A New Year's Message From Sir Logan

Happy New Year, Everybody!

Home Improvements 1

It's been a nice few days of intense family time (and eating). We also managed to get two home improvement projects done...one of which has been hanging over our heads for a year.

Project 1

The first project was replacing the chandelier in our dining room. The old light was the one we inherited with the house. It worked fine but was not at all our style. Very ol' school. A year ago, we bought a new chandelier at Ikea. And, for the past year, it's been sitting in our dining room as other projects prevailed (See Bills, Oliver and Bills, Avery).

It took us only about 45 minutes (including a quick call to TDub#1 to double-check a ground wire issue) to do the wiring. Then we opened up the glass shades (cups? I don't know what to call them) to find one had cracked. And of course...Ikea doesn't make the model anymore.

A few squirts of crazy glue later, our dining room was newly lit. We'll have to figure out what to do about that glass, but it's an OK temporary fix. Probably.

The photo is not very good, it's actually black and looks very nice when lit.

Project 2

The second project was the removal of our dated vertical blinds. I'm not sure whether to classify this as:
A. A spur-of-the-moment decision based on a sale at Bed Bath & Beyond, or
B. The culmination of six years of complaining about the blinds.

We replaced them with a double-rod with sheer curtains on the outside layer (to let in light) and tab-topped opaque curtains on the inside layer. It looks nice. However, the public will have to wait for photos, as something bizarre has happened to the rechargeable batteries on our camera and they won't...recharge.

Christmas Day in Photos

We had a great Christmas and hope everyone else did, too. A photo essay of our day:

Breakfast waffles:



Logan discovers there is more than one item in his stocking!



Larry's iTunes giftcard says "Rock out, daddy!



Logan enjoying new toys from Emily, Bill and Wills.



Daddy adjusts the tricycle seat:



Ollie hangs out in his special Christmas shirt.



One of the nicest parts of our day was an early dinner with the Kirgans. J and Logan spent a short time at the table before getting up to play on Logan's Batman 4-wheeler. Logan was not as awesome at sharing as we would have liked, but this picture proves that J did get his chances at the wheel.

Disgust, Followed by Restoration of Faith

Grinchiest Christmas Eve moment:

Someone thought it would be a fun idea to tip over the recycling and trash cans on our street last night...which means, of course, the collectors didn't take them when they rolled by. Which means, of course, that our street didn't have trash or recycling pickup on the eve of the biggest trash-producing days of the year. Nice. How was that even fun?

We righted our own bins and our neighbors' and picked up the spilled items, then called the city's sanitation services to ask one of the trucks still in the area (we could hear them a few streets over) to double back. Needless to say, the request fell on deaf ears and there was a lot of repeating of how it would throw the workers off schedule and they were not required to pick up trash that had been knocked over (yes...we get it). My tax dollars at work. Thanks, city of Austin. Appreciate the effort.

Sweetest Christmas Eve moment:

I took Logan to Saks Fifth Avenue this morning to pick up some Kiehl's Silk Groom, which is the only product I've ever found that helps control the "texture" (frizz) in my hair and is worth every single penny and the trip to inappropriately snotty Saks.

Naturally, Logan decided that waiting for the couple in front of us to be helped in their pressing decision on which eye cream to purchase was an awesome time to begin a whining campaign. The couple gave us a bit of an "ick, get away from us, breeder" look and went about their business for quite some time, with Logan getting increasingly vocal. I was in a very "mom who has given up" outfit of sweats and a cardigan, because we were housecleaning today and getting ready for Christmas. And of course my hair was not at its best because I was...duh...out of Kiehl's.

Finally, our turn came, and as I dug around in my bag for my wallet, pushing aside a sippy cup and Cheerios, the salesman let down his snotty Saks facade and asked Logan if he wanted to sit up on the counter while I paid. Logan LOVES him a counter, so he sat happily while we finished our transaction. As I packed up, I joked to the salesman that I'd warned Logan there was "no whining in Saks" but he didn't get the message.

The guy smiled, leaned in, and said "There's plenty of whining in Saks. It's refreshing when it comes from an actual toddler."

Red All Over

Logan is getting a red tricycle for Hanukkah. Grandpa Philip warned us (kind of gleefully) that there were "a lot of parts" to be put together.


