Our Days Are Numbered

As can be seen by:


A few other thoughts.

It was just gorgeous here today. It made the light in Dylan's room beautiful so I was able to bend the camera to my will more than usual.

I spent the morning confused about why the sound coming out of my computer was so quiet. It turns out my headphones were plugged in so it was coming out of them. Just before I made that discovery I helped Aaron with some of his work. He is now having a bit of a crisis of confidence from having been helped by someone who is so dense.

When Dylan is making our day difficult Aaron keeps threatening to send her to the glue factory. But in my opinion Snuffy much more closely resembles a horse.

I've been watching Top Design, an interior design reality show which is not as good as Project Runway or Top Chef, but is getting better as it goes along. What I never get tired of, however, is how when the designers get kicked off they say, "See you later, decorator."

We used one of those coin counting machines a few weeks ago and got $29 from it. I couldn't help myself and got Snuffy an expensive toy with it. He LOVES it and it releases a mint smell when he plays with it.

Dylan has taken to whining whenever she sees me, no matter how happy she may have been beforehand. It's so cute.

We Catch On Quickly

About once every two weeks Snuffy gets into the stash of plastic bags we keep on the bottom shelf of the pantry. He is only selectively destructive at this point -- leather, squirrels, a few key baby toys, and, when the mood strikes him, all the plastic bags he can get his paws on. We usually try to keep the pantry door shut so he can't go on a rampage, so the destruction generally happens when one of us forgets. When the pantry door broke a while ago we spent a couple weeks wrestling it shut until we finally gave up and took it off altogether in a fit of rage. In order to keep the bags from constant Snuff exposure we had to reorganize things, which brought Aaron's compulsive side great satisfaction. And now, for your enjoyment, the pretty pretty organized pantry. It's also the first thing you see when you walk in the door as if to say welcome to our house, Eat Me.



And another happy highchair baby:

Cop Out

Tired...long week...here's some pictures...

Those two days of spring were nice

Heh, I thought Dylan was waking up an unfortunate twenty minutes after going to bed last night, but it was just Aaron figuring out how to post that audio clip.

She is SO HAPPY all the time lately. She makes everyone around her happy. I'm sure she'll crank up again, but I'm hoping we'll have a nice month or two.

















From yesterday:

"I have a new shopping list going even though we just went to Wegmans"

"Yeah, I saw that"

"That's weird because I didn't write it down yet"

Aaron: Arbiter of Justice

Actually, not really. He didn't get on a jury, but it was close. The defendant in the morning case plea bargained before they started choosing people. In the afternoon case he was one of 30 people chosen from 120 to make it to the next level (it's like an elimination challenge!), but after that he got weeded out. So he's done with that for at least the next six years. Stay tuned in June for Kate: the Grand Jury.

Dylan had another good day at daycare yesterday. I am officially considering it slightly less stressful. I think one of her teachers is totally burned out, so that's not going to get better. But even when she gets fussy and clingy (Dylan, not the teacher; the teacher is the opposite of clingy) I can't imagine that it will be as rough as it has been.

The time change is funny because it is like the whole world is slightly jetlagged. It is actually great for us because the extra daylight makes it so much easier to get Snuffy exercise after work. It sets all my work to get Dylan to bed earlier back by an hour, but getting her to bed has been a lot easier lately (way to jinx it there, Kate).

They got him

Aaron called for jury instructions at 12:45pm yesterday as we rushed back from Ithaca to be in town should they need him. The instructions: call back after 5:30pm. Then, finally, the big moment. He needs to report today. Don't worry, he'll bring tequila in honor of spring break.

Lest you thought the glassy-eyed camera stare had been outgrown














In the McDonald's parking lot in Mennonite country














Those spots apparently get some use based on the trail of evidence (not pictured, although I have a good one) left by the horses.

SPRING BREAK 2007

Aaron is now on Spring Break. He has gone to Cancun. In spirit. I, however, am not on break or on a spiritual vacation. This is made clear by the Official Academic Calendar: "This is NOT considered a semester break for Ph.D. students. All Ph.D. students must report to lab or office during this period."

We got a crib for my parents house. It is missing a key piece. There is even a section in the crib pamphlet emphasizing the need to not assemble the crib if this particular piece was missing. I improvised a bed for Dylan as I have whenever we have traveled since she outgrew the bassinet a few months ago, which always generates a few extra wakeups in the night. Aaron spent twenty minutes on the phone with the company (the crib is Luv brand, so this means he was calling the Luv hotline) to get a replacement piece, but it turns out they don't have any. They'll call us back.

Rocky was Here

We ditched Snuffy for the week because we weren't sure how much I could handle after the surgery. We are consequently in Ithaca to fetch him this weekend. Reports came back all week about odd patches of destruction throughout the house that were at first attributed to Snuffy, although subsequent investigations have revealed that a squirrel was also living in the house all week. The squirrel forced us out of our traditional basement lair, which led to an unfortunate and sleep-deprived night. The moral is: I am grumpy. Hearing Aaron squeal over the baby monitor when it scampered on a pipe above his head almost makes up for it though. The squirrel was apprehended in the night and is now running free in the outskirts of Ithaca.

