What a Whirlwind!

I looked at my blog today and realized that it has been almost three weeks since my last post and that post was just a little video of Jack. Where does the time go? I remember starting this blog because I thought I needed something to fill the extra time on my hands. As the holidays and my return to work have come near and dear Jack has gotten big enough that he doesn't sleep all day, that extra time is a distant dream. I had all of these great ideas for posting about National Adoption Month (which is November!), our wonderful cat (Hank the Tank), and other clever? thoughts of a new mother, but they have not come to fruition. Those posts take longer than I would have imagined, so instead I'll spend a little time catching you up on what's been going on for us in November.

We celebrated our friend, Comet's, birthday with her on November 12th at Pancho Villa on Nicollet. If you live here in the Cities and you like Mexican food and margaritas, head on over there. The food was delicious (even Nick who prefers Tex-Mex was enthusiastic) and the margaritas were the best I have ever had.

We headed out to Stella's Fish Cafe with the Camp Buckskin Crew on November 16th. Jack got to meet Mav and Chiquita and thank Tom for bringing Nick over to the States so that he could be born!

I'll do exactly as you say, I promise!

Whew, can this guy ever talk!

Man, I'm so hungry I'm eating my hand and all he can do is smile for the camera!

The Clever King and I went with some friends to the Badger/Gopher football game here in town on November 17th. We were lucky enough to have Nick's old boss's wife, Mary, look after Jack during the game. We spent some time catching up with their family while eating lunch before the game. I can't believe how big their "boys" are now! What a change since I first came to work at camp 7 years ago. Hopefully, Jack was a good boy! (Mary said he was, but we realized later that he and I were both probably coming down with something at that time.) After a shaky start, middle, and end, the Badgers managed to pull out a victory (or is it the Gophers managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory yet again).

Jack and I felt really sick and achy last Monday and Tuesday. It was sad seeing our fun little man down and a bit cranky. We took a visit to the doctor on Tuesday and determined that it must be a virus of some sort. After some Tylenol, Jack felt a little better and we had some visitors from Iowa on Tuesday night for Thai food and Guitar Hero. (Thanks, Kris, Mickey, and Kim for the fun!)
We headed down to Madison on Wednesday night to stay with Grandpa Roy for a night before traveling to Joliet, Illinois, to spend Thanksgiving with my extended family. Jack enjoyed meeting the relatives he hadn't seen yet, especially the twins. We spent the night in a hotel there on Thursday and, after discovering that our sickness had morphed into pink eye for both Jack and me, returned to Madison on Friday, making a visit with Dr. Amber, Molly, and Mark. (Your prescription was a lifesaver, Am!)

Is that really what happened to the turkey?

Jack and our Thanksgiving hostess with the mostess, Laurie

We had a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Anne, at my dad's church on Saturday. It was fun to celebrate the pending arrival of Jack's first cousin and to catch up with more family. Saturday night we visited briefly with my dad's neighbors so they could admire Jack and Sunday we headed home, exhausted.

We learned a lot about routine and traveling with a little one over the long weekend. Jack was a wonderful traveler, especially for how sick he had been feeling, but even so, it's hard to be away from home. Every day we are learning more about how to be good parents to our "Jack-pot."

Jack and Grandpa Roy

Now as we are back home and in our routine, it is just about to change, as I will be heading back to work full-time on Thursday and Nick will be staying home with Jack until early January. I have been doing a bit of part-time work from home during the month of November, so I have had a glimpse back into my "old life," but I know it will be hard to be away from Jack.

So, that is November, in a nutshell! Looking back, it is no wonder that I haven't posted - we've had the busiest month yet! Here's to slowing down a bit come December! Happy belated Thanksgiving to all.

Our (Hiccuping) Movie Star

Thought you all might like this video of the little man.

What a Man, What a Man, What a Mighty Big (Little) Man

Jack had his two month check-up this week. (Even though he is, as of today, 10 weeks old, they still call it a two month check-up.) We had not been to the clinic since Jack was a little over two weeks old. That visit was because he had a bad case of thrush that had not responded to the doctor's first treatment, and he had to have his mouth swabbed with gentian violet, turning his gums, tongue, and lips a bright shade of purple. This made him look like a baby vampire for a few days and caused the doctor to joke that Jack was getting ready for the "big game" on Sunday. I had to inform the doctor that Jack is NOT a Vikings fan, but rather, a Packers fan, to which the Clever King responded that, actually, Jack's first loyalty is to the 49ers, then the Packers, and that he might cheer for the Vikings sometimes, if it didn't hurt either one of those teams. I think the doctor was sorry he had made any comment.

While waiting to be seen by the doctor this time, we ran into the Assistant Commissioner of Human Services, Chuck Johnson, and his daughter. Assistant Commissioner Johnson is almost the biggest bigwig at my work. I told Jack that we must be in the big leagues to be at the same clinic as the Assistant Commissioner. He agreed. Assistant Commissioner Johnson was catching up on Winnie the Pooh's adventures while his daughter read another book. Jack and I just stared off into space, illiterate buffoons that we are. I guess there's a reason some people climb the ladder and others, well, scratch their heads and wonder how to get up on the roof.

The nurse called us back and she measured Jack's head circumference, weight, and height at the appointment. Jack's head was 41 centimeters around (71st percentile for kids his age), his weight was 12 lbs 13 oz/5.8kg (also 71st percentile), and his height was 24.75 inches/.629 m (a whopping 95th percentile). No wonder he is already growing out of many of his 0-3 month old clothes! Then, the doctor came in and admired Jack. She said he is developing perfectly and is a beautiful baby. (Of course, we already knew that, but we are biased!) After that, the nurse came back to give him some shots which he did not like one bit. His face turned bright red, crumpled up into the cry look, but no sound came out for several seconds. I thought, okay, maybe he's not going to cry. Immediately, after I thought that, he let out a big wail and looked at me, like, I thought you were supposed to protect me from stuff like that. He recovered quickly (probably more quickly than me) and we went home and took these pictures in his cute dino outfit because, at the rate he is growing, it won't fit for long.

Nope, no babies needing shots here, just a little stegosaurus

These things are extinct, right?

We've got a really great show for you tonight! And Richard Gere is here! Stick Around!