Innies and Outties

To catch up from last week, we have not yet finished the retaining wall project because we still don't have the 3rd step. I'm really annoyed by this point. The aggregate for the stairs and the upper walkway can't be put in until we place that last step. Plus we can't place the capstones on the one side either. And we won't be getting the rest of the plants and the delivery of the mulch until we are done completely with the rock work. We planted a whole bunch of (mostly) drought tolerant plants on the side that is finished. I've even been watering them vigilantly!

The Manling's doctor visit turned out to be anti-climactic. The Doctor said that the sleeping, or lack of it, is common at this stage, and the fever and diarrhea are sometimes associated with teething. The puking was most likely due to him eating too much, too fast. I felt like an over-protective mother, but the good part was that the Manling had a non-harpoon visit, so perhaps he will not associate the office with pain.

The top left front tooth that had been ruining my life finally erupted on the 24th, and things have been settling down. We still have someone in the house who believes that they are nocturnal, more so than the cats. No names shall be mentioned, but he just had a 9-month well-baby doctor visit. The doctor said that developmentally he is on track. Physically, he is slightly anemic and underweight compared to formula-fed babies. Wouldn't you think that that means this is the normal state? I would think that formula-fed babies should therefore be considered super-non-anemic (is there a word for that?) and over-weight. No wonder we are a nation of obese! He is a tall, skinny dude- 95th percentile in height and 20th percentile for weight. We only discovered he was anemic after I expressed concern that I wasn'’t feeding him the right types of food to fulfill his nutritional needs and asked if he needed a multi-vitamin. A short wait for a blood test revealed his deficiency and now he gets a daily vitamin with iron. Iron produces the loveliest black poops.

The Manling started eating organic non-cheerios, strips of whole-grain bread and banana puffs in the past week. I would say that of every 4 bits, 2 go to the dog, 1 falls down into his chair, and the 4th makes it into his mouth. Watching him gum things is quite comical. The expressions he makes remind me of a toothless old man.

The crawling stage is, honestly, not very fun and very exhausting to chase him around the house. Especially since we have not yet fully babyproofed it. I'm thinking I should just move with the Manling into an unfurnished house for a while. His favorite targets are the dog's big rubber bone (which goes immediately into the Manling's mouth), the cats, any electrical cords, and the dvds and xbox games. My favorite thing he does lately is his reaction to Mark coming home from work. The dog will hear the car door slam and race towards the front door. The Manling takes this cue to indicate his beloved Daddy is coming in soon and lunges towards the dooras well, shrieking and cooing. I believe the dog and he are competing to see who will be acknowledged first.

He has still decided that he doesn't need to sleep anymore. Naps have become a struggle: he fights going to sleep and drops off for only 15 - 20 minutes before sitting up at the end of his crib crying to get out. If I gave him a tin cup, I'm sure he'd drag it against the bars like the old prison movies. And at night.... a bigger fight to fall asleep, and then up 1-3x for generally 30-60 minutes. Occasionally he will sleep right through just to throw me off guard. I'm trying to add in a 3rd meal of solids to see if that will help with the sleep.

To celebrate the Manling's 38th week, where he has had equal time on the outside as on the inside, we went camping. The doctor said that babies do better at altitude than adults do, so we drove up to West Chicago Creek campground outside of Idaho Springs. Mark and I hadn't been camping since 2004 so it was great to get away, and it was the dog's first camping trip as well - the cats had a lovely dog-free romp through the house with extra water and food left out for them. The camp was set in a pine and aspen forest so the scenery was excellent.

Mark tried to light the campfire but doesn't possess that gene. He had a pillar of smoke suitable for passing Indian signals, but no flame. I emerged from setting up the inside of the tent and within 2 minutes had a cheerful little blaze. We had traditional "camping food" i.e. Hamburger Helper Lasagna, turkey- and regular burgers, smores (even the Manling who bit into them like they were crack), and turned in early. No sleep, of course, because the ground was excessively hard, the Manling was squirmy, and the camp host had freaked us out by telling us that both beasr and mountain lions had been spotted there within the last week! The stars were amazing to see; it's interesting how you forget how many there are when you live in an urban area. The next day we took a short hike up to St Mary's Glacier.

Oh, I had forgotten to mention that 2 weekends ago, my friend J. had come out for a short visit/job interview. He was just offered the job, and his wife, C. recently had a phone interview with a local school district. It looks like they will be moving out here. I can't wait!

And in further friend news: my friends J and B just had a baby girl, A, on the 9th. They live only about 10 blocks away and B will be a SAHM. I will have a partner in crime soon! M and J, another couple, just announced that they are expecting a baby in January of 2007. The Manling and I hung out with S, who said that she and C are planning to start trying to conceive in the next 6 months or so.It's going to be Baby Central around these parts!

I felt very crampy and emotional today and am hoping that I am regaining my menstrual cycle. I mean, I don't want it to come back, but I need it to return so we can try for another nocturnal creature. I was telling S today that I really want to have child #2 soon, but would like to be pregnant without having to have sex. I wish my libido would come back as well! We reminisced about how I hated being pregnant and laughed about how now I'm a baby addict.

I really need to figure out how to upload pictures to this thing. I am 99% finished with my felted messenger/diaper bag. I sewed a key loop, a wallet pocket, and a brocade lining into the bag, and assembled it with the strap. It's really a fine, fine prototype of the bag I want to create. I have nothing else to crochet right now. I finished J's baby girl's skull hoodie, and S's and B's baby girls' hats, and I am not starting anything for Luanne's baby until she finds out the gender.

Last but not least, last Thursday after the doctor appointment that was so anticlimactic, I experienced something very climactic. I went to see Tapes n Tapes at the Larimer Lounge with Cold War Kids and Figurines. I only caught the last song of the Cold War Kids set, but they sounded awesome. I later checked out some of their mp3s online and am kicking myself for not picking up their album at the show. Figurines played a short but sweet set. I initially didn't care too much for them , but found myself singing and humming a few of their songs days later. The main event, Tapes n Tapes proved themselves to be everything the internet hasd hyed them up to be. I was blown away by the strength of their songs live. I got my hands on a physical copy of The Loon, which I have yet to open - saving it for an especially depressing day, and listening to the tracks I've been "previewing" from various music blogs. It was amazing to see such a great show at such a small venue, and it was all ages. I hope the hordes of youths I saw were equally impressed. I'm going to attempt to see TnT again when they return in a few months with the Futureheads.