OtterBee

Lately

2008-12-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple recent videos of my little pal.

Call me cruel, but this one cracks me up, he was just so cranky and hungry and tired all at once. Poor little guy.

Lately, Baby kicks in a cute new way. He's always kicked, but the way his feet move now is just funny to me, it's as though he only moves his legs from the knees down. It's endearing.

More Jumperoo--he was jumping just one one leg, like he was doing a little jig.

Watch Baby Does a Jig in Family Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

And Fun Times With Daddy!

Watch Baby and Daddy in Family Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Blanket

2008-12-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

My funny little guy <3

Watch Blanket in Family Videos | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

New Skills

2008-12-08T16:31:00.000-08:00

I can't find the early videos of Baby in the Jumperoo. He started out so overwhelmed by the toys that I had to add each toy on one at a time. As you can see, he has the general hang of it now. He usually burns a lot of energy in the videos, but of course with the camera on he acts a bit more mellow.

In other news, we had a good time at IHOP the other day.

Some Recent Videos

2008-11-25T14:26:00.000-08:00

Baby has had a number of new experiences lately.

Swinging

Eating

and Reaching

He actually gets around quite well by rolling and has used it purposely for getting places, but only recently has taken to squirming for things directly in front of him. He also usually does a bit better at progressing forward, but for some reason decided to stick his little bottom in the air and mush his face in the ground to see how that works for progression too.

In other news: the move has gone very well and we are really settled now. A video post of the house will come later.

Baby Throws His First Gookie

2008-10-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Apparently our little guy also loves Harpo Marx, just like his daddy. Recently he's been practicing a face that Harpo Marx made famous and named "the gookie." Keep trying little buddy, we're all rooting for you.

In other news, we've packed the truck, the apartment is clean and we've enjoyed how easy it is to clean when you don't have anything. Tomorrow my parents will drive us down to Chicago to say goodbye as we take the train to Austin. We decided to ride the train just because we thought the moving van would beat us (actually not true, it'll take about 6 business days, but we didn't learn that until everything was settled--it's fine with us) and also because we thought it'd be nice to simply have absolutely nothing to do after 2 1/2 weeks of endless packing interspersed with daily travel about Wisconsin. It was wonderful fun, but we're looking forward to the mini-break before the great flood of change that always arrives with a new job and new location.

I've Been Meaning to Post These

2008-09-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Baby got the cutest little outfit from two of our dearest friends in Japan. We miss them so much. It's been a busy week so I'm late to post these. We had a really fun time dressing up and taking pictures outside our apartment one morning. If we move to a warmer location I'm going to look for more reasons to wear yukata more often.

In the meantime, our little guy wears his outfit often because it's been so warm (94ºF/34ºC) and jimbe are so breezy. Also, he looks so cute in it <3

Baby Monster Egg Head

2008-08-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

In Japan, all my students used to tell me "You have [a] small face" which was a compliment that my face is, well, small. The fact that my "face is small" and my features rather close together in one small corner of my skull more greatly offsets the fact that I have a rather large skull. Whenever I wore a winter hat in college, certain kind friends would accurately nickname me "monster egg head." Him also, I've noted, has a rather large head, but his face is much more proportionate, making his skull seem less monstrous.

Anyway the point is, Teeny Bean had his 2 month checkup the other day and is apparently not so teeny. At 25 inches, 12 pounds 12 ounces and a 40.1 centimeter head circumference he ranks in the 95th percentile for height, the 75th for weight and at a whopping 151st percentile for being genetically predispositioned to fit into the monster egg skull circumference category.

While I'm not a huge fan of baby percentiles (although I understand it makes pediatricians feel more secure that children are properly growing) it certainly is fun to know that he is growing very very well and that all those random people I've met at the grocery store/on the street who said "__ weeks?! oh, was he a preemie?" (more than a few commented on his smallness as a matter for concern, although only 3 actually used the word preemie, so it doesn't truly make for a valid complaint, really ^_^--but--what mother wouldn't get flustered about such things?) are very much proven to be mistaken.

