now we were attempting to avoid any traffic rush to campus. Additionally, Betsey and I needed to leave town fairly early to get to Portland. I dropped Mum and Dad off in the hall of flags in the MU, and headed back to the house.
While on campus, Betsey and Grace had been getting ready to depart, and I found them ready to go on my return. We packed up the car, and started the long drive north.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Portland, the day of the Rose Parade, and, more importantly, the World Cup game of the US vs. England. We stopped at OMSI to rendezvous with Jay. Jay hadn't met Grace yet. They seemed to get along from the first moment.
After some short oohs and ahhs, Jay and I departed to Ladd's Addition to meet up with his buddies, and Betsey drove Grace over to Grandma and Grandad's. Jay has some really great friends, and it was nice to meet some new quality people. We all had mimosas before walking to Director's Square.
The walk to Director's Square was great. With the Rose Festival going on, there was so much to see. Going over the bridge, we watched a dragon boat race. The carnival was in full swing on the river front, and the streets were full of people preparing to watch the parade.
When we arrived at Director's Square, it was packed, but we managed to squeeze into a pretty decent spot to watch the first half. Shortly before half time, Jay and I ran to Elephant's to grab a quick bite and some beer. We decided to eat and drink in the outdoor seating located directly behind the big screen TV that was displaying the game. As we ate and drank on the street, the first half ended and it was time for the unveiling of the Timbers's MLS logo.
The unveiling of the MLS logo was another draw to this event, and we had been quite excited about it. The night before, however, Jay had been at Joe's looking for some paraphernalia to wear to the game, when he spotted that the employees had already put out the new Timbers Jerseys. He snapped a picture on his cell phone before telling the employees they'd made a mistake. Needless to say, we'd all been pretty well informed about what the new logo was going to look all morning, and weren't to excited or surprised by the time the giant display was unveiled.
As a group, we decided to spend half-time at one of Jay's friend's work. Jive is a pretty sweet software company with offices in downtown Portland. Upon arriving, I could only stare with jealousy at the break room full of all you can eat goodies, free drinks, and free draught beer. My employer is great, but very conservative, and these kind of extravagances would never go over there. Once we'd all filled up on free food and poured ourselves some beer, we headed to the roof top to watch the parade.
As the end of half time approached, we realized that the company break room had a lot going for it:
1) Free Beer
2) Large HD TV
3) Free Snacks
4) Temperature Control
5) No Crowd
We stayed. The US beat England. It was great.
The walk back to Ladd's addition was pretty great. Everyone had enjoyed the free beer to the best of their abilities, and in fact, some had found coffee cups to put more in so that they could keep going on the way back. It seemed, almost everyone in the city was in a good mood, but then, nobody in the group was probably judging that particularly well.
Jay's parents met him in Ladd's to go for a hike, and Jay offered to drop me off at the Mathew's house. I gratefully accepted, and soon found myself lying on the front lawn with my beautiful wife and baby. A fantastic day.
With all my gallivanting complete, it was time for Betsey to have some fun. I drove her down to the Hilton in downtown for a Sushi Birthday party for her friend Jessica. We took Grace for the opportunity to meet more people, but only one additional person decided to show up on time. After waiting around for a little while, Grace and I took off.
Back at the Mathew's, another birthday party was getting started. This one was for our family friend Cathy. Mike, Cathy, David, Marg, Lucy, and Chris welcomed me (and Grace) to the party and we enjoyed good food and fun stories well into the night.
At some point around 11, Betsey called for a pick up. Once we were all home, we settled down for a nice night.
Friday was a standard day with me coming home a bit late. My parents came up to stay with us. They were going to Chrystal's graduation the next day. Chrystal came over to say hello and finalize plans, and then we all headed to bed. It was after mid-night, and we all had a lot to do the next day.
June 12th
First thing in the morning I woke up, woke my parents up, and the three of us got ready. I needed to run them to campus a couple hours before the graduation actually started. Mum and Dad had come up the previous night to avoid any traffic rush into Corvallis, and now we were attempting to avoid any traffic rush to campus. Additionally, Betsey and I needed to leave town fairly early to get to Portland. I dropped Mum and Dad off in the hall of flags in the MU, and headed back to the house.
While on campus, Betsey and Grace had been getting ready to depart, and I found them ready to go on my return. We packed up the car, and started the long drive north.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Portland, the day of the Rose Parade, and, more importantly, the World Cup game of the US vs. England. We stopped at OMSI to rendezvous with Jay. Jay hadn't met Grace yet. They seemed to get along from the first moment.
After some short oohs and ahhs, Jay and I departed to Ladd's Addition to meet up with his buddies, and Betsey drove Grace over to Grandma and Grandad's. Jay has some really great friends, and it was nice to meet some new quality people. We all had mimosas before walking to Director's Square.
The walk to Director's Square was great. With the Rose Festival going on, there was so much to see. Going over the bridge, we watched a dragon boat race. The carnival was in full swing on the river front, and the streets were full of people preparing to watch the parade.
When we arrived at Director's Square, it was packed, but we managed to squeeze into a pretty decent spot to watch the first half. Shortly before half time, Jay and I ran to Elephant's to grab a quick bite and some beer. We decided to eat and drink in the outdoor seating located directly behind the big screen TV that was displaying the game. As we ate and drank on the street, the first half ended and it was time for the unveiling of the Timbers's MLS logo.
The unveiling of the MLS logo was another draw to this event, and we had been quite excited about it. The night before, however, Jay had been at Joe's looking for some paraphernalia to wear to the game, when he spotted that the employees had already put out the new Timbers Jerseys. He snapped a picture on his cell phone before telling the employees they'd made a mistake. Needless to say, we'd all been pretty well informed about what the new logo was going to look all morning, and weren't to excited or surprised by the time the giant display was unveiled.
As a group, we decided to spend half-time at one of Jay's friend's work. Jive is a pretty sweet software company with offices in downtown Portland. Upon arriving, I could only stare with jealousy at the break room full of all you can eat goodies, free drinks, and free draught beer. My employer is great, but very conservative, and these kind of extravagances would never go over there. Once we'd all filled up on free food and poured ourselves some beer, we headed to the roof top to watch the parade.
As the end of half time approached, we realized that the company break room had a lot going for it:
1) Free Beer
2) Large HD TV
3) Free Snacks
4) Temperature Control
5) No Crowd
We stayed. The US beat England. It was great.
The walk back to Ladd's addition was pretty great. Everyone had enjoyed the free beer to the best of their abilities, and in fact, some had found coffee cups to put more in so that they could keep going on the way back. It seemed, almost everyone in the city was in a good mood, but then, nobody in the group was probably judging that particularly well.
Jay's parents met him in Ladd's to go for a hike, and Jay offered to drop me off at the Mathew's house. I gratefully accepted, and soon found myself lying on the front lawn with my beautiful wife and baby. A fantastic day.
With all my gallivanting complete, it was time for Betsey to have some fun. I drove her down to the Hilton in downtown for a Sushi Birthday party for her friend Jessica. We took Grace for the opportunity to meet more people, but only one additional person decided to show up on time. After waiting around for a little while, Grace and I took off.
Back at the Mathew's, another birthday party was getting started. This one was for our family friend Cathy. Mike, Cathy, David, Marg, Lucy, and Chris welcomed me (and Grace) to the party and we enjoyed good food and fun stories well into the night.
At some point around 11, Betsey called for a pick up. Once we were all home, we settled down for a nice night.
2010-07-03
Send me Links!
Why don't you send me links?
Grace and I stuck at home, watching 700 club. What do you think is going to happen to us?
2010-06-29
The Smell of Music
This morning, wondering if I needed to pardon myself:
Myles: Did you hear me fart?
Betsey: Yeah, Grace farted a half second before you. If you had let me know, we could have been a chorus.
Myles: We'd be like the von Trapp family!
Betsey: ... but classier?
2010-06-26
Watch, Rest, Repeat
June 8th, 9th, and 10th
One novel thing happened on Tuesday, that made it different from the following two days, we signed up for Netflix, since it now streams over the Wii. What a fabulous thing this is. There is so much TV available for streaming that we've been happily glued to the TV ever since. From renaissance porn, "The Tudors", to engrossing cartoon kungfu, "The Last Avatar", we're completely hooked.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were all defined the same way. A rough intro into the wee hours of the morning, finally get some sleep, I stay home anywhere from a half day to a whole day, we watch a bunch of Netflix, and repeat. These few days were unusual for their lack of visitors (Aunt C did manage a visit) and for Grace's refusal to sleep. Grace did stay as cute as ever though.
One novel thing happened on Tuesday, that made it different from the following two days, we signed up for Netflix, since it now streams over the Wii. What a fabulous thing this is. There is so much TV available for streaming that we've been happily glued to the TV ever since. From renaissance porn, "The Tudors", to engrossing cartoon kungfu, "The Last Avatar", we're completely hooked.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were all defined the same way. A rough intro into the wee hours of the morning, finally get some sleep, I stay home anywhere from a half day to a whole day, we watch a bunch of Netflix, and repeat. These few days were unusual for their lack of visitors (Aunt C did manage a visit) and for Grace's refusal to sleep. Grace did stay as cute as ever though.
We help by being helped
June 7th
Monday started out on the tired side, with me staying home for the first half of the day. I knew I wouldn't be able to make up the time because we had company coming over, but I went to work for the half day.
Work is a guilty pleasure at this point. I'm happy to not have to deal with the screaming Grace, but I feel awful that I've abandoned Betsey. The half days are a little less guilt inducing.
My friend from work's wife, Mrs. Thomas, was expecting a baby any day, so she was basically going stir crazy around the house. Her request at this time in her pregnancy was to make other people dinner. Being the obliging people that we are, we signed up. After getting home, I basically paced at the front door waiting for our gracious guests to arrive.
Mrs. Thomas made us some fantastic pan-fried chicken, spinach pesto pasta salad, and green salad. It was fantastic. It was a little odd to have someone thank us for allowing them to make us dinner, but we quickly adjusted. We kept reminding her that she was actually doing us a favor.
After dinner, the Thomases left, and we settled down for what would be a rough night.
Monday started out on the tired side, with me staying home for the first half of the day. I knew I wouldn't be able to make up the time because we had company coming over, but I went to work for the half day.
Work is a guilty pleasure at this point. I'm happy to not have to deal with the screaming Grace, but I feel awful that I've abandoned Betsey. The half days are a little less guilt inducing.
