Three Quarters of a Year

You are nine months old today, Socha.  We didn't do anything special for you, unless you consider cleaning the house a celebration of sorts.  Yesterday was another matter entirely - first, for the first time, we got about 100 holiday cards out (as in, they are in the mail!)!  That's the first time we've done that together.  And included with many of those holiday cards was your birth announcement (9 months late, but what can you do?).  Finally, I can scratch that off my To-Do list!  Then we took you to your first holiday extravaganza (the Jingle Mingle) held at the school's science center.  We got you all dressed up in a pretty dress with tights and a bow on your head - you were our present to the DA community!  We were hoping that the party wouldn't be too loud since you seem to dislike very loud noises, but I guess since it was progressively louder as we approached, you took it in stride.  And, of course, a bunch of people wanted to hold you.  Your cheeks were squeezed, your thighs were squeezed, you were squeezed, and you were oohed and ahed over since you were looking so snazzy in your holiday outfit.  Thanks to Madison for the hair bow and to Sheila and Lloyd for the red tights.

Most of your ninth month was spent at home.  We actually stayed put for four weeks.  I had a chance to start an exercise program in those four weeks and have worked out on 23 out of the last 26 days.  I am hoping to keep up the exercise during our travels in the next couple of weeks, so I'm going to have to be creative with the weight lifting exercises!  I guess I've got a bit of a head start on a New Year's resolution!

We're looking forward to seeing your Nana, Grampy, and Uncle Keith over Christmas, and pretty much all of your Jewett relatives over New Year's.  We have a couple of very busy weeks ahead, including a bunch of flights.  I'm sure it will be much easier to travel with you with both your Dad and I traveling (compared to when I took you out to Colorado this summer - although, you were incredibly well-behaved on that trip, pretty much slept the whole time we were ever on a plane).  I think the hardest part for you will be the time changes - now that we've got you on a pretty good routine we're going to go right ahead and mess it all up for a couple of weeks.  I think you can handle it.

I'm sure you can't wait to get your hands on your Christmas present wrapping paper!

Ma, Na, Language, Laughter, and Food

Dear Socha,

Every day I am amazed at how much and how fast you are learning.  You must be beyond exhausted at the end of each day considering all the new data that is pouring into your brain.  I love watching you figure things out - like climbing the stairs or lifting up your bottle so the formula will come out.  Your laughter and shrieks of joy absolutely make my day.  You're starting to like tickle games and your little giggle melts my heart.  And you sound like what I imagine a baby pterodactyl would sound like when you shout and grunt and raspberry - in other words, when you use your language (as much as you have a language right now).  You're responding to your name now and I can see the wheels turning in your head when we ask you if you "want more" or if you are "all done?"  We're trying to teach you some very basic American Sign Language, and Lori is convinced that you are so close to getting "more."  Just yesterday you figured out how to make the "m" sound so you keep saying "mamamamamamama" and of course, I'm ecstatic!  I realize that you are not actually saying "Mama" but I know that you will be soon.  And today, you figured out the "n" sound so you keep saying "namanamanamanama."  I think I even heard you say "ga" today.  Your rate of learning really is astonishing. 

On the food front, you seem to like apples, and apparently you love carrots.  You haven't been too excited about peas lately, though.  And we tried some of those puffs and you mostly just smoosh them with your hands and this evening when you (accidentally, I think) got one in your mouth, you gagged on it.  I guess you're not too sure about that chewing thing. 

Your Dad and I have been trying to get a holiday card out to our friends and family all week, and I think once he looks over our letter, we'll get it printed and all the envelopes stuffed so we can actually mail them before the end of the year.  Of course, part of our delay was trying to pick out the perfect picture of you!

Climbing the stairs and other thoughts

Dear Socha,

Pretty much every day your Dad and I comment about how doggone cute you are.  Even when you're crying, you're cute - especially now that you've begun to raspberry when you cry.  We don't mean to laugh, but it's so funny!  We haven't filmed you doing this - yet - but we might have to just to show everyone how adorable it is.  We're ridiculously smitten with you, Socha.  We are slightly concerned that you're going to get a big head rather quickly with the number of photographs we take of you (in fact, you recognize the camera now and almost seem to pose when we pull it out) and with the number of people commenting about how adorable you are (including us!). 

Almost since we very first started dating, your Dad and I have had an evening tradition of sharing our favorite part of our day with each other.  Recently, practically every day has been, "the three of us hanging out together," or something to that effect.  You have grown into such a fun little girl.  We love to hear your laughter and your squeals of delight and your coos and the conversations you have with your toes.  You are the highlight to our days.

Today you were in a really good mood - we kept commenting to people at dinner about how happy you were being, and most everybody said you are always happy, which is almost always true in the dining hall (there was a night recently when you were NOT happy in the dining hall - I believe that was the last post I did).  But to us, you seemed extra happy tonight.  And when we got home after dinner you just kept being happy and playful.  It was great fun to just watch you zoom around the room and stop and sit up and look back at us to make sure we were watching you.

You are starting to figure out what "No!" means.  However, you aren't reacting the way we would hope you would.  For instance, when you start grabbing for power cords and we say "No!" in a stern voice, you continue to grab the cord, but you look back at us the instant you touch it and GRIN!  I'm sure you're too young and not developed mentally enough to be that mischievous already, but man, that grin sure makes you seem like a little imp!  I guess you're testing your boundaries.  So, the two things that are absolutely off limits to you are power cables (really cables of any kind) and plastic bags.  So, of course, you always want to go after said prohibited items.  Now that you're crawling so well, we simply can't take our eyes off of you.

The other thing we should probably not let you get into is paper - but how you LOVE paper.  You keep making a bee-line to the paper recycle bin in my office because we let you have at that paper a few times.  In fact, you seem to be so delighted by tearing paper to shreds that you have been kept occupied for half an hour at a time!  Witness the destruction:

 

The other thing you like to destroy is any sort of tower your Dad and I try to build out of toy blocks.  It's a pretty fun game to try to get the tower built before you start dismantling it.  Witness the destruction:

You also love to take things out of baskets.  It's pretty fun to watch you systematically take each individual burp cloth out of its basket and drop it on the floor, one by one, until the basket is empty.  Apparently baskets are not supposed to store anything in our house.

We've added bananas and acorn squash to your diet.  You're OK with bananas - not bananas over them or anything, and you liked the squash, but we think you might somehow be allergic to it.  You've been having you first episode of diaper rash since we started feeding you the squash.  Luckily it's not too bad - in fact, you hardly notice it, we just saw the redness.  And it has diminished since we stopped feeding you the squash.  So, possibly one food off the eating list for you.  Next up, carrots.

