12.31.09: Oops...

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Thursday and I just realized yesterday afternoon that I hadn't been blogging all week. I had been blissfully enjoying the time off with P.

Friday, we flew home for the holidays to see family. We split the time between Mr. mouse's folks and mine. P was a trooper, beginning to sleep regularly in her car seat after seven months of training. She began to have separation anxiety which I guess is normal. And, she's gotten really good at crawling and pulling up.

We flew home on Tuesday and have been spending the past two days catching up on errands, cleaning up the house and playing with P. I'll set aside time tomorrow for ye olde restrospective.

Time for breakfast and some play time. Then, while P naps, we'll begin the baby proofing process.


Cheers!
mouse

12.21.09: Amazon, My New Best Friend

Dear Friends and Family,

One of my friends decided to rescue me and go to the Barry Manilow concert with Mr. mouse. I love friends willing to rescue me from Barry Manilow. The world should be filled with friends willing to rescue me from Barry Manilow. There cannot be enough... okay... okay... Mr. mouse got to see Barry Manilow. I got to spend the evening at home with P. Life is good.

Saturday, we met up with a friend I used to work with and her little toddler. It was good to catch up and compare notes on reflux babies. She's got the impossible eater who's a normal weight. We've got the chug-a-lugger who's also normal, but tiny.

Sunday, we gave P a bath. And, although she wasn't happy, she wasn't miserable either. I don't know what changed, but I'll take it. P's also begun consonants to Mr. mouse's joy. And, she continues to practice pulling up and crawling. On another milestone, she's pretty much outgrown green pillow. She's big enough to go without it if we're in the car, and, at home, we just lie down together now. It'll be sad retiring green pillow for good.

Sunday afternoon, we went to the aquarium. The new membership got all of us in for free, and P got her first entrance bracelet to commemorate the occasion. For old times sake, we ate popcorn with her by the Caribbean Reef where we sat down timing contractions the day before she was born.

Sunday night, Tex Mex followed by tree trimming. Finally. It's one of the things on our to do list that got pushed back. Once we get the gates up, we'll have most of the big things done before we begin the big push to get ready for our party.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: Amazon. Saturday, we went to pick up packages and our Amazon package was missing. P's first Christmas present was missing. Not cool. And, UPS was so not helpful. Loaded for bear, I began the 1-800-someone'd-better-help-me-now-or-so-help-me-god calls. And, Amazon was amazing helpful. Yes, they began the claims process and the search process. But, why ruin a customer's Christmas in the interim? They mailed a second batch of books second day so that we'll get it in time for Christmas. Now, that's smart customer service.

12.14.09: Christmas Prep

Dear Friends and Family,

We spent part of the weekend with old friends from the Motor City doing our teeth cleaning thing. P did SO much better on this car trip than she did on the one six months ago. We left Thursday night, ~9 PM and she slept the whole way over. Then, on the way back, we left ~4:30 PM and she slept most of the way back (we stopped at dinner time for all three of us). Yeah for P!

Friday, we went to the dentist. Then, we ate lunch at one of our favorite delis - loading up on bread and butter to bring home. We tried a $200/lb ham ($8 for our serving size) and a $125/lb ham ($5 for our serving size) and had fun comparing the taste, texture, etc. of the two. The flavor is intense and goes a long way. Me? I preferred the cheaper of the two - it was more for fun than anything else.

After lunch, we picked up our annual Christmas ornament. We debated, briefly, picking up a separate ornament for P. Then, we decided not to. Since, eventually, one day, all of our ornaments will be hers. A quick sprint to load up on gear for dinner, and we were over at our friends' house noshing on french fries, potato skins, pumpernickel bread with dip, pizza and chinese spare ribs. Dessert? chocolate cake. Yumminess. Yes, it's an odd combination. But, we all had fun which is the important part.

Saturday, we lingered longer than planned, catching up with a friend over dim sum, so we didn't get Christmas cards/tree done like we originally planned. The cards may not go out until January - we're falling behind on our to do list and I'm beginning to re-prioritize to maintain my sanity.

Sunday, we did the bulk of our Christmas shopping. This year, Mr. mouse and I decided not to get each other anything. Instead, we'll be making a couple of charitable donations. Time to research worthy causes.


Cheers!
mouse

12.08.09: Happy Belated Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Snow tires on.

Saturday. Saturday. Saturday. I don't think we did anything of note. It was a lazy day at home playing with P. I think. Has my memory of the weekend faded already?