My friend from work's wife, Mrs. Thomas, was expecting a baby any day, so she was basically going stir crazy around the house. Her request at this time in her pregnancy was to make other people dinner. Being the obliging people that we are, we signed up. After getting home, I basically paced at the front door waiting for our gracious guests to arrive.
Mrs. Thomas made us some fantastic pan-fried chicken, spinach pesto pasta salad, and green salad. It was fantastic. It was a little odd to have someone thank us for allowing them to make us dinner, but we quickly adjusted. We kept reminding her that she was actually doing us a favor.
After dinner, the Thomases left, and we settled down for what would be a rough night.
2010-06-14
Grace meets people almost every day
June 6th
Sunday started with a losing indoor soccer game, but quickly improved. In fact, the soccer game is barely worth mentioning, but it's here in my text file where I keep notes about what we've done until I can find the time to write it down in detail here. Lest I start to look like some memory king who can write about the goings on of weeks ago with great clarity, I thought I'd reveal my tricks now. Ideally, as Grace gets to be a better sleeper, they won't be necessary.
Later in the day, Nick and Anne-Marie came to visit Grace, and I think they were interested in seeing us as well. We had a fine time catching up, and sharing stories about how one-another met. Nick had to catch a bus to Portland, which unfortunately cut the visit short. Happily, Nick will be moving to Corvallis soon, and then we'll see him all the time.
During the day, an unexpected invite to enjoy barbecued chicken with Nate and Brent came via email. Apparently there were more than a few leftovers from the Minicon the day before. Grace hadn't met Brent yet, so we eagerly signed up. As an added bonus, Brent has cats, and we've been looking for a way to expose Grace to cat allergens. We're going to try and setup weekly outings to Brent's to meet with Nate and finish the Babylon 5 series.
Sunday started with a losing indoor soccer game, but quickly improved. In fact, the soccer game is barely worth mentioning, but it's here in my text file where I keep notes about what we've done until I can find the time to write it down in detail here. Lest I start to look like some memory king who can write about the goings on of weeks ago with great clarity, I thought I'd reveal my tricks now. Ideally, as Grace gets to be a better sleeper, they won't be necessary.
Later in the day, Nick and Anne-Marie came to visit Grace, and I think they were interested in seeing us as well. We had a fine time catching up, and sharing stories about how one-another met. Nick had to catch a bus to Portland, which unfortunately cut the visit short. Happily, Nick will be moving to Corvallis soon, and then we'll see him all the time.
During the day, an unexpected invite to enjoy barbecued chicken with Nate and Brent came via email. Apparently there were more than a few leftovers from the Minicon the day before. Grace hadn't met Brent yet, so we eagerly signed up. As an added bonus, Brent has cats, and we've been looking for a way to expose Grace to cat allergens. We're going to try and setup weekly outings to Brent's to meet with Nate and finish the Babylon 5 series.
Friends and More Friends
June 5th
We woke up the next morning to go to Portland for a couple of parties. Normal preparation in the morning is something we're still getting down. We ended up leaving a couple of hours later than expected, but we pressed on.
Our first stop was our friend's, and old neighbor's, event dubbed "Minicon" in Beaverton. There were going to be so many of our friends there, we couldn't stay away. Grace had to meet Kevin, Lindsey, Jon, Nick, Rachelle, and Brian. Everyone loved her, of course.
After a couple hours with our friends, we headed to Portland proper for a family birthday party. Grace got to meet many more friends of the family at Aunt Lucy's. There were other adorable children, and a baby just two weeks older, but Grace still managed to grab her fair share of the attention.
As the night came to an end, we packed up the car for the ride home to Corvallis. Betsey's cousin Michael needed to be dropped off at home, and we were happy to get a few more moments of quality time with him, so we packed him into the car as well.
The drive home was uneventful, but we did get home a bit late. The warm end of spring nights have started, and the garden smelled great. It may just be that it's our first spring at the house and there are the nice smells, but our house has really started to feel like a home since having brought Grace into it, and it was nice to be home.
We woke up the next morning to go to Portland for a couple of parties. Normal preparation in the morning is something we're still getting down. We ended up leaving a couple of hours later than expected, but we pressed on.
Our first stop was our friend's, and old neighbor's, event dubbed "Minicon" in Beaverton. There were going to be so many of our friends there, we couldn't stay away. Grace had to meet Kevin, Lindsey, Jon, Nick, Rachelle, and Brian. Everyone loved her, of course.
After a couple hours with our friends, we headed to Portland proper for a family birthday party. Grace got to meet many more friends of the family at Aunt Lucy's. There were other adorable children, and a baby just two weeks older, but Grace still managed to grab her fair share of the attention.
As the night came to an end, we packed up the car for the ride home to Corvallis. Betsey's cousin Michael needed to be dropped off at home, and we were happy to get a few more moments of quality time with him, so we packed him into the car as well.
The drive home was uneventful, but we did get home a bit late. The warm end of spring nights have started, and the garden smelled great. It may just be that it's our first spring at the house and there are the nice smells, but our house has really started to feel like a home since having brought Grace into it, and it was nice to be home.
2010-06-11
First Month Notes
Here's a few things we've noticed about Grace by the end of her first month:
Her neck is strong - At first we thought we were just being ridiculously proud parents, but then we held some other newborns and their necks almost fell off because we were use to Grace. At two weeks I remember counting to 10 while she held her head up off my chest.
She's getting bigger - This seems kind of obvious, but when we first tried the cloth diapers, her skinny little legs didn't provide a good enough seal with the diaper to... well you know. Anyway, her legs are chunkier, and she photographs multiple chins now.
People are interesting now - It use to be that the most interesting thing in the room was always the highest contrast location. Now, sometimes, it's us, or visitors, or her toys. Often, though, the completely black side of the stroller is still more interesting than the sky above her.
While writing this I took a quick gander at a few sites for what good one month milestones are. She seems to be ahead in some places, and not quite there but making progress in others. I'm sure that's all normal. I think we mentioned in one of the earlier posts that she is tracking objects really well, and at quite a distance too. At the end of the first month I started having her bounce on my chest standing up, and she'll put a little weight on her legs. She's definitely exhibiting the skills necessary to become an awesome soccer player.
Her neck is strong - At first we thought we were just being ridiculously proud parents, but then we held some other newborns and their necks almost fell off because we were use to Grace. At two weeks I remember counting to 10 while she held her head up off my chest.
She's getting bigger - This seems kind of obvious, but when we first tried the cloth diapers, her skinny little legs didn't provide a good enough seal with the diaper to... well you know. Anyway, her legs are chunkier, and she photographs multiple chins now.
People are interesting now - It use to be that the most interesting thing in the room was always the highest contrast location. Now, sometimes, it's us, or visitors, or her toys. Often, though, the completely black side of the stroller is still more interesting than the sky above her.
While writing this I took a quick gander at a few sites for what good one month milestones are. She seems to be ahead in some places, and not quite there but making progress in others. I'm sure that's all normal. I think we mentioned in one of the earlier posts that she is tracking objects really well, and at quite a distance too. At the end of the first month I started having her bounce on my chest standing up, and she'll put a little weight on her legs. She's definitely exhibiting the skills necessary to become an awesome soccer player.
2010-06-08
Myles Has The Best Friends and Family
June 4th
Betsey and Grace spent most of the day preparing for my birthday, but Betsey is still a student, so the first stop that day was the RC (Radiation Center). How many one-month-olds get to go to a meeting less than 50 meters from a nuclear reactor? I was hoping they'd give Grace a little dosimeter for the photo opportunity, but it didn't happen. All of Betsey's coworkers/students and the faculty at the RC were pretty impressed with Grace.
After their meeting, Grace and Betsey went to Fred Meyer, which was no big deal; they'd done that before. Hallmark, was a bit more difficult, since Grace decided to have a small screaming fit. She was probably protesting the societal pressure to subscribe to this capitalization of what should be a very simple thing of writing a note on a piece of paper to say you care about someone.
Once home, Betsey showed Grace that we can still do things the old fashioned way, and baked me a chocolate cake. The girls set about being domestic together, while I slaved away at work.
By slaving away at work, of course, I mean being treated very well by all my friends who were stopping by to wish me a happy birthday. My friend Dan usually bakes his friends cakes for their birthday, but he's been kind of busy planning his wedding. Instead, he went to Konditorei and picked me up a delicious and beautiful German chocolate cake, which I completely mangled as I tried to cut it. Nobody seemed to mind the mangling and ate it just the same.
June 4th was also the first Friday of the month, which meant that people from work would be trekking down to Calapooia for beer, tots, and conversation. Given the closeness to my birthday, the tots and beer were free for me thanks to the generosity of my friends.
When I finally arrived home, it was to my two favorite girls in the world. They both had cards for me (too cute) and I was very happy to find the house smelling like delicious baked goodness. I'm so thankful for the friends and loved ones that made the lead up to my birthday this year so wonderful.
Once dinner was eaten, Betsey had some lab work to attend to. She'd spent all day preparing for the couple hours after my return, but now had to pay the price. I took watch of our little one, while Betsey worked well into the night. The girl and I fell asleep on the couch, and Betsey managed to catch this very dark picture of us before the night was over.
Betsey and Grace spent most of the day preparing for my birthday, but Betsey is still a student, so the first stop that day was the RC (Radiation Center). How many one-month-olds get to go to a meeting less than 50 meters from a nuclear reactor? I was hoping they'd give Grace a little dosimeter for the photo opportunity, but it didn't happen. All of Betsey's coworkers/students and the faculty at the RC were pretty impressed with Grace.
After their meeting, Grace and Betsey went to Fred Meyer, which was no big deal; they'd done that before. Hallmark, was a bit more difficult, since Grace decided to have a small screaming fit. She was probably protesting the societal pressure to subscribe to this capitalization of what should be a very simple thing of writing a note on a piece of paper to say you care about someone.
Once home, Betsey showed Grace that we can still do things the old fashioned way, and baked me a chocolate cake. The girls set about being domestic together, while I slaved away at work.
By slaving away at work, of course, I mean being treated very well by all my friends who were stopping by to wish me a happy birthday. My friend Dan usually bakes his friends cakes for their birthday, but he's been kind of busy planning his wedding. Instead, he went to Konditorei and picked me up a delicious and beautiful German chocolate cake, which I completely mangled as I tried to cut it. Nobody seemed to mind the mangling and ate it just the same.
June 4th was also the first Friday of the month, which meant that people from work would be trekking down to Calapooia for beer, tots, and conversation. Given the closeness to my birthday, the tots and beer were free for me thanks to the generosity of my friends.
