Our life

According to my calculations, calendar, and the “Ages & Stages” email, DD is 16 weeks old today. Both mommy and dd are doing fantastic!

The big thing that’s happened over these past few weeks with dd: she has found something that was missing since birth. You see, since birth, she could honestly say “her s**t don’t stink”. Yes, there were a few times here and there where it did. But as an average, it wasn’t bad. Tolerable. I’ve smelled worse. We’re not talking flowers here, but we’re not talking gagging either. Slightly fragrant. More cute than anything.

That’s changed…. completely. ɹǝʌo ʇɥbıɹ pǝddı1ɟ. What was white is now black. Good lord. Its like once we started mixing in a bit of that rice cereal into her food, and she got through the “oh crap, something’s stuck” stage, all that stink showed up. Every single bit of it. Even her farts are room clearing.

All was once cute and cuddly, like a kitten tryin to walk for the first time. Aww… the widdle kitty fall down. Now, that cute and cuddly stumbling kitten has turned into an angry tiger with 4 extra claws that has spent a month being poked in the eye with a stick. She’s angry, and she’s letting us know.

The first time I changed one of these weapons of mass destruction, I got wobbly. Yes, I actually did get wobbly. What did dd do? She smiled. I’m not sure if that smile was “look at daddy. he’s funny” or “sucker”. Even the cat left (I think with that tiger). The dog knew better.

My friends, the playing field has changed. I now feel like Michael Keaton in “Mr. Mom“. Someone toss me some gloves.

But hey, with the bad comes the good. Just this week, she learned how to play “peek-a-boo”. As luck would have it, I was able to witness this event today. So dang cute. So I guess that outweighs the other situation.

And in other news…..

We helped Sonja celebrate her 19th 21st birthday about a week ago.

Little shindig set up by JfaP¹, MiniMe (mustang?) and LoD over at Casper’s in Eagan. Sonya’s theme was Strawberry Shortcake (should I change the name here?). You’d be surprised how hard it is to find Strawberry Shortcake stuff in the store these days. I recall when SS was all the rage (shut up. I had 2 little sisters…. and i liked dolls). Ah well. I guess that’s what happens to icons these days.

Good food, good people, good times. But I think being a parent ages you by 36 years. We were all wiped out by 9pm. I recall a time when 9pm meant we should probably get ready to start the night. Funny how life changes.

Speaking of change, I think I’m going to try to depart from the structured posts. Ditch the weeklies, as I’ve had the toughest time even keeping up with them. I try to save this event and that event for the weekly, then I get tied up doing 400 other things, and forget what it was I wanted to tell you. I just can’t post like Matt Logelin or DadGoneMad. Would you guys be okay with us just posting as we think about it? After all, I do this for you (well, and maybe me too). What would you like to see? Let me know in comments.

In closing, please keep our family in your prayers. If you’re not the religious type, at least think of us. dd’s Great Grandpa (C’s grandpa, Oz’s pop, RP’s hubby) LP went to the E.R. a few times this week. It’s been a touch and go kinda week for him. Things look to be on the up and up now, and he should be home soon. But still keep us in your thoughts.

Gallery pics:

1. Sorry J, couldn’t think of something cutesy yet today [↩]

According to my calculations, calendar, and the “Ages & Stages” email, DD is 14 weeks old today (or 3 months, 5 days). Both mommy and dd are doing fantastic!

Milestone #1: DD, like both of her parents, has learned that side sleeping is often much more comfortable than back sleeping. She’s found how to get there all on her own, and does it regularly. Very cute.

Milestone #2: DD’s also learning how to talk more. While she’s not quite using the Queen’s English, she is making noises that, when responded to in a conversational manner, can be taken as conversation. I’m glad she has her Babelfish in her ear. I just wish she’d get us one too.

Now, while these are both truly awesome milestones… . ones that we totally cherish and just find super cool… there is a problem: She’s learned these roughly at the same time. Why is that a problem? I’m glad you asked. You see, dd uses opposing weight/power to roll to her side. She kicks one leg up in the air, while pushing off with the other leg. The motion carries her over to her side, where she’s now comfy. Since we swaddle her at night, that limits her ability to kick off like that. Before milestone #1, she would simply just fall asleep. That’s not so much the case anymore.

