Ken started his new job today and is pretty excited. He came back from the AILA conference with a bunch of great ideas for gaining business and potentially creating a Baltimore chapter of the organization.
Kieran went back to his second week of daycare today. He's having such a good time there (at least he did last week) he even made Ken a father's day card. I know, he's so talented for a 5-month-old.
He got his first taste of Oatmeal last night too. He liked it about as much as he liked the rice cereal. We'll probably start him on some of the veggies this week and then we'll move on to fruit. Some days he eats a lot and other days he doesn't seem to like it.
That's all from here. I think I'm coming down with a cold so I may not blog (or if I do it may not make much sense) for a while.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Dang It, I'm Tired!
So this single parenting gig sucks ass. Kieran went to sleep last night at 6:30 pm. A little early for him but not bad. I went to bed at 8:30 figuring I'd be out by 9 or 10 and then would get a decent night's sleep since I knew he'd be up early. His normal snoozing lasts from 7pm - 6am (yes, I know exactly how lucky I am right now).
At 3 am I heard him just kinda making noise. He wasn't upset or crying just babbling/grunting. By 4 am he sounded upset so I went in there and fed him. Tried to put him back down at 4:30 am, thinking I might be able to get one more hour of sleep before I had to be up. For 20 minutes he just sat there grunting and he started to sound grumpy again. I went in his room, turned on the mobile, figured I was up for the day so took my shower. At the end of my shower I notice the monitor is awfully quiet. Little bugger fell back asleep!
I went downstairs, cleaned up a bit, got his stuff ready for daycare and watched some TV (I've been averaging maybe an hour a day before I just get too tired and head to bed). I gave him a half hour and went upstairs again at 6am with a bottle in hand. Took me 5 minutes to wake him up (he was pretty well sound asleep) and I had to turn on some additional lights to get him moving.
Yes, I am very much ready for Ken to be home now. He's trying to get an earlier flight out on Sunday (originally not scheduled to be home until after Kieran was in bed) so he can spend at least some of his Father's Day with the munchkin. I can't tell you how happy I am that we have daycare this week. I think if I had to entertain him all day and be this tired, I'd just lose it.
Now a Father's Day shout-out!
Happy Father's Day Dad!
You have taught me that screaming at the top of my lungs is only OK at an Orioles game.
Happy Father's Day Poppop!
I have learned that you trust me, but you just don't trust me :-).
Happy Father's Day Andy!
You helped me understand that a punch in the arm is a sign of love from boys.
Love to all. Blog again soon.
At 3 am I heard him just kinda making noise. He wasn't upset or crying just babbling/grunting. By 4 am he sounded upset so I went in there and fed him. Tried to put him back down at 4:30 am, thinking I might be able to get one more hour of sleep before I had to be up. For 20 minutes he just sat there grunting and he started to sound grumpy again. I went in his room, turned on the mobile, figured I was up for the day so took my shower. At the end of my shower I notice the monitor is awfully quiet. Little bugger fell back asleep!
I went downstairs, cleaned up a bit, got his stuff ready for daycare and watched some TV (I've been averaging maybe an hour a day before I just get too tired and head to bed). I gave him a half hour and went upstairs again at 6am with a bottle in hand. Took me 5 minutes to wake him up (he was pretty well sound asleep) and I had to turn on some additional lights to get him moving.
Yes, I am very much ready for Ken to be home now. He's trying to get an earlier flight out on Sunday (originally not scheduled to be home until after Kieran was in bed) so he can spend at least some of his Father's Day with the munchkin. I can't tell you how happy I am that we have daycare this week. I think if I had to entertain him all day and be this tired, I'd just lose it.
Now a Father's Day shout-out!
Happy Father's Day Dad!
You have taught me that screaming at the top of my lungs is only OK at an Orioles game.
Happy Father's Day Poppop!
I have learned that you trust me, but you just don't trust me :-).
Happy Father's Day Andy!
