in case you didn't notice

the big gap in my most recent post is gone! All thanks go to Kevin for fixing the html!

Go to Sam's page

Kenneth G. Ross, 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, died in Afghanistan on Sunday. He was 24.

affirmative on the pouch

The Maclaren baby pouch a.k.a. Baby Bjorn works great. She loves it. Well, she doesn't love it when I have to push all her limbs into place through the holes in the pouch. But when she's in, much like riding in the car, she's happy and falls asleep (woo!).
It's like I'm pregnant again the way she hangs out in it on my belly, but I can take her off at any time, I can drink a coke while walking around with her, and my ankles don't swell up. heh.
P.S. Cricket had her 2 week appointment this morning. Points of Interest: She's way above the weight gain norm, she's 9lbs 8oz now. And the nurse said he's never seen such an active 2 week old. She's a squirmer!

a tribute post

Don Adams, a.k.a. "Agent 86" died yesterday.
Get Smart was one of my favorite TV shows when I was a kid (yes, they were re-runs). I secretly wanted to be Agent 99. For those of my generation that have no idea what I'm talking about, at least know that Get Smart was the inspiration for Inspector Gadget. 

Baby Tuesday

granny G and Cricket 

yesterday she had her first walk. I know, way too little for the stroller (and the hat), but we padded her in and she liked it. 

a popular sleeping position, the touchdown 

she was sleeping like this. I call it her star-nosed-mole impression. 

trying the lounger, she's a tad small for it. 

this is my new favorite 

gettin sick of TV

When a baby wakes up in the middle of the night, there isn't much else to do but watch TV until she falls back asleep. Anything that requires a spare hand is ruled out, like reading a book or using the computer-- forget it.
So Cricket and I watch the best of the worst cable TV has to offer us at 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am, etc. Well she doesn't watch, thank goodness or she would surely be scarred already. The later it gets the more dysfunctional commercials come on. If I see another ad for Girls Gone Wild, I think I might kick in the screen (it wouldn't require a hand, right?) Occasionally there is something kinda good on, Jumanji was on the night before last. It made up for Easy Money the night before that, which sucked big time.
I've learned not to watch anyhing on E! too, no matter how benign it might seem from the title, it's always what my mom calls garbage. Last night I watched the [recorded] 2 hr Extreme Home Makeover, I was a tad dissappointed. I didn't cry. And then I watched the middle of Sylvia Scarlett. Although I think I have more patience for vintage hollywood than most people, it was too heavy with cheezy dialog to make any sense. Luckily, Cricket fell alseep and thus ended my late night shift.  

Baby Tuesday...er Wednesday

 

I had intended on posting yesterday. Yesterday being Cricket's one week birthday, and I thought it would be nice to post a new photo every Tuesday for a while. But I felt sick yesterday and all I wanted to do was sleep. So today I'm feeling better, thus-- photos.
Top photo: Mojito is very interested in the baby, especially when she squeaks and coos. He's already licked her feet, he can't help himself, he must lick.
Foto numero dos: Kevin planted two watermelon plants in the spring and we hoped and hoped the melons would get nice and big. Unfortunately, the melons aren't gettin' any bigger than softballs. I thought it only fitting to take the picture of the baby watermelon next to the baby. :)

In other baby news, I've been barfed on numerous times, 3 really big ones (those were mostly my fault-- too much food). And last night I broke down and used a pacifier. For those of you who don't keep up with nipple-confusion-philosophies (and why should you?), experts say not to use pacifiers unless it's an "emergency." I think last night counted as one.
I had been up for 3 hours with her rocking, changing diapers, feeding, repeat. She'd fall asleep only to wake up 5 minutes later with air bubbles. That's the only thing that makes her really wail. I decided it was binky-time. To my irritation, I read on the back that it is supposed to be boiled for 2 minutes before first use. Curses! I need it now, not after the water boils!(It reminded me of the gun law that makes the buyer wait 2 days before getting the gun.) I think all the crying made her tired because around 3 a.m. she zonked out and didn't wake up until 7:30 a.m. Oh sweet 4 hours sleep.  

Quick Randomness

Kevin and I were shopping online for address labels and I came upon a site called "Superior Labels." After clicking the subject heading "Unusual Animals," we found images of a Penguin in Top Hat, Clothed Penguin, Cockatoo in Clothes and Turkey and Wolf in Love. Why? Why are the turkey and wolf in love, and why is it on a label?

I'm considering buying them...

I've always wanted to order one of these!

