Our life

Today was a fantastic day! Forgive my lack of posted pics, and the “shoot from the hip” writing style. I’m tired, I have things I still wanted to accomplish tonight, and its late.

The day started out raining cats and dogs (Ms. B and Mr. B were going nuts). Storm watches and warnings. Plenty of refreshing on weather.com. Almost put a stick in our spokes, but I was too hard headed to say no. Our plan: to take dd to our offices, then the zoo, then shop.

We had it all planned out. We would get up to the cities by 1p to stop in to C’s office and let dd meet all those voices she’s heard for the past 9 months. Be in and out of there quick, then head to my office so dd can meet all the voices in my head. In and out. Then over to the Zoo for a bit of fun, and end the night shopping for a few necessities. That was the plan. That was precisely how it was going to work. Yep.

In a few minutes, dd will be 2 weeks old. Something I’ve learned now is that, when you are showing off your baby to a room full of people who care about you, it will take exactly 3x the amount of time you thought it would. The baby must be oogled and “pet” and passed and “awwed” and studied. Diapers must be changed frequently. Impromptu feedings in places of business occur. Conference rooms and desks become changing tables. And time is lost. Time practically stands still when you watch your baby get handed from one person to another. The look of “is it over already” is handed to the person with the look of “ooOOoooh, my turn”. Its so cool.

So we made it to C’s office by 145 or so. I’d like to blame it on the rain, but Milli Vanilli can’t take the blame here. It wasn’t their fault we didn’t leave until 1245. But that’s okay. We’ll make up for it, right? So when we left C’s office about 325, I recall saying “we’ll be in and out of my office in 15 minutes”. But then my watch must’ve stopped, and I lost track of time. I should get that fixed, huh?

So after our “brief” stays at our respective offices, a quick check of the watch that’s now miraculously working tells me that its 445. The zoo closes in 1h 15m, and is 30 minutes per google maps, through downtown MPLS. If we made it before closing time, the animals would wonder what the blurs were. We wouldn’t enjoy our trip. It would just be for point. So we forewent that idea, and ate Davanni’s. I planned on a hoagie. C was surprised. I settled for a 5 meat Pizza (Some things never change). dd was an angel while we ate (More things not changing).

Post dinner, we shot over to Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up some essentials. Then over to Babies’R'Us. I shot to Best Buy for a hard drive for a client, then met back up with c+dd. While there, we discussed, at great length, if we should get the Baby Bjorne or not. After talking it over with a couple who had their 2 month old son onboard, we decided that we should. In the parking lot, as I loaded up the truck, my old team lead from the help desk happened to see us. So she got to meet dd, which was an unexpected surprise. Small world.

We left Babies’R'Us and headed over to Michael’s for some more stuff, then finally to Target to pimp out the bathroom downstairs (plus more stuff). We now have a truck chock full of stuff, which I’ll unload at some point tomorrow.

Made it home in time for dd to finally be awake, fill 3 diapers in an hour, and make it to bed just as History Channel started the Modern Marvels on Underwear.

As I said when I started this post: what a fantastic day! Everything went exactly as planned. I’m just not sure who’s plan we followed.

For the next few days, we’ll be pretty dang busy getting the house back in order. Clean, paint, build, decorate. Should be an exhausting couple of days, but I have faith. So off I go to (yet again) paint. If it weren’t nearly 1a, I would probably do some sawing too.

Until then….

Slowly but surely, dd is letting me get back into some sort of a routine. She went to bed last night at about 11, and slept all the way until 515. 6 hours of sleep! Good lord. She’s becoming more and more like her mommy in the sleep department. My envy grows.

As my envy grows, so does whatever the heck it is that I’m allergic to here in town. I’ve been sniffling like I’m watching the end of Titanic here. Seems a couple times a year, Seneca turns something on over there, and it kicks something in the air, and I sniffle. First year here, it was like clockwork. We’d get just about to the city limits on the east side of town, and I’d start welling up. “I’ll never let go”.

Yesterday, I came one step closer to completing the guest bedroom and bath. Minor stuff left. This has been a 2 year project, coming to a close this week, in preparation for Dad’s arrival. Just putting the finishing touches on, and its done. Hard to believe it. Damn allergies.

