Latest developments.

Maureen is really growing quickly and everyday brings a new development. She's been trying to vocalize more here lately. It seems that when we try to talk to her, she can't get a word (or at least a sound) in. I guess she's polite and a good listener. I found, however, if I sing one note (Oooooooo) she will pipe in with enthusiasm. It's great fun and we can't wait for more of it.

We've also noticed a determination on her part to roll over on her tummy. She has not yet been successful, but she tries until she is frustrated and exhausted. It is extremely cute, and we are her cheerleaders in this effort.

Mojo is also picking up on her dad's bad habit of being an avid TV watcher. She really enjoyed last night's CSI (the original, of course.) We inherited a Baby Mozart video from Steve and Allie D., and it has progressed to whatever is on at the time (including Oprah, heaven forbid!)

Maureen is still sleeping very well through the night (approximately 11pm through to 8am-ish.) We feel very lucky right now, not to mention well rested. Next week marks Kristin's return to work, and Maureen's new adventures in the world of child care. Though our dear friend Amy is the administrator, and she promised to visit Mo each day, we are very sad to have to go this route. It's only 4 days a week for 5 hours a day, but it's not going to be easy on Kristin. And Maureen is going to be exposed to all those germs. I realize they need to go on and get sick sometime, but we're not looking forward to it.

Though I am happy to see some At Home Time I am pleased that Maureen got a ton of family time in and was able to be around so many different and interesting people during the holidays. We have one more outing left on New Year's Eve - a party at our good friends Katie and Drew's house (castle?) We're bringing the pack and play for this one and it should be a good kick off for the new year (or the perfect ending of the old?) Anyhow, today is a half day at work, and I am anxious for another long weekend.

A Merry Christmas

Very fortunate people.

As I mentioned, Aunt Carrie was the last of the aunts and uncles to meet Baby Mojo. That all changed yesterday as she and special gentleman friend Gabe (boyfriend, that is) came in from Alaska. She is on some tree hugging mission over in Ketchikan and Gabe has been elected vice dogcatcher or something of the sort. They moved to Alaska from Seattle maybe 4 or 6 months ago. I'm probably not the best one to relay the story here - facts get a little fuzzy with me.

Anyway, we have completed the familial circle here and everybody loves everyone. It's going to be a great holiday.

On another note, I want to apologize to Brother Joe for busting his chops about canceling Christmas - he didn't cancel it, he just changed it a bit. I need to embrace change.

Today is a half day at the salt mines and I will most likely not get a ton of work done. Advertising shuts down in this town between Christmas and New Years. January 2 is when everyone freaks out and wants to be back on TV or Radio, or in the newspaper and I will be up to my bung hole in phone calls, broadcast orders and threatening e-mails. Tis the life of an Ad Man!

Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that we are excited about Aunt Chrissy coming to town too.

Sorry.

I haven't been as quick to write lately, mainly for two reasons:
1. Maureen has been sleeping well into the morning, so there are no more 5am entries. She sleeps longer - I sleep longer.
2. We are getting used to having a baby, so I'm running out of things to talk about. I could go into some poop issues, and the countless versions of formula we've been testing, but that is not very news-worthy. I will have more to talk about in the coming weekend and more pictures too. Highlights will be the first Christmas, meeting Aunt Carrie for the first time, seeing Uncle Dolberry and family again, parties at Grandpa Joe's, Grandpa Paul's, and a wild, rockin New Years the following weekend. For now, keep checking in. It will get better. I swear.

Santa C at the BCC.

Mojo got to meet Mr & Mrs Claus today at the Bonnycastle club. It definitely beats going to the mall to see him - it's harder for Dad to get a beer at the mall. When we first got there, Santa Clown (very scary to any toddler) was making festive holiday balloon animals. He wasn't the official Santa - Santa's wagon (?) was pulled by his reindeer (?) down Bonnycastle Avenue and parallel parked in front of the club. Maureen did great, though Mrs. Claus berated Santa for not properly supporting her head. I wonder if you can sue Santa Claus?

