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Friday, September 14, 2007

A week of firsts

We had two firsts this week that I would have been happy to avoid altogether. Oh well, they won't be lasts, either.

First, Kiddo got sick.

I felt so bad for him. He felt lousy, lousy, lousy. This was evidenced by the fact that he simply lay on my chest without moving for hours at a time.

Second, Inexperienced Dad and I both got sick, along with a house guest of ours. Somehow we missed the memo that only one of should be allowed to get sick at a time. The only way we are surviving at all is because of a dear friend who came over and cleaned up throw-up for us and another who took kiddo all day today so we could sleep. They were two angels of mercy, who made this so much more do-able.

Tender mercies indeed.

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Waxing Nostalgic (already)

By now you know that kiddo is going to be a big brother. I keep looking in stores for a cute t-shirt or onesie that says "big brother" but I haven't found it yet. Probably because Kiddo is still wearing 12-mo or smaller clothes. Oh well. Maybe when Baby2 comes along and Kiddo is 15 months old we'll be able to find something in his size.

They say that kids grow up fast. You see the commercials about how life comes at you fast. The parents put the baby in the car seat and then when they get in the front seat of the car, the baby in the car seat is now a teenager. I always thought the ads were kind of cute, but mostly hyperbole that I didn't believe or couldn't relate to.

Now I'm looking at Kiddo at 9 months and I'm thinking: "holy cow."

Most of you are parents, so you've long understood the realizations that I'm having as Kiddo hits 3/4 of a year old. Our little boy with the toothless smile is no more. Now he's got two bottom teeth and four ones coming in on the top. (As an aside, I have to say I feel bad for the poor kid. The first tooth ruptured on July 4th. Now, barely two months later, he's about to rupture the sixth tooth. I thought they were supposed to come at a rate of one a month?) Kiddo is crawling vigorously across the floor and pulls himself up on anything he can grab. He stands on two wobbly legs, and turns like he wants to walk away, and I'm afraid that all too soon he will.

My kid is only 9 months old, and I'm waxing nostalgic.

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Monday, August 27, 2007

What secret?

Last night I inadvertently shared a secret with my whole ward (i.e. church congregation). Me and my stinking big mouth.

We had a ward fireside and the speaker asked for a volunteer to help read a scripture. C and I were sitting on the second row, and she raised her hand. The speaker had her come up and stand next to him so she could be heard by the whole congregation. It became apparent that he intended for C to stay up there reading scriptures and writing on the chalk board, so a member of the ward leadership brought up a chair for C to sit on between readings.

The speaker quipped, "Why does she get a chair to sit on and I don't."

Without thinking, I blurted out, "Because she is expecting."

I think only about 3 people in the room knew the information before my little outburst.

What a way to make a public announcement. :) I guess since all my neighbors know now, we might as well tell all of you too!!

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Friday, July 06, 2007

Off to the Big Apple

Yesterday I sent C and Kiddo off to the Big Apple. It was an interesting experience. They have gone places before (most notably twice to see C's parents in California), but this time was different for me.

Maybe Kiddo and I are more alike than I realized: I think I had a bit of separation anxiety.

C needed to go to New York for job training. She got a new job where she will be rating English oral proficiency for ESL learners. It's a great opportunity for her: it is in her field (recently she got her MA in second language acquisition), it pays well, and she will be able to work from home. The work is computer-based, so she can do it whenever she has time; she's not tied to a clock. It really is a great opportunity for her.

So yesterday they left. They flew to Minneapolis where they met C's mom (who had flown in from California), then together the three of them continued on to New York. On the second flight, C took this picture. Grandma is the woman in the picture.

The flight wasn't very full, so Kiddo got to sit in his own seat. Doesn't he look so big? Can you believe he is only just over seven months old?

Man time is flying by.

So I'm a lone man in the wilderness. I'm driving down to St. George this weekend for a relative's baby blessing. I really would love to have gone with them, but somebody has to stay home and earn the Big Bucks.

Plus, in two weeks we get to leave for a two week trip to Palmyra, Toronto, Niagra Falls, Kirkland, and Nauvoo. I've only been at my job for less than a year, so I can't really take the whole month of July off.

On an interesting side note, it is funny how when you read the blogs of people online you start to think of them as your friends, yet these bloggers practically don't even know you exist. I realized this when I told C that she should look up Kage from Tales from the Crib and Glass Posse. Then I realized that might be really weird. What would you do? Leave a comment on her blog... "Hey we're going to be in NYC and wanted to know if you wanted visitors"? That's kind of creepy.

So I guess C and Kiddo and Grandma will have to brave the NY scene on their own. I hear they are having a great time. Time for me to get back to the business of the Big Bucks.

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

A new era begins

A new era begins in Kiddo's life today. Okay, that's maybe a bit melodramatic, but I've been saving up <grin>.

Today we discovered that Kiddo's first tooth has broken through the gums.

C noticed it after the barbecue we had at my mom's house. We were standing around getting ready to leave when Kiddo grabbed C's finger and shoved it in his mouth, then bit it.

I tried to take some pictures, but Kiddo wasn't about to have any of that.

After the magic of the moment had passed, I found myself wondering just how much this tooth was going to cost somebody over the coming years.

The tooth will require semi-annual checkups over the course of his life. Then there is the toothpaste and toothbrushes needed to keep it healthy. Occasionally there may be a cavity to fill and braces required to keep it looking pretty. Sometime in about five years he'll probably lose it and the Tooth Fairy will have to fork overt the then-going-rate.

Then I realized that these are just the baby teeth. This particular tooth won't be all that expensive after all.

Well, I guess we'll hold out on judgment until we get the bill from the Tooth Fairy.

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Would you like some advice with that salad?

So today I was out for lunch with a friend and I forgot to bring any toys for Kiddo to play with. I'll chalk that up to being new at the "busy boy" stage.

Anyways. I gave Kiddo a napkin to tear and chew (which if you asked him, he would prefer to the toy any day). I am chatting away and the man from the next table came over to me and told me that Kiddo was going to choke on the napkin if he tried to swallow. I thanked him for his attention.

Now I wasn't really offended. I will admit that I had been chatting more than I had been paying attention to the chewing of the napkin. And I did pull quite a wad out of his mouth. I rummaged around in the diaper bag and found Kiddo's sunglasses. He promptly took them of his head and played happily.

And then our concerned neighbor came over again to let me know that Kiddo was poking his eye with the sunglasses. I smiled and said, "I guess he'd better learn not to do that pretty quick." In my defense, they were child sunglasses and not particularly pointy. Kiddo is also getting coordinated enough that I'm not too worried about him accidentally gouging out his eyes.