When I finally arrived home, it was to my two favorite girls in the world. They both had cards for me (too cute) and I was very happy to find the house smelling like delicious baked goodness. I'm so thankful for the friends and loved ones that made the lead up to my birthday this year so wonderful.
Once dinner was eaten, Betsey had some lab work to attend to. She'd spent all day preparing for the couple hours after my return, but now had to pay the price. I took watch of our little one, while Betsey worked well into the night. The girl and I fell asleep on the couch, and Betsey managed to catch this very dark picture of us before the night was over.
2010-06-07
A Relatively Nice Hectic Day
June 3rd
Unlike Wednesday, there was nothing calm about Thursday. It wasn't hectic beyond anything we've done before, but it was one of those "I go to work/Betsey goes to Portland for class" days. The good news is it was the last.
Grace spent the day with Abby and N (the little boy Abby cares for), who was the first little person Grace had come into contact with (aside from a couple other babies). Grace didn't really care either way, but N wasn't too sure about Grace at first.
A nice surprise for Grace that day was that Great Grandma Jean came to Abby's to visit. They spent so much time together, that Abby's main complaint was that she didn't get to play with Grace enough. It's hard to be loved by so many people.
Betsey's lab actually got out on time, and they got home relatively early, much to my delight. For being one our more busy and time constrained days, it went pretty well.
Unlike Wednesday, there was nothing calm about Thursday. It wasn't hectic beyond anything we've done before, but it was one of those "I go to work/Betsey goes to Portland for class" days. The good news is it was the last.
Grace spent the day with Abby and N (the little boy Abby cares for), who was the first little person Grace had come into contact with (aside from a couple other babies). Grace didn't really care either way, but N wasn't too sure about Grace at first.
A nice surprise for Grace that day was that Great Grandma Jean came to Abby's to visit. They spent so much time together, that Abby's main complaint was that she didn't get to play with Grace enough. It's hard to be loved by so many people.
Betsey's lab actually got out on time, and they got home relatively early, much to my delight. For being one our more busy and time constrained days, it went pretty well.
2010-06-06
A Normal Day?
June 2nd
Grace turned one month old, and it may have been a taste of what a normal day will be for us. At least, I hope it was.
I woke up and went to work on time.
Betsey cared for Grace and managed to get some work done.
I came home to a dinner ready to be served.
Grace was a happy and funny little girl.
We went to bed, as a family.
More days like these please!
Grace turned one month old, and it may have been a taste of what a normal day will be for us. At least, I hope it was.
I woke up and went to work on time.
Betsey cared for Grace and managed to get some work done.
I came home to a dinner ready to be served.
Grace was a happy and funny little girl.
We went to bed, as a family.
More days like these please!
Amazing Trifecta
June 1st
This was supposed to be a typical Tuesday with me going to work, but over the weekend Home Depot called and said they were a bit upset that I hadn't picked up the closet doors for the nursery yet. I was a bit upset about that too, but who can find the time until their hand is forced. They gave me until Tuesday before they would call and explain to me again that Home Depot was not a permanent storage facility.
Part of the issue with picking up the doors, was that I don't have a truck, so I was going to have to rent theirs, and if I was going to rent theirs, I was going to take the old sliding doors over to Habitat for Humanities' ReStore while I had a truck. But the ReStore was not open for donation drop off when I was in town or on the Sunday when I wanted to do this. Tuesday morning was my best chance to deal with this, and since it's all for Grace, I took the time off work to get these things done.
Chrystal came over to help me unload the truck and move the really heavy closet doors down to the nursery. She also helped me load up the truck with the much lighter old sliding doors. The plan was to go back to work after dropping the truck at Home Depot, but before leaving with the sliding doors, I took one look at Betsey and could see that she was dreading my return to work.
Betsey had a lab to finish and Grace was being very demanding. I let work know I wasn't going to be coming in, and Betsey took a power nap and then got down to work. I kept Grace out of Betsey's hair most of the day, but not completely. For one thing, Betsey didn't want Grace out of her hair really.
She was crafting her lab papers well into the morning. I'm so proud of all the effort she's been putting into this final stretch towards her masters, especially with Grace here. She's an amazing wife, mom, and student.
This was supposed to be a typical Tuesday with me going to work, but over the weekend Home Depot called and said they were a bit upset that I hadn't picked up the closet doors for the nursery yet. I was a bit upset about that too, but who can find the time until their hand is forced. They gave me until Tuesday before they would call and explain to me again that Home Depot was not a permanent storage facility.
Part of the issue with picking up the doors, was that I don't have a truck, so I was going to have to rent theirs, and if I was going to rent theirs, I was going to take the old sliding doors over to Habitat for Humanities' ReStore while I had a truck. But the ReStore was not open for donation drop off when I was in town or on the Sunday when I wanted to do this. Tuesday morning was my best chance to deal with this, and since it's all for Grace, I took the time off work to get these things done.
Chrystal came over to help me unload the truck and move the really heavy closet doors down to the nursery. She also helped me load up the truck with the much lighter old sliding doors. The plan was to go back to work after dropping the truck at Home Depot, but before leaving with the sliding doors, I took one look at Betsey and could see that she was dreading my return to work.
Betsey had a lab to finish and Grace was being very demanding. I let work know I wasn't going to be coming in, and Betsey took a power nap and then got down to work. I kept Grace out of Betsey's hair most of the day, but not completely. For one thing, Betsey didn't want Grace out of her hair really.
She was crafting her lab papers well into the morning. I'm so proud of all the effort she's been putting into this final stretch towards her masters, especially with Grace here. She's an amazing wife, mom, and student.
2010-06-01
A Visiting Weekend
May 28th Continued
After the great night of sleep, we still had a day to get through. Betsey's class with lab on a random day of each week, had chosen Friday for this week. I headed to work and left Betsey to fend for herself.
Things went pretty well, as I understand it. Grace was left with Grandma M. all day. In Grandma M's words from Facebook:
When I was done with work, I went back to Corvallis and got a start on the housework I'd been neglecting.
May 29th
Saturday morning I woke up late in an empty house. It was nice to sleep for so long, but I missed my girls a bit in the morning. After rousing myself from bed and getting ready for the day, I concentrated on cleaning the living room and kitchen. We were expecting great company.
Leah, who you may remember as our doula, and Betsey and I had just clicked from our very first meeting. I think I said something really dorky like, "I think I'd like to be your friend." So shortly after Grace was born, Leah found a great way to solidify the friendship. She offered for her and her wife, Rachel, to bring us a homemade dinner. It was with great enthusiasm, not just for prepared meals, that we accepted. On the first agreed upon date, of course, our friends decided to have a baby, and Leah had to cancel to go do her doula thing, but with tenacity, Leah texted me until a new date was settled on.
Leah and Rachel arrived shortly after six bearing an amazing full size Pyrex (not the little square ones) vegetarian lasagna, fresh salad, and pomegranate juice. It was probably our only well rounded meal since Betsey's mom had made us dinner. The salad was terrific, and the lasagna was amazing, and Leah purposely made more than the four of us could eat so we'd have tons of leftovers.
After dinner, we settled into a great game of Pandemic, which they had never played before, but seemed to enjoy quite a bit. We lost, of course, but that's kind of how playing a four player version of that game goes, especially when the Medic card isn't dealt.
At the end of the evening, we said our adieus. I think it was really the first night we felt like adults with a social life since Grace was born. That was perhaps an even greater gift than the dinner. We're looking forward to seeing them again soon.
May 30th
Sunday was a rough day for little Grace.
We went to the library to get some baby sign language books. Instead of carrying the car seat around the library (it is pretty unwieldy), I took Grace out and put her in the Moby (strapped to me). We had a fine time in the library. An added bonus of the Moby is that strangers don't feel as empowered to reach in and touch her, because they'd be in my personal space. I had one woman who came up and took a gander, but she remained a respectful distance and didn't try to touch. I signed up for a Corvallis library card (finally), and we checked out our books and DVD (The happiest baby on the block), and headed to the car.
At the car, I was determined to put Grace back in the car seat on my own. I really wanted to empathize with what Betsey has to go through. Here's a tip, though, don't lean over with a baby in a Moby unless you're damn sure she is secure. I looked down as I was leaning into the car to grab the car seat, and thought, I need to grab her. As I began to correct my positioning, Grace rolled right on out and started falling through the air towards the foot well of the back seat. It was about the longest second and a half of my life, before I managed to catch her by her body and scoop her up to my chest. She let off enough of a single scream to make me feel like the worst dad in the world, and then promptly went back to sleep while simultaneously farting a few times. I was so scared I hurt my baby. I took solace in knowing she hadn't actually struck anything before I caught her, but that scream rang in my head. We watched her pretty closely for odd behavior, and when we got home, we checked for bruising. She was fine.
Later that night, we decided to try another bath. We'd had some advice to just put her in the bath with either one of us and it would be less traumatic for her, so we were willing to give it a try. Betsey and Grace got in the water and everyone was all smiles. Unfortunately, we both, after seeing all those water baby videos, weren't overly concerned about water getting on her face. She corrected our lack of fear pretty quickly as she inhaled a couple drops of water in her left nostril. She didn't aspirate it or anything, but definitely coughed and sputtered for a little while because of it. I took her out of the tub and calmed and dried her, and then we tried again, with more caution, and things went really well. She really liked the warmth and the weightlessness seemed to help ease her gas pains. As if to put an exclamation point on the end of the bath....
Oh wait, you should know that there's talk about baby poop below. If you don't want to read about baby poop, you should skip to the next line of asterisks.
=====
As if to put an exclamation point on the end of the bath, she pooped in Betsey's vicinity. We had a little tub for just such an occasion, and it was quickly scooped out before it touched anyone. It was actually pretty surprising to see how well it stayed together. I had kind of expected her poo to be like a liquid and to quickly diffuse everywhere, but it didn't. It just stayed together like a little yellow salamander, and it was easily removed.
*****
So Sunday was a rough day for Grace. An all air tumble and a snort of water made it a day she'll be glad she has no memories of.
May 31st
Monday was Memorial Day. Let's all take a minute to remember our fallen soldiers who did their best so we can live our best.
Besides remembering our fallen, we almost didn't do anything on Memorial day, but as the evening progressed, we remembered that some people use this solemn holiday to get people to buy things. Since our microwave is on the fritz, and it would be really nice to have a flat screen television, we decided to go introduce Grace to the Corvallis Video Poker Heroes, if there happened to be any great deals at the same time, maybe we'd take advantage of them. Specifically, we have a nice relationship with our Sears Home Store Co-owner Brian. We actually just stop by there whenever we're nearby to see him and his wife and the rest of the crew. When we bought the house, we needed a washer, dryer, and dishwasher, and Brian helped us save a lot of money. On our last visit, we had promised to show off the girl when she arrived.
