Turkey For Me, Turkey For You November 21, 2008

Did you know Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday? It is. Last year, I was eating for two at Thanksgiving. Actually, I was eating for two, then trying not to throw it up when I brushed my teeth before bed. (Hi Karen! Remember all the horrible retching noises coming from your downstairs bathroom?) This year, I can blame the huge pile of food covered in gravy on the extra calories needed for breastfeeding. Next year, well, it’ll be back to sensible eating, I guess.

We leave tomorrow morning for Appleton. Sam and Sophie are being baptized together on Sunday and then it’s off to Minneapolis to celebrate Turkey Day. I have much to be thankful for this year, like every year. I’m married to a wonderful man, have a beautiful baby boy, the best family ever, friends near and far (well, mostly far), and knitting projects piled up to my armpits. What more could a girl ask for?

Can I Buy A Vowel, Pat? November 20, 2008

When is Sam going to start working on his vowels? He says, “MMmmmmmmm” all the time. And he also says all of his consonants in a row. MBDNP. I would love for him to open his mouth and say, “Muh.” Or “Duh.” Or anything that has a vowel in it. It’s like I live in a world with not enough vowels. Like Bryn Mawr. Or my last name is Crnobrna, like the family at the end of Peninsula Road at the cabin.

Poor, Poor Azaleas November 19, 2008

Everyone had a rough night last night. Sam was up until about 4:30 a.m., despite dual parenting efforts to get him to sleep. Needless to say, I was still sleeping when I heard a RAP-RAP-RAP-RAP at the door at 12:15 p.m. I thought I was dreaming at first, so it took me a couple minutes to figure out what was going on. When I finally got downstairs, the knocker was gone. But I heard a strange sound, kind of like a fizzing sound, a whooshing sound. I opened up the front door to see what it was, when I saw water pouring out the front of the house, drowning the azalea bushes. I didn’t believe it. I walked out onto the (wet) porch and looked down. There, like a fire hydrant on a hot day in NYC, was water shooting out of a burst pipe. I just stood there. I didn’t know what to do, who to call. 911? That didn’t seem right. Yes, it’s kind of an emergency, but not one that requires paramedics or firefighters. So I did what any barefoot, half asleep, pajama-clad girl would do. I went in the house and put some shoes on. I went back outside and, sure enough, the water was still there. I was not, in fact, dreaming this whole scenario. I look up and down the street, and that’s when I saw him. The Dominion guy in his truck. I went (in my pajamas, mind you) down the street and waved at him. He jumped out of his truck and said, like we were old friends and didn’t need actual words to communicate, “I know! I heard a funny sound and knocked on your door, but you weren’t there.” So I, in the spirit of feeling like we’d known each other forever, said, “Oh, I was up all night with the baby and was still sleeping. I thought I was dreaming when you knocked.” I let him in through the garage and he found the turn-off-the-water-in-the-front-of-the-house valve in the basement. I thanked him profusely, and he tipped his hat to me. Just like an old movie. And then he was gone.

Thank you, Dominion Man, wherever you are.

Six-Month Check-Up November 14, 2008

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Sam wrote his own message today. He wants to tell you that he now weighs 18 lbs. 6 oz. and is 27.5 inches long. (75th and 80th percentile, for those of you who are interested!)

He had two more vaccines and a flu shot. Two little crying noises and that was it — what a brute! He was very charming and completely silent again. At home, he never stops with the babbling and squealing and gasping sounds, but at the doctor’s office, he says nothing. But he smiles a lot and is very social. He’ll go back again in a month for more vaccines and then not go back until he’s nine months old.

Right now, Sam is celebrating his good visit by gnawing on one of his spoons. What more could a boy want?

Month Six November 13, 2008

Dear Sam,

We need to talk. Now that you’re six months old there are a few things we need to get straight. Now is the time in your life when you should take naps. Real naps, longer than thirty minutes. You’ve been doing better in this department the last week. I can’t believe how much I can get done when you take a nap for 75 minutes. It’s incredible. I feel so productive. Also, you need to poop every day. It’s good for you. You bowels will thank you. I can’t really help you in that area, you’re just going to have to do that yourself. If not for your GI health, then for me, your worry-wart mother whose mind starts gravitating to ‘abdominal tumor’ when you skip a day. Thanks in advance.

