Very long weekend

I am sorry to say that Maureen's great grandmother Mary Josephine died last week. She was the inspiration behind the name MAuReen Josephine. We traveled up to Akron on Thursday morning and stayed through Saturday morning. Friday was a combined visitation and funeral, and we caravan-ed to Youngstown and back for the burial. Though I never met her, it was a very sad occasion and I especially feel for Grandpa Paul. I also have great respect for him because, even through his grief, he organized the whole weekend, arranged every detail, and made everyone feel welcome and comfortable. His new nickname is "the Glue".

Maureen made it through the trip in great fashion once again. She is becoming a pro at long distance car rides, though the car seat is becoming more of a nuisance for her. She developed what the doctors call a sand paper rash over her little body on the way up to Akron, though it did not seem to bother her. We called her doctor and they told us to give her Benedryl for 24 hrs and go to a doctor if it did not clear. We went to the immediate care center up in Akron the next day and they confirmed that it was a rash, but couldn't tell us why she had it. $50, thank you very much. Anyway, it was a relief that it wasn't anything to worry about.

Though the reason for the trip was not pleasant, it was nice to see that side of the family, especially Aunt Carrie from Washington, and Uncle Dolberry and family from North Carolina. Maureen hasn't seen Aunt Carrie since Christmas 06 and if was nice for them to reconnect. Also, it was nice to see all the cousins, aunts & uncles (shout out to C-Lo!)

Saturday brought a very disappointing loss for the Cardinals at the hands of the Wildcats. What a bummer.

We didn't have a chance to take too many photos, but here are a few.

ps: Mojo's tooth #2 has popped through. There seems to be debate as to whether or not the teething caused the rash. Grandmothers say yes, doctors say no.

Movie #2

Just a test

Fun Weekend.

Maureen had her first slumber party - Aunt Erin came over to babysit while we went downtown for Kristin's 20-year reunion (thanks again Erin!) We stayed overnight at the brand new Marriott, where the event took place. Kristin had a lot of fun; I drank a lot of beer. A win-win for everyone.
Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at friends Katie and Drew's house, in good company with friends Steve and Allie and Mark and Anessa. Discussions revealed a hilarious story about one of the above mentioned diner's antics at a party, in his or her underwear, doing the moon walk. Suffice to say, it wasn't Kristin.
Yesterday was family day - Krispy Kremes at dad's house with my family; dinner at Kristin's.

Walk the walk

Knoxville trip

We finally made it to Knoxville TN to visit Mojo's Aunt Chrissy. We got there around noon on Sunday and got home sometime after 8pm yesterday. It was a very relaxing trip. Highlights included vegging out on her couch and watching TV, eating and sleeping! We also made a trip downtown to see the World's Fair Sun Sphere, which did not have a wig shop on the ground level. Maureen had fun swimming in the neighborhood community pool - at poolside, she stood up, unassisted from a sitting position, all by herself. No pulling up on anything other than her legs. It was very exciting. Mo and Chrissy got a little bonding time as some of the photos will demonstrate.

Today Maureen is 11 months old. One more month and it's party time! Hard to believe!

Today is also back to school for Mojo. I can't wait to hear how well she did. She has changed so much since she was last there. She will be one of the big kids this year in the baby room. Once she starts walking we hope she will graduate to the next level - we have to wait for an opening though. Well - back to work. Enjoy the photos.

Mr. Tooth

Mojo definitely has a tooth. We're a bit concerned that it has arms, eyes, a mouth and dresses in Western Wear.

A day at the state fair

Note to self

Ever since my trip to Italy, near the turn of the century (it's OK to use that phrase, right?) I've been hooked on a double shot of espresso in the morning. Call it substance abuse if you may, but it's a routine and I'm a person who needs routines - not to mention the jolt. This particular routine starts with my trying to sneak down to the kitchen without making enough noise to wake Maureen; Kristin is usually stirring a bit, getting ready for her shower. I need a little peace and quiet in the morning, ten minutes is good - twenty is heaven. Back to the coffee. Espresso comes in a cylinder can and is ground up to a powdery substance, much like baby formula comes in a powdery form in a cylinder can. I put two scoops of espresso into the little filter cup for my Krups machine. Two scoops of baby formula powder makes 4 ounces of formula. You see where I'm going here. I guess I was extra groggy this morning and the synapses were not firing properly. The formula did not quite make it to the machine, but maybe there's something to this mistake. Pre-creaming your coffee? Anywho, have a good Friday and an excellent weekend.