I hope Snuffy doesn't want his bed back

What's the wrist version of a cankle?

Dylan thinks you are a giant lollipop

Get Yer Fat Naked Baby Here

Aaron continues to be ensnared in the Monroe County court system. Although for him the house arrest is not too different from his normal activities. Um, I mean, they don't need him for jury duty Monday morning, but they continue to keep him on a short leash and may need him that afternoon.

Dylan had another decent day at daycare yesterday. We brought in Dylan's Candy Bars for her teacher's last day to butter them all up. I think it worked marvelously. I think I like the new teacher, but I'm not sure yet.

Oh my god with the babbling, always babbling.

Maybe they should put her in the toddler room

Last night Dylan and I went to the first meeting of the medical student mothers' group. There are a ton of babies within few months of each other, so it could turn into a playgroup. Dylan, as always, was delighted to be showered with attention. When she suddenly started fussing I figured it was time to get out of there and get her to bed (which it was), but it turned out she was just VERY ANGRY I was not sharing my biscotti with her. It did look a lot like her teething biscuits, which she is deeply in love with. There was a two and a half year old there that she also feel deeply in love with. She chirped cheerfully at him whenever he got near and giggled whenever he did anything. It was a lot like she is with Snuffy and friends. She babbles all the freaking time these days. She can sit up quite well, but you never know when she will just topple over. Oh, she's also become an excellent eater, although we haven't introduced too many foods yet.

Aaron has secret service jury duty next week. He calls a special number Friday after five, and they tell him when and where to report, if at all. Further instructions to be given on a need to know basis. I wonder if "wear dark clothing and a ski mask" will be part of the protocol.

Quick Thursday Morning Notes

I fixed the milk duct, most excellent.

Dylan has been trying to get her favorite lamp to play her shaking head imitation game.

Aaron is taking a midterm right now.

Recent luscious Dylan curls courtesy of No More Tangles. The kid was getting dreadlocks.

Peek-a-boo comments are back courtesy of Aaron.

A Good Nap

Dylan took a good nap at daycare today. I am so happy. I can't resist one more daycare story, although they probably just make me look silly because why do I still have the kid there if I hate it so much? (lots of reasons, but still...) The girl who is leaving after this week said, in response to my proclamation that I would be coming in VERY often today to use Dylan to help clear up my brand new plugged milk duct, "it's not something you could do with a pump, or something like that?"

All my pictures of Dylan are blurry now because she does not sit still for even one second, despite her lack of mobility.

Got to go, Aaron is sitting there with his tail wagging waiting to watch Gilmore Girls.

Dylan's First Homework

They sent home a star for us to decorate with Dylan's wishes. Hers include such favorites as "My Socks In My Mouth," "Fashionable, Yet Comfortable Onesies," and "Everyone's Attention All The Time."

She had an actual good day at daycare today. She ate tons of carrots and oatmeal, and they now have her drinking from a bottle routinely. She babbles happily and seems to really enjoy being there. I don't have quite the sense of unease when I leave her there anymore. Also, they are all very fond of her now and friendly and cheerful with her. Which makes me angry more than anything else because it is easy to enjoy a cute babbling six month old, but perhaps the terrified three month old Dylan could have used more of that friendliness. She still has a strict 30-minute napping limit there though, which still makes it fairly sucky, and most days are not quite so good. One of her teachers is leaving at the end of the week, and she in particular is now ALWAYS holding and playing with Dylan.

We've been watching the first season of 24. I saw the last episode when it aired however many years ago, which, let me tell you, sort of ruins the suspense.

I am doing well five days after the surgery. I am in no pain most of the time and it's already hard to remember that I need to take it easy for a while. My monstrous beastly dissertation, however, is causing me much pain. I go back at the end of the month to see if I managed to pop open the stitches.

I realized I don't use Outlook, I use Google Calendar. I'm glad I didn't run off to manually change everything by an hour.

When garbage disposals attack
We sheared Aaron

24: Kate Edition

7:00pm: Dance with glee when Aaron arrives back from getting a carton of milk with a peaceful, sleeping Dylan

7:45pm: Dylan wakes up


8:46 - 10:15pm: Convalesce on couch while Aaron rocks and bounces Dylan

10:16pm: Aaron gives up

10:17 - 10:59: Dylan enjoys the evening


11:00pm: Wrestle Dylan to sleep

11:01pm: Bed

3:30am: Dylan wakes up


3:30:01am: Wake up

3:45am: Bed

5:00am: Wake up (WHY? WHY?)

5:25am: Bed

7:15am: Dylan wakes up

7:15:01am: Wake up

9:45am: Faithfully attend semiannual dermatologist appointment ("So, why haven't we seen you in the past two years?")

