Blog Rut

So, it's about 9:15 pm and the baby is taking a cat-nap. This could be bad news, as it might mean she will be difficult to get to sleep after her next meal, which is at about 9:30. Since she is asleep, I have 15 minutes to do whatever I want (except go to sleep, which is what I want most), so I have decided to blog. My blog is in danger of becoming nothing but baby photos, and it has been suggested that I write something more interesting or risk losing the 2 or 3 readers I have left. Problem is, nothing interesting, or at least nothing non-baby-related, ever happens to me these days. My life is like the movie Groundhog Day, except in 3-hr cycles instead of 24-hr ones. Not that I am complaining. At least it is an excuse to stay home and avoid going outside in the hot hot heat. Summer will be over before I know it, and except for the berries going away, I won't miss it a bit.

There are other things i'd like to do with my 15 minutes, but it's too late a night to start on projects. I have a scrapbook to make (too involved), some housepants to hem (need help pinning them up), some thank-you notes to write (I'm too cranky for that), and my melodica to practice (too loud). And there is also the half-finished novel I haven't picked up since the Peanut's birthday, but I am too sleepy for reading comprehension.

Well, my 15 minutes is up, and after re-reading this, I don't feel I used the time wisely. Sorry to both of you reading this. I will try to come up with something better soon...

Wake Up, Peanut.

Time to Wake Up!

But I don't wanna wake up...

Sorry, not gonna do it.

Aaaaaaah! Back to sleep.

Birthday of the Day

New Cousin Shout Out

Welcome Baby Katy (Katie?)! And congratulations to Darlene, Pat, and Ryan. We can't wait to see her. Glad you are all well!

PS: Nice of you to name the baby after her Uncle K and Aunt T (K-T)!

Two Faces of Peanut

One is a Mommy face. One looks like Daddy. Can you guess which is which? (Hint: Daphne only looks like me when she is distressed)

Shout Out to Two Martys

My lucky little Peanut has two Uncle Martys. Actually, she has one Uncle Marty and one Great Uncle Marty. That doesn't mean that the one who isn't Great isn't great. He just isn't Great. Happy Birthday to both!

New Addition

Figured i might as well post these while I have a minute. This is before we put some furniture in.

Daddy's Little Fatty

Have just returned from my first trip to Central Market with the Peanut, and I will say it was a success. She cried (screamed!) all the way there in the car, so I thought the trip was doomed, but she fell asleep just as I pulled into the parking lot, and slept the whole time I was shopping, and is in fact still asleep in the car seat, which is how I am able to blog. It is my first full day going solo with Daphne, and I am a little scared, but I intend to prove to myself I can handle it. Our friends in New York have a two-year-old boy and infant twins, so I reckon I can deal with one good little baby for 8 or 9 hours (shout out to Nate and Angela and their crew).

Had a nice weekend with Kev's parents who came to visit. They stayed in our new room, which is finished. I will post pictures sometime, but I can't say when. I was telling them over the weekend that when I was pregnant, I had these big ideas that after the baby came, every morning I'd take her to the lake or the Katy trail for a walk, and then she'd take a nap while I did laundry or other chores, and then I'd leisurely read a book or magazine, and it was all very blissful and serene. HA! I've been assured those days will come...don't know if I'm buying it. I'll be lucky to get a shower today. I know it's gross, but I may have to choose between a shower and a nap, and I'm gonna pick nap. Well, time to see if I can get the baby out of the carseat without waking her up. It's time for her to eat (again!) anyway.

Come visit us...we have room now!

Real Smile...Not Just Gas

About the Peanut

Name: Daphne Claire

Age: 3 weeks, 1 day

Weight: 8 lb, 6 oz.

Eyes: Still blue so far.

Hair: Red (?!) and unruly

Likes: Sleeping, eating, bath-time (especially hair washing), toys, making funny faces, taking walks with daddy, swinging on the front porch, playing on the Gymini.

Dislikes: Diapers, diaper changes, being woken up from napping, having to wait more than thirty seconds for food.

Best friends: Ralph Monkey, Mommy and Daddy.

It has been quite an adjustment, but we are all doing well. Sorry I haven't had much time to call people or email or blog. I usually try to sleep when I have a block of time. Daphne is great, we are so proud of her. She is more and more alert every day, and she keeps us entertained with funny faces and baby noises. Hope you are all well. More blogs coming soon...

The Peanut Has Landed!

Well, our Peanut (aka Daphne Claire) finally arrived on Monday June 5 at 1:25 in the afternoon. She is doing great, I am recovering nicely, and Kev and I are very proud and tired parents. The whole process was a great experience, and not anywhere near as scary as I thought it would be. The first picture is from Tuesday, when we brought her home, and the second one is from Thursday, when she was all dressed up in her Uncle Jeff outfit, and getting ready for Game One with her Mavs pacifier. As you all know by now, the Mavs won Game One, so all in all, I'd say it's been a pretty great week. Time to go enjoy a rare opportunity to nap. More soon!

MAVS WIN!
MAVS WIN!
MAVS WIN!

February Belly / June Belly

In the time it has taken the turkeys at the garage to fix Kev's car, my belly has grown this much. Take one last look, because after tomorrow, the belly will begin to disappear. Hopefully very quickly.

