thursday, may 29
entry
here are the promised pictures of owen's injury. he fell on a doorstop while pulling up on the front door, so it made a weird kind of jagged cut, with a nasty bruise around it. it's pretty much gone now, just a yellow mark left. but it definitely looked painful a few days ago.
and i have also uploaded a few pictures of owen in his adorable pooh outfit from aunt joni. it has a hood that has pooh ears and eyes on it. we took him to lowe's in it, and everyone thought he was adorable. when we put the hood on, he immediately yanks it off, but we got a few pictures of him in it. and here is one of me and my boy:
will write more tomorrow, about pureed meat and carseats. for now, must... sleep...
tuesday, may 27
entry
what a wild past few days. i think life will now be returning to normal, but for us, what does that mean really? our house feels empty without extra people around. keith’s grandparents were here last week, and then rachel and kendra stopped in for a night this past weekend. we took them downtown and ate at my current favorite, pf chang’s. it rained the day they were here, and they said they were bringing the rain, and they were right. yesterday after they left, it was positively gorgeous out. sorry, girls!
we spent our holiday cleaning out the garage. we’ve been stockpiling boxes and miscellaneous junk for storage until we could purchase a ladder to get up into our attic. we bought said ladder when betsy and alex were here, thanks to their trusty ford explorer. so yesterday was the day, and we spent most of the morning and early afternoon shifting and sorting and passing boxes up and down the ladder. keith had the hard job of ladder-climbing and heat-breathing in the attic. the garage looks so much better already, but a trip to goodwill is in order, and we need to put up a set of utility shelves that we purchased at lowe’s last night, where owen christened the concrete floor with a little bit of baby love, otherwise known as orange puke. after shelves and goodwill, the garage will be clean, and parkable once more. keith spent the rest of the day cleaning up the flowerbeds, and is going to mow the yard today.
in other news, owen took his first major spill a couple of days ago. he falls constantly now that he is pulling up and standing full time. but he fell hard onto the doorstop and ended up with a bruise and cut on his little forehead. he used his “it’s a serious injury this time” cry to tell keith that he was hurt, and so keith called me to tell me to expect an injured child from the sitter. otherwise i walk in to her house and exclaim, “what happened?” to which the sitter replies, “it wasn’t me, he came with that the boy has also mastered saying dada, and i heard him give a tearful and drawn out baaa-baaaaa through the monitor a few nights ago when keith was handling his night feeding, so he’s got that word down, too. and he’s a champ with the raspberry blowing. no mama yet. what’s wrong with this child? i’m guessing he’ll say dante', and then gabriel, and maybe then squeeze in a mama.
i discussed keith’s father’s day present with owen the other day, and we have decided what we’re getting. it’s going to take some fancy doings to keep keith from seeing it before time, but i’ll figure it out. hopefully it will be a good gift, and not a miss. we try, we really do.
thursday, may 22 entry random thoughts, because the baby can sense when i try to concentrate, and he hates it.
wednesday, may 21
entry
well - tonight is the night. the american idol finale. i taped last night's show because we went out with keith's grandparents, so i plan to watch that from 600PM to 700PM, and then from 700PM to 900PM it's showtime! we will not be accepting calls during those times, thankyouverymuch. i have heard from friends here at work that clay outsang ruben last night, but that the judges praised ruben more heavily. i actually read an interview yesterday by simon, and he said that in the final three, kimberley far outsang ruben. but because he wanted ruben to move on into the final two, he curtailed his praise for kimberley, and poured it on ruben, even though ruben wasn't as good. pretty sneaky, right? even though the judges can't vote, they do tend to sway the masses with their praise or lack thereof. for the record, i'm pulling for clay.
we went to dinner last night at logan's. i love logan's - the best steaks ever. owen behaved perfectly. he was wanting to try all of our food, and i finally gave him a few tiny pieces of bread. he loved it. he has no teeth yet (only one poking through the bottom, but just barely), but he is wanting to work his jaw a little. so i'm trying to come up with some foods that will give him some texture to chew on, but not choke him. he tried some tiny pieces of plain pancake while we were in arkansas, and he loved it. it makes me nervous though - he's too little to eat real food!