(This post has some odd writing, it will not be corrected because the author requires the extra 4 minutes of rest, which has become 3 since she decided to type this silly little aside.)

More Recent Pics

2008-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

We have so much fun.

But still so little sleep some nights ^_^

Our little guy doesn't like to sleep at night, although he'll nap somewhat during the day. I should say that going down for the evening is a huge fuss-fest for him of overtired wailing and squirming (we think he's like his mom and believes he doesn't need much sleep--he's just so excited about the world and people). We're so lucky, though, after that he's out for a while he does sleep well at night.

We're also lucky that unless he's hungry (or too sleepy) our little guy is all smiles and bubbly chattiness (literally, he makes a ton of bubbles when he talks now).

日本の友人へ、
お元気？私たちは元気ですけどあなたとすごく会いたいんです。日本語はどんどん下手になりましたのに色々な話しがあります、色々な聞きたい事もありますよ。いつも日本のお友だちの事を考えていますよ。いつかに会いましょう！ We miss you.　

Buddy and Grandparents (and an Auntie)

2008-08-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

(6 Weeks Old) With Momma's Parents (and sister)

(8 Weeks Old) With Daddy's Parents

More Baby Pics

2008-08-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

So, my mom made it look easy. Perhaps you say that I "don't remember the hard part" since I was, after all, a baby during the hard part. However, I watched her with my little sister when I was 10 and I remember my dad was around to help, but still, for sure--she made a lack of sleep look easy.

Anyway, it's not easy, but it's also a lot of fun (being a new mom that is). It's also my excuse for not posting recently.

So, with no rant, and few(er) words. Here are some more pics of what we've been up to.

A walk from a month ago.

The "Daddy Bike" you can ride the Daddy Bike wherever you like.

This is how you add a three season room to an apartment. I love when people make the things around them lovely.

Nice. We've obviously been in Japan too long and are over-sensitive to all the possible hilarities (I know it's not a word but it should be) of English when we consider this funny/interesting.

Lookin' suave together after the walk.

Hanging out with Spartacus the puppy.

His first love: the ergonomic handle on his car seat.

Baby Play Group. (Generally easy clean up)

Resting after a long morning.

Baby's Day Out

2008-07-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous mosquito-less day so we took the little guy for a walk.

It was so cold in the shade that we ended up having to bundle up Teeny a bit. He seemed pretty comfortable after that.

The reward at the end (well, 1/2 way through the walk since we had to walk back after) was our favorite local Indian Restaurant.

After his first taste of curry outside the womb Teeny felt it was time to practice his Michael Jordan (i.e. tongue out) form Kung Fu.

Teeny Bean's Busy Day

2008-07-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

Hmmm...what should I do today?

"Through the orbital instantiation of a system of control like peaceful coexistence, all the terrestrial microsystems are satellized and lose their autonomy."

Drum Practice
"Aaaaaaah!"

"Yo, I, DONE with these diapers, get out those wipers, or I get hyper."

"Do my worst, eh? Smithers, release the robotic Richard Simmons."

"What is the true essence of the Buddha?"
"Mu."

"Who me? Why are you taking my picture?"

Little Buddy

2008-06-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

Yay for our little new arrival!

Last night our little guy came into the world, he was 8 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches long at birth.

The Birth Story (possibly too detailed? oh well).
I had fairly strong contractions spaced anywhere from 3 minutes to 15 minutes apart starting 5am Saturday morning. By 9pm they were regularly 7 min apart and when he broke my water at 11 pm (which there was only the smallest sign of, since he had already dropped low weeks ago) they were suddenly much stronger and 3-5 minutes apart.

