A Weekend Away

We had a family-visit weekend to the Hub’s grandparents’ in Erie, PA, with MIL.

The Highlight:

·         Munch swimming in Lake Erie. He loved it. He wasn’t scared at all. He walked along the shoreline and sat and let the waves pummel him. Then, he wanted to be held in the water as he “swam.” When he got cold, Hubs and I took him to the blanket to dry off and he played with the beach bucket and shovel his uncle gave him and ate Goldfish.

The Good:

·         Having so much time with Munch and Hubbaland. We left in the afternoon on Friday and returned on Monday. I love being with Munch for so many straight days!

·         The Munch walking around so much. He seemed to gain confidence with each hour. He pushed his farm walker all over the house (sometimes to the detriment of the ancient Italian Greyhound Lizzy). He also walked with his nose up in the air on Saturday morning. It was as if to say, “I can’t be bothered with looking at you, and please don’t look at me either.”

·         Hiding behind the chair in the living room and having Munch walk to find me. And as Munch walked, Hubbaland crept behind him. When Munch realized, he screamed and laughed. Then, Munch turned and charged Hubs. Repeat. It was precious.

·         Dinner out with Uncle N at Cheddar’s. It was good food ("grown up grilled cheese) at a good price. Munch was fascinated by a massive ceiling fan and a beautiful aquarium. He also stood on the booth and screamed in delight (and to my delight, if not to the delight of other diners).

·         Saturday afternoon playing with cousin A, a little 1-year-old cherub of a girl. Munch didn’t quite know what to think of her. When she pushed his walker, he cried and took it from her. I think he is used to holding his own at day care. They shared Goldfish. She tried to kiss him, but Munch didn’t quite get the concept.

·         Watching Munch topple empty yogurt cups as MIL and Gma set them up over and over.

·         4th-meal 5 Guys on Saturday night.

·         Giving Munchkin time with extended family is good for him, and for them.

The What???

·         The heat. And not just outside. Poor Munch sweated so much when he was trying to go to sleep each night and nap.

·         Families are complicated and drama may ensue.

·         Twin beds.

·         Munch didn’t sleep terribly well on Friday night; he got better as he got used to his new surroundings, but it still was rough going.

·         Munch was a champ on the 6-hour drive there and back, but he gets so bored. He just wants to play, and I fear this will worsen as he gets older. He slept about halfway home, then he was okay to be entertained for a bit. Then, there was no helping him. It was like he felt he couldn’t get his message across either. He would tip his head back, make his eyes very wide, and make his pleading little sounds. Like, if I just make myself earnest enough, she’ll get me out of this blasted seat.

Erie Peninsula, via http://wherervnow.us/presque-isle-state-park-erie-pa/78/

Sookie #3: A Man for All Seasons

 [Spoilers]

I enjoyed Club Dead more than Living Dead in Dallas. Seeing that I didn’t enjoy season 2 of “True Blood” that much, I think #2 is just a weaker story. I enjoyed getting to meet Alcide and Russell Edgington, though I wish he was more of a baddie in the book like in the TV show. I also weirdly enjoyed reading about cold weather during the 100-degree heat.

A couple things that bothered me:

-- Everyone (well, most “supes”) wants Sookie. This is true in the show also. It’s a bit annoying. It makes her a little one-dimensional.

-- I was completely confused how she knew what Bill’s secret project was. Clearly, she looked at his computer program, but didn’t tell the reader what she found out. This seemed like deliberate withholding on the author’s part, and it was awkward. I felt like I was missing something when Sookie kept talking about how much she knew.

-- The biggie: Bill did rape her in this book. I understand that he was in a primal state and he didn’t realize what he was doing. But it was a very hard scene to read, as she thrashed around and tried to scream as he held his hand over her mouth. The reaction to what happened on Sookie’s and Bill’s part seemed very understated. Bill didn’t seem too horrified by what he’d done. But Sookie—not a few pages later, she was already yearning for him to have sex with her. That seemed so wrong. I don’t feel like I can look at book Bill the same way after this incident, and it troubles me that Sookie is so able to dismiss such a serious issue.

5 Things I Miss About Pregnancy

Especially now that I know the little being who eventually graced us with his presence:

1) Feeling him move. It was a comfort on a practical level, since his movement is the only day-to-day reassurance pregnant women have that all is well in there. But it was also comforting on an emotional level--I enjoyed knowing that I was never truly alone during that time. He was sharing my space.

2) Holding my hand on my belly. I loved to sit at my desk with my palm splayed across my hard stomach. This is the universal sign of a pregnant woman. I felt like I was holding him, maybe resting my hand on his tiny rump as he snoozed. Sometimes, I find myself sitting that way now, and I quickly move my hand away, lest any passers-by get the wrong idea.

3) Ultrasounds. These little windows into another realm were treats that we received more frequently than many of my pregnant friends for reasons I still don't quite understand. We seemed to have an ultrasound every 3 weeks. The most amazing ones: seeing the baby (Munch!) suck his thumb and watching him flail his arms and legs. Of course, me being me, the moments at the start of the ultrasound, before the familiar whir-whir-whir of the heartbeat came through, were terrifying. But that made the payoff of seeing his little face that much sweeter.

4) Buying stuff. I love to buy stuff as a rule, but buying baby and nursery stuff was purposeful and necessary. Okay, maybe not everything was necessary. But going to Great Beginnings and looking at furniture and bathroom stuff and feeding stuff was wonderful, even those many times when we left without buying anything because we were so overwhelmed by it all.

