Thursday, July 31, 2008

HG Is The Borg

I have begun irretrievably regressing into infancy.  HG has conquered me.  I am a baby now.  I sleep fitfully, have no sense of past or present, pay no attention whatsoever to my appearance (or my smell), eat only what is given me, cry for no reason, and am losing my ability to communicate using language.  If I had time to go to the store, I'd probably start wearing diapers.  Like Gregor in The Metamorphosis, I have no idea how this came to be.  One morning I woke up with my arms and legs wriggling in the air.  

The picture above was taken this morning, as the transformation became complete.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Two Week Photo Review

Sleeping, as he often does, his hand under his chin

Mom and HG recovering after labor

Daddy and baby

A typical 4:00 a.m. face

Cutie pie

HG's First Earthquake

There was a 5.4 earthquake on Tuesday, though it didn't seem to bother HG much.  I was busy changing him in the nursery and KG was napping when the house started to shake.  I dashed into the doorway (his diaper was back on already, thankfully), yelled to KG that I had him, and spent the next few moments wondering how to brace myself properly should things get much worse.  HG was unfazed.  When it was over, I took him back to the changing table and put the rest of his outfit on.  That made him cry.

Gratitude, The Food Version

Two weeks in and we've never eaten so well.  We keep the baby alive... you keep us alive.

Lisa To. - Awesome turkey lasagna
Eric - Moroccan chick pea stew and turkey meat-loaf (with eggs and pickles imbedded!), baguette and (pre-chopped, no less) cilantro
Harriet, Lisa Th., and Kate - Pizza, bbq-chicken salad, and lemonade
Cody and Sarah - Veggie chili
Angelle and Jon - Steak, salmon, grilled vegetables, brie, chocolate mousse cake, strawberry shortcake, chicken and dumplings, sausage spaghetti sauce, pasta, and probably a lot of other deliciousness that I don't remember
Emma - Very popular garden salad
Lauren R. - Anti-oxidant salad, spinach and feta salad, wild-rice medley
Lo Lo and JohnThe pump (It's food for HG!)
Dane - Carrot cake
Shelley G- Cookies
Mom - Shrimp cocktail, dirty rice, chicken and dumplings, potato salad, okra and rice, baked chicken, pasta sauce with turkey and mushrooms and penne, strawberries, cherries, orange sesame chicken, salmon, oranges, Muenster cheese, egg beaters, carrot cake, beat salad, garden salad, lasagna, and much, much more

I'm addled by lack of sleep and my memory is sputtering.  My apologies for anyone or anything I've forgotten.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Baby Brain

Okay, so it's been almost a week since my last real entry.  With that much time elapsed, you'd think I have all kinds of things to say - cute HG anecdotes, tricks I've learned, wise this-and that - but truth be told it's hard for me to remember much at all.  What we're doing is hard and when the day is done, looking back usually reveals nothing more than the fog from which we just emerged (The same can be said for looking forward.).  

There are, of course, little things here and there that I'll hold onto.  In the interest of maintaining my dignity, I'll share only one: Apparently, HG likes The Ink Spots, a singing group formed in the early 30's (they're the ones who sing "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire").  They never fail to calm him down when he's upset.  Being a great lover of music myself, it brings me great joy to see this.

However in the end, the overwhelming reality of these first few days has been that of treading water, of simply trying to survive one day into the next.  It's actually not as bad as it sounds. It's not bad at all, really.  There's a lot to cherish and I love HG to no end.  It's just that everything happens so fast... and is so seemingly important... and shows up unexpectedly... and apparently lasts forever.  There is virtually no time to reflect.  When it's over and done and you finally have time to sit with yourself, all you can do is sit and watch the dust settle.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Saturday, July 19, 2008

It's The Beginning Of The Great Adventure


In an effort to make things easier for my family and 
friends who want the latest news on our brand new son, I've decided to set up a blog and give it a try.  KG is in bed right now and the little one is too, so I've got a minute - but only one - to officially launch this cybership.

All is well.  Myself, KG and the baby are getting used to this new life of ours.  HG came into the world only a few days ago and came home with the two of us on Thursday so there's a myriad of things for the three of us to learn.  The nights are long and bleary-eyed.  Every day something becomes easy that only the day before seemed insurmountable.  So far, so great.


My family's been spectacular.  Over the last couple of days they've pretty much flooded us with love and support.  KG's mom was here too, and I like her more than ever.  I can't really express how lucky I feel for the people we have around us.  The house was absolutely packed with visitors today - ranging in age from less than 2 years old to over 80.  After less than 3 hours of sleep the night before, I definitely made for one lame-ass host, but no one really gave me grief.  The refrigerator is full of food we didn't cook, our place is full of absolute necessities we didn't buy (MAJOR hat tip to Lo-Lo and John - though pretty much everyone's been incredibly generous), and the little guy is getting showered with love for nothing but having made his appearance.

My Mom's a marvel.  I've always known, of course, that she had a special touch with kids, but to see her working her magic on my own child makes my heart ache.  She must feel like some world-class tennis pro at a middle-school match when she observes us finding our parenting feet.  There is no situation - no crying jag, no diaper issue, virtually no baby trick - she isn't a master of.  I'm going to have to start calling her "The Baby Whisperer."

Well, the night is long and I've got work to do.  As Lou Reed's wife says, "It's the beginning of the Great Adventure."