Sunday, we went out and picked up a tree. It's up in its stand in the living room, lights half on. We'll work on it throughout the week and hopefully get it done by the weekend. I'm a lot more excited about presents this year - presents for P.

Oh, Saturday, I did a couple of hours of work and then worked on the Christmas card. How quickly we forget. And, Saturday night, we went to a co-workers' Christmas party where we scored a jar of honey in the gift exchange.


Cheers!
mouse

11.30.09: Much Needed Long Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Ah... After a crazy fall, we had a much needed long weekend off. I feel like I've had enough time with P to get caught up and not feel so deprived or compromised.

What'd we do?

Tuesday: P and I left work/school early to beat the traffic home. It still took forever and a quarter, but it would have been worse if we hadn't left early. We went out Tuesday night to pick up a rug for P's new play area.

Wednesday: P and I met Mr. mouse for lunch. Then, we napped while Mr. mouse picked up the rug at the warehouse. We celebrated the start of the long weekend by going out for dinner - Thai.

Thursday: The whole day disappeared in a flurry of cooking since we didn't do the pies Wednesday night. Then, the evening disappeared in a flurry of eating since we didn't have much to eat all day.

Friday: I headed into work in the morning for a couple of hours to check in. Then, we met up with some friends for lunch and a jaunt over to the Art Institute. We took pictures of P that we could use to create a time lapse; we were there in July with other friends.

Saturday: We finished up some very belated thank you cards and cleaned house. Then, we met up with our friends for dinner (sushi) and then ice cream.

Sunday: More time with P followed by a Target run and dinner in Chinatown.

And, that was the weekend. P started a host of new tricks, but I'll write about those later this week.


Cheers!
mouse

11.23.09: Weekend at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

After three weekends on the road, we finally had a weekend at home.

We slept in both days, napped both afternoons, ran some errands and gloried in the amusement a six month old provides.

We fed P (apples, avocado, salmon and pumpkin - she loves apples). We watched P crawl (backwards). We heard P say hi - jury's out on whether it was intentional or not. We watched P pick things up and shake them and swat at things.

I so needed a weekend of nothing. Now, I'm off to work for a day and a half. I wanted to take the week off, but with the funeral and multiple trips home, I'm behind. So, I'm headed in for today and for an hour meeting tomorrow.


Cheers!
mouse

11.16.09: Closure

Dear Friends and Family,

We went home for the weekend for the funeral. And, for all my griping beforehand, I'm glad I went. I'll miss grandma. But, I won't. I'll see her again one day, and until then, she's with grandpa. They'd been separated for a long time so I'm glad they're together again now.

Administrivia: flew in Friday morning, wake Friday evening followed by dinner, funeral Saturday morning, followed by lunch and then time at home with my brother and sister and brother-in-law, flew out Sunday morning - it was warm for November and raining, a tropical storm was pushing rain our way - my brother had a chance to say his goodbyes alone, both at the wake and at the cemetery, my mom had her church group to support her - at the wake, one of the toughest, but one of the most touching moments was when the nurses from the nursing home showed up to say bye to grandma - I'm glad to be home again.

Pioneer had a tough time. She threw up four times on the flight out. Then, three more times at the airport. We switched her to Pedialyte and she was able to keep that down. We eased her back into milk on Saturday and she was back to her normal routine by Sunday. It was weird for her to be around all of these emotions. She's used to shiny happy people. And, she was lap child for the whole weekend, instead of being able to crawl around and spread out.

P contorted herself into a sitting position by herself while we were home - Saturday evening while my brother and sister were playing with her. She's getting better at the backwards crawling. We're beginning to see baby neck. She's a riot when she's eating. She grabs the spoon and shovels the food into her mouth sideways. She eats a little over an ounce at a time now. And, she's become more purposeful at the breast. When she was a newborn, it was a struggle. Then, she learned to lie still and open wide. Now, she wiggles and squirms towards me and grabs with her hands. It's really quite cute.

Sunday, we had our six month visit. P's still 50th percentile head. She's now 25-50th percentile height. And, not unexpectedly, 5th percentile weight. She got 5 shots including seasonal flu and H1N1. She fell backwards from a sitting position onto the floor twice last night. And, she had a tough time falling asleep. Five shots, two teeth and a bunch of moving parts is tough on anyone, much less a six month old.

Oh, and, we're going to try weaning her off of the Zantac. Wish us luck!


