It was a rainy day in SE Ohio today. I finished my work early and we loaded up the family for our first trip to Columbus. Anna hasn't been there since last June. I've been to the hospital many times since we returned, but not up to the old Polaris Fashion Place since probably that same June trip. Anna had to let go of a pair of shoes that were near and dear to her so we had to find replacements. Don't worry, I'm building a funeral pyre on a raft that I will float out on Dow Lake, then I'll shoot a flaming arrow into it for a proper burial at sea. (Okay, stay focused, don't repeat yesterday's debacle.) Anna and I have found that our ability to concentrate or keep a coherent line of thought has gone downhill since October.
Okay, so we were strolling Anders around Polaris Fashion Place (it's just a mall, but it has a really pretentious name, so I like to use the whole name--like The Ohio State University) when we spotted the Easter Bunny. If you know Anna, it will not surprise you to find out that she recoiled in disgust at the sight of the Easter Bunny. I think it was a mixture of hatred for the commercialization of Easter, the Santa knock-off feel of the display, and her fear of clowns. It will also not surprise you if you know me that I was prepared to pay and price and bear any burden to get Anders on that bunny's lap. I won't say that Anna came around to my way of thinking, but she did begin seriously pondering the cuteness possibilities. She decided that she liked the idea so we went for it.
The Easter Bunny was really cool about everything. He/she and the photographer tried their best to get Anders to smile. Anders doesn't freely offer his smile for photos, particularly in this crazy setup. He did, however, take being handed over to a strange bunny by his father in stride. He looked a little worried, but he didn't cry or evince excessive concern. I would post pictures, but the ban personal photography so that you will buy their pictures. We got 5x7s for the grandparents and wallet photos for the aunt and uncle and us. I finally have a long-overdue wallet sized photo of Anders.
Anders was pretty wiped out by the ride back. He wouldn't allow himself to sleep at any of our stops. Plus, he chugged basically a bottle and a half at Polaris Fashion Place. For some reason, he did not sleep on the ride home. He always sleeps on the ride home from the children's hospital. I was able to transfer him from my chest to bed tonight with no protest, a rarity.
I had no idea that Polaris Fashion Place was the place to take your 0-5 year old child on a Sunday afternoon in Cbus. I guess it's not zoo weather yet. Nevertheless, there was a huge childlife preserve in the middle of Polaris Fashion Place. It was loud and totally chaotic, but I didn't see any kids run into each other, fall off anything, or cry. I thought it was an impressive display. I bet 30% of the people we saw at Polaris Fashion Place were kids. The other 70% were husbands napping in strategically placed chairs.
I can't describe how nice it is to take Anders out and do something fun with him rather than go to the doctor or the hospital or the pharmacy or have someone come over to give him a shot. Today was a really nice Palm Sunday.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Anders hits 5/8 months
Last night we were at the Chinese restaurant. I say that as if there is only one, even though there are many including the place in the mall where Anna, Andrea and I got food poisoning; Madam Chiang Ki-Shek's (aka James Waite's Chinese) where I found a pen cap in my Mongolian Beef; and Bill Clinton's where they put so much MSG in their food that one gets an intoxicating high followed by a steep crash. And there are a couple of other places too horrible to mention. I must say, though, that despite Bill Clinton's problems, I will go back once more before we leave Athens. I was a regular in fall 2004. They got to know me. I met the last guy to lose an OH senate race to George Voinovich there. I knew Eric Fingerhut was doomed when he had time to stop and chat with me around the plastic table and chairs at Bill Clinton's. (I call it Bill Clinton's because the proprietor has a picture of himself with Bill Clinton on the wall). How did I get here? Anders...Chinese restaurant...food...Oh, Anders likes to sit at the table when we go out. He gets tired of his car seat pretty quickly, then we put him on one of our laps and he either grabs for silverware or bangs on the table like an amused German.
Anders can now sit for moderate amounts of time on the couch without being propped up in the corner. He also has decided that he now likes finishing his bottle laying down. That's right, flat on his back, taking the bottle at a 90 degree angle.
We need to take some more pictures. I still can't get video to load on this site.
After April 9, I should be free of the dissertation and after I defend it on April 23, I will be home free, which will allow more time to fiddle with Anders multimedia. Right now, I am revising in preparation for the defense. Things seem to be on track, but I'm too paranoid to make any Shermanesque statement about my dissertation. Now, if only I could find a job...
Anders can now sit for moderate amounts of time on the couch without being propped up in the corner. He also has decided that he now likes finishing his bottle laying down. That's right, flat on his back, taking the bottle at a 90 degree angle.
We need to take some more pictures. I still can't get video to load on this site.
After April 9, I should be free of the dissertation and after I defend it on April 23, I will be home free, which will allow more time to fiddle with Anders multimedia. Right now, I am revising in preparation for the defense. Things seem to be on track, but I'm too paranoid to make any Shermanesque statement about my dissertation. Now, if only I could find a job...
