July 28, 2006

Home at last...

Well we are finally home from our trip to Idaho. So much to talk about. The car trip itself was long... That's all you can say about it. 18 hours in the car. Jack did a really good job considering. He was pretty calm, and slept a lot. However, the day after we got to the cabin, we tried to drive into town. As soon has Jack's baby bottom hit that carseat, he tensed up and started screaming. I understand. The thought of ever being in a car again after that trip made me want to throw up too.

The trip itself was a lot of fun. Jack was able to meet both sets of great-grandparents on my side, as well as a great-aunt and uncle, a second-cousin, and a second-cousin-once-removed (is that right? My cousins kid). It was funny watching Jack with his second -cousin-once-removed, Will. Will is about 7 months older than Jack, and can crawl and walk. It not only gave me a glimpse of my life to come, but also made me realize how much babies are constantly learning. Jack would watch Will crawl, and right away he would start pushing and pulling his little legs and bottom to try to crawl too. He's been working hard since we got home, and I have no doubt that he will be crawling and getting into everything soon.

The other neat aspect of the trip was the realization of how a family is formed. The realization that we look to my grandmothers and grandfathers
to be the heads of our family, but soon, when they leave us, and we will look to my mother and father to fill the same role. As that happens, my family will grow, and Chris and I will become the heads of that family. Our children will look to us to lead and guide them. I know this is really cheesy, but it really makes you think about how a family is created, and how traditions and values are passed down from generation to generation. Let's just say the trip was both inspirational and sad. Sad, because there was a strong sense that a era was coming to the end... And my grandparents planned this trip to help us deal with that fact. There were times I dealt well, and times when I didn't.

In other news, Jack has discovered this new higher registar in his voice. He spends his days now talking up a storm (you don't think he is related to me do you?), and most of it is in this high wispy voice. It is so cute. Especially when he is in your arms and cooing in this higher tone. It is the cutest baby noise I have ever heard. When others hear it, it is an automatic "ahh" moment.

July 17th, 2006
I just got done emailing my friend Chris. She was telling me about how much she didn't want her daughter Emily to grow up. I pointed out that while I miss the "newborn" Jack, I am loving the new and improved 5 month old Jack. He is becoming so lively and animated. For example tonight Chris and I were feeding him ... Rice cereal with pears, and peas on the side. With every bite I sang "Peas, peas, peas." He thought it was one of the funniest things he had ever heard, and started to laugh. With every giggle he sprayed peas all over the high chair. While it was a mess (as you can see) it was so cute.
I guess I am just realizing how much fun this whole "family" thing is going to be for Chris and I. It's like that Simpson's quote, "Kids are great. You can teach them to hate the things you hate. And they practically raise themselves, what with the internet and all." We went to the Sand and the City exhibit this weekend (see the above picture). It is a sand castle building contest they hold in the middle of downtown Portland. Much like the Zoo, it was more for Chris and I, then for Jack--However it was fun to get out in this sunny weather and see the sights. Jack got to try his first snow cone (not a big fan of pink lemonade, but he loved the grape), and we got to see all kinds of people. It was also fun thinking about how much fun it will be to come back next year. Jack with be 1 and a half, and he'll get to play in the sand, eat icecream, and see the puppet show. This is what Chris and I do now... No more exciting single life. You know...bars, and shows, and fancy food. Nope. Now our nights are spent thinking of our future vacations, camping trips, Sunday outings, and Christmas traditions. I have to say, I love my life, even more than I did before.

June 15, 2006

So Much Crap--

I have spent this week watching Oprah's Dept Diet. As I do, I look around my livingroom and take inventory of how much "crap" we now have in our house. Not counting Jack's room stuff, we have a swing, a bouncer, 2 Electronic play gizmos, a "Tigger" jump up, a box full of toys, a "jungle gym," and a "walker" (but not the walking ones, which can fall of steps, and cause serious damage). This weekend we will be buying a play pen, and possibly a new car seat (he's almost too big for his carrier.) Am I a baby consumer. Yes! And while I don't even want to add up how much I have spent in the last 6 months, I wouldn't not buy any of it. To be honest, if the gizmo entertains him for even 30 minutes, allowing me to clean the bathroom, it is worth every penny. So there Oprah.

In other news, we are preparing for our first "Family Vacation" to Idaho. Jack will be meeting the extended family--Including both sets of Great-Grandparents on my side, a couple of Great-Aunts and Uncles, and some cousins once removed (is that right... My cousin, is his cousin once removed?). It should be fun... Except for the 13 hour car ride.

As a short side note-- If any of you have a suggestion for a good way to loose weight, let me know. I am ready to shed these baby pounds once and for all.

July 9th, 2006

Home at last!

