Mother's Log II

Well, since last post I've learned that a correction needs to be made: it's in the soon-to-be parents list.... M&J, N&J, and D&M!!

See, I knew I was right that they should be parents :)

Also, I realized that I left off an important parent that checks our blog often....besides the grandmas, whom I'm sure have some good input too, I forgot about Pegasus! As a mother of 3, she's basically the expert! Anyway, no one should ever be offended if I forget an initial here or there....i'm thinking of all of you!!

ok, on with the show.

Stardate June 28, 2009...4 months, one week plus on board Starship Pooperprise.

5. continued. Daycare doesn't just = sickness. I really feel like she's been more outgoing and aware of her surroundings since going there. She has fun there in the exersaucer and seeing the other babies. She also started looking in the mirror on their wall at daycare during her tummy time. I think it's really good for her to get out of the house and explore new people and a new place.

6. We put our little baby pool to work today and went "swimming". It's over 100 degrees today, so it's really all you can do if you want to be outside - be in some water somewhere. She enjoys the water now (and likes her baths too!). Nothing wears her out quicker than a little fun in the sun. She had a snack and went straight for a nap after her little "swim" . For babies, a sunscreen of 50+ is best of course so she gets that...plus I put a little hat on her for outside.

7. She's been kicking her feet up and holding them with her hands. This is about the cutest thing I think I'm ever going to see in my life. This morning she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time ever. She hasn't repeated it yet but i'll get it on film as soon as it happens.

So what this means for mommies is that you can't leave baby on the bed by herself anymore, she may roll herself off. Also, don't walk away from the changing table for even a second. It's funny, when you first go to baby classes they say to never walk away from the changing table ever. Now, don't call child protective services on me, but up until now she basically didn't move whenever she was set down. So, I could go grab something quick or whatever and not worry. Well now that she's got her feet up in the air she could fling herself around pretty easily.

What's also funny is that those changing table pads have a belt on them, as if this 1# thing is going to stop her from flying off the side if she really wanted to. Now, a lot of changing tables have an edge on them and that is why they are the recommended type. I don't have one of those, but it's okay, I'll be careful, don't worry and, in the future she can use it as a dresser. Anyway, get one with an edge if you want to be safe as safe can be.

8. Wipe warmer - keep it from drying out! I keep forgetting this and the little spongy pad at the bottom is all but burned up. It's frustrating (and pretty funny at the same time ;)

Here we are "sunbathing" (in the shade) after our little swim.

Here's looking at you kid....

Here is another video we took today. It is Evie's little kissy/smiley reaction when we put our face up to hers. It's a fun game and babies love it....sorry for my goofy giggle at the end there.

Mother's Log

Stardate June 26, 2009 .... we have been 4 months on board the Starship Pooperprise and there are a few things I've learned. Those of you soon to be parents (M&J, N&J) and those of you SHOULD be soon to be parents (M&C, R&R, C&O, D&M, L&D....hint hint!) should pay attention. Also, we welcome comments from our already parent friends (G&C)(H&D). Are we all straight now as to whom should be doing what?


OK


1. Get a freakin bouncy chair - these things are awesome for putting the newborn to sleep. Swaddle them and bounce em! You'll feel like you're on the verge of shaken baby syndrome but they freakin' love and it shut up and go to sleep almost immediately.


2. The swing, the swing....yes, when you are tired of swaying back and forth for hours on end and you can't sing any more because your throat is hoarse....the swing will save your life. Evie didn't have one as a newborn - that was bouncy chair time. but we got a loaner from a friend here in austin and it's been a lifesaver. It plays like the same freakin song over and over again, though, so i'm slowly going insane. but hey, i figure that's going to happen anyway.


3. Daddies really are good for something! Yes, ladies, you'll feel like you're going to shoulder the burden. But guess what! If daddy rocks the baby to sleep then they actually learn to fall asleep without thinking they've got to eat first. Any time I have her in my arms and she is fussy and can't sleep, nursing is the only thing that calms her down. She SMELLS the boob. But, since Jack has been helping at least 50% of the time (if not more - he IS a great daddy) she has learned to be rocked to sleep without the help of milkalepsi. It's a good thing and I think will train her for the future.


4. Poop-plosions - the first couple of months I felt like I was changing a poopy diaper every couple hours, if not more. But the one of the advantages of breastfeeding is that, after a while, they start only pooping once or twice a day. The only problem is, it's like Old Faithful in it's enormity. It gets everywhere! and it's bright yellow or green, like a curry. We were literally eating curry last night and she had a poonami in the middle of dinner. We both had to help get it cleaned up and then went back to dinner thinking....hmmmm, I think I'm done eating for now. It's also super runny. The doctor has mentioned watching for diarrhea, but I wouldn't know the difference at this point. I have yet to find a diaper that can hold her....." she can't take any more captain!"


Mommy hint - yes i'm getting to the point here - IMMEDIATELY rinse with cold water, Shout it out, and wash....do not wait or you'll have no clothes to pass on to your friends with babies!


5. Daycare = sickness



Ah! I can't think of any more right now. I'm watching Weeds and relaxin'. But there will be more Log Installments in the future as I think of things.


Oh, and all you should be parents should know that I'm just messing with you - i waited until i was 35 and certainly am not one to pressure anyone else!!


That smile makes it all worth it!!

Jackson

Here is a video of one of my favorite singers...
(hint he is not the one acting like Jesus)



This is my most memorable Michael Jackson moment... One of my favorite singers (probably in fact my favorite) Jarvis Cocker of Pulp interrupted one of his worshipfests/concert performances.