You helped me understand that a punch in the arm is a sign of love from boys.
Love to all. Blog again soon.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Ask Me What My Husband Does
It's official - Ken is a lawyer. We went to the swearing in ceremony on Monday. It was quite nice actually - not boring or long (only 40 minutes total). Most interesting was that one of the Court of Appeals justices' last day was Ken's first day as a lawyer.
He's very excited and is now down in Orlando for the AILA conference. He's heartbroken about not seeing us for 5 days, but I'm sure he'll have fun at Universal and whatnot. Mostly he's there to schmooze, learn and pickup some clients.
Kieran is reacting very well to daycare. He smiles when he goes in and he smiles when I pick him up. I don't expect this to last, but it's his third day there and when he saw Miss Christy (one of his caretakers) he gave her a big smile. I was a little grumpy cuz I was right in front of him (Hey! Remember me? The woman who fed you this morning?) but I'm glad that he's enjoying it. It's better than the alternative.
He also ate an entire bowl of cereal last night. I'm going to try and do solid food twice a day. It's more for fun right now than nutrition. Just getting him used to the different textures. He ate only a few teaspoons this morning but enjoyed it anyway. That's all my news. I'm at work until 2pm today. Tomorrow until 3pm and then Friday until 4pm. Just easing Kieran into the daycare thing. OK back to work.
He's very excited and is now down in Orlando for the AILA conference. He's heartbroken about not seeing us for 5 days, but I'm sure he'll have fun at Universal and whatnot. Mostly he's there to schmooze, learn and pickup some clients.
Kieran is reacting very well to daycare. He smiles when he goes in and he smiles when I pick him up. I don't expect this to last, but it's his third day there and when he saw Miss Christy (one of his caretakers) he gave her a big smile. I was a little grumpy cuz I was right in front of him (Hey! Remember me? The woman who fed you this morning?) but I'm glad that he's enjoying it. It's better than the alternative.
He also ate an entire bowl of cereal last night. I'm going to try and do solid food twice a day. It's more for fun right now than nutrition. Just getting him used to the different textures. He ate only a few teaspoons this morning but enjoyed it anyway. That's all my news. I'm at work until 2pm today. Tomorrow until 3pm and then Friday until 4pm. Just easing Kieran into the daycare thing. OK back to work.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Bubbie Needs a Booster Seat
And apparently I'm only 3 inches away from needing one myself. I saw an ad the other night from the National Transportation Safety Board (OK, it was a PSA) that said until kids were 4' 9" they should be in a booster seat. Being that I'm only five feet and my grandmother used to be 4'10" (I'm sure she's shorter these days), we're angling for booster seats I guess.
Not much else is new. Going to start daycare next week as half days to get me and Kieran used to it. Ken leaves on Tuesday for Orlando for the AILA conference. We're going to move Fathers Day this year because Ken will be out of town on everyone else's fathers day. Will be an interesting experience for me, being the only parent for a while. I'm nervous but happy to be spending all that time with the munchkin.
OK, more coffee for me and back to work.
Not much else is new. Going to start daycare next week as half days to get me and Kieran used to it. Ken leaves on Tuesday for Orlando for the AILA conference. We're going to move Fathers Day this year because Ken will be out of town on everyone else's fathers day. Will be an interesting experience for me, being the only parent for a while. I'm nervous but happy to be spending all that time with the munchkin.
OK, more coffee for me and back to work.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
And the Place that Gets Most of Our Money Is...
Goddard.
I went to KinderCare and had a very different experience from Ken and I fretted all night long about it (I actually didn't sleep for 2 1/2 hours because of this). When I went to KinderCare at the end of the day the kids were smiling and the woman who showed me around was very affectionate with the children. That was what I felt might be missing at Goddard.
