A week ago today, Jfer was working through her early contraction while I was looking forward to going home and taking Magda to the pool for a swim. A few hours later, after we put Magda to bed, Jfer called her mom that it looked like "real" labor and not too long there after she called Elizabeth to please come to our house and wait for Rita's arrival while we headed out to the birthing center.We left the house a little after midnights, hooked up with our doula on the way to the AABC which is fairly close to our house. I had to pull over a couple of times when Jfer had a contraction (the first time it freaked our doula out a little, thinking Jfer was delivering). We checked in at 12:30 and Jfer did her thing, taking advantage of most of their anemnities, including their luxurious jacuzzi tub. After lots of work, and then a lot of hard work, our daughter was born at 4:02 AM. And later we learned that she was 7lb 12.5oz (3.5kg) and 18.5in (47cm). Quite a bit heavier and shorter than Magda - which helps explain the work.
Since we've come home, we've had a pretty uneventful first week. It still took us a little while to settle on a name, Simone Milada, but beside that, there haven't been any issues. Simone is a much better sucker than Magda was, and has been nursing quite successfully. At her 3 day checkup she only dropped down to 7lb 6oz and she had gained at least 4oz since then.
She's turning out to be a very pleasant, and so far, laid back baby. She enjoys her food and sleep and is a prolific pooper (thankfully she's past the black tar stage and now into runny mustard).
In retrospect, we're very happy that Jfer decided to use the Austin Area Birthing Center. We were pleased with Joan who delivered the baby and have nothing but good things to say about Kat who assisted. We were also pleased with Ryka, our doula, during and after the birth.
It's strange how much Magda has gotten bigger since her baby sister was born. Before last Friday, Magda was just my little girl -- in my mind barely a toddler. But now, that I've spent time with Simone in my arms and sleeping on my chest, Magda seems all big and grown up. When you pick her up, she's all arms and legs and weighs a (comparative) ton.This week she spent with Kayleigh going to a cool summer day camp. Dropping her off on the first day she didn't pause once after giving my a goodbye hug and took off with her cousin towards the swings. They were having a blast swimming, riding horses, doing crafts and getting dirty. Just what you want a summer camp to be.
Since I'm off from work this week, I've been able to pick Kayleigh up on some mornings and drive them both to the camp. Their conversations in the back seat are always fun to listen to. Here's a theological discussion they had:
- M: Kayleigh, did you know that God has the whole world in his hands?
(This is a reference to a spiritual that Jfer likes) - K: Uhuh
(Not at all interested) - M: Yeah, he's go the whole world in his hands!
- K: Huh!?!
- M: Yeah, his hand must be this big!
(Indicating with hands apart) - K: Yeah, it must be this big!
(Now getting into it, marking an even bigger distance) - M: Yeah, he can hold you.
- K: And a house!
- M: Yeah, God must be as big as Mungus!
(Referring to the friendly giant on Dragon Tales, her favorite show) - K: giggle
- M: giggle
We're very pleased that our long wait is finally over and we have a brand addition to the family.Our baby girl was born some time after 4 am on Friday, August 15 and weighed in a 7lb 12.5oz (3.5kg). She's got a full head of hair and my nose (though I think most newborns with their squished noses have "my" nose).
She's taking her time letting us know what to call her, but I think we're getting close to naming her.
As of today, our count-down clock has officially started and we're eagerly awaiting the imminent arrival of our #2.I've experienced Jfer's second pregnancy quite differently from her first one. While we were waiting for Magda, there were so many things we didn't know what that expect. With the second one, there is less time to wonder and fret about things.
But we're excited, all three of us, and are looking forward to the baby's arrival.
(The picture was taken by our friend Cecily who was kind enough to do a shoot with us a weekend ago).
Magda didn't start off all that happy on Sunday. She broke out in tears when presented with the black and white dress Jennifer had bought her (I wasn't quite sure why she's was supposed to be wearing a funeral dress on easter) and convinced her momma to let her wear the dress that matched Jennifer's colors.After Jfer dragged us to church we went to Elizabeth's for our ritual Easter Egg hunt. Everyone scored tons of candy and the kids stayed outside for quite some time - despite the chilly weather.
I didn't get to make a pomláska this year - but that's OK, since Jfer obviously doesn't need it right now. :-)
While people rave about him being a great speeker, I was actually a bit underwhelmed when I first saw him speeking at some rally on TV. Part of it is that I find these stump speeches with their captive audiences full of supporters a bit of a turn off. With all the cheering it doesn't seem all that different from a high school pep rally and not much more relevant. Of course, this is true for all campaigns, as far as I am concerned. And during the Clinton-Obama debate in Austin, I didn't really feel like one stood out over the other.
