March 31, 2005
Strollin' Along
Yesterday we took the jogging stroller out for the maiden run. Before we could get going, though, we had to once again teach Dante that any position of priviledge he once had has been usurped by Megan.
After getting the right party in the stroller, we headed out. I ran for a mere 15 minutes before turning around and actually strolling home. The stroller was incredibly smooth, even on a couple of unpaved streets and Megan was at ease enough to fall back to sleep even though she had taken a nice nap in the morning.
While out running I came to a couple of conclusions:
1)A few more strolls may be in order before I use the jogging stroller for jogging
2)Running without the use of one's arms is hard!
3)Megan is getting the sweet end of the deal in this partnership
Thanks again to the Wagner cousins and spouses for this great gift!
March 30, 2005
Nap
Right now Megan is taking her first official Nap. Of course there is no way a nine week old has made it this far without sleeping during the day, but this is the first time I have put her in her bed for a designated Nap. So nice to be able to type with both hands again!!
Grandparents
Megan is fortunate to have lots of grandparents, most of whom she has already met.
Great Great Grandma Phyllis!
Great Grandma Smith
Nonnie and Papa (great grandparents)
Great Grandma Dorothy
G.G.
Great Grandpa Siechert
Grammy Barb
I didn't get pictures of Megan with her Mamaw and Papa (Mac's parent's) or my dad and Megan has yet to meet her Greatgranddad Ray and Grandma Marjorie. Also, I really regret not getting a "five generations" photo on the Nicassio side when we had everyone all together.
March 29, 2005
Spring Break
This year for spring break Mac and I decided to experiment with an 8 week old and long car trips, figuring it couldn't be any worse than last year's spring break drive to Sacramento when I nearly bled to death. So Saturday morning we loaded into the car at the sound of Megan's waking cry; we were on the road by 6:50 am! Megan was fantastic and we made it all the way to Grant's Pass before our first stop, which was mostly for the benefit of the non-diaper wearers. We only needed one additional stop before we hit our night's destination: Karl and Michael's house in Davis, friends of ours from Philadelphia. There we enjoyed their hospitality and enough food to feed an army!
Sunday we were on the road again, stocked with baked goods from Karl and Michael. Megan had one fussy period coming over the grapevine, possibly due to ear problems or maybe she was just bored with the car by that point.
Sunday night the parade of relatives began. Most of Mac's extended family showed up to meet the little doll who was very well behaved despite being kept up way past her bedtime! Monday we spent with much of my extended family, including a wonderful meal at Carl and Jan's. Tuesday it was down to Fullerton to meet G.G. (Great Grandma) and Great Grandpa S. Megan was the hit of the retirement center dining hall! Wednesday we hung out with Auntie Kendall and Mamaw (Grandma) Phyllis did lots of babysitting, first so I could get a haircut while Mac played golf and then for Mac and I to have a night out. Thursday saw a few more people stopping by. Friday we were back in the car by the crack of dawn, heading up to see my folks in Sacramento. There Grammy Barb did some babysitting while Mac and I went out to play golf. And then Sunday it was back up to Portland. This was a long day. Lots of rain kept things slow and we stopped three times to feed Megan and by this time she was pretty bored with the car, but we made it home without much incident.
All told on the trip Megan met great great grandma Phyllis; great grandmas Smith, Nicassio, Siechert, and Proffitt; Great grandpas Nicassio and Siechert; Grandpa Bill; Great great Aunt Marie and Uncle Mike; Great Aunts Karen, Pam, Minnie, Patty, Jan, and Carol; Great Uncles Nick, Pat, David, Carl, and Bruce; Aunts Alessandra and Kendall; Uncle Roger; Cousin Taylor; Mac's cousins Staci, Danny, Jaime, Tjomme, Geoffry, and Tamara; Second cousins Jacob and Andrew, as well as several family friends! Whew! - Megan is still working on learning all the names!
Overall, this was a great trip, but next year I think we will have to go sit at the beach for a week!
March 26, 2005
Golf
In the summer of '96, I really got in to playing three-par golf. I had never taken any lessons, but the holes were short so it didn't really matter. Instead of going to the movies or out to lunch Anne, Sarah or Mac and I used to go golfing. I wasn't any good, but it was just fun to be outside.