Cheers!
mouse

11.09.09: Weekend of Misunderstandings

Dear Friends and Family,

Sometimes, when Mr. mouse gets on a mission, it's just plain easier to roll with the punches than it is to resist. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often. And, usually it's relatively harmless.

This time, he got it in his head that he wanted to go see our Winter Cabin friends. So, we scrambled to get all of our errands done on Saturday. We took the early flight out. We took the later flight back. And, in between, we spent the day with our friends which was awesome.

Now, the less than awesome. I didn't get to sleep in on Sunday. And, I didn't get to nap or turn in early so I'm starting the week tired. We didn't get all of our errands done so I'm starting the week feeling behind.

And, since we didn't get to see any of my friends from old work, it was a partial trip. What it comes down to is, I'm not sure how our weekends are going to shape up. We have friends in town next weekend that we weren't originally planning on. And, the weekend after we're visiting the folks. And, at any given moment my time can be trumped. And, I guess I just wanted quiet time because lately I feel my schedule hasn't been my own. And, so, while I thoroughly enjoyed the trip out, I resented Mr. mouse taking away what little control I've had recently.

Pioneer is moving around like a champ. Not crawling, but turning and shifting to get from point A to point B. It's not intentional, just happen chance. She's making progress on the food front - she ate almost a half ounce of peas last night. She's still talking up a storm. And, she's beginning to exhibit stranger anxiety. All of which makes me feel like she's growing up too fast. Yet, when she's asleep in my arms, like she was on the flight home, she's still a baby. I couldn't stop watching her last night - poopy diaper and all. My sweetest.


Cheers!
mouse

11.04.09: Processing

Dear Friends and Family,

It's cold now. And, it's dark at night.

P's crawling backwards. And, we can feel a tooth coming in even if we can't see it. She's laughing a lot again after a period when her smiles were harder to win. And, she's talking a ton after a period when she was listening more than squealing. P's a consistent sleeper on the morning rides in, and an inconsistent sleeper on the rides home.

She's SO curious about our food, it makes me laugh. But, when we tried mashed potatoes last night, she vomited it all up. We laughed. She laughed. We try again tonight.

And, I'm still trying to come to terms about grandma. She has good days. She has bad days. They're not feeding her so I feel like that's numbering her days. She has trouble swallowing her food so the decision on how to proceed isn't obvious.

I'm still processing.

And, my mom talks about coming out/moving out to help with P. I'm not sure I want the help, truth be told. I'm kinda enjoying it the way it is now.

I'm still processing.

And, that, my friends, is my life right now. Lots of thinking. Not a lot of insights.


Cheers!
mouse

10.26.09: A Weekend to Remember

Dear Friends and Family,

We couldn't have had a better weekend.

Friday, Mr. mouse and I picked P up at daycare. And, she took her first "step" while we were packing up her stuff. Granted, it was a backward step while crawling that she hasn't done again since, but still, it was fun to see it live together.

Saturday, we spent the day shopping for fall clothes for P and then we went over to a friend's house for an impromptu dinner. P showed off her sitting up skills (she can sit without leaning on her hands for support now) and the girls took turns reading P's books to her. It was so cute to watch.

Sunday, we sorted through P's clothes and packed away most of her 0-3 months clothes. Then, we took P out for fall pictures. She was precious in her Halloween costume. And, we got some great family pictures amongst the foliage. P fell asleep, and Mr. mouse and I took the opportunity to enjoy the fall weather and took a walk with her asleep in her stroller. The weather was perfect. The leaves were beautiful. I brought home six leaves to press in a book and save for P.

I'm glad we had the time to go out and enjoy it all and to capture the moment.

And, to cap off the weekend, Mr. mouse and I fed P. She had some mashed avocados mixed with milk. I'm not sure if she's a fan. We'll try again tonight. She's a big girl now. And, I've made it past the toughest (at least the toughest one I anticipated) hurdle with breastfeeding.


Cheers!
mouse

10.19.09: Quiet Time

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a quiet weekend at home and it was perfect.

Saturday was a bunch of errands. We gassed the car, picked up mail, picked up groceries, got an oil change, ate lunch, bought a rice cooker, picked up makeup, picked up P clothes, and still made it home to spend time with P in the evening. Pile on laundry and some mouse pad organization and it was a full day.