So with trepidation, Larry opened the box last night as we half-watched Joe Biden on Larry King (actually, Larry watched Joe Biden and I watched Larry. Equally entertaining; equal possibility of hilarious inappropriateness). As it turned out, although there were a lot of pieces, about half of them were already assembled. Which is not to say the directions were not annoyingly inefficient.


Nonetheless, Daddy managed to piece it all together in about 45 minutes except for one errant bolt, which we decided was "extra" for an "emergency." (Yes, a hardware emergency. Shut up.) It's beautiful and we're excited to unveil it to Logan. He also has a matching bike helmet, which is blue with a soccer ball on it and, inexplicably, the number "77."

Holiday Photos Episode 1

This weekend included a visit by Grammy Helen, Grandad Larry and Aunt Felicia, followed by lunch today at Grammy Carol and Fauxpa's to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. Also present at lunch were Aunt Emily, Uncle Bill, Wills and honorary (heaven help her) family member Amy L. Whew!

Of course, Ollie and Logan are making out like bandits gift-wise. Subsequent posts will include reviews of Logan's faves for this season (Ollie is only recently discovering his own limbs and thus is not qualified to pick favorite toys just yet).

Oliver with Grammy Helen. That is the look of a child who knows the fun has just begun.



Logan getting a little tired of the photo-taking. And yet NOT all that tired of the gift-opening.



Oliver with Aunt Felicia in new Space Invaders jammies (Oliver, not Felicia).



Logan and Wills color Hanukkah shapes.



Felicia and Grammy Helen escaped before we were all forced to don paper hats for a group photo. Note Uncle Bill had to hold Wills and Logan in order to get them to sit still for this photo.

Let the Season Begin

Grammy Helen and Grandad in the house starting last night. Many, many photos forthcoming.

A Holiday Album Like No Other

I rarely post work-related items on our family blog but I'm making an exception for the extra-cool holiday microsite we produced this year. View it.

These kinds of projects can go several different ways. They can be a huge drag in which the people working on them feel they are being punished in some way. Happy holidays...bah humbug. Or they can be a trmendous amount of fun and a great creative outlet. This one was the latter, primarily because of the very excellent team working on it.

Time Out, Daddy

Logan tried to give Larry a time out this evening. It was VERY hard not to crack up.

Larry came out of Logan's room after putting him in jammies and Logan came out behind him. He stood in the middle of the living room and said "Daddy, time out Daddy." Larry said, "What did I do?" and Logan just instructed him again to go to "time out." He was dead serious. Logan then marched to his room and closed the gate behind him as if to show Larry what needed to happen, RIGHT NOW. Then, since Logan is now able to open the gate himself, he came back out and re-instructed Larry to go to time out. Larry did not go.

Time outs are a serious business around here. We've been employing them to great effect as instructed in 1-2-3 Magic, which so far has proven to be really good guidance on discipline. A simple count to three followed by a time out in his room (we're supposed to do one minute per year of the child's age, but we actually only do one minute) has helped us get a grip on dangerous and destructive behavior. It's amazing how quickly it has worked.

So we tried not to laugh. But I'm not sure if this is good or bad. Was Logan mocking time out? Or does he understand the importance and genuinely thought Larry deserved it for forcing him into jammies?

Making Spirits Bright

Note: This post was written on Sunday, December 14th, not the 12th as dated.

Logan and I did our first cooking project together a few weeks ago. We attempted to make little peanut butter bear treats from an awesome toddler cookbook R and J gave us. After stirring for about a minute, Logan abandoned me and I finished the project on my own. They were very tasty, basically peanut butter Rice Krispies treats. We, or rather, I, made cats rather than bears.

Despite this unsatisfying first attempt at culinary bonding, today we tried again, this time with the HPs, during what I hope will be a tradition for the next 40 years: Holiday Cookie Day(tm). Our plan was to gather our two families to make holiday cookies. After much discussion, AHamp and I decided it would be best not to produce the entire recipe in one day, but rather pre-make the dough and have cookies at different stages a la a cooking show. One batch already baked and ready to ice, one batch rolled out and ready to cut. TP predicted "Moms in the kitchen making cookies while Larry and I control the chaos."


Well, the event came off better than we could have dreamed. Logan and G thoroughly enjoyed the decorating, cutting and, obviously, eating. Everyone participated in the festivities while Ollie relaxed in his baby swing. The boys spent way more time helping than I thought they would.

We made two recipes: Spice Rollout Cookies and Vanilla Rollout Cookies, both from Bon Appetit. The spice cookies were the fave. They are pleasing to kids but are not crazy sugary, so they are tolerable for the rest of us. Recipe here.



