Hey, I'm still here.....
No really I am.It's been a L-O-N-G time since I've posted. So much has been going on that frankly posting hasn't been on the priority list. Baby: 1 year old!!! Can you believe it?!? It seems like yesterday that she was born. WOW!! A year goes by so quickly. She's walking now. It's both awesome to watch and terrifying to think she's going to be even faster now... She loves all veggies, fruits, yogurt, cheerios, and cheese. Not a big meat eater. Loves the outdoors. (Part of the reason there haven't been any posts from me in so long.)Wife: Is hanging in there. Business has been slow for her. Totally understandable with the economy the way it is... Her dad passed away a few weeks ago. So she's been dealing with all the bureaucracy associated with dying. (Executirx of the will, what to do with the house, his car, etc....) I don't think she's had time to start grieving yet...Me: I've never been this busy in my entire life!! Work has been out of control busy. The project I'm working on is fairly complicated and comprehensive. They've got me involved in all aspects of it. So between meeting, calls, and e-mails it never feels like I'm getting anything done. When I get home I spend my time with the baby. Soaking up baby time. HRH: Is doing OK. He doesn't get to the dog park as much as he's used to due to the baby & etc but he's doing OK. He likes the baby more now that she's giving/throwing him food.Home & garden: The house is doing OK. No new projects. (I've learned my lesson) I did have to clean out the gutters. During a heavy rain a few weeks back I noticed the gutters were overflowing.. The garden is doing well in spite of our neglect with weeding and planting annuals. The perennials have filled in and provided some color...Miata: Not driven much at all this year. To & from work and on errands but no fun trips. I did change the headlights & taillights, added rear speakers and a style bar. It looks pretty cool for not going anywhere... Rest of the family: Is status quo. I actually have time to write this since we're on our first family vacation. I haven't been able to take a vacation due to my project until now. I'm pretty burned out & tired.We're at Deep Creek, MD. Very nice place. We rented a house so we could have more space for the baby and HRH along. We went to the beach yesterday. Today we plan to go on a hike to Swallow Falls State Park. The food has been hit & miss. Some places are very nice, some are OK, others are barely better than fast food...Labels: Family, HRH, Life, Miata, Parenthood, Update, vacation, Work
Baby Update
- She crawls quite well now. Her favorite things to crawl towards and mess with are HRH's toys & his water bowl. She's HRH's #1 fan. All she needs to do is spot him in the room and this happy squeal comes out of her that's just priceless.
- She can pull herself up to standing and sit back down readily. Sometimes, she'll stand for 10 or 15 minutes. It's pretty cool. She's not totally steady on her feet but she is standing.
- She loves walking with adult assistance. She does what I call the Frankenstein walk since she's not bending her knees as she steps and she's wobbly.
- She has 3 front teeth.
- She loves to eat. She'll try anything & everything. She's eating cereal and baby food in addition to formula. We've started giving her teething biscuits to keep her busy when we're eating. Last week we gave her a little fish to try. And some mushrooms and green peas. All eaten without issue. A few days ago she had cream of broccoli soup. Cheerio's are always welcome. She loves meatloaf. Spat out french fries & potato chips. (Good for her!!! Let her decide to clog up her own arteries NOT her crummy parents!)
Labels: Baby, Parenthood, Update
Things I've learned
Things I've learned as a new parent:
- Sleep is your freind. I used to hate sleep. It got in the way of me doing things, having fun, hanging out. It was easy for me to think that way when I was getting enough sleep. Now that I don't... Sleep is my friend.
- Plenty of planning and scheduling need to go into any attempt to get anywhere with the baby. packing bottles, checking the baby bag, packing a change of clothes.
- Set my expectations very low regarding how many errands I can run with the baby is tow. She's got her own idea when it's time to go home.
Labels: Baby, Family, Life, Parenthood, Update
Happy Thanksgiving
I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. This was baby's first Thanksgiving so it was special for us since she's what we are most thankful for this year. We had my dad over along with some friends and their kids. It was a good time. We brined a turkey overnight and roasted it up nice & brown. In addition to the salt & sugar in the brine solution, we added sage, thyme, and parsley from our garden. The turkey turned out very moist and flavorful. We also made stuffing Giada style. It totally rocked! I highly recommend this stuffing. And of course we had mashed potatoes. I also sauteed some broccoli and mushrooms to give us more veggies. 1 friend brought pumpkin pie and a gingerbread cake topped with roasted pears. Someone else brought salad. We had a feast and left overs galore!!!Labels: Baby, Family, food, Friends, Holiday, Parenthood, Update
Update on my life as I know it
Sorry it's been a l-o-n-g time since I posted. But it's been a challenge.
We're all adjusting to the new "normal". I knew it was going to be different and a challenge but I had no idea how different and how challenging.
For me this is much like going from being single to being married. An adjustment period needed to happen. My actions and thoughts needed to change. It took me a while to make that transition from single to married since I'd been single for a l-o-n-g time. I'd gotten used to doing things my way. Coming and going as I pleased. Not taking anyone else's needs and desires into account. Now to go from being a couple to being parents is a new adjustment.
The biggest change for me was the prolonged lack of sleep. Pre-baby, a few days of less than normal amounts of sleep could be caught up on the weekends. No big deal. In fact I hated sleep since it got in the way of me doing things. Post baby, the sleep interruptions happen every night and there's no getting caught up. It's gotten better in the last week or so. But the first month and a half were really tough. I was a zombie. The baby is sleeping from about 10:30 to 3:30 - 4 ish. AND she's in her room now instead of in the bassinet in our room. Both of these developments have helped with my sleep deficit.
My wife is doing well. She's really taken to motherhood. She's the best. Always a smile and kind word to the baby even though she's gotten no sleep. Patient even when the baby has totally melted down.
HRH has taken the longest to adjust. He's gone from king-o-the-roost to third string quarterback. Initially he wanted to lick & lick & lick. Sniff & sniff & sniff. We couldn't let him do that since she was so small and he's very aggressive with his licking & sniffing. Slowly we let him get his sniffing & licking in. I'm sure it's not as much as he'd like but.... We still don't leave the 2 of them unattended. We're not totally sure of his intentions quite yet. I'm sure he's jealous and a bit mad that he doesn't get nearly as much attention as he's used to. Oh well, he's got to adjust too.Labels: Baby, Family, HRH, Parenthood, Update
