Anders Rides Again

For Elizabeth, who asked nicely (hear that, Dan Seeley?).

We just arrived here in the north woods of Central Minnesota. I still feel like we are moving. We had about two ten hour days in a row of driving. The trip from Athens to Zimmerman can be done in one hard day of driving with determined adults, but requires two days if you have a prince in the backseat.

Anders had good moments and bad moments. He ate poorly, did not sleep much, and cried straight through from Janesville to Wisconsin Dells. He had many other moments of ill temper, such as during the massive construction delays in NW Indiana.

Anders does not like eating at McDonald's, making him the only little kid in American to feel that way. He ate far better at Starbucks NW of Indianapolis (I realize I'm leaving a yuppie baby joke on the table, so go for it).

We came to realize that Anders did not like being in the car so he filibusters his feedings until the last five minutes of his hour limit on feedings, then he downs enough that we can jump back on the interstate in good conscience.

We took him on a little stroll to a park in Osseo, WI this afternoon. We put him in a swing and pushed him a little, which he enjoyed. It was his first extended swing. (Anna took him to swing earlier this month in Athens, but muggy weather, a full playground, and some other stuff I'm not going to ask Anna about right now since he is teaching Anders to walk without crawling.)

We stayed with Anders' godparents on my side, Brad and Martha Albers, in Chicago. My friend Lucas also came over to meet Anders. He commented that Anders was the cutest baby. Brad and Martha live a couple blocks away from Wrigley Field. Anders loved rolling far and wide around their hardwood floors. His parents loved the natural air conditioning of Lake Michigan a few blocks past the Friendly Confines.

The humidity has been oppressive in Athens all month. We have had condensation on the windows multiple times already, a trick usually saved for later in the summer. Today, driving from Chicago to Zimmerman we did not see a cloud all day and the temperature did not rise above 77 degrees outside. Summer is my favorite season, but I am not a huge fan of the humidity. Anyway, the perfection of this day needed to be addressed.

It will be a busy next few days for Anders as he receives visits from aunt, uncles, great aunts great uncles, great grandparents, along with various and sundry in laws and outlaws.

It's nice to have an extra set of hands. The only reason I have time to write at this time is that Grammuh has absconded with Anders.

I'm going to enjoy this post 9 pm sunset and try to do something to make myself feel like I'm standing still.

21lbs. 2oz.

I had Anders weighed today and he weighed just over 21lbs. He weighs 9 times what he did when he was born! That weight should be qualified because he had clothes and cloth diaper on, so he is probably in reality just a touch under 21 lbs. Regardless, that is nearly a 2.5 lb gain in about 5 weeks.
Anders has been sweating it out with us. We went on a long walk yesterday afternoon and a hot car ride this morning. He gets a little sweaty as he globed onto his respective seats, which combined with the humidity, makes his hair a little crazy. We are all looking forward to a little break from this canopy jungle.
Anna took Anders to story time at the library yesterday where she met a boy a little older than Anders who walked at 8 months and climbs out of his crib, climbs on bookshelves, wakes up in the middle of the night and screams for about 2 hours each night, and does more crazy stuff I can't remember.
It is amazing how you just through the genetic ping pong balls into the the clear plastic cylinder and sometimes you get Kevin Durrant and sometimes you get Greg Oden, sometimes you get Michael Jordan and sometimes you get Sam Bowie.
Anders has been slobbering a lot with his upper front teeth starting to come in. He tends to have a good day, then a bad day, or a couple of bad days then a good day. By a bad day, I simply mean that he eats a bit less, is fussier, and slobbers a bit more. He is by no means a teething horror story. When we talk to other parents or caregivers, we realize how lucky we are. I have to think that Anders is about as low maintenance and no drama Obama as babies come. We have a Jordan not a Bowie.
All bets are off when a woman gets pregnant. It is a leap of faith. Aside from a rocky start, we have had things pretty easy.
I wish that the hair returned and thickened as the stress decreased.