Finally, here are a couple of videos of you in motion.  The first actually corresponds to a post I did back in November: I'm so tired.

Then one of you climbing our stairs this evening.  I swear, you're just going to skip walking and start running when you figure out how to be on your feet!  Note the half-eaten huge piece of chocolate cake I am holding as I follow behind you.  That's been eaten now.

Thus ends my brain dump for the evening.

$#!t-storm (literally and figuratively) & a snowstorm & peas

We've had several interesting evenings with you, Socha.

First the literal $#!t-storm: Two nights ago, while we were enjoying dinner in the dining hall, you started grunting and straining and getting all red in the face.  We tried to explain that it's rude to fill your pants at the dinner table, but you really weren't interested in an etiquette lesson.  So your Dad picked you up out of your high chair - he hadn't gotten a whiff of you yet - and brought you in to give you a hug.  Luckily I made a sound or he actually got a whiff before he put you over his head on his shoulders because you had an EPIC poopsplosion blowout!  Pictures would have been just too graphic, so a short description will have to suffice.  You hadn't pooped for over 36 hours, so you had a lot of stuff to get out.  And it mostly got out on your belly and up to your chest!  I don't think there is a diaper big enough to hold the amount of $#!t coming out of you.  Luckily, all the other diners at our table had already left, so they didn't get to enjoy this lovely sight and scent.  And luckily we had enough wipes AND a fresh change of clothes for you in our diaper bag.  We weren't sure how to get your onesie off without wiping poop all over your face, but somehow we managed.  After we got you cleaned up in the dining hall bathroom (I'm so sorry we left such an awful stench in there), we rushed home to give you a full-on bath and dig the poop out of your belly button with a q-tip.  Ah, the joys of parenthood...

Then the first figurative $#!t-storm: Last night you completely lost it.  You just simply did not want to sleep.  We're sure that you're teething right now, so we're giving you baby tylenol practically all the time, and then to add insult to injury, you are going through a massive growth spurt.  I'm pretty sure you've grown a centimeter in length (at least) in just the last week.  Last week you fit into a particular set of PJs, and this week you're too long for them.  And all the (probably super-expensive) snowsuits that have been handed down to us are starting to look a little short too.  So, I imagine that you are having some aches and pains due to growing along with your achy gums.  Poor thing.  And this is probably why you didn't want to sleep last night.  You were both hungry and achy and just didn't know what to do with yourself.  You practically did laps around the changing table after your bath and you were squirmy while I tried to feed you before bed.  You seemed to calm down as I read you a book several times (My Many Colored Days - Dr. Seuss).  And I guess you went to sleep fairly easily that time.  But you woke up 2 hours later wailing like mad.  I got you to calm down and sleep again for about another hour.  Then your Dad ended up sitting up with you for an hour and a half - feeding you several bottles, letting you play for a bit, and then waiting outside your door as he listened to you making noises in your crib - unsure if you were actually sleeping yet.  This was at 1:30am.  Then you woke up again a little over an hour later.  You were inconsolable.  I got up this time and nursed you and fed you another bottle (growth spurt?!) and you finally - finally - fell asleep around 2:30am.  Then you slept for 7 straight hours.  Not bad after the craziness of the first part of the night.

Then the second figurative $#!t-storm: This evening you completely lost it in the dining hall.  Usually you love being in the dining hall.  It seems like you love the noise and all the movement.  You're always very active and usually very happy and flirty with the people around us.  Not tonight!  A colleague offered to hold you while we ate and the second he sat down with you (only a few feet away, on the other side of the table from us), you burst into panicked tears.  I've never seen or heard you cry like that.  You acted as if your Dad and I completely abandoned you.  It was so pitiful.  So I took you back and ate with you on my lap.  Then another colleague (who hadn't seen this first incident) looked like he really wanted to hold you, so I let him have a shot - instant panicked tears again!  But he was able to distract you by showing you the ornaments on the Christmas tree.  Finally, a third colleague only wanted a high-five from you, but the minute he touched your hand you started shrieking those panicked tears again.  And even some ladies tried to make you smile, but you were having none of it.  I suspect you were just VERY tired and that maybe you're starting to feel a little bit of separation anxiety.  Hopefully you won't be this sensitive tomorrow in the dining hall.

Then the snowstorm: Today you witnessed your first true snowfall with accumulation.  So you and I went for a long walk down south mill road during the brisk afternoon.  Your cheeks got so rosy.  You seemed to just love looking all around you and breathing in the cold air.  You didn't complain once as we walked for 40 minutes or so.  I had you dressed up in the almost too small for you down snowsuit, along with some pretty hip leg warmers (see evidence below), so I think you were quite toasty.  When we got home I went ahead and let you crawl around in the snow a bit, though I don't think you were all that interested in the white stuff on the ground.

Look at those rosy cheeks!

Can you believe the outfits my parents make me wear?

And finally, peas:  I tried feeding you avocado a couple of times so far.  Sad to say, you really don't like avocado.  In fact, it makes you cry.  I'll take that as a rejection more than just your funny surprised face when you try something new.  Today we tried peas.  At first you were a bit suspect, but you were willing to try more.  This morning you didn't eat too much and definitely didn't ask for more.  But this evening you actually asked for more.  We're slowly adding things to your diet to make it more varied: rice cereal, yams, oatmeal, (avocado), peas.  Next I think we'll try either squash or bananas.  I have all the stuff here to make the food for you, but I decided it would be good to have some jar food on hand in case we run out of home-made stuff.  Tomorrow I plan to make some yams, squash, oatmeal, and bananas to freeze for future use.  But we'll keep on with the peas for two more days before we try something new.  I love watching you eat because you get really into it and grunt and chomp down on your spoon.  And you just keep eating and eating and eating (growth spurt?!).  Oh, the raspberrying with food in your mouth is actually hilarious, but let's not make a habit of it, OK (I say with a stern look on my face, trying desperately not to laugh)?

bumps in the road

Socha,

Your wonderfully fat cheeks jiggle when we go over bumps in the road.  Adorable!

11 1/2 hours

Wow, Socha!  You slept for 11 1/2 hours last night.  Straight!  I actually got 8 straight hours of sleep and got up willingly before my alarm.  What a difference a full night's sleep makes.  I could get used to this - but I realize I can't yet.  At least I know it's possible now.  We just put you to bed for the evening and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you will sleep for a fairly long period, if not 11 1/2 hours.  Six hours seems reasonable, four is pushing it, and anything less than four will be truly irritating.  I hope that all your crawling and standing up and balancing and teething will make you tired enough to make it through the whole night.  In other news, I hope your teeth that have been bothering you for a month now will finally show up!  Oh, and did I mention that you're standing - as in, you are pulling yourself up to standing using anything you can get your hands on, and on several occasions, your Dad and I have witnessed you standing, balanced, by yourself.  Several people have predicted that you will walk early.  I'm pretty sure you're going to skip walking and start out running.