When Joel and Aimee were here we all went out to play golf at Edgefield. This was the first time I had played in nearly a decade and I had the additional handicap of Megan strapped to my chest the entire day, but it was still just as fun to be outside and whacking at a little white ball with a big metal stick. Heck, I even hit par on one hole!
So on Saturday when Mac wanted to play a round at the Lincoln Hills course, I reluctanly agreed. We left Megan with Grammy Barb and headed out. This was my first time on a regular course and I found it quite frustrating! It seemed like it was way more fun to suck on a three par course! But at the end of the day I finished with a score of 92 - not bad for a first timer! Of course, I used all the ladies' tees, which made the holes a little shorter. Oh, and did I mention we only played nine holes?? Yes, my goal for the day was double-par, something I hit on only two holes! I had a few good shots but way more bad ones!
Despite my lousy performance, I did have a few spectacular acheivements. The seventh hole was a par three with the golf cart path crossing the fairway about a quarter of the way out. By this point, I was mentally saying things like "Just hit the f-ing sh-t out of the ball (I told you I was frustrated!)." So on the 7th I did just that. Unfortunately, I have a problem getting lift and so my ball hit the golf cart curb and bounced past the men's tee, a good 30 yards behind where I had started!!
And this came after my feat at the third hole, a par four with a swampy water hazard between the tee and the fairway. The ladie's tee, however, was politely placed on an artificial platform directly above the pond, making it fairly easy for the suckiest of sucky players (like me) to clear the hazard. So I teed off and my ball sailed safely over the water, only to hit the split-rail fence on the opposite side, causing my ball to bounce back into the muck! What a stupid game! I did however, manage to stay out of the sand all day, which was my original strategy (next time, I will have to add "no backwards ricochets" to my game plan).
But despite my terrible performance and raging high blood pressure, I had a fairly good time and enjoyed being out with Mac on a nice day and an interesting course with lots of board walks, water, and even a tunnel.
March 18, 2005
Luxury
Today my house is nice and clean and the best part is that I didn't clean it! In exchange for letting Mac have cable I got a house cleaner. I like to think of it as a win-win situation.
Anyway, it would be more accurate to say my house was clean. I promptly blew up some spaghetti in the microwave as soon as I was alone again. And then I made some tea and a few leaves got on the countertop. Both left dirty dishes. And, of course, the cats are never careful when it comes to using the liter box. But two weeks from now it'll all be clean again!
It was a little hard to sit here while Maria worked around me. At one point she commented on how calm Megan was. "Not calm enough for me to clean my house!," I thought secretly, but then I put Megan down and went to play on the computer. And Megan got so tired from watching Maria scrub she slept an extra hour and a half past her feeding time!
To assuage my guilt of having someone else clean my mess, I opened a savings account for Megan today. In addition to a couple of checks she got as gifts, I contributed the amount of my old student loan payment - that is, my old student loan payment minus the cable bill and cleaning lady expense!
March 17, 2005
She's Crafty
One of the reasons I wanted a girl was so that we could do crafts together. On Tuesday, Megan and I had our first mother-daughter craft session.
In addition to craft supplies, I made sure we had plenty of coffee on hand.
Megan showed more interest in the pot rack than the project. And note how Megan artfully spit-up on the foil (lower left corner).
The finished product!
March 16, 2005
March 15, 2005
Ides of March
Today is a sad day for us. When I went to let the chickens out (at 6:45 because I was awake!), I found Ada dead. This did not come as a complete surprise as she never began laying again this spring, her comb was dull and yesterday she was quite listless (fortunately I only noticed this for one day so I hope she didn't suffer long). So today, when you have an egg, think of Ada. We will remeber her fondly as the black chicken in our flock.
Ada Smith
Spring '02- March 14, 2005
In other sad news, our sleep experiment failed miserably. Trying to wake Megan up at 9pm for a semi-conscious feeding resulted in no extended sleep period rather than pushing it later. Plus she had two non-feeding wake-ups and she was still ready to start the day around 5:15. So today I will ponder why I really need to stay up past seven PM.