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Anders Goes to Church
Today, Anders went to church for the first time. Among other things, this allowed Anna and me practice what we have preached as it relates to the church behavior of parents and children. Parents tend to be such touchy-feely wet noodles that allow their kids to run amok. Anna and I had far different experiences and owing to this fact, so will Anders.
He remained in his car seat until the sermon, except for a giant burp, which came out of no where. The guest speaker was talking about Earth justice, a topic not disposed to lighting a fire under a fifty year old let alone a five month old. We sat right next to the door (we'd been planning such tactics for years), and I took him out and walked him around until he fell asleep. Well, the rambling discussion of Earth justice rolled on, so I didn't miss much. Anders reminded me of my step-dad who also used to fall asleep during the sermon every week that he went to church. His head went back, his mouth opened, and at least twice he would jolt himself awake. As I got older, I too learned to sleep in church, but I went with hunched over, head forward technique. It's less conspicuous.
Anders slept through his first communion blessing. Anders will not toddle up to the communion rail at aged 3 for a "snack." He must wait until he can understand what the body and blood of Christ are. Who knows, by the time he's in 5th grade the Lutheran Church might have done away with First Communion.
Anders might have made it through the whole service asleep if not for a kid slamming into my leg and waking up Anders. Anders gave a classic old man "Why Can't You Control Your Children" look as he was knocked awake. I felt bad for the parents trying to play a 2-3 zone (2 parents for 3 kids under the age of 5), but church isn't Vietnam, there are rules.
We almost didn't make it to church. Anna hopped out of the car to straighten the garden hose in the front yard since we had a house showing today. As she did so, a bug crawled in her ear. She pretty much lost it and spazed out all over the front yard. At first, I thought she had turned her ankle. Then I thought that the hose had reared up and hit her. Then I thought she was melting down. Then she hysterically yelled at me what had happened. I asked her if she wanted to go to the emergency room. She did not dignify that question with a response. Athens natives know that a trip to OhBleedUs would have made a bad situation worse. While Anna is naturally concerned that she felt the bug go deeper in her ear, didn't feel it leave her ear, and is convinced that eggs have hatched in her brain, I am going to assume that she is fine until I notice drastic personality changes.
Well, KU lost and Ohio lost, so basketball season is pretty much over for me. I'll root for UNI plus Angry Frank and K-State, but it will not be the same. I will just try to pretend the Royals don't exist and wait for a loaded Iowa football team to start playing next fall. I'm also pretty excited about Brett Favre starring in summer stock Hamlet.
Healthcare passed, which is great news for our precious pre-existing condition sleeping in the next room over. In a decade, Republicans will be defending Obamacare just like they were "defending" Medicare this month, even though the GOP roundly opposed Medicare and Medicaid during the Johnson administration. We have short memories, which can be good and bad. It's hard to sustain a political argument these days when both sides manufacture their own reality on their own cable networks and favorite websites. It was much easier to frame a debate during the days of the powers that be.
Well, this post is turning into a Larry King column and I know Anna will say that I sound like a person Larry King's age when she reads this post.
Peace Be With You.
He remained in his car seat until the sermon, except for a giant burp, which came out of no where. The guest speaker was talking about Earth justice, a topic not disposed to lighting a fire under a fifty year old let alone a five month old. We sat right next to the door (we'd been planning such tactics for years), and I took him out and walked him around until he fell asleep. Well, the rambling discussion of Earth justice rolled on, so I didn't miss much. Anders reminded me of my step-dad who also used to fall asleep during the sermon every week that he went to church. His head went back, his mouth opened, and at least twice he would jolt himself awake. As I got older, I too learned to sleep in church, but I went with hunched over, head forward technique. It's less conspicuous.
Anders slept through his first communion blessing. Anders will not toddle up to the communion rail at aged 3 for a "snack." He must wait until he can understand what the body and blood of Christ are. Who knows, by the time he's in 5th grade the Lutheran Church might have done away with First Communion.
Anders might have made it through the whole service asleep if not for a kid slamming into my leg and waking up Anders. Anders gave a classic old man "Why Can't You Control Your Children" look as he was knocked awake. I felt bad for the parents trying to play a 2-3 zone (2 parents for 3 kids under the age of 5), but church isn't Vietnam, there are rules.
We almost didn't make it to church. Anna hopped out of the car to straighten the garden hose in the front yard since we had a house showing today. As she did so, a bug crawled in her ear. She pretty much lost it and spazed out all over the front yard. At first, I thought she had turned her ankle. Then I thought that the hose had reared up and hit her. Then I thought she was melting down. Then she hysterically yelled at me what had happened. I asked her if she wanted to go to the emergency room. She did not dignify that question with a response. Athens natives know that a trip to OhBleedUs would have made a bad situation worse. While Anna is naturally concerned that she felt the bug go deeper in her ear, didn't feel it leave her ear, and is convinced that eggs have hatched in her brain, I am going to assume that she is fine until I notice drastic personality changes.