I just flew in from Boston last night, and am finally home with my family. I have to say, that while I truly loved everything I learned while I was in Boston, I don't think I'll be running away from home anytime soon. I can't believe how much I missed Chris and Jack. Luckily, as predicted by everyone, the week went off without a problem. That is, except for me... I ended up with a horrible head cold while on the trip. I guess this is my second big test as a mom... Can you do it with a head full of snot.

The rest of this post will be a listing of the random news of my life:

1. My friend Chris just had her baby. A beautiful baby girl named Emily. I have already assured that she will start out life on the right foot, and that foot will be clad in baby pink vans, and a Lucky 13 t-shirt.

2. Jack is growing an insane amount of hair, and I am waiting for the day that I can sculpt it into a mohawk.

3. I am selling my baby... Janice. Most of you don't know Janice (or just don't remember her). She is my Yellow 73 VW Super Beatle. She was my baby for a long time, but it is time to let her go before a family of raccoons come to move in (since the kitten family vacated a few weeks ago).

4. I want a Boston accent. The word Art sounds a lot better coming from their lips.

5. I had a series of really interesting conversations about the true nature of Art this weekend. I have a colleague who refuses to see or take part in any art form that doesn't bring pleasure, or forces him to experience pain. Meaning he only watches musicals. It made me think of how I use art in my life. He said he uses it to escape. Me too. The difference is that I can escape into something hard and unpleasant just as easily as something joyous. Art helps me transcend life. Art helps me experience life. Art is life.

6. I can't wait to start teaching next year.

7. Jack is teething, which sucks. He is in so much pain, and I can't help. However, he is also rolling like a mad man, which is so much fun. He can't crawl yet, but he has figured out how to just roll, and roll until he gets to the toy he wants. It has been fun watching him experiment.

8. My life is really good. Sometimes it takes seeing the other side to realize how great you really have it.

July 2nd, 2006

A day in the sun...

This is a photo of Jack and Chris on our first trip to the zoo. We are pretty sure he saw an elephant, but not much else (especially since he was asleep for half the day). We decided not to return to the zoo until we are sure that Jack knows what a zoo is. Beyond that, however, it was a fun day. Lots of sun, and ice cream, and sleeping animals. (By the way...why don't humans figure out that on nice hot days they should be napping all day.... Why do we demand to go to the zoo, and watch all the smart animals who realize it is too hot to be doing anything but sleeping on a day like this?)

The main function of the trip was two fold. One to celebrate Father's Day... A day we spent in the car, driving home from Ashland. And two, to have a nice family outing before I leave for Boston (Tuesday). While I am, bit by bit, feeling better about the trip, I am also having break downs from time to time. It hit a head this weekend. I don't want to give anything away to any of you who may one day become addicted to 6 Feet Under, but I was watching season 3, and freaking out. What if something happens to Jack when I am gone? What if something happens to me? What if he needs me? What if something happens to Chris? It was all a bit to much, and I started to cry. Chris said that this was the first step in a lifetime of worrying for me. I would worry about Jack now, and leaving. In a few years I will worry about him in Kindergarten. Then I'll worry about him behind the wheel for the first time. Then at prom. Then at college. Then as he has his first child of his own. He told me that it was my job to worry, and no one would try to take it away from me, but to stop worrying. Easy for him to say.

In other news, my friend from grad school--Chris--is about to have her first child. Chris (the husband one) and I are excited, because knowing the Geek that Jack is destined to become (after all Dad was a band nerd who dressed in polyester, and Mom was a drama/speech geek whose fashion taste wasn't too much better) we know that we can always set them up on a date. She is so close to her delivery date, and every email I get from her sends me wading through memories of the last four months. It is so funny. It feels like life has moved so fast, and yet so slow. In many ways I can't believe Jack is already 5 months old, and in other ways it feels like years ago that he entered this world. I can't "remember" him as a newborn. I can't remember a time when he wasn't smiling, or laughing, or babbling his cute baby babble. Yet it wasn't that long ago that I could hold him with one hand, and all he did was sleep and cry. She asks me for those little pieces of wisdom that I have gathered as a "new mom" knowing that she isn't far behind me in the grand scheme of things. I realized today that there is only one important thing... Hold her (she is having a little girl) all the time. No matter what the mother/mother-in-law says, just hold her. I hold Jack all the time. When he was small(er) I held him night and day. He spent his first month sleeping every night on my chest. They told me that I would spoil him, but it hasn't been the case... And even if it was, I don't care. Because I held him, he knew that I was/would/will always be there to fill his needs. Now he rarely cries... Plus I have all these wonderful memories of this sweet little man cuddled tight against my chest. My bug.

Dang-- Leaving Tuesday is going to be hard.