On four different occasions someone called Mojo a he - I guess that's why little girls Mo's age wear pink. When we got back to our table after sitting on Santa's lap and cousin Gus opened Maureen's present, we saw that she got a toy train. I'm sure baby girls will play with trains too.

Last night was a family Christmas party on my mother's side. Each year there's one or two new babies brought into the rather large family. Their first year they are the superstars of the party. The following years they become part of the background noise. This year it was Mojo's turn to shine - and she did her part to work the room. If there was ever a time for her to catch a bug, it was last night as she was passed from person to person like a football. Everyone seemed to love her and we got many compliments on her beauty.

Our little cheerleader

Up-to-the-minute photos.

Recent photo.

Per the request of anonymous (who were you?) I am posting a recent picture of Maureen, with her Grandpa Joe. He purchased the hat for her and brought it by the house last Sunday, as we were decorating the tree. Mo wasn't much help - she wouldn't even work the lower limbs. Anyhow, we are excited about the up-coming holidays, and have a busy weekend of festivities ahead of us.

Fierce competition.

Having dropped in the rankings from number 2 to number three in the house (I am #4), Jezebel is resorting to extreme measures to gain attention.

Happy Birthday Mama.

Today is Kristin's actual birthday though we've been celebrating all week. Saturday was the day-long shopping spree in Chicago - very nice yet very tiring. We managed to get into the Frontera Grill for a wonderful lunch with cocktails. We had a great time in Chi-town, but we were ready to come home to our baby girl. She was in good hands all day with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Paul. Though she was asleep when we got home, and pretty much slept through to the next morning, she remembered who we were when we finally reconvened.

Mo and I briefly visited Grandpa Joe, uncle Joe and aunt Erin Sunday, and then it was off to Kristin's family for more birthday celebrations. Tonight will be low key, but we will finish the birthday celebration for the year.

Mush-time (not for the readers with weak stomachs.)
Kristin: I love you very much and would not trade the last year and a half for the world. As I stated in our vows (paraphrasing - I can't remember everything), I fall in love with you a little more each day. And now, with our little baby getting bigger and more beautiful, our love is growing deeper and dearer. (Queue the violins.) Happy Birthday Babe, I look forward to many years of love and celebration with you.

Survivor.

Twice now Mo has cried uncontrollably while I hold her, only to be consoled by mama. No fair indeed. There seems to be a female alliance building up during the day while I'm away at work and I'm afraid I'll be voted out at the next tribal counsel. My only hope is to win the next immunity challenge. The Eye of the Tiger my ass.

International hold two babies day.

Sunday was International Hold Two Babies day and was celebrated in two incidences at our house. The first was by good friend Anne, holding Adeline (of the Steven and Jenny family) and later by Uncle John with Cousin Claire. It's supposed to bring you luck through the end of the current year.

Mojo's doctor visit.

Here are the results of today's doctor visit:
1. She is in the 75 %ile for weight and head circumference.
2. She is in the 90 %ile for height.
Bottom line, she's a hoss. She weighed in at 13 pounds, 4 ounces.
Maureen is at home resting comfortably after a traumatic 4-shot doctor's visit.
Poor baby.

12-2-06 update.

I realize I haven't written anything in a while, so wanted to give you the update. Yesterday I had no electricity at work due to strong wind. Without electricity, our phone system was down, not to mention our computer system. I spent a half day at the office without being able to do anything - it's amazing how crippling it is without electricity. Not a typewriter in sight. I went home for lunch and decided I could get more done from home than if I was in the office, so I stayed home with Kristin and Mojo. I could check e-mails from our laptop, and return phone calls on the cell. Ah, technology! It was kind of nice being home - and with me here, Kristin was able to do some projects she had on her list. I don't think my boss would ever let me work from home full time, but it would be nice right now.

Granny D was nice enough to come over last night to watch Mo while we ran off for a bit of happy hour merriment. With babysitters we now have high expectations for fun: "We better enjoy this while we can." We were only gone for a couple of hours, and when we got back, we all watched the Da Vinci Code together before GD went home. It was a nice visit - and it seemed like Mo had fun with her grandmother.