Eat your heart out, Martha! Update: We've had some questions about who should receive "credit" for some of the specific designs. Italian flag gingerbread man: TP. Liberty Bell: Amy. Christmas tree with red outline: Larry. And mad props to AHamp for the candy cane sprinkles, which we all highly recommend. They actually taste like candy canes.

Still Sicky

We're being tested this week. Logan was much improved last night and had a good sleep with very little coughing. This morning, though, he's pretty warm and out of sorts, so we'll keep him inside again. This is the worst cold he's ever had, we're just praying nothing else capitalizes on it (bronchitis, sinus infection etc.)

Urgent Care

Winding down from an impromptu trip this evening to our pediatrician's urgent care office...not for Oliver, but for Logan. Logan has had the sniffles for a few days, but he was pretty chipper and asking to go outside, etc. So we weren't all that worried. Once Logan hit about two years old, we really started being more confident in our medical parenting and treating the kid, not the fever. Meaning that we take a lot more cues from Logan about how he's feeling rather than relying just on the thermometer.

But last night things went downhill quickly. He started to heat up and his cough turned really nasty. He woke up repeatedly during the night calling for us; Larry finally went to sleep in his room so he could console him right away. Logan woke up miserable, he was congested and lethargic today, ate very little and was just not himself. By this evening he was up to 104, even after ibuprofen, and completely limp. He just lay on my lap, and then Larry's when I had to go feed Ollie...and "just lying around" is not the Logan way. We started to worry about pneumonia, since we've been there before. Then when Larry went to change him, Logan complained about the light in his room. Well, high fever plus lethargy plus light sensitivity...Mama doesn't mess around with that equation.

Anyway, an urgent care visit and a chest X-ray later, it looks like it's just a bad cold. His chest is clear and, in fact, he made me look like a tool by asking for goldfish crackers while the doctor was examining him. "Sick? I'm not sick. I don't know why she brought me here, doc." So, probably another bad night tonight, but hoping he starts to feel back to his old self tomorrow.

Update Tuesday morning. Another bad night and Logan is at 104 this morning. Larry stayed with him all night so they were both miserable. Right now he's resting on the couch watching Yo Gabba Gabba. Just looking to keep him comfortable and hydrated today. Poor little guy.

The Stockings Were Hung

...by the chimney with thumbtacks.

Some sniffles and the need to do a LOT of laundry kept us indoors for most of this weekend. We did manage to get our stockings hung. I can give or take the tree but I do love me some stockings. From left to right: Daddy, Mommy, Logan, Ollie, little Avery, Rizzo and Cricket.



There's a lot to be said for hanging out and playing, especially when the playmates are so delicious.





It's hard to get good photos of Ollie right now because he still doesn't have much neck control. We did manage to capture him during the stocking-hanging festivities. Logan refused to wear his old Santa hat...until he saw it on Oliver. Just a little something I like to call "Momnipulation."

Clean Living

I'm dying to take credit for this, but props go to AHamp.

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A MOM OF TODDLER:

Turn on the longest Thomas the Tank Engine DVD you can find.

Equip toddler with juice, binky, snack and position him as close to the TV as possible.

Make mad dash for bathroom. Leave door open.

Rip off clothes while turning on shower while simultaneously collecting rubber duckies, boats, cars, motorcycle men, balls, etc. off floor of tub leftover from last night’s bath.

Curse husband for not having cleaned out bathtub toys the night before.

Call out to toddler repeatedly, “Are you okay? Mama will be right back! Keep watching TV!”

Get in shower. Try not to look at hairy legs and armpits. Close your eyes for the duration of shower if you catch even a tiny glimpse of stretch marks.

Wash hair and soap body at same time.

Call out to toddler repeatedly, “Are you okay? Mama will be right back! Keep watching TV!”

Turn off shower, hop out, and run into TV area soaking wet.

Discover toddler has poured juice on TV.

Towel off while cleaning up juice and answering humiliating questions from toddler about unfamiliar body parts.

Calling My Cooking Friends

I have two kinds of friends: Cooking friends and non-cooking friends (I also have those same two kinds of family members). I love all equally. But today I'm calling on my cooking baking friends. You know who you are. Pretend you see a giant rolling-pin symbol flashing in the sky over Gotham. Help me!