Again I was not too offended. But later in the meal I did check to see if our neighbor was still there before I gave Kiddo the straw to play with. Maybe I should be more concerned about these things. Or maybe my neighbor should be less concerned. Who knows?

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Job Satisfaction

I love being a mom! I really do. I always thought I would love being a mom, but I am still somewhat surprised that the whole thing hasn't overwhelmed me. Of course, I'm only six months and 1 kiddo into the process, so maybe I'm just naive... On the other hand, I am hopefully learning things at a pace that will keep up with the challenges in parenting.

Some of the things that have allowed me to not get overwhelmed:

  1. A wonderful, supportive husband. There is not enough space on this blog for me to explain how wonderful he is in supporting me at this mother thing. Suffice it to say he is the best dad/husband we could ask for.
  2. I have ample opportunities to get out and do other things. I get to do tutoring a few days a week, I get out on my own every couple of days, etc.
  3. I have many other things to focus on. Things which make mothering not as intense, but that don't distract me for long periods of time: I volunteer with a youth exchange program, with our church, etc.
  4. I have absolutely the cutest little boy there is!

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Friday, June 08, 2007

Home Sweet Home

We just returned from a week long trip visiting the relatives. It was an 11-hour drive each way so I was a bit nervous to see how Kiddo would do.

He did great.

On the way there we drove much of the night and then slept in the car for a few hours before completing the last bit across the border. While Kiddo didn't love sleeping in his car seat, he did sleep quite well in our arms! =)

He took the change in schedule, unfamiliar surroundings, and many new faces right in stride. He charmed everyone, including his own parents.

He even made the mostly day trip home in good spirits; especially if someone was sitting next to him in the back seat.

I am glad to be back and on a bit more normal schedule, but we had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed all the relatives!

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Monday, May 28, 2007

He IS a cute little boy

Check out this video of our adorable little boy...


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Friday, May 25, 2007

Catching up

I know, I know! I am not behind, I am just getting started. But still... it is easy to feel a bit behind when you can't figure out what to eat or wear because grocery shopping and laundry haven't been done in at least forty-eleven weeks.

So, to catch up, I ...

  • Went shopping for two hours in three stores (sans dh and kiddo) to buy ingredients for 7 recipes, each of which is at least doubled for the freezer
  • Cooked one of the recipes furiously
  • Wore the same clothes I wore yesterday so I that I would at least be covered while Kiddo and I
  • Went to the Zoo for the whole afternoon and
  • Left a whole pile of dirty dishes and piles of laundry
If you ask me, the Zoo was the best part.

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Sunday, May 13, 2007

Reflections of a Happy Mother's Day

As you know, today was Mother's Day. I wanted to write a great post in advance that would be posted on Mother's Day morning. But, as has been characteristic for me lately, I didn't get it done. Happy Mother's Day anyway, sweetheart! (However, bloggerland, rest assured that this is not my first such profession today...)

I know I've been conspicuously absent recently. I guess it is even more conspicuous since I figured out how to make the posts automatically shade based on the post author. There have been a lot of pink posts in a row now. I'll try to get some more blue posts in once in a while. :)

Since it is Mother's Day evening now, I thought I'd share with you a couple of reflections from a happy Mother's Day.


First, this morning I got up early to get things ready for Mother's Day. Well, I didn't really pick the time, but Kiddo did. He was ready to get up before seven o'clock, but his momma wasn't quite ready, and asked for fifteen more minutes. So Kiddo and I went into the living room, and shut the bedroom door.

We started by wrapping a couple of presents, and signing the cards. Then, when that was done, we sat and played for a few minutes. I sat with him on my lap for a while, and I watched him observe the world around him. I am amazed at how observant he seems to be. He is funny in that when somebody is holding him, he can sometimes practically ignore the person who holds him up, while he looks at everything and everybody else. It is funny; if C is holding him, he will all-but ignore her and watch me. She passes him to me, and the same thing, but in reverse.

As I watched him ignore me this morning, it occurred to me that this is a metaphor for the future. Today he stands on my lap (with help), or sits on my knee, and because of me, he is able to have a better view of his surroundings. There will come a time when the possibilities of the world are open to him. He will stand on the shoulders of his parents as we stand on the shoulders of our own parents, and on down the generations, each generation benefiting from the sacrifices, hard work, and accomplishments of the one previous.

He may not be aware of the benefit of the vantage point he gains because of his parents influence, but as I watched him this morning, my appreciation grew for my own mother and father, upon whose shoulders I stand today, who gave me so many opportunities and advantages in the world.

In particular, this Mother's Day, we honor our mothers, whose love, dedication, and sacrifices have greatly enhanced our lives, but also allow us to provide an even firmer foundation for our children. Thank you, on behalf of ourselves and our posterity. Your sacrifices are not in vain, nor are they unappreciated, even if they seem unnoticed.

Another reflection I had today occurred as I wrestled with our five-month-old during Church. Some days he is calm and well-behaved. Today he was restless. He didn't want to be held, and he didn't want to be laid down. He was tired, but didn't want me to put him to sleep. I gained a greater appreciation for what C goes through all day long. It's not that I've not thought about it before, but after even a single hour of wrestling with him, I was ready for a break. I'm amazed that C is cheerful and does it for 9 hours in a row while I'm at work. She really is a wonderful woman. I can't believe I'm so lucky to have her as the mom of our family. C, you are an angel, and I love you desperately. You are the love of my life.

Happy Mother's Day. To C, to my mom, my mother-in-law, and to all women everywhere. You deserve to be celebrated everyday, but I'm glad we set aside a day especially to do it as well.


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Thursday, May 10, 2007

The Million Dollar Smile

Kiddo smiles a lot. At everyone he meets. It appears that he likes to smile. I would go so far as to say that he loves to smile. But in all reality, it is my opinion that what he loves is the reaction he gets from people when he smiles. He seems to have learned that smiling at people universally results in a return smile.

What is especially cute now is that he seems to be differentiating between people he knows (large unreserved smiles, often squeals of delight) and people he is meeting (slightly hesitant, waiting for a response). It is so fun to watch him interact.

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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

It is beginning....

Today I left Kiddo on the floor while I worked on a project a few footsteps away. I looked up after just moments and he had moved about 3 ft. to go after a container of wipes.

I'm not sure what the allure of wipes is, but I believe it is the belief that wipes belong to the set of objects called Not Toys. Did Kiddo roll from back to front the first time for a toy? No, it was for a plastic bag. Does a lost toy prompt to wiggle across the bed? No, it is an open book.

Given that our bottom shelves are currently filled with Not Toys, I'm giving them about 2 weeks.

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

Graduation

Sorry we've been a bit quiet over here. Things sure aren't quiet in real life!