So, we changed the bedding, cleaned up the apartment and packed the car as we waited for an hour to see if they lasted in consistency (since I hadn't been completely sure if my water had really broken or not). We got to the hospital at 12:45am, found I was dilated to 2 cm only and stayed awake all night with the contractions which peaked in level by 1:30am Sunday morning and were often around 3 minutes apart and 60-90 seconds in length. All night I was in and out of the tub (I loved it!), on the birthing ball and all over the room. By 6am I had only dilated to a 4, at 9am I was at a 4 again and finally decided to get some pain meds to take the edge off. By 11am things were still the same; since my water had broken at 11pm the night before and the general idea is that it's best to have the baby within 24 hours of the water breaking because of infection risk (my doctor(s) really aren't so strict about it, but like to generally aim for the 24 hour period if the patient is compliant), and because there had been so little change in 12 hours of intense labor, plus 19 hours of milder labor, we decided on Pitocin. Since Pitocin would rocket up some already strong contractions, and because I was already so exhausted, an epidural was administered and instantly loved.

It Was Fantastic!
My darling and I were able to sleep on and off during the day, in between naptimes we invited our loving family in to visit and had a wonderful time joking and passing the time. Both mothers were so supportive of the epidural, even though they went through their labors only with the simpler meds, if any, thank you mommies!

Around 2pm our Little Buddy had a monitor on his head since his heart rate was dropping low during contractions (normal) and not picking up after (dropping even lower to 40-50 bpm). The consensus was that he seemed to be grabbing the chord (I wasn't surprised since he so frequently participated in the Fetal Belly Olympics throughout pregnancy) and pinching or twisting it. So they monitored him, put me on oxygen to help him get some, and had me turn from side to side to see if he would pick up.

Also, he was turned face up, which was why I had not been dilating, but experiencing such long contractions.

By 6pm there was major pressure (yes, the urge to push can be very strong with an epidural), by a little after 7pm there was full dilation and pushing and by 8:19pm our little guy was born. All in all it was very exciting; although I had wanted to go naturally I'm too grateful for the rest the epidural provided so that I was able to push him out into the world so quickly. He was 9 and 9 for both Apgar tests.

Him and Markers

2008-06-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Him doesn't like being called "My Darling," he apparently likes being "Him." Anyway, Him came home and was very excited about the window markers and decided to add to my art ^_^ (see previous post).

For Those Who Know the Lingo

2008-06-18T16:32:00.001-07:00

He dropped five weeks ago. Engaged at zero two weeks ago, 60% effaced and one + cm dilated.

Last week I measured smaller than the previous weeks (37 cm since he had dropped so low), this week I was 40 centimeters since he had a HUGE growth spurt over the weekend. Any bets on size? I'm guessing just about 9 pounds give or take.

Any day now ^_^

In the meantime, I've been enjoying my, so far, week and a half off by lounging at our little apartment pool, reading, and playing a bit of the video game My Darling bought for me. There's also been a fair amount of nesting in the form of cutting the matting for our gorgeous prints (a total of ten hours of work before they were all semi-decently cut and framed), cleaning, organizing, grocery shopping to a ridiculous level, and cooking WAY too much (Last week I made so much spaghetti and hand-made meatballs that My Darling and I both had enough for dinner Sunday evening as well as for lunch for the next five days).

Today at the store I found these great window markers (yup, grocery shopping again), so down time was spent drawing on our windows, mirrors and...well, mostly on windows and mirrors.

Friday the 13th!

2008-06-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

Him really wanted the baby to be born today ("Wouldn't Friday the 13th be cool?"), but I'm still sticking with my original date (for those who know it ^_~) as my prediction. Either way, he's on his way. He dropped (My rib cage has shrunk back down about three-four inches and holding.) nearly four weeks ago! The past two check-ups have shown that things are changing at a nice pace--and are all prepared to go anytime. It could be tomorrow or another two weeks.

I've already packed my clothes...and Him's since he'll be staying with us at the hospital <3 Slowly, I'm shopping and picking up stuff around the house, waiting for that famous energy burst which might never come.

In other news, this little guy belonging to my cousin was born recently at 10lbs and 10oz. After 24 hours of pitocin-induced labor and 3 1/2 hours of pushing they finally realized he wasn't coming out. So, c-section it was. Mother and baby are fine and very very cute (both of them ^_^).

