Happy Birthday to Uncle BSU

A good year for you... Seahawks in the Superbowl, Lil Eleven plus an amazing Fiesta Bowl. Hoping next year is even better!!!

All work and no blogging...

I should be back to a more predictable schedule next week. In the meantime...

A new nightgown from Nanna

Sweater from Gigi, tights from Nanna (big hit!)

First snowman & other snow day adventures.

Sleeping for Two

When Boo was under construction, she ate like a hobbit. Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevensies, Lunch, Tea, Dinner, Supper, Snack. It was always time to eat. This continued for a few months after she was born, only then I needed to eat and she needed to eat, both at least six times a day.

R2 really thinks that three meals a day is a bit excessive. What's with all this eating all the time? Didn't we just do that? Can't we nap instead?

I can sleep for two hours at any time, on any day, with about 5 minutes notice. At night, I get tired at least an hour before Boo does. In the morning, I'm already planning when I will be able to get a nap.

This week, all week, there will be no naps. There were also no naps on Saturday because I was teaching. I did sleep from Saturday night at about 9 until Sunday morning at 10. Then I worked out and showered. Then I took a 30 minute nap before I drove home. By 7:30 at night, I was ready for bed.

Right now it's lunchtime. R2 might like a little pineapple, but not nearly as much as he'd like a nap.

A look at the future

Mama and R2 are working in Grants Pass this weekend. The dinner report included yogurt for Boo and her baby. There was a running commentary on the gooey state of Boo's sleeves and the proper use of napkins.

So, since I don't have a thorough update from Strider's house, I'll share a story from a friend with a Big Sister, Little Brother household. Big Sister (5) learned a song at school and sang it for Little Brother (3). Little Brother loved the song and sings it all the time, although he has his own special version that Mama & Daddy cannot get him to change:

Jingle bells
Batman smells
Robin laid the maid...

The Short List

Here's the short list. This will give you an idea of what we're thinking. You'll notice some names break one or more of "the rules". Let us know (anonymously) what you think. As before, all rights reserved. We may choose one of these. We may choose something different. Additional suggestions still accepted.

In alphabetical order:

• Aiden
• Alton
• Aubin
• Beckett
• Brogan
• Camden
• Colby
• Corbett
• Liam
• Ridley
• Ronan
• Wyatt

Right now, the two "B" names are at the top of the short list.

Let the peanut gallery speak!

Doctor's Appointment

R2 and I went back for another ultrasound yesterday. The first time he didn't feel like letting the sonographer look at his heart. He wasn't much more cooperative yesterday, but she was very persistent. Everything looks good. All the right pieces are accounted for. And, he was still a boy.

Dr. G. is pleased with how we are both doing. I gained one pound in the past 2 weeks. Weight gain is slow this time, but I'm definitely not complaining about that as long as Dr. G. is happy with it. Next month's appointment is the glucose test. As Boo would say, "Mama! Mama! Eeew. Gross." After that I go to the bi-weekly appointment schedule. Sheesh, it's all going very fast! Daddy & I better get on putting his room together!

By Request

Do I have to register as an "adult" site now???

Dentist

Boo had her first dentist appointment yesterday. She got to sit in the chair and choose 2 toothbrushes (orange and pink, there was no purple available). She got stickers, which were big fun. She also got a clean bill of oral health.

Cravings

Boo liked:
Chicken salad sandwiches
Peppermint hot chocolate

R2 likes:
BLTs
Root beer

and also...
canned pineapple
cottage cheese
bagels

Counting

Still "Digging Out"

Too many days away from the office makes Mama a busy girl. Here's a picture of another busy girl to tide you over.

R2's First Pictures

9 Weeks















2o Weeks

Snow Day!

Frodo Picard Skywalker ****? Albus Kal-El Slayer ****?

The sonographer said "It looks like Daddy won't be outnumbered anymore."

Daddy said. "Hmm."

Mama said "Really?"