Let’s talk about your eating habits, Sam. You are a piggy, and I say that with all sorts of love and affection. You’ve tried many different foods and haven’t shied away from any of them. Even squash, which I’ve figured out doesn’t agree with your tummy. It took me a few feedings to learn that lesson, which has resulted in some sleepless nights for both of us. The last time you ate it, you thrashed all night long, even when we went to the guest room for some serious 3 a.m. snuggle time. I felt horrible for you.

This has been a big month for you, Sam. You can sit up on your own. Now this is not to say that we can leave you on your own, you’re still pretty tippy. In fact, you like to play the Tip Game: you lean to one side and I say, “Tip!” It makes you smile. You fill my days with laughter, huge toothless smiles, and lots of the new gasping noises that have become your new favorite vocal trick.

More big news, Sam. You’re doing the army crawl. When we were in Gettysburg, we were taking a break between activities and giving you some tummy time. You were batting at your circus elephant toy, when all of a sudden, there was locomotion. Forward motion. Daddy and I froze, completely mesmerized, as we watched you pull yourself toward the elephant. When you finally reached it, I’ll admit it, I cried. It was incredible. The determination on your face was priceless. I wish we had it on video, but I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the moment running to get the camera. Every day, you’re getting faster and faster. The day of baby-proofing the house is close at hand.

I think all of the singing that Daddy and I do is starting to pay off. You are a music lover! When you are in your exersaucer, your favorite activity is banging the animal sounds box over and over until the songs come on. You freeze, listening to the song until it stops. Then it’s back to beating the poor plastic animals to hear the song again.

You love to play with Daddy. Some of your favorite games are “Up and Down” and “Bang the Floor.” Daddy lies on his tummy facing you on the floor. He pushes up on his hands, saying, “Up!” You mimic him, pushing up on your own little arms. Then Daddy says, “Down!” and falls down. You grin and do the same. “Bang the Floor” is pretty self-explanatory. Daddy bangs the floor, then you bang the floor. It’s very exciting.

I know I say this every month, Sam, but you are so smart. We were playing with your jack-in-the-box the other day. You watched the clown pop up and me shut the door the first time. The next time that clown popped up, the first thing you did was reach out and try to shut the door. You knew that was next. You are learning cause and effect. And it’s amazing to watch it happen.

You still prefer to fall asleep snuggled up with me than be alone in your crib. This makes for challenging nights. I would like to be in my own bed, child-free, whereas you would prefer to be in between us arms stretched out with a hand on each of our arms. While this is very endearing, I am trying so hard for you to learn to sleep in your crib. I lay you down, wrap your monkey blanket around your chin, rub your leg or your back, and say “Goodnight, Sam.” Then I climb into bed and listen to you snuffle around and kick the sides of the crib. After a while, when you’ve had enough alone time, thank you very much, you cry. Usually two loud sobs. When I come in, you’ve miraculously quit crying and are stretched up as far as your neck will go, trying to look over the side of the crib to see me as soon as I walk into the room. The degree of cuteness of this game varies depending on the time of night. Before two a.m., it’s waaaaay cuter.

Sam, you have been part of our lives for six months. Half of a year. That is unbelievable. Unbelievable because it’s only been six months, such a short time, and yet I can hardly remember what my life was like without you. It seems like yesterday that I was curled up on my side, rubbing your back through my belly, waiting for you. Now, every morning, when you wake up, I bring you into bed with me. One of my favorite things in the whole world is the moment when I lie down next to you and you curl toward me and stretch out your hand to me. We lie there, my big hand on your back, your little hand on my cheek, and let sleep descend onto us. Let the hours pass, I don’t care, I am snuggling with my son, my Sam.

Love,
Mommy

Ghosts and Gettysburg November 11, 2008

We had a ton of fun in Gettysburg. It gets dark so early, that lots of our pictures are night shots. Here is Sam, taking control of the artillery on Culp’s Hill (which happens to be a rather haunted site on the battlefields. Ooooooh!).

