Finally Some Cuteness

Hi again everyone. I know you'll all be amazed by the fact that this is the second post I've done in as many days, but hey, I'm all about exceeding expectations. Actually, we really do feel relaxed a bit more again today, and I think it's probably because we forced my mom to come over last night and deal with child while we went for a long drive and just got the chance to actually talk to each other about other things than, "Gee, baby's screaming, what should we do?" It was heavenly.

Actually, I think there's a really good reason that he's started to turn around a little bit. It's going to sound a little bit weird to all of you who haven't heard of it, but bear with me: we've taken Theo to the chiropractor.

Yup, you heard correctly--the chiropractor. Before you start thinking I'm a terrible dad and calling child services, infant chiropractic is nothing like adult. The adjustments (I love that term--it sounds like some strange Clockwork Orange-type behaviour modification) are quite gentle--there is no cracking of bones involved. Wait, I guess those are joints that crack. If the chiropractor was all about cracking bones, their practice would probably not do very well.

Anyway, I'm a convert to infant chiropractic. Some of you may think they're pseudo-doctors, but I can only tell you that it's worked for us. If you're interested in how I know, let's talk about it personally. Poo stories are too graphic for the general audience.

Okay, I promised some cuteness, so cuteness you will receive. Here's a shot of Theo sleeping at his Grandpa Ted and Grandma Betty's house.

Alright, alright, here's another one.

Just a couple more for you. The other day I was holding Theo in bed and I had to get up, so I propped him up against my pillow. I love these shots because it totally looks like he's just hanging out in bed like an adult would do. All he needs is a crossword.

See you again soon.

It's Amazing What Sleep Can Do

*Administrative note* This is post #51 to this blog. I had all these great plans for the 50th post--some big splashy thing that would do justice to the huge milestone that a 50th post deserves. But then the colic monster came to live with us, and those plans flew out the window. And it just doesn't seem right to do something big for the 51st post, so I guess you'll all have to wait until post #100 for something big and exciting. Oh well. *End of adminstrative note*

*Another administrative note* I initially typed this blog entry yesterday, but due to factors beyond my control could not post it. So it's really yesterday's news, but I'm too lazy to retype the whole thing. *End of administrative note*

Let's get to the topic at hand. I'm happy to announce that last night we managed to string together three hours of uninterrupted sleep in a row, an unprecedented feat in the Carroll household since, I don't know, about February 5. Actually, Steph wasn't sleeping that much before that with all the preganacy issues and such. But man, to actually get a few hours together was blissful. I feel completely invigorated (but it may be the four cups of coffee--I'll get back to you on that). It's amazing what even three hours can feel like when you haven't gotten it in a while.

That's not to say that I'm not tired--trust me, I am. But things just seem so much more rosy today. The sun is shining a little bit brighter, the birds are singing a little more clearly, the flowers are a little more colourful, and the cheesy make-you-puke cliches are even more make-you-pukey.

Anyway, we did have the presence of mind over the past couple of days to get some decent photos--more in a bit. What I wanted to do with this post is give you a little illustration of contrasts. Ready?

Here's the face we're used to seeing over the past week-and-a-half or so:

Here's the face we prefer to see, and, in fact, the one that we've seen for most of today (sorry for the blurriness):

As the jury will note, the baby in people's exhibit A is screaming at the top of his lungs and is generally difficult to be around. The baby in people's exhibit B, however, is much more calm and docile, more like what a parent likes to see out of their child.

Let's hope we continue to see more of the latter, and less of the former in the days to come.

See you soon.

It's About Time

Finally. Today is Friday--in fact, it's Friday night--and this is the first time this week that I've had to actually sit down and type a blog entry. I'm not kidding. I alluded in my last post to the fact that this week has been insane, but that doesn't even seem to approach what it's been like.

Just so you're all aware right off the top that this post isn't going to be one of my more humourous ones--I just can't muster it up. Okay, I can't help but be funny sometimes, but I'm not going out of my way. Just thought I'd explain my change in tone in case any of you are thinking we got kidnapped by aliens and replaced by near-perfect replicas (see, I told you it wouldn't be funny).

