The Tale of the Five Filter Wrenches

Once upon a time, I decided to work on my car. The highly anticipated, yet greatly dreaded 100k milestone had been reached, and it was time to make some changes. It was also time for a oil change on Gena's car, so I went to Oreilly's Auto and started buying parts. Half the things on my list were not in stock, so I was told to come back the next day to pick them up. The fuel temp sensor that also needed changing on my car was not available at any of the local parts stores, so I ordered that from the VW dealer.

Marshmallow pictures - Month 4

My fall semester has ended, and I am looking at 5 weeks off to stay home with Cora!  We decided to change her daycare to a site closer to home, so if one of us is late coming home, the other doesn't have to drive an extra hour to pick her up.  With the timing of the change, we decided just to keep her out of daycare for the month I'm home so I can spend some time with her, and so we can save a few bucks.  So far, things are going pretty well.  I'm learning my way around full-time daycare, and Cora's learning her way around full-time Dad.  After a rough couple of days, I think we're finally coming to an understanding.  Of course as I type, she is fighting going down for a nap, so maybe we're not as understood as I'd like to think!

One perk of being home is having time to take pictures.  Once again, we are a little behind, but here are a few of Cora's 4 month marshmallow pictures.  I believe she was actually 4.6 months old when I took them, but who's counting?

Thanksgiving

True to form, I am now writing about Thanksgiving.  Three weeks late.  Oh well.

This year for Thanksgiving, we flew to Indianapolis to be with my side of the family.  My brother and his wife, Peter and Alison, recently bought a house there, and decided it was the perfect place to host this year.  My mother, Paula, flew in from NM.  My sister and her husband, Janna and Ryan, flew in from CO, and the three of us came up from LA.  This trip marked a very important occasion, not only as it was Cora's first holiday, but it was the first time my siblings had a chance to meet her!  Cora loved being doted on all weekend, as evidenced by these photos.

Ok, that last one's not fair, she just wasn't in a picture taking mood.  I was sorry to find we had no pictures of Janna holding her, but I have two theories: One, Jan was behind the camera for much of the weekend; Two, Cora was usually passed to her from Peter, and it turned out that when Janna was holding her, she needed a diaper change.  I draw no solid conclusions, but it seems Peter has a strange effect on our daughter...

After all the travelling, Cora and I were pretty tired, so this is how we spent a large part of the weekend.

The trip was a blast until the final descent on our flight home.  Cora did great on the first three legs, but on the way down into New Orleans she realized how much her ears hurt.  It was a little ironic, as the 4 month old behind us had just finished crying about 10 minutes earlier.  I'm sure the other people on the plane were very ready to be home!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thanks Pete and Alison for having us over!

Halloween

I'm a little slow.  I know Halloween was two weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting these pictures now.  I could say that I wanted to space out our blogs, and wanted to wait a while after Gena posted the last one, but that would be a lie, I'm just slow.

For Cora's first Halloween, we were invited to join my classmate, Jeff, and his family at their church's "Trunk-or-Treat" chili cook-off.  For those of you who have not heard of this before, it involves backing your vehicle up to the sidewalk around the church, decorating your trunks, and handing out candy to all the kids (and as in our case, the Dads carrying around their babies!).  The chili was delicious, the candy was plentiful, and Cora was my good luck charm in the pie-walk, where we won a peanut butter pie.  Also delicious.  We didn't want to spend money on a costume that would only get worn once, so Gena decided to knit her a pumpkin hat.  So I guess for Cora's first Halloween, she went as a drooley pumpkin head.  Here are a few of our favorite pics from the night.

Marshmallow pictures - Month 3

Another month older, another month cuter.

It is hard to believe that our little Coco is 3 months old now. She's gotten a lot bigger and changed quite a bit. Her motor skills are improving, but her spacial awareness isn't quite there yet:

She follows us with her head and eyes when we move around the room.

She makes a lot of direct eye contact, but she hasn't yet learned to mug for the camera. I think I like it better this way.

She's very expressive. 

She can hold herself up for a long time.

She notices and explores her surroundings.

She drools. A lot.

And she tries to eat things. A lot.

She's learning to use her hands more and more. She's got quite a grip, and it can sometimes be a challenge to get her to let go.

Her hand use also includes bringing things up to her mouth.