Oh, I forgot to mention the big news from yesterday. Maureen actually said Mama. Clear as day and we have it on video to prove it. This is much more important than my coffee story. I told you already that the synapses are not firing. Ciao!

One mystery solved

Again this morning after I made the last blog entry and while Maureen was sitting in her highchair for breakfast, she broke out in "na-na-na-na-na". Originally we thought she was trying to say "mama" but it was definitely "na...". We thought it could mean grandma, but weren't sure. Finally, this morning, she was saying it and pointing in a direction of the kitchen. I went to the approximate point and picked up a banana. Bingo. She kicked her legs and gave me a look like she was thinking, "finally you big jerk", and she happily ate her banana bits.
Case closed.

Screaming

Maureen is getting good at letting out drum-piercing screams for no apparent reason, at a moment's notice. At least I can't figure out what she wants. Last night I was with her and she started saying "na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na" and then put her open hand across her collar bone, as if she was acting like a southern lady with the vapors, and let out a scream that set every dog in the neighborhood to howling. It's as if she is mimicking something.
She also threw her first tantrum on Monday evening, after her bath. She wanted to chew on the baby lotion, while we wanted to dry her off, apply the same lotion on her, and get her dressed. She let out the most pitiful cry, kicked her sausage legs and beat her little fists against the changing table. The hardest part was suppressing the laughter and treating it with stern love. WE got our way in the end because she got dry, lotioned up and dressed for bed. She soon got over her rage as well and returned to being the sweet little girl that we enjoy so much.

Video of the week #2: Shake shake shake

One of our good friends Patrick made a nice, wood-crafted rattle for Maureen, complete with her initials stamped. She really loves playing with it.

Random photos over the last couple of weeks.

Video of the week: laughing in the face of danger

Who needs precaution. I laugh at your attempt to keep me safe!

Please keep reading.

It's been kind of busy here lately. Just a quick recap of recent events:
Maureen seems to be getting a little more cranky these days. We attribute it to potential teeth cutting in, but her sleep patterns have been varied, and her schedules have changed in the last week. School has started, so Aunt Kathy and GMK are not available for watching Maureen during the day. Kristin is doing some shifting of her schedule to accommodate, and we are using Maureen's teacher a bit more for day care. Mo loves Miss U, and vice versa.
It was nice to visit with Aunt Chrissy during her week-long stay - we met up with her and GPJ at the St. Joe's picnic on Saturday. GPJ won Maureen an ELMO basketball, and I won a big pan of brownies at the cake booth - 100 was the winning number.
Friday night was date night so Maureen spent a few hours with Cousin Claire, Uncle John and Aunt Mickie. She was in heaven with all the toys at her fingertips. From what I hear, Maureen wanted to play with anything Claire was playing with at the time. She hasn't had a lot of playtime with children close to her age since the end of the Parents Day Out year, so it was nice to see her with her cousin. PDO starts in less than one month and we should back into a normal routine once again.

Update 8/9/07

We believe Maureen is done with baby food and prefers to feed herself. She goes through spurts of what she wants to eat, but for the most part she likes bananas, pretzels, bread, chicken and turkey (oh, yeah, and CHEESE). We need to start pushing veggies a little more now, but she seems to be a pretty good little eater. She is taking huge goose steps when she is being walked while holding on to some one's hands. Yesterday morning we had a picture of a bear and she was making growling noises imitating what the bear says. She spent the day at GMK and GMP's house yesterday and you could tell she had a fun and active time. They have the perfect family room for someone Mo's age, a plush carpet and plenty of room to roam with few trouble spots. The steps will be an issue in a few months. We are really thinking about her one year birthday coming up. Hard to believe in some respects.