My second attempt yesterday/today at no-knead bread was another dismal failure. Sticky dough after first rise, impossible to knead, did almost nothing on the second rise and, when baked, looked like a huge, tasteless muffin top (not in a good way). This recipe is supposedly foolproof. Am I a fool?

My ingredients were sound. It's really not that many steps. I've been baking bread for, seriously, like 15 years. Why have I twice failed to bake this loaf?

If you are one of my cooking baking friends, please make the damn bread this weekend and help me understand where I've gone wrong.

So Close

Oliver came very close to sleeping through the night last night. After going down easily after his midnight feeding, he awoke briefly at 4.30 a.m., nursed for 8 minutes and then went right back down. He woke up again at 7 a.m. Hoping for a trend...

Oops, Did I Make the No-Rise Version?

I've been baking bread for a long time. I can tell by about the first hour of rising whether a dough has problems. There is a certain smell to dough that's rising well.

My first experiment with no-knead bread was an utter disaster. This dough had problems. By the time I went to bed last night, I knew the dough was not rising well, and the sticky mess I pulled out of the bowl this morning made the case.

The recipe is not difficult. I either mismeasured (not likely, but possible) or the yeast was not good. There is no proofing step in this recipe for the yeast; however, the expiration date was fine and I bought it at HEB, where there is sufficient turnover at this time of year. I don't think the yeast was bad.

People in Google-land report sticky dough that comes out fine in the end. But this was not sticky dough...I don't think. It was a sticky, unmanageable mess. User error? I'll try again next weekend.

Feeling Kneady

The weather turned cold and drizzly today just in time for the kickoff of my two-day cooking project: A version of the "No-Knead" Bread made famous about two years ago via an article in the New York Times (although I actually didn't read about it until Vogue followed it up later. Yes: carbs in Vogue.)

As the article notes, it's hard to come with any "innovations" in bread baking, since it's been going on for, I don't know, a gajillion years. The tactic used for this recipe involves no kneading, and baking at high heat in covered a Dutch oven, which supposedly makes a to-die-for crust. I don't mind kneading bread, but this just seems too interesting not to try, especially since I've been reading about it for two years.

The recipe I'm using is actually from Cook's Illustrated. They call their version "Almost No-Knead" bread because it does call for kneading 10 times after the first rise (10 times, which is like, 30 seconds of kneading). I decided on a modification of their parmesan/rosemary/olive version, but without parmesan and replacing the green olives (seems very weird for bread) with kalamatas.

The first step was very easy: Mix flour, salt, yeast, rosemary, water, olives and a little beer until it forms a "sticky mass" (eeeeew!) then let it sit for 8 to 18 hours. Tomorrow morning will be the final steps, which is the kneading and shaping into a loaf; a 2-hour rise, and then baking. I'll report with photos (unless the results are embarrassing) tomorrow!

Thanksgiving, Indeed

Uncle Bill shut it down with a perfectly cooked Thanksgiving turkey this year. I'm usually neutral on the turkey, but I had two helpings. The other culinary highlight was a life-changing pecan pie from our guest Peggy.

Thankgiving makes me wonder why we don't eat Reddi-Whip all year round? One good dollop is only about 30 calories.

Sweet Oliver (above, with Aunt Emily) slept in his car seat almost the entire afternoon, finally being extracted during the last hour for some passing around by various interested parties. With all the food, football and fuss going on, Logan didn't nap at all and Wills napped only for a short while. Aunt Emily exacerbated the situation by planing "howler monkey" with them. It was very chaotic and yet I'm not sure we would want it any other way (well, except for faux-pa, who looked a little overwhelmed toward the end). Happy first Thankgiving, Ollie.

12 Lbs. of Baby

Breaking news...Larry took Oliver to his four-month checkup today and Oliver is a whopping 12 lbs. 1 oz. Dr.P liked what he saw all around and commented on how strong Oliver is. Our sweet baby was pretty wiped out today after the appointment, which means he'll be hungry and ready to party at around 3 a.m.

Pot-unlucky

Possible reasons why nobody ate your dish at the office potluck:

• You hovered near your dish for the entire meal, noting co-workers' reactions, serving sizes and consumption.
• You complemented the dish with an article about the medical benefits or detriments of some of the ingredients.
• You complemented the dish with specific instructions on preparing and eating it (Sprinkle with 1 Tb olive oil, provided, and then re-microwave for 30 seconds. Next...).
• Bulgher wheat.
• The loaf of white bread you brought because you didn't have funds/inclination/inspiration to bring anything else is not very festive and actually a little depressing. Sometimes it's best just to freeload.
• Really...does anyone eat ambrosia?