Well, KU lost and Ohio lost, so basketball season is pretty much over for me. I'll root for UNI plus Angry Frank and K-State, but it will not be the same. I will just try to pretend the Royals don't exist and wait for a loaded Iowa football team to start playing next fall. I'm also pretty excited about Brett Favre starring in summer stock Hamlet.
Healthcare passed, which is great news for our precious pre-existing condition sleeping in the next room over. In a decade, Republicans will be defending Obamacare just like they were "defending" Medicare this month, even though the GOP roundly opposed Medicare and Medicaid during the Johnson administration. We have short memories, which can be good and bad. It's hard to sustain a political argument these days when both sides manufacture their own reality on their own cable networks and favorite websites. It was much easier to frame a debate during the days of the powers that be.
Well, this post is turning into a Larry King column and I know Anna will say that I sound like a person Larry King's age when she reads this post.
Peace Be With You.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Grandmaw's Visit
(Editor's Note: I'm done spelling out G-ma D and G-ma I. It's Grammuh and Grandmaw, respectively from now on this web log.) We had a nice visit with Grandmaw the past few days. Anders really took to her as you can see in one of the pictures where he just sat there watching her as she cooked. We took some walks and played a lot. We even took Anders out to Abrio's Brick Oven Pizza where Anders was much neater than his father who spilled his Pepsi. Anders has been laughing, smiling, and talking a lot all week. His imminent teething is looming over us, however. He now has whining jags that are becoming more frequent and longer. Anders also seems to be a little hot most of the time.
Grandmaw's visit freed me up to do some errands around the house, including staining the deck. The weather has been gorgeous all week in the mid 60s to low 70s. Plus, the OU Bobcats beat Georgetown last night in the NCAA tournament for their first tourney win since "an evil empire" was ringing in America's collective ears, 1983. OU will beat the Vols and go to the Sweet 16, mark my words. Prepare to fall in love, America!
Grandmaw's visit freed me up to do some errands around the house, including staining the deck. The weather has been gorgeous all week in the mid 60s to low 70s. Plus, the OU Bobcats beat Georgetown last night in the NCAA tournament for their first tourney win since "an evil empire" was ringing in America's collective ears, 1983. OU will beat the Vols and go to the Sweet 16, mark my words. Prepare to fall in love, America!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
16lbs 10oz
We had Anders weighed today and he is up to 16lbs, 10oz. He is up 14 oz in 13 days, which is his pretty standard one ounce per day clip.
We took him to Lowe's for the first time. He was overwhelmed by the paint aisle. We also went to Walmart and Kroger. Four stops for Anders in one day, a new record.
Anders had a fun time with his grandma today. He was in a particularly good mood today, Grandma Ingrid less so after the last hill of our walk today. I think that people can be in shape, but not be in hill-walking shape. I may not be in great shape for a lot of things, but I am probably in as good hill-walking shape as anyone I know after living for four years on the hilly west side of Athens.
Anders may be walking those hills soon. He is getting really good at standing on his feet with assistance. I thought his grandma was going to explode after taking in all of Anders' cuteness today.
I'm not sure if I have offered this suggestion on the blog, but I think we can differentiate between the two grandmas based on how the name is pronounced regionally. I lost almost all of my Kansas accent, but I still have it for a few words, one of those words is Grand-MAW. Meanwhile, Anna's Minnesotan pronunciation of the word is GRAM-muh. I think those two pronunciations sound different enough that one can hear the difference. Anna thinks this idea is ridiculous.
We took him to Lowe's for the first time. He was overwhelmed by the paint aisle. We also went to Walmart and Kroger. Four stops for Anders in one day, a new record.
Anders had a fun time with his grandma today. He was in a particularly good mood today, Grandma Ingrid less so after the last hill of our walk today. I think that people can be in shape, but not be in hill-walking shape. I may not be in great shape for a lot of things, but I am probably in as good hill-walking shape as anyone I know after living for four years on the hilly west side of Athens.
Anders may be walking those hills soon. He is getting really good at standing on his feet with assistance. I thought his grandma was going to explode after taking in all of Anders' cuteness today.
I'm not sure if I have offered this suggestion on the blog, but I think we can differentiate between the two grandmas based on how the name is pronounced regionally. I lost almost all of my Kansas accent, but I still have it for a few words, one of those words is Grand-MAW. Meanwhile, Anna's Minnesotan pronunciation of the word is GRAM-muh. I think those two pronunciations sound different enough that one can hear the difference. Anna thinks this idea is ridiculous.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Back at it
I apologize for my lack of posts the past couple of weeks. I turned in my dissertation to my adviser yesterday. I was consumed with getting all the lose ends tied up on that project of six-plus years. To give you an idea of how long that is, Ronald Reagan was ALIVE when I started the project as a seminar paper.
