and I am happy to report that the furry visitor in our basement just got his one-way ticket to heaven, thanks to a trap I bought, Chris set, and God bless him, Chris removed with said rat. A great sigh of relief was heard throughout the land today.
We are in the middle of our travel adventures. Yesterday we went to Boston and returned from Boston. Tomorrow, Owen and I drive there again. It should be an adventure!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Thursday Recovery
It is Thursday morning, and Owen is enjoying a long morning nap. He was out late partying (with our permission) at his buddy Xander's house last night. Xander is exactly one week younger than Owen, and I met his Mom, Nina, at the first New Mom's group I attended back when Owen was 3 weeks old. I remember the look of desperate exhaustion on Nina's face that day, and am glad to say that we have continued to keep up with our sons' development, and we both are feeling much more relaxed with the whole thing. Nina and Eric, her husband, hosted a "Margarita and Babies" party last evening...and now you know why Owen is sleeping it off...(just kidding!)
Nina did send us home with a very fun new item for Owen, a Bumbo chair. I have heard of them and seen them in the stores, but felt that the price was a bit dear for something that I had no idea whether he would enjoy or not. Nina had one that had been a gift, that Xander doesn't quite fit in, so we plopped Owen into it at her house, and he gave us a grin of approval. You can see him trying it out again this morning.
In other news, still no word on whether our furry basement visitor is still in the building. I simply had to do some laundry today, despite Chris warning me to avoid the basement until the matter is resolved....the boy needs clean diapers, and I will brave wild beasts to wash them if I have to! BTW, if you don't hear from me again in a few days, send for help.
We are all jumping in the car this Saturday morning and driving to Boston again. Chris is getting his haircut, and showing off the boy, and I will be "plunk-plunk, crank-cranking" (that's the official sound-effect of piano tuning) at Wheaton College. Oh boy! We are going to jump back in the car and drive all the way home again that evening. Wish us luck! Since I am returning to Boston on Monday morning and coming back to NJ on Wednesday evening next week (for more tunings), I have decided that if Owen doesn't completely despise his carseat by the end of next week, I am starting proceedings to get him nominated for Sainthood. He will have earned it with the miracle of patience.
Here are a few more fun shots from the last few days. Annabelle will do anything to be close to me, even rubbing on the camera while I am focused on Owen. Shameless!
I almost forgot to include a picture of Owen sleeping on his face. He is actually getting a rash on the center of his forehead from sleeping that way. Sometimes we check to make sure he is still breathing!
Nina did send us home with a very fun new item for Owen, a Bumbo chair. I have heard of them and seen them in the stores, but felt that the price was a bit dear for something that I had no idea whether he would enjoy or not. Nina had one that had been a gift, that Xander doesn't quite fit in, so we plopped Owen into it at her house, and he gave us a grin of approval. You can see him trying it out again this morning.
In other news, still no word on whether our furry basement visitor is still in the building. I simply had to do some laundry today, despite Chris warning me to avoid the basement until the matter is resolved....the boy needs clean diapers, and I will brave wild beasts to wash them if I have to! BTW, if you don't hear from me again in a few days, send for help.
We are all jumping in the car this Saturday morning and driving to Boston again. Chris is getting his haircut, and showing off the boy, and I will be "plunk-plunk, crank-cranking" (that's the official sound-effect of piano tuning) at Wheaton College. Oh boy! We are going to jump back in the car and drive all the way home again that evening. Wish us luck! Since I am returning to Boston on Monday morning and coming back to NJ on Wednesday evening next week (for more tunings), I have decided that if Owen doesn't completely despise his carseat by the end of next week, I am starting proceedings to get him nominated for Sainthood. He will have earned it with the miracle of patience.
Here are a few more fun shots from the last few days. Annabelle will do anything to be close to me, even rubbing on the camera while I am focused on Owen. Shameless!
I almost forgot to include a picture of Owen sleeping on his face. He is actually getting a rash on the center of his forehead from sleeping that way. Sometimes we check to make sure he is still breathing!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
We are SOOOO moving
Greetings and salutations,
I have just returned from a basement expedition to retrieve a picture frame from one of our storage bins. We have about 12 large, rubbermade bins on a homemade shelf that Chris constructed. The bins hold Chris's contractor supplies, Christmas decorations, camping gear, and our records.
Several months ago, as some of you heard, we placed an enormous tarp over our shelf of bins. While I was very pregnant, I discovered one day that something--of a urine nature--was leaking down over our things, from nowhere other than the first floor. We suspected the first floor dog, the owners dog, was being left for too many hours alone, and was either protesting, or just unable to hold it any longer. After scrubbing all of our bins clean, I went out and got the tarp to insure that our things wouldn't get sprayed again.