2/3 of a Year - or Socha's 8th Month

It is so hard to believe that you've been in our life now for 2/3rds of a year, Socha!  You celebrated your 8-month birthday on Thanksgiving this year.  We had a very nice visit with your Dad's Aunt Betsy and Uncle David in New Jersey (and his cousins, Dan and Kevin, and their girlfriends).  Great food was eaten (as always on Thanksgiving) and some good family time was spent.  We also spent a day in Brooklyn, NY visiting our friend Jaime and her son Teo and her Dad and Step-Mom, Greg and Demi.  We visited some piers that are being remade into park space (very cool playgrounds here - we'll definitely take you back when you can appreciate it more), and we rode the carousel (your second ride on a carousel - I think you liked it much better this time).  What an amazingly beautiful day in the City!

Meanwhile, you are growing up so fast!  I think you are possibly at your fattest stage - your cheeks are amazing (what are you storing in there?!).  They jiggle at the slightest movement.  And you have rolls on your arms and your legs.  I love it!  And you are such a happy baby.  The only time you really get fussy is when you're tired and when we then try to get you to go to sleep.  I'm sure that you believe sleep is for chumps, but if that's the case, then your Mom and Dad are chumps, because we would like to sleep a bit more than you allow us to.  Alas, that's the way it is with a baby.  I just have to believe that one of these days you will learn to sleep through the night on a regular basis...

So, what's new this month (besides all the small posts recently)?

You got to spend some time with Grandpa Tom while I went to Montana on a business trip.  I think that time away was harder on me than it was on you - I cried as I went through security at the airport and you just enjoyed riding on your grandpa's shoulders as you all went back to the car.  We all survived my absence, although your Dad requested more than once that I "come home soon!"  I was happy to get back home to my wonderful little family. 

You and your nanny, Lori, get along famously.  She really enjoys spending the days with you and I hear you laughing with her throughout the day from my post in my office.  Lori said this is the best nanny job she's ever had - I think that's mostly due to you, Socha.  You're a pretty likeable little girl.  I have to admit that I get slightly jealous that Lori gets to spend the days with you, however, I do appreciate my time getting back into my work.

You've been teething for what seems like more than half your life at this point (maybe a slight exaggeration, but not much).  You still only have two bottom teeth, but we're sure those upper teeth are going to show up before the end of the year.

And crawling.  Yup, you're crawling now.  You officially started crawling on Monday, November 19, 2012.  You were nearly crawling for several days before that, but that day is when it actually clicked for you.  Now there is no safe place in the house that we can just let you hang out by yourself in.  Luckily, we have a pack and play for you to sit in when we need to get something done.  And we have a gate on the stairs - the most important piece of safety equipment we've purchased so far.  We'll have to get some video of you crawling away from us at top speed...

Finally, you are turning into a great eater!  We've tried three types of solid foods so far: rice cereal, oatmeal, and yams.  We're attempting to make your food for you - which requires some forethought since we don't often go to the store - and your Aunt Kathy got us a special blender with great little storage containers for your pureed food, so we really have no excuse not to be making your food for you.  So far, so good - the yams were fairly easy to fix and you LOVED them.  The rice cereal and oatmeal we bought from the store, although we could try to make them ourselves with organic grains - maybe next month.  Once we make sure you are not allergic to the oatmeal, we're going to move on to avocado and banana (not together).  Boy, if I could have my way, I would just eat avocados - luckily they're really good for you, so you will get to eat as much as you want (and we can purchase and mash).

So, happy 8th-month birthday, Socha!  We're having such a great time with you and are looking forward to many more milestones along the way.

Almost crawling

You are SO close to crawling, Socha.  Your Dad predicts that you will be crawling by Thanksgiving, and after watching you today, I think you might be crawling by the end of the weekend.  You are figuring out how to pull your legs up under you to move forward rather than dragging your stomach over the floor.  Oh, how I fear your mobility!  Luckily, we have most of the house baby-proofed now.  We actually need to attach some of the taller bookshelves to the walls PDQ.  Maybe that will be done this weekend/early next week as we work on hanging our pictures all over the house.  We already put up a large photo of the Soča River in your room and I want to hang your guardian angel quilt that Nana made for you too.  Hopefully by the end of next week our house will finally be "home."   Meanwhile, some photos from today.

Look at me, Mom, I'm almost crawling!

And check out my teeth!

Man, I'm tired after all that almost-crawling today.

Introducing you to music

Dear Socha,

Your Dad and I love music, but for some reason we haven't been playing a lot of music for you.  People say that classical music is good for babies, so when we do play something it often is Bach or Beethoven or Vivaldi, etc.  And for such a young girl, you've heard quite a lot of live music.  Last month we listened to the first song that Take 6 performed for the students here (then we had to get you home to bed).  Last week you were quiet and very interested in the chamber music performances by DA students:

It was actually your bed time for this concert too, but you enjoyed two performances and most of a third before we had to leave.

Then last night, one of the many very talented teachers here sat down to play the grand piano in the dining hall after most everyone had left.  He played several lovely tunes, including one he wrote when he first moved to New York City, called, "The City."  It was so beautiful and emotional.  I hope he will give me a copy of his recording of it!  Anyway, you were unabashedly staring at him and the piano while he played, so I thought you might like to plink a key or two:

  

Perhaps you will be a musician.  Hopefully you'll be more willing to practice at it than I was...

Yes We Can

Dear Socha,

Last night we saw President Barack Obama win re-election for another 4 years as our country's leader.  Your Dad and I couldn't be happier!  We also saw Elizabeth Warren become Massachusett's first female senator.  Again, we couldn't be happier!  Tammy Baldwin will become the senate's first openly gay or lesbian senator (from Wisconsin), and same-sex marriage was supported in Maine and Maryland (we're still waiting to hear about Washington and Minnesota's ballot initiatives).  John Tester is currently leading in the senate race in Montana (we're keeping our fingers crossed).  What a night!  We truly couldn't be happier!  And we feel a large weight lifted off our shoulders, especially when we think about your future.  We breathe a sigh of relief that you will have access to good healthcare, you will be paid fairly for any work you do, you will be able to get contraception if you want it and you will have the right to choose if having a child is the right thing to do, and you will have the right to marry whoever you damn well please! (Well, except for the fact that your Aunty Kendra and I have already arranged your marriage to her boy Jack - but we'll leave that open for discussion...)

Today, I can legitimately say that I am SUPER proud to be an American.  We re-elected a fairly moderate president who will fight for US and we made some strong inroads to getting the crazies out of public office (Mourdock, Akin, West - I'm talking to you).