Sunday, we went to our favorite bar to watch our favorite auto racing series. Then, we dropped off forms at the doctor's office for P. And, we came home and spent the rest of the day playing and folding laundry.

P's been spending a lot of time in nuestra cama (aka our bed) this weekend. She's been sick and waking in the middle of the night. I guess it's okay, but I'm aware that she may be sleep training us.

She's also gotten uber-dexterous at picking up items and sticking them in her mouth. She'll reach for items and hold them for extended periods of time now. I've been encouraging her to play with a spoon we bought for her under the premise that that's step 1 in feeding her. Step 2 will be feeding her milk with her spoon. Step 3 will be "human" food. The reasoning is that feeding can be broken down into a series of steps which ultimately culminate in eating. I'm assuming steps 1 & 2 can be an any night of the week activity. And, step 3, we'll probably attempt on a Friday night and over the weekend so we can monitor her and take it slow. Mr. mouse bought rice cereal, carrots, peas and sweet potatoes for us to experiment with. I'm still lobbying for homemade mashed potatoes.

And, now, it's Monday. P has a cold, but I'm going to bring her into daycare anyway. I may bring her home for the afternoon depending upon my schedule. We'll see how the day plays out.


Cheers!
mouse

10.12.09: Marathon Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend to recharge both physically and emotionally.

I took Friday off and flew home to see my grandmother. P stayed home with Mr. mouse. While it would have been nice to go as a group, this way I didn't have to worry about packing all of her gear, getting her on a plane, and then getting home on what promised to be a crazy Friday night. I went round and round before landing on this solution, and, in the end, it worked out perfectly for me.

Grandma was doing, well, not great, but better. They had her heart rate under control and her infection was doing better. But, she's still not eating. Honestly, I think it's only a matter of time. So, that makes it that much more important to enjoy the time we do have left with her.

Friday afternoon, I flew home. P was sleeping by the time I got home which made Friday her first 100% bottle fed day - she ate after I got on the plane and before I got home. My girl's growing up.

Saturday and Sunday, our Quebecois friends were in town for the marathon. We had brunch with Fred and Gen. Then, we stopped by a baby store to have a look see. We picked up a little something something for them since they're expecting in December. Then, they headed back to the hotel and we headed home. I spent the afternoon with P while Mr. mouse took Fred and Gen and Chantal and Eric to see the Frank Lloyd Wright houses.

We all converged on the mouse house for the traditional pasta dinner before everyone turned in for the night.

Sunday morning, Mr. mouse, Fred and Gen headed out as race support. It was Chantal's first marathon and Eric was attempting qualification for Beantown. In the end, they both accomplished their respective goals. P and I took the train out and met up with everyone for the champagne toast. Cheers!

It was nice spending the morning napping with P and playing with her. She's at a very cute age now. And, our P and Two Unicorns saga continues when we go out. Mr. mouse wonders what it'll be like when she regresses to the norm. I think he's being optimistic. She's going to be a head turner for awhile if she continues on her current trajectory.

P and I had more nap time in the afternoon while Mr. mouse ran errands. Then, the happy six plus one met up for dinner before we all turned in for the night. I'm looking forward to next year. We promised to make it a ritual. Eric laid down the gauntlet, he'll defer Beantown for a year (if he can) so that Gen can qualify - then they can run Beantown together.

Game on.


Cheers!
mouse

10.05.09: Mile High City

Dear Friends and Family,

We flew out Saturday to go to my friend's wedding. We were a little discombobulated on the way out. We left a bag at home that had P's bottle and milk for Saturday in it (along with my pump). The wheel on the stroller broke. We almost left Mr. mouse's bag in the wrong rental car. And, the list goes on from there. Fortunately, we were able to break the streak and get back to our normal selves.

We met up with KAR for lunch - only the line was too long for dim sum. So, we had Vietnamese before going for dim sum. Then, we went back to the hotel, changed and headed out for the wedding. P slept the entire evening. I had a chance to catch up with a ton of friends from grad school. I was toying with skipping the wedding and going home to see my grandmother. I'm glad I went.

Sunday, we slept in one extra hour. And, we enjoyed the morning with P. The sun was streaming into the room (I miss the sun) and we took a ton of pictures of our almost five month old. This past month really flew.

We packed up and headed out for the airport. And, then the fun and games began. Our flight was delayed for mechanicals. Sensing impending doom, we headed over to the gate for the St. Louis flight, but it was full. We did some math and headed over to the Omaha flight and got on standby. We hung out in Omaha for two hours eating and feeding P. Then, we missed the first of the Omaha flights home, but caught the second flight home. P had a melt down in the car because she was hungry.