11:05am: Finally settle in to do some work

11:08am: The system will be shutting down shortly, please save all work

11:30am: Rearrange schedule to attend late afternoon meeting

Noon: Attend presentation. Watch as latecomers find ever more creative places to sit after all the chairs are taken

1:00pm: Approach daycare; hear Dylan screaming. Feed Dylan. Leave daycare; hear Dylan screaming

2:15pm: Receive e-mail with instructions to read e-mail about daylight savings and Outlook. Note that daylight savings e-mail has not been received. Wonder if they seriously mean all Outlook calendar appointments have to be moved by hand

3:00pm: Afternoon meeting cancelled, scary whiteout outside

4:00pm: Pick Dylan up. Teachers say how some kids just don't sleep more than 30 minutes at a time there (Pediatrician last Friday: "Most kids sleep better at daycare, so at least you'll have that")

5:05pm: Passionately debate relative merits of keeping the pathetic exhausted baby up until bedtime versus letting her nap

5:20pm: Put Dylan down for a nap Nurse Dylan to sleep because what filthy liar told you she could put herself to sleep, fool?

5:33pm: Daydream about bedtime

6:00pm: Decide 23 hours is good enough

BabyFatReport 3.3.07

Head Circumference: Didn't tell us
Height: 27 inches (90-95th percentile)
Weight: 16 pounds (~50th percentile)

We were at the pediatrician's office for an hour and a half. Diagnosis: perfect. I myself get diagnosed that way all the time, so I wasn't surprised. The FOUR shots did not go over well and we are still suffering the consequences.

Vaccinations aside, Dylan is really fun right now. She is playful and responsive and cheerful a lot of the time. She has started really trying to communicate with us and will deliberately yell or babble to get us to respond to her. She can sit up on her own for longer and longer stretches, which makes it easier for her to play.

Her napping and nighttime sleep are pretty variable. Sometimes they're great, but a lot of the time we have trouble getting her enough sleep, which leads to much crankiness all around. She can flip over, but she prefers not to, so she is essentially still immobile. She has stopped putting herself to sleep for the most part, so that sucks.

She is doing great with people she doesn't know right now. She is charming and smiley and it's very sweet. How nice for her and them. Because we've noticed that she starts whining the minute she catches sight of me. Sometimes I have to leave the room so she'll stop.

We're beyond the all-sleep-deprivation-all-the-time phase by a long while, but taking care of her is still exhausting and we are tired all the time. Conveniently, I noticed I have a refill on the Vicodin so I should hardly notice.

This is somehow familiar

I guess that was Aaron's version of a clip show. Thank you for tiding over the adoring fans.

The main result of the surgery is I now have 48 Vicodin. Perhaps they think I am an elephant in need of sedation?

Everything went really well. I got there at 8am yesterday and was home by 12:30pm. It was a much better experience than last time I was in the hospital, possibly because it didn't involve any hemorrhaging. And no new people have come to live with us this time (not that that was a bad thing, but no more for the moment, please). The anesthesiologists were apparently not used to patients asking about or wanting to discuss the specifics of the agents they are going to use, and really they weren't that open to it. But it turned out they weren't using the few things that I thought might not be great for Dylan, so it was fine. I never get tired of the look of people's faces when they are taking my medical history and I get to tell them about the ketamine. It was nice to have an uneventful medical experience as I am deeply suspicious and distrustful of the whole medical establishment.

Right now it feels very similar to when we first got home with Dylan, except she weighs twice as much. And this time my very demanding dissertation is not being held at bay very well, so I'll have to be back in full force by Monday. Right now I can't do very much, I'm exhausted, I can't use my abdominal muscles at all, and I can't walk very far. I can't pick Dylan or anything else up because I am terrified of popping my stitches open. Note: not being able to pick up the baby presents practical difficulties.

Warning, somewhat gory details ahead.

I am actually thrilled about how the surgery turned out. I know that sounds odd for a hernia repair (oh yeah, the surgery was to repair an umbilical hernia), but my stomach is much much better than it was. It never went down after the pregnancy to smaller than when I was five months pregnant (I am not exaggerating here). Part of that was because my stomach muscles separated down the middle and never went back together and part of it was because of the hernia. The muscles are still separated, but I would say that my stomach sticks out 3-4 inches less than it did. I am hoping this will make it easier to, say, wear pants. It was frustrating during the pregnancy because I knew the muscles were separating A LOT and all the doctors were like, oh, that will go back together afterwards. And then afterwards everyone was like, oh, it takes a long time for your body to recover. And all along I thought, this seems somehow more extreme than that.

Up tomorrow: BabyFatReport, 6-Month Edition

Dylan's Greatest Hits

Aaron here. Kate went under the knife and came out asking for a spoon. She wasn't allowed to eat since morning, and since we are the anti-abstemious couple, this did not make Kate happy. Anyway that is her story. All I will say now is that she is healthy and eating.

Although the eisen in the bleisen may not take requests, I certainly do. So here are some pictures of Dylan through the ages:

8/31/06


9/8/06


9/22/06


10/2/06


10/13/06


10/31/06


11/3/06


11/8/06


11/11/06


11/13/06


1/7/07


1/13/07


2/4/2007


2/21/07