It is our last weekend as a family of two. We spent most of today dealing with the trim carpenters, who seemed to need more supervision than some of the other crews we've had. Maybe tomorrow we can actually do something fun, like see a movie. Something where I can sit down, because standing up, and especially walking, require a surprising amount of effort. Especially outside in the hot hot heat.

I'm not sure how much blogging will be done in the next few weeks, but I will try to at least get up a picture or two of the Peanut when we get her home, and maybe I will even publish her name for those of you who have been trying to figure it out. My dad had a dream that we named her "Cribby." I assure you, that is not the case.

Tonight is Game 6 of Mavs/Suns Western Conference Finals, and I am hoping the Mavericks can just finish them off tonight so I won't have to be worrying about how am I gonna watch Game 7 on Monday while I'm in labor. We are thinking about painting my belly like a basketball with "go Mavericks" or something on it, and then sending a picture to Mark Cuban to see if he will send us some of his spare money, or at least some tickets to a game next year. His behavior is really embarrassing to the organization, but he does give out a lot of free stuff to fans when they do wacky things.

OK, well, I'm signing off now so I can go have a baby. Talk to you later...

And It Was All Yellow

So here is some continued house progress. Yesterday, the outside crew primed the exterior, and today they came back and painted. Looks pretty darn good, I think. It looks like it was always part of the house. Also yesterday, the inside crew put down the hardwood floor. They are going to have to let it acclimate to the house for a few days, and they will stain it on Monday when I am in the hospital because it is apparently stinky. I thought the trim would go up today, but I don't think anything happened inside. Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my final doctor's appointment before the Peanut comes. I would be kinda glad if they decided to admit me tomorrow, except that my doctor is on vacation, so I need to wait until Monday if I want her to do the delivery. I can't believe it is only 5 days away.

I just realized that if the Mavs/Suns series goes to Game 7, it will probably be on Monday night. Does anyone know? I guess I can check the internet. If so, I will have to make sure the Peanut comes before tip-off. Then we can all watch Game 7 as a family. Too bad I don't have any Mavs-wear for the baby. She's a big Josh Howard fan.

Kev's car is supposed to be done tomorrow or Friday, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Those turkeys have been stringing us along for months. I think they should just give us a new car at this point. I'd like a sage-colored Passat wagon or Suburu Outback, please.

The Sprayer

This morning as I was leaving to go celebrate Memorial Day with my family in Garland, the construction crew was arriving. I didn't expect them to work today, since it is a holiday and all. But there they were. They worked yesterday too, even though it was Sunday. I said to one guy, "You're working today?" He didn't speak much English, but he replied, "Yes, I am the sprayer." Um, OK. So when I got home from celebrating, I saw that the sprayer had been very hard at work, spraying the walls with texture. The sheetrock crew was back too. These guys really work hard. They work so hard that I'm not really even mad at them for breaking the curtain rod in my bedroom. If I wasn't so pregnant, I would make them a cake or pie or something. Anyway, the room is looking good and more importantly, nearing completion.

Speaking of pie, my mom made the best Memorial Day fruit pie today. She got the recipe from a recent Martha show...it is on the Martha Stewart website and it is called mixed berry slab pie or something like that. It is GREAT, and we had home-made ice cream to go with it. I recommend this pie for your next gathering, especially since berries are in season and so delicious. My mom said it was easy to make.

One week from today, the Peanut will arrive. It is very hard to believe. I am trying not to freak out, and so far I am doing a good job. We will see how I feel next Sunday, though.

The Home Stretch

Well, if I was going to bet the trifecta, I think I'd go with this:

1. Kev's car
2. Peanut
3. Room finished

I don't think my belly button is going to pop out, and it sadly seems very unlikely that LarryFeathers will ever blog again. The ridiculous auto shop finally received the part from Germany, and the car could be ready today. The room is still scheduled for completion on June 9, and the baby is still scheduled for June 5. I am officially 38 weeks pregnant, and I am finally feeling like someone who is 38 weeks pregnant. There are all kinds of new weird little pains and sensations, and I am uncomfortable more often than not. That's OK though. I have felt great most of the time up to this point, so I can't complain. The computer is misbehaving now, so time to stop blogging. Have a good holiday weekend.

UPDATE: Well, the turkeys at the garage now tell us Thursday or Friday on the car, and the Peanut is acting like she wants to come out, so I think it'll be neck and neck between those two at the finish line. I'd still bet on the room completion to show. We have sheetrockers here now...pictures to come soon.

Fixing a Hole

Behind the plastic-covered bed, there used to be a window. They patched up the hole today, and this is what my bedroom looked like when I got home. There is dust everywhere, and my usual path to the bathroom, which I have memorized and follow many times nightly in the dark, is completely blocked. It will all be worth the inconvenience in the end though. Glad things are moving along.

Padded Room

They did the insulation today. Looks kinda better from the outside, huh? Sheetrock tomorrow I think.

Hot Hot Heat

It's hot already. It makes me sad that I won't be able to take the Peanut out for a decent stroll until probably at least October. Once again, I will not embrace the heat. But since nobody likes a complainer, I will try not to dwell on it in this blog. As a sign that I mean what I say, here are some good things about summer:

1. Berries
2. No school zones
3. Baseball

Well, that's all I've got.

Question

Can I rub my own belly for good luck, or does it only work for people outside the shirt?

(See two blogs down if confused)