Speaking of haunted, here’s a picture of Rob and Sam. (Rob is sporting his ultra-cool headlight, that actually came in handy when we sneaked into the park after hours.) Notice the circle above Rob’s head. That’s called an orb. If you believe in ghosts and other paranormal things (which I do, don’t think differently of me!), this orb is a manifestation of a spirit. I don’t know very much about this stuff, but I do know that I am fascinated by the prospect that there may be dead soldiers watching over the battlefields where they met their demise. Anyway, here are Rob and Sam, looking all cute.

And here’s a failed family photo using the stretch-out-your-arm-and-try-to-get-everyone-in-the-picture method. I still think it’s cute.

Friday night, we went on a ghost tour. We’ve officially been on every ghost tour this company provides, with the exception of the bus tour. The tours are lead by storytellers who entertain the group with tales of ghostly activity in the city of Gettysburg. Our Friday tour took us to the Lutheran Seminary campus, where our guide told stories about the hauntings on the campus. We (ok, I) took lots of pictures trying to capture orbs, because it’s fun to try to spook yourself. Here are two pictures, taken right after the other. I think you’ll be able to see what showed up in the picture.

As you can see, Sam enjoyed the ghost tour.

The next day, we hiked up Big Round Top on the battlefields. There are two Round Tops (big hills). Little Round Top is more touristy, but has a beautiful view of the countryside. Big Round Top is very wooded and more “off the beaten path” and very nice to walk up to the top. We strapped Sam into the Bjorn and took off up the hill. Here’s Rob and Sam at the top. Sam was happy to be hiking, though you couldn’t tell from this expression.

That night, we went into the park after hours to walk around. It was a beautiful night, just perfect for a walk. Plus, we had eaten a gigantic dinner and needed to walk some of it off. Sam was along for the ride. I swear he’s in there. Look closely…

And Rob found a friend…

We both had a couple of times where we got chills down our backs and felt creepy. It was awesome. I told Rob, I would give my left kidney to see a ghost. I think it would be so cool. I know there are lots of people out there that would disagree with me, but I think it would be incredible.

On Sunday, we went back into the park to Little Round Top. Sam and I stayed on top, by the rocks, while Rob hiked around the hill. It was too cold and windy for Sam to be out in the Bjorn. And we took a picture to prove to Sam that he was actually there.

Then we let Sam drive home.

Be All That You Can Be November 10, 2008

We’ve returned from Gettysburg. It was so fun! As Rob said, it’s so nice to be in a place that has so much history, and a distinct style and identity because of it. We hiked around the battlefields, went on a couple of ghost tours, checked out the new stores downtown, and ate at some of our favorite restaurants. More on the trip later…

Here’s the real news. On Saturday, Sam army-crawled forward toward a toy that was out of his reach. It was amazing. He had such a look of determination on his face. I got teary. (If I get teary watching him figure out forward motion, imagine what a puddle I will be when he goes to kindergarten!) We didn’t capture it on video, because we were frozen, watching him pull himself forward with his arms. I was so happy to be there with Rob, in our Cricket House, watching our baby learning about his world. I can’t imagine anything more fun than that.

Sam With Two Bergmans November 6, 2008

Gettysburg Bound

Tomorrow Rob, Sam and I are going to Gettysburg for the weekend. It’s our birthday celebration weekend. Not actually our birthday weekend, but the extended version from October. We’re staying at the same place we did during our minimoon. I am so excited. We’re going to walk the battlegrounds and go on a ghost tour. Again. I am obsessed with them. I’m sure you’ll hear more about them when we get back, because I love them. L-O-V-E. And I think that there must be cute baby shops that will require a visit, so Sam has something to remember his trip by, because what is a baby going to do with a magnet or a snowglobe? Eat it? People frown on babies eating magnets. I think that falls under the Bad Parenting category.

Right now, Sam is unloading his toy basket. He just flipped his jack-in-the-box out of the basket and is banging it with his little fists. We are so close to banging pots and pans. It’s gonna be great.

Rock the Vote — Remember That MTV Campaign? November 4, 2008

This has been a very long and heated election season. I have refrained from talking about politics on this blog, because it’s a blog about a baby, not the economy, foreign policy, or Joe the Plumber. But today is election day. And you should vote. Go vote. Really. Go now. Don’t put it off until later. The lines are going to be really long, so bring a snack. And maybe a book.