Brian was quite taken with Grace, commenting on how beautiful she was. I showed off her toes and told him about dropping Grace. He provided a nice story about accidentally rolling his kid down a flight of stairs to help me feel better. It worked.
We returned home without any new appliances, but feeling better for having seen our friends.
May 24th & 25th Addendum
Betsey reminded me that the evening of the 24th well into the afternoon of the 25th was Grace's longest screaming fit to date. I slept and worked through the entire thing, so it's no wonder I didn't recall.
After the great night of sleep, we still had a day to get through. Betsey's class with lab on a random day of each week, had chosen Friday for this week. I headed to work and left Betsey to fend for herself.
Things went pretty well, as I understand it. Grace was left with Grandma M. all day. In Grandma M's words from Facebook:
Then Grace came to Portland for Marg and Grace's Excellent Adventure. It was my intention to take a ton of pictures of our time together, but I was having too much fun with her. From Friday at 2:00 PM until 1:00 PM on Saturday we did have an excellent adventure.When Betsey's lab was finished, she went back to her childhood home, and had a nice stay with her folks in Portland.
When I was done with work, I went back to Corvallis and got a start on the housework I'd been neglecting.
May 29th
Saturday morning I woke up late in an empty house. It was nice to sleep for so long, but I missed my girls a bit in the morning. After rousing myself from bed and getting ready for the day, I concentrated on cleaning the living room and kitchen. We were expecting great company.
Leah, who you may remember as our doula, and Betsey and I had just clicked from our very first meeting. I think I said something really dorky like, "I think I'd like to be your friend." So shortly after Grace was born, Leah found a great way to solidify the friendship. She offered for her and her wife, Rachel, to bring us a homemade dinner. It was with great enthusiasm, not just for prepared meals, that we accepted. On the first agreed upon date, of course, our friends decided to have a baby, and Leah had to cancel to go do her doula thing, but with tenacity, Leah texted me until a new date was settled on.
Leah and Rachel arrived shortly after six bearing an amazing full size Pyrex (not the little square ones) vegetarian lasagna, fresh salad, and pomegranate juice. It was probably our only well rounded meal since Betsey's mom had made us dinner. The salad was terrific, and the lasagna was amazing, and Leah purposely made more than the four of us could eat so we'd have tons of leftovers.
After dinner, we settled into a great game of Pandemic, which they had never played before, but seemed to enjoy quite a bit. We lost, of course, but that's kind of how playing a four player version of that game goes, especially when the Medic card isn't dealt.
At the end of the evening, we said our adieus. I think it was really the first night we felt like adults with a social life since Grace was born. That was perhaps an even greater gift than the dinner. We're looking forward to seeing them again soon.
May 30th
Sunday was a rough day for little Grace.
We went to the library to get some baby sign language books. Instead of carrying the car seat around the library (it is pretty unwieldy), I took Grace out and put her in the Moby (strapped to me). We had a fine time in the library. An added bonus of the Moby is that strangers don't feel as empowered to reach in and touch her, because they'd be in my personal space. I had one woman who came up and took a gander, but she remained a respectful distance and didn't try to touch. I signed up for a Corvallis library card (finally), and we checked out our books and DVD (The happiest baby on the block), and headed to the car.
At the car, I was determined to put Grace back in the car seat on my own. I really wanted to empathize with what Betsey has to go through. Here's a tip, though, don't lean over with a baby in a Moby unless you're damn sure she is secure. I looked down as I was leaning into the car to grab the car seat, and thought, I need to grab her. As I began to correct my positioning, Grace rolled right on out and started falling through the air towards the foot well of the back seat. It was about the longest second and a half of my life, before I managed to catch her by her body and scoop her up to my chest. She let off enough of a single scream to make me feel like the worst dad in the world, and then promptly went back to sleep while simultaneously farting a few times. I was so scared I hurt my baby. I took solace in knowing she hadn't actually struck anything before I caught her, but that scream rang in my head. We watched her pretty closely for odd behavior, and when we got home, we checked for bruising. She was fine.
Later that night, we decided to try another bath. We'd had some advice to just put her in the bath with either one of us and it would be less traumatic for her, so we were willing to give it a try. Betsey and Grace got in the water and everyone was all smiles. Unfortunately, we both, after seeing all those water baby videos, weren't overly concerned about water getting on her face. She corrected our lack of fear pretty quickly as she inhaled a couple drops of water in her left nostril. She didn't aspirate it or anything, but definitely coughed and sputtered for a little while because of it. I took her out of the tub and calmed and dried her, and then we tried again, with more caution, and things went really well. She really liked the warmth and the weightlessness seemed to help ease her gas pains. As if to put an exclamation point on the end of the bath....
Oh wait, you should know that there's talk about baby poop below. If you don't want to read about baby poop, you should skip to the next line of asterisks.
=====
As if to put an exclamation point on the end of the bath, she pooped in Betsey's vicinity. We had a little tub for just such an occasion, and it was quickly scooped out before it touched anyone. It was actually pretty surprising to see how well it stayed together. I had kind of expected her poo to be like a liquid and to quickly diffuse everywhere, but it didn't. It just stayed together like a little yellow salamander, and it was easily removed.
*****
So Sunday was a rough day for Grace. An all air tumble and a snort of water made it a day she'll be glad she has no memories of.
May 31st
Monday was Memorial Day. Let's all take a minute to remember our fallen soldiers who did their best so we can live our best.
Besides remembering our fallen, we almost didn't do anything on Memorial day, but as the evening progressed, we remembered that some people use this solemn holiday to get people to buy things. Since our microwave is on the fritz, and it would be really nice to have a flat screen television, we decided to go introduce Grace to the Corvallis Video Poker Heroes, if there happened to be any great deals at the same time, maybe we'd take advantage of them. Specifically, we have a nice relationship with our Sears Home Store Co-owner Brian. We actually just stop by there whenever we're nearby to see him and his wife and the rest of the crew. When we bought the house, we needed a washer, dryer, and dishwasher, and Brian helped us save a lot of money. On our last visit, we had promised to show off the girl when she arrived.
Brian was quite taken with Grace, commenting on how beautiful she was. I showed off her toes and told him about dropping Grace. He provided a nice story about accidentally rolling his kid down a flight of stairs to help me feel better. It worked.
We returned home without any new appliances, but feeling better for having seen our friends.
May 24th & 25th Addendum
Betsey reminded me that the evening of the 24th well into the afternoon of the 25th was Grace's longest screaming fit to date. I slept and worked through the entire thing, so it's no wonder I didn't recall.
2010-05-29
Where'd That Week Go?
May 23rd Addendum
Hi there. Remember when I said
We noticed that Grace's middle finger was red. It had been cut a few days earlier while trimming her nails, and infection isn't something you want to risk with a newborn. Additionally, Grace's belly button was periodically producing new dried blood, and the doctors had told us a few days earlier that if it happened one more time we should come in. So we called the advice nurse, and she surprised us by telling us that they had an opening at the clinic in 15 minutes (on a Sunday), if we were close enough. Since it takes 5 minutes for us to get to the clinic, we said sure and made our way there.
Grace is perfectly fine. Her finger is red because the too short nail became a hang nail and was pushing through the skin. Her belly is fine too. Not infected, she's probably just so good at stretching that she is re-opening her now well buried scab occasionally. We did get advice to soak her hand in water for 15 minutes three times a day, which led to this picture of Betsey looking like she's performing a high school practical joke on the wee lass.
May 24th & 25th
Memories from these days are already well faded. Suffice it to say, nothing of note must have happened, or there will be an addendum later. I really don't expect to have much to say about the week days unless Betsey tells me something interesting.
May 26th
The very early hours of the 26th were spent with a fussy baby, my baby, Grace. We tried just about everything until around 4 am, when I remembered to put Pandora on. She almost immediately quieted down and started to doze off. Amazing!
When I woke up, I decided I couldn't drive, so I stayed home.
Betsey had an eye appointment, but I wasn't needed because my amazing sis was willing to come watch Grace (the selfless sacrifice!). I slept while sis fed Grace, and Betsey went to the doc.
When I woke, I found a tired Betsey, who relayed a little tale about optometrist incompetence.
Betsey received a phone call as she was parking outside the office (3 minutes before her appointment), but she didn't hear it/see it/pick it up. When she got to the front desk, they said, "Oh we tried to call you."
Betsey looked at her phone. "Um, yeah 3 minutes ago."
"Well the doctor can't make it in today, so we have had to cancel appointments."
Betsey nicely explained their ineptitude to them. The inconvenience. The baby sitter. Still, it did little more than let a couple wisps of steam out of a pressure cooker. There was plenty of rage remaining inside her tired soul when I finally got to asking about the trip.
I took Grace and sent Betsey to bed.
Later in the day, Aunt Chrys came back over and visited for a bit. We made fun of D&D players while admitting that if we ever went so far as to make our own characters, we'd become entirely addicted.
I got good sleep that night because I had to.
May 27th
The alarm went off at 4 am. Time for work. To get my full 8 hours in and still get to leave at 3 to go sailing, I needed to be at work by 6. It was to be my triumphant return.
The previous night we'd had a little talk about sharing more of the load. I have still been finding time for video games, soccer, and now sailing, but my dear has basically only three states: Sleep - Feed - Thesis. The inequity in a partnership that's always been about being full equals was glaring. With commitments made, this was to be my single appearance for another two weeks before trying again, and in the mean time, no more video games, but I'm keeping my soccer. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't recognize the imbalance myself, but when things are the way you want them, you rarely take the time for introspection.
So I went sailing, and I had fun, and it's a good thing it wasn't my triumphant return because we lost, and we lost bad. Being on the boat again, though, was fantastic, and I'm hoping so very much that Grace will get easier, and my weekly sailing will not put any more ripples on the placid lake of our relationship.
When I got home, it was time to introduce Grace to her first water sport, bathing. She was not impressed.
After the girl calmed down, I took charge and sent Betsey to sleep. After all my play time, I was determined to give her a good night sleep.
May 28th
Slept she did. Betsey woke me after 7 and a half hours. I had managed a still impressive nearly 6, with only one feeding in the middle to break it up. A good night for all. Grace tends to sleep much better when we co-sleep with her, and I give co-sleeping all the credit for that night. We'd managed to pull that off on the couch, unintentionally for the first three hours, and then purposely for the last 2 and a bit.