Today is Saturday, December 2 and we're off to buy a Douglas Fir from troop 42 over at St. Raphael (pronounced Rafe-yell in these parts.) My brother John was an Eagle Scout with this troop and my parents suffered through many freezing nights pushing fir, so I feel some sense of obligation to them. I was a boy scout too, but had to quit by the time I reached Tenderfoot status for my football career. Ha! Speaking of brother John, he is selling his house and Kristin is the realtor. She has an open house tomorrow and I'll be spending time with Moj. It's cold right now, but if it's nice we may head back to the zoo and try to get our money's worth out of our membership.

Next weekend will be a huge step in parenthood for us, as we are taking a day trip without the babe, to Chicago for Kristin's birthday. We are flying up and back same day to do some shopping and to hang out and have fun. I hope Kristin can enjoy it, knowing that Maureen will be in good hands while we are away. I'm sure Moj won't miss us.

Virtual Hug.

Kristin just sent me this Virtual Hug from Mojo, and I am passing it along to you. This made my day - I hope it makes yours.

Wow.

I just can't believe this photo. It makes me realize this is not a cute little game we're playing here - she's an actual person and I really need to be a responsible father and try to provide to the best of my ability for her. No fooling around. I've never had something in my life that scared me so much but filled me with such joy at the same time. It's 1:19am and I can't sleep. Can you tell?

Four-day Weekend.

It's been great having a four-day weekend from the salt mines. Thursday was a long day indeed. We made our first long distance day-trip with Mojo and she handled it like an old pro, sleeping through most of the car ride. We rode up to Indianapolis with Mo's Aunt Chrissy, caravanning with Grandpa Joe, Uncle Joe and Aunt Erin (who also slept - talk about a professional sleeper) in the other car. This was the official introduction to my side of the family, once we finally arrived at my Aunt Kathleen's. Due to sickness and other commitments, Maureen was the only munchkin present and, by default, was the center of attention. She worked the room like she knew what was expected of her, smiling and cooing like she was in a Huggies' commercial (BTW: we are not fans of Huggies; we prefer Pampers instead - Huggies leak!) We played the resemblance game, and I think I'm leading right now. Personally, I don't think she looks more like me or Kristin. Maureen looks like Maureen.

We spent a couple of hours up north and made the return trip home. Once we got back to the car, it was off to Kristin's Aunt Linda's house for another dose of introductions. Again, Mo worked it and melted a few more hearts, though she had a little more competition - but then again, who's keeping score? Finally, exhaustion set in - for Papa Sparky. It was time to go home before I had a total meltdown.

Yesterday the family unit went to the zoo for the first of many walks to come with little Mo. She slept through the lemurs, elephants, giraffes and lions but regained consciousness by the time we hit the gorilla exhibit. I'm not sure how many animals she actually focused on, but the 60+ degree weather was more reason than we needed to have her out and about. She really hasn't had too many outdoor days and I believe she enjoyed the light breeze on her chubby cheeks.

I've included some photos of Maureen's Thanksgiving outfit - the only shots remembered to take that day. Talk about bad parents. If anyone out there reading this took photos on Thanksgiving day, we'd appreciate a few e-mailed shots. We did, however, want to make sure we took photos of her funky turkey booties. We also have some zoo shots.

I have one more day of my Thanksgiving Holiday before heading back to the mines. Before you know it, I will be writing about our Christmas experience. Hard to believe.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Today is Maureen's first thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for. To start, we are thankful that Maureen is with us, that she is healthy, beautiful and is a joy to behold. We are thankful to have a nice new house; friends that we enjoy and can count on at a moment's notice; and, most of all, a loving, supporting family. Maureen is so fortunate to have grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who love her and are involved in her life. I love the fact that she is able to get to know her great grandparents Betty and Doc (pictured here). We will enjoy this day with our families, stuff ourselves and watch a ton of football. We start our holiday by trekking to Indianapolis to my aunt Kathleen's house to spend time with my extended family. Then we will drive back and make it in time for desert at the home of Kristin's aunt Linda. It will be a very long day for Maureen, but we hope she will sleep through the four hours spent in the car. Wish us luck.