She is starting to stir in her bed now - I have to go get her ready for the day. More to come.

Photos from "Great News" Entry

Photo 1: Erin & Jeff

Photo 2: Mojo looking for an escape route

Photo 3: Chrissy juggling children

Photo 4: Mojo, Claire & Bear

Photo 5: Cousin Claire

Great News!

Great news, Mojo’s favorite aunt (besides Aunt Kathy and Aunt Chrissy - ooops, and Carrie, Kristi & Mickey - thanks babe) got a big ol’ diamond ring from her now-fiancé Jeff. It happened Saturday morning. We were able to see the newly engaged couple a few hours later as my family participated in a special fund-raiser walk in memory of Jeff’s sister, Ethel, and for the rehabilitation lounge at a local hospital in her name. The walk also supports projects such as a pediatric rehab lectureship series and a summer pediatric day camp program. The event was very nice – they had T-shirts designed for all participants, a bike ride and a walk for all levels, chances sold for a bevy of prizes, a yummy bar-b-que lunch, and Radio Disney on hand to entertain the kids. The only slight down-side was the scorching weather, but that was not a big deal at all.
Erin and Jeff seem very happy. We had a cookout last night that was originally planned to welcome Maureen’s Aunt Chrissy – she is in town for a week on vacation – but it turned into an engagement party. I don’t think Chrissy minded sharing the spotlight. Maureen was very excited to see Cousin Claire. Right now I think the age gap is still a bit too big for them to focus their efforts on playing together, but it is not too far off in the future (Claire is almost exactly one year older than Mo.)
This week is quite busy, though we hope Aunt Chrissy will be able to babysit one evening so she can catch up with Mo, and so we can have a night out on the town. I guess I better get that nailed down. I will add some photos of the weekend later tonight.

Photo of the day.

Bathing Beauty.

Taken moments ago at the pool.

Thanks Dad!

Thanks goes out to Grandpa Joe for watching Mo on short notice yesterday. And also to Uncle Joe and Aunt Erin for back-up support. Maureen had a great time.

End of July, 2007

It's becoming harder and harder to write entries about how Maureen is progressing because the changes, though monumental, are also gradual. She is crawling around like she's always known how, says the most amazing things and eats real foods like turkey, chicken, grapes, bread, pasta, and most of all, cheese. She loves Kraft Singles and will push anything else out of her way to get at it. I have a feeling it won't be long before she adds shells to her weekly staple. When I say shells, I am referring to Kristin's family comfort food, which is basically shell pasta covered in tomato juice. I am not allowed to publicly mock this delicacy as the roots run deep and too many key people swear by this closely guarded recipe. I will not go into the smell of this treat, especially when served as breakfast fare. This group of shell devotees are also the Cheez-it Ambassadors and heaven forbid you call them Cheese Nips in front of any one of these ambassadors (though I must admit, it is fun to push the limits.)

Back to Mojo - as mentioned in previous entries, she is crawling and pulling herself up to a standing position. She is really into playing with dolls - her favorites include Baby (one of those soft bodied dolls with a plastic head, hands and feet), bi-lingual Elmo, Puppers (her plush doggy who has been with her since the beginning) and Monkey (a stuffed Monkey that I actually gave to Kristin on our first Valentines Day together - we call each other Monkey - kissy-kissy!) Maureen understands who's who and can correctly pick out baby for kisses when instructed to do so.

Last night we went down to the riverfront for a concert on the lawn, an event that happens every last Wednesday of the month, sponsored by the local public radio station. One of my clients is a sponsor of the event so we get preferred parking - last night's password was Fancy Pants. I felt like an idiot yelling out "Fancy Pants" from my car window to the parking lot attendee but the reward was well worth the embarrassment. Maureen saw all kinds of interesting sights: mostly babies, doggies, yuppies and hippies. She loved sitting on the grass and grabbing handfuls. She even danced to the music.