"My actions were are form of protest at the way Michael Jackson sees himself as some kind of Christ-like figure with the power of healing. The music industry allows him to indulge his fantasies because of his wealth and power. People go along with it even though they know it's a bit sick. I just couldn't go along with it anymore. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision brought on by boredom and frustration."

Evie's gift

Little Evie gave me a great Father's day gift already!!!

Also included in this pic is our first cucumber, it has a little junk in the trunk. It was yummy though. And to think I thought initially the zucchini would outperform the cucumbers..

That was jb.

Now here's my update - Evie had a vaccine appt yesterday (she is 4 months old now - see earlier posts). She has basically doubled her weight! She was born at 7# 2oz and is now 14.5#. For height she was 19" and is now 24"....

that means that, at this rate, she'll be 58# and 3 feet long by her first birthday!! and 464# and 6 feet long by her second.....

Oh....Maayyy, GGaaawd

Rx

new outfit from Grandma Pollari

well, we're coming up on 4 months old already. Time flies when she's so freaking cute :) We recently had a heck of a time trying to get her to smile for the camera...but we got one. Instead of smiling, she kept watching the camera with no smile just real curiosity about what it is. Flying above daddy - just after this she spit up. Good thing she wasn't above his mouth at the time. (I've seen that happen to other less fortunate dads).
Here is a cute little outfit that Grandma Pollari made for her. I love the little bonnet...I love the freaked out look on her face.
She got over it, though, and actually ended up liking the outfit.




This picture shows off her chunky legs nicely. She's eating well - demands it often.


Well, that's my update.....we miss you all!! Roxanne

Lou is a tired boy... he and Rx and I stole a few moments away from the babe and went to Pace Bend to cool off... We have been there before with Chris and Gabby and more recently with Julia. The water level at this particular location was about 15 feet lower than it was when we went there almost a year ago. Here is Rx peeking from the water..

Here is a panoramic stitch of our view from our cool cave (on a 100 degree day)

Storm

Power was out for about 4 hr last night.. we had tornado warnings and golf ball sized hail... see below with banana pepper and closepin for scale... also I tried on the baby bjorn thing.. so stylish! Evie liked it though...

Obey the phone!!

When some moron calling a Holiday Inn can get this kind of response from both employees and guests, it makes you wonder the kinds of misuse of power people actually in authority can get away with... Remember if someone in "authority" calls you.. obey the phone, set all critical thinking aside and OBEY THE PHONE!

If you don't already know about the Milgram Experiment, I would recommend checking it out. It is quite enlightening as to how good people can allow horrible (or in this case ridiculous) things to happen because they don't think for themselves, and they submit to authority at a whim. Another related experiment is the ill fated Stanford Prison Experiment. The prior link is quite detailed, but here is the wiki summary link.

diaper cake

Hey, anyone remember this?

Well, those who were at our Madison shower should...I do believe it was Gus Gus that gave it to Evie. He bought the larger type - like 14-18 pound baby type.

ANYWAY, she is fitting into those diapers! Whoa, yo.

good diapers too, btw. (i think that was something Carol was worried about ;)

Rx

agave a go-go!

Agave plants, sweet givers of tequila, are prevalent in the southwest (which I guess we are in kind of..) They are also very prevalent in our neighborhood. This particular one stabbed me in the chest with its sharp needles as i walked louie one night, but I digress. Agave are also referred to as el maguey (also the name of my fav Mexican restaurant in Columbia MO) or the century plant. Century plant refers to how often they flower.. some scraggly wild agaves can take decades upon decades to flower.. the ones in Austin front yards do so a little sooner. Their flower spikes can grow up to 30 feet at a rate of 3 inches per day!! I have never seen one flower before until now, they shoot up a huge tree. It is kind of sad cause evidently they bloom only once and then die off..

This poor old guy doesn't have many days left, but it is quite magnificent nonetheless.

200 years that changed the world...

I thought this was pretty interesting, there are a lot of youtube videos like this available if you search for "gapcast"

Here is another one on "Ageing Europe"

garden update

So... mixed results with the garden so far... The zucchini crop is underwhelming.. I have 1 zucchini for 6 plants. There may be more to come, but the rolly pollys are attacking them big time!! I used to love rolly pollys.. now they are my sworn enemy. Here is my plant diaper trying to keep them out fo the open wound they created.

This is the panarama of the sideyard. you can see there is a lot of green not necessarily translating into a lot of veggies....

The hanging plants are faring better... behold my bounty!!!!!! we have about 6 tomatoes so far... unfortunately I think this is the extent of my green pepper bounty (I only had 1 plant).. We are eager to try the yellow pepper to see how hot it is...

For about a month now I have been mowing around a weed in the side yard... I saw its potential.. when others suggested... nay begged me to mow it, I said.. wait you'll see it will turn into something beautiful.. and alas it did!!!

Family weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mom and Dad flew down for a great visit.. Here they are helping out with grooming Louie. After a big Rudy's brisket dinner, we headed out to the arboretum for some ice cream and a great view.

MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Brisket.........

There are cow statues in the arboretum mall food court. Evie got her first cow ride.

After Mom and Dad left and Kate came a day later... Thank goodness we had a buffer between Mom and Dad's leaving and Aunt Katie's arriving:

Uncle Dave came down too!
fun times were had.... Dave caught a baby (above) and a gecko (below)Here are the two ladies with Louie hanging out, at the log ride, in the park, next door, near the poineer village, adjacent to the prepositional phrase.

Also Evelyn is talking to us a lot more here she is testing out those vocal cords:

Oh, and Evie had clean hands....

Cicada pic

I spent this morning trying to restart my POS lawnmower (see picture background). I found a beautiful green cicada emerging from its larval stage though, that was cool. We had quite the family week/weekend too. Pics on that front will be coming to the blog soon.

Have a good day!!