The nurses and my midwife and doctor were perfect, really, flawless. Not once did I feel like just another patient or that they didn't genuinely care about us. So I decided their performance was worthy of a cookie bouquet. They're totally overpriced, but at the same time- so great. The cookie in the middle will read "Thank You from Cricket!" 

I get it now

I get babies now. I understand why people get baby fever, why women will cross the street to see a new baby, and why people I hardly knew (who had kids of their own) were so excited for me. I think I'm going to have to go back and re-read the baby greeting cards I got because they'll have new meaning. I get why people buy minivans and disney window screens and don't go shoppping for themselves or get a new hair cut for years because they "live for their kids." (Not that I'm gonna buy a minivan!) I get why moms who have the most monsterous children treat them like their royalty and why women who spent decades getting their doctorate would give it all up to spend time with their kids.
I also get why grizzly bear moms will go postal if anyone even looks at their cub. I expected that I'd be clingy, but I'm more than that, I'd call it "grizzly."
The first night I didn't even care that I lost most of the night's sleep, I just stayed up and watched her.
I feel like I'm part of humanity now, (stay with me) looking at her hands that are miniture versions of mine and thinking how my mom probably looked at my little hands the same way and someday she'll look at her baby's hands and see how they look like hers.
The whole situation really is miraculous, in the truest sense of the word. This baby/birth a whole new aspect of God's glory and wonder and I can't stop praising Him for her (and crying about it). So many things could have gone wrong but instead God has inexplicably blessed us with a healthy baby. Glory to God.

The Stork Has Finally Arrived!!

Hello everyone! This is Sam posting on Charlie's behalf.

After 12 hours of labor, around 7:45pm September 13th, 2005, Charlie gave birth to her beautiful daughter, Cricket Fairlane. She is 9 lbs 2 oz (OUCH) and 21 inches long.

I'll leave the gory details to Charlie if she wants to share them, but for now, here's some pictures I took on my cheap camera :)


Aren't they a cute family? 


She's got attitude already! OK...maybe it's just gas! 


Swaddling is harder than it looks! 


Proud papa! 

Charlie as a wee lass

Aurora sent me this photo this afternoon. That's me, I think I'm about 6 years old, even though by normal-children standards I look like I'm 11. I haven't changed much-- I still have those sharky little gaps on my head when I pull my hair back, I cuff my dark wash jeans, and I don't wear shoes if I don't have to.
I know it looks like sitting next to me is a hispanic Paul McCartney holding a photo of Bruce Lee playing the triangle, but it's my dad and he's holding up portrait of John Wayne.  

National Football List

The NFL season officially started this week. Football and soccer are the two sports that will keep my attention. I'm not a sports fan or anything, but there are aspects of professional football that I enjoy, and they have very little to do with the game.
Without further ado, I give you my list--
What I Like About Football

1. Really fat guys in tight pants
This reason alone makes the defensive line captivating. I scan the TV screen for the biggest butt and the funniest waddle. It makes it even sweeter when he's got a name like Gilbert.
2. All the names:
Tiki, Cadillac, Jeremetirus, Cheke (OKeafor), Smoot, Monsanto, Ebenezer...feel free to add more.
3. "Problem" players.
I like the guys that are annoying to other people, they're more dramatic. Warren Sapp is one of my favorite players, I don't even know what position he plays or if he's any good, I just know he's big and obnoxious. And Terrel Owens, again, I think he's good player, not really sure, but I know he talks alot about how great he is and got in trouble for pulling a sharpie out of his sock and signing a ball during a game.
4. Touchdown dances.
Am I not watching the game for entertainment? Entertain me! Why is it wrong?
5. The disgustingly rich team owner in his luxury box.
This makes the bottom of the list because I'm a little ashmed of it. But I love to see who the cufflinked Trump wanna-be's have with them in the suite. It's usually a trophy wife and a few spoiled daughters dripping in jewels and taut with plastic surgery. 

That's it, I've had enough

Lots of women told me about how sick of being pregnant they got towards the end. And I replied "eh, it's okay, I've been like this for a while, what's another couple of weeks?"
This morning, I am hereby tormented by being pregnant. I really am starting to think it's all in my head. I'm not really going to have a baby, because I would have had one by now, this is all one big (9lb!) figment of my immagination. And you'd think all these hormones today making my sobby and not want to get out of bed would serve some other purpose, like squeezing.
Nope.
Well-meaning people have told us the "tricks." Thank you, really, but I've heard it all and I'm apparently immune to it all.
I have come up with my own idea-- a trampoline. But I don't have one, curses!
I told Kevin this morning I didn't want to eat because she's only going to get more enormous, only to tell him 5 minutes later that I wanted blueberry pancakes (which I just finished eating).
I think I'm going to go jump up and down or something... 

for anyone who is concerned...

