May 2006 Archives

Wow, here we go again!

Josie had a check up a week and a half ago and she weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz. I'm pretty sure she's gained at least half a pound since then.

She is sleeping really well at night time sleeping 5.5 hours at a stretch most nights. Then she is up two hours later for her next feeding but that initial 5.5 hours really helps a mother out. :) She's starting to look around a lot more and is quite alert when awake. She loves staring at shiny things (cabinet handles, bracelets). Her neck is getting stronger and she tries to hold it up all the time.

Her favorite activity of late is to sit in her bouncy seat on the screened porch and watch her sister swim in the pool. The weather has been so nice that we can take her out at night and the fresh air seems to help her sleep.

Lots to do still, eat, sleep, grow, charm the grandparents. She's a busy girl.

This is a work-in-progress equivalent of our Bay Area Visitors page, inspired by our own exploring and Anthony's recent visit. Feel free to make suggestions, we're happy to add them!

Local Sights
Salt Springs State Park
Ross Park Zoo & Discovery Center
Roberson Museum & Science Center
Corning Museum of Glass
Finger Lakes Wine Region

Day Trips
Cooperstown
Saratoga Springs
New York City
Jacques Torres' Chocolate Factory

Festivals
Spiedie Fest
Montrose Blueberry Festival
Harford Fair
First Fridays
First Night
Maple Fest

Food
Spiedies
Wegmans Market
Lost Dog Cafe
Oak Hill Avenue Restaurants
Lone Maple Farm & Farmer's Market
The Cider Mill
Night Eagle Cafe
Dinosaur Barbeque
Saranac

Last weekend we made family outings out of both days and visited Ross Park Zoo and Salt Springs State Park. Unfortunately we didn't get more pictures, but Sophie really loved seeing the animals at the zoo, especially the little monkeys, and watching the fly fisherman with the rainbow trout dangling from a special strap on his waders at Salt Springs.

Last week a special present came in the mail for Sophie, a monogrammed armchair from The Company Store that Brandie had ordered. Sophie's been climbing into chairs lately, and we figured it was safer for her to have a stable one of her own.

The chair came unassembled, some oddly-shaped styrofoam parts that barely fit into their slipcover. Given the time and wrestling it took to assemble we were both relieved we had decided to open the box prior to giving it to Sophie, although her reaction to the styrofoam parts would probably have been just as fun.

She immediately took to the chair and has loved sitting in it since to watch her favorite program, The Boo Show (aka Monsters Inc., which she also asks for by growling and running in place, her imitation of Sully's "scary feet" workout routine.) We've also had a lot of fun with the box the chair came in, although maybe there's a little too much unexpressed creativity going into the project.

Ok last one for real and I have to go to bed... this is just too cute not to make a post with!

It's been a little while since we've had time to post, so I'll try to fill in some recent details. This week we were blessed with some visitors, one from New Zealand (Chris) and another from California (Anthony, pictured above with me). It was really great to see both of them, and perfectly timed given our adjustment to having two kids.

For dinner with both we had spiedies, sweet corn and salt potatoes, local fare that you'll have to try if you're ever in the Southern Tier, and Chris was lucky enough to get some delicious homemade rhubard pie (compliments of my step-mom). Anthony had a final piece of Chris's birthday cake that Trina baked and beautifully decorated (I wish I had taken a picture!), the little bit that we didn't have for breakfasts and desserts during Chris's visit. Since Chris had an extra night we also got takeout pizza from Joey's in Endicott, our new favorite thin-crust pizza in the area.

Tuesday night we crammed in a brief bonfire with Chris before he had to leave, even though the wood was wet from all the rain we've been getting it was a decent little blaze. Of course we also enjoyed a fair amount of Saranac and even a little of my favorite scotch since the weather was cool.

Thursday morning we met Anthony at the Park Diner for breakfast, a decent little place with a nice view of the river and downtown. Afterwards I gave Anthony the nickel tour of IBM Endicott and Oak Hill's restaurants, old Endicott-Johnson plants, downtown Binghamton and Riverside Drive's old mansions.

Thanks to Anthony and Chris for making time to see us on their trips to the East Coast, and to Dad & Sue for providing space for us visit with them!

Can you tell which is which, without looking?

Jake's dad has desperately been trying to get Sophie to say Grandpa since we have moved here. At times it seemed as though she was just taunting him, holding out on purpose. She would look around the dinner table, point at everyone and say their names skipping over George. I think she is a little like a cat in this instance; the more you want her to do something the less she wants to do it.

Today however, without prompting, she looked out the window to see her Grandpa mowing the lawn and said "Papa!". She said it again when asked after George came inside and he was more than a little pleased.