This past week really was uneventful. Friday we did the Garage Sales and Mankato thing. Saturday, we started to tackle the garage. Seems I left a few things out. Saturday night, we did dinner and a movie over at Oz’s. Dr. D came by. We watched Juno. Really good movie.

I started to get the sniffles during the movie. Well, those turned into sneezes which turned into violent explosions from the nose. Figuring I was getting sick, I stayed away from C+dd the rest of the night. Sunday, fully aware that I was sick. I kept my distance from C+dd. Sucked.

Huge congrats to ML and GL on the birth of their daughter, GL Tuesday morning.

In closing, this past week put things into perspective. Its hard to believe Monday was a year since he was taken from us. We all miss him terribly. I can’t say it any better than KP said it: The world is a different place without him. Tell those you love that you love them, and tell them often. You never know when you won’t have that chance again.

We just can’t believe it. It was 3 months ago today that you came into our world. Where has the time gone? We remember it like it was just yesterday, leaving to head up to the hospital with the feeling of “maybe we should just get checked out”. Our parents (your grandparents) were right: being a parent is just awesome. You are such a perfect child. Even if imperfect, we would still love you more than most people can imagine. We will try our best to keep you the happiest and most loved baby on the planet. Mommy and Daddy love you very very much, and we hope you have fun today with us!

Now excuse me for one minute honey, while I apologize to everyone. You see, back before you came into our lives… back when you were still in mommy’s tummy, daddy used to tell everyone what was going on with you and us and the family and the pets and everything else. Right after you came, daddy typed ALOT on here. He would tell them about your every hiccup, burp, fart and poop. Because of that, quite a few people would stop by here on a semi-regular basis to check in, see how we’re doing.

But then daddy had to go back to work. Being at work, daddy didn’t have the free time to post here that much. But he still tried. The daily posts went to every few days. The few days went to once a week. But lately, the once a week seems to be hard for him to keep up with too. But he still tries. So now, lets apologize to our readers, and see if we can catch them up. Okay sweetie? You can help once you get up.
(more…)

According to my calculations, calendar, and the “Ages & Stages” email, DD was 11 weeks old yesterday. Both mommy and dd are doing fantastic! Still hard to believe it: we’re parents. So dang cool.

Friday - After DD’s visit to the office (with obligatory showing off walk), we tracked mommy down at Kohls, doubled up, and headed to the Mall. We were on a mission to find C an outfit for dd’s upcoming baptism. JcPenny’s seemed to fit the bill. I recall at one point asking dd “if she was done yet” as it sounded like there was a small thunderstorm coming from underneath the stroller. Satisfied that she was, I opted to take her for a changing and let mommy try the outfits on. Let’s just say that DD left JcP with a new outfit too.

So after JcP, we met up with C’s galpal (AM for now) and her Beau (AB for now) down at Green Mill. Had a nice time. AM loved holding dd (who wouldn’t?). AB seemed like a pretty hip fella. Found out that AM moved to a pad within walking distance of my office. Trippy. So we’ll have to do lunch sometime. AM and I shared the Margherita Pizza. C had a Ciabatta Sandwich, and AB had a Garden Burger. I think they liked their foods. We loved ours. If you ever have a chance, and you’re a pizza fan, find yourself a Margherita Pizza (aka Neapolitan pizza margherita). Fantastico *kisses fingers*.

Saturday - I woke up bright and early, got dressed, and headed out to pick up some miscellaneous stuff from a FreeCycle ad. I returned with a full minivan. One 28″ interior door, one really funky Red White and Blue standup dresser (handmade), one long bookcase, and two cabinet bases. I ♥ FreeCycle. Its like Craigslist, but only freebies.

After returning home, we picked up and hung out, getting ready for the memorial ride. We met up with everyone downtown (including Sonja and LoD). Since it was raining, we thought it best to not take the Pontiac out.

So we saw the guys off (they’re bikers. Of course they rode), grabbed some alcohol, and headed back to Oz’s for some Tripoley. Had a blast, though LoD kicked our a**es. He called it beginners luck. Right-O. Remind me not to play pool with him. Oh, and thanks to LoD, I had the following two songs stuck in my head the entire game:

You’re welcome.