This past weekend, our next great basement adventure was the discovery of standing water, pooled underneath the washing machine and the large freezer next to it. I was going to do laundry at the time of the discovery, and hoped that the washing machine was not the source of the water. It turned out that it wasn't. The freezer...that had been completely filled with ice from never being defrosted properly...had been unplugged a month ago when the wall plug overloaded. Keep in mind, it was our landlady who unplugged the freezer and replaced the wall plug for the washing machine and dehumidifier. But this past weekend, she was mystified as to why there was standing water in the basement, and surprised when we reminded her that the freezer had been unplugged. Chris and I spent most of our Friday night using his wet-vac, removing a wet carpet and bleaching the floor where the water had stood, and writing carefully worded emails to our landlady. To little avail...by the next day, the pool of water had returned, and we threw up our hands to have to keep cleaning it.
Okay, so today...I went to look for a picture frame for one of Owen's photos. I leaped over the standing water, peered under the great tarp, and what do I see in the dim shadows beneath the tarp on the shelf at eye level...droppings. If they were mouse droppings, then I am reminded of the Sylvester the Cat cartoon with the "giant mouse". Perhaps we have a baby Kangaroo living in our basement now?? (Send Phoebe down after it, only to see her come back white as a ghost, stammering, "M-m-m-ouse, GIANT M-m-m-mouse!")
As I mentioned above, we are soooooo moving. Will keep you posted, if something large in the basement doesn't eat me first!
(Now that everyone who reads this is thoroughly disgusted, just be very glad we are not going to ask any of you to come move our stuff)
I have just returned from a basement expedition to retrieve a picture frame from one of our storage bins. We have about 12 large, rubbermade bins on a homemade shelf that Chris constructed. The bins hold Chris's contractor supplies, Christmas decorations, camping gear, and our records.
Several months ago, as some of you heard, we placed an enormous tarp over our shelf of bins. While I was very pregnant, I discovered one day that something--of a urine nature--was leaking down over our things, from nowhere other than the first floor. We suspected the first floor dog, the owners dog, was being left for too many hours alone, and was either protesting, or just unable to hold it any longer. After scrubbing all of our bins clean, I went out and got the tarp to insure that our things wouldn't get sprayed again.
This past weekend, our next great basement adventure was the discovery of standing water, pooled underneath the washing machine and the large freezer next to it. I was going to do laundry at the time of the discovery, and hoped that the washing machine was not the source of the water. It turned out that it wasn't. The freezer...that had been completely filled with ice from never being defrosted properly...had been unplugged a month ago when the wall plug overloaded. Keep in mind, it was our landlady who unplugged the freezer and replaced the wall plug for the washing machine and dehumidifier. But this past weekend, she was mystified as to why there was standing water in the basement, and surprised when we reminded her that the freezer had been unplugged. Chris and I spent most of our Friday night using his wet-vac, removing a wet carpet and bleaching the floor where the water had stood, and writing carefully worded emails to our landlady. To little avail...by the next day, the pool of water had returned, and we threw up our hands to have to keep cleaning it.
Okay, so today...I went to look for a picture frame for one of Owen's photos. I leaped over the standing water, peered under the great tarp, and what do I see in the dim shadows beneath the tarp on the shelf at eye level...droppings. If they were mouse droppings, then I am reminded of the Sylvester the Cat cartoon with the "giant mouse". Perhaps we have a baby Kangaroo living in our basement now?? (Send Phoebe down after it, only to see her come back white as a ghost, stammering, "M-m-m-ouse, GIANT M-m-m-mouse!")
As I mentioned above, we are soooooo moving. Will keep you posted, if something large in the basement doesn't eat me first!
(Now that everyone who reads this is thoroughly disgusted, just be very glad we are not going to ask any of you to come move our stuff)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Our first "Gotcha!"
It happened yesterday...the first time we were clearly suckered by our nearly 4 month old son. We had gone to look at an apartment, and had stopped for a late afternoon lunch. Fortunately, Unos was noisy, so the wails of protest from a "I don't want to nap" Owen were not too disturbing to the other patrons. We seldom attempt to take Owen to eating places, even though we seem to do everything else under the sun with him...Our anxiety for him to be quiet was definitely greater than our resolve that he sleep. He was crying, kicking and generally sounding like we were torturing him by keeping him in his carseat with a blanket pulled over (to block stimulus and try to get him to fall asleep.) Chris gave in, and pulled Owen out of his seat to sit on his lap while we finished our meal. The SECOND that Owen was in his Dad's lap, he looked up at him and over at me with the most gleeful smile that we both knew said, "HA! It worked, I won!" Owen was quite pleased with himself, and Chris and I both knew we had been had. Perhaps the first time, definitely not the last. Good thing we love that boy...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Weekend Trip to Pittsburgh
Hello Friends and Family,
Our Boone family just went on another weekend adventure, this time, driving to Pittsburgh to visit Grandma Crystal and Grandma Retta. What is usually a 5-5.5 hour drive from Jersey City to Pgh, took us about 7 hours with some stopping in the middle to feed Owen and stretch our legs. He only fussed briefly in the car during our last 40 minutes on the way to Pgh, and didn't fuss at all on the way home. Owen had some challenges sleeping while staying overnight in a new place (but Grandma Retta was very comforting while he was awake...) so we were really delighted when he got home to NJ and slept all night without interruption in his own room! We had the opportunity to introduce Owen to some family friends, and ate at one of our favorite Thai restaurants too. We even had the chance to do some shopping, and Grandma Crystal got some more 6-9 month sized clothes for our little weed.