Last night, you must have sensed our tension, because you would NOT sleep.  We put you to bed around 7:30pm, but by 9pm you were wide awake and very vocal about it.  So your Dad and I grabbed a couple of beers and sat down with you on the floor in your bedroom and played with you while we trolled the intertoobs for election coverage.  This was quite a calm party compared to the party we attended in downtown Bozeman in 2008, but no less moving.  I didn't actually cry last night when Jon Stewart called the election for Obama around 11:15pm.  It was somewhat anti-climactic considering all the hooplah about this election for the much too long election cycle.  But, this morning as I read some of the news and read Obama's acceptance speech, the tears came.  Tears of joy.  Tears of pride in my country.  Tears of optimism for your future Socha.

Be warned, Socha.  Your Dad and I are major political junkies.  Expect to get out the vote with us in the future.  We take this stuff pretty seriously and fully embrace the notion that voting is a privilege and our duty (as Craig Ferguson said in an excellent monologue in 2008: "It's not sexy, it's not hep, it's not fashionable - it's your DUTY!).

Four more years.  Then, Hilary 2016? :)

On eating books, being cold, and standing up

Hi Socha,
A couple of new things in your life:
You've been really going to town on your "Brain, Cognition, and Development" book.

You seem to love the noise it makes when you squeeze it in your hands and you love to chew on the pages and rip them apart.  It's mostly in pieces now and you've managed to cough up a few bits here and there.  I think it might be time to take this "toy" away.  Luckily, the BCD lab has sent us a new book (that we'll try to keep in one piece) to continue reading to you.

Yesterday, your Dad and I took you for an afternoon walk, all bundled up (or so I thought) in your stroller.  Well, I really didn't bundle you up well enough for how cold and windy it actually was, so when we got about as far away from our home as our walk was going to take us, you got really mad because you were so cold!  Welcome to winter!  You really haven't experienced true cold yet (until yesterday), so I'm not surprised that you really didn't like it.  Your poor hands, feet, and cheeks were frigid when we got home.  And you were so upset you couldn't even nurse for a while.  Chalk this one up to inexperienced parents...  Luckily, after you had a turbo nap on my lap, you seemed to forget all about being cold and being mad at us for making you cold.  It's possible you woke up in the early hours of the morning last night because you got a little chilled too - temps outside were in the 20s and your room didn't stay very warm.  Sorry again.  We'll do better.  I've already got the snowsuits out and won't let you go outside without being truly bundled up.  Yes, I tend to overcompensate after making a mistake...

In the last week or 2 you have started standing up in your crib.  In fact, trying to put you to bed when you are in any way awake means that we have to convince you that when you are as tired as you are, trying to stand up in your crib is not a good idea.  You've bonked your head from falling a few times now.  But you're pretty amazing - pulling yourself up to standing and shrieking with glee!  And you're using all the real estate in the crib to roll around and sit up and stand up and stretch.  And you're definitely not quiet about it - most of the time you're just talking to yourself about how cool it is to be sitting up/standing/rolling/etc.  You only seem to cry when you realize that you ARE actually tired but you don't want to go to sleep.

I'm so not ready for you to be mobile. 

My first Cthulu

This one goes out to Uncle Keith. 

I'm trying to convince Jeff that we should make the plush Cthulu Socha's "Lovey" (an item that is supposed to help her sleep - something she can cuddle with).  Jeff's exact words when I mentioned this were: "No comment."  Hmmm... Not sure what that means. :)

I'm afraid the doll might be having some influence on Socha - look at that evil raised eyebrow in the second picture...

More pumpkin cuteness

We had a playdate with our friends Allison and Elliana on Friday. The weather was perfect: brisk, bright sunshine, and lots of leaves on the ground.  So we got a bunch of photos of the two little pumpkins.  Super cute!  It was also the Halloween dress up day at DA so your Dad and I dressed up too.

Halloween costumes - or how Mom and Dad are already humiliating me

You got to dress up in two costumes for Halloween.  The first was a pumpkin suit that turned out to be rather hot, so you only wore it pretty much for pictures:

 

The second was a pink poodle.  Your Dad thinks this one is much more humiliating and I think he actually felt bad for making you wear it:

 

But he did laugh when we sat you down on the sidewalk and looked at you from above (so did I).  A colleague saw you in the front carrier on Dad from a distance and honestly thought he was carrying a dog:

And the fun will continue tomorrow when we have a playdate with a neighbor and both of you are going to wear pumpkin costumes (a second one we have) and pose in front of the giant pumpkins on Main Street.  

All of these costumes are hand-me-downs.  Your Dad and I love to dress up for Halloween, so please forgive us for inflicting these costumes on you.

I'm so tired

These photos speak for themselves.  Your flexibility is pretty amazing, Socha.

I have two teeth!

This is the only picture we could get of you showing your new teeth.  You're a bit frustrated because you want so desperately to crawl.  You look a lot better when you're grinning (and the teeth show quite well then), but we haven't had the camera ready for such occasions.  So, we'll just have to use this picture for now and I'm sure we'll get a better one later.

a few more things about Socha

Mom just wrote a great post, but I thought I would add a few things.

* Your first real toys were your toes. Back in July, you learned that they were A-MAY-ZING. You just loved grabbing them, and showing off how flexible you were.
* You really do spread joy - when we go to the dining hall without you, the staff asks. At the airport, random Delta employees come up and ask to hold you (and we comply). Everywhere we bring you, you bring smiles to everyone else.
* You had your first sit-down meal in the DA dining hall last week when mom was out of town, and you did great. You were pretty quiet the whole meal, smiling and looking around, until the applause at the end of a student a cappela version of Bohemian Rhapsody. You don't like sudden loud noises, like applause, or toilets flushing.
* You've recently learned that destruction is fun. You enjoy shredding paper, and eating it if you can.
* You like sitting up on my shoulders, but I don't like it so much when you grab my hair like the mane of a horse and rock back and forth with glee. My hair is going, but you're really helping it come out.
* I like to flip you around. My boss, John T., was shocked at how much I would flip you around while in the dining hall ("My wife would have never let me do that!" he said under his breath.)
* I recently discovered that I am no longer able to change your diaper if you are uncooperative. You are much too strong and flippy. That could be difficult going forward.
* When you're having a good time, you smile WIDE OPEN, like you're screaming on a roller coaster. Sometimes I like to make the same face, just to see if it makes you laugh. It usually does.
* You like trees. Bark, at least. We're hoping we're raising a little tree-hugger, but maybe you're just waiting for baby's first chain saw.
* You've probably heard me sing your lullaby "Momma and Daddy and Socha makes 3" about 7347 times so far. I often count to 100 (sticking lines of lullaby, or that day's news, or random things I made up in between the numbers) just to keep myself in the room longer, because if I leave too soon you'll suddenly wake up screaming. No fun.
* You wore a pirate hat with skull & crossbones & pom poms on your first boat ride, on the Connecticut River for a nice fall colors cruise.
* You like to rock out in your "baby einstein" bouncy playstation thing, also while chewing on large parts of it.
* Currently, your favorite toy (probably displacing your toes) is the TAG on anything. The toy is fine, but if there is a tag (like the one that tells you how to wash it), that is awesome.
* You've got 2 teeth on the bottom that were pretty rough coming in - about 2 months of pain, we think, and 2-3 weeks of it pretty bad. Tooth #3 (on top) is maybe coming in now.
* When you were teething in September, you also got a cold that I brought home from school, and gave to mom, who gave it to you. That was not a happy week.
* You can now sit up on your own, and pull yourself around your on your changing table, and sometimes army crawl a little. You will be crawling soon. We are not ready.
* More than crawling, you really want to run. There is a lot of energy pent up.
* You look like mom: fine blond hair, blue eyes, delicate furrowed brows, little cute nose. You seem to have my personality: very outgoing, likes people, wants to bounce.
* I'm looking forward to whatever cool thing you figure out next.