Our little girl isn't so little anymore. Maybe it is the arrival of her new sister that makes her seem so mature and big. Or maybe it's the fact that she has blossomed in the last month physically, emotionally and verbally. Either way, she is so much more dynamic it seems.

One of her most consistant things to do now is to give credit to whomever gives her something. For example, today I walked into the living room to see her eating a cookie. Now she never gets cookies and definitely not in the living room. She looked at me, held up her cookie and said "Mmmm, Daddo." Oh, so now I know where she got it. Jake swears it was his cookie and she swiped it from him while he wasn't looking but I have my doubts. :)

She will also tell on you if you do something that she doesn't like. She was trying to eat a piece of styrofoam the other day and I repeatedly asked her not to pick it up. "Don't put that in your mouth!" When she thought I wasn't looking she shoved it in as fast as she could. I instantly turned into my mother and grabbed her cheeks with my thumb and index finger forcing her mouth open, then scooped out the styrofoam. She ran into the kitchen and told her dad "Mama" then she put her hands on her cheeks and pressed as hard as she could ala chubby bear. I felt so terrible but I shouldn't let her eat styrofoam right?

She's currently trying to cut three teeth. I know, I know, you've heard this three teeth story for a couple months now but I am serious this time. She isn't sleeping, her nose is a faucet and it looks like two chicklets are trying to break in through her gums. Since Jake and I are dividing child duty currently, and he is unable to produce milk, he gets Sophie. This means that neither Jake or me are sleeping since Sophie wakes up everytime her tylenol wears off and then tosses and turns in between doses. We've been trying everything to get these teeth to cut through so she can have some relief. Chewing on carrots, pretzel sticks, teething rings, apples. I guess we'll just have to wait.

Most exciting is how well Sophie is taking to being a big sister. She loves the baby and even says Josie. She runs over to her bassinett and says "Hi baby." She loves watching her get her diaper changed and insists on kissing her on the head. She doesn't seem jealous but we are trying to include her as much as possible.

So, is it easier the second time around? There isn't really a direct answer in my case. Everyone says, each delivery is different and that was definitely true in the case of Josie's delivery.

I was induced on Friday morning when they started pumping me with Pitocin at 8 am. Every 20 minutes they would come in and crank up the dose until around 2:00 I was getting 22 ml per hour. They also decided to break my water at 12:30 (my doctors lunch break from her office hours). I was fine and joking around until about 1:45 when the contractions started to get uncomfortable. I sat in the whirlpool tub located in my delivery suite. After about 10 minutes of that I decided that I had reached my pain threshold and wanted the epidural.

The anesthesiologist showed up at about 3:00 and got to work. I have to admit, sitting with my back arched like "an angry cat" for about 25 minutes while something is injected into my spine was trying since my contractions were far worse than I remember them being with Sophie. Finally he finished and I could not longer feel the contractions in my uterus but felt as though I had no control over pushing. Jake asked if I felt like I needed to push and I said that I couldn't help it. The nurses were rolling their eyes since I was just measured and was less than half way dilated right before the epidural. Somehow, we convinced them to check again and sure enough, it was time! People started running and paging the doctor and telling me not to push. I don't think they understand that you really have no control over it.

Anyhow, the doctor got there just in time, I pushed for the most painful 11 minutes of my life and then our little angel was born. All in all, a pretty quick delivery once the contractions started becoming painful.

Jake still remains the best labor coach ever. He counted me through every push in a steady voice, helped me breathe through contractions, massaged my back and cracked jokes the whole time. What a partner in every sense. I am so lucky to have him to go through these things with.

If you asked her, Sophie will tell you her favorite books (or at least the ones she can ask for by name) are "ow" (Five Little Monkeys, who each jump on the bed and fall off to ow! hit their heads), "achoo" (The Mitten, about a bunch of animals who crowd into a lost mitten and are sent flying when one of them sneezes) and "pop pop pop" (Fish Eyes, a book about fish).

As evidenced by this unstaged photo, Sophie still enjoys her books quite a lot. This is my grandfather's old armchair she's sitting in, and gets read to in every night. With the help of a bin of baby clothes stored adjacent the chair she can climb in on her own. The first time we discovered this she was quite proud of herself, and rocked with glee when Brandie walked in.

In an admirable effort to bust the "second child gets no pictures" myth, Brandie's been shutter-happy with the camera. Enjoy her work! I know she's started a "Delivery #2" post but hasn't had time to finish it: we're being much more careful about getting our naps this time around.

I know Brandie's already looking forward to watching White Christmas with her daughters and teaching them the "sisters, sisters" song. We can only hope they inherited her love of musicals, and sense of humor.