First Day Back

We ought to be grateful, but things went so swimmingly today with my return to Bulldog, I'm actually suspicious that the roof will cave in tomorrow.

• Our morning routine went off without a hitch. In fact, Logan, Larry and I ended up in the living room staring at each other when we realized we'd actually completed the routine with 10 minutes to spare! I got to nurse and cuddle Oliver for 45 minutes when we got up, and then an extra 15 minutes right before I left.
• Jumping back into work was not at all difficult. Even with the new faces that have joined since I've been gone, it was nice to see all of the familiar faces. The few hours I've spent each week checking e-mail and handling major crises were worth the investment, even if I had to do them at 1 in the morning, because I did not have to deal with 2,000 stacked-up e-mails in my inbox and could start getting up to speed on real projects, as opposed to wading through a bunch of junk.
• And most important of all, by far, is that Oliver had a good day with our wonderful friend N, who is going to stay with him for a while so I can transition back to work in peace and we decide how to handle his care. Knowing that he was in loving hands made a tremendous difference in my day. Of coure he was on my mind all day (as Logan is...that's just parenthood) but I was not worried.

Definitely an emotional day, but a pretty good one. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Re-entry

Back to work tomorrow. I deliberately chose a short week for this, not because I'm worried about re-entry at Bulldog but because I really question how in the world we are going to get our &%*# together in the mornings. We could barely get Logan and Larry out the door when Oliver and I were home!

Wish us all luck...and the ability to shower.

Mr. Clean

Logan is utterly obsessed with the concept of "cleaning" lately, which to him means dragging around a sponge mop or Swiffer mop (without the sponge or the Swiffer pad inserted). We've been allowing this, as there's no harm and it's certainly part of his natural curiousity to do the things we do around the house (he also likes to "make" his own sandwiches and wipe up spills).

All of this resulted in a most interesting scenario yesterday, in which Larry had to separate Logan from his mop in order to change him into jammies. As Larry carried Logan into his room, Logan reached desperately over Larry's shoulder, screaming "Nooooo! More cleaning!!!" If only we could fast forward 12 years, I'd be glad to get him his very own mop and let him go to town for real.

Sad Times in the Closet

Getting ready for my re-entry at Bulldog Monday, I spent my pockets of free time this week sorting through my disastrous closet. The only thing harder than getting dressed for work as a pregnant person is getting dressed during the "transition," which is what we call the period before we lose the rest of the baby weight and get an accurate read on how the pregnancy redistributed everything.

I sorted the clothes into four groups:

• Maternity clothes, which got boxed up and shipped to their rightful owners. Needless to say, we're done.
• Clothes I really should have given to Goodwill a long time ago.
• Clothes I want to keep even if I can't wear them now.
• The very, very few items that fit.

Sigh. There's no way I'm going to buy an entire new wardrobe. I like my old wardrobe. So my winter ensembles are going to be very limited. I'll have to distract everyone with earrings.

Slow News Day?

Grandpa Philip (referred to here by his alias, "Dr. Philip Silverman,") on News9 Oklahoma discussing antibacterial resistance research. View.

Perfect Park Day

Logan was a little cooped up Saturday so I made it up to him today with a trip to the playground to enjoy the absolutely perfect weather. Emily and I finally got smart and picked a playground halfway between our houses. It worked out perfectly. So much easier to drive 12 minutes than 25.

We packed a monster picnic for Logan and Wills, which they enjoyed al fresco. Look at that spread!

The only shortcoming of this particular park was the shortage of picnic tables. But one kind of genius attribute of eating on a park bench is that the three bottles of water spilled by the children (I'm not saying who spilled more) just went right through the slats onto the ground.

Hockey Pucks, Free to a Good Home

I took a little mommy time last night to do some baking in our new oven. Tried out a new sticky bun recipe that looked interesting because it's leavened with baking soda and -powder rather than with yeast.

Too bad I forgot to add the baking powder. I guess we're having waffles for Sunday breakfast.

Happiness in the Little Things

Breaking news...Oliver smiled at me for the first time today. Not that vague, gassy smirk they get, he's been doing that for weeks, but it really doesn't count. This one was a full-on, eye contact toothless smile that lit up his whole face. That sort of thing can make a mom burst into tears. I mean, that's what I've heard.

