Holding baby

Today was the second time we've been allowed to hold our son. We took turns sitting with him on our chests, skin to skin. It was nice. He's still so small i'm afraid to move him much or disturb his sleep. But he did wake up for us and looked us over real well to get acquainted. We leave the hospital tonight after his first bath, in 20 minutes.

Pit stop

Riding on two shots of espresso, i'm home to collect the items that would have been in our over night bag if we'd been prepared to give birth. Baby is doing pretty good. Just working on breathing and having strong lungs free of fluid. I'm off work for the time being. Nice to have a break but I sure wish we were taking our new son home with us.

It's a boy!

Last night we came to the hospital because my wife had started bleeding. Contractions were already under way and after a couple attempts to stop them, the doctors decided it would be better to just have the baby early. It's about 6 weeks early, and he required some respiratory help, but over all he is doing well. He weighs 5 pounds 3 ounces. His name is Asher.

Work day

Today we build the wicked shed. Hope it goes speedily.

I'm glad it's Friday

This week has been odd. Glad work is over for now

3 2 1 sleep

The past couple days have been sleep deprived. Problem is, when I get home, and especially after our son goes to bed, I can't see wasting all that good time asleep. It's time for the wife and I to catch up and goof off and get some house things out in order and what have you. Plus, a pregnant wife is a restless bed fellow anyway so sleep is spotty. My eye bags are huge. All practice for the upcoming baby I guess.

Good hair day

I didn't shower and instead used the kitchen sink to wash my hair. I also switched shampoos. It looks great, no?

Heart attack man

A friend at work had a stint put in this weekend. I guess he had some chest pains and went to the hospital to get checked out. Now he's a heart patient. It makes me feel mortal because he's only a few years older than me and has some of the same habits I used to have. I guess we all get sick sometimes and die sometime. It's no good sitting and waiting for the inevitable.

Interrupted

I worked late and stayed up for a while when I got home. This morning I woke up earlier than usual. Then before I fell back asleep, our son woke up and came in to say hello. From that point on I was up. I don't feel tired in my body but my poor brain feels like it's trying to pull a load uphill with a mis-firing cylinder. I need a sleep day! A sleep week. But this is the trade off for enjoying the work of love in my family. It's worth missing some sleep for.

Lazy morning

I work late today, a side effect of escaping weekend duty. We are all just hanging out downstairs, listening to classic rock on the cable music channel. Today is my first opportunity to accompany our son to his afternoon preschool. It will be nice to see where he spends his afternoons while i'm away at work.

Back home

We made it home in one piece and one peace. Had some trouble trying to get our son to take a nap, but he finally nodded off and was much better to be around when he awoke. Mom and I unwound in front of the TV with a minor interruption during which I went to the store to get some chips and dips to satisfy a craving. I expect to sleep like a log finally.

Wedding party

The reception was nice last night. Free bud light and a cash bar. The kids all met each other on the dance floor long before the music started. Our son was tired and rowdy but he got a second wind after a short rest in the van, and he had a ball doing all the silly traditional dances with the wedding party. And I met a whole slug of good new family.

New faces

This morning we had breakfast with my wife's friend and husband. They have been married for two years but were unable to live together for most of that time because she is Canadian. She had horror stories to tell about the immigration process.
Now we're visiting some family, trying to decide how the rest of the day will go. We'd like to stay in the same hotel as the relatives if possible. I just want to be out of the van for awhile. I will forget 20 names before the day is over. They will remember me as the really tall guy. Ah well. At least there is cake.

Hitting the road

Today we are traveling to Minnesota for a wedding. It's going to involve many potty breaks since we have a child and a pregnant woman in our posse. I get to meet some of my mother in law's family on this trip. I haven't yet met a single one although I've heard stories of them. I'm looking forward to it. The rest area is busy today. Older folks hitting the highway for the weekend.

Competition Day

My off the cuff salsa entry is one of six competitors in this year's contest. I think it stands out above the others but I will admit that it is not a traditional flavor. Let's hope the gourmands are voting in record numbers this time. Last year the didn't bother at all and I was disappointed.