So here's the low-down. Wait, I just have to turn the radio on to get the Giant's game....That's better. 1-0 Giants. Right. They say that fussiness and colic and all that stuff peak around 6 weeks of age. Let me tell you, they're right (whoever "they" are). There hasn't been a night this week where we haven't had at least three or four hours of screaming child at night. No, not fussy--screaming. At the top of his lungs. For hours. It'd be better if he decided to do it at, say, 7:00. But the sad fact is that he usually chooses the hours of 9:00-12:00 to do it. Just when we're both so tired and so overwhelmed by the day that we feel like we can't take any more.

But wait, there's more. Steph went to the doctor with Theo earlier this week, and he seems to be doing fine. Oh, except for the fact that he's not getting enough nutrients by breast feeding. Although, I have to admit that we were starting to get a sneaking suspicion of that when he started wanting to feed every hour. I'm not kidding. So we've got seriously hungry, colicky child, who alternates between screaming and feeding for pretty much 24 hours a day.

It gets better. Before we go any farther, this is a bit on the gross side. We decided on Tuesday that we'd go back to formula 100% just to get his nutrition up. Well, that worked for a day, until he got the worst constipation I've ever seen. Well, I guess I didn't actually see it, which is kind of the problem, but you get the picture. I could go into what his diaper looked like when he finally managed to push it out, but I think that'd put this post way over the top. So let's add it up. Not only is he screaming for up to four hours a day, he's also having a nourishment problem and constipation. This is fun!

Here's the thing that really gets me about the formula situation. Formula is like a meal-replacement shake for babies, right? It's just completely loaded with vitamins and minerals and stuff. That's all good, except that 90% of formulas are made with cow's milk, which infants have difficulty digesting. 7% of the formulas are made with soy, which is also shown to have adverse affect on infants. The remaining 3% of formulas are actually lactose-free, which is what Theo has been needing (after a week of failed experimentation on the other ones). That's all fine and good, except that now we find out that a baby's system can't tolerate raw iron. In fact, babies can't tolerate iron until they're two years old. But guess what's in the lactose-free formula? Iron! So now we have to go find a lactose- and iron-free formula. Think it exists? I sure hope so.

In addition, Steph has to go in for some tests over the next couple of weeks at BC Women's Hospital. No, I'm not going into any more detail, but I'm mentioning it so that you can all pray for her as well. Nothing serious, hopefully, but still just another thing to add to the long and growing list of things to be concerned about.

What it all comes down to is the fact that Steph and I are getting roughly three to four hours of sleep at night, which has made for some fun times around our house! It's amazing, though, how much your body can actually do on 3-4 hours of sleep.

But it hasn't been all bad, as much as I'm vying for some sympathy here. We had a shower for Theo on Tuesday night, thrown by our amazing care group at North Langley Community Church. We got out to Grandpa Ted and Grandma Betty's last night for the Canucks game. And hey, he's still the cutest baby in the world, at least when he doesn't have his screamy-face on.

So that's the story of the blog slacker. My apologies for the lack of updates this week, but I hope you understand. I've got some great pictures to post, but they're going to have to wait, possibly until tomorrow or maybe Sunday. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back again soon.

We're Still Here

Hello again, everyone, it's your friendly neighbourhood blog slacker here with a long-awaited yet highly disappointing post. How's that for selling it?

Anyway, this is going to be a super-short post, just to tell you that yes, we are all still alive and kicking, although certainly not as vigourously as we once were. I have a lot of different stories to tell about this past week (I have one word for it: insane). Medical scares, twists and turns, even special effects. Okay, no special effects. What I really wanted to say is that there's a good reason that I'm not posting, um, at all recently, and you'll have to bear with me as we sort out some stuff here at home. It will all come clear shortly.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone, even if this post isn't worth the $7 you spent getting internet access (*cough* Tanya *cough*). More soon, I promise.

Happy Friday!

Good morning everyone, and happy St. Patrick's Day to you all.

I have to say it's been a rough couple of days over here. The ugly colic monster has raised his head and asserted his presence in an unmistakable way. I know that some of you reading have been through this before and know what I'm talking about. For those of you who haven't, well, let me just say that you're lucky. Mind you, if there's one thing a colicky baby is good for, it's birth control. Too much info? Sorry (especially to our parents).