I ended the weekend tired from a day spent trying to get home, with two phone calls I need to return (my sister and my cousin), and a mountain of email for work. But, it was worth it. I wish we had made it back earlier since my sister was driving through town and a direct flight is always easier (btw, our original flight eventually cancelled).

Now, the question looms about the upcoming weekend. I would love to spend it at home, resting, catching up on work, and seeing our friends in town for the marathon. But, I'm torn. Should I go home to see my grandmother? She's back in the hospital and I know it's only a matter of time.

I feel like a horrible person. I know for the sake of my sanity I need to simplify my life. I have to prioritize. And, I resent that my priorities are being forced. Instead of enjoying time with P, I need to balance the needs of my family - to go home to see my grandmother, to call family members with updates, to do the things that need to be done.

This week, I need to squeeze in a manicure (my nails have gotten obscene), a bath for P (because our flight was delayed yesterday), gas fill up (this one should be self evident) and errand catch up from the weekend. Let's hope 1. traffic isn't a disaster like it was last week and 2. P sleeps through the night - she didn't last night.

I guess what it comes down to is the last month flew by. And, I don't want the next two or three months to fly by with us doing what needs to be done for my family. Then, we wake up and find P's grown up a ton and we missed it because we weren't there for it.

There's never a right answer, is there?


Cheers!
mouse

09.28.09: Calm before the Storm

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a long list of errands to run this weekend, but ended up accomplishing not much of anything.

Saturday, we slept in. Then, it was a flurry of activity to get out to the mailbox to get home to go to meet friends for lunch to get a wedding gift to get home to meet friends to eat dinner and put P to sleep to get work done. See what I mean?

Sunday, I got up early and did more work since Mr. mouse and P were sleeping. I vetoed F1, and instead we gave P a bath and ate lunch at home. Then, I passed out while Mr. mouse got some work done. We went out to dinner and then Mr. mouse passed out while I got my standard evening to do list done.

And, now it's Monday and the start of a hectic week. Tonight: work. Tuesday: doctor's appointment. Wednesday: concert. Thursday: breathe. Friday: pack.

Pioneer's picked up new tricks. She reaches for our faces. She passes things from hand to hand. She picks up her pacifier. And, she crawls backwards. It's all darling.

And, Mr. mouse may be brought round to the food train. I'm for trying it since it decreases milk demand making my job easier although I am afraid of ye olde nursing strike. Mr. mouse was all for delaying as long as humanly possible since, after all, why not? But, now he's being brought around by the oddest of arguments: waiting may make P a pickier eater. Okay, if that's what works for him, fine with me. We'll see.


Cheers!
mouse

09.21.09: P and Great Grandma

Dear Friends and Family,

After all my griping, I'm glad we went home.

I'm not sure my grandma recognized either Mr. mouse or me, but when she said baby, my heart broke. We got to the hospital shortly after lunch. My mom fed my grandmother while I fed P. Then, we spent some time talking to my grandmother, but with little response.

Mr. mouse fed my grandmother after my mom was done. And, with his patience, he got her to eat almost three quarters of her lunch. He's amazing.

Around 3, when it was time for P's bottle, she started crying. We decided to let her fuss and brought her over to my grandmother who heard her cries and opened her eyes and said baby. Then, she said the Korean equivalent of oh my. Then, she asked if it was a boy or a girl. She patted P and tried to hold her close to her. Then, she told me her lower back hurt from lying in one spot, so we moved her to make her more comfortable and she fell back asleep.

It wasn't a long visit. And, it was sad to see her so weak. But, to see her interact with P. It was worth it. I'm not sure how seeing her earlier would have been since it's only recently that P would have been capable of interacting.

We called yesterday and my mom said my grandma's not doing as well as she was on Saturday. She hadn't eaten much yesterday. I'm not sure how much of that is chance and how much of that is that Mr. mouse is so patient. I want to believe the former, but I can't help believing a tiny bit of the latter. I just want her to eat so she can regain her strength and get better.

In contrast, Sunday, we stayed in the neighborhood all day. We slept in and ate a simple lunch while P was napping. We hit the farmer's market, the bakery and the baby store. P and I napped while Mr. mouse took care of the house. We ate dinner and everyone turned in early last night.