I'm only sad that Larry was not here to see it, but I have a feeling he will get his own some time soon. Go, Ollie, go!

Making the World Better for Grandchildren Everywhere

Usually it's unwise to believe anything one reads in the Oklahoman, but for this we make an exception.

Oklahoma researchers learn how germs spread resistance. Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists said they are one step closer to finding a defense against dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria, sometimes called "superbugs.” OMRF researchers Philip Silverman and Margaret Clarke said they captured the first visual evidence of how some bacteria spread in hospitals and throughout the general population.

Read the full article.

And here is Grandpa Philip doing some research on chocolate birthday cake with Logan.

Free at Last

Oliver saw the pulmonologist today and, as we had hoped (but not dared to hope too much), Dr. S gave us the OK to take him off the oxygen completely. He said Oliver's lungs sound great and his growth has been more than promising (he was 10 lbs. 6 oz.).

Here is the happy baby.


We'll keep the oxygen equipment for a while, though, in case it turns out we've moved too quickly. Dr. S said he rarely sees a kid go back on once he takes them off in this kind of situation. But it is cold season, so we have to be hyper-vigilant about handwashing and contact with people who are sick. (This is very hard with a toddler who is eager to help "feed the baby.")

Oliver is still delicate, we need to be careful not to get too cocky.

When we give him his bath tonight, I can't wait to just bundle him up and brush his little bald head and not have to reattach the TenderGrips and the canula.

The Simple Life

Mommy: "Logan, what do you want for Hannukah?"

Logan: "A sandwich."

Sweet Peace, Indeed

Grandma Margaret might have been a little alarmed at our haggard appearances last weekend. Today UPS delivered the Graco "sweetpeace." It's kind of a swing/bouncy seat hybrid, but with every bell and whistle you can imagine. It makes our bouncy seat look like something they would have used on Little House on the Prairie. And it's all designed for Mission Impossible: Get Oliver to sleep.



We put Oliver in about 20 minues ago and so far, he seems to like it. The real test will come later this evening, around 9 pm, which is his super-fussy time. Our success metric (as we say in the marketing biz) is: Does it allow Mommy to take an uninterrupted shower?



The sweetpeace includes:

• Multiple rocking positions


• A plush headrest and padding


• A dock for one's iPod, so you can play baby music or soothing sounds of your choice


• Its own custom swaddle blanket

Hope

A president who can string together two complete sentences and pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly! Yes, we can.

It's been many years since we watched a presidential election with anything but fear and embarrassment. Cheers.

Election Day

Sarah Palin was just on CNN after voting in her hometown. Someone asked who she voted for...which is a pretty stupid question to waste time on. But her answer was a little freaky. She said she didn't have to reveal that and, like all Americans, was exercising her right to keep her choice secret. Uhhhhh...OK. You do that.

I've always been a sucker for the ceremony of Election Day. Watching the long lines for voting on CNN today actually does my heart some good. I love watching the candidates cast their votes. For just one day, I choose to believe that it's possible to improve some of the major problems of our country while reveling in the great things about it. Cue America the Beautiful.

Open All Night

Oliver and Logan tag-teamed us last night and brought the entire household to its knees. Oliver was up every two hours desperate to nurse. We think he's going through a growth spurt, he's insatiable. Then, Logan woke up at 5 AM screaming for Larry. I think the time change and the excitement of Grandma and Grandpa's visit threw him off. I think there was maybe a 30-minute window last night when nobody was crying.

Coincidentally, last night before all of this happened, we were discussing whether baby #2 is easier or harder than baby #1. I recalled someone telling me the biggest adjustment is from 0 to #1, and that it gets easier with #2. This is true in some respects and very, very untrue in others.

Ways it's easier
1. This time around, we know what we're doing. We're not perfect, of course, but we're much more confident in our baby skills, and that goes a long way.

2. The silver lining of the NICU stay. Logan came home with us just days after my C-section, which means I was still recovering from a pretty intense medical situation while caring for him. With Oliver, the NICU stay at least gave me time to recover physically before he came home.

3. Asking for help. When Logan was born, we were much too shy about asking for help. This time around, because of the NICU experience, we accepted all offers of help from friends and family, and there were many!

Ways it's harder
1. Logan, of course. A toddler requires...uh, demands, a lot of attention. When Logan was a baby we could tag team, with one person getting a break while the other cared for him. With the two of them, it's no such luck.

