Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Daphne's nervous breakdown

Since Anderson was born, Daphne has been on her best behavior...until this past Sunday afternoon. After going so long letting us know when she needs to go outside, being quiet while the baby is sleeping, and being so good around him, I guess she thought it's possible she is being replaced by Anderson. And she just couldn't take it anymore.

The picture below was the scene Sunday when we walked into in our kitchen after we returned home from lunch. You see, I made the mistake of using the trash strategy of taking the bag out but not tying it up, thinking there may be more garbage later to put in there before taking it to the garage. And after only being gone over an hour Daphne decided to dump it all in the floor. Also, notice how it was strewn into our dining room.


Trash contents included 24 dirty diapers, Halloween candy consisting of Hershey's kisses and candy corn, several filters of coffee grounds, 2 raw pieces of bacon, paper towels with grease from the bacon we cooked that morning, several banana peels, a dead plant, old ant traps, dryer lint, and used wet wipes. She ripped the paper towels to shreds then left all the tiny pieces off camera in the hall, along with several other items strewn down the hall.

I thought something was odd when Daphne didn't meet me at the door and instead, was sort of slinking around the corner. But hey, it was such a disaster Shelly and I just cracked up laughing. No telling how many candy corns and Hershey's kisses she ate.

Needless to say, now there are two members of our family under 12 pounds with interesting poops.

Mike
Fort Riley, KS

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Monday, November 17, 2008

Eat, play, sleep

If you want to see something funny, you should give your dog a bowl of jello. Not the Bill Cosby Jello pudding but the real gel type stuff you had when you were a kid, the kind you had to let sit in the fridge to form. I'm not sure why, but we have a little 4-pack of cherry jello in our fridge. Well, there's three left now because in my hours of studying for a big exam tomorrow I decided I needed a snack so I decided to try it.

Anyway, Daphne came in and wanted a little taste. So I carved her out a big spoonful and plopped it into her dog bowl. Man, she just could not figure out how to eat it. She'd get it in her mouth then it would fall out. She would try again and almost get ready to swallow it before it would slip out. Guess it was too slippery. She gave up and acted like she didn't want it after all. But she'll be back.

So, since we live 5 hours away from our families my task is to provide pictures of Anderson. Here goes.

Shelly and I are trying the concept of eat-play-sleep-eat-play-sleep, and so forth. The picture below was during play time. I was going in to touch noses with him when he opened his mouth as wide as he could and engulfed my nose. Guess he mistook it for a bottle nipple. Not sure how I'm supposed to take that.

Since he's eating every three hours right now we often have to wake him up to feed him, even though we hate to. Below are generally the looks we get right after he wakes from a deep sleep.



This is after he realizes he's about to enjoy a feast of milk.

During play time, at least one of us usually interacts with him to let his belly settle and to keep him awake for a bit. Daphne enjoys play time also. For this picture she had just climbed across the back of the chair and slid down next to Shelly so she wouldn't feel left out.

Then sometimes the dreaded hiccups come upon him. In this picture he puts his hand to his chest in an attempt to clear his throat and prevent hiccups from coming.

No luck, he's got to wait it out. This is in between hiccups.

He loves getting his hair washed...most of the time.

After all that, it's time to get swaddled back up and start the process all over again.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Friday, November 14, 2008

First time out without him


Last Sunday evening, Shelly and I ventured out on our own for the first time without Anderson with us. Many of you know my favorite band is the Eagles. And you may recall we flew out to Boston back in July to see them before we knew that were coming to Kansas City. Well, since Shelly's due date was November 7th and the Eagles were coming to town on the 9th I figured it would be impossible to go.

Lo and behold, the little fellow came a couple weeks early so it became a possibility. Our good friends John and Cari Beth were at the house last week when I was talking about it. Cari Beth volunteered to keep Anderson and said we should go. I figured it was a kind gesture but said we'd just stay home with him. But she kept asking through the week and even on Sunday afternoon. So we made the decision to go. I made a mad dash down to the Sprint Center to get tickets and they had just released some good ones. I bought two at face value on the floor 15 rows in front of the stage.


So it all worked out. And of course Shelly and Cari Beth were exchanging text messages and Blackberry pics throughout the evening. And it's not like we know more about keeping a baby than Cari Beth. She has a beautiful 15-month old daughter, Ava (pictured below from their hospital visit). Thank you Cari Beth! We owe ya.

The concert was awesome! Those guys just keep getting better. Shelly chose not to go with the leather pants but she looked really cute in her dress and suede boots.

She said this was her "push present" to me, like I need a present for my role. We're going to pick her present up tomorrow or maybe this afternoon. I'll post a picture of it, it's really cool.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Top Google searches so far

I'm just not sure how parents raised children before the internet was invented. When Shelly tells her mom about a baby raising tip or some advice she read on the internet her mom says sarcastically, "Well my gosh, it's a wonder we were able to raise kids back then". But truly, Google has prevented multiple calls to the pediatrician the past 2 weeks.

