Comings and Goings

We are trying to get Anders to sleep in his crib rather than on us at all times. We received a much needed infusion of steel from Doreen aka Crib Grandma. She showed us how to get Anders in the crib and stay there. We were getting a bit squishy, but now we have more resolve.
It sounds like Greg and Doreen had a good visit. They awoke to take care of Anders on Wed. and Thurs., school nights for Anna. We took Anders out for a couple of stroller rides this weekend. The stroller (outside not inside) is his favorite place. They came on Wednesday afternoon and left this afternoon.
One of the reasons for their visit was my trip to NYC to present a paper at the Intellectual History Conference. It was a great conference with a lot of big names in intellectual history. I received a valuable critique of some of my dissertation arguments. I also saw my former OU grad school friend Julian Nemeth. I took in a few sights. I went down to the WTC site and back up to Harlem. The long term "makeshift" memorial at St. Paul's Church has more heart and soul than whatever they will put in its place. You've probably heard this before, but the site is much larger in person than it seems on TV. St. Paul's is a colonial era church across the street where George Washington attended services on the day of his inauguration (the capital was in NYC then).
We stayed in Secaucus New Jersey. Getting from there to NYC is harder than it should be. I have never been someplace in the states where more roads are totally autonamous of each other, never intersecting. On Thursday, we had to drive into Manhattan for the conference, which wasn't bad, but getting out was difficult and terrifying at the same time. My friend Jeff Bloodworth, who was driving, pretty much always drives like a NYC cabbie so he was right at home in that mess. I've become more convinced than ever that I will never drive in Manhattan. Also, NY state is a much longer state than I imagined. It's Midwestern-state-long.
This week should be a good one for getting into a routine. Anna has her first and only full week of school for a while. Anders should be settling into a routine. Anders goes back to the doctor on Wednesday morning. I bet he will weigh over 9 lbs then. Anders is doing really well healthwise, you wouldn't know anything had been wrong with him.