Her latest words include Ba-Ba (we think it's either Mama, baby or bottle, but we are not sure - GPP thinks it means Grandpa, but we're positive that is incorrect) and E-I-E-I-E-I, which I'm pretty sure means E-I-E-I-O, as in Old McDonald (we prefer the Irish Mc version over the Scottish Mac version). We are still waiting for the first tooth to push through and keep saying "any day now." Many babies we know in her age range already have teeth. We will be a bit sad to see them because her smile is so cute without them - plus we know the process of cutting teeth is not the most comfortable for the baby. But you can't stop progress.

Well, I think this is enough for now. Here's the most up-to-date photo. More to come.

Christmas in July.

We went to Holiday World/Splashin Safari yesterday. Maureen loved spending time in the water with Granny.

Here's proof!

SHE CAN CRAWL

Maureen Josephine officially crawled, on her own, for more than just a couple of creeps yesterday! Hurray! Now it's time to baby proof the house.

Kissing the baby.

Here's Mojo kissing her baby doll and finishing up in the splits.

Elmo chair.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Apparently, as Kathy and the kids (including Maureen) strolled through the aisles of Toys R Us, Mojo was hit by a lightning bolt. Her eye caught the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her nine months on earth. Her body stiffened to absorb the shock; her eyes got as big as, well, Elmo's; and her mouth made her now famous Ooooh Ooooh (picture Arnold Horshack when he raised his hand in Kotter's classroom.) What she locked in on was the Elmo chair you see in the photo above. Kathy did not buy the chair on the spot, but was so moved by Maureen's excitement that she had to go back and buy it for her. It was a very nice gesture indeed, and I think she will cherish the chair for years to come.

I'm not sure what power Elmo holds over youngsters. He wasn't even a character until after the death of Jim Henson (don't quote me on that - go to Wikipedia and check it out before passing this on as truth.) It's amazing how marketing affects everyone, even the youngest of consumers. I have a feeling this is the tip of the iceberg with Mr. Elmo. I kind of like the little guy, though I can't wait for the Sponge Bob phase.

The movie below shows Maureen dancing to the Sesame Street theme song, emanating from her Spanish Speaking Elmo doll. He sings it both in English and Spanish.

Photo of the day - Eating!

Maureen crawled just a little bit today, reaching for her Elmo doll. Not a full out crawl, but it looks like she's starting to understand the mechanics. I took her to her PDO teacher's house today and she cried a bit as she clung (is that a word?) to my shoulder. She is still a bit afraid of the lady's husband - we think it's his voice. She loves her teacher though. We have about a month more of this shuffling around until PDO starts back up, but Maureen is getting great face time with her grandparents P&K and Aunt Kathy and the kids.

Mojo documentary.

Last night we watched a tape of our Mojo home movies from birth to 8 months. Its really cool to see how much growth takes place in one year. You could see hints of Mo's personality as early as a few days old, and we got to hear how silly our conversations with this little baby were. We started our second tape on Sunday, and hope to get our first tape over to Uncle John's house to burn a DVD copy for us.

It was good to have lunch with GP Joe and family, and then dinner with GP Paul and family on Saturday. I think it's important to constantly surround Maureen with family - that's what its all about, eh?

I will post some new pictures this week.

Video of the week: Soooooo Big

A few more pictures to brighten your day.

Photo 1: Cousins A & G.

Photo 2: Mojo with a fun toy (the box)

Photo 3: Cousin A shakin' her bootay!

Special thanks goes out to Aunt Erin and her posse for babysitting last night so we could go see the Lion King.

Weekend wedding.

We had a weekend adventure on Saturday and Sunday, trekking up to Chicago (Oakbrook, Il) for Kristin's cousin Brian's wedding. It was a good time - Mojo is a pro at the long distance drives now and was perfectly content as we headed north with GMK and GPP. We stayed at the Double Tree in Oakbrook and thought we had plenty of time to get dressed and make it to the church for a 2:30pm (central time) service. The problem was that we all thought someone else knew how to get to the church. And, we all thought the church was just a few minutes drive from our hotel. Long story short - we had to slip in the back, just in time for the homily. The wedding was very nice, and the reception was wonderful. Open bar, full meal, dualing pianos rocking out to Billy Joel and Chubby Checkers - what more could you ask for.