Today I graduated with my Master of Arts degree!!!!!!!! I am so excited for this milestone. It has been a long road (sometimes quite bumpy), but one I would not trade for anything.

I am so happy and proud of the things that have happened these last few months. I think this picture about sums it up for me...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket


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Friday, April 20, 2007

Matters of the Head and Heart

Some things I know with my head but don't always know with my heart (or show by my actions)...

1)
Things always look better in the morning (though lately a few hours of sleep will do the trick).

2) I always feel better once I have gotten out of bed.

3) I am always happier when I do the chore instead of avoiding it by taking a "much needed" break.

4)
As a parent, I can only influence by my actions and decisions, not guarantee.

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

The Physical and Spiritual

I've been reading the most recent issue of Segullah, which is dedicated to the topic of our mortal tabernacles. The essays are thoughtful and inspiring. And so I have been thinking about bodies.

One of the things I think is most amazing about my physical body is what it has taught me about my spirit. I am able to understand the spiritual concepts that run parallel to hunger, feasting, being filled, etc. because of my bodily experiences.

When I was pregnant I remember being at times consumed with concern for the physical well-being of the child I was carrying. As I contemplated all the possibilities for physical impairment, it came to me that none of them matter, so long as the spirit remains healthy. That provided great comfort and strengthened my faith in an eternal purpose for life.

Now that Kiddo is here and healthy, I find myself very watchful of his physical well-being: I guard his naps, I watch for any signs of illness, I closely track his bodily functions. The question then arises: Am I (will I be) as careful with his spiritual health?

Will I guard his opportunities for feeling the spirit? Will I be aware of the symptoms of spiritual illness? Will I keep track of his spiritual growth?

I hope so.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Power of Example

Last night as we watched the news, a local news story showed store surveillance camera footage of a purse snatching caught on tape. Typically, such an occurrence wouldn't make the 10 o'clock news, but this one did because as the thief stole the purse, she was reprimanding a young child saying, "Get back here Chrissy! No. That is not yours."

Do as I say, not as I do, eh?

The video is astonishing, really. Here you have a young child, and presumably, her mother. While the mother is stealing somebody's purse, she is telling her child not to take what isn't hers.

Example is a powerful teacher. Much more powerful than words alone. This is just one case in point.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

Do you ever stop wondering...

Do you ever stop wondering if your baby is breathing? Am I more paranoid than most parents, since Kiddo is now more than four months old and I still wonder if he is breathing in his crib?

Am I weird?

My guess is that this is still pretty normal for a first-time-dad of a 4-month-old. Then again, maybe it isn't and I'm an irrational freak. I can live with that.

In any case, my feelings of discomfort have heightened since Kiddo has started sleeping longer at night (some nights).

Last week there was a night when Kiddo ate and went to bed at about 7:30 PM. We didn't hear from him until around 3:30 AM. That was an eight hour stretch. I had to get up sometime after 1:00 to go into his room to make sure he was okay. Sure enough, he was just sleeping. I went back to bed convinced that he was seconds away from waking up, but he slept like two more hours.

When Kiddo was first born, I wasn't sure I could handle the stress of him waking up every couple of hours. Now I wonder if I can handle him sleeping through it!

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Monday, April 09, 2007

How Hypnobabies Worked for Me

The first post in this series

The second post in this series

I started into labor on a Thursday evening. DH and I taught a class that night together, which turned out to be really handy. First, it kept my mind occupied for a couple of hours. Second, there was a clock in the back of the classroom and that made it really easy to keep track of my contractions. By the time we left for the 40 minute drive home, they were about 5-6 minutes apart. I was kind of bummed because it was a week before my due date and I had just turned in my thesis the Monday of that week. That meant I had not yet done the other things I had wanted to do to prepare for Kiddo's birth: a haircut, an eyebrow wax, and a pedicure. So on the way home from our class we stopped for a late night haircut at a friend's house.

The contractions continued through the night and I felt in control of my body for all of that time. I use the relaxation techniques to stay on top of the contractions all through the next morning. Finally around noon, I decided to go to the hospital instead of to my pedicure appointment. I couldn't resist stopping off to have my eyebrows waxed on the way though.

I guess all that is a pretty good indication as to how well I was doing through early labor. Once at the hospital, they checked me in and decided this was it. After a bit I went ahead and used the CD track intended for labor (as opposed to preparation for labor). It was about an hour long and it really helped me to focus and shut off for a while. I got to use a spa tub and that helped as well.

Unfortunately, it was about this time that the nurse started showing concern that the baby wasn't responding like (s)he should. When she started talking about internal monitoring, I started to feel a bit of panic. I started to realize that we could end up having a C-section and I knew I would be much happier having already had the epidural in for that to happen. In addition, I was getting to a point where I felt I was barely handling the contractions and the thought of having my membranes ruptured artificially and the monitors inserted was more than I could handle. So I had the epidural put in.

Long story short, I did end up having a C-section, for which I am very grateful as it most likely saved our little boy's life.

Coming soon..."Final Reflections on a Hypnobabies birth".

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Preparing for a Hypnobabies Birth or How I took a 35 minute nap each day and counted it for practice in labor

The first post in this series

No joke -- just as finished my last post, the CD player (set to random) flipped over to a Hypnobabies CD left in there from before Kiddo's birth. In an instant, I was transported back to the weeks before Kiddo was born...

I decided rather late in my pregnancy to go the hypnobabies route, so my CDs came with the instruction to do two exercises a day. Each one lasted about 30 minutes which meant an hour of my day needed to go to the course. This was somewhat trying for me as I was working gangbusters on my thesis at the time and trying to complete it before Kiddo's birth. On the other hand, it was nice to have a planned time to relax.

So I dutifully began practice in relaxation and self-hypnosis. I did really well for the first few weeks. I was amazed at how good I got at relaxing and turning my body off. When the task turned from just relaxing to learning how to get up and walk around while in a self-hypnotized state,I kind of fell off of my practice schedule. I never really got well practiced in the later techniques, but I did get pretty good at relaxing and doing it very quickly.

I thought I had pretty good memories of the course, but when the CD came up after my last post, and I heard the voice of the guide and the start up music, I had a rush of odd emotions, not all of which were positive.

Up next..."How Hypnobabies Worked for Me"

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The Hypnobabies Choice

At our first pre-natal visit for Kiddo, the Dr. asked three questions,

"Are you planning to breastfeed?"
"Are you planning on an epidural?"
"What are you plans for birth control after the baby?"

The third question really caught me off-guard. I mean, how far was that from my mind?

I had already decided to breastfeed if I could, but I wasn't really sure about the epidural thing. I had heard so many mixed opinions and ideas about it that I just wasn't sure.