We wish you and your family a very happy Thanksgiving, especially to Aunt Carrie and her friend Gabe in Alaska, and to Uncle Dolberry, Aunt Kristy and cousin APD in NC. Also, we'll miss Uncle John, Aunt Mickey and cousin Claire Bear who are spending Thanksgiving with Mickey's family. We'll miss you today!

Say Cheese, chapter 3.

Our friend Melissa came over to shoot some shots of the baby and of the family - we hope to be able to be organized this year and send out X-mas cards. It's so funny what three grown adults do to get a little baby to smile for the camera. Mo really wanted nothing to do with the photo session. She just wanted to eat, fuss and sleep. I think we got some keepers though.

Other events this weekend included a happy hour jaunt to Za's Pizza, dinner at our friends Patrick and Amy, and today we will see Grandpa Joe and then off to Great Grandma Betty's house for dinner. All in all a busy weekend.

Great Grandpa.

I just got this photo of Maureen's Great Grandfather Joe at age 14 from cousin Dan. It apparently documents his becoming a golf pro. Very cool.

Don's Ducks at the Club.

Last night was Maureen's introduction to dartball with our team, Don's Ducks, at the Bonnycastle club. Dartball is dart baseball, you know, the flip side of any standard dart board. However, at the Bonnycastle Club, the boards are 4' square - much bigger than your run of the mill dart board. Before we started playing with the Ducks, Kristin's parents were considered the youngsters on the team. The majority of our teammates are well into their seventies, and all of them are better at throwing darts than yours truly. We experienced the loss of two of our team mates last year to cancer, one being Don himself. Very Sad.

There are three boards at the Bonnycastle club, two downstairs and one upstairs, and they play 2 nine inning games every other Wednesday. We've missed the majority of the season due to Mo's birth, and though I am still on the team, we doubt we will make many games.

We dressed Mojo up in her little duckie hat and took her to the upstairs board to watch a devastating loss to the Board Busters (Board Busters 7, Don's Ducks 5.) I've got to say, the team was appropriately excited to see little Mo, and Mo did her best to cheer the ducks on. She was all smiles. She was a bit perplexed when everyone stood for the seventh inning stretch, singing Take me out to the Ballgame, but I always thought that was weird too, to tell you the truth.

We cut out after the first game of the double header because of the smoke, and heard that the Ducks suffered another loss. This time it was the Socks & Jocks (10 to 8). A very disappointing night indeed for the Ducks.

MoJo TV.

A big shout out goes to cousin Jenny and her husband Chris for the Summer video monitor they gave us as a shower present. Though the thought of baby surveillance at first seemed a bit too much, it has helped as Mo is sleeping later into the mornings, while I'm doping up with my first few shots of caffeine. I'm just wondering how to use it once she's too old to monitor (or is she ever going to be too old?) Maybe we'll hook it in to the doorbell system, though I haven't seen too many ax murderers or Jehovah Witnesses in the area. Perhaps we could set up a TV studio for MO and push her into the weatherman profession like uncle Pat - isn't that what he does? We could keep an eye on the neighbors? I'm sure it has other applications than baby watching.

Granny.

Zzzzzzz.

I haven't had much to write about lately because Mo has discovered the power of sleep. She is the laziest baby I've ever encountered. She's been sleeping so much Kristin called in to the doctor's office to see if it's normal. A nurse called us back to tell us to enjoy it while we can. For all we know, she could have been the cleaning lady on duty at the doctor's office telling us this. I guess we should enjoy it, but it's hard to interact with a sleeping baby. When she's awake she is sharp and smiling and super cute - and she is eating a healthy amount. She doesn't seem lethargic or sick. We are guessing she's hitting some major growth spurts and this is how she copes. Today Mo is going to a baby shower being thrown by Kristin's side of the family at her Aunt Linda's. We are hard pressed to figure out what we still need; it seems like we have so much already, and so much we are not using. She'll most likely sleep through the whole party; and her mom should just sit back and enjoy it while she can.

...and speaking of Cheesy.

Maureen says "Happy Birthday Uncle Joby!"

Say Cheesy.