Mostly, though, she's just a sweetie who likes to smile and cuddle. 

learning to roll

In case you haven't guessed by my increased post frequency, I had a few days off.  LSU was on fall break for the second half of this week, so I decided to stay home with Cora.  Now for those of you who don't know, this was my very first time staying with her alone for more than a few hours.  I know what you're thinking: "He'll never make it!", "He has no idea what he's getting himself into!", "He doesn't stand a chance!"...trust me, Gena was thinking something along those same lines, I'm sure.  However, I managed to keep her relatively happy (until this afternoon...but I digress), and I was also lucky enough to see her roll over for the first time!  She rolled from belly to back, but was not at all interested in repeating the feat for the rest of the day.  I thought I'd try again today, so I got out the camera early and kept it on for a long, long time, hoping to catch that moment.  Here are the results.  Be sure to click on the button with four diagonal arrows on the bottom right of the video to see it in full screen.

tired of Geoff

It has come to my attention that you are tired of seeing pictures of me.  Our technical staff is aware of this issue, and is working tirelessly to get an update out as soon as possible.  Please check back soon and often, as we hope to have this resolved very soon.  Fore those of you interested in the technical details, here's the problem:  Gena takes lots of pictures.  On the surface there is absolutely nothing wrong with this.  In fact, it's wonderful, as most of the pictures you have enjoyed on this blog have been taken by her.  However, it means most of the pictures of Cora being held are of Cora being held by me!  The first time Gena pointed this out, I took the hint and got to snapping.  Here are a few of the results.

Ok, I'm a smart guy: I can keep our cars running; I can probably still direct a choir; I can even irradiate a thermoluminescent detector, then create the calibration curve necessary to determine the delivered dose, but I apparently can't figure this out!  It's very important to Gena that I include the baby's face, and not cut off Gena's forehead.  I came very close with the last one, but Cora was not very cooperative.  Like the good student I am, I practiced.  

I'll keep working on it, but I hope you are pleased with my progress.  One thing I do better than Gena when it comes to photography is the self-group photo.  These long arms aren't just for getting things off the top shelf!

We had a nice visit with Leta last weekend.  I tried to tell Gena a few weeks ago that I thought Cora looked just like her Nana, but it wasn't until Leta showed up that Gena really saw what I meant.

Yes, that is ice cream...no, we did not let her feed any to Cora...and yes, Leta looked just like that about 10 minutes later.  :)

Separation anxiety

Cora is almost 3 months old and she's really starting to show a lot of personality. Like Geoff and me, she has a very expressive face and can say a lot with just a look. Fortunately for us, the face she makes most is a smiley one.


Yesterday morning was actually a chilly one here in Southern La, and her little lip was trembling! Geoff wrapped her in a blanket and she went to town smiling and trying to eat it.





She's growing like a weed! She's about 24 inches long and weighs about 14 lbs. The 0-3 month clothes aren't going to fit her much longer, and neither is her bassinet.





We're starting to transition her to the crib in her room. She starts the night in her bassinet, and after her 3 am feeding we're moving her to the crib. This morning she slept there until 7 am without making a peep.
Before she was born I looked at this situation in a very detached way, thinking that it's normal and would be nice to get her in her own bed and out of our room. But now that we're actually doing it, I feel a little sad. After having her sleep right by me for a full year, it's strange to move her to a room across the house.

Marshmallow pictures - Month 2

At random times during the day I will look at Geoff and comment on how big Cora has gotten. She's filled out, grown longer, and has the adorable chubby cheeks to prove how well she's growing. Our baby girl is 2 months old. 

In the past month, Cora has started becoming more aware of her surroundings. She makes more eye contact and moves her head toward our voices. She recognizes our voices when she hears them through the phone. Sometimes she'll chatter at us and sometimes she'll just smile. 

Smiley times tend to be in the morning. By the time we're all home from work and school, Cora is mostly interested in eating and sleeping. She's a great sleeper; we put her down at 8 pm or so, and she doesn't wake up until around 3 am. Then she's back down until we get her up and ready for the day at 6:00.

So far Cora is a good baby. Crying is a rare occasion and usually occurs when she's very hungry or very tired. Mostly she's content to kick around on a pallet on the floor with Geoff, Soup the cat, Clark the dog, and me nearby.

Toys aren't really a big part of life yet. She'll hold onto things we put in her hand, but she hasn't yet mastered the fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination required to reach out and grab objects.

My favorite bit is that Cora loves to cuddle. Holding her and patting her back with her face buried in my neck is one of the sweetest things in the world. I could spend all day just hugging and cuddling my darling baby.

Cora's also gaining strength and holding her head up more and more. The evidence is in Geoff's favorite picture from our 2 month photo shoot. 

September

I did not realize how long it had been since I contributed to this blog until I started typing.  It seems time is passing much faster than we ever thought possible, and Cora is growing accordingly, as evidenced here...

She is officially two months old!  I can't believe she's been in our lives this long already, it really only feels like a few weeks.  We were a day or two late in taking marshmallow pictures, so I'll let Gena post about that when they're ready.  I had the privilege of taking her to her two month well-baby visit this afternoon, and she is definitely growing.  Last month she was in the 90th percentile for length, and 75th for weight, but today she is in the 95th for both categories.  We're so proud!  She now weighs 13 Lb, 9.5 oz, and is 24 inches long.