Now my Dr. was great about supporting me in anything I decided to do, but he wasn't always great at providing information unless I asked for it. And me being me, I didn't really ask him about it until I had figured it out for myself.

After much research (and a blog post I really liked), we decided to go the self-hypnosis route. I felt kind of weird about it because I am one of the most skeptical people I know. But I thought it might be worth a shot.

I selected the Hypnobabies program after a not so helpful hospital class on natural methods. I felt good about it and DH was very supportive of the choice.

So was it a good choice? After secretly hoping for a birth like this one, I was interested to see how the whole thing turned out.

Stay tuned for the next installment... "Preparing for a Hypnobabies Birth" or "How I took an 35 minute nap each day and counted it for practice in labor".

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Assumptions, false and true

We make a lot of assumptions about the people around us. Based on available information, we try to "figure out" the people around us. Last week, I was looking at our car through the eyes of a stranger (don't ask), and I saw some interesting things. I imagine that people make assumptions about us when they see our car.

The problem is, I bet that in many cases those assumptions are actually incorrect.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Consider the following attributes (for lack of a better word) of our car.

  • Opener on driver's front visor.
  • License plate cover written in Russian.
  • Orange spiral-bound hymnal in back window.
  • Car-seat base in middle-position in back seat.
  • CD holder on visor on passenger side.
  • Current BYU Graduate Student parking permit on front window.
Based on these attributes, you might make the following assumptions about the car owner(s):
  • Owner lives in a home (hence the garage-door opener).
  • Owner is LDS (hence the LDS hymnbook in back window).
  • Owner has at least one young child (hence the car seat).
  • Owner, probably male, served an LDS mission to Russia (combination of hymnbook and Russian license plate).
  • Owner is probably plural (owners), and they are probably married (due to assumed LDS status, license plate cover, and car-seat combination).
  • The female owner probably has a church calling where she plays the piano or organ (hence the spiral-bound hymnal).
  • Owner likes to listen to a variety of CDs on any given trip (hence the plethora of CDs in the visor).
  • Male owner is a graduate student at BYU (due to parking sticker, and due to evidence of young child at home).
If you made these assumptions about us, you'd be kind of correct. The truth is:
  • This owner lives in a condo, with a restricted access gate, hence the gate opener (not a garage-door opener after all).
  • This owner is indeed LDS.
  • This owner does indeed have one small child. Young enough that his car seat has a separate base station for the car.
  • These owners are indeed plural, and married. :)
  • The male owner didn't serve a mission to Russia. That would be the female owner. (It was the male owner, however, who talked the female owner into buying the license plate cover. After she translated it for him (It says: "I may drive slowly, but I'm in front of you." My mother thinks this is very funny.)).
  • While the female owner does play the piano, it is the male owner who is the ward organist (in addition to being the Elder's Quorum President; this is because the other organist in the ward is the Bishop).
  • While the owners used to listen to a wide variety of music on any given trip, now they just listen to Hawaiian music, in order to entertain the young Kiddo in the back seat. In particular, he likes the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow," Hawaiian version. That's pretty much the only song we listen to in the car anymore.
  • The male owner is not a graduate student. The female owner, however, will graduate with her Master's degree later this month (congratulations dear!).
It is interesting to consider the false assumptions I'd make about myself if I were looking at my car from the outside. Chances are, I make similar false (and true) assumptions about people all the time.

That is, after all, why they are assumptions. Based on your life experience and the evidence at hand. Even if it is misleading.

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Race for the Cure for breast cancer

On May 12, your "Inexperienced Parents" are taking Kiddo and together are participating in the 2007 Race for the Cure in Salt Lake City. Race for the Cure is a fundraiser to support finding a cure for breast cancer.

One in seven women will be stricken with breast cancer in her lifetime and the more we raise, the more the Komen Salt Lake City Race for the Cure® of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in our own community and support the national search for a cure.

Please join us in the fight by pledging in support of our participation in the Race or contributing generously to Komen Salt Lake City. Your tax-deductible contribution will fund innovative outreach and awareness programs for medically underserved communities in Salt Lake City and national breast cancer research. It is easy to make a donation. Whatever you can give will help! We truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on our progress.

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Stay tuned for updates as we get closer to race day!

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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Event Planning with a Baby

This weekend I was on charge of a rather large event. It involved quite a bit of planning and quite a bit of work as the day got closer.
Last year I did a similar event and worked like crazy. I remember coming home tired to the bone and crashing. It was the next day we found out I was pregnant.

This year I recognized that I would not be able to keep up the same pace in preparation. For some reason having a 4-month-old really makes things happen at a different pace. And overall, I was successful in both the mothering of the day and the event itself. I took things an hour at a time, worked while he slept, got help for when he was awake, etc.

The only rough part for kiddo was going to sleep in a strange place (his stroller in a dark room) and having to wake up to come home.

Oh well, you can't win them all. But I won most of it!

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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Cute as a puppy

When I was almost 8, my only sibling was born: a brother. And he was adorable!

I think my mother did a good job of preparing me for the change and for helping me cope with the new challenges that came with no longer being an only child. When I struggled with not being noticed anymore in favor of the cute new baby, she told me "The day will come when only you and I and dad will think he is cute. Kind of like with kittens and puppies. There will come a day when we are the ones who like him."

Trouble was, it never quite happened that way. He stayed cute and still is.

But hearing this made me feel really good as an eight-year-old. Like I was in on some secret. Some secret you say? Well, after 21 years (Happy Birthday, Bro!), I think I've figured it out.

I think what she meant was that it is a privilege to be family. Because it means sticking it out with someone even when things aren't hunky-dory.

Why is that a privilege? Because serving when it isn't convenient, giving your all even when you're exhausted, and laughing when the jokes aren't funny makes you happy. Giving to another on that level is what it means to be a sister, a wife, and now a mother.

So when Kiddo smiles and charms everyone else and then cries in my arms for an hour, I smile. Because I have the blessing of being there even when he isn't charming, when I'm really tired, and I'll be there when the jokes aren't funny. That is what it means to be a mother.

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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Shrinking Cabbage Patch Doll

Do you remember my post in February where I showed a comparison picture of how Kiddo had grown?

It turns out, I think the Cabbage Patch doll is shrinking. They just don't make them like they used to. Check this picture out...



Can you believe how the doll is shrinking over time? It's amazing, isn't it? :)

(And because of the way the images are cropped--to Kiddo's size--it does seem that the doll is shrinking. Maybe to show Kiddo's growth it would be better to re-crop the images, keeping the doll a consistent size. Ahh well, another project for a day when I don't have an impending work deadline...)

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Monday, March 26, 2007

Making it Look Easy

For my birthday (yes, I had one of those recently) we went out to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner. We decided to take Kiddo with us, in part because I couldn't imagine celebrating my birthday without him.