Big Picture

When Anders Attacks

First Full Day of Summer in Athens

Tub Time

Father's Day and Today

wear a facemask

Anders could probably get whistled for illegal hands to the face. He's like a salty lineman who takes a few swipes at the face to get himself going. I have two cuts on the right side of my face that I have had for almost a week and show no signs of going away. He also goes after Anna. Meanwhile, just this morning Trudy threw up, which is rare. It's always the cats who suffer most. Don't get me wrong, he remains well behaved, but he has a proclivity to bring hands to the face. So, with Anders headed back to the Motherland in a week or so, if you plan on confronting him, please break out your old football helmet or hockey mask because he will take an unapologetic shot at you!

Louisville, Graduation, Odds and Ends

I had a nice but grueling week in Louisville. In my third year, I'm starting to learn the rhythm of the week so I know how I will feel on particular days. The Sunday of the week is always the worst for me, by the next day I feel like I could grade forever.

I had a good time with my roommate Zach, who teaches at a Jesuit high school in Baltimore. We were at the same table our first year. We had a 4 am fire alarm on Sunday of the week. That didn't help the grading for the day. I also saw a dead-on Col. Sanders impersonator in the entertainment district, 4th Street Live! (their exclamation point, not mine) I was amazed by how many times I saw the image of the Colonel during the week. I wonder if he is the Eternal Colonel of Kentucky, much like Kim Il-Sung is the Eternal Leader of North Korea despite the fact that both men are dead.

I came back and graduated. My mom and my uncle Fred came to town for the event. They were a big part of getting me to this point and I was happy to have them here for the "hooding" ceremony. My mom flew, but Fred finds creative and masochistic ways to visit us from Kansas. Last time it included catching a train at 3 am from Newton, KS and arriving 7 hours late due to delays. This time it included getting bumped from a bus in St. Louis and then sitting in a seat in a full bus that was leaking rain water into it, but he survived both times.

My advisor and the dean of the college put my doctoral hood over my shoulders to rest on my back. I also received my diploma on Friday rather than having to wait for it in the mail, like with my MA. Anna also brought Anders along, who I understand was really well behaved. I kept listening for him in the rafters, but I did not hear his distinctive Wookie howl. Going through the graduation made taking my PhD feel like a real accomplishment. For once, I felt more pride than stress about the whole thing.

Things have been busy since I returned, even after the graduation. I have been working this week to line up teaching for next year. I think that things rounding into shape. We also have a couple of house showings tomorrow! It has been a long drought.

I helped move our friends Bill and Anna a couple of days ago. They are safely ensconced in Madison now, sipping New Glarus on the Terrace.

I took Anders down to the East Side to visit Paul and Rose on our stroll this afternoon to give Anna a break. We saw some Mormon missionaries, who I considered asking what they thought about Utah's move to the Pac-10 Conference, but I thought better of it. Anders would have grown impatient with their spiel.

Anna said that Anders made it on to all fours while in his crib today. I think he will be crawling in about a week. He knocked one bottle back in 15 minutes, but his bedtime bottle left Anna disheveled. Anna pulled my patented angry shove of the bottle into Anders mouth to get him to eat tonight. I need to clean things up before the first showing tomorrow morning.

I hope this is enough, Dan Seeley. I will try to not let things go this long again.

more of the Backlog

Anders in June

Anders in his Smart Diapers

Blue Moon of Kentucky

I will be in Louisville for the next week grading AP US history exams. We have a suite and are right on the river. It's a nice setup. I could run laps in this room! It's probably the biggest I've ever stayed in.
Meanwhile, Anders is in Mom Boot Camp. Anna started Anders on reusable diapers and afternoon naps in the crib rather than on me. Anders will probably be making his own baby food by the time I return.
Before I left, I asked Anders to keep his mom busy so that she's not tempted to buy a flute on ebay like last year.
Well, I better get to bed and turn of the HBO. I miss good cable.