So here are the top 10 Google searches I've made in the past 2 weeks. I plan to update this on occasion but here's what I've asked so far:

1. Do babies have kneecaps?
2. Is it harmful for a dog to eat baby poop?
3. Why do we use the phrase “sleep like a baby” when babies wake up every 3 hours?
4. Is it normal to go through 17 diapers in one day?
5. What is the best way to keep my newborn son from peeing on me?
6. When does a baby’s poop begin to stink?
7. Why are there no tears when my baby cries?
8. When can my baby sleep through the night without being fed?
9. Why does my baby choose to sleep all day then play and cry during the night?
10. Does Sam’s Club sell wet wipes in bulk packages?

Any of these sound familiar to ya'll when you had your first child?

And I'll add one more since I've had a bit of a stomach virus this week.

11. Is it okay for adults to use Boudreaux's Butt Paste?

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Monday, November 10, 2008

Good chili weather for the entire family


Anderson and I had chili today. I had chili for lunch and he had what looked like chili in his diaper. So the picture above is cute and all and looks like he's smiling. But I've realized this is the look he has when he's crapping his drawers.

This is a 4-day weekend for me for Veteran's Day and we've all enjoyed our time so far. The picture below is me combing Anderson's hair before church yesterday morning. He likes it combed parted on the left and combed to the right.

One thing we've learned when preparing to go somewhere with a timeline is we need to add about 30 minutes to take into account unexpected pees, poops, pukes, and changes of clothes. We thought we had a good plan yesterday morning but in the end we were scrambling around the house in a rush to leave on time. The result was (and you may notice this in the picture) I committed a big fashion faux pas by wearing dress pants with no belt. So I figured I'd point that out before one of my sisters do. But hey, once I arrived at church and realized it I just untucked my shirt a little to cover it up. Worked like a charm.

We then went to lunch with our friends Larry and Kim Parr and also Terry Elmore. After some pizza we all headed back to the house where we were met by our friends Jeff Hoffman and Trey and Carrie Sebus. We all attempted a photo shoot by lying a black blanket in the floor while three of us took pictures. Anderson fought it for a while before just giving up and laying there. The look he has below pretty much sums it up. Looks like he's already mastered the evil eye.

I'll add this picture below to show how lanky he seems. Born just under 20 inches I'm not exactly sure how long he is now but some of the clothes that didn't fit two weeks ago now fit well. Check out those long skinny legs.

More later. I want to tell you about our first outing last night leaving Anderson with a babysitter, one of Shelly's good friends.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Free Willy


One week after coming home from the hospital, I think we’re pretty much on a routine now. Eat, sleep, poop, repeat. And that pretty much goes for all three of us, four counting Daphne.

Anderson lost his circumcision ring a couple of days ago (as he was supposed to at this point). What does have to do with anything you ask? Well, that means the likelihood of Shelly or me getting peed on has increased by about 80%. The first day without it weighing his wiener down he decided to try it out while I was changing him. At first the stream hit the wall behind him in full force. As it subsided a bit it then began hitting him directly on the forehead, prompting him to cry. It subsided a bit more as he cried with his mouth wide open. And I think you can imagine where it landed that time. Let’s just say milk wasn’t the only smell on his breath for a while.

Shelly is still hanging in there with the breastfeeding thing. But since she isn’t producing enough milk yet we’re supplementing him with Similac. Between breast milk and formula in the fridge I really have to watch what I pour into my Cocoa Krispies.

Anderson is non-discriminative when it comes to breast feeding. Sometimes he tries Shelly as he is supposed to but sometimes it’s me. While holding him, I often feel him rooting around on my chest like he’s looking for a quick drink. So between him trying to breastfeed off of me and Daphne trying to hump my leg I feel violated at least once a day now.

Anyway, I know you enjoy pictures now more than hearing me babble. So here are a few.

This picture was taken today after I got home from work. I was holding Anderson when Daphne walked across my lap and decided to join him for a little nap.

Shelly's mom and dad stayed with us for a couple of days this week and were a big help. Here's one of grandpa and grandson.

Bath time. The boy had some sheer terror looks there before he realized he enjoyed it.





Goodnight for now.

Mike
Kansas City, MO

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Anderson's First Halloween


We enjoyed our first family Halloween last night. As you can see, Anderson enjoyed it by taking a little snooze. He was awake most of the evening primarily due to all the little trick or treaters ringing the doorbell. But of course by the time it was picture time he had clocked out for the evening, enjoying one of his 15 hours of daily sleep he's been getting (hopefully I don't jinx it). Daphne was a bumble bee. She loved wearing the body portion but wasn't real fond of the little cap.

Shelly bought this little outfit for him a few weeks ago. And just last Saturday she had the receipt out and was ready to take it back, thinking he would come after Halloween.

So I think he was happy to show off his outfit to our friends Becky and Cliff, who stopped by last night, and also to the pediatrician yesterday morning. By the way, in true Mike Essary tradition, he whizzed all over the doctor and the table and wall. My mom informed me that was one of my favorite things to do as a baby also.

So the boy makes me proud already.

Mike
Kansas City, MO