Daddy said. "Well, I guess we can stop debating girl names."

Which left us at square one. We have no boy names. Never did with Boo. Never did with R2.

The Game:

Suggest your boy names in the comments.

The Rules:

1. You must post as "anonymous".

2. Names will be judged based on the following guidelines. Although, we may choose a name that doesn't meet any of the guidelines, so go ahead and suggest anything!

• You can say it if you see it & spell it if you hear it
• Sounds good with the last name. Two syllables. Doesn't end in "m" or "n"
• Not in the top 100 names for 2005 (go here to test: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/)
• Can't be shortened, or, if it can be, shortens to something that meets the above rules
• Celtic-ish (Scottish, Irish, Welsh, etc.)

3. You may anonymously support names posted by others

The Prize:

The thrill of victory.

The Fine Print:

By participating in "The Game", you agree to the following conditions and penalties:

The legal and biological parents (hereinafter referred to as "Mama" and" "Daddy" retain sole and absolute naming authority and may choose any name or combination of names that pleases them. All results of this poll are null and void if Mama and Daddy find something they like better.

You will absolutely, positively and unconditionally NOT have your feelings hurt if Mama and Daddy don't choose the name you suggested. Even if you "voted" for your own name 100 times after you suggested it.

Any indication of your identity void your entry. Plus, Mama will delete your comment.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. In other words, "blech", "eeew", "yuckky", "ha ha ha ha", "you've got to be kidding" and the like are terms reserved for Mama and Daddy to use in the privacy of Strider's house.

Have fun!

If you build it, they will come. And they will make demands.

Which I invited, so I'm not complaining.

Belly circumfrence: 39 inches. Round. Carrying high. Belly button still an innie.

Daddy hasn't taken belly pictures or family pictures yet.

Yesterday we went to Baby Loves Disco.

Boo practiced her moves in advance.

Mama danced.

Boo liked her pear.

Really.

Very much.

Strider stayed home.

Boo also liked the snow.

And posing for pictures.

And more posing. This morning as she was getting ready, she asked "Where Daddy's camera?"

This is Daddy's favorite.

Daddy got a new toy

All Daddy wanted for Christmas was a new digital camera. He was cranky with the delay and picure quality of the dinosaur camera that we had (it was at least FOUR years old, which is an eternity in digital years). We did miss a lot of really great pictures because of the delay between the time the button got pushed and the shutter clicked. Bampa and Oosje experienced this first-hand when it took hours to get our Christmas card picture last year.

Daddy did many, many, many, many hours of research and then many, many more hours of shopping for just the right deal. He now has his very new own digital SLR. OK, technically "we" have a new digital SLR, but Daddy is giddy like a schoolgirl and takes it everywhere that he goes.

So, yesterday when Daddy said that Mama should post some photos, I think he was mostly looking for reasons to use his new toy. Regardless, he was right, Strider's House has been disappointingly photo-free for several readers.

The other night Boo got two things. One was a package from Family BSU with a pillow and blanket for Baby (Baby is any of 3 or 4 dolls that Boo attaches to on a rotating basis). Baby has been "warm and tozy" every since. Although at bedtime Boo sleeps on the baby pillow and Baby sleeps on the toddler pillow. The other thing was a nightgown. Mama got a nightgown and new slippers for Christmas (thanks Nanna & Papa) and it has become my evening uniform. When we get home, Boo says "nightgown on." She has been wanting her own nightgown and a friend gave us this one that her munchkin outgrew. It also goes on when we come home, over whatever she is wearing. It has become clear that Mama is going to have to invest in a few more. The Elmo slippers complete the look.

Casting Change

We've had our first casting change. It appears that Baby BSU has gone and gotten her own blog called "Eye on Eleven", where she stars as Lil' Eleven. So, Lil' Eleven she shall be.