The month of September has been a busy one for our family.  As Gena mentioned in a previous post, she is back to work, and Cora is learning her way around Daycare.  The ladies who take care of her are almost as in love with her as we are, and we couldn't be happier knowing that she is in their hands every day.

The weather started cooling off down here, which means football season!  Here is Cora posing in her first LSU shirt (thank you Patty!).

Fridays at Daycare, and at the Cancer Center where I work, are favorite team days, so Cora and I decided last week to show our support for LSU's upcoming game against WVU.  We were having trouble getting a good pose from Cora, so I held her up to say cheese...here is the result.

I know, I know, that face is marvelous!  I think Cora is pretty cute in this picture too.  Football is obviously not complete in any house of mine without some Colts gear.  We have her aunt, Dr. Janna to thank for her first Colts clothing, but they just arrived today, and we have not yet had a chance to play dress up.  The Colts will be our theme this Friday...be excited.

Now that we've had Cora for two whole months, Gena and I can confidently say that we have mastered the art of parenthood, and no longer expect any surprises.  I figure from here on out will be smooth sailing, and I can't wait to cast off.  For those of you who know better, please keep us in your prayers!  I'll leave you with a video we took about 15 minutes ago.  Cora is still pretty tired from all her vaccinations this afternoon, but I think she might also be hungry...I'll let you decide whether or not I'm correct.

Chattering

::le sigh::

Its an interesting situation. I'm ready to go back to work and do experiments and interact with my labmates (who I really enjoy). I'm ready to have a normal daily routine that doesn't involve diapers 80% of the time. I'm ready to have a few hours to myself everyday. I'm really looking forward to doing some science and having high end scientific conversations that aren't about physics. 

What I'm not looking forward to is leaving Cora for a big chunk of each day. I know I'm not the only person who's had to deal with the separation anxiety and mommy guilt issues, and that makes it a little easier. That and knowing that the women at the daycare we're using are wonderful, loving people who will take the best care of her. (Seriously - the woman we talked with when I went to visit gave me a hug and promised me Cora was in good hands. All the other ladies came to look at Cora and coo over her.)

So, in order to maximize and really take advantage of these last few days, I have declared them to be "no work all play" days. I'm not doing any unnecessary chores, running no unneeded errands, and taking a break from cleaning. Instead, I'm spending lots of time cuddling and "playing" with Cora. 

As much as anyone can play with a 6 week old. 

We sat on a palate made up on the living room floor for some play time yesterday. Cora squirmed and flailed and whipped her head back and forth. She gurgled and cooed and blew bubbles. I watched and tickled and occasionally got hit by a flailing limb. 

When I pulled out my camera to take a little video, shyness apparently kicked in. The squirming slowed down. The noises all but stopped. She turned her head away. I don't believe she's old enough to either recognize the camera or be shy, but she certainly didn't want to cooperate. 

After 4 attempts I finally managed a decent video, complete with cute baby noises. 

Today we're going to the park for some sunlight (as long as it's still cool when Geoff gets back from his bike ride). Maybe we'll pack a picnic, too, if the timing is right for lunch. Then we can stroll around the little walking path and lay in the shade of the huge oak trees in the park. Not a bad way to spend part of the Labor Day weekend!

P.S. I've never uploaded video before, so please leave a comment if it doesn't work and I'll try to figure it out.

One Month

Cora is officially one month old today! Hard to believe.

In the past month she has:

• Gotten a lot of hiccups (we both have them right now).
• Started looking directly at us and following us with her eyes for a few seconds.
• Developed more predictable eating/sleeping/playing patterns. 
• Started staying awake and alert for several hours at a stretch. Thankfully she's still a great sleeper and lets us get our shut-eye at night!
• Developed better head and neck control. Cora can now hold her head up stably for a good 10 to 15 seconds at a time.
• Given us a few precious smiles.
• Finally lost her umbilical cord stump, just yesterday. I kept it instead of throwing it away so Geoff could see it when he got home from school. I just new he'd want to see that shriveled up little piece of nastiness. Which reminds me, I think it's still sitting on the changing table - must remember to throw it away.
• Learned how to read and to solve differential equations.

Okay, that last one may not be strictly true.

Anyway. One of my coworkers gave me this really great idea of a way to document Cora's first year of life.  It's called "Marshmallow Pictures" and it's meant to capture your baby's development not only in growth, but also in her ability to interact with her surroundings. Here's how it works:

On her monthly birthdays, set her up in the same place. Same surroundings, same furniture, same everything. In front of her, set a marshmallow with an unlit candle in it - one marshmallow for each month of life. Then take a picture (or several). My coworker loves looking back at the pictures of her 3 kids and seeing them change from sleepy newborns who don't care about the marshmallows to inquisitive babies trying to grab them and shove them in their mouths.

It was a fun little photo shoot! Clark (the dog) just observed for most of it, but then decided to see what all the fuss was about for himself.