This is a picture of Owen and his pooka, Harvey. (remember the movie, "Harvey" with Jimmy Stewart?) Chris makes Owen laugh with very funny sounds...
Here are some pictures from this past week. Annabelle is still a mama's girl, and is willing to share me with Owen in order to get some lap time once again.
Our Boone family just went on another weekend adventure, this time, driving to Pittsburgh to visit Grandma Crystal and Grandma Retta. What is usually a 5-5.5 hour drive from Jersey City to Pgh, took us about 7 hours with some stopping in the middle to feed Owen and stretch our legs. He only fussed briefly in the car during our last 40 minutes on the way to Pgh, and didn't fuss at all on the way home. Owen had some challenges sleeping while staying overnight in a new place (but Grandma Retta was very comforting while he was awake...) so we were really delighted when he got home to NJ and slept all night without interruption in his own room! We had the opportunity to introduce Owen to some family friends, and ate at one of our favorite Thai restaurants too. We even had the chance to do some shopping, and Grandma Crystal got some more 6-9 month sized clothes for our little weed.
This is a picture of Owen and his pooka, Harvey. (remember the movie, "Harvey" with Jimmy Stewart?) Chris makes Owen laugh with very funny sounds...
Here are some pictures from this past week. Annabelle is still a mama's girl, and is willing to share me with Owen in order to get some lap time once again.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Cause for Celebration
This is my favorite "big boy" outfit that I picked out for Owen before he was born. 6 months sized, and fitting better everyday!
We have two reasons to celebrate this fine Sunday. The first reason is that after a week of night-wakings and restless sleeping, Owen slept through his entire night...without needing a feeding or even needing to be soothed back to sleep. He slept from 8pm until 6:40am this morning. And his happy parents got 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep... A first since his birth!
When we peered into our little fellow's crib this morning, Owen was still asleep on his back. I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I returned, Chris said, "You've got to see this!" and we peered back into the crib to see Owen then lying on his TUMMY. This is the first complete rollover Owen had done. In the next hour, he successfully did it two more times, which I think means he mastered it. What an accomplished baby. Our baby reference books discuss babies rolling over at 5 months, and usually from tummy to back first, because it is easier to get leverage...
.
Chris just said, "This guy's going to give us a run for our money!" and I have no doubt he is right about that.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Bite My Finger...?
(this is Owen and his pooka, Harvey)
We all know the ever-popular expression, "Pull my Finger". Well, everyone who knows Tim is familiar with it. :) We are experiencing our first signs that Owen is teething this week. And instead of our little Angel sucking Mommy or Daddy's finger to soothe him back to sleep...we are being gnawed at like a 15 lb. piranha is lying in wait at the bottom of our former baby's co-sleeper. You can offer him a finger, but you may not get it back now! Owen is writhing around in his crib, mostly asleep...but his vocalizations are definitely too loud to allow the rest of us to stay the same...mostly asleep, that is. We disconnected the co-sleeper from the side of the bed because the night before last, Owen rolled onto his side, and swatted at our mattress to get my attention while I was trying to go back to sleep. This is a 14 week old baby, folks. I give him points for being ahead of the curve, but teething at 3 months??? Where is the love, Universe? At this rate, he will be pole vaulting out of his bed in another week or two...or walking into the kitchen to fix a midnight snack. I blame Shayla, really. She gave him a teething toy, which really just egged him on to find a use for it.
Other than the constant drooling, gnawing, and frequent night-waking, Owen is at the top of his game. This week, Chris was home working, and got to witness the first time Owen picked up a toy in one hand, grasped it at the same time with other hand, and brought it to his mouth for further inspection. This is a developmental milestone, I think. We also started reading him books at bedtime and naptime...and he was completely enthralled by the experience; really focused on the pictures and never looking away. He is amazing. It is all going too fast, but he is amazing.
Chris has had a devastating event this afternoon. He overheard people waiting for the elevator in his office building...talking about the ending of the latest Harry Potter book. He gave them a sarcastic, "Thanks, Thanks a lot!" for it, and I don't think he has recovered yet. He has been dutifully reading ONLY on his way to and from work, rather than spending his every waking hour reading it while at home. And now this is his reward. :( It is really sad since he has been looking forward to reading it for months.
Speaking of magical beings, I better see to the little one. He has been napping soooooo well today, which makes up for the 2 1/2 hours I was awake in the middle of the night, and then spent my remaining hours trying to sleep out on the couch. Today has been a calm reward.
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