Adam's First Ear Infection!

Which leads to Adam's first unscheduled doctor's appointment! Which leads to Adam's first prescription!

Poor little fella. He should be feeling better in the next day or two.

Another Jones?!?

Congrats to Gregg and Kris. Payton looks great.

Now comes the pooping. Oh, the pooping...

Return to Work: The Reckoning

Twelve weeks today.

Time's up.

Jean went back to work this afternoon. Adam and I stayed home. It went a little like this:

That's Better

Also not a traditional lullaby:

WSU FIGHT SONG
Fight, fight, fight for Washington State! Win the victory!
Win the day for Crimson and Gray! Best in the West, we know you'll all do your best, so
On, on, on, on! Fight to the end! Honor and Glory you must win! So
Fight, fight, fight for Washington State and victory!

But I'm okay with it.

The Magic Switch

I'm betting that just about everyone has had a switch in their house that doesn't seem to be attached to anything. When you flip it, nothing seems to change, leaving you to wonder why in the heck it's there. It's so common that stand-up comics have been joking for years about how the switch must turn on a light half-way around the world, and your flipping it on and off is really making someone in Bangalore quite angry.

Somewhere in another part of the world someone flipped the switch attached to Adam.

He's suddenly eating less often and sleeping much better at night. Saturday evening - the day of the soccer, the basketball, and the beer, beer, beer - Adam finished eating around 8 p.m. and we put him to bed not long after. He slept until about 4:30 and ate until 5. Then he went back to sleep until about 8. With one exception, he's been doing basically that every night since. It was as if he had decided that it's okay to sleep through the night.

And that's not all. He's been napping more during the day too. He still eats about every three hours during the day, but he's been taking 10-30 minute naps between each feeding. And when he eats, he tends to eat a little less than he had been eating before the mystery change.

When he's awake between feedings and naps, he's active and alert and generally happy and playful. He laughs more and is making more sounds. He's also grabbing more things and feeling them, instead of just accidentally touching them. Jean's been working with him a lot on this.

He used to enjoy his pacifier most of the time when he was just hanging out, but now he doesn't want/need his pacifier nearly as often, as he's quite taken with the taste of his hands, and they satisfy him just fine, thank you very much.

In short, he's a whole new boy, and he's a boy we like.

But why?

Well, the only major change we've made is to start using "gas juice," otherwise known as simethicone, with each feeding. It's supposed to take the edge off the gas that is inevitable with a new digestive system that's learning how to operate. And he needed it. His gas was starting to make him so uncomfortable that it was waking him up and seemed to cause him pain, not just discomfort. Back then, it was a bit like this:

Now, he's much better. It didn't completely eliminate his gas, but it made it much more manageable for him.

Of course, every now and then, he's overcome with a certain level of ennui. But then, who isn't?

So, if any of you flipped a switch last weekend and you thought nothing happened, I've just got one message for you: For the love of all that is good and right in the world, please, I'm begging you. DON'T. TOUCH. THAT. SWITCH. AGAIN. LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS!

Adam's Honkapalooza and Sucktime Jamboree

A couple of months ago, I pointed out that Adam has the very entertaining ability to honk like a goose during feeding. Unfortunately, we hadn't found a way to let you experience it first-hand. But, through the miracle of video pointed away from the action, now you too (including Caroleigh!) can join in the fun!

This video doesn't capture our little guy at his loudest, but the first half gives you a flavor for what it can be like.

Jus' Chillin'

Ever since Adam arrived, our social calendar hasn't exactly been crazy-full. We rarely go anywhere other than the gym and the grocery store.

So last weekend, it was fun to invite friends over for some kicking of soccer ball, grilling of meat (chicken and hamburger) and meat-like products (brats), watching of basketball, and drinking of malted beverages. And Adam got to be held by someone other than Jean and me.

Heidi had a grand time holding Adam. She claimed that those farting sounds coming from their direction were Adam's doing, but, frankly, we had our doubts.
Audra had things well in hand... Hmm, perhaps that should be the other way around.
But Toney, on the other hand, wisely was enrolled in the Hold-a-Beer-Not-a-Baby Program.

Pit Stop!

We didn't see "Cars" when it was in theaters. In fact, we didn't see it until a few months ago when it was on cable. It's not that we didn't expect it to be good; it's just that we always found something else to watch instead. After all, we're living in the era of Jet Li, Jason Statham, and Vin Diesel. I mean, come on; it never had a chance.

Anyhoo, we finally saw the movie and of course enjoyed it. The story has been told many times before, but it was well done and the animation was often quite impressive (especially the scene in which Doc does a lap of the dirt track). They also did a good job of creating entertaining peripheral characters. One of our favorites was Guido, the forklift, whose dream is to perform a pit stop on a race car, preferably a Ferrari, and who expresses this desire by periodically and enthusiastically calling for a "Pit Stop!"

Naturally, when it came time to start changing Adam regularly, changings became "Pit Stop!"s. It doesn't mean a thing to him, but it makes changing him a little more enjoyable for me, and that's what really matters.

[And if it's really bad - a blowout, fer instance - and a new outfit is required, that's called "Taking Him Behind the Wall to the Garage." There is not as much enthusiasm for this maneuver.]

El Mariachi

According to the books, Adam is supposed to be approaching the stage in which he grabs everything and promptly stuffs it into his mouth. As you can see, he's almost there.

Unlikely Lullaby

Overheard Jean singing to Adam last evening: The Way, by Fastball.

Lyrics:

They made up their minds
And they started packing
They left before the sun came up that day
An exit to eternal summer slacking
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

They drank up the wine
And they got to talking
They now had more important things to say
When the car broke down they started walking
Where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

Anyone can see the road that they walk on
Is paved with gold
It's always summer
They'll never get cold
They'll never get hungry
They'll never get old and grey
You can see their shadows wandering off somewhere
They won't make it home
But they really don't care
They wanted the highway
They're happier there today

Their children woke up
And they couldn't find them
They left before the sun came up that day
They just drove off and left it all behind them
But where were they going without ever
Knowing the way?

Not too bad, I guess, but I'm going to start worrying about Jean if she starts singing Charlie, the Methodone Man.