Co-sleeping is a bit scary for a lot of parents. I have always been pretty comfortable with it; Betsey less so, but she was the first to end up doing it. When you mention co-sleeping, some people will look at you like your risking your child's life, like you're a bad parent. I really hope that's not the case, that I'm a bad parent in any person's eyes. In a world (or is it just in an America) full of snap-judgments and seemingly less tolerance for opposing views, I suppose I should just get use to it now before some jerk makes me feel bad because the new stroller doesn't have much in the way of shade. I know I'm being a good parent. I know what feels right. I can tell what makes my girl happy, secure, and peaceful. She's every day more and more my world, and I'm keeping her right here, next to me, as long as she'll let me.
Hi there. Remember when I said
We milled about the house until the afternoon,I kind of forgot something important. We earned one of our parenting badges that morning before my parents came over; We took our first unnecessary trip to the clinic with Grace. Now it wasn't the hospital, and we weren't even a little panicked, but I think we get our badge anyway.
We noticed that Grace's middle finger was red. It had been cut a few days earlier while trimming her nails, and infection isn't something you want to risk with a newborn. Additionally, Grace's belly button was periodically producing new dried blood, and the doctors had told us a few days earlier that if it happened one more time we should come in. So we called the advice nurse, and she surprised us by telling us that they had an opening at the clinic in 15 minutes (on a Sunday), if we were close enough. Since it takes 5 minutes for us to get to the clinic, we said sure and made our way there.
Grace is perfectly fine. Her finger is red because the too short nail became a hang nail and was pushing through the skin. Her belly is fine too. Not infected, she's probably just so good at stretching that she is re-opening her now well buried scab occasionally. We did get advice to soak her hand in water for 15 minutes three times a day, which led to this picture of Betsey looking like she's performing a high school practical joke on the wee lass.
May 24th & 25th
Memories from these days are already well faded. Suffice it to say, nothing of note must have happened, or there will be an addendum later. I really don't expect to have much to say about the week days unless Betsey tells me something interesting.
May 26th
The very early hours of the 26th were spent with a fussy baby, my baby, Grace. We tried just about everything until around 4 am, when I remembered to put Pandora on. She almost immediately quieted down and started to doze off. Amazing!
When I woke up, I decided I couldn't drive, so I stayed home.
Betsey had an eye appointment, but I wasn't needed because my amazing sis was willing to come watch Grace (the selfless sacrifice!). I slept while sis fed Grace, and Betsey went to the doc.
When I woke, I found a tired Betsey, who relayed a little tale about optometrist incompetence.
Betsey received a phone call as she was parking outside the office (3 minutes before her appointment), but she didn't hear it/see it/pick it up. When she got to the front desk, they said, "Oh we tried to call you."
Betsey looked at her phone. "Um, yeah 3 minutes ago."
"Well the doctor can't make it in today, so we have had to cancel appointments."
Betsey nicely explained their ineptitude to them. The inconvenience. The baby sitter. Still, it did little more than let a couple wisps of steam out of a pressure cooker. There was plenty of rage remaining inside her tired soul when I finally got to asking about the trip.
I took Grace and sent Betsey to bed.
Later in the day, Aunt Chrys came back over and visited for a bit. We made fun of D&D players while admitting that if we ever went so far as to make our own characters, we'd become entirely addicted.
I got good sleep that night because I had to.
May 27th
The alarm went off at 4 am. Time for work. To get my full 8 hours in and still get to leave at 3 to go sailing, I needed to be at work by 6. It was to be my triumphant return.
The previous night we'd had a little talk about sharing more of the load. I have still been finding time for video games, soccer, and now sailing, but my dear has basically only three states: Sleep - Feed - Thesis. The inequity in a partnership that's always been about being full equals was glaring. With commitments made, this was to be my single appearance for another two weeks before trying again, and in the mean time, no more video games, but I'm keeping my soccer. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't recognize the imbalance myself, but when things are the way you want them, you rarely take the time for introspection.
So I went sailing, and I had fun, and it's a good thing it wasn't my triumphant return because we lost, and we lost bad. Being on the boat again, though, was fantastic, and I'm hoping so very much that Grace will get easier, and my weekly sailing will not put any more ripples on the placid lake of our relationship.
When I got home, it was time to introduce Grace to her first water sport, bathing. She was not impressed.
After the girl calmed down, I took charge and sent Betsey to sleep. After all my play time, I was determined to give her a good night sleep.
May 28th
Slept she did. Betsey woke me after 7 and a half hours. I had managed a still impressive nearly 6, with only one feeding in the middle to break it up. A good night for all. Grace tends to sleep much better when we co-sleep with her, and I give co-sleeping all the credit for that night. We'd managed to pull that off on the couch, unintentionally for the first three hours, and then purposely for the last 2 and a bit.
Co-sleeping is a bit scary for a lot of parents. I have always been pretty comfortable with it; Betsey less so, but she was the first to end up doing it. When you mention co-sleeping, some people will look at you like your risking your child's life, like you're a bad parent. I really hope that's not the case, that I'm a bad parent in any person's eyes. In a world (or is it just in an America) full of snap-judgments and seemingly less tolerance for opposing views, I suppose I should just get use to it now before some jerk makes me feel bad because the new stroller doesn't have much in the way of shade. I know I'm being a good parent. I know what feels right. I can tell what makes my girl happy, secure, and peaceful. She's every day more and more my world, and I'm keeping her right here, next to me, as long as she'll let me.
2010-05-25
Let's Talk Virus-Scan Software
My laptop came with a free trial of some virus scan software by Trend Micro. I suppose it's doing an alright job (the laptop is still virus free), but it will occasionally report that it didn't shut down correctly, or something.
So with the free trial almost over, I was ready to fork over some cash for my old friend Symantec, but I started talking about it at work and I heard a few things. One, if you're a smart user of the internet, there's really not much need for virus scan software. Two, the performance hit your computer takes isn't worth it if you're a smart user. Three, have you tried the free virus scan solution AVG?
Well the first point was a little ridiculous to my sensibilities. I'm just not the sort to take unnecessary risks. The second started me wondering about which virus software was the least intrusive on system performance. The third comment piqued my interest in free solutions. I'd always assumed free virus scan software couldn't be worth anything; I mean you get what you pay for right?
So I threw a few search terms into Google and saw a link to one of my more trusted sources, an article on Ars. It basically confirmed that there was a difference in performance across all the many solutions out there. It also pointed me to a company that routinely analyzes anti-virus software: AV Compartives. This company is amazing, and they make their reports available for free. I couldn't believe my luck.
I downloaded the reports and started looking at which virus scan solutions were getting the top marks across all the tests. AV Comparatives is pretty clear about not reproducing their results on other sites, but I can tell you what I looked at and the few that I feel really bubble up to the top.
The tests they provide cover detecting known hazards, correctly identifying new hazards (based on heuristic algorithms), drain to system performance, drain when running the full suite (as opposed to the minimal offering), removal of identified hazards, and identification and removal of potentially unwanted programs (sure some people want that packaged tool bar, but you probably don't).
My method of picking the best was to simply take the best performers of one test and then eliminate from that list solutions that didn't appear as best performers in the next test. The list narrowed very quickly, and at the end I was left with 4 brands.
Avast
ESET
F-Secure
Kaspersky
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the main names in virus-scan didn't make the cut. Symantec and McAfee dropped out of sight early on. Perhaps once you have large market share, the drive to innovate and tune your product doesn't scale with the mass of the company, like trying to build an SUV around a lawnmower engine.
Of these four, based on what I think is important, it looked like Kaspersky was the best, followed by F-Secure, and then ESET and Avast. All of them are the creme of the crop, and in my opinion based on these reports, better than the more well know options out there. If you poured them into a software centrifuge, though, I think that's how they would stratify. Of the four, only one of them has a freeware option: Avast.
I'll be installing the free for home use version of Avast in the next couple of days, and I'm not expecting any problems. The fact that a free solution ended up in the top four was astounding to me. As a bonus, if someone asks me what virus-scan software I'm using, I'll have an excuse to talk like a pirate; Avast!
A few people actually read mylesandbetsey.com or betseyandmyles.com either directly or via facebook now that Grace has arrived on the scene, and I thought, after doing all this research, that perhaps some of you might find it helpful.
I'll return to the regular baby update schedule shortly.
So with the free trial almost over, I was ready to fork over some cash for my old friend Symantec, but I started talking about it at work and I heard a few things. One, if you're a smart user of the internet, there's really not much need for virus scan software. Two, the performance hit your computer takes isn't worth it if you're a smart user. Three, have you tried the free virus scan solution AVG?
Well the first point was a little ridiculous to my sensibilities. I'm just not the sort to take unnecessary risks. The second started me wondering about which virus software was the least intrusive on system performance. The third comment piqued my interest in free solutions. I'd always assumed free virus scan software couldn't be worth anything; I mean you get what you pay for right?
So I threw a few search terms into Google and saw a link to one of my more trusted sources, an article on Ars. It basically confirmed that there was a difference in performance across all the many solutions out there. It also pointed me to a company that routinely analyzes anti-virus software: AV Compartives. This company is amazing, and they make their reports available for free. I couldn't believe my luck.
I downloaded the reports and started looking at which virus scan solutions were getting the top marks across all the tests. AV Comparatives is pretty clear about not reproducing their results on other sites, but I can tell you what I looked at and the few that I feel really bubble up to the top.
The tests they provide cover detecting known hazards, correctly identifying new hazards (based on heuristic algorithms), drain to system performance, drain when running the full suite (as opposed to the minimal offering), removal of identified hazards, and identification and removal of potentially unwanted programs (sure some people want that packaged tool bar, but you probably don't).
My method of picking the best was to simply take the best performers of one test and then eliminate from that list solutions that didn't appear as best performers in the next test. The list narrowed very quickly, and at the end I was left with 4 brands.
Avast
ESET
F-Secure
Kaspersky
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the main names in virus-scan didn't make the cut. Symantec and McAfee dropped out of sight early on. Perhaps once you have large market share, the drive to innovate and tune your product doesn't scale with the mass of the company, like trying to build an SUV around a lawnmower engine.
Of these four, based on what I think is important, it looked like Kaspersky was the best, followed by F-Secure, and then ESET and Avast. All of them are the creme of the crop, and in my opinion based on these reports, better than the more well know options out there. If you poured them into a software centrifuge, though, I think that's how they would stratify. Of the four, only one of them has a freeware option: Avast.
I'll be installing the free for home use version of Avast in the next couple of days, and I'm not expecting any problems. The fact that a free solution ended up in the top four was astounding to me. As a bonus, if someone asks me what virus-scan software I'm using, I'll have an excuse to talk like a pirate; Avast!
