Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Developments
We are going to replace the windows. All of them. Except for a few in the basement, in a pathetic attempt to save money, which is silly because they are a lot cheaper than regular windows.
Aaron is starting a new job in a couple weeks, ending his ne'er do well student existence. He'll be able to walk to work three days a week.
We have tooth #3 breakthrough as of yesterday. #4 to follow soon.
Aaron is starting a new job in a couple weeks, ending his ne'er do well student existence. He'll be able to walk to work three days a week.
We have tooth #3 breakthrough as of yesterday. #4 to follow soon.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Iron Chef Rochester
Hey look, I didn't post for a day. That usually indicates that my day was craptastically hectic in one way or another and usually involves some level of sleep deprivation.
Speaking of sleep, or no sleep, Dylan's sleep has been mediocre lately, which makes us tired and cranky around here. However, it hasn't been so bad that we realize why we're cranky so there's a lot of grumbling about nothing in particular. We're fun! Come hang out with us!
We attended an awesome awesome Iron Chef competition last night, starting at Wegman's and ending three and a half hours later with judges critiquing food in dubbed English. We had to leave before the results were announced (ahem, Ms. Baby McSleepyCrank), adding yet another thing to my list of things needing closure.
Perhaps another reason that I was particularly addled by lack of sleep today was my 7:30am meeting. IN BUFFALO. I had to be back in Rochester by 9:30am and the guy I was meeting was 25 minutes late, so that was a little excitement for me. Also exciting, the whole waking up at 5:30am thing. I think this was one of about four times since Dylan was born that I got up before she did. I did get to spend the morning driving around town with the one of the county lead inspectors. Grad students need field trips too.
It better cool off before Snuffy melts into a puddle of high strung chocolate.
Speaking of sleep, or no sleep, Dylan's sleep has been mediocre lately, which makes us tired and cranky around here. However, it hasn't been so bad that we realize why we're cranky so there's a lot of grumbling about nothing in particular. We're fun! Come hang out with us!
We attended an awesome awesome Iron Chef competition last night, starting at Wegman's and ending three and a half hours later with judges critiquing food in dubbed English. We had to leave before the results were announced (ahem, Ms. Baby McSleepyCrank), adding yet another thing to my list of things needing closure.
Perhaps another reason that I was particularly addled by lack of sleep today was my 7:30am meeting. IN BUFFALO. I had to be back in Rochester by 9:30am and the guy I was meeting was 25 minutes late, so that was a little excitement for me. Also exciting, the whole waking up at 5:30am thing. I think this was one of about four times since Dylan was born that I got up before she did. I did get to spend the morning driving around town with the one of the county lead inspectors. Grad students need field trips too.
It better cool off before Snuffy melts into a puddle of high strung chocolate.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
It would be like a clown car except that it's a giant SUV
After a lengthy discussion about where to eat lunch yesterday we decided the in-town options would be far too convenient and so piled six people, one baby, one dog, and one baby's attendant stuff into the car and drove twenty-five minutes to Doug's:
You get the idea.
We like going to Doug's with Snuffy because they have picnic tables outside. This time, however, the tables had no umbrellas so it was more like an oven than a pleasant place to eat. We inquired inside as to whether they had any umbrellas squirreled away somewhere, but it turned out the umbrellas had Budweiser written on them and they no longer sell Budweiser and things had gotten ugly, so Snuffy got put in the car and we went inside to eat.
You get the idea.
We like going to Doug's with Snuffy because they have picnic tables outside. This time, however, the tables had no umbrellas so it was more like an oven than a pleasant place to eat. We inquired inside as to whether they had any umbrellas squirreled away somewhere, but it turned out the umbrellas had Budweiser written on them and they no longer sell Budweiser and things had gotten ugly, so Snuffy got put in the car and we went inside to eat.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Another Graduate
And in red, no less.
Dylan mind-bogglingly made it through the whole ceremony, including a choral number that sounded like it was straight out of RENT!
She now says mama and dada pretty convincingly for me and Aaron, although some have hypothesized that "mama" = "food" after she convincingly said mama when presented with some applesauce. She starts waving byebye to her teachers the minute I walk into her daycare room. I still go in to nurse her sometimes, and if the rocking chair is taken I sit on the floor and am instantly surrounded by two-foot-tall boys since there are still no other girls in her room.
Now, my birthday is a week from tomorrow, so I hope you all have your preparations underway. My parents are celebrating by fleeing the country that day.
Dylan mind-bogglingly made it through the whole ceremony, including a choral number that sounded like it was straight out of RENT!