Some Catching Up

Socha,
Your Dad and I have been woefully inept at keeping this blog going.  We have commented many times over the last several months that we need to update this blog - both with pictures/videos and with notes on your many firsts.  But then we just don't seem to make the time.  Partly because we're busy with work, and partly because we love spending our free time with you, which precludes us from sitting down in front of the computer to compose wonderful prose about you.  The last time your Dad wrote, you were in full-bore colic mode.  Life was a bit difficult for all of us - we refer to the spring as being "pretty dark."  But, as everyone told us would happen, you finally grew out of your colic and have become a delight to hang out with. Your smiles brighten our days, and a lot of other people's days too.  You've got such a fantastic grin that goes all the way to your eyes and helps a tired Momma or frustrated Daddy release our stress and just pour out our love for you.  Your laugh is contagious and your curiosity helps us look at the world with different eyes.  You bring joy wherever you go - whether that's the dining hall here on campus, or at your grandparents in Colorado, or walking down the street in Boston.  I'm still wrapping my head around how I can be so in love with this tiny little creature that your Dad and I made.

You've done a lot of traveling for being only 7 months old.  We drove from MA to MN this summer to visit friends and family AND go to the world's best amusement park for roller coasters (Cedar Point).  In fact, you've been to half of the M-states: MA, ME, MN, MI.  You've met all of the Savage/Larsen clan and much of the Jewett/Haughey clan.  You've ridden the subway in Boston and flown to Colorado.  You've dipped your toes in several lakes (Michigan, Superior, Huron, Sand Lake (in MN), McCollum Lake (in MI), and Lake George (in NY)), the Deerfield River, and Aunt Kathy's swimming pool.  You were just starting to get somewhat comfortable in water when the summer came to an end.  Luckily that comfort rolled over to baths - because we honestly probably didn't give you more than 5 baths in your first 4 months - and now you are starting to play during bathtime.  Next, we need to take you in for swimming lessons so next summer you can actually jump into the water!

You've gained a lot of weight since the colic ceased.  You're pretty solid now.  And going through growth spurt after growth spurt.  You get chubby, then you get tall, then you get chubby, then you get tall.  I think you're in a tall stage right now.

Now that I'm working again, we have a nanny for you for 30 hours a week.  Her name is Lori and you two get along really well.  I think I'm suffering from separation anxiety more than you are. But it's really nice to have someone around who is so good with you.  And it's nice to be back to work again.

So, I want to keep a record of all of your firsts and other anecdotes.  I wish I could promise that I'll post something regularly or as it happens.  But, the truth is, I'm a terrible blogger, so all I can do is put a list here of things up to today, and promise to try to post more regular tidbits in the future.  I'll try to get your Dad to post some things too.  We'll at least post monthly photo albums - we're really good about taking pictures of you.  In fact, you've figured out that we like it when you smile for the camera, so you have started posing whenever the camera comes out.  We could be creating a monster!

First, here's your measurements as the months progressed:
March 22 - 6 lbs 14.8 oz (32nd percentile), 20 inches (63rd percentile)
April 24 - 7 lbs 8 oz (8th percentile), 21.5 inches (63th percentile)
May 22 - 8 lbs 10 oz (6th percentile), 22.7 inches (65th percentile)
June 19 - 10 lbs 6 oz (13th percentile), 23.3 inches (49th percentile)
August 2 - 13 lbs 12 oz (44th percentile), 25.8 inches (90th percentile)
September 27 - 17 lbs (68th percentile), 27.3 inches (92nd percentile)

Your next weigh-in will be at 9 months.

Here are my very short notes on your firsts:
6/17/2012 - First true smile!
7/1/2012 - She rolled from stomach to back for the first time! Twice!

7/10/2012 - Discovery of the toes
7/14/2012 - Dip in Sand Lake with swim trunks up to chest.  She was ok with it. Also, she laughed for the first time today while I blew my lips at her. We got a short video.
7/16/2012 - Lots of laughs while dad was swinging her. Got up to chin in swimming pool and stayed calm until her face went in the water. Also spent time in the pool yesterday.
7/25/2012 - First time rolling from back to front x2!
8/2/2012 - She started reaching for things and grabbing things in the last week or so.
8/6/2012 - She got her toes in her mouth
8/9/2012 - First case of thrush (hopefully only!)
8/21/2012 - First sunburn :( just right cheek
9/9/2012 - Discover of lower lip
9/29/2012 - First time sitting up on her own
10/8/2012 - First tooth starting to emerge
10/26/ 2012 - Second tooth appeared

I want to make sure all your photos are included in this blog (we've been posting some of the photo albums on our travel blog), so here are your first 7 months in pictures:

MONTH 1

MONTH 2

MONTH 3

MONTH 4

MONTH 5

MONTH 6

MONTH 7

And, last but not least, here are links to several posts we put on our travel blog, but neglected to include here:

Welcome Socha Sage Jewett Savage

Finally - some Socha photos

Socha's Second Month

Socha's first 3.25 months

And then there were three

From March 29, 2012 - Not sure why I didn't post this then...