But I do like his message and I took the time to read The Audacity of Hope and was deeply impressed, both by his prose as well as by his views and the introspection that he exhibits in his writing.
So when I heard that Obama was going to talk about race in an effort to address the Rev. Wright Jr. controversy, I was curious how he would tackle it. The expedient way would have been to completely reject his pastor and, frankly, pander to the majority white voters in the upcoming primary states. I was dreading that he would be selling out, but as it turned out I needn't have worried.
I read the speech rather than watching it (here's the transcript and here's a video) and it gave me goosebumps. This was a speech in the vein of Dr. King or John Kennedy - one of those things politicians aren't supposed to be doing anymore, right? In his More Perfect Union speech, beside addressing the issue of the Rev. Wright, Obama took the opportunity to grab the "third rail of American politics" with both hands to openly talk about the historical background and pervasive divisiveness that permeate the issue of race. He didn't really say anything that he hasn't covered in his book, but it was more succinct and highly relevant due to the frenzy surrounding the former pastor of his church.
Now I don't know how it will come across when chopped down into 30 second sound bites, and I would encourage everyone to listen or read the speech in its entirety. And despite the pundits' arguing over whether "it was enough" and "swayed the voters", try to not listen to it as a "campaign" speech focusing on things for or against your preferred candidate. Instead listen to it as an essay on where America is and where it should hope to be when it comes to race relations.
And don't take my biased word for it. Obama's speech was well perceived across the spectrum, from The New York Times, which has endorsed Hillary Clinton and called the speech Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage, to the conservative Washington Post which called it a Moment of Truth.
But I won't complain. Although I'm spending too much time at work, things are going well. I've managed to put up a stand against aging this last year but starting a healthier lifestyle. Move lovely wife is radiant and my daughter is a joy to behold -- well, most of the time, anyway.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing on the big one next year, but this birthday Jfer made sure we'd have company and that we would be watching Dancing with the Stars. I think she's trying to keep the bar low for next year. :-)
My favorite part of the day was the phone call I got at work. Here's Magda singing me Happy Birthday: magda_birthday.wav
Last year I did the Cap 10K fun-run, and I think it took me around 1:26'. At that time I set my goal to run it next year in under an hour. I've since upped up my goal and am aiming to finish in under 50 minutes. We'll see how it goes - I'm terrible at pacing myself and tend to run too fast at the beginning and then petering out.
Jennifer is planing to do the fun run with Magda in a stroller, so I'll probably go back and finish with them, too.
We've been observing a big spider building a web over our garage door through out the summer and fall. Around dusk, when we'd get back from walking our dogs, we'd watch her building her web. She'd have it complete it by the time it got completely dark. We'd occasionally see some gnat or other small insect caught in the web or being wrapped up by the spider. In the morning the web would be gone and she'd start again in the evening. Apparently some spiders "recycle" their web by eating it after it's served its purpose.
One time, the spider hit the jackpot by snagging a grasshopper in her web. I'm not sure how exactly it happened, since it got caught about five feet high in the air, but the spider had a party. Instead of tearing down the web in the morning, she kept it up for several days while feasting on the poor grasshopper. The insect must have been several times her body mass and it took her quite a bit of time to finish it off.
It was nice having a real spider web on our house during Halloween, but we stopped seeing her once it became really cold. She did have a little hiding place where she probably kept her eggs, so I imagine we'll bee seeing more of her kind next summer.
Against our wishes, we've been a three-dog-household for a while now. On October 20 while walking Rose, I found a dog running loose in the park. To keep our escaped dog Karma in balance, I brought her home with me to locate her owner. She looked well taken care of -- if a little chubby -- and had a collar, albeit without a tag. She looked a bit like a younger black-and-white version of Rose and I named her Elsie, on account of her Holstein appearance. Magda quickly nixed that name and christened her Tracy.
It turned out that she probably got dumped in our park. Despite posting found notices around the park, on Craig's List and other lost-dog forums, nobody seemed to know her. Too bad, too, since she's such an incredibly sweet and playful dog. We had someone foster her for a couple of weeks (while she was in full-blown heat) when we were on vacation, but they decided she wasn't a right fit.
So we got her back. She's now been spayed and has all her shots and we are now looking for a good home for her. She gets along well with other dogs (Rose is going to miss her). She's also extremely people friendly with both adults and children.
We'll try to find a rescue group to help us place her in a good home. But if anyone we know is looking for a great dog, we'd be more than happy to consider them. We'd just want to be able to come by and visit every once in a while.
