Head's Up

Adam, doing big boy things (cinematography by John Alton).

Candygram for Mongo

Adam had his two month doctor's appointment today. The visit involved four shots, so he wasn't a happy boy after that, but the doctor says he looks and sounds great. No problems at all. He weighed in somewhere between Oh My Goodness! and Holy Cow!

15 pounds 6 ounces

23.5 inches

Soon we will have to install a baby seat on his ox.

No. No. No.

Each night, Jean feeds Adam late in the evening and goes to bed. Adam and I hang out downstairs, and it's up to me to get him to sleep. This can happen quickly or slowly, on a blanket or in the bouncy seat, happily or with much complaining, but no matter what's going on downstairs, it's time for Jean to rest.

When Adam finally falls asleep, I lay down on the couch and sleep until he wakes up to be fed again. For a long time, this was a three hour nap. Then it started getting a little longer.

The last two nights, Adam has slept for five hours straight during our downstairs time.

Each of the last two nights, Jean has come down after four hours and forty-five minutes to ask if everything is all right.

GAAAHHHH!!!

Happy Spring Festival!

Jean cleans Adam up, dresses him in funny clothes, and takes some Easter pictures:

"I feel like such a tool."

And, he's spent:

All-Purpose Sports Post

Adam is looking forward to the start of baseball season. But remember, there's no crying in baseball.
On the NCAA hoops front, I estimate that the tournament was roughly 2 hours 40 minutes old when I was mathematically eliminated in my pool wealth redistribution exercise. I guessed wrong on literally every upset. All of my final four teams are still alive, but I'm toast.

The good news: COUGS!!! I hear they played great. I hear it because I still haven't seen a minute of game action thanks to CBS's regional coverage that seems to forbid any look-in or even mention of other games going on in other regions. Which means I must get my coverage online. Quote of the day:

The Fighting Irish came into the second-round East regional clash averaging 80 points per game; it would have taken them another 38 minutes to reach that figure against a Washington State defense that didn't so much contest shots as rage against their very existence.

I don't give the Cougs a good chance of beating North Carolina (assuming the Heels get past Arkansas today), but you know my record of picking upsets, so place your bets accordingly.

Soon-To-Be Obsolete NCAA Tournament Predictions/Prayers

I love and hate this time of year. On the one hand, we've got basketball, basketball, BASKETBALL! On the other, I invariably have no idea what the heck is going to happen, resulting in my laughably inept brackets.

So I'll keep this simple:

1. Go (to the Sweet 16) Cougs!
2. Go (to the second round) Zags!
3. Go (to the Elite 8) Butler!
4. Go (to the Final Four) Stanford!

UPDATE:
First half score: 29-29.
Second half score: Cougs 42 Winthrop 11.
Final score: Cougs 71 Winthrop 40.
Aside from that, my bracket's already in tatters. Viva Madness!

Smile! It's St. Patrick's Day!

Faith and Begorrah

via Crooked Timber.

Ch-Ch-Changes

Adam's doing well. He seems to have passed his most recent growth spurt. He's eating a little less often, and he's eating a little less when he does. We were wondering if he was ever going to slow down. This last growth spurt lasted a couple of weeks, so he's pretty danged big now.

Wait, that's not Adam; it just seems like it.

Here's our little monkey. Much of his growth has been devoted to getting longer, not rounder (the 0-3 month clothes are a little too short for him now), but he still managed to develop fat rolls on his upper thighs. That's my little over-achiever!

He's using his hands a little more these days, but he's not exactly dexterous. He has always been a good grabber, but now he's starting to realize that he can manipulate things, not just grab them. He doesn't really know what to do with the stuff he gets hold of; it hasn't dawned on him that he's the one making that rattle sound when he shakes the rattle furiously. I'm glad he hasn't figured that out yet; when he does, that rattle will be a-movin' and a-groovin', if only to make more noise for dad.

He knows who pays the bills.

"I'm not letting go until you tell me why I'm dressed like a nerd."

He's sleeping in longer stretches too. Not through the night or anything - just longer. He went five hours a couple of nights ago, and four and a half the next night, and four last night (I know, the trend is in the wrong direction, but I've got no choice but to be optimistic). When he's awake during the day, he's more active, so it's a trade-off between longer sleeping at night and more effort to entertain him throughout the day.

Oh, almost forgot. The bouncy seat is the greatest thing in the history of things. More on that later, if I get around to it.

Frigging Daylight Savings

That is all.

Go Cougs, eh!

Adam doesn't have much in the way of WSU gear. It's too bad too because Coug clothing makes Canadian babies happy; I'll bet it would work on Adam too.

But the cupboard is no longer completely bare. The other day fellow Cougs Audra and Ryan brought Adam his very own Cougie Bank. Very cool, guys. Thanks!

Who Are You, and What Have You Done With Adam?

The times, they are a-changin'. Some of the changes are good; others, not so much.

Lately, he seems to be a different baby each day (and let's not even go into each night). Some days, he's Mr. Fussy - never wanting to sleep, never comfortable, always wanting to be held, never satisfied by feeding, never happy with a new diaper, etc. Just generally perturbed with the state of things.


Other days, he's Mr. Happy Boy - alert when awake, smiling and talking, whether on a blanket on the floor, in our arms, in the crib. Diaper change? Good. Feeding? Great! On these days, you name it, he likes it.


Other days, it's Mr. Just Let Me Sleep (and Eat).


And still other days, he's somewhere in-between. He's not necessarily Mr. Happy Boy, but he wants to be held. All. Day. It works to calm him down, but it gets a little old for us to be holding him all the time. It's days like this that he earns his newest nickname, Adam-big-u-is: defined as the the state of not knowing if he wants to be awake or asleep and getting heavier in our arms as we try to figure out which he REALLY wants. When we hold him, he calms down and fades out, but as soon as we put him down, he wakes up and fusses. Then we hold him until our arms can't take it anymore, and we start over again. If he would just decide to either sleep or be awake, that would be better than the constant holding of the ever-growing baby.

But now we've discovered the magic of the bouncy seat. Not only does it bounce a little when he moves around, but it also can vibrate enough to temporarily distract him from whatever is bugging him at the moment.

Inventor of the bouncy seat, I salute you.

And now he's getting too big for the #1 size diapers, and it's time to start on the #2s. [I want it noted for the record that we're discussing diapers, and I have not made any jokes about #1 and #2. I think it's a sign I too am growing as a person.] The problem, if you can call it a problem, is that we've been using Pampers, and Costco doesn't carry Pampers. We're going to try out some other brands and see what happens. If I can do so in a tasteful manner, I'll try to keep you posted. And if I can do so in a truly tasteless manner, I will *definitely* keep you posted.