I'm still sort of in a state of shock that I am actually a mother.  I have a child.  My beautiful little Socha has gotten an amazingly strong hold on my heart - it actually makes me cry to think about how much I'm in love with her.  This coming from the woman who never wanted children - until she met the man of her dreams.  I feel such intense feelings for Socha and additionally, I have the same incredibly intense feelings of love for my husband too.  I've spent the days that we've been home from the hospital (a total of 3) crying off and on - mostly crying for the joy, but often crying from the fear that Socha might be ill or that my milk won't come in or any of the many things that could happen.  Socha, your dad has been a saint to put up with my gigantic emotional rollercoaster.  It's so amazing to be a family.  Three of us.

Photos of Baby Socha

Flickr Slideshow of Baby Socha's first day.
If the embedded show doesn't work, follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com//photos/mountainpiratephoto/sets/72157629654459981/show/

Welcome to Socha Sage Jewett Savage

Click here for the full story of the name of our new daughter, Socha Sage Jewett Savage.
http://roadbeforeus.blogspot.com/2012/03/welcome-socha-sage-jewett-savage.html

Baby arrives!

After 7.5 hours of active labor and then another 1.5 hours of pushing (after 2.5 exhausting days of trying to get into labor in the first place), Shannon brought our new daughter into the world. Huzzah!

The whole day was quite intense. Everyone is happy and healthy, cuddling and trying to get some sleep.
We haven't chosen a name yet (Massachusetts says we have 10 days, but we'll try to decide sooner!).

I have already enjoyed doing my first 2 diaper changes, breast feeding is happening, and Shannon is starting to recover from her ordeals. All is well. Thanks for all of the love and support from around the world during our process. FYI, our cell phones work in the hospital (mostly), so that's the best way to reach us, and we expect to go home Saturday.

Pictures and name to follow. Plus lots more stories. Shannon is already curious if daughter's tarry poop (common initially after birth) can be mined as an energy source...

I mean it. I'm not ready to leave the pool!

Well, it's Wednesday and we've been at the hospital for 48 hours and Junior is not budging.  She likes this swimming pool and since the weather these days is quite balmy, she wants to stay there as long as she can!

As Jeff explained, last night we made a tactical retreat.  Both of us got some really good rest so that we were ready to face a day of labor today.  The doctor was more aggressive with the pitocin today and by noon I was at the highest dose - although I actually slept through almost all of the morning until lunch time (meaning that since I'm hooked up to the IV, I rarely woke up as they increased the dosage).  I've actually napped on and off all day.

Unfortunately, even at the highest dose, I never got into a pattern with contractions.  I would have a few that were fairly strong (at least strong enough to be noticeable - but nothing like Monday night and Tuesday), but mostly I never even felt any.  And there has been no change in my cervix since Tuesday morning.

This morning the doctor suggested trying to break the amniotic membrane to really get this party started and after a bit of discussion, we decided to go ahead and do that.  But then it turned out that my cervix is not ready for that - we tried twice today but could never get the instrument in the right place - so no membrane rupturing.  Something to do with the angle of the cervix not matching the angle (or lack thereof) of the rupturing instrument.

So, once again, we found ourselves at an impasse and had to come to a decision this afternoon after 6+ hours of pitocin.  At least today our decision making was a bit more coherent since we'd gotten some much needed rest.  Our choices were:(1) try cervadil again tonight (what started my contractions on Monday night) with some pain relief to help me sleep and start again with the pitocin in the morning, or (2) go in for a c-section.  We've talked from the beginning that we really don't want to have a c-section unless it was medically necessary.  Although I'm getting tired of being here and don't want to go through this merry-go-round more than another day, I'm not ready to give in to the idea of a c-section yet.  So I've stopped the pitocin for the evening and started again on the cervadil.  It's possible I'm having some contractions right now, but I don't feel anything (thought I saw one pass by on the monitor a little while ago).  I'll have some pain management medications this evening to help me get rest even if I am having painful contractions.  And hopefully this will make my cervix more "favorable" and will help the pitocin do it's job of dilating the cervix tomorrow.

My parents arrived in Massachusetts today - they were expecting to meet a new baby, not see their daughter full-term pregnant!  So I'm hoping that they don't spend the week they're here waiting to meet their granddaughter.  I really hope Junior is born tomorrow not only for my sake (I'm getting bored of the scenery in this hospital room), but for Nana and Grampy's sake!

While they were here at the hospital, I was given permission to move about the hospital for a little while (with a nurse escort and me in a wheel chair - they are still concerned about the pre-eclampsia), so we went outside to the healing garden.  The weather is unseasonably warm, so it was very nice to get some fresh air and enjoy the warmth outside for a few moments.

I'm going to go eat some alfredo pasta and maybe watch a movie to pass the time, then it's another early bed time for me.  Hopefully by this time tomorrow I will be holding a healthy baby girl (or boy - if the ultrasound was not correct!).  Until later...

I'll leave the pool when I'm good and ready

Ah, the first strident "no, I won't!" "Yes you will!" battle with our daughter. I thought perhaps we'd wait until she was 2 for this.
The doctors said it was time for the pool to close; pre-eclampsia can lead to occasionally fatal eclampsia, and the best treatment for pre-eclampsia is getting that baby born, right now. Time to close the pre-natal swimming pool and send our little alien out into the dry, bright, loud world.  We thought you would be born on the first day of spring (almost 80 degrees here in Massachusetts!), but you had other thoughts.

We got to the hospital by 6:00 pm yesterday (March 19), and Shannon was soon given drugs to help make her cervix "more cooperative." This is a good goal, because without a cooperative cervix a cesarean section is pretty likely.  Life was pretty mellow in the evening, but by about 11 pm the doctor could observe contractions on the fetal monitors, and by shortly after midnight Shannon could feel them. They weren't normal contractions, but were resulting from the cervix-softening medicine. Yum.
To pass the time, and because we'd already committed to doing it, Shannon (with my help, but it was really Shannon) spent several hours editing a music video that we sent to Bulgaria to be used in their faculty talent show. It's really well done, and it's downright amazing when you consider the whole thing was edited by a woman in active labor, from the hospital, mostly after midnight!
[I'll post the video later, but right now we're letting the "world premiere" be at the school talent show on thursday.]

Shannon didn't sleep at all last night. I didn't do much better. She learned when she broke her neck biking near Yellowstone (2005) that she shivers uncontrollably in response to intense pain. That time they kept putting more and more blankets onto her in vain attempts to keep her warm, when really she was in traumatic shock. I saw this last night too as the contractions started to get serious: she started with just a little quivering, then was shaking uncontrollably as the pain got more intense. Thumbs up to my wife though: after (going on) 16+ hours of contractions, she is managing the pain much better and only rarely getting the shakes.  The pain of contractions combined with nurses periodic poking/prodding of her added up to no sleep for us. I myself got maybe 20 minutes of sleep this morning, as I passed out on the couch after sunrise, and dozed off a few times today when the doctors were talking to us.