Mommy and baby are doing fantastic. C found her missing energy yesterday, and used it quite effectively, putting things back into place like she’s been wanting to do for a few weeks now. Ms. B started to warm up more to dd yesterday too.

Spent some time over at G&G’s (Or Great-G&G’s). I worked on a railing that I’ve been meaning to install while c+dd visited. G.Oz stopped in for a bit too and visited. Everyone got their daily dd quotas filled, so life was good again. The planets have realigned.

Today is baby’s day out, even under the weather we’re having (isolated t-storms, muggy). The “unveiling” of dd. We’ll stop off at my office to show her off a bit, then up to c’s office for more of the same, then to the zoo! “But Dustin, you can’t take a 2 week old to the zoo”. Shush you.

And as a reminder, we are a little over 1 week away from Kolacky Days! Beer garden Friday and Saturday up at Memorial Park (we won’t be pouring this year). Car show Saturday. Parade Sunday. I don’t mean to brag, but its the best damn small town festival in Minnesota. And I’m not partial there atall! I’ve been to 3 or 4 others, so I know what I’m talking about here! If you see us, say hi!

And with that, I go paint a floor. Wish me luck!

My, how the time flies. Why just yesterday, it was Monday… (rim shot or crickets?). Sorry I’m late on the updates.

Saturday, dd attended her very first wedding. C’s cousin DC went and married his sweetheart, MG. Fantastic ceremony and reception. And dd was an absolute peach at both. Barely a peep, let alone any fussing. Just an angel. Though a bit of a show stopper…

While we were at the reception, we asked for a high chair for dd’s car seat. They brought us a plastic one that didn’t fit. I asked the guy for a wooden one, but he said they were all “downstairs”. Before I could go to grab one (as a father, I’m becoming a little more bold), bk took the mission. To the tune of mission impossible, he returned with his prize in hand.

As the night progressed, it began to suck more and more. Not because of anything bad. You see, m(g)c is very loved by her parents. But it really seemed she was daddy’s girl. On no less than 2 occasions, I “had something in my eye”. His love for her, and his fatherly way of displaying it, had me already seeing 25 years into the future, when I am in his shoes. His song… ugh… that song… *sniff* (allergies) So that’s why it sucked.

Sunday was July 13th; her official due date. To celebrate, we did some pro pictures, courtesy of Oz, that we’ll frame for the house. As usual, she was just as well mannered and cute as can be.

Monday, she slept in a bit so that I could take care of some yardwork. She had her first doctor’s appointment that afternoon. The doc said that dd is doing great. She’s back to her birth weight (which normally takes 2 weeks). Color’s good. Alert and healthy. She sent us up to the hospital for a test that should have been conducted at United. In their defense, they were the ones that let us know they forgot. Oh how I love the hospital. We were pretty quick, in and out. She tested well, which was no surprise.

Overall updates: mommy and baby are doing a-okay. We’re still both amazed by this little bundle of joy. If you don’t have kids, let me assure you that there is nothing more rewarding than to see your baby look up at you, in wonder. Its the same look you give on that first night that you looked up at a clear night sky, and appreciated the stars. Simply amazing.

Everyone told us that we’re going to love beings parents. Well, to add to the swear jar here, you’re damn right!

p.s. – a special congrats to rw and mw on the birth of their daughter on the 11th. They were due around the time dd came. Kinda funny that we switched due dates there. So cool! Mommy and baby are doing great.

First and foremost, a few belated, but no less heartfelt congratulations for their recent weddings:

TT and MH – Huge congrats! I wish we could have been there, but alas. I can only hope the love you two have shared these past years continues to bloom, as it has. You two are perfect together!

Cinders and PeacErr – Huge congrats here too! I wish I would’ve remembered, but I was otherwise engaged. I’d wish you both the best, but it seems you have already found that.

To both couples – Remember to love one another, and yourselves. When she’s low, and you’re high, help her through. When he’s low, and she’s high, tease him endlessly.

dd will be going to her first wedding today. The wedding of c’s cousin DC and his soon to be wife, M. It’s gonna be a blast!

Okay, off to get ready. wish us luck!