A few people actually read mylesandbetsey.com or betseyandmyles.com either directly or via facebook now that Grace has arrived on the scene, and I thought, after doing all this research, that perhaps some of you might find it helpful.
I'll return to the regular baby update schedule shortly.
Weekend Full of Goodness
May 22nd
I woke up on Saturday after 8 hours of restful sleep, and I immediately went to see if it was time to pay the piper. The night had actually gone pretty well for the piper, but I decided to pay anyway and took the wee lass... after hitting the shower.
The morning went pretty well, and when noon rolled around, we started looking forward to a visit from our dear friends Adam and Natalie of Sehti.com. They had basically lied to us by telling us they were in town anyway when in fact they had taken a significant detour from Lincoln City, their first day off in something like two years, to come see us, bringing Indian food in the process (Yes, they are angels). Grace immediately took to Natalie, and likewise, Natalie immediately took to Grace. Grace liked Adam too, and was pretty impressed by what a real beard looks like. After a couple of very nice hours catching up, during which the first video of Grace was taken and my parents and sister arrived, they excused themselves and headed back to Portland.
Mum and Dad were up on a whirlwind tour of their children and grandchild. They spent a good chunk of the afternoon with us, but it was too short. Mum use to get Mondays off (4 day work week), but that was recently revoked because of the improving economy (there's too much to get done). Now, she's running herself ragged on the weekends to see her kids.
Everyone was, of course, still taken with Grace. Having all the extra hands around allowed me to attempt using the Moby for the first time, which was pretty entertaining. Good conversation had the minutes flying by, and before too long, we were saying our adieus, and looking forward to catching them on their trip back home from Portland the next day.
In the evening, Grace was pretty alert, and we enjoyed playing with her a bit. Betsey hit the hay relatively early, and I managed to coax Grace to sleep by about midnight. We slept for 3 hours, woke, bottle fed, and then went back to sleep for 4 hours. Betsey was interrupted by the bottle feeding (unfortunately), but was still able to sleep solidly well into the morning.
May 23rd
The morning seemed so much more hopeful with two well rested parents. Betsey roused from her sleep around 10, and we enjoyed some breakfast and play time with Grace. We milled about the house until the afternoon, when my folks stopped in on their return trip home. Mum had not slept all night because Dad had managed to snore all night long. She looked awful, but still managed to smile a ridiculous amount while holding Grace.
Mum and Dad's visit overlapped with my return to indoor soccer. I left them with Betsey and Grace and headed out for some much needed physical activity. Our game didn't start out very well, with an early 0 - 2 deficit. Our star player soon picked up the slack and brought us back to even with our opponents. The game carried on with a lot of back and forth scoring, including a score in the last few seconds by the opposing team. The final score? 8 - 7, with yours truly racking up 1 goal and 1 assist. It was my best game ever, and one of our only wins.
After the game, my friend LeeAnn produced a little box for Grace. I took it home and opened it with Betsey. It is the cutest little locally hand crafted wooden rattle. The present was made even cooler in that as we played with it, we realized that Grace was, for the first time, actually moving her head to follow objects and sounds. She followed the new rattle and her little elephant friend around. It was a pretty great moment, as we watched her level up and gain a new skill, if I may geek up her milestones a bit.
I woke up on Saturday after 8 hours of restful sleep, and I immediately went to see if it was time to pay the piper. The night had actually gone pretty well for the piper, but I decided to pay anyway and took the wee lass... after hitting the shower.
The morning went pretty well, and when noon rolled around, we started looking forward to a visit from our dear friends Adam and Natalie of Sehti.com. They had basically lied to us by telling us they were in town anyway when in fact they had taken a significant detour from Lincoln City, their first day off in something like two years, to come see us, bringing Indian food in the process (Yes, they are angels). Grace immediately took to Natalie, and likewise, Natalie immediately took to Grace. Grace liked Adam too, and was pretty impressed by what a real beard looks like. After a couple of very nice hours catching up, during which the first video of Grace was taken and my parents and sister arrived, they excused themselves and headed back to Portland.
Mum and Dad were up on a whirlwind tour of their children and grandchild. They spent a good chunk of the afternoon with us, but it was too short. Mum use to get Mondays off (4 day work week), but that was recently revoked because of the improving economy (there's too much to get done). Now, she's running herself ragged on the weekends to see her kids.
Everyone was, of course, still taken with Grace. Having all the extra hands around allowed me to attempt using the Moby for the first time, which was pretty entertaining. Good conversation had the minutes flying by, and before too long, we were saying our adieus, and looking forward to catching them on their trip back home from Portland the next day.
In the evening, Grace was pretty alert, and we enjoyed playing with her a bit. Betsey hit the hay relatively early, and I managed to coax Grace to sleep by about midnight. We slept for 3 hours, woke, bottle fed, and then went back to sleep for 4 hours. Betsey was interrupted by the bottle feeding (unfortunately), but was still able to sleep solidly well into the morning.
May 23rd
The morning seemed so much more hopeful with two well rested parents. Betsey roused from her sleep around 10, and we enjoyed some breakfast and play time with Grace. We milled about the house until the afternoon, when my folks stopped in on their return trip home. Mum had not slept all night because Dad had managed to snore all night long. She looked awful, but still managed to smile a ridiculous amount while holding Grace.
Mum and Dad's visit overlapped with my return to indoor soccer. I left them with Betsey and Grace and headed out for some much needed physical activity. Our game didn't start out very well, with an early 0 - 2 deficit. Our star player soon picked up the slack and brought us back to even with our opponents. The game carried on with a lot of back and forth scoring, including a score in the last few seconds by the opposing team. The final score? 8 - 7, with yours truly racking up 1 goal and 1 assist. It was my best game ever, and one of our only wins.
After the game, my friend LeeAnn produced a little box for Grace. I took it home and opened it with Betsey. It is the cutest little locally hand crafted wooden rattle. The present was made even cooler in that as we played with it, we realized that Grace was, for the first time, actually moving her head to follow objects and sounds. She followed the new rattle and her little elephant friend around. It was a pretty great moment, as we watched her level up and gain a new skill, if I may geek up her milestones a bit.
2010-05-23
No rest for the wardens
May 18
My second day back at work was uneventful. At home, Grace was giving Betsey a run for her money. I came home to a tired wife and a sleeping daughter. The sleep had only just started, and Betsey looked drained to say the least.
Grace slept for a couple hours before demanding more all-night attention. Pacifiers are a small blessing.
May 19
Wednesday was much the same as Tuesday, so there's really not much to say about the day.
Like any other day, though, I had to watch my wife in tears as she tried to feed our little one. Breastfeeding is going alright, but it's also going painfully. It's not a bad latch; It's not bad positioning; It's not a lack of milk; It's just damn painful.
Nature's a cruel keeper. It asks so much of women, and I find it unbelievable that a woman is supposed to handle a hormonal drop, physical healing, and sustained pain through feeding and at the same time is expected to bond and have good feelings for this agent of terror. I find it hard enough when I'm rocking the girl through back pain and ear-splitting screams to keep my thoughts about her positive, and I know that this pales in comparison to what Betsey faces every 2 to 4 hours.
So as not to concern anyone, my little girl is amazingly awesome, when the screaming stops, and she sits there all cute, innocent, and peaceful, there's no measure for the warmth and love that I feel for her being. That said, you don't find a lot of candid thoughts from parents about how, at times, having their new child is not always the best thing that's ever happened to them. You start to feel like a bad parent, and all the older folks have lost their memories of these things to the passage of time. When I look at Grace, I see a wonderful future of happy family moments. It's just hard to get that image when I'm sleep deprived, and I can't hear my own thoughts. She's worth it though.
May 20th
So the night of May 19th into the morning of May 20th, Betsey and I saw nary a drop of sleep. Betsey had a lab at OHSU in Portland to get to that evening, and I was in no state for work. As the sun rose, the daughter fell asleep. She looked angelic. I called in fatigued to work, and Betsey and I both took our shot at some z's.
I think we got a couple hours, and then as noon approached, the responsibilities of the day grew more insistent. We packed the car with all the gear that Betsey's cousin Abby would need to watch Grace for the evening. I drove us as far as Salem, where I work, and started my day. Betsey continued up to Abby, who took charge of our lass. Betsey took the short hop up the hill to OHSU and started her 4-hour-plus lab.
From what we hear, Grace was pretty much a perfect girl in our absence. She had at least one first, meeting a dog. Ruby, an Irish Red Setter, was apparently intrigued by our little person, except at the end when she starting squalling, at which point Ruby looked in the carrier, looked at herowners family, and then walked to the back door to be let out. Smart dog!
News of Grace being in Portland spread like wildfire. When Betsey returned to Abby's, she found it had been overrun. Grandma and Grandpa, Grandpa's friend Mike, and Grand Uncle Brent and Lori, had all descended on the place. Abby used the presence of Grandma and Grandpa to exit and get a few things taken care of. It's this kind of support that makes us wish we could live in Portland yesterday. We'll get there as soon as we can.
Edits:
Aunt Lucy and her friend Annalea also had stopped by.
Mike's last name removed for privacy.
On leaving, Betsey drove to Salem where I was picked up and took over driving responsibilities. Betsey called ahead to the Shari's to make a to-go order of breakfast platters. By the time we got home, the day had rolled over. Friday had started, and we hadn't taken a picture of Grace on Thursday. I call that busy.
May 21st
Things started to get better on Friday. How could things not feel better after Thursday? I was tired all day at work, but I'm getting use to that. From what I could tell on arriving home, Grace and Betsey had managed a pretty good day. We had a typical evening together, but when bed time rolled around, I retired to the family room couch. We'd devised a plan, and it started with me getting 8 hours of sleep Friday night.
I'll let you know how that plan turned out shortly.
My second day back at work was uneventful. At home, Grace was giving Betsey a run for her money. I came home to a tired wife and a sleeping daughter. The sleep had only just started, and Betsey looked drained to say the least.
Grace slept for a couple hours before demanding more all-night attention. Pacifiers are a small blessing.
May 19
Wednesday was much the same as Tuesday, so there's really not much to say about the day.
Like any other day, though, I had to watch my wife in tears as she tried to feed our little one. Breastfeeding is going alright, but it's also going painfully. It's not a bad latch; It's not bad positioning; It's not a lack of milk; It's just damn painful.