Anders decided last night that he likes sleeping on his stomach. So I guess he sleeps on his stomach now, and we just deal with that. Anders also had his first successful session in the jumparoo yesterday.
Anders is eating some rice cereal. He is very interested in watching us eat and gets mad when he is not offered our food.
He is also starting to get very interested in Trudy. So far Trudy has been a good sport about this development, but once one of those powerful mits latches on to her tail, all bets are off. Anna predicts cat scratch fever for Anders and the necessary I-Tunes download of the Ted Nugent classic for me.
Anders is stirring so I better go soon. What else? Oh, we are trying to take him down to five feedings rather than six (same total daily volume). That last feeding tends to be disappointing and a pain to stay away for all involved. So far, Anders is adapting pretty well, especially considering that I hatched this plan on Daylight Savings Time weekend.
The posts will be for frequent for a while.
Oh, and Grandma Ingrid flies into the Buckeye State this afternoon. She is excited as she hasn't seen Anders since before Christmas. He's a new baby since then.
Anders decided last night that he likes sleeping on his stomach. So I guess he sleeps on his stomach now, and we just deal with that. Anders also had his first successful session in the jumparoo yesterday.
Anders is eating some rice cereal. He is very interested in watching us eat and gets mad when he is not offered our food.
He is also starting to get very interested in Trudy. So far Trudy has been a good sport about this development, but once one of those powerful mits latches on to her tail, all bets are off. Anna predicts cat scratch fever for Anders and the necessary I-Tunes download of the Ted Nugent classic for me.
Anders is stirring so I better go soon. What else? Oh, we are trying to take him down to five feedings rather than six (same total daily volume). That last feeding tends to be disappointing and a pain to stay away for all involved. So far, Anders is adapting pretty well, especially considering that I hatched this plan on Daylight Savings Time weekend.
The posts will be for frequent for a while.
Oh, and Grandma Ingrid flies into the Buckeye State this afternoon. She is excited as she hasn't seen Anders since before Christmas. He's a new baby since then.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Taking Shots
Anders had two synagist shots today. He has to have two once he hit 15 lbs. He now weighs 15lbs 12oz according to the home health care nurse's scale at that scale is more conservative than the one at Holzer Clinic in Athens.
Watching him take the two synagist shots was probably hardest on me of all the shots Anders has had. Tears were streaming and he was screaming his head off, so much so that he did not even notice the second, smaller shot he received.
Anders had his second and final H1N1 shot yesterday. It wiped him out. He reprised the Anders Blanket sleep technique whereby he sleeps spread-eagle like a blanket on one's chest. He hasn't slept like that in a couple of months.
I tried taking Anders out for a walk yesterday. It was cold, but that didn't bother him. It was the wind that he did not like so we had to cut things short.
Anders has started to eat rice cereal rather than just wear it. He's really dialed in to the eating process. He watches me eat and mimic it. He has also become very interested in Trudy. That probably end well for him in a couple of weeks.
Anders is pulling my glasses off my face a lot now. Today he even transferred them to his other hand after pulling them off. As I write this, Anders is pushing one of the love seat cushions down onto me.
I have a video of him wearing his rice cereal that I am trying to post here, but am having technical problems. I would try again now to post it, but Anders is whining like a baby so I will probably have to walk him around and remember to try to upload the video later. Now, to attempt to quiet the Tyrant. He's really making me pay for the shot today with a lot of laps around the house for his manservant.
Watching him take the two synagist shots was probably hardest on me of all the shots Anders has had. Tears were streaming and he was screaming his head off, so much so that he did not even notice the second, smaller shot he received.
Anders had his second and final H1N1 shot yesterday. It wiped him out. He reprised the Anders Blanket sleep technique whereby he sleeps spread-eagle like a blanket on one's chest. He hasn't slept like that in a couple of months.
I tried taking Anders out for a walk yesterday. It was cold, but that didn't bother him. It was the wind that he did not like so we had to cut things short.
Anders has started to eat rice cereal rather than just wear it. He's really dialed in to the eating process. He watches me eat and mimic it. He has also become very interested in Trudy. That probably end well for him in a couple of weeks.
Anders is pulling my glasses off my face a lot now. Today he even transferred them to his other hand after pulling them off. As I write this, Anders is pushing one of the love seat cushions down onto me.
I have a video of him wearing his rice cereal that I am trying to post here, but am having technical problems. I would try again now to post it, but Anders is whining like a baby so I will probably have to walk him around and remember to try to upload the video later. Now, to attempt to quiet the Tyrant. He's really making me pay for the shot today with a lot of laps around the house for his manservant.
Monday, March 1, 2010
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