Cheers!
mouse

09.14.09: P and the Unicorn

Dear Friends and Family,

What a fabulous weekend.

Saturday, we spent the morning playing with P. Then, had a couple of friends over for lunch before heading out to a local art fair.

P's gotten really good at picking up objects and putting them into her mouth. She's also gotten good at the sitting thing. Since the lighting was good and she was happy, we played and took pictures. Our favorite way to spend a weekend morning.

Our friends brought over their newborn. He's eight weeks old, but through a combination of genetics and a lot of formula, he's nearly P's size even if she's nearly double his age. He was on his back blissfully staring off as newborns do. And, she was on her stomach watching him intently. Well, we kept bringing them closer and closer to see what would happen... Well, eventually they got close enough that he was able to reach her face and he did and she startled and the sad face followed by the loud cries made me get up to go over and soothe her. She plays with other babies all of the time at daycare, I guess she's just not used to it at home.

The art fair. It was palpable. The squeals. The gasps. The wake of commentary. The oh-my-gods. The heads turning. The people back tracking to see P. Mr. mouse commented that he could have been a unicorn and no one would have noticed him. They would have just noticed P. Sad, but probably true.

We picked up a shirt for her. We're buying 6-12 month clothing, not because she's anywhere near that size, but she's got a ton of 0-3 she's wearing and two drawers of 3-6 waiting for her. And, we picked up two more of our favorite blue jumper for her.

Saturday night, she crashed hard after the full day out.

Sunday, after some super fun play time, we headed out to watch the F1 race. She did really well and even took a cat nap at the bar. We walked the neighborhood in the afternoon. We bought a present for B and Chef M. They're moving next week and we wanted to get them a little something.

Then, P had a little trouble falling asleep. So, we stayed in for a couple of hours before heading over to B and Chef M's place for dinner. P ate just after we arrived, smiled for her adoring crowds, and fell asleep on the couch while we ate dinner like normal people. She slept the car ride home. And, she slept in her crib when we transferred her.

Like I said, what a fabulous weekend.


Cheers!
mouse

09.08.09: Labor Day Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

We didn't do much over the long weekend. Just quiet time at home with P.

Saturday, we slept in, checked mail, returned a car seat, ate some barbecue and came home for the evening.

Sunday, we slept in, let P nap, shopped for some baby clothes, ate dinner and came home for the evening. Sadly, we went through her clothes and sorted out the ones she's finally outgrown.

Monday, we slept in, let P nap, mailed some boxes, and grilled on the deck for the evening.

And, now, it's Tuesday. And, I've got to go get ready for work. Sorry for the short post.


Cheers!
mouse

08.31.09: Birthday Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Birthday weekend! Mr. mouse treated me to the best of weekends to celebrate.

We flew out Saturday morning. Mr. mouse's folks picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel. We got upgraded to a suite because our room wasn't ready. Then, we packed the bags and headed out to the ball park. Pioneer had her first train ride and her first ball game. Afterward, we took the train to my Mom's store and headed back to the hotel together. My mom watched Pioneer while Mr. mouse and I went out to birthday dinner. Sunday morning, my mom came over again to play with P. We all went out to lunch together. And, then, she dropped us off at the airport for our trip back home.

Pioneer did awesome on the plane ride out. We fed her as we took off. She played with Mr. mouse during the flight. And, she snoozed on the way down. The trip home was tougher. She was tired and our flight was delayed. We had a couple of squeals out of her, but nothing extended.

Pioneer also did her first train ride like a pro. She just sat in her sling and watched everyone on the train.

The weather was a little iffy. The threat of rain was hanging over our heads. But, it was cool enough with enough cloud cover to not feel like we were baking in the sun. P sat in my lap for most of the game watching the world around her. Then, she slept in my lap until just before the seventh inning stretch. When she woke, we headed under cover to walk the ball park and take some pictures. We figured we wouldn't press our baby luck or weather luck.

Dinner was nice. I did a lot better without P than at our first dinner out when she was two months old. I was able to relax and enjoy time alone with Mr. mouse. We reminisced about childhood dinners with our folks. And, about life in general and life now with P. And, just about random thoughts like we used to. I got tired waiting for the check, but the extra almond cookies our waiter threw in the to go bag made up for it.

P had a less than perfect night. I think she was tired from the day, was hungry a little earlier than normal, and needed to go poopy. She played with my mom for an hour and then cried for a spell before she had her bottle and then she promptly passed out. My mom didn't mind the crying so all was well.