...no, no baby yet. We went to la doctora this morning and the sonogram guy said she's right about 9 lbs and has a big head. Aaaaaa!!! Needless to say I'd like her to come out before she grows to the size of a toddler.
They had me hang out for an hour, hooked me up to a graphing calculator, and checked all the stats. All stats are good and I'm having eencie contractions. Which means absoulutely nothing other than nothing is bad.
If nothing happens by Monday (oh please may it not be that long), we have to take "measures." I'm not too crazy about that, but it's better than a C-section I guess. :/

my own personal IHOP

Two days past my due date and I'm supposed to be relaxing (nevermind I'm watching the news right now). I've got time...time to make one plate of whole wheat organic blueberry french toast and turkey sausages just for little ol' me. Mmm, protein and sugar. 

24 addicting hours

Someone suggested to Kevin that we watch 24. So we went to rent the Season 3 DVD's we were warned to rent a bunch at once because you'll want to see them all. It's true! We watched Season 3 for full price from Blockbuster, and then A&E, those peaches, played all the episodes of season 4 Sunday and Monday. We Kevo'd them, and all was right with the world.
However, I must list the problems with the show:
-90% of the characters are pretty people, I think we all know people who work in government don't look like they stepped out of Vanity Fair.
-Whenever there's a logistical problem in the script they say something like "Make it happen!" or "Just get it done!" Problem solved.
-Too many feeling-discussions. Right in the middle of a terrorist takeover, the respective girlfriend of the character will call and want to talk about their relationship. Kevin has to stop me from fast-forwarding.
-Kevin's addition: Complicated names will be relayed to one another in the Counter Terrorist Unit and they can magically spell it correctly. "The suspect's name is Sumiyllan Chaurtreli! S-U-M-I-Y..."

Otherwise, good programming, even if it is packed with hot button terrorist issues, stress and fear. And they are not afraid to kill off characters by the dozen in each episode-- no one is safe!

Kiefer Trivia Did you know his full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland?
Of course you didn't, don't pretend you did.


 

You must be this tall to attend a birth.

Does this photo of a woman in labor surrounded by a bunch of kids make anyone else want to shake their whole body like a wet dog? Geesh! Get away people.
By the way, Happy Labor Day everyone. I don't think I'm not going to be part of the 4% of women that gives birth on their due date (today). I'm guessing Friday will be day...  

The only minivan I am willing to drive

From http://www.debac.net/microbus.htm:
"Volkswagen AG officially announced that the Microbus will be put into production with a targeted release in 2005. Dr. Bernd Pischetsrieder, Chairman of the Board of Management Volkswagen AG, said: "Having reviewed the economic requirements for building the Microbus in the Group, we have come to the conclusion that... the conditions are good."...

Volkswagen claims it has its sites set on a new segment - "a MPV combining striking design and high functionality with the comfort of a limousine...The VW bus was never just a means of transport, it has always been an emotive cult object. The public's reaction at motor shows combined with the findings of market studies already show us that the Microbus design has a spontaneous appeal, and that the vehicle will follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessor."

This announcement ends months of speculation surrounding the actual decision to build the Microbus. Dr. Pischetsrieder was reportedly a Microbus supporter but platform considerations made it difficult to move forward. In the U.S. market the Minivan segment is largely dominated by car-based platform minivans, whereas building the Microbus in Hanover dictates using a truck platform. Indeed it will be interesting to see how Volkswagen manages to remove the truck-like character of the T5 commercial platform the Microbus will be built on along with the higher costs of building the vehicle in Hanover versus other locations.

Volkswagen is shooting for a 2005 model year introduction of the Microbus and expects to sell approximately 100,000 units per year, largely in the U.S. market."

Okay, where are they? It's almost 2006!  

I ganked this from Preston's page

I found this Hurricane Katrina site slightly confusing, like trying to watch a soap opera without the background story, but more "real" than the mainstream news sites.

camera adds 20 lbs, baby adds...uh, more

9 months large, can you believe it? I was tired of looking like like a scrubby frau so I got dressed in something other than a tank top and jean skirt. The due date is on Monday, though I'm doubtful the mission will be completed then. If you look closely, you can see the baby headbutting my bladder.  

I can't resist, must show more

I can be fancy 

check the chandelier