He was so good he made being a parent look easy.


First, he was cute and smiley to all of the table neighbors. Then he got a bit fussy and I nursed him right there at the table thanks to my Bebe au Lait. I don't even think the other half of the table even noticed. Then he watched the table show and was adorably startled when the chef lit the table on fire.

And then he fell asleep in the stroller for the second half of the meal. It really was a lucky night; at the end I turned to DH and said "Kiddo makes this parenting thing look way too easy."

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Saturday, March 24, 2007

The Psychology of Sleep

Last night Kiddo slept for another 6 1/2 hour stretch. The great news of the day? I slept through 5 hours of it. Now, kiddo did wake up three times; and three times my DH (and I mean dear) got up and put the plug back in and Kiddo went back to sleep. What is weird is that I never heard him cry...

It turns out that even though the monitor is right over my head and I am very attuned to his noises, when I feel no responsibility for responding to Kiddo--based on a previous tactical decision--I don't hear Kiddo, much less wake up for it.

What is funny is that 2 weeks ago, DH could sleep through any nighttime escapades without stirring. Now he wakes up and takes care of the Kiddo before I even hear him.

Seems that the person who feels the responsibility is more likely to wake up.

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Daily dose of antibodies

When C and Kiddo came back from California, they came home to:

  • A clean bedroom

  • A straightened kitchen

  • A cleaned bathroom

  • A kiddo-ready crib and bedroom AND

  • A sick husband

Welcome home.

I was actually feeling fine until about 2 hours after they got home, when I started to get a sore throat. I wondered for a bit whether or not it really was a cold, but by Tuesday morning, it was abundantly clear: I was sick.

I stayed home from work, in an effort to quarantine myself and keep my co-workers safe from my bio-hazard cold, but that means that instead of sharing with my co-workers, I shared with C and with Kiddo.

Who are both now sick.

And it's C's birthday today. Um, happy birthday, honey?

I did have hope for a while that they wouldn't get sick. In fact, I hoped that C's body would produce the necessary antibodies to keep both her and Kiddo from getting whatever ugly virus had invaded my system.

As Kiddo would eat, I'd inform him of the necessity of getting good antibodies to prevent him from getting sick.

Unfortunately it didn't work. Kiddo started getting sick on Wednesday evening, and C started getting sick last night. Kiddo's temperature is hovering near 310.9 Kelvin. Sounds pretty bad, huh.

Anyway, now I'm headed back to work (albeit late) and leaving poor Kiddo and C to fend for themselves at home today. I'm hoping they'll get better.

C and I promised to share everything when we got married. Is it too late to amend the agreement to exclude viruses?

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

Getting in touch with the inner Hawaiian

I never believed people when they said you could see a baby start to demonstrate individual personality before the first birthday. As far as I was concerned, babies were just babies, and they were all alike.

I was wrong.

Kiddo definitely has personality.

In fact, one of the funniest things about him is his love for Hawaiian music. I know this sounds crazy, but it is true: when Kiddo is crying (especially in his car seat), if we turn on Hawaiian music, he calms down and stops crying.

In particular, he seems to respond to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (from his album "Facing Future").

Kiddo encountered this song while in California visiting his grandparents, and I ended up buying the whole album on iTunes and buring a CD. Now we have a copy in the house and a copy in the car. When he starts to fuss, we turn on the CD, and he calms right down.

It works like a drug. Its bizarre. But he likes getting in touch with his inner Hawaiian, I suppose.

No wonder he loves it when we go eat at Rumbi Island Grill. Maybe we'll have to take him to see the real thing.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2007

A great night

Last night Kiddo slept for 6 hours straight. Well, he did kind of wake up and DH went and put the plug back in. And then he fussed and DH carried him in to put him back in the bassinet.

But then he slept without getting up for his 2am feeding. Wonder if it'll ever happen again! Ok, it'll happen again; he won't be getting up to eat at 2am between the ages of 4 and 14 for sure. But I wonder if it will happen again in the next 2 weeks!

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Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Back from California

Kiddo and I had a great time in California visiting the grandparents. We...
-ate yummy Chinese food (well, I did, Kiddo had it on the delayed menu)
-took long baths (true for each of us in our relative spheres)
-slept in uncle J's room

-planned our trip this summer to pick up uncle J from his mission
-napped at odd times and got up lots of times at night
-went on lots of walks in the warm California sunshine

Basically we were on vacation.

It is nice to be home, though.

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Sunday, March 18, 2007

The bi-annual interview

Since C and Kiddo are still out of town, I don't have much "daddy-related" stuff to write about, but I thought I'd share a funny experience that happened to me this week.

It was time for my bi-annual temple recommend interview this week, so I made my appointment with the stake and even showed up on time. I serve as the EQ president in my ward, so I'm very familiar with the Stake Presidency. The counselor I met with was the one that I do my regular PPI interviews with for the EQ.

When he got to the question where he asks if I regularly attend my church meetings including Priesthood meeting, I started to laugh, then replied in the affirmative.

He looked at me quizzically.

"Well," I explained, "I would imagine that if an EQ president had stopped attending meetings regularly, a temple recommend interview probably wouldn't be the first time you'd hear about it."

Well, I was amused. I recognize the standard-ness of the question, and the need to ask it, but it just struck me as funny when I heard it this time.

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Friday, March 16, 2007

Home Alone

I've been left to my own devices for 10 days while C and Kiddo are in California. For the most part, I'm doing okay. How do I cope?

By keeping busy. Very, very busy.

C left last Friday. I had a big deadline at work, so I stayed late on Friday (something like 9:30 PM). Saturday I got up and went to my Presidency meeting, then in the afternoon went with my mom to a movie (we saw "Bridge to Terabithia") and then went car shopping (for my mom). My brother (who was running for student body office) needed some help getting supplies from Sam's Club, and I have the only Sam's card in the family.

Sunday I got up and went to meetings and church. Then I ran to a neighbor's house for our monthly dinner. Than I ran to a meeting with a member of the stake presidency. Then I ran to my mom's house. Monday I went to work and stayed late again. My brother called half way through the day and needed me to run to Sam's again, so I took a couple-hour break to take care of that.

Tuesday I worked an hour late and then ended up running all over for stuff for my brother again. Wednesday was the first day I really had much time by myself. Thursday was the day they announced the winner of the elections; I ran to my Weight Watcher's meeting, and then over to the election results announcement--not the desired results--so we went back to my mom's to commiserate.

Today I wasn't feeling well, and got up late and went to work. Then I came home early and have been sitting on the couch wishing I weren't home alone on a Friday night--especially when I feel as crummy as I do tonight.