$148 smile

After a long painful visit to the dentist during which I was unimpressed with the gas, I have a shiny set of pearly white teeth. And bleeding gums.

Dentist day

Today I am fortunate to have a 3-hour dental appointment. Apparently all those years as a closet smoker did a number on my teeth. So I have to sit through some high tech super thorough cleaning this morning. At least I don't have any cavities!
Next major mouth work will be the removal of my wisdom teeth. I'm putting it off as long as I can.

Fw: Mother of pearl

-----Original Message-----
From: jrwknutson@gmail.com

Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:14:44
To: GOOGLE<go@blogger.com>
Subject: Mother of pearl

My wife went in for a check up with her new doctor. He says she's farther along than we were initially told. That's fine by us. Maybe he'll be born on Halloween! A hallowed child. With glowing eyes and bat wings. Let's hope not. We'd need to think of a different name.

Papers

Adoption papers came yesterday by priority mail! It's just a matter of time now. We need to get our papers signed and notarized to finish the process. I got pretty choked up about it when I saw the letter. It's been 4 months since we sent the letter to his dad and I almost thought he wasn't going to sign. God is good!

Seconds

Today I am continuing to tackle the problem of our messy oversized home page at work. I have such vague wonderful ideas that I have a hard time focusing enough to make any headway. Slowly it will become useful and wonderful. It's got a long way to go yet, and everyone knows it. But it's my baby and I still love it.

Down with the sickness

Had a sick child yesterday. The in-laws baby sat while we went to the new Coen brothers movie. It was ok. We came home to learn our son had thrown up. I felt bad for leaving. The rest of the evening was spent on the couch, throwing up every two hours. I woke up with stomach cramps in the middle of the night but seem to have avoided the worst of the bug.

Group poop.

The whole family came in to experience my bowel movement today. We're going to eat some lunch and maybe see a movie. I hope it goes as planned.

Real expensive

I met with a realtor today to get my house on the market. He wants to ask enough to get me out of it for nothing. Cover fees and all that with one big check. He made me optimistic for the first time in a long time. Seemed like a nice gay fellow. Drove a nice car so he must sell houses from time to time.
Then we went to the library and spent 33.50 paying off fines. Reminds me of some radiohead lyrics. you do it to yourself you do, and that's why it really hurts.

Spider insider

Last night I went to collect our son from church while his mom say through a training video. We played in his class room for a bit and I cut out a spider man figure from some black paper. When we got home he was tired and I was tired. When bed time rolled around we got mad at each other and he went to bed unhappy. I felt bad about it until he relieved my guilt this morning by showing off the paper spider man to mom that I had made last night. He's a quick forgiver and I have a lot to learn from him.

Burning down the house

I'm so fed up with the 800 pound gorilla that is my old house that I'm willing to cash in my 401k to cover the loss I'm going to suffer as I sell it at fire sale price. Every time I go over to mow the lawn I find a new reason to get depressed about it. Be gone with you foul house! May the birds pick your bones clean!

Pot luck

Last night was the family pot luck to celebrate grandpa's 85th birthday. It was a nice time. Even though I got there late, the dining hadn't started until I walked in the door. After we ate the generations all separated out into groups in the yard and in the house. We talked and the kids played and the elders watched it all with a smile.

Relationships

Having trouble feeling like part of the family lately. I'm at work during peak hours so I miss out on the planning phase of our immediate future and I get leftover energy and emotions when I finally walk in the door. Supper is over and I feel like a surprise guest in my own home. Power through!

Stress advice

My friend Dean lives in New Mexico. We exchange advice from time to time. He thinks this knot in the muscles by my shoulder blade is from stress. Could be. He recommends several deep breaths before I stand up really fast and pass out for a few seconds. Clears the mind of all things. Here goes...

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I spent 30 minutes getting a shard of shingle rock out of my palm this morning. Feels much better now. The roof wasn't even close to being finished when Chad and I left last night and it's been raining all day. Someone just left without washing his hands. On the next pot luck day I should be nervous

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On the John

My body clock goes off around 11am every day. I poop at work.