Around 8am this morning they switched her over to Pitocin, an oxytocin-like drug that is supposed to stimulate uterine contractions. It's an IV drug, and they are worried about how it may affect the baby, so when you're taking it you have be both hooked up to the IV cart and be permanently hooked up to the fetal monitors. It makes moving around for active pain management more difficult, not to mention quite a hassle when you need to pee.  All morning and afternoon Shannon labored through her drug regimen without much sleep, dragging around her IV cart and fetal monitors. We both snuck in a few catnaps, but were pretty stupid whenever anyone asked a question of us.

Unfortunately, by 3pm today the drugs had not done what we had hoped. Shannon was plenty zombie-fied from pain and lack of sleep, but her cervix was not yet ready to go. (Message to cervix: C'mon, play for the team!) We talked with our medical team to discuss our options. We could stay on course, hoping the Pitocin would work soon, we could charge full speed ahead with higher Pitocin doses and possibly purposely rupturing the amniotic membrane, or we could stop the Pitocin and try again tomorrow. In the end (after much stupid sleep-deprived deliberating) we opted to stop the Pitocin, calling a truce for a few hours and beating a tactical retreat. Shannon was desperately hungry, and we were both rather exhausted. Since giving birth is often compared to running a marathon, we tried to think of it that way. Would she be able to perform her athletic best without adequate rest and fuel? It's a difficult analogy, though, because at least with a marathon you know that you must run 26.2 miles. With giving birth, well, you know the finish line includes a healthy baby outside her mother, but you have no idea if that finish line is 10, 20, 50, or even 100 miles away. It makes it difficult to pace yourself, you know?

At any rate, that's where we stand. Little Junior was asked to leave the pool before she was ready to go. Junior has thus far refused. She's drawn a line across the cervix and stated "This I shall not pass."

Hopefully tomorrow will see her first acquiescence to parental will.

Pre-eclampsia

So...

We started out today all gung-ho to get some things checked off our to-do list (and we actually did get some things checked off).  Then we got a call from my doctor.  Last week I had elevated levels of protein in my small urine sample at my weekly checkup.  This worried my doctor a bit, so he had me do a full 24-hour urine collection to see if that earlier reading was just an anomaly.  Got the results back today and that earlier reading was not an anomaly.  So he diagnosed me with mild pre-eclampsia.  Because I have reached full term (38 weeks tomorrow; they say 37 weeks is full term these days), he doesn't want to take any chances with eclampsia (which can be life-threatening to mom and baby), so he wants to induce.  Tonight.  HOLY CRAP!  That means that you, Junior, will be with us tomorrow!  I'm a little shell-shocked at the moment.  Partly because HOLY CRAP - we're going to have a baby.  And partly because I'm not excited about being induced.

As the doctor explains, we will go in this evening at 6pm and he will insert some drug into my cervix to help soften it in preparation for the actual induction with pitocin which will happen early tomorrow morning.  (My Bradley Method instructor is going to be appalled - but, well, there's not much I can do about this...) (Jeff really needs to write the blog about that class)  In theory, sometime tomorrow, the first day of spring 2012, Junior will be born.

And we haven't picked out a name yet!

At least we have a bed, diapers, changing table, and clothes for her.  The rest of the stuff can be gotten later.

And our dear friend, Becky, sent us a box of sage from the Gardiner area that we will have with us in the birthing room.  A wonderful reminder for us of the Rocky Mountains.  The package arrived today - so just in time!

The truth is, we don't know much about pre-eclampsia and it seems that it's unclear what causes it.  But I now fall in the 3-8% of women who get it with their pregnancies.  If you want to read about it, here's one (of many) website: http://www.preeclampsia.org/.

Now we have to madly prepare to leave for the birthing center in around 2 hours.  More news later....

Some photos of Mom and Dad

I'm not going to write much here - just want to get some photos up that show what your mom and dad have been doing while waiting for your arrival.  And how they look.  I might have mentioned in a previous post that I am very swollen and also stupidly gave myself bangs, so I've been too vain to want my pictures up here for anyone to see.  But I guess I just have to accept the fact that I look big (and funny) in every possible way, so I might as well keep a record of it for you Junior.  So here are some pics starting around 34 weeks up to 37+ (just two days ago).  Several are slightly "risque" as we were trying to be artsy. Enjoy!

That seriously looks like a watermelon in there!

25 February at 34+ weeks

Mom and Dad showing off the belly.

An artsy shot.

Mom feeling really embarrassed to be partially naked...

8 March at 36 weeks.  Another artsy shot.

11 March at 36 weeks. On a hike up Pocumtuck Hill (behind our house).

13 March at 37 weeks. At Smith College.

14 March at 37 weeks.  Dressing up for a Faculty Follies video.

16 March at 37+weeks. At the Smith College Bulb Show.

Another artsy shot.

Dad at the bulb show.

17 March at 37+ weeks.  More Faculty Follies mayhem.

Balkan dancing for the Faculty Follies video.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

This one's for Becky.  The sage showed up just in time. 19 March at almost 38 weeks.

Hi Junior, from dad

I haven't written anything yet, and as your mom writes more and more, I risk turning the task of STARTING into a monumental chore. So I'm just writing. Something. Anything. I don't really have a plan on how this post will turn out. That is based on advice from your Grandma Jean, who I'm very sad you'll never get to meet in person. She, more than anyone else, gets all the credit for any compliments I've ever received for my writing. I remember as young as 4th grade sitting down with her on the couch to help me edit a writing assignment, spending what seemed like hours trying to fix up a mediocre first draft. Apparently getting help from your mom like that might be considered cheating in today's schools, though I beg to differ. At any rate, Grandma Jean always reminded me "Just start putting words on the page. Don't worry about it being perfect. Just write." So here I am, though my MacBook has replaced the page, just writing.

Hi Junior.
That's not the best name, we know, especially as you're not going to be Shannon Jr. and you're certainly not going to be Jeff Jr or Jeffova, but for lack of a better name, we're going with Junior for now.

It's been fun getting to know you. I'm a little jealous of your mom, because she already has a big head start on getting to know you, whereas I can only occasionally feel your kicks and wiggles, which, from the outside, are absolutely crazy. By the time they got big and regular enough for me to feel them, I think that your mom had kind of gotten used to them, but they still fill me with amazement.  I look forward to being able to get to know you in person, feeling your toes wriggling, hearing you giggle, taking you for walks (so your mom doesn't always have to carry you!).