Good thing is that there are only 71 hours until C and Kiddo are back home.

Golly I can't wait. Maybe I'll be able to get some rest.... :)

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Tuesday, March 13, 2007

A question of heat

Greetings from sunny California! We are having a great time with the
grandparents and loving the sunny weather. Which brings up a question...

Kiddo has been nursing much more frequently since we arrived. Back home he
was eating every 3 hours or so. Here it has been every two. My mom
thinks that may be because it is warmer and he is sweating more. Anyone
have any experience with this or ideas? Thanks!

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Friday, March 09, 2007

To Grandmother's House We Go

Kiddo and I are off to visit the California grandparents today. DH is being left behind as Daring Young Mom says, to "earn ye olde family dollar."
Wish dad luck as he fends for himself for 10 days, and stay tuned for updates as I visit the land of my ancestors. (Parents are ancestors, right?)

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Thursday, March 08, 2007

An open apology to all geese everywhere

So it turns out that geese in general aren't pigs. It seems to just be a particular goose. Kiddo and I went to feed the ducks geese yesterday. Our duck pond is slowly getting taken over by a flock of Canadian geese. The goose I mentioned earlier is still there, but he (or she? How do you know?) has been joined by about seven other geese.

Well, when we got to the pond, I tried to avoid the geese because of our last experience. However, there were some geese that came up and were eating with the ducks, sharing nicely. Then Piggy came over and started chasing away the other ducks and geese.

So, I wish to apologize to all the offended geese out there, for calling you all pigs. It turns out that geese, like humans, have their own personalities. And just like you shouldn't judge humanity by one person, I guess you ought not judge geesedom by one stray goose. Even if he is a pig in disguise.

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Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Terms of Endearment

So I have never been big on using terms of endearment like dear, honey, snugglebuns, etc. DH and I even have a standing joke about "darling" since for the first couple of years we were married, he inadvertently would only use the term when he was slightly annoyed with what I had done or was gently teasing me about something brainless I had done. In fact, we really only use one term of endearment for each of us; in both cases one derived from our names.

So nothing has surprised me more than how many names I can come up with to call Kiddo.

Cutie, sweetie, honey, sweetums, love bug, sweetheart, cute boy, buddy... and that is where I get myself into trouble.

These words have started flowing so freely for me that I have accidentally started calling DH buddy. Every time I do it, he raises his eyebrows at me and says "Buddy?"

But I can't help it. It seems the dam has broken and he really ought to be glad it isn't snugglebuns!

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Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Leaving the house

Leaving the house in the morning has never been easy for me. Not that I don't like my job, because I do. Its just that I really like being with my wife. Having a baby has only complicated the situation.

We were married for almost four years before Kiddo came along. C and I met at work, so for the first year and a half of our marriage, we were able to get up and go together in the morning. Then I graduated from college and got a "real" job.

For the first time leaving for work meant leaving my beautiful wife behind. It meant being by myself for hours and hours. That made if kind of hard to get out the door.

Last summer I got a new job; it's a job I love, and C noted that for the first time in a while I was getting up early to get out the door for work. In fact, on average I was getting to work about an hour earlier than I had been for my previous job (both jobs have flexible schedules).

Then Kiddo came along. Now I'm finding it is really hard to get out the door in the morning.

To tell the truth, I do all right when he's asleep. The past week I've been trying to leave before 7. If I can get out the door before I see his smile, then I'm fine. But if I don't get out the door before that first smile of the morning comes, well then I'm toast.

Take today, for example. Today I got up at 6:15. I had hopes of catching the 6:50 train. Those hopes were dashed when I answered some e-mail before breakfast. That's okay, I decided, there is always the 7:05. But then C and Kiddo got up. We started talking. Then Kiddo started smiling. Then it was 7:15. At that point, I couldn't make it for the 7:20 train, so I kept playing with Kiddo. But I didn't stop early enough to catch the 7:35: I was pulling into the parking lot when the train pulled through my station. That meant I was on the 7:50 train.

But I ask you: who can resist a smile like this:



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Monday, March 05, 2007

Public Parenting

I have learned the secret! No more judgmental stares when your kids are out of control. Just explain your parenting philosophy to your child in a very loud voice, speaking of yourself in the third person so that everybody knows why you are torturing your children in this particular manner.

This weekend we went to the local Expo center for a Baby Expo. We had a good time, were suckered into only two purchases, and saw some pretty cool stuff. And we saw a lot of parents...

Most of the parents really never even made it on my radar, I only know they were there because there was an inordinate number of strollers present (I think I paid more attention to the strollers than to their occupants or the people pushing them!). There was, however, one major exception.

While we were waiting in line at the Babies R Us booth (I know, there was a line), there was a mother with a toddler a couple of people behind us. DH noticed them first because the child was on a leash, something he is not fond of. This image was exacerbated by the fact that the toddler was writhing on the floor, pulling at the leash attatched to his wrist and whining.

Now at this point, I really would not have given them a second thought to them; I say live and let live. But then we were treated to a loud explanation of consequences and loss of privileges, "Do you remember what privileges are? Do you remember mommy explaining them to you?"

It is one thing to be clear to your child about what is happening and why, it is another to explain things so loudly that it is obvious you want everyone else to know what you are doing and why!

Please let this not be one of those things I swear I won't do but end up doing anyway!

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Friday, March 02, 2007

What are you going to do with that?

At this moment, the boy is asleep and I am sitting at the computer making final changes on my Master's thesis. Well, technically I am taking a break from working on the thesis or I wouldn't be typing this...

Needless to say, I am very excited to be completing this phase of my schooling and proud of the work it represents. I tried very hard to finish my thesis before the baby came and I got this close. I turned it in to my committee for final review 4 days before Kiddo's birth and defended it 2 weeks after (which is a story for another day!). Now I am completing revisions and will graduate (if all goes well) this spring.

One side benefit of working on this degree has been as a conversation piece. People often asked what I was doing and I could tell them about my thesis, schooling, etc. And then came the inevitable question: What are you going to do with it?

Well, before I was obviously pregnant, I would usually answer with some general career choices available to someone with my degree. Since the arrival of our son, the answer has become much shorter: I am going to stay home and be a mom.

I always wonder what people think of this answer.

Hypothetical Response #1:
What a waste of a degree! What is the point of spending the money, putting in the effort, etc. if you aren't going to be in the work force.

Hypothetical Response #2:
How sad that someone with your education, ability and drive is going to stay home. The field could really benefit from your contributions.

Hypothetical Response #3:
That's nice. (I wonder how that hockey game ended...)

I'm sure #3 is probably the most common response, despite the scintillating description of my thesis topic!

Let it be known that I have no qualms about telling people my plans. But I am unsure enough to be caught asking myself what people think every time I answer the question: So what are you going to do with that?