She now says mama and dada pretty convincingly for me and Aaron, although some have hypothesized that "mama" = "food" after she convincingly said mama when presented with some applesauce. She starts waving byebye to her teachers the minute I walk into her daycare room. I still go in to nurse her sometimes, and if the rocking chair is taken I sit on the floor and am instantly surrounded by two-foot-tall boys since there are still no other girls in her room.
Now, my birthday is a week from tomorrow, so I hope you all have your preparations underway. My parents are celebrating by fleeing the country that day.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Re: where were the croissants
Belated Aaron Replacement of the Day from last week:
Pig Butt:
She gets one hour of freedom a day if she's good
Push up
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Let's say it was jet lag
I got a call from daycare today. Was I going to come over and feed Dylan? Because she doesn't have any bottles. Perhaps in France they don't feed the babies.
Here is our loot from France:
And here is Aaron's Father's Day loot (I let him share the glory after all):
And here is who the City of Rochester has recorded as owning our house:
And here is a baby, who eventually got fed:
Here is our loot from France:
And here is Aaron's Father's Day loot (I let him share the glory after all):
And here is who the City of Rochester has recorded as owning our house:
And here is a baby, who eventually got fed:
Monday, June 18, 2007
Aaron's home
Dylan looked at him a bit skeptically at the airport, but warmed up quickly. Which was good, since I handed her over and went to my ultimate game.
We had our Father's Day today. That was good, because Aaron got up at midnight Eastern time and is still up at 9:42pm, so he had a whole lot of Father's Day to enjoy.
And now I would like to document how Dylan and Snuffy spent three hours tag teaming me yesterday morning.
7:45am: Dylan up. This is sleeping in for her, but not enough sleep because she was up so late.
7:50am: Snuffy hears us up and whimpers to go out. He can't as Dylan nurses *forever*.
8:10am: We all go for a walk even though Dylan and I would prefer to stuff our faces with breakfast.
8:30am: Dylan has various hunks of food on her tray to feed herself (or not). Snuffy has a carbohydrate compulsion and Dylan has figured out how much fun it is to feed the dog. Constant intervention required.
9:00am: Breakfast takes a looong time.
9:20am: Dylan starting to lose it, gets put down for a nap.
9:45am: Dylan not asleep yet.
10:00am: Dylan finally asleep. Right at the start of doggy play group, the easiest, most convenient way to wear Snuffy out. Other Snuffercise options for the day looking grim.
10:01am: Kate asleep.
10:45am: Snuffy barks wildly with excitement.
10:45:01am: Kate and Dylan awake.
The hours of 5:30pm to 9:00pm were remarkably similar.
We had our Father's Day today. That was good, because Aaron got up at midnight Eastern time and is still up at 9:42pm, so he had a whole lot of Father's Day to enjoy.
And now I would like to document how Dylan and Snuffy spent three hours tag teaming me yesterday morning.
7:45am: Dylan up. This is sleeping in for her, but not enough sleep because she was up so late.
7:50am: Snuffy hears us up and whimpers to go out. He can't as Dylan nurses *forever*.
8:10am: We all go for a walk even though Dylan and I would prefer to stuff our faces with breakfast.
8:30am: Dylan has various hunks of food on her tray to feed herself (or not). Snuffy has a carbohydrate compulsion and Dylan has figured out how much fun it is to feed the dog. Constant intervention required.
9:00am: Breakfast takes a looong time.
9:20am: Dylan starting to lose it, gets put down for a nap.
9:45am: Dylan not asleep yet.
10:00am: Dylan finally asleep. Right at the start of doggy play group, the easiest, most convenient way to wear Snuffy out. Other Snuffercise options for the day looking grim.
10:01am: Kate asleep.
10:45am: Snuffy barks wildly with excitement.
10:45:01am: Kate and Dylan awake.
The hours of 5:30pm to 9:00pm were remarkably similar.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
More Notes
- The ice cream truck drives by the house at 9:00pm every night, in an apparent effort to drive the local children from their beds.
- It stays light until 9:30pm. Nice, but it also may give you an idea of how early it gets dark in winter. (early)
- I am done with baby food. Well, mentally done. I'm still giving Dylan some pureed stuff, but she can chew now so it seems a little silly.
- She chews, but still only has the two teeth. Which makes them all the more precious, so we brush them with this goofy thing, which she loves.
- Dylan will play by herself for A LONG TIME. It is awesome. Let's hope it's a permanent character trait.