So this morning I went to Goddard and talked to the director about my misgivings. Then I looked at the infant room again. While I was there the caregiver was taking care of 2 infants, one of them was bawling in a swing while she fed the other one. They (caregiver and director) explained the bawling kid was teething. As soon as he caught sight of me and the director he started smiling. "Oh, I guess you're just tired of looking at me, eh?" joked the caregiver. The tone of voice she used and the obvious affection she had for a kid that was crying his heart out not just a second before convinced me.
I liked that there were fewer infants at Goddard (6 compared to up to 12 at KinderCare) and that they would be working with Kieran on sign language (not that we'd expect him to learn anything right away). They also have a Spanish cirriculuum. Finally, I talked with my brother this morning who reassured me that we can do this for now and, so long as we're not signing any long-term contracts (we're not) we can always change our minds and find a new situation.
Whew. One less thing to worry about, on to the next....
I went to KinderCare and had a very different experience from Ken and I fretted all night long about it (I actually didn't sleep for 2 1/2 hours because of this). When I went to KinderCare at the end of the day the kids were smiling and the woman who showed me around was very affectionate with the children. That was what I felt might be missing at Goddard.
So this morning I went to Goddard and talked to the director about my misgivings. Then I looked at the infant room again. While I was there the caregiver was taking care of 2 infants, one of them was bawling in a swing while she fed the other one. They (caregiver and director) explained the bawling kid was teething. As soon as he caught sight of me and the director he started smiling. "Oh, I guess you're just tired of looking at me, eh?" joked the caregiver. The tone of voice she used and the obvious affection she had for a kid that was crying his heart out not just a second before convinced me.
I liked that there were fewer infants at Goddard (6 compared to up to 12 at KinderCare) and that they would be working with Kieran on sign language (not that we'd expect him to learn anything right away). They also have a Spanish cirriculuum. Finally, I talked with my brother this morning who reassured me that we can do this for now and, so long as we're not signing any long-term contracts (we're not) we can always change our minds and find a new situation.
Whew. One less thing to worry about, on to the next....
Monday, June 04, 2007
Daycare Dilemma
Ken's got a job with the firm Kollman & Saucier. They do Employment Discrimination law and much more. They had been farming out their immigration work but will now be able to do this in-house. They expect Ken to spend 50% of his time doing work for them and 50% of his time doing business development. He's essentially going to be able to start his practice under their roof, insurance, etc.
While this is great news (we get to keep the house - yea!), it means daycare for Kieran. We went to Goddard School today here in Owings Mills (where I work) and Ken visited KinderCare. He really liked Goddard compared to KinderCare, felt that it was more organized, cleaner and generally a nicer facility. I'm going to visit KinderCare on my way home to give it a look-see.
I'm starting to get really upset about the idea of sending him to daycare at all. I don't know that I prefer a nanny, but it seems like a lot of kids to few adults. Maybe it's just me. I'm nearly in tears over it, but it's something we have to do - we both need to work. The good news is that we will start this next week, when I was planning on being off work completely as Ken will be in Orlando for the AILA conference.
Instead of taking the entire week off, I'll be doing half days. This will help me (I won't be the sole caregiver 24-7 that week) and will ease Kieran into daycare instead of "OK, complete change of pace!" I'm upset about it, but I think that once he's there he'll start getting on a schedule, will start being able to do more/socialize, etc. OK back to work. Will blog again tomorrow with our decision.
While this is great news (we get to keep the house - yea!), it means daycare for Kieran. We went to Goddard School today here in Owings Mills (where I work) and Ken visited KinderCare. He really liked Goddard compared to KinderCare, felt that it was more organized, cleaner and generally a nicer facility. I'm going to visit KinderCare on my way home to give it a look-see.
I'm starting to get really upset about the idea of sending him to daycare at all. I don't know that I prefer a nanny, but it seems like a lot of kids to few adults. Maybe it's just me. I'm nearly in tears over it, but it's something we have to do - we both need to work. The good news is that we will start this next week, when I was planning on being off work completely as Ken will be in Orlando for the AILA conference.