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Thursday, March 01, 2007

Feeding the ducks

Kiddo and I went to feed the ducks tonight while C was at work. We had a fun time. Well, at least I had a fun time. Kiddo slept through most of it. I don't know that I've ever fed ducks before.

One of C's ideas to keep Kiddo happy while she was gone was to put Kiddo in the front pack and go for a walk. I thought that sounded fun, so when Kiddo started to fuss a little bit, I put him in the front pack and off we went. Our condo complex has a couple of duck ponds near the entrance, and we have around 100 ducks who have camped out there for the winter.

Today, as we were walking towards the pond, I saw that there were two Canadian geese there as well. "Cool," I thought. I mean, Canadian geese are know for their beauty right?

When I started feeding the ducks, though, the geese crowded out all the ducks and chased them away so that the ducks couldn't get into the main area where I was throwing the bread. If I started throwing the bread towards where the ducks were cowering in the corner, the geese ran over that way and chased the ducks away. I had to keep throwing the bread in multiple directions in order to feed more than the geese.

What pigs those geese were! Beauty, apparently, isn't everything.

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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

A problem of terminology

C (known on Million Moments as Inexperienced Mom) works for about 6 hours a week at an after-school tutoring center. My work is flexible such that I'm able to leave early the two days a week that C works. I come home so she can go to work.

The other day, while C was at work, my mom called.

"Oh, you're home already, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah. C starts work at 4, so I have to be home in time for her to go" I replied.

"Well, your work sure is good to let you come home to babysit twice a week."

"Yes, they are."

Ok, we'll stop the conversation there. I have a problem with that terminology. The way I look at it, it's not called "babysitting" when you are taking care of your own kid. Really--I'm the dad. I can take care of my own kid. So I can't feed him by myself; that doesn't make me incompetent in other areas.

I didn't turn like this on my poor mother, who I'm sure doesn't see me as "just a babysitter." But after the conversation was over, I thought about that word, and I realized it just isn't a good fit for what I was doing, but I couldn't think of a better one to use in its place.

After all, the term "babysitting" sounds like it is something that isn't normally my responsibility, and then my responsibility ends when the Mom gets home. My mother isn't the first one to use that term, and I'm sure she won't be the last. So I've got to find a better word to use instead.

What is a good term to use? Primary caregiver? That term has some of the same problems. Any suggestions on how I should handle it when people talk about me "babysitting" my own kid?

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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Snooze

To say you get less sleep with a new baby is like saying it's windy during a tornado.

I am lucky though: most days (and nights) are really not all that bad. N is a good sleeper at night and I am lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom who can nap with him if the night was less restful than usual.

That being said, those first few moments of waking up to a fussy baby are the hardest for me. I woke up the other morning to find myself shoving the pacifier into N's ear. At first I couldn't figure out why he was still crying; turns out his reasons included both the lack of pacifier as well as one being stuck in his ear.

Conclusion: giving a waking-up baby a pacifier is a like pressing snooze on the alarm clock. It may give you a few more moments of sleep but they aren't all that restful and it only prolongs the inevitable.

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Monday, February 26, 2007

Introductions

I've certainly enjoyed reading my husband's perspective on this whole parenting journey. I think he chose an apt title for the blog as life in general, but especially with a small child, is made up of a million little moments. After putting in about 7,481,940 of those moments, I have decided that I have a few things of my own to share. Hope you don't mind. Hope DH doesn't mind!

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Blessing Day

Author's Note: I wrote this post back in January, and then saved it to my computer. I just found it today, and decided to post it as-is.

On Sunday we blessed Kiddo in Church. If you aren't a member of the LDS Church, when we use the term "blessing" in the context of a blessing in church, we are generally referring to an event that is somewhat equivalent to the christening of a child that is done in other religions. In our family, it tends to be a family affair. Both my sister and brother were there with my mom. C's parents are in town, so they came. Because C's grandfather passed away this last week, she had a number of paternal aunts and uncles in town who attended (large family). Additionally, every one of my dad's living siblings attended with their spouses (another large family). Add to that a couple of close friends and some other family, plus C's grandmother, and C's great aunt. C's also had some cousins and second cousins who attended -- well, there were a ton of people there.

As I think back on the blessing (which I gave), I don't even remember who was in the circle. The only people who I actually noticed/recognized by name were my father-in-law, and my bishop. I was so nervous about the whole thing that I didn't even pay attention to who was standing around me. I know that there were so many people that some couldn't reach into the circle.

I have conflicting feelings about this. I hate to cause a scene, which I think this kind of did. I served with a bishop previously who instructed new parents to limit the number of people who stood in the circle to 5-10. I can understand that. But in our case, the people who we invited to stand in the family were all close family members, with three notable exceptions. And how do you include some family members while excluding others? In the end, we decided that we were more interested in including people than excluding them, and we decided not to worry about the number of people, and just ensure those who came who were family were included.

We didn't want to leave church and go to our house for an open house. It was important to us to attend all our meetings. We decided to invite people to attend church with us for the entire block, and then to have an open house in the evening from 4 to 8 PM. This allowed us to put church attendance first, and then go home in the evening to celebrate with our families. This was a fun way to do it, and I'd do it again, although at the end of the day I was exhausted.

All in all, it was a great day. We loved having our family close, to celebrate this important milestone with us. Even if we did cause a scene.

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

They say they grow fast...

... and they aren't kidding. Take a look:

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

A New Convert to...

Reading!!!

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The proof is in the video

I told you last week that Kiddo is watching his hands and feet, right? Here he is after discovering his right hand:


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Friday, February 02, 2007

FOUND: Two hands and two feet

The boy Jr. has found his hands and feet. It's pretty adorable, actually.

He discovered his hands earlier this week, and has since decided that sucking on his hand is sometimes better than sucking on the pacifier. It was pretty amazing to watch him look at his hands as he moved them from side to side.

Then this morning he seems to have found his feet.

Our little boy is growing up. Already! Dang....

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Monday, January 22, 2007

Off-topic rant

Will you permit me a short off-topic rant?

I'm bewildered by the Deseret News's (hereafter DN) stubbornness and hardheadedness in not allowing Utah readers to purchase a separate subscription to the Church News (hereafter CN).

The president and publisher of DN explains on-line why Utah readers are coerced into purchasing the DN in order to get the CN.

Reading a bit between the lines of Mr. Wall's letter, I have to say it sounds an awful lot like the DN recognizes that it only stays in business because of the patronage of LDS church members. By only offering the CN to DN subscribers in Utah, the DN ensures its future survival. Apparently the DN is such a sub-par publication, that readers will only purchase it if they can't get their CN elsewhere. Mr. Wall doesn't trust us to pick the better Salt Lake paper, because he's afraid he'll lose.