- I'm taking myself out to dinner for Father's Day, since really I've been a mother and a father to this child. For a week, anyway.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Notes
- We often walk past a really pretty garden a few blocks away. I was admiring the mulch around the trees and bushes when I noticed that they had also mulched around the fire hydrant.
- There were two eight-year-old girls at the playground today calling each other Shiloh and Zahara.
- Dylan has been a viking (present night excluded) at putting herself to sleep this week. That is important because Aaron is usually a viking at putting her to sleep and I am usually whatever the opposite of a viking is.
- As I was walking Snuffy today a woman in the neighborhood asked, "Is that the same dog but with a haircut?"
- Dylan has started doing a couple of toddler kids of things, like being completely unwilling to have anything to do with new foods and wanting to do sort of boring things over and over. For example, I have been coarsely mashing up avocado in her breakfast for a long time, so she knows the flavor and texture, but when I put pieces on her tray they don't get anywhere near her mouth.
- She has been in a spectacular mood for days and days, and friendly to one and all.
- And cuddly.
- I got to go to a concert last night.
- And a possibly ill-advised bonfire tonight. Might as well since the baby's not asleep anyway...
Thursday, June 14, 2007
If you thought the insurance posts were fun...
I had the house tested for lead today. The entire detached garage, the lower half of the kitchen, every single window in the house, the inside of the cute little milk box that serves as our mailbox, and miscellaneous other surfaces tested positive. Awesome. The house has 23 windows in the main living areas (seems excessive, no? why is all that light and exposure to the outside necessary?). We didn't even bother testing any dust samples because they were almost guaranteed to be positive and it won't change the work we need to do.
We pretty much need to address all the positive areas because the paint is chipping in a lot of them. For the garage we may just have siding put on because it would match the rest of the house and we wouldn't have to worry about maintaining it. For everything but the windows we can easily put another coat of paint on and it will be fine. We can paint inside the windows too, but some of them are deteriorating pretty badly and it would be nice to replace them altogether. But, you know, 23. Gah.
The city has a grant program of up to $24,000 for homeowners with little kids who need to get rid of lead and don't have any money. Needless to say, the process is excruciating. Having learned about the program today, I have already been to City Hall, where I had to go in person to fill out a form to be mailed an application, then to the County Clerk to pick up two very intimidating forms because I need to make some changes to the deed to qualify, then to a legal documents store to get a blank deed, lord knows why. I get the sense that this process takes a while.
We pretty much need to address all the positive areas because the paint is chipping in a lot of them. For the garage we may just have siding put on because it would match the rest of the house and we wouldn't have to worry about maintaining it. For everything but the windows we can easily put another coat of paint on and it will be fine. We can paint inside the windows too, but some of them are deteriorating pretty badly and it would be nice to replace them altogether. But, you know, 23. Gah.
The city has a grant program of up to $24,000 for homeowners with little kids who need to get rid of lead and don't have any money. Needless to say, the process is excruciating. Having learned about the program today, I have already been to City Hall, where I had to go in person to fill out a form to be mailed an application, then to the County Clerk to pick up two very intimidating forms because I need to make some changes to the deed to qualify, then to a legal documents store to get a blank deed, lord knows why. I get the sense that this process takes a while.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Lessons Learned: June 13th 2007
1) Do not grease self and baby up with sunscreen before attempting to clip baby's nails.
2) Unlike my exuberant, ineffective dog, that cat down the street actually catches the chipmunks it chases.
3) As a courtesy to other parents and teachers, do not loudly announce upon dropping your child off at daycare that he has diarrhea! He went five times yesterday! Good luck with that, teachers!
4) Babies: not good on the phone.
Excerpt from today's itinerary:
"Considered the most French of all French villages by some, Lavardin offers the ruins of an 11th-century chateau, and a church (St. Genest's) with murals from several eras. Watch for the small sign indicating the 20-minute walking tour, on your right soon after you take the left turn in town. But first, the ruins of Lavardin, a feudal fortress. Richard Lionheart tried unsuccessfully to attack Lavardin in 1188; it remained strategically important well into the 16th century."
Aaron Replacement of the Day
2) Unlike my exuberant, ineffective dog, that cat down the street actually catches the chipmunks it chases.
3) As a courtesy to other parents and teachers, do not loudly announce upon dropping your child off at daycare that he has diarrhea! He went five times yesterday! Good luck with that, teachers!
4) Babies: not good on the phone.
Excerpt from today's itinerary:
"Considered the most French of all French villages by some, Lavardin offers the ruins of an 11th-century chateau, and a church (St. Genest's) with murals from several eras. Watch for the small sign indicating the 20-minute walking tour, on your right soon after you take the left turn in town. But first, the ruins of Lavardin, a feudal fortress. Richard Lionheart tried unsuccessfully to attack Lavardin in 1188; it remained strategically important well into the 16th century."
