A Promise to Post

To the loyal masses that want to know what's going on lately with Will- never fear! Our home computer may be down for the count, but I promise to post the last month's happenings next week...stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Will is not a fan of jarred green beans, so we decided to try pureed fresh beans. Not a good idea...as you can tell. The picture leaves out the gagging, eye watering, and numerous puckered faces administered in such quick succession that they were unable to be captured on film.


In his 'Target' colors - in honor of Uncle Josh. We miss you!

He loves his TripTrap chair.

He also loves watching videos of himself on the computer.

It's that time of year...

This is a cool alternative to the hustle and bustle... The Advent Conspiracy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K14c4NGuhDI

I would embed the video, but I cannot figure out how to do so.

Boo!

Happy Halloween! We dressed Will up as a lion...well, actually a LIGER because of the stripes on his undergarments. Taking one for the team, my son agreed to wear tights to complete the effect of the costume. It was a good strategic move - we took him trick-or-treating around the block and Will scored some great candy for us. By the way, I just checked my camera, and I've taken 500 pictures (mostly of Will) for the month of October.

More Phall Phamily Phun Photos

Another gorgeous fall weekend...we took Will on a nature walk and carved a pumpkin. The boy is getting heavy - so we had to take turns carrying him.

Check out the pictures below...the first one was taken on Will's last day in the NICU when he was about 24 days old. The last picture was taken this weekend - look how small that pacifier looks now!

Jack

I love, love, love This American Life (the radio program). I love the drama, suspense, and comedy of the various stories and there is just something about Ira Glass's voice that is oddly comforting. The radio program broadcasts on our NPR station at 5pm on Sunday afternoons, which is inconvenient, but since I found their website with almost all their recent shows available for download - I am getting my fill of Ira and the gang several times a week.

I decided to format this week's post similar to the show with "each week we choose a theme, and bring you three or four stories on that theme". This past week's theme was JACK - which strangely enough - was the name Grandpa Casey thought Will should have.

Act I: JACK be Nimble, JACK be Quick. The Market to Market run was a success. Our team finished in a little over 13 hours. I thought 13 hours in a van would drag, but the day flew because we were in and out of the van every 10 minutes to get to an exchange point. I wasn't too sore after a grand total of 10 miles of running (including many more hills, something we are not used to in town) - surprising because I hadn't run that far since May 2007! It was a beautiful day and it was fun to be a part of the inaugural race - Will seemed to do okay without me for so long, although, I heard he missed me.

Act II: JACKpot. Last Thursday was the annual library book sale - an event I look forward to months in advance. All paperbacks 50 cents and hardbacks a buck...its a great way to expand my home library - and now Will's library - on the cheap. The greatest surprise was finding that my favorite children's book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (come on...you know that any books whose premise is that food falls from the sky would be my favorite), had a sequel, Pickles to Pittsburgh.

Act III: Don't know JACK. Apparently, I don't know Jack about Site Design, because I failed my last exam! I really don't know how this happened because this was the only test I actually felt good about. So now I have to wait until next March to retake - so much for the goal of being registered this year. I was so depressed I binged on double chocolate brownies. MMMMMM - they almost made me feel better. Then I took a walk with my favorite baby and dog and put everything in perspective.

Act IV: AppleJACK. This past weekend was my work's annual retreat to Nebraska City - we were looking forward to taking Will for the first time. He had his first night a hotel (and had a lovely experience sucking in sewage gas coming up through the sink - thankfully, we switched rooms), first time in a swing by himself, and first experience at a bonfire. It was a gorgeous fall weekend.

Act V: JACK-o-lanterns. Will also had his first trip to a pumpkin patch yesterday...along with the usual entourage of mom, dad, Grandma, G-Squared and the Aged P. Since he's not quite sitting up yet, we had a little trouble getting the usual shot of "baby with pumpkins".

Happy Half-Birthday

Okay...I just put Will to bed for the second time (he has been sleeping HORRIBLY lately - up every 2-3 hours) and have a half hour until I need to wash bottles...time to update blog!

Will turned 6 months on Saturday - he celebrated by starting solids! He ate like a pro - well, a pro without teeth and without quite having the hang of closing his mouth once the cereal was in it. I cannot believe my little baby is that old...people told me time would fly - but I guess you never realize it until it happens. I barely remember this 5 lb 11 oz little guy.

All his troubles learning how to suck, swallow, and breath at the same time during his stay in the NICU are a distant memory - now, he's is holding his own bottles! He likes to take my glasses off and pull my hair. He is now 17 1/2 lbs and 27 1/2 inches long (both 51%-tile for normal 6 month olds - age corrected, Will is 4 1/2 months).

I am racing in the Market to Market run Saturday...it's a 86-mile road-race relay between Omaha and Lincoln. Needless to say I am a little nervous due to the fact its a little hard to train with a little one now...and its going to be the first time I'll be away from Will for longer than 7 hours. However, I am looking forward to seeing the beauty of a Nebraska autumn from a different perspective - at 7 miles per hour vs. 75 miles per hour.