For those who don't know, Lil's Daddy, Uncle BSU, lost a pedestrian-versus-truck fight in his teens. Out of that incident, he was granted a scar in the shape of an "11" on the back of his head. His preferred hairstyle is "as little as possible", so the scar is always prominently visible. "11" is an important concept to him, and Lil's real name is a derivation of "eleven".

For those of you who did know that story, need to keep up on both Boo and Lil' Eleven, are new to blogging, and wonder how you're going to get back and forth between the blogs... there's a link to Eye on Eleven to the left. I'm sure soon there will also be a link from there to Strider's House. Auntie BSU seems to steal all my ideas.

Favorites

Boo pointed out that she's the one running around and doing stuff right now, like learning how to say "little 'rudder", and yet, R2 is getting all the attention.

For us, yesterday was more about finding out who was joining our family than what. The same was true when Boo was baking. Likes? Dislikes? Favorites? What will they be?

I think that Boo's favorite colors are orange and purple. I can't really ask her yet, but when I ask her for a color, those are the two she always chooses. Do you want to wear blue shoes or red ones? Purple! What color is this frog? Orange! She's getting the colors right a lot of the time, but when she's wrong, she always says either orange or purple, and usually one after the other.

The American Dream

1. 4 Bedroom, 3 Bath house in the suburbs of one of America's "Most Liveable Cities."
2. Rosebushes out front, a treehouse in the back, park up the street
3. 2 college degrees, 2 graduate degrees, and the student loan debt that comes with it
4. 2 decent jobs which are mostly fulfilling and provide health insurance
5. Blue SUV for Daddy
6. Green Pickup Truck for Mama
7. Dog
8. Big Sister
9. Little Brother

Now we just need someone to offer to pay off the student loan debt since we don't play the lottery.

Daughters

R2's 20-week ultrasound is tomorrow and we are excited to find out boy or girl. Except that I know it's a girl. I also know that I have a 50% chance of being wrong.

How do I know? When Boo was under construction, two of Daddy's colleages independently predicted girl for exactly the same reason: "Daddy looks like the father of girls."

Then there's the Drama angle. Drama had two boys and said she was done with boys. Her boys had four girls before a boy showed up. Those four girls have produced four girls. Drama asked for girls, and she gets them.

But, I really know because of the dreams. A few weeks ago I dreamed that I had to save a 2-year-old girl and her infant sister from a genocidal President Tom Cruise. Daddy showed up in a Honda Element (which is the car that I am coveting for the inevitable "upsize" that comes with two carseats) and drove us to safety. Then, a couple of nights ago, I dreamed that our tot-care-provider gave my baby girl a tattoo. It was a little butterfly on the back of her ankle. It was a nice tattoo, but I was still pretty mad at her.

So, I think we're having a girl. Tune in tomorrow and find out, assuming that R2 wants us to know. If you want, make your prediction in the comments!

Oh, for those of you who didn't know about baby #2, surprise! For anyone who didn't know about baby #1, double surprise!!

Where do we go from here?

Hi family & friends,

So, here it is. I've entered the world of blogging. Some of you have probably never seen a blog. Others of you spend way too much time on blogs. In either case, what I hope for my blog is to have a way to share life at our house more regularly with all of you. Other than that, I'm making it up as I go.

For those of you who are not familiar with blogs, it is like an online journal. The new postings will go on top and the older ones stay below it. After a month, they will be archived, but you can still get to them from the left side of the screen. When I post something, there is a line that says "Comments" in the bottom right corner of the post. If you have something to say, you can click there and leave your comment. To say who you are, choose "other" and type your name in. Then it will say "Daddy said...." and whatever your comment is. It's all very easy. Try it out!

The internet being what it is, I will be using code names for family members, which may change over time. I'll keep a list of code names in the "Starring" section so you can keep up.

So, you're invited to join me for this experiment. I hope you will all take an active role, so that it can also serve as a way for you to stay in touch with us. Let me know what you like, what you want more of, what questions you have, and so on.