2. Our friend the oxygen tank. Although it's much better now that Oliver only gets oxygen at night, the tank is unwieldy and instrusive, and makes the night feedings that much harder.

3. The emotional impact of the pregnancy and the loss of Avery. It's easy to think that once you get out of the NICU it's smooth sailing. We knew better. We'll be dealing with the emotional repercussions of this experience for years.

The Natural

Halloween was a smashing success. We had 80 kids at the door and for once almost everyone was in costumes of some kind. We had about a 90% "thank-you" rate, which is terrific. It drives me b-a-n-a-n-a-s when the kids don't say "thank you."

I decided not to put Logan in his farmer costume for day care, because I was worried he'd destroy it. I think that was a good choice, because when I picked him up he was covered with orange cupcake frosting that surely would have been all over his overalls. So we changed him into the costume after dinner and Larry, Grandpa and Grandma set out to take him "to a few houses on the street."



Well AN HOUR LATER, the four of them arrived home. I was getting ready to call the police. Oliver and I manned the door, handing out "Sour Jacks." History shows I can't be trusted with chocolate on Halloween night.

After the first two houses, at which he was mainly confused, Logan absolutely adored Halloween. He's a trick or treat natural. He came home not with the three or four pieces of candy I expected, but with a 2/3 full bucket (and it was a big bucket), which Larry and I raided after he went to bed.

Larry Gets Ready for Halloween at Hoovers

Batter Up

The weather has been so beautiful this week. We're all about playing outside. Grandpa Philip and Grandma Margaret arrive tomorrow for Halloween fun.

Infection Protection

Oliver and I had a brief visit with the pulmonologist today so he could receive his second dose of Synagis. This medication is given monthly to high-risk babies (such as preemies) during cold season to help them fight RSV, which is a respiratory illness that isn't a big deal for older kids and adults but can have a bad impact on babies, especially little ones.

Respiratory illness this winter is our #1 fear for putting Oliver back in the hospital. Poor little guy really hollered when they gave him the shot. The nurse had warned me that it's a "thick" shot, which makes it hurt more. I tried to make it up to him the rest of the day with a lot of extra cuddles.

Pumpkin Carving

Grammy Helen and Grandad Larry picked up a huge pumpkin for carving during their visit this week. After a struggle to remove the top...


They cleaned out the goop and the seeds...



And then got to carving. Stay tuned to see the finished product in our Halloween post later this week.

Marathon Mom

There are many, many things "nobody" tells you about pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. There are more things people do not admit/concede/acknowledge than things they do.

One of these many, many things is that feeding your baby 8-10 times a day for 45 mintues to an hour each feeding can be...boring. I really want to be the person who gazes lovingly at my baby for 8 hours a day, needing nothing more than the sight of his sweet visage to satisfy me during the long hours. This is the behavior I imagine in some of my earthy-mom friends. And I do love the sight of Sweet Oliver's face. But the mind wanders.

So here is a list of the embarrassing things I've resorted to watching on TV during the past few weeks.

American's Next Top Model. I stumbled upon a marathon, but somehow managed to watch them out of order on the DVR. And yet it was not hard to follow. Sometimes I have to pause to let the awkwardness of Tyra's end-of-show proclamations wash away, but I always hit play again.

The Rachel Zoe Project. Utterly addictive, also watched via marathon. Perhaps the most transparent quest for catch-phrase stardom ever broadcast. And yet...I die.

A Boatload of CNN. I'm beginning to find Lou Dobbs tolerable, which probably means I need to switch to MSNBC. Election coverage makes me miss being a reporter (a little).

While feeding Logan in the exact same chair two years ago, I watched two straight seasons of Project Runway via Netflix. And so far, Logan seems fine. Although he does really, really like shoes.

Come On, Baby!

We came very close to our family breaking point last night, one of those "bad nights" that you get with newborns. I had a horrible sore throat and cough, on top of just being generally tired. Oliver was extremely fussy, and Larry was up almost all night trying to keep him calm. All of the activity woke Logan several times during the night.

Early this morning we were all in the living room in various states of exhaustion, except for Logan who was chipper and demanding waffles. I went to change Oliver's diaper and when I came back, Logan was climbing into the chair we use to feed Oliver. He settled the Boppy pillow on his lap, and said, "Come on, baby!" It's moments like those that keep you going through the hellish early newborn months.