Hey, speaking of that (nice segue, eh?), does anyone know anything about tropical fish? I just looked over at my tank, and I think my fish are trying to mate. Uh...okay...this is possibly the strangest thing I've ever seen. It's like a nature channel documentary. I was going to say that it's the most disturbing thing I've ever seen, but then I realized that I've been watching the Canucks play recently, so it definitely doesn't compare to that.

Moving on. In case you were wondering if there's a point to my senseless rambling, there is: pictures!

Remember my post from earlier in the week where I said that we put Theo in his first real outfit this past week? How could you forget that post? Full of witty dialogue (okay, monologue), plot twists, and the like. Yup, that was a classic. Anyway, here's what that outfit looked like. Two pictures, then a description.


As you can see, Theo is wearing this year's hottest trend in infant clothing--the knitted overall over a simple while T-shirt. And don't forget the blue socks. And now, for extra cuteness, a close-up:


I love the looks he gives us. This one is the "I'm only barely tolerating this" look. Ah yes, the joy of being a parent and embarrassing your child. More to come, my dear Theo, more to come.

So thanks, everyone, for stopping by. If you haven't yet signed the guest book (under the posting called "An Informal Poll" from a couple days ago), please do. It'll be cool for me to show Theo this stuff when he's old enough to understand it, so get in while the getting's good. See you all after the weekend.

A Sunday Afternoon Outing

Last Sunday we decided to do something really crazy and go out for an afternoon, you know, like we would have done before Theo was born. I know, it's daring and exciting.

So we thought that it might be nice to head up to Golden Ears park and walk around Alouette Lake a little bit, but when we got to the Albion Ferry there was a many-sailing wait, so we ditched that idea. What to do...?

Then we realized that we were right in Fort Langley, so we might as well wander around a little bit. We've only lived here for two years, I think it's about time to check out other communities besdies Murrayville. Let me tell you, it wasn't a wasted afternoon. Fort Langley's a lot like Granville Island, really, except there's free parking in Fort Langley.

Anyway, there's this little park down by the water called Marina Park, and that's where we decided to start our day. We had the Snugli along, and put him in it, which was really quite cute. Anyway, here are the results.

First, here's dad wearing the new style of this spring (the little blue thing is Theo's head):

And a shot of all of us taken at arm's length:

That's it for now because I've got far too much school work to do today. But check back tomorrow for some more great photos.

The Furry Family Member

I've lived with this lingering sense of guilt ever since Theo's come home because I haven't really credited our furry family member at all on this blog. But let me tell you a funny story about our cat, Pekoe.

Our cat is unlike any other cat you know. She's not aloof like a typical cat, nor is she stupid like a typical cat. No, this cat is one smart cookie--she's actually more like a dog at times than a cat. For example, we have this game we play where she will chase a ball up and down the stairs; she's even brought it to me in her teeth once. See what I mean?

Anyway, when we first brought Theo home, we were a little bit concerned about Pekoe's reaction. After all, we had tried to get her a feline companion not so long ago, but that experiment ended very badly, and that cat went bye-bye. We were on edge: would Pekoe reject this new creature like she had rejected the other cat? Ooh, the tension is killing me!

Turns out that although she was a little bit upset at first about Theo, she's actually adapted to him quite well. In fact, she's become quite maternal. One day last week, I was upstairs doing my homework and Steph was "unavailable" (*ahem*). Theo was in his little chair, but got quite upset and started crying. Before we knew it, there was Pekoe to the rescue. She started to meow quite loudly to draw our attention to the fact that Theo was crying, and kept pacing back and forth between his chair and the bathroom door until Steph came out and got him, after which she was fine again. Whenever he starts crying, there she is, very concerned about what's going on. What a good big sister!

But Pekoe's also an attention hog, especially for sitting on my lap. When she realized that Theo was taking a lot of her valuable lap time, she decided to come up with a solution:

That's why we love her, though. After all, who could resist a face like this?

An Informal Poll

Here's a great way to pass your Monday morning at work (or Monday afternoon, or, quite frankly, I don't care when you do it), after you've read the post below this one, which is also new. I keep hearing from all sorts of people that they've been keeping up with this blog, but I'm never quite sure what kind of audience I have, exactly.