Aaron Replacement of the Day
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
On my own
Yesterday was fairly hectic, although I can't actually claim to have done much single parenting since Aaron's mom stayed over last night to help. I didn't get a picture, so perhaps you could visualize one for my "Aaron Replacement of the Day" series. I played in my second summer league ultimate game and got slammed in the calf by an errant clutzy knee, so I have been hobbling pathetically around. Dylan didn't go to bed until 10:00, but slept through until 7:00. That isn't really enough sleep for her, but it was a reprieve for me. I got her down at 7:00 this evening, so perhaps we will have some kind of sleep coup tonight.
In case you are having escapist fantasies, I thought you might want to follow along with Aaron's bike trip in France. Here is an excerpt from today's route:
"Among the town's curiosities are the 11th-century hilltop St. Martin's church; excellent views from la butte (ed: ha!) near the church; a 150-foot well that is known for its echo (grand puits); and numerous homes, secret stairways, and passageways carved into the rock. Some of these caves have been inhabited since medieval times, and served as hideouts in time of war. You'll probably want to walk, rather than bike, to the top of the hill, with panoramic views of the Loir valley. Down near the river is a cave with limestone formations (grotte petrifiante)."
In case you are having escapist fantasies, I thought you might want to follow along with Aaron's bike trip in France. Here is an excerpt from today's route:
"Among the town's curiosities are the 11th-century hilltop St. Martin's church; excellent views from la butte (ed: ha!) near the church; a 150-foot well that is known for its echo (grand puits); and numerous homes, secret stairways, and passageways carved into the rock. Some of these caves have been inhabited since medieval times, and served as hideouts in time of war. You'll probably want to walk, rather than bike, to the top of the hill, with panoramic views of the Loir valley. Down near the river is a cave with limestone formations (grotte petrifiante)."
Monday, June 11, 2007
Send help
Dylan...trying...to...kill...us...all
In lieu of any kind of thinking, pictures+captions:
Dung beetle
Casualties
Now with crusing action!
She may or may not have been taking part in a musical theater production
Weight conscious
In lieu of any kind of thinking, pictures+captions:
Dung beetle
Casualties
Now with crusing action!
She may or may not have been taking part in a musical theater production
Weight conscious
Sunday, June 10, 2007
To the glue factory with her
I have spent three quarters of my time in the past day trying to get Dylan to sleep. Her morning nap today took an hour's worth of sleep-induction for 25 minutes worth of nap. For the past five nights she has woken up between 1am and 3am and not been able to get back to sleep for a minimum of one hour. No, that's not quite right -- we can rock her to sleep, but we can't put her down. Just like a newborn. A little flashback to a time I've already blocked out almost completely.
Aaron Replacement of the Day
Aaron Replacement of the Day
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Outnumbered
Phew. I need closure. Speaking of closure, let us spend a few minutes in quiet reflection. Now that we've all shared that religious experience I will faith heal you through your mouse, keyboard, or touch pad.
Faced with the task of caring for Dylan and Snuffy on my own, I did what anyone would do: started a massive cleaning project and took a trip to the cemetery.
We've been expecting you.
I almost got some time to myself tonight, but Snuffy started barking at a key moment in the bedtime process and set me back a couple of hours.
Dylan got to meet Frederick Douglass. We would have kept going to visit Susan B. Anthony, but I guess someone is not impressed by things like equality and justice.
Snuffy and Dylan got a little mixed up about whose fluffy head is supposed to infringe on whose pictures.
Oh, and Snuffy found Jesus.
The entire downstairs of the house is a huge disaster at the moment. I'm sure Aaron would want me to wait for him to get home to clean it up so I don't strain myself.
Faced with the task of caring for Dylan and Snuffy on my own, I did what anyone would do: started a massive cleaning project and took a trip to the cemetery.
We've been expecting you.
I almost got some time to myself tonight, but Snuffy started barking at a key moment in the bedtime process and set me back a couple of hours.
Dylan got to meet Frederick Douglass. We would have kept going to visit Susan B. Anthony, but I guess someone is not impressed by things like equality and justice.
Snuffy and Dylan got a little mixed up about whose fluffy head is supposed to infringe on whose pictures.
Oh, and Snuffy found Jesus.