Nature's a cruel keeper. It asks so much of women, and I find it unbelievable that a woman is supposed to handle a hormonal drop, physical healing, and sustained pain through feeding and at the same time is expected to bond and have good feelings for this agent of terror. I find it hard enough when I'm rocking the girl through back pain and ear-splitting screams to keep my thoughts about her positive, and I know that this pales in comparison to what Betsey faces every 2 to 4 hours.
So as not to concern anyone, my little girl is amazingly awesome, when the screaming stops, and she sits there all cute, innocent, and peaceful, there's no measure for the warmth and love that I feel for her being. That said, you don't find a lot of candid thoughts from parents about how, at times, having their new child is not always the best thing that's ever happened to them. You start to feel like a bad parent, and all the older folks have lost their memories of these things to the passage of time. When I look at Grace, I see a wonderful future of happy family moments. It's just hard to get that image when I'm sleep deprived, and I can't hear my own thoughts. She's worth it though.
May 20th
So the night of May 19th into the morning of May 20th, Betsey and I saw nary a drop of sleep. Betsey had a lab at OHSU in Portland to get to that evening, and I was in no state for work. As the sun rose, the daughter fell asleep. She looked angelic. I called in fatigued to work, and Betsey and I both took our shot at some z's.
I think we got a couple hours, and then as noon approached, the responsibilities of the day grew more insistent. We packed the car with all the gear that Betsey's cousin Abby would need to watch Grace for the evening. I drove us as far as Salem, where I work, and started my day. Betsey continued up to Abby, who took charge of our lass. Betsey took the short hop up the hill to OHSU and started her 4-hour-plus lab.
From what we hear, Grace was pretty much a perfect girl in our absence. She had at least one first, meeting a dog. Ruby, an Irish Red Setter, was apparently intrigued by our little person, except at the end when she starting squalling, at which point Ruby looked in the carrier, looked at her
News of Grace being in Portland spread like wildfire. When Betsey returned to Abby's, she found it had been overrun. Grandma and Grandpa, Grandpa's friend Mike, and Grand Uncle Brent and Lori, had all descended on the place. Abby used the presence of Grandma and Grandpa to exit and get a few things taken care of. It's this kind of support that makes us wish we could live in Portland yesterday. We'll get there as soon as we can.
Edits:
Aunt Lucy and her friend Annalea also had stopped by.
Mike's last name removed for privacy.
On leaving, Betsey drove to Salem where I was picked up and took over driving responsibilities. Betsey called ahead to the Shari's to make a to-go order of breakfast platters. By the time we got home, the day had rolled over. Friday had started, and we hadn't taken a picture of Grace on Thursday. I call that busy.
May 21st
Things started to get better on Friday. How could things not feel better after Thursday? I was tired all day at work, but I'm getting use to that. From what I could tell on arriving home, Grace and Betsey had managed a pretty good day. We had a typical evening together, but when bed time rolled around, I retired to the family room couch. We'd devised a plan, and it started with me getting 8 hours of sleep Friday night.
I'll let you know how that plan turned out shortly.
2010-05-19
Grand Relief
May 17th
Monday was my first day back to work, and I left a house with two sleeping beauties. Once Betsey is up to it, she'll have to start posting the details of the days, because I'll be useless except on weekends and holidays.
In the evening, Grandma Marg drove down from Portland to provide some evening relief. She and Grace spent time together all night, while Betsey and I slept. Diapers were changed and upsets were soothed, and we were only woken for feedings. It was heaven. We are blessed and truly thankful.
Before Betsey and I fell asleep, she managed to make us both smile.
Betsey: I love you.
Myles: I love you 100%.
Betsey: I love you 100%.
<pause>
I would have said I love you 110%, but I didn't want to piss both of us off.
People claiming quantities more than 100% of immeasurable substance (effort, love, etc.) is a pet peeve for both of us.
May 18th
The second day back was a bit easier on me, but harder on Betsey. Even with Grandma Marg providing all day assistance, she indicated that it was far more busy with less chance to relax than the previous day. My bet is that having an extra person around was motivating, and the impetus to do things was stronger than it would have been otherwise.
Dinner was prepared for us, and we happily noted it was probably the first meal with something from all the major food groups that we'd had since Grace was born. There may have been something wrapped in a tortilla that qualified, but we couldn't be sure. This dinner was delicious, and food prepared with love always seems to taste better too. We enjoyed chicken, asparagus, fruit salad, and buttered bread of the baguette variety. Dessert was some store bought chocolate cake goodness.
The night came to a nice end, and we'll miss Grandma Marg. We're already looking forward to her next visit.
Monday was my first day back to work, and I left a house with two sleeping beauties. Once Betsey is up to it, she'll have to start posting the details of the days, because I'll be useless except on weekends and holidays.
In the evening, Grandma Marg drove down from Portland to provide some evening relief. She and Grace spent time together all night, while Betsey and I slept. Diapers were changed and upsets were soothed, and we were only woken for feedings. It was heaven. We are blessed and truly thankful.
Before Betsey and I fell asleep, she managed to make us both smile.
Betsey: I love you.
Myles: I love you 100%.
Betsey: I love you 100%.
<pause>
I would have said I love you 110%, but I didn't want to piss both of us off.
People claiming quantities more than 100% of immeasurable substance (effort, love, etc.) is a pet peeve for both of us.
May 18th
The second day back was a bit easier on me, but harder on Betsey. Even with Grandma Marg providing all day assistance, she indicated that it was far more busy with less chance to relax than the previous day. My bet is that having an extra person around was motivating, and the impetus to do things was stronger than it would have been otherwise.
Dinner was prepared for us, and we happily noted it was probably the first meal with something from all the major food groups that we'd had since Grace was born. There may have been something wrapped in a tortilla that qualified, but we couldn't be sure. This dinner was delicious, and food prepared with love always seems to taste better too. We enjoyed chicken, asparagus, fruit salad, and buttered bread of the baguette variety. Dessert was some store bought chocolate cake goodness.
The night came to a nice end, and we'll miss Grandma Marg. We're already looking forward to her next visit.
2010-05-17
Weekend Warriors
May 15th & 16th
A truly uneventful weekend, which is not at all something to complain about. The three of us took a couple small outings into town, but mainly just milled about the house trying to mentally prepare for my return back to work, and Betsey's return to school. Her lab takes her to OHSU in Portland on one random day each week. This week it is looking like Thursday, and Aunt Abby is going to look after her while Betsey is in class. In aid of all this, we ordered a breast pump and bought a bottle.
Let me just rant for a minute about bottles. Why the cuss aren't the nipples a standardized size at the base? Seriously, if I like, say, the Playtex nipples (BPA and pthalate free) and the Evenflo bottles (because they're glass), I'm cuss out of luck. Seriously? Cuss!! Cussing capitalist pig dogs!
Grace put it best:
Ahem.
The crib arrived in the mail, and I assembled it. It looks really nice in the unfinished nursery, which I really need to finish.
Actually, I guess I can kind of detail everything that needs to be done in the nursery. It might be interesting.
I can't remember if it was the weekend, or maybe Friday, but we ordered new closet doors for the nursery, and they are supposed to arrive at the Home Depot around the 21st. Once the doors are installed, I can put up the door trim. Once the door trim is up, I can accurately measure how much baseboard I need. Once I have the baseboard, I can miter and learn how to cope the wood. Then it's a similar story for the crown molding. Once everything is fitting correctly, I can prime and paint it before nailing it in place. With the visual elements completed, there is still some wiring to attend to, which means crawling under the house. One electrical outlet needs grounding still. Finally, the light switch needs replacing (maybe with a dimmer), and depending on how easy it looks, that switch should really get a proper ground as well. Over the weekend, I was in theattack attic examining the bracing in the ceiling for the fan installation. It wasn't what it needed to be, and I wasn't prepared to do the work right now, so we've decided to put off that piece of the renovation. It's been quite the learning experience.
This weekend, Grace also decided to sleep a little less well at night. She's been generally more fussy than in the first two weeks, which I guess is pretty normal. Generally, colic begins in the second week, so as long as we can avoid that, we'll be pretty pleased. She's had some rough moments. I cut my nails and, during a cleaning, ended up scratching her little bun in a place that gets dirty quite often. Her tummy button bled a couple drops (also apparently normal), and a few moments without hand protection led to a slew of new face scratches. So, we can understand her being a bit fussier, but that doesn't really make it easier.
So that's us for now. We're doing great all in all, but it's not easy, and, I guess, it's not really supposed to be. C'est la vie.
A truly uneventful weekend, which is not at all something to complain about. The three of us took a couple small outings into town, but mainly just milled about the house trying to mentally prepare for my return back to work, and Betsey's return to school. Her lab takes her to OHSU in Portland on one random day each week. This week it is looking like Thursday, and Aunt Abby is going to look after her while Betsey is in class. In aid of all this, we ordered a breast pump and bought a bottle.
Let me just rant for a minute about bottles. Why the cuss aren't the nipples a standardized size at the base? Seriously, if I like, say, the Playtex nipples (BPA and pthalate free) and the Evenflo bottles (because they're glass), I'm cuss out of luck. Seriously? Cuss!! Cussing capitalist pig dogs!
Grace put it best:
Ahem.
The crib arrived in the mail, and I assembled it. It looks really nice in the unfinished nursery, which I really need to finish.
Actually, I guess I can kind of detail everything that needs to be done in the nursery. It might be interesting.
I can't remember if it was the weekend, or maybe Friday, but we ordered new closet doors for the nursery, and they are supposed to arrive at the Home Depot around the 21st. Once the doors are installed, I can put up the door trim. Once the door trim is up, I can accurately measure how much baseboard I need. Once I have the baseboard, I can miter and learn how to cope the wood. Then it's a similar story for the crown molding. Once everything is fitting correctly, I can prime and paint it before nailing it in place. With the visual elements completed, there is still some wiring to attend to, which means crawling under the house. One electrical outlet needs grounding still. Finally, the light switch needs replacing (maybe with a dimmer), and depending on how easy it looks, that switch should really get a proper ground as well. Over the weekend, I was in the
This weekend, Grace also decided to sleep a little less well at night. She's been generally more fussy than in the first two weeks, which I guess is pretty normal. Generally, colic begins in the second week, so as long as we can avoid that, we'll be pretty pleased. She's had some rough moments. I cut my nails and, during a cleaning, ended up scratching her little bun in a place that gets dirty quite often. Her tummy button bled a couple drops (also apparently normal), and a few moments without hand protection led to a slew of new face scratches. So, we can understand her being a bit fussier, but that doesn't really make it easier.
So that's us for now. We're doing great all in all, but it's not easy, and, I guess, it's not really supposed to be. C'est la vie.