i'm making a chocolate fondue for a retirement party at work today. i have never attempted a fondue before. i'm a little bit nervous, but really, who can screw up chocolate?
tuesday, may 20
entry
we made it back from our mini-trip, safe and sound. the boy was a complete angel on the plane both coming and going, and after each flight several people would say, "what a good baby!" "i didn't even know he was on the plane!" so that was a relief. we had a nice visit with everyone at home, got to see both brothers graduate, and that's about it. our trips home are always so rushed and pressed for time. we usually see everyone once, and that's about it. i'm always way more exhausted when i get home from a weekend trip to arkansas. but it is nice to see everyone, and let them see owen.
keith's grandparents arrived late last night from san diego. we don't have any big plans for the week, just hanging out. i'm trying to get owen back on schedule after the trip home, where he was staying up late, eating less solids, and not napping. schedules are very important!
upon returning, i was catching up on my journal reading, and i came across this on sine's site. i can't believe how many of them apply to me. oh, i am a child of the 80's.
wednesday, may 14
entry
*update* i told you the biscuit was a hit! click on the picture above for more. also, click here for a few pics i took after his bath last night. they are weird, kind of hazy looking. but still cute.
on another note, some stupid crackhead broke into keith's car last night while he was at work downtown. the passenger side window is completely busted out, with glass everywhere inside the car. the contents of the glovebox are strewn around the car. of course, nothing is missing, which should be obvious since it's an old ford escort with a manufacturer's stereo and tape player, yippee. my crackhead theory stems from the fact that i just mentioned (who breaks into an escort that you can look into and see that there is no stereo equipment or anything else of value?), and also from the fact that keith did have a bank envelope in his glove box with $25 in it, and $8 in ones in the cup holder between the seats, and the thief didn't find either one of those. the money envelope was tossed aside with the car registration and other various documents. idiot. keith thinks he can find a replacement window at a salvage yard, and do the labor himself, so it won't be worth turning in to our insurance. but it makes me so mad. and it's a little frightening to know that keith works downtown with these kinds of losers. what if he had walked out while the car was being broken into? could have been trouble, and i don't like that.
i have a few pictures to upload tonight of owen eating the teether biscuit. he is adorable. but after that, i won't post for a while, because we fly out tomorrow morning to memphis, and then to arkansas. be back sunday!
monday, may 12
entry
happy seven months, owen!
i can’t believe my little baby boy is over half a year old! before you know it, we’ll be celebrating your one-year birthday! you are amazing, buddy. you keep me forever entertained.
at seven months, you are:
you are such a sweet baby boy. i couldn’t ask for a more wonderful son. you make my life so much happier and more fulfilling. your devotion to me and to daddy is unconditional. thank you for loving me without pretense. i have learned so much from you in the seven months since you graced us with your presence, about love and life and myself. you are the very best part of me. i love you more than words.
we had a wonderful time with betsy and alex. i feel like i never really laugh until we’re all together. we went out friday night for betsy’s birthday, to a rib and crab dive downtown, then to ben & jerry’s for ice cream. we spent saturday at the farmer’s market and bicentennial park, then we took owen to wal-mart to get his picture taken. he was the most solemn baby ever. the photographer and i, and even betsy, were standing there making complete fools of ourselves, and he was giving us the look of doom. finally the photographer asked if i wanted to take some “serious pictures.” about 3AM sunday morning, we all (four adults, one baby, and three dogs) huddled in the hallway during a tornado warning for about 40 minutes. missed us again, but many houses in our immediate area were destroyed. yesterday alex watched owen while betsy and i attended the chocolate festival, then keith came home and we grilled steaks and watched the survivor finale. they’ll be heading back to st. louis this morning. i had a great time - we couldn’t ask for better friends, and that’s the truth.
i will only be working three days this week. both my brother and keith’s brother will be graduating from high school this weekend, so we’re flying home on thursday morning. i can’t believe they are both out of high school. they were 12 when keith and i started dating! and now they are both tall and tough and handsome. we’re proud of them.
hopefully owen will do well on the flight. i am terrified of being The One With the Screaming Baby. we’ll be bringing many bottles and hoping for the best. he may not cry, but even when he’s happy, he can be awfully loud. just this weekend he has started screaming for no apparent reason, just opening his mouth and cranking his vocal cords up to maximum loudness. “DADADADADADA EEEEEEE DAAAADADADADA” and repeat.