Instead of taking the entire week off, I'll be doing half days. This will help me (I won't be the sole caregiver 24-7 that week) and will ease Kieran into daycare instead of "OK, complete change of pace!" I'm upset about it, but I think that once he's there he'll start getting on a schedule, will start being able to do more/socialize, etc. OK back to work. Will blog again tomorrow with our decision.
Friday, June 01, 2007
The Kid Who Ate the World
Kieran got his first taste of solid food last night. He liked it and ate more than we initially planned on giving him. The book I was referring to suggested no more than one teaspoon at his first feeding. He probably ate at least a tablespoon, maybe more.
We have it on video and will be sharing it with anyone who's interested. It's pretty funny to see his reaction. We were completely convinced he'd spit it out or get fully covered in it. Kieran showed us - he even ate right from the spoon. He'd grab it after I loaded it up, pull it towards his mouth and chow down.
I thought he'd like solid food right off the bat but I never expected him to go so whole hog. We'll do another small feeding tonight. Right now the food is more for fun, getting him used to the texture and eating something other than liquid or from a bottle. Soon he'll actually have meals of this stuff.
On another note, I finally saw him roll onto his stomach last night. While we knew he could do it (we'd set him to bed on his back and he'd be on his belly in the morning), he'd never done it where either of us could see. Last night he did it in front of me (I'm not sure he was really aware I was in the room). It was funny - a three-step process. First he'd get onto his side which he's been able to do for a long time. Then he'd get a little further towards lying on his stomach, with one arm trapped underneath. Finally, he wiggles just a little so he can release that arm and voila! Now on belly. Now that he's on his stomach when he wants to be, he's also scooting with his legs - maybe he will crawl before he walks. I'm not sure. Any bets on that one?
Godzilla Movie References are Always Funny
Ken took Kieran to Games Workshop yesterday where they have large tables with scenery set up for gameplay. As no one was currently playing. Ken took Kieran and let him stand on the table (with Ken's help of course) and let him be Kieran-zilla, tromping over towns, rivers and trees. I'm mostly upset that we don't have video of this. I think I'll be sending Ken back with the camera to get pictures. I've been telling Kieran since he was born that he will learn different types of humor from different people. His mother knows that Godzilla movie references are always funny (Godzilla movies, however, not always funny).
We have it on video and will be sharing it with anyone who's interested. It's pretty funny to see his reaction. We were completely convinced he'd spit it out or get fully covered in it. Kieran showed us - he even ate right from the spoon. He'd grab it after I loaded it up, pull it towards his mouth and chow down.
I thought he'd like solid food right off the bat but I never expected him to go so whole hog. We'll do another small feeding tonight. Right now the food is more for fun, getting him used to the texture and eating something other than liquid or from a bottle. Soon he'll actually have meals of this stuff.
On another note, I finally saw him roll onto his stomach last night. While we knew he could do it (we'd set him to bed on his back and he'd be on his belly in the morning), he'd never done it where either of us could see. Last night he did it in front of me (I'm not sure he was really aware I was in the room). It was funny - a three-step process. First he'd get onto his side which he's been able to do for a long time. Then he'd get a little further towards lying on his stomach, with one arm trapped underneath. Finally, he wiggles just a little so he can release that arm and voila! Now on belly. Now that he's on his stomach when he wants to be, he's also scooting with his legs - maybe he will crawl before he walks. I'm not sure. Any bets on that one?
Godzilla Movie References are Always Funny
Ken took Kieran to Games Workshop yesterday where they have large tables with scenery set up for gameplay. As no one was currently playing. Ken took Kieran and let him stand on the table (with Ken's help of course) and let him be Kieran-zilla, tromping over towns, rivers and trees. I'm mostly upset that we don't have video of this. I think I'll be sending Ken back with the camera to get pictures. I've been telling Kieran since he was born that he will learn different types of humor from different people. His mother knows that Godzilla movie references are always funny (Godzilla movies, however, not always funny).
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