March 14, 2005
On Sleep
The life of an infant consists almost entirely of intake, output, and sleep, though sleep predominates with some little tykes getting up to 18 unconscious hours a day. So it is no surprise that conversation about infants revolves around the sleep issue. People ask how new parents are holding up and, as the youngster ages, if she is sleeping through the night.
The book On Becoming Babywise claims that adhering to a feeding schedule will have your infant sleeping through the night by 8 weeks. We bought into the system, envisioning our pre-parental sleep habits. How disappointing, then, to find out "sleeping through the night" only implies five straight hours of sleep! What! - that's barely more than a good nap, definitely not enough to wake up refreshed, and it certainly doesn't allow for beauty sleep!
The last five nights Megan has put in almost six hours between feedings, but I am not writing to brag about my seven week old sleeping through the night; quite the contrary: I am writing to complain. Here the reader may stop to exclaim, "The audacity! How arrogant!" and the cries will be even stronger from those who are parents themselves. I ask that you hear me out. You see, I am actually more tired now that my little dear is "sleeping through the night."
Previously, Megan's days and nights were fairly similar. She awoke for feedings every three hours and I wove my sleep into the interrim gaps however I chose. But now my little precious settles down for a long stretch of sleep, starting around 6 or 7 pm, a bit to early for grown ups to retire. "So what?," you ask? Well, come 4 am Megan has enjoyed a good ten hours of sleep and thinks it would be a fine time to start the day (with grumpy complaints if mom doesn't comply), and so I find myself much too awake in the crepuscular hours of the morning, trying to calm, coax and cajole my little one back to sleep, all to the detriment of my own rest!
Tonight we tried to keep Megan awake later. That was only semi-successful, but the final verdict won't be in until six o'clock tomorrow morning...
March 12, 2005
Lazy
This morning Joel and Aimee had a very early flight home. After seeing them off, we spent a lazy day around the house.
In the afternoon, Mac, who wanted to watch the basketball game, took a nap while Megan, who should have been napping, watched the game.
The past few days with lots of activities made Megan a little cranky in the afternoons, but it really tuckered her out for good sleeping at night - she's had a six hour stretch each of the last three nights! We like to see her keep this up for sure!
March 11, 2005
Geocache
Friday afternoon, Jennifer organized a geocache trip - an activity employing a GPS to locate hidden stashes of trinkets and sign-in logs.
The first cache is found!
March 10, 2005
Just Beachy
Thursday the Smith ladies escorted Aimee and Joel to Ecola State Park.
We enjoyed walking up to the hiker's camp, though Megan was a bit fussy on the return trip (possibly a lot fussy if you ask Joel, who was carrying her at the time!).
March 09, 2005
Vermillion Visitors
This week we are fortunate to have Aimee and Joel back in Portland, visiting from Vermillion, SD. Saturday we welcomed them with a potluck at J.D. and Kris's. Then on Wednesday those of us who weren't working met for lunch. We sat outside to take advantage of the fantastic weather we are having.
Megan and Henry also got some prime sidewalk real estate.
After lunch it was time for a stroll along Hawthorn.
March 05, 2005
Movie Star
In addition to the ceiling fan, Megan really likes the black frame on the Monet picture above her changing table - you know all that high contrast against the light walls. She hasn't shown as much enthusiasm for her toys yet, but then again they are just so juvenile!
Check out Megan getting her kicks (.avi movie 1.8 mb) on the changing table. ;)
March 04, 2005
Where's Megan??
Yesterday I put Megan in her swing to entertain her (and truth be told, put her to sleep). It had the desired effect, but when I came back to check on her she had slid way down in the seat (her head started at the top of the blue crescent pillow).
March 03, 2005
Smile!
I caught Megan in a really smiley mood this morning:
You might think Megan was just happy to see her mom or was finally responding to all my silly games, but no, all the smiles were directed at that clever ceiling fan! At least I still got to check out those cute dimples!
March 02, 2005
Reading Time
Megan hasn't shown much preference for what we read to her, but Mac clearly prefers rhyming prose.