"Little buddy" as Him so fondly calls him is pretty strong already: At two days old he was laying on his tummy next to his mom with his head to the side facing me and, suddenly, I watched in surprise as he used his little arms and lifted both head and shoulders off of the bed to look around for a moment before flopping down again.

You don't have to believe me, I don't know if I would believe it if I hadn't been there. ^_^

The Last Weeks

2008-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

For Memorial day one set of grandparents came for a fantastic visit full of brats, ice cream and even an afternoon nap in the living room ^_^

There was also some very happy belly-patting fun to be had.

The next weekend another grandma and a little auntie (sorry sissa, you're always my little sis!) came to visit, we had some exciting chocolate while at a pub/restaurant...

and really really loved this lilac bush that was grafted onto a tree while we toured a nearby hobby town. Him said "Oh, your Mom is so tiny!" in response to this picture. I have to agree with him, can you see why the nickname "elf mommy" stuck so well for so long to her?

Then Him and I celebrated the fun weekend with a cool down at our apartment pool. After our fun swim Him had me brave the camera to prove how big my belly is...although it still doesn't look quite huge, it's a bit more rounded out since he dropped and is no longer hiding underneath my rib cage so much.

It's quite a relief to not feel as though my rib cage is being wedged open anymore. Also, my belly button finally popped--fulfilling all my dreams for a full pregnant experience, heh. I was able to tell my sister from personal experience that, "No, contrary to what I thought, it really doesn't hurt when you're belly button is inside out."

Weee!

2008-05-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

We made a day trip to go check out an excellent cloth diaper specialty store which was well worth it--they had the most excellent and fun baby stuff! We bought a few fancy diapers which will make cloth diapering easier while traveling or on busy days and then we plan on using regular cloth diapers on average/easy days (for the first month we have plenty of disposables stocked up). We didn't buy any of these diaper covers shown, but they're pretty cute and colorful, right? I actually have a friend (she knows who she is ^_~) whom I'd love to commission to make some (more) adorable fleece covers for my little man, but I know she's very very busy right now, and will soon be exhaustingly so. Looks like I'll need to learn to sew a bit myself then!

We then headed to a Graduation Party for a coworker's hubby who had just finished Police Academy. Is that really the term for Police School?

On the way we made sure to check out this awesome UFO for sale, looks a little used, but might be worth the money ^_^

We spent most of the graduation party with some other big kids our age who also enjoyed playing giants on the playground equipment. Him (Him decided that this was to be Him's name on my no-name site) tested the slides and did his best to be excited about the slow, static-full descent.
He also climbed through this tiny little tunnel, at my behest. Anything to please a pregnant wife, right? I love my Darling <3

Then we spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures of each other making poses on the swings.

Weee! ^_^ Just 3-ish weeks to go! No, it wasn't dangerous to lean back while swinging, honestly I didn't know I was so...upside-down at the time. Baby will be an astronaut if I keep this up, maybe?

OtterBee

2008-02-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry to all my friends who I've cut off by changing the address of my old blog and such. After being featured on another site which was linked to my original blog, I received some scary stalker-y messages. On that blog there was information that made my privacy vulnerable even after deleting it--I did it myself in comments, before security became a concern. So I've started over again! I still want to blog and be linked to everyone--this blog will be open to all viewers, but I plan on monitoring it better and allowing little personal information besides pictures. Please don't use my real name or your relationship name to me, in comments or in your own links here: just the blog name please ^_^ Since comments can be easily googled too, if my real name is used at all I'll have to delete the comment, so please don't be offended if I delete you. Also, please don't reference my old blog name or anything like that because then it will get linked here via google!

If I'm able to keep the text clean for myself and for comments and links, I think I can post and play like a normal, carefree blogger! That would make me SOOO happy, because I want to take pictures and share so many things with everyone!

Finally, while I still am pursuing my other arts (besides learning to be a mom and knitting and hobby stuff-which is what will be on this blog) I plan on creating new sites for those which will not be linked here. Basically this will allow personal life to diverge, until if/when things get crazy enough for me to be rich enough to not care and have security people to do these things for me.