So, those of us who live in Utah are forced to choose between paying for a daily subscription to the Deseret Morning News or not having the opportunity to even purchase an on-line subscription to the Church News. Simply because of where we live.

Do you think this is ethical?

PS: Mr Wall's letter states that you can purchase a DN subscription for $.34 per day. However their website doesn't show a print-delivery option for anything less than $.51 per day. You can get a web-only subscription for $.12 per day, however this (1) doesn't indicate whether a CN subscription is included, and (2) doesn't seem to offer much value, since you can get the entire daily contents of the DN online anyway.

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Friday, January 19, 2007

Friday thoughts

A couple of thoughts for this Friday afternoon, in no particular order:

Ticker math?
The logic of the ticker math defies me. OK, it doesn't defy me, but we don't count the same way. By my count, Kiddo is seven weeks old today. That count is based on (oddly enough) it being exactly seven weeks since he was born. He was born on Friday, December 1st. Today is his 50th day of life, which means today marks the first day of the 8th week of his life.

The ticker, however, thinks that Kiddo is 1 month, 2 weeks, and 4 days old. It seems to me that if by my count, Kiddo is exactly 7 weeks old, that the ticker should have us at an even week, not randomly 4 days.

However, I've discovered how the ticker does its math. It counts it this way: on January 1, Kiddo was one month old. (Can't really argue that point.) And since January first, there has been two weeks four days. Thus, Kiddo is one month, two weeks and four days old.

See, the counter is counting in months and partial months, where I'm just counting in weeks. I just think its kind of bizarre to have my count complete a full week when the ticker's count is still mid-week.

Whatever.

Kiddo photos

We had some beautiful kiddo photos taken professionally. Really, they are stunning. I love our photographer. This is the third time we've used her, and I can't recommend her highly enough. We had such fun taking these pictures. Don't you think that he's adorable?

Our photographer has a website with examples of her work and contact information. It is located at http://www.haleyannwarner.com.

And just in case you're worried, we purchased the copyright to the photos, so I'm allowed to re-post them online. (Another thing I like about her: she sells the copyright if you want to purchase it!) And it isn't that expensive, either.

Reunited at last!
So last, but certainly not least, Kiddo and BW are coming home today!! I'm very exited. I get to go pick them up at the airport in about 3 hours. Grandma is sad to see them leave, but I'm very excited to see them come home again. Very, very excited. I'm having a hard time focusing at work, I'm so excited. :) Yay!!

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Thursday, January 18, 2007

Car seat safety?

Did you hear the report that Consumer Reports published in early January (technically in the February edition of their magazine)? The report claimed that of 12 infant rear-facing car seats that they tested, 10 of them catastrophically failed when subjected to the same side-impact tests that cars must endure. Apparently car-seats must withstand 30 mph frontal crash tests. However, a car must be able to endure a 38.5 mph side-impact crash. Consumer Reports claimed that 10 of the 12 seats they tested couldn't withstand the additional 8.5 mph.

The car seat we bought Kiddo (well, it was given by Grandma, but we picked it out) was one of the ones that was tested and failed. When I read the full report on the CR website, I found out that the seat failed when it was installed with the LATCH system, but did okay when it was installed with a seatbelt. I talked with C about it and we decided that we would install the seat using both the LATCH system and the seatbelt. Since the seat performed satisfactorily with a seatbelt, this seemed to be an okay solution. (We decided to do both, because I think the seat actually stays put better with the LATCH system.)

Now Consumer Reports is recalling their report. You can read the CR press release here. The report I read on CNN.com gives more information (read it here). CNN quotes an NHTSA spokesman as saying "the organization's data show its side-impact tests were actually conducted under conditions that would represent being struck in excess of 70 mph, twice as fast as the group claimed; [...] When NHTSA tested the same child seats in conditions representing the 38.5 mph conditions claimed by Consumer Reports, the seats stayed in their bases as they should, instead of failing dramatically."

Now Consumer Reports is urging consumers "to suspend judgment on the merits of individual products until the new testing has been completed and the report re-published."

It will be interesting to see what the legal fall out will be, if any. In any case, I'm glad we didn't rush out to buy a new car seat.

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Monday, January 15, 2007

A full-night's sleep

My BW (Beautiful Wife) and Kiddo went to California to visit my in-laws. They've been gone for 4 days now, and have 4 days left to go. A happy side-benefit of their trip is the opportunity to sleep, uninterrupted throughout the night. As fate would have it, though, I can't really sleep uninterrupted. My body keeps waking up at the times Kiddo would be getting up. Last night was the first night that I wasn't up at 2:30, one of Kiddo's favorite eating times.

The truth of the matter is that I'm a lost puppy with the two of them gone. I wander around not knowing what to do with myself. I can't wait until Friday when they are back home again!

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Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Drop everything: kiddo is calling!

Its been a while since I've been able to update this blog regularly. Sorry about that. Everybody who has kids told me how all-encompassing having children was going to be, and I won't say that I didn't believe them -- because I did -- I just didn't totally understand what "all-encompassing" really meant.

Anyway, Kiddo is doing great. He is a joy and we feel so blessed to have been able to share this Christmas season with our little angel. He is absolutely adorable in every way, and every time I look at him I'm overwhelmed by the recognition that is this miracle child. In the end I think I keep expecting his real parents to come pick him up (because how could he really be ours?). So far they haven't showed up, but I'll let you know.

Kiddo, as I said, is doing great. When he came home from the hospital, we were administering IV antibiotics to an IV port in his head every twelve hours. Additionally, he was on oxygen. We even got a hospital-quality pulse oximeter to monitor his oxygen saturation. Well, we finished his antibiotics the week he came home from the hospital, and the doctor removed the IV port. (Kiddo didn't like that very much; in particular, he didn't like the tape being removed from his head as it pulled out his hair. Yeah, it wasn't really fun.) And last week we were able to remove him from the oxygen. We kept monitoring his saturation, and for the most part, he's done great. So great, that we called the home health care people today to have them come pick up the equipment.

So I'm pleased to report that Kiddo has a clean bill of health. He is sleeping on my lap while I type this post.

Check that, he woke up as I was typing that post. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to sooth him. Now his mom is trying. Anyway, I'm supposed to be working. It is a work-from-home week for me. I thought I'd have vacation for it, but I took too much when Kiddo was born, so I get to work this week. It's okay, particularly because I get to do it at home.

Ok. So he started squirming again, and I had to leave this post. Now it is the new year, and I *still* haven't updated my blog.

I think I'm just going to post this with a best wishes for a happy new year for everybody out there. I'll work on this blog updating thing. :)

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