Sunday morning was a marathon feeding/changing session. But, the scale didn't show any huge jumps when we weighed her last night.

And, now we're home. Two days of work and then I'm taking Wednesday off to head out to the ball park. Yeah for birthdays!


Cheers!
mouse

08.24.09: Weekend at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

We spent a quiet weekend at home knowing that next weekend will be a busy one.

Saturday, we slept in. I think we all needed it.

Then, we went to get my driver's license renewed. I could have done it by mail, but I wanted a new picture. I was 55 pounds heavier in my old picture (before Weight Watchers) and thought the hour wait well worth the new picture. Now the big question, do I take my picture again in four years, since I'm still carrying around baby weight? Guess we see in four years.

For lunch, we went for Korean fried chicken. P had lunch compliments of our super convenient booth with high walls. Breastfeeding can be more convenient. It can definitely be less convenient. We're still doing it for now. My new goal: four months. We'll assess again at that point.

We came home. Mommy manicure time. Then, Mr. mouse stayed at home and played with P while I headed out for a wedding. One of my friends from work was getting married and I wanted to go. Since it looked like an adults only affair, we split for the evening. I'm glad I went. I miss some people who moved to a new department.

Sunday, we got up early to get ready for our dratted doctor's appointment. This time, armed with a real baby scale that we finally broke down and bought and a bottle of wine we weighed three times to calibrate our three scales (there's under a half ounce in question between the three scales), we went in loaded for bear. And, I mean loaded for bear. I'm sick and tired of the bullshit stress that comes from the bullshit weigh-ins that never seem to go well.

Okay. Baby: 10 pounds, 4 ounces. Wine: 2 pounds, 15 ounces.

As soon as we got into the exam room and the assistant left, we grabbed the bottle of wine to tare the scale. Neither Mr. mouse nor I had any interest in undressing P if the scale was off. What does the wine weigh? 2 pounds 7 ounces. Re-tared and re-weighed. 2 pounds 9 ounces. I'm ape @%#$! at this point. We grabbed the baby and the bottle and bounced from empty room to empty room until we found a room that weighed the bottle at 2 pounds 15 ounces. Room 15.

I went out to the reception desk and requested a room switch. And, they were all eyebrows like um, no. And, I was I'M HERE FOR A $%#@! WEIGH-IN AND THE SCALE IN MY ROOM IS WRONG! There's nothing like crazy mom to get service people to take a step back and re-evaluate. Is this the hill we're all going to die on? They switched our room to room 15. The doctor came in. He said as long as P is above 10 pounds we're free to go on our merry way. We undressed her and weighed her. 10 pounds, 3.5 ounces. Whoopee! I can only imagine what she would have weighed in the initial room. And, I'm 1,000% sure there's some poor mom going through some poor weight crisis because her child was weighed in the other room.

After our glorious weigh in, savoring our new re-found sense of freedom, we headed out to meet B and Chef M for lunch. They had eaten, but it was a good chance for us to catch up with them. After lunch, P and I, mostly me, slept away the afternoon.

Happy Monday!


Cheers!
mouse

08.17.09: Caught Up on Sleep

Dear Friends and Family,

Happy Monday!

Friday, I was able to get out of work a little early and decompress after week two. Saturday, I caught up on sleep with a huge afternoon nap. And, Sunday, I slept in. And, now it's Monday again. May the cumulative sleep deprivation begin!

But wait, there's more. Our neighbors from the Winter Cabin have been in town since Wednesday night. Mr. mouse took Friday off to eat hot dogs, watch planes and go shopping. Saturday, we split. The men went to watch the Air and Water Show while the women stayed home and enjoyed the air conditioning, Harry Potter and playing/napping with P. Sunday, P got a bath. Then, we headed out to a delicious brunch, a popcorn pit stop, a walk in the park, some TV golf and then everyone headed out while I watched P for the night. She and I played and ate and played and napped and ate and slept some more. And, then, everyone else came back and we had pizza and ice cream and the weekend was over.

P's cold is a lot better. There's still the occasional cough and sneeze, but the congestion seems to have passed and she seems a lot happier/more comfortable now. This weekend, we played at conversation which she's gotten really good at and at holding toys which is something she's starting to do and at rollover/rollback which seem like foreign concepts to her. And, just for the record, she clasped both hands together Sunday night.


Cheers!
mouse