thursday, may 08
entry
dang, when did i become "ma’am"?
is it because i carry around a baby? do i look old? when did 18 year olds start thinking of me, 23 years old, as a ma’am?
yesterday at kroger, the guy bagging my groceries said "can i help you to the car with that, ma’am?" he was at least 18 years old. i declined his help and thanked him, and as we were leaving, owen and i shared a secret smile, because we both know that i’m no ma’am. ma’am means proper and elder and respect. prim and lady-like and quietly attractive. i already know that i am a young 23, with questionable judgement, little or no life wisdom, and a baby who is lucky to be half a year old, with my new parenting skills. done nothing to garner respect, except birth a child, and if you’ve done it, then you know it’s worth at least something, but no propriety here, thankyouverymuch. and owen, well – he definitely knows i’m no ma’am. he’s the one who sees me at my worst, in the middle of the night, half awake, hair mussed, morning breath, usually some sort of cakey baby food or vomit on my shoulder. he is the one who sees me dancing around the living room to made up songs, or the ever popular shinelikestars cd. flailing, jumping, making weird faces, whatever it takes to make him crack open those gorgeous baby lips with a smile. most undignified! and who watches their manners around a baby? i still have a few good years left before he find the joy in disclaiming to outsiders that his parents belch and fart. we take advantage of his silence. oh yes, owen knows that i am no ma’am.
"can i help you to the car with that, ma’am?" i almost felt guilty not correcting him:
"me? oh, you’ve the wrong girl, i’m no ma’am. thank you, though." owen and i wink at each other with the secret union of knowledge.
ma’am. dang, i feel old.
tuesday, may 06
entry
back from chicago! and just in time for the second round of tornados and thunderstorms. the first round came through sunday night. i called keith monday morning and he told me that he and owen had slept in the hallway. the hail was the size of golfballs, and a friend of mine at work lost her car to hail damage. a couple of townhouses here in smyrna were flattened, and an apartment complex got its windows blown out, so apparently a tornado came right through this area. luckily nothing of ours was damaged, not even our cars, even though they suffered through the hailstorm uncovered. we are currently still under a tornado and flood watch, so we're not out of the woods yet. i can't believe the damage already done.
chicago was a good time. we had no business on saturday, so we took the "L" downtown. i have a new appreciation for people who use public transporation. there was a young guy on the train with a tiny baby in a carrier, and he carried that baby all over the place. they rode the train together in peace, and then departed to walk further to their final destination. babies in carriers are not light! makes me double appreciate my car, that's for sure.
sunday we were in our seminar from 930AM to 530PM, then we met one of our markets for dinner. we ate at a fabulous italian restaurant. monday was a half day of seminar, a mexican restaurant to celebrate cinco de mayo, and then the plane ride home. i wondered if they would allow us to land in nashville, with the storms and tornados, but we came right on in. it was the roughest flight i've ever been on, which isn't saying much, but i was completely sick when we landed. i felt better after seeing my boy, though - when he grins so big that his pacifier falls out, then i know he's happy! he cooed and gurgled at me, then promptly fell asleep in the car on the way home. now that he is completely over his ear infection, he is such a good baby. i forgot how good he was! he never cries unless it's the middle of the night and he is hungry. i love that boy!
this week at work is a busy one. our market is coming into town for an audit, and we'll be entertaining them wednesday through friday. also, thursday is when betsy and alex arrive, and we're going to have a blast with them. i can't believe that we haven't seen our best friends since christmas. what is happening here? i'm looking forward to them seeing owen. he's at such a fun age, and i know they love babies. plus, it's hard to have such a cute and wonderful baby, and no one around to show him off to!
speaking of his wonderful highness the baby, his new trick is crawling into the kitchen and sticking his pudgy baby hands into the dog food. keith found dog food in his little fists a couple times this weekend. let the baby-gating begin!
friday, may 02
entry
doesn't dubya look hot in his jumpsuit?
i am such a bush fan.
this morning owen played the happy birthday blues on his harmonica to his aunt betsy:
happy birthday, betsy, we love you!
tomorrow i'm off to the windy city.