Kristin took Moj to another annoying PC Penny photo session yesterday - for her one month birthday photo. Apparently they don't manage their reservations very well. Like the Seinfeld rant goes, "You know how to take reservations, you just don't know how to hold reservations." Kristin asked a sales person what the heck? She said they usually run a half hour late. Here's an idea, tell the customer to come a half hour later than the reservation time. Any way, she was a very frustrated mommy, and Mojo was fit to be tied. And the photo proofs weren't great. They had her pose like Ingre's La Grand Odalisque, another like Manet's Olympia (I knew my college art minor would be useful in adult life.) I'm not sure who the Artiste was at the JCP, but these poses were a bit too Artsy-fartsy for old dad. Kristin ordered a more age-appropriate pose, with clothes on, but was a bit put out by the whole experience.

I want to apologize right now to our yet to be born second child. I'm sorry that we will not have as many photos of you - it doesn't mean that we won't love you just as much.

More photos, less talk.

The above-mentioned title comes independently from both of my sisters Chrissy and Erin. I will abide this time. This photo was taken just minutes ago and documents the last wearing of the cow pjs as they are already becoming too small for Mo.

Repetition...Repetition...Repetition

Maureen loves her Fisher Price Aquarium Cradle Swing (on loan from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants). It really is a nice contraption; a plush-pillow top seat, a mobile featuring stuffed, Nemo-like fish circling overhead, an aquarium globe hub inside the circling Nemos, a swivel function that allows either side -to-side or head-to-toe swinging, and your audio choice of waterfall effects or a musical medley. Herein lies the problem - not a huge problem, maybe it's a slight irritation, like one of those pimples on the side of your nose. Though the musical medley offers a nice variety of soothing tunes, they still bore into your brain and feed on you cerebellum. The other day I got out of the shower and Kristin asked, "Did you realize you were singing track number three from the Fisher Price Aquarium Cradle Swing (on loan from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants)? Keep in mind, the songs that play on the Fisher Price Aquarium Cradle Swing (on loan from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants) don't have words. These songs are so much a part of my every day life that I am visualizing lyrics, picking out wicked ukulele solos in time, even scatting in harmony (at least my ear recognizes it as harmony) to the Fisher Price Aquarium Cradle Swing (on loan from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants). Bottom line: it relaxes Moj (in accordance to the Boese/Koch Foundation's mission statement) and is worth any torture her parents must endure. You just apply a little dab of butt paste and move on.

Addendum: After writing this entry the author learned that the Fisher Price Aquarium Cradle Swing is not on loan from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants. It was purchased from the Boese/Koch Foundation for Soothing Infants (final sale price undisclosed.)

Go Cards!

We are big Cardinal fans here and enjoyed the heck out of the game last night, though Mo slept through the whole game and Kristin fought off the Sandman throughout the fourth quarter. My only complaint is with the media trying to push this National Championship hope down our and the player's throats. Both the national and local reporters kept prodding the players about their chances to take all the marbles, and the players, God love them, kept saying their focus is on their next game against Rutgers. They still have a rough season ahead of them and they cannot spend any time getting lazy, over confident or cock-sure. They need to stay the course (grin.)

Anyway, back to Maureen. She is still awesome and we've decided to keep her. I believe our warranty is up anyway. We are looking forward to another weekend together. We are going to be focused and get something accomplished in the house - perhaps a new bed and some blinds for the house. We'll see how it goes.

Rainy Halloween.

We ordered pizza last night thinking we would be too busy tending to the multitude of trick-or-treaters we would encounter at our new home. Instead we got rain and 4 kiddos, plus two college students collecting canned food for a charity. I picked up the pea pod costume from brother John earlier in the day, but we wound up not using it because of the weather. We also had some other costume options - pumpkin wear from good friend Julie M. and a cowgirl outfit from Aunt Kathy and cousin Abbey - all cute and appreciated, yet unused. After a while we loaded the Mo-nster up and went to Grampa Joe's for a quick visit. It was a fairly uneventful first Halloween, though Mojo Filter won't remember. We did get a cool little outfit from our good friend Watt-sy. Here are some photos from Halloween, and from the past weekend. Enjoy.