Post game, we enjoyed another fantastic dinner with a set of now soaked motorcyclists at the newly remodeled Lakeside Supper Club (located here. I need to talk to George about the lack of map on the site). Seriously, if you’re anywhere near Montgomery/New Prague, stop in. Tell George I sent you. He won’t give you a deal, but I’ll at least hear about it. Trust me, its worth it. His steaks are what all others are now judged by. I hear the Prime Rib is to die for (not a big fan of Prime Rib). Make sure to get a salad and try the poppy-seed dressing. *drools*. Good times, good food, good people. Isn’t that what life is all about?

Sunday - The plan was to head out to the RenFair. Always a fun time. But alas, the weather messed with us yet again. The forecast was 60 and rain (remember that number). Being the outlook was bleak, we decided that dd shouldn’t go, though Oz still had to (volunteer). So C let me hang out with dd while she joined her mom. How cool is that?

Not too long after they headed on their merry way, dd started fussing. I hear that’s normal. Well, perhaps to C, but not to me. I tried all the tricks I could think of (check diaper, burp, feed, gas, bargain, beg). Alas, they all failed. But then I remembered that big band music worked a few weeks back. So I grabbed the frankenpod and queued up my “big band” list. Dancing to Bobby Darin, Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra still had the calming effect that it did a while back. Score 1 for D! We spent about 45 minutes or so dancing around the living room in our PJs. I never thought I’d be that kind of dad. The kind that dances and sings with his kid in the living room. Ask C. I barely ever dance. Amazing how much a child changes you for the better.

Monday - Twas your typical day. In the midst of all the financial news, I heard about a real travesty: Government closing Disco Clubs in Nepal. What good is a Saturday night if you can’t dance the night away safely in a Nude Nepalese Disco Club? Tragic.

I also learned of a new website that will certainly be helpful for us all: Has the Large Hadron Collider destroyed the world yet? They even have an RSS feed, just so you can keep track. See? You learn all sorts of things when you stop by.

When I made it home, I was treated to an awesome little video. DD spends a bit of her day in a chair. One of those table top bouncy chairs, with the flashy, pully, noisy attachment thingy. For this one, when you pull on either of the 2 dangley things, the bird in the middle spins. When powered up, the spin will be accompanied by music. Well, dd finally figured out how to pull said dangley thing, just in time for c to catch it on video! So cool! I’m looking forward to all of these little moments. I will try to share some of them with you (remember how anal I am about her face pics). I did snap a couple pics of bedtime though. C is just a perfect mommy.

Tuesday - dd went to daycare for the first time. Though she didn’t absolutely need to, her visit served two purposes: to let her try it out and see how she does; and to let mommy see how she’ll do without dd. As you can imagine, dd did just fine. Mommy went nuts. She was there from about 10 in the morning til about 3 in the afternoon. I hear the more its done, the easier it gets. I recall that first week or 7 after I went back to work. I can only imagine how she felt.

Oz and Angel came by later that evening for some hair cutting and chatting (Angel cuts hair, in case I hadn’t told you that before). As they snipped and chatted, I finally finished up a computer for one of the folks in town. Nasty virus¹. I also copied all of the pics we’ve taken onto a larger hard drive. More than 10,000 files taking up 28.8GB. Now granted, not ALL of that is pictures. But at least half was. I now get the honor of weeding through, and finding the duplicates. I have a tendency to copy groups of pics into working directories for editing, then leaving those working directories full. I should stop that.

Wednesday - Just prepared things for Mom and Rmai’s² visit. Getting excited!

Thursday - Mom called about 430. Plane landed safely! I picked her up from the airport about 5. We got home just about 6, as C and dd returned from a long walk (perfect timing). So mom finally got to hold her grand daughter! Just about the time her arm got tired, Rmai showed up. Beautiful timing. So after the obligatory dd handoffs and holdings, we grilled up some burgers and just hung out, shootin the breeze. dd went down surprisingly well, and the house went to sleep shortly after.

And here we are, back at Friday, with a house full of love and family. Its going to be an awesome weekend! I’ll tell you all about it next week. Until then, have a fantastic week!

1. please, people, install AntiVirus and keep the definitions up to date [↩]
2. Rmai = my brother, the genius from Chicago. I’m not kidding here folks, he is a genius. [↩]