Just a quick update...

I am short on time and haven't downloaded the most recent pictures from our camera - but I have been requested to put pictures of Bubs McChub on the blog. These are from Labor Day weekend. He will be 6 months old on Saturday - how did that happen?! His favorite things these days (and I'll post more recent pictures soon!): standing - with help, blowing fierce raspberries when he frustrated or bored, trying to get his feet in his mouth, and chewing on my fingers.

I finished my last Architectural Registration Exam last Monday...now its just waiting to get the results and getting the last of my required hours submitted (I haven't reported since Feb 2007 - just a bit of a procrastinator) then I'll be done.

computer issues

Our computer is kaput at the moment...will update when fixed.

Losing the Land of Enchantment and other musings...

As my grandparents prepare to leave New Mexico Friday, I am finding myself very sad at the thought of not having that state in our lives anymore. Both Bob and I were born there and my family spent 2-6 weeks almost every summer in Albuquerque from 1988-1997. While other college kids spent their drunken, half-clothed spring breaks south of the border...I spent quality time with my grandparents enjoying the relatively warm New Mexican March. We last visited them in 2004...it was a spur of a moment decision while in Colorado Springs visiting Bob's sister and family and passed a sign that read Albuquerque: 350m - and in the western US...350 miles isn't that far. I know that New Mexico isn't going anywhere - but with Gma and Papa not there we most likely won't be visiting that often - if ever. When I get sentimental, I make lists. Here's my memory list of New Mexico:

putt-putt golfing in the late summer sun, taking driver's ed at the same place my mom did, Dunkin' Donut runs Saturday morning, seeing the sites of my mom's teen years, fry bread in the Jemez mountains, rich Native American heritage, luminarie light tours of Olde Towne at Christmas, hamburgers and vanilla cokes at Lottaburger, chocolate sodas with Papa at Model Pharmacy, being bucked off a horse at the Mackenzie's ranch, seeing Sandia Peak from I-25 and knowing we were almost to grandma's house, Cappacino Blasts at Baskin Robbins, adobe of Santa Fe, Ship Rock, Soda Dam, Rancho de las Golondrinas, vanilla pines in front of my grandparents house, hottest salsa EVER at Sadie's Restaurant, Acoma pueblo tours, thousands of bats swarming out of Carlsbad Caverns, strangeness of Los Alamos.

That's enough...I can go on forever. I'll miss it.


Will is embracing Torture Time. He's really getting his head up...until he's thrown off balance by the weight of it and rolls over to his back.

Grandma Jean has been coming down the past couple Wednesdays to help us out...she's been a huge blessing by watching Will so Bob can get some errands done. Will loves his Grandma!

On a side note - I passed my structures exams!! I think the result turn-around set a record - it was only one torturous week I had to wait. I am so glad to have them off my mind - on to studying for my final test: Site Design.

Finally some updates...

Sorry for the extreme delay. I forget that if I neglect to blog for a month, that's a quarter of Will's life right now - and a lot happens in a month for a infant! The days fly when you work, care for a baby, study for registration exams (only one more to go!!), and try to watch the Olympics.





The big news is that Will is offically "unplugged" forever! He is still having pauses in breathing, but they are not affecting his heart rate and in turn his oxygen levels...so now he is considered "normal" and doesn't need the monitor anymore. Its so nice to hold our baby without the chest belt on and to be able to take him anywhere and not feel tethered by anything.

Other updates:

• He had his 4-month check up last week and weighed in at a hefty 14lbs. 10oz. Which is in the 50 percentile for a normal 4 month old and he's in the 85 percentile for height...if we went with an age-corrected chart (he's technically only a little over 3 months) he'd be off the charts.


• So far this month he's become VERY vocal and really doesn't know how to use his "indoor voice" yet. He is holding his head up much better and is really grabbing things and trying to put them in his mouth. Tonight he tried to grab the phone out of my hand! He's also started blowing raspberries at us. Tummy-time is still dubbed "torture-time" in our house - Will cannot stand it!





• My brother Josh has left us for the Great White North and Will is going to miss him! Not only does Josh get to live with friends in a much cooler city - he is joining a kickball league (I want to know how we can start one here - that's awesome...who doesn't like kickball?).





• G-squared and The Aged P (Papa, not Parent for those Chuck Dickens fans) are moving only an hour away. I am very excited to live so close to them - the closest we lived growing up was four hours. Will is going to love having his great-grandparents around.

Laughter, Grandma, and Jogging Strollers

Will laughed for the first time on Thursday...it took me a while to register what he was doing. I had the camera on me and was trying to get him to smile and then he just started laughing, I was so taken aback that I took a picture, but forgot to record it...oh, well, maybe next time!



Grandma Indi has been coming down for a couple days a week to spend some time with Will and give Bob and me and break. Next week is her last week and we are going to miss her...thanks for everything Grandma! Will looks like a little boy in this picture, and a lot like his dad!

Will is very close to fitting into my sweet jogging stroller. I think it's so cute that all you can see is his feet when he's in it right now!