Several of your mom's earlier posts have been about her pregnancy symptoms, and I'll go on record as saying I don't think she was exaggerating or overly complaining. She's been swollen and heartburn-y for a long time, and not getting good sleep, which tends to make folks cranky. I myself haven't been getting good sleep, only because she's up tossing & turning or getting up to pee, and that's just from the disturbance of lying next to her. I'm sure it's much harder to be her. I'm not looking for sympathy, just verifying her suffering, so that she can tell you guilt-ridden stories in an appropriate number of years.  Hopefully this is all a clever evolutionary tactic to get us prepared to feed/change you at all odd hours of the night.

I will write a post about the childbirth classes we've tried going to, but I'll save that one.

This time I want to write about why. Why you're coming to join our family.

As your mother wrote in a previous post, I've wanted to be a father for a very long time. Now that that day is almost here, we're of course filled with excitement, anxiety, anticipating, dread, fear...
There are plenty of books about raising children, but no real instruction manual. How are we going to do this?
From the quotidian things, like changing diapers (I've steadfastly refused to change diapers for any of your cousins...but now I need to learn quickly) and swaddling technique, to more complex topics like helping you deal with frenemies in middle school or navigating the objectively screwed-up world we've provided you with, I don't really have a plan. Then again, I've never been much of a "plan" kind of guy. I'm much better at improvising, so hopefully you don't mind that too much. I have heard lots of advice about how babies and children like routine, which is kind of the exact opposite of improvisation, so i'll do my best to provide a framework of dependability, but really in the end, chaos rules. But I will try.

Your mom and I worry about how we'll be able to raise you, but we also worry about how you'll raise us. We've each had a long time to get used to life on our own, and 5.5 wonderful years learning how to live as a couple (really, from the moment we met, we've hardly spent any time apart). How will our relationship change when we both turn our focus to our sweet, helpless, amazing-but-needy daughter? We don't know. We hope our relationship will stay strong, and I'm dedicated to expressly taking time and mental effort away from you, sweet Junior, and giving it to Mom, because in the end, I think you'll be a happier child with two happy parents.  I'm also not too worried that you'll suffer any lack of attention around here. :)
Lucky for us, as I told your mom last night, we aren't exactly big "going to the club" kind of folks. Many of our recreational activities (walks, movies, reading) are fairly family-friendly, and I like her company whether we're out to dinner or doing laundry, so I think we'll be able to find plenty of ways to keep our relationship strong. At the very least, I'm sure that you, Junior, will provide us plenty of laundry to bond over, especially since we're trying to go with cloth diapers!

Biologist and author Sandra Steingraber said something to the effect that "Everyone needs to figure out what instrument they're holding in the Save-the-World-Symphony (StWS), and play it. It doesn't need to be a solo, but everyone needs to play their part." Your mom and I have both made a life of trying to figure out what instruments we're holding, and how best to play them. There are a lot of things that are screwed up with this world, and unfortunately, many of them will likely get worse before (if) they get better. You and your cousins are going to have a lot of difficult challenges to deal with when you get older.
Reading the news and teaching my environmental science class sometimes make me pretty pessimistic about the future. Threats are everywhere: rising population, food shortages, droughts, species going extinct, pollution, bigotry and hatred, and probably the biggest whammy, climate change. At the same time though, there are technological tools to address these problems that we've never had before, and billions of clever minds that have never before had the opportunity to solve any of these problems. And you're part of the solution. You're definitely part of our solution. I think that the loudest instrument that I'm holding in the StWS is as an educator. It's what I do best. It's how we came to be living at a boarding school. I'm trying to teach people to care, to make a difference, to make the world a better place. Here I can teach in the classroom, the dorm room, or the sports field, so I get a lot more chances to make an impact.
So beyond all the diaper changing and less-fun dad stuff, I'm looking forward to teaching you. I'm looking forward to taking you for a walk in the woods. I want to show you trees and dirt and blue sky. I'm looking forward to climbing our first mountain together, and looking out over the valley below and exclaiming "WOW" before either of us can catch ourselves. I'm looking forward to curling up on the couch and reading a book together, probably over and over and over, before you learn to read on your own and I'll have to pry your nose out of your kindle (version8.9).  I'm looking forward to your first dance, giggling with you or giving you a hug because that stupid rotten little boy (or girl) across the dance floor didn't notice how wonderful you looked. I'm looking forward to being proud of how clearly you write and articulate yourself, and how you totally embrace nerdy but cool science-y things, and show up your classmates in math problems. And I'm looking forward to seeing how you'll make the world a better place, in ways I would have probably never dreamed of.

I'm writing this while looking at the "shower record for Deerfield Academy faculty 'first babies'" that came to us at our lovely baby shower a few weeks ago. The list of babies on here goes back to 1943, older than Grandpa Tom if you can believe that (they strangely don't show any dinosaur babies on here). One of the babies on here is now a woman that I work with, and maybe she'll have her own kids in the next few years. The cycle of life is pretty amazing. We don't know how to do this parenting thing, but we'll figure it out. Our moms and dads did. And their moms and dads did. Going on and on and on, for hundreds of millions of years, back before we were humans or even mammals. Billions of years, if you're willing to stretch the meaning of "mom" or "dad" quite a bit. A never-ending-chain of life. So we'll figure it out. The odds are pretty good we will.

Last week, on a bizarrely warm early spring day, when your Grandpa Tom was visiting but I was stuck grading final exams, I set up my grading table in the quad in front of John Louis dorm to enjoy the weather. In addition to grading, I enjoyed all the neighbor kids running, playing, and making up worlds. Your mom and I are pretty happy that you'll get to grow up here at Deerfield Academy. It's kind of like when I spent an occasional week at Camp Michigania growing up. I was free to run from cabin to cabin, from lakefront to riding area, because Aunt Barb and Uncle Jim felt confident that there wasn't too much trouble I could get into and there were plenty of responsible adults keeping an eye on things. That kind of "free range kids" lifestyle is largely absent from most neighborhoods in this country today, and I'm very thankful that this is a place where it still exists. There will be several other children your age to play with (Sophie, McCrae, Emma, Sigrid, Elliana, plus probably some more on the way), lots of hard-working, responsible, athletic, and smart older students to make good role models (and babysitters!), and plenty of adults that are nurturing, smart, responsible care-takers and educators as well. Not much traffic to worry about, sports to watch/participate in, and a nice little mountain and river to frolic in and explore. It takes a village to raise a child, they say, and we could do a lot worse for you in the way of villages, we think.

Well...I've rambled my way around 13 different topics, but that's kind of how you've got me feeling these days. I feel like I have so much to do, but don't know where to start. I know that life will be totally different in a few weeks (days?), but don't really know how. I want to get everything "ready," but never will.
We'll promise to love you, feed you, keep you safe as best we can, let you roam and explore as much as we can, teach you what we know and let you figure out the rest. It's going to be a good ride.

-Love, Dad