5) The anticipation. Pregnancy is a magical time. Anything is possible. That little lump is anyone. Hubbaland and I talked about name possibilities for hours. We wondered dozens of things at once. Will he be a massive, 10-pound baby with a huge head? (We thought so, right up until he popped out at 6 pounds, 15 ounces with a very normal head, thank you very much.) Will he be a she? (I still think Dr. J spilled the beans at 24-ish weeks, but Hubbaland doesn't.) Will he have red hair? (We think so.) The anticipation in hindsight is infinitely sweeter knowing the wonderful baby we were blessed with that day. Well, the wee hours of that night.

Filling Up

For the first time that I've seen, the Munch started putting blocks into his bucket as opposed to dumping them out. On the road to creating block towers rather than destroying!

Firecracker

Via http://aacallister.blogspot.com/2010/09/reasons-to-get-your-toddler-cowboy.html

We may have the first evidence that no matter how you try to influence your offspring to adopt your own views, these little people come ready-made with their own likes and dislikes. It's how your liberal household just might get an Alex P. Keaton Republican.

Last night, we were enjoying a quiet Independence Day watching "A Capital Fourth" from the air-conditioned comfort of home. The Munch played happily with his walkers and cars, basically ignoring everything that was on TV. Until.

Country singer Josh Turner started in on his up-tempo ditty, "Firecracker." Wouldn't you know that my son abandoned his toys, stood up (this from the boy who's still only walking when he truly feels like it), and began his version of baby-dancing to this song. He smiled and walked in circles and stomped his little feet. For the entire song.

When it was over, he sat back down and went on playing, ignoring "American Idol" and "Glee" stars as if they were nothing.

Hubbaland was not happy. Hubbaland pretty much detests all songs country (cross-overs like Carrie Underwood and Shania are passable).

This is not the first time Munch has shown his love for a country song, out of the blue, and on his own. A similar display, albeit without the walking, was made during "Dancing With the Stars" when Donald Driver and Peta danced to "I Play Chicken With the Train."

 Munch just may be a little bit country despite the fact this is mama is a whole lot rock n roll.

Of course, I downloaded "Firecracker" last night, just as I downloaded "Train" months ago. Hubbaland said he didn't want to encourage such behavior. I told him--Munch is who he is, and we will embrace it!

Did Munch come out of the womb ready to attend a hoedown? Admittedly, I have played country songs for him, as I have a greater appreciation for them than my one and only. But I also have played him plenty of hard-rocking Aerosmith, folksy Dave Matthews Band, and plenty of current pop. I'm following his lead on this one!

Put Your Hands Up

The Munch gets funnier by the day. Last night, he was crawling around the living room, and then he stopped, looked at us, and raised one arm up. It was like he was doing a yoga stretch or something.

Well, of course Hubbaland and I followed suit with our hand in the air. He crawled a few more steps, repeat. Us too. Then he sat up and put both hands in the air. Us too.

He let his arms fall down slightly, then with renewed vigor shot them back up. And yes, us too. We did this many times. He had a massive smile on his face! Us too.

Via http://thefirstmorning.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/tao-te-ching-11-emptiness/

Lightning Crashes

Via http://cosmicconvergence.org/?p=1109

The weekend didn't exactly turn out as we'd anticipated, as the DC area was walloped with a type of storm called a derecho on Friday night. It was no ordinary storm, and pretty much everybody in the area experienced some lack of power ... except, luckily, for my MIL, so we were over there Friday night and much of Saturday. Our power came back on by Saturday night.

The Highlight:

• Taking a nap in the same room as The Munch. I find it incredibly peaceful to sleep in the same room as Munch is sleeping. I love to hear his soft breath and little sighs and when he shifts to a new position. He had woken up around 7:30am on Saturday, despite a very late bedtime because of the storm, so by 10am, he was ready for a nap (as was I). He slept in his pack n play and I in the bed nearby. 

We kept Munch in our room much longer than the required 6 weeks after he was born. He slept in a pack n play, all swaddled up in a tight burrito. He would lay there next to our bed and simply fall asleep. By 3 months old, he was breaking the swaddle and rolling onto his side, but still he remained in our room. We moved him to his crib when he was about 6 months old. He made the transition easily, and I went in to check him only once before heading to bed myself.

It wasn't that I couldn't sleep without Munch near me; it was that I didn't think 6 weeks was near old enough to send him off into his own space, a mere 20 feet though it may be. This little being had spent over 9 months in me; then I and he were expected to quickly move to separate rooms? I just wasn't ready. I still check him most every night before going to sleep.

The Good:

• Spending Friday evening in Hershey with the Hubbaland for the last Dave Matthews concert of the season. It was hot, but overcast with a small breeze, so it wasn't too sweltering. We had a wonderful dinner at Red Robin (I'm always amazed that there's hardly any wait on concert days and in the summer with families coming from the amusement park; they must staff to the hilt), then we went to our traditional go through Chocolate World before going into the stadium for the concert.

It was a better concert than Nissan, but we ended up missing the encore (luckily, it was Ants Marching, which we've heard plenty) because the lightning started pretty hard core near the end of the concert and the Hubbaland got nervous. Many people started streaming out once a huge lighting tree went down to the ground nearby. Nervous Nelly (me) wasn't scared at all, but I followed Hub's lead as he had a bad feeling about the whole scene. We ran to the car, all the way down at the outlets, and got on the road just as the rain started.

• Despite leaving the concert early, still seeing Dave's tour buses leaving and getting a glimpse of Carter and Jeff.
• Spending a quiet day at the MIL's on Saturday and eating (too many of) her fabulous oat bars.
• Watching The Munch chase Hubbaland around the living room with his various walkers.
• Doing Wheels on the Bus at Munch's continued insistence.
• Lunch at Panera on Sunday with Hubs and Munch.

The What?

• The storm knocking out all of the traffic lights, making it a hazard driving anywhere, especially since it seemed like the heat and lack of power brought out the reckless in everyone.