Maureen took only one nap that lasted for a little less than an hour and a half - she was hanging in there because she hates to miss a party. The reception was held in this Theater/Dining Hall/Reception Hall place - a bit hard to explain. She finally fell asleep in her stroller as the band dove into Love Shack. Funny, that song tends to bore me as well.

We ended our stay in Illinois by stopping at the Ikea store in Shaumburg and buying a couple of stools for our kitchen table. It's the Disney World of Swedish furniture (or are they Swiss?) Anyway, it was a good time, but we've neglected our yard for too long and we need to do some work this week. Tomorrow is the holiday and we'll split the day between yardwork, unpacking our basement from our move over a year ago, and a little fun with swimming and a cookout.

Breaking news.

This photo was just sent in, showing Maureen pulling herself up on a toy this afternoon. I guess we really need to start baby-proofing the house. Way to go Mo!

Swim meet.

It was a big step for me as we went to see cousin A swim in a meet for her country club last night. Big step you ask? I spent my teen and young adult years working for a country club in the golf shop and the cart barn was on the other side of the swimming pool. Swim meet days were pure torture for those of us trying to work in an atmosphere of mayhem. Just imagine wet, screaming kids running amok with little to no supervision. We were constantly shooing spoiled kids off the golf carts and away from the driving range. Where were their parents? Either on the golf course, or sitting by the pool slowly getting sloshed off their double martinis.
Apparently Kristin has fond memories of swim meets because she was a pool rat growing up. Last night was a walk down memory lane for both of us in very different ways. She was having the time of her life reminiscing with old country club cronies. As usual, Maureen was a hit with Kristin's old gang - using her top shelf material of So Big - she killed. I was happy to see that Kristin was having such fun. We enjoyed watching cousin A swim - she needs a little fine-tuning on technique, but she was anxious to race, was not nervous at all, and was very proud of her purple ribbon. And we were all proud of her. Kristin said she cried because she was so excited for A. The whole experience was not as traumatic for me as I thought it would be, though a double martini would have been a welcome addition.

ADDED COMMENTARY: I am, in no way, stating that Kristin was a spoiled brat when swimming for her country club, nor am I implying that her parents were drunk or neglectful during their swim meets.

Ordinary weekend.

Yet another weekend has come and gone and Mojo keeps on trucking. Friday night was happy hour with the regular crew. Saturday was kicked off by a walk to the farmer's market - it was extra special because this was the first time this year that Kristin was able to join us because didn't have any real estate meetings that day. We ran a few errands, visited great grandpa Doc at the Nursing Home and then Kristin and I got to go out on a date in the early evening. Aunt Erin, Uncle Joe, Erin's boyfriend Jeff and Grandpa Joe came over to sit with Mo so we could go see a movie - the new Angelina Jolie movie about Daniel Pearl (I forgot the name, but it was a good movie.) We even got to duck in to a local restaurant for an appetizer and a drink. Sunday was a big real estate day for Kristin, so mo and I stayed at home and watched the rain come down. We gave Maureen a new baby doll because she seemed interested in her cousin Abbey's doll. We expected a great response, but she was luke-warm about the whole thing. She may not be in that nurturing stage yet. At this point, she liked to chew on the doll's toes, but that's about it. Grandparents P & K get back from Italy this week and we are all anxious to hear how the trip went.

8 1/2 month report.

We are nearing the nine month mark with Miss Mojo and it's hard to imagine life without her. It is hard to chronicle what is different in her life right now, but here's a shot. First off, the picture shows how big our baby is: she's SOOOOO big. Kristin taught her the tried and true game and she will stretch her arms high over her head and scrunch up her face in the most serious manner while doing it. We are in the midst of establishing bedtime boundaries - trying to get her to fall asleep in her bed and not in Kristin's arms. We've had a few crocodile tears, but last night was better than the night before. We make a point to comfort her periodically through the trauma - I think I get more upset than she does to tell the truth.