The entire downstairs of the house is a huge disaster at the moment. I'm sure Aaron would want me to wait for him to get home to clean it up so I don't strain myself.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Thrown to the Wolves
That is to say, Aaron is leaving town for 10 days and I'll be left to the very mobile baby and very demanding dog.
And now, for your viewing pleasure, my brother playing some kind of instrument or what-have-you at Lincoln Center. I imagine the instrument cases on the right were strategically placed for people to throw money in.
He's the one with the giant head in the red hat:
And now, for your viewing pleasure, my brother playing some kind of instrument or what-have-you at Lincoln Center. I imagine the instrument cases on the right were strategically placed for people to throw money in.
He's the one with the giant head in the red hat:
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Daycare Redux
We've had a few rough days in the new daycare room reminisent of the first few months in the infant room. I think things are getting better fairly quickly, although there have been days where I have picked Dylan up and she has neither slept nor eaten in four or five hours. When I drop her off she smiles happily at whatever teacher is there, then SCREAMS the minute I put her down. They say she stops as soon as I leave. ("I've never seen a child stop crying before their parent had left the parking lot like that") In general I think she likes the toys and the other kids, and I am pretty comfortable having her there. We're still going to keep her hours there as limited as we can because we need our baby fix.
The day after we got back from reunions I looked into when the summer ultimate frisbee leagues started. The deadline to register for the one I was most interested in was last week, and games started that very evening. After a frenzied day of begging the coordinator to let me in (perhaps a team is in need of more women? I can help!) and buying cleats since my old ones don't fit anymore (Dylan, I'm looking at you), I got to play. Despite my religious (very gentle) jogging, I am not quite in shape for that kind of running. Embarassing myself in front of my new teammates is surely the best motivator to get back in shape.
The day after we got back from reunions I looked into when the summer ultimate frisbee leagues started. The deadline to register for the one I was most interested in was last week, and games started that very evening. After a frenzied day of begging the coordinator to let me in (perhaps a team is in need of more women? I can help!) and buying cleats since my old ones don't fit anymore (Dylan, I'm looking at you), I got to play. Despite my religious (very gentle) jogging, I am not quite in shape for that kind of running. Embarassing myself in front of my new teammates is surely the best motivator to get back in shape.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
BabyFatReport 6.05.07
Head: 43.5 (centimeters, I hope, but it doesn't say), 30th percentile
Height: 29.25 inches, 90th percentile
Weight: 17 pounds, 14 ounces, 25th percentile
To summarize: pinheaded and tall. No shots at the nine month visit, so it was much more pleasant than all the other visits. Although sort of pointless.
Height: 29.25 inches, 90th percentile
Weight: 17 pounds, 14 ounces, 25th percentile
To summarize: pinheaded and tall. No shots at the nine month visit, so it was much more pleasant than all the other visits. Although sort of pointless.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Reunions Wrap Up
One thing about Princeton reunions, they have costumes.
I didn't get any pictures of the other classes' costumes, but one involved a nylon orange jumpsuit (astronaut theme) in the 90-degree-92%-humidity heat. That was a happy crowd. Another (the good, the bad, and the orange) had harmonicas for the kids, which made parts of the weekend feel like the backdrop to a folk song.
We bailed on the P-rade because the allure of a new ice cream place was too strong.
I was also overpowered by the urge to dunk the baby in the fountain.
Which did her in.
Here is our excellent reunions nest, where Dylan received her visitors:
She made friends with a very cranky 11-month-old during the ultimate game. She was cranky too, but only when she was alone with me or Aaron.
We had a great time, although the car time to non car time ratio was unpleasantly high. At one traffic light we were irritated by a honking truck until we realized he was saying hi to Dylan.
Aaron refused to wear the Official Shirt while we were there, but oddly had no problem with it once we had left Princeton.
I didn't get any pictures of the other classes' costumes, but one involved a nylon orange jumpsuit (astronaut theme) in the 90-degree-92%-humidity heat. That was a happy crowd. Another (the good, the bad, and the orange) had harmonicas for the kids, which made parts of the weekend feel like the backdrop to a folk song. We bailed on the P-rade because the allure of a new ice cream place was too strong.
I was also overpowered by the urge to dunk the baby in the fountain.
Which did her in.
Here is our excellent reunions nest, where Dylan received her visitors:
She made friends with a very cranky 11-month-old during the ultimate game. She was cranky too, but only when she was alone with me or Aaron.
We had a great time, although the car time to non car time ratio was unpleasantly high. At one traffic light we were irritated by a honking truck until we realized he was saying hi to Dylan.Aaron refused to wear the Official Shirt while we were there, but oddly had no problem with it once we had left Princeton.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)