2010-05-15
Grandpa Visits
May 14th
In the morning, we got up and went to see the pediatrician. It was time for the two week visit (already). Our main concern was whether Grace was gaining enough weight. As I talked about already, the doctors had made us overly concerned by telling us she had lost the most weight they were comfortable with before we left the hospital. The home visit nurse had shown us she was gaining weight. Still, we were going to worry until she'd passed her birth weight.
Grace has been feeding like crazy (poor mom), and we're happy to say that she weighed in at 6 pounds 7 ounces. A full 3 ounces above her birth weight. Sweet relief! The doctor told us that we can let Grace sleep as long as she wants to at night, and, since she's being an especially good feeder, that we might think about introducing a pacifier a little early. Good to know!
Then the hard part of the visit. Her second PKU test (two tests are required of every newborn in Oregon). They stuck Grace in her other heel, and she behaved like a trooper. She squalled for a under a minute, and was basically quiet the entire time the technician was squeezing her heel to get the blood drops out.
After such a rough morning, Grace needed something good to fill her day. Luckily, Grandpa David came down to visit. He had recently celebrated his birthday, and seeing Grace was a part of that. Grace was perfectly behaved the entire time he was down and they had some good interactive moments together.
Towards the end of his visit, we all went out for a walk around the block, enjoying the aforementioned weather.
Additionally, David showed me some of his cool lenses for his camera. We played with polarizers, neutral density filters, and haze filters. David has recently started selling some prints and cards on his website, and had some of his pictures shown in a gallery. He's soon to be represented as part of a group of artists know as "Elysium Artists". With all this work, he has become quite the resource for information relating to photography, and I look forward to tapping into that once I get a decent camera.
In the morning, we got up and went to see the pediatrician. It was time for the two week visit (already). Our main concern was whether Grace was gaining enough weight. As I talked about already, the doctors had made us overly concerned by telling us she had lost the most weight they were comfortable with before we left the hospital. The home visit nurse had shown us she was gaining weight. Still, we were going to worry until she'd passed her birth weight.
Grace has been feeding like crazy (poor mom), and we're happy to say that she weighed in at 6 pounds 7 ounces. A full 3 ounces above her birth weight. Sweet relief! The doctor told us that we can let Grace sleep as long as she wants to at night, and, since she's being an especially good feeder, that we might think about introducing a pacifier a little early. Good to know!
Then the hard part of the visit. Her second PKU test (two tests are required of every newborn in Oregon). They stuck Grace in her other heel, and she behaved like a trooper. She squalled for a under a minute, and was basically quiet the entire time the technician was squeezing her heel to get the blood drops out.
After such a rough morning, Grace needed something good to fill her day. Luckily, Grandpa David came down to visit. He had recently celebrated his birthday, and seeing Grace was a part of that. Grace was perfectly behaved the entire time he was down and they had some good interactive moments together.
Towards the end of his visit, we all went out for a walk around the block, enjoying the aforementioned weather.
Additionally, David showed me some of his cool lenses for his camera. We played with polarizers, neutral density filters, and haze filters. David has recently started selling some prints and cards on his website, and had some of his pictures shown in a gallery. He's soon to be represented as part of a group of artists know as "Elysium Artists". With all this work, he has become quite the resource for information relating to photography, and I look forward to tapping into that once I get a decent camera.
2010-05-14
Getting Stronger / Growing Older
May 12th
Wednesday was a nice sunny day, and after lazing around the house with the wee one all day, we decided to get up and go for a walk. I was expecting a simple walk around the block, but Betsey was feeling ambitious. We took a walk to the local park, which, according to Google Maps, was a 4800 foot trek. It was maybe a bit too far for a recently discharged Betsey, so I went back to the house and brought the car over to the park for the trip home.
It was still a very happy time, and we started to learn about the ability of babies to bring complete strangers over to you for conversations. One woman came over and was really sweet. We could be her friend one day. Then, perhaps as nature's way of cautioning us, another woman came over. She was still nice, but she wasn't the type of person we'd choose to hang out with. She was just sooo animated and clearly having some sort of crisis that all her children were growing up. I hope things get better for her.
May 13th
Thursday was much less adventurous, particularly because Betsey over worked herself on the walk to the park. Nothing of much note happened during the day, but in the evening we gave cloth diapers a second try. Much like the first time we tried, her little body is still too small, and the diapers fail at containing that which they are designed to contain.
In trying the diapers this second time, though, the diaper cover rubbed up against her umbilical cord enough to help it off. It was a moment of, "Oh my gosh; she really is getting older!"
So her toes will never be this little and cute again, and her nose, and her eyes, and her ears, etc. I took some pictures of these parts. Most of the pictures came out blurry, so I'll try again tonight.
This parenting experience is, as I expected, pretty awesome, but I didn't imagine I'd be worried about her getting old so quickly
Wednesday was a nice sunny day, and after lazing around the house with the wee one all day, we decided to get up and go for a walk. I was expecting a simple walk around the block, but Betsey was feeling ambitious. We took a walk to the local park, which, according to Google Maps, was a 4800 foot trek. It was maybe a bit too far for a recently discharged Betsey, so I went back to the house and brought the car over to the park for the trip home.
It was still a very happy time, and we started to learn about the ability of babies to bring complete strangers over to you for conversations. One woman came over and was really sweet. We could be her friend one day. Then, perhaps as nature's way of cautioning us, another woman came over. She was still nice, but she wasn't the type of person we'd choose to hang out with. She was just sooo animated and clearly having some sort of crisis that all her children were growing up. I hope things get better for her.
May 13th
Thursday was much less adventurous, particularly because Betsey over worked herself on the walk to the park. Nothing of much note happened during the day, but in the evening we gave cloth diapers a second try. Much like the first time we tried, her little body is still too small, and the diapers fail at containing that which they are designed to contain.
In trying the diapers this second time, though, the diaper cover rubbed up against her umbilical cord enough to help it off. It was a moment of, "Oh my gosh; she really is getting older!"
So her toes will never be this little and cute again, and her nose, and her eyes, and her ears, etc. I took some pictures of these parts. Most of the pictures came out blurry, so I'll try again tonight.
This parenting experience is, as I expected, pretty awesome, but I didn't imagine I'd be worried about her getting old so quickly
2010-05-12
Snoozers
May 10th and May 11th
We were a pretty boring little family May 1oth and 11th. We stayed home and lazed around the house, getting some good bonding time in. The bonding really seems to be more bi-directional now that Grace has started keeping her eyes open for longer periods of time.
Grace also received her first package addressed to her. Apparently her friends S and E thought her wardrobe could use some geekiness. We couldn't agree more.
The binary shirt is encoded in Ascii. It's descriptive, or it will be when she fits it in a few months. The second is probably more accessible to the general public, and Betsey and I find its Sesame Street styled message entertaining and cute.
We were a pretty boring little family May 1oth and 11th. We stayed home and lazed around the house, getting some good bonding time in. The bonding really seems to be more bi-directional now that Grace has started keeping her eyes open for longer periods of time.
Grace also received her first package addressed to her. Apparently her friends S and E thought her wardrobe could use some geekiness. We couldn't agree more.
The binary shirt is encoded in Ascii. It's descriptive, or it will be when she fits it in a few months. The second is probably more accessible to the general public, and Betsey and I find its Sesame Street styled message entertaining and cute.
2010-05-11
Mother's Day Visit Extravaganza
I widened our blog so we can fit larger pictures of Grace on the page. It turns out most of the traffic on the internet is now running at a resolution greater than 1024 x 768, however, there's a sizable chunk that is in that zone, so the page is optimized for that size.
May 9th
Mother's Day was a day full of visitors. The morning started off with some family friends, the Thomases. They brought some beautiful sunflowers to brighten the house and took turns holding Grace. Unfortunately, we only caught Mr. Thomas on camera. The Thomases are expecting in a few weeks. They are going to be great parents, and seeing them hold Grace would have made that perfectly clear to anyone.
Aunt Kim arrived as the Thomases were leaving. She had yet to meet Grace, and it took about 10 minutes before she was telling Grace how much she loved her. Aunt Kim stayed a good chunk of the day and helped clean around the house. It was also made clear that it's nice to not be the smallest or youngest Catchpole anymore.
Aunt Chrys also stopped in a little later and stayed for quite a while, which was great, because the Catchpole numbers were about to be challenged.
Grandma Mathew, Aunt Lucy, Grandaunt Clare, and Great Grandma Jean arrived. There arrival was very exciting and the house was soon overflowing with smiles, laughs, and general goodwill. Everyone came down to facilitate the taking of a four generation picture.
Later in the evening, our doula Leah stopped by. Leah was, as you might imagine, incredibly helpful during labor and delivery. In addition, for us, she's one of those people we met and instantly felt completely comfortable with. When you meet people like that, you hang on to them. She had come over to ask Betsey some follow up questions, but she also brought us banana muffins. They were delicious and managed to get me to drink my first glass of cow's milk in something like 10 years.
At some point, everyone started trickling out, leaving a happy, sleepy, small Catchpole family in Corvallis counting all their blessings as they fell asleep.
May 9th
Mother's Day was a day full of visitors. The morning started off with some family friends, the Thomases. They brought some beautiful sunflowers to brighten the house and took turns holding Grace. Unfortunately, we only caught Mr. Thomas on camera. The Thomases are expecting in a few weeks. They are going to be great parents, and seeing them hold Grace would have made that perfectly clear to anyone.
Aunt Kim arrived as the Thomases were leaving. She had yet to meet Grace, and it took about 10 minutes before she was telling Grace how much she loved her. Aunt Kim stayed a good chunk of the day and helped clean around the house. It was also made clear that it's nice to not be the smallest or youngest Catchpole anymore.
Aunt Chrys also stopped in a little later and stayed for quite a while, which was great, because the Catchpole numbers were about to be challenged.
Grandma Mathew, Aunt Lucy, Grandaunt Clare, and Great Grandma Jean arrived. There arrival was very exciting and the house was soon overflowing with smiles, laughs, and general goodwill. Everyone came down to facilitate the taking of a four generation picture.
Later in the evening, our doula Leah stopped by. Leah was, as you might imagine, incredibly helpful during labor and delivery. In addition, for us, she's one of those people we met and instantly felt completely comfortable with. When you meet people like that, you hang on to them. She had come over to ask Betsey some follow up questions, but she also brought us banana muffins. They were delicious and managed to get me to drink my first glass of cow's milk in something like 10 years.
At some point, everyone started trickling out, leaving a happy, sleepy, small Catchpole family in Corvallis counting all their blessings as they fell asleep.
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