Maureen has been experiencing summer fun with Aunt Kathy and family - all reports tell that they have a routine on Maureen days of going to the library for story time, to the pet store to window shop and then to McDonalds. Though she's too young to fully participate in the McDonald's experience, I think she gets a kick out of watching cousins A & G in the playland.

We also have to report the introduction of Oaty-oats (you know them as Cheerios) to her diet. She is really focused on getting the hand-eye coordination down in order to get those little Os in her mouth. Sometimes she is triumphant and then has to focus on getting the Cheerio wet enought to avoid having it lodge in the back of her throat. I have a feeling we'll be finding Oaty-oats here and there for the next ten years.

Last night we went out to the extreme east end to visit our friend's new Gelato shop, Gelato Gilberto. We strongly encourage all residents of this city and visitors to the area to make the trip for some authentic Italian Gelato - it is super-yummy.

Aunt Erin's babysitting team will be watching Mojo this Saturday in the early evening so we can go out and do something fun. We are up for suggestions for a three to four hour date (keep it clean folks.)

Fathers day images.

Dia de Padre means Father's Day, in Spanish!

All in all, it was a great father’s day weekend (I get 2 days!) Father’s day eve, we went to a Catholic Church picnic – leave it to the Catholics to have two beer trucks, and black jack and showdown poker tents. I played on $6 for about 20 minutes before busting in the blackjack tent. But it’s for a good cause, I suppose. We went with Courtney (long time fan of AOOSFB) and Mike, and, of course, encountered cousins Joey and Bobby F. We managed to walk away with an award winning cake and a big red ball for MOJO. The evening was capped by a nice dinner at the neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Though they have a glaring B rating from the Health Department, we always take our chances and usually have a great experience.

Prior to leaving for the picnic, Maureen and I were looking through some bags of used baby clothes our friend Nancy P brought us, and we were both surprised to find a Spanish Speaking Elmo doll. Upon first sight, MOJO stiffened her whole body and nearly hyper-ventilated with excitement. She was freaking, even though she’s never seen an episode of Sesame Street in her life. It was the best thing that ever happened to her. EVER!!

On Sunday, we had a leisure Fathers Day morning, ate cake – our major prize – for breakfast, watched CBS Sunday morning, and I was even able to work the crossword puzzle. Ah, that’s life!! My family came over at 4pm for Father’s Day dinner - it was a pleasant evening, the food was great, and the Cards won their baseball game in the NCAA tournament. Some Argentine won the US Open, though Tiger made a respectable attempt. I feel very lucky to be a father – the fact that our baby is the best baby ever makes things even better.

Road trip compilation.

Before our road trip to North Carolina, I sent out an email to close friends and family requesting they send a digital file of their favorite (or an appropriate) road trip song for a compilation for our travels. I got some good responses, and I tried to add in some suggested titles that were not accompanied by a digital file. Some I added myself to complete a full length CD. Here’s the play list I ended up with, in no way a top 20 list:


We gotta get out of this place – The Animals
Let’s go for a ride – Cracker
King of the road – Roger Miller
Highway to Hell – Hayseed Dixie version
Mammaw drives the bus – Government Cheese
Rock n’ Roll stew – Traffic
Tennessee plates – John Hiatt and the Guilty Dogs
I get a kick out of you – Frank Sinatra
Texarkana – REM
The Car Song – The Cat Empire
Route 66 – Chuck Berry
Maureen – Nick Lowe
Life is a highway – Rascal Flatts version
Ramblin’ man – The Allman Brothers
The songs of the 50 states – John Linnell (of They Might Be Giants)
Highway patrol – Junior Brown
Miles from our home – Cowboy Junkies
Can’t hardly wait – the Replacements
Coast of Carolina – Jimmy Buffett
All the way home - Nigel Tufnel/David St. Hubbins
Bonus Track: Highway to Hell (AC/DC version)


It was a fun little experiment.