smacky and bucky

There are highs and lows being a parent. Just like everything else in life. This is pretty much the face I'm making today.

We took Monday off for a day of "rest" after a busy weekend. Three sets of grandparents, a great-grandmother, two aunts, two uncles, and a cousin came to town for the little boy's christening. (Don't make me get into a discussion about religion here, okay? Being baptized isn't a big deal, and he can make up his own mind about religion when he's older. In the meantime, christening a baby is what ya do. So there.)

It was a fun but tiring weekend. The boy was perfect. He was awake and alert during the baptism, didn't whine or anything, just watched what was happening. Didn't mind getting water on his head (he digs baths anyway) and then fell asleep for the rest of the service. Perfect!

And Saturday night the Caps had a really good game for the first time in quite a while. Ovechkin had a hat trick too!

I received a late Christmas present from my mother-in-law. (She had ordered it and it arrived way late.) Pretty cool, huh? I love how BBC does these slim little hardbacks. They're filled with info, and sturdy enough to haul around in a backpack.

My friend Jason (since 6^th grade and my freshman year college roommate) is the guitarist for Dismemberment Plan. Eric (whom we met our freshman year in college) is the bassist. The band has a huge DC following (selling out Black Cat and 9:30 Club every time they play), and I believe they opened for Pearl Jam on a European tour a few years back. Anyway, the band broke up last year and reunited this year for a tour. Last night they played on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Here's a clip of one of their songs!

Got a few inches of ice overnight. Federal government opened on a two-hour delay so I had a leisurely morning with coffee. Nice. And main roads were fine by the time I left for work.


The best part about fleece sleeves seems to be they feel good when you're teething and you chew on them. He has socks that look like little shoes and have non-slick rubber ridges on the bottom. Jealous!

Last night was one of those times when I feel like I'm getting this parenting thing down. The boy was in a great mood, smiling, giggling, chilling with me. He didn't cry once the entire time his mom was gone at her doctor's appointment. He didn't cry once when she left again to go return something at a store and pick up dinner. He fell asleep in my arms after dinner and slept there for an hour. He started crying about 30 minutes after I put him in his crib and I picked him up and rocked him a few minutes until he was asleep again, then I put him back in his crib. He only woke up once during the night, at 2, to eat, then slept until almost 7. He looked up and gave me a smile before I left for work this morning.

There will certainly be days like a few days ago, when I couldn't find a position to hold him in that didn't make him scream like I was trying to bend his elbow the wrong way and he would only stop crying if his mom held him and it made me feel like he didn't like me...

but to quote Ice Cube, "I gotta say, today was a good day."

Good:

• After I changed his diaper at 3:30am, the boy slept until 7:30 this morning (so L reported via chat). He hasn't beaten his record of 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but he's sleeping in longer chunks now, which allows us to do the same.

• Apocalypse of the Dead by Joe McKinney. I'm only on page 58, but I can already tell this is going to be a sprawling zombie book, with different story lines winding together and apart. Loving it.

• The Trio salad at Corner Bakery. This is actually a misnomer, because you order three items, but they automatically add a green spinach salad, so you get FOUR. Yum.

Good today:

1. Changed diaper of angry wet baby, got him in new PJs and he calmed down and fell asleep in my arms before I left for work this morning.
2. Car started right up with new battery in it. Battery problems BETTER be over for the next two years, because that bitch is under warranty.
3. Got settled at my desk and figured out what I'll be doing the rest of the week: (Coding a GIANT, complex manuscript of activities. Tedious chore, but you get a real sense of accomplishment when you finish.)

Bad today: I've got no time for bad!

Did anyone have a good 2010? The overwhelming majority of comments I've seen fall into the "F you, 2010, not sorry to see you go" category. Obviously the biggest thing for us was the arrival of the boy and all the sweeping changes he brought with him. Sleep? What's that? Books? Who has time to read books? (I received some books for Christmas, so I hope I somehow find the time to read them.)

I've learned that plans are for suckas and it's when you plan things too closely that the monkeys start tossing their wrenches to laugh at you when you get frustrated, so I've been on a day-by-day game plan. Right now everyone in our house is reasonable healthy. The baby has started teething, if you can believe that, and Baby Orajel is a great invention.

Work is going well, at least in terms of job satisfaction and feeling good about it at the end of the day. (A raise would be nice. Damn economy. We have another member of our family now, and the phrase "baby needs a new pair of shoes" resonates with me. Diapers ain't free.)

My hope for the new year is to (1) Feel like we're making some forward movement and not just treading water (re: job, finances, kid) and (2) Try to remember to take a moment each day and be thankful for what I do have.