Thus I am conducting somewhat of an informal poll. Okay, maybe it's more of a census. Anyway, if you read this message, would you do me a favour and take the time to post a quick comment? Anything will do, even just your name (and the six degrees of separation that brought you here if I don't know you).

It's really fun for me to know that people are interested in our kid and that you like what I'm writing (even if you don't, just humour me). It's just as exciting for me to write these posts as it is for you all to read them. Unless your level of excitement is low, then I've got you beat. And if you're not excited about reading this blog, what are you doing reading it anyway? Go do some work.

Right-o, thanks everyone. More posts to come as the week progresses.

It's Official!

Hello again, everyone. Welcome to week six of Theo's life (outside the womb at least). Many new and exciting things to report, including why I'm such a blog slacker (although my slacking has been well-intentioned).

Hey, guess what came in the mail on Friday? Theo's birth certificate! Yay (or however you spell that particular onomatopoeia--in this case I'm thinking of the one that expresses joy or delight. And speaking of onomatopoeia [which is a cool word all to itself] [ooh, brackets within brackets--I'm really putting on a clinic tonight], why is it so stupidly hard to spell? Most onomatopoeias themselves are, like, three, maybe four letters, max. "Moo", for example. Unless you wanted to have the extended mix of sound--the remix, perhaps--in which case a few more o's would be attached on the end--mooooo. See how that works?).

Here's the object of said joy or delight (taken against the photogenic backdrop of my brand-new Greek New Testament--very exciting for me, not so much for you):

But you want to know what really frosts me? The fact that I had to pay $27 to actually get a physical certificate, but it's not even laminated. Okay, seriously, how am I supposed to keep this thing in any kind of condition at all without it getting hopelessly ruined? I carry my birth certificate on me, in my wallet; yes it's laminated and yet it's still close to death. "No problem," think I, "I'll just head to Kinko's and get 'er done." Aha, not to be:

**Photo removed for privacy reasons: the gyst of this is that it warns in strong language that if the document is altered or plasticized, it becomes void.**

And just in case you accidentally tore the actual certificate out and didn't see that warning, here's what it says on the back of the actual birth certificate:


Man, they're really serious about this. And what exactly does it mean that one's birth certificate becomes "void" anyway? That warning is far too strong. "I'm sorry sir, but all records of your birth have been wiped out due to you laminating your birth certificate." It's like that movie Flightplan with Jodie Foster. Okay, I haven't seen it, but I've seen previews. Anyway, you know the part where the stern-faced-yet-attractive flight attendant turns to her and says, "We don't have any record of your daughter having been on board the plane" (dum, dum, dum--another onomatopoeia, this time describing suspenseful music)? That's what I'm picturing happens when you laminate your birth certificate. It's obvious that I am far too simple to understand why laminating it would be such a big deal. Let's leave it at that.

Anyway, lots more to come this week, including pictures galore. We did our first actual "outing" today (sorry family, going out to family dinners don't quite count as an "outing" per se according to the Official Rules Of Baby Outings), put him in his first actual "outfit" (again, sleepers don't count as an "outfit" according to the Official Rules Of Baby Outfits--apparently the determining criteria is socks), and, well, you'll just have to check back and find out.

Blogs, Cribs & Sleeping

Oh boy, this is a first for me (me being Steph...for those of you that enjoy the witty commentary of my husband - he'll be back next post...I promise). But for now here I am at long last, the blog-absentee mom.

I have to say that I'm very blog aversive. It has nothing to do with the concept and everything to do with the name. Who came up with the term 'blog'?!! It sounds like some condition you get by accidently shoving things up your nose. I can just picture Theo in the doctor's office with that nose flashlight angled in his nostril and the doctor saying, "Oh sure, that's a blog." But Mark has convinced me to get over my blog hang-ups and finally write something.

So here's what I have to report. Theo is a growing, learning, amazing boy. Just minutes ago Mark put Theo in his crib and suddenly the crib didn't seem like this huge overwhelming sleep arena. Instead Theo nicely took up a chunk of it and looked quite proportionate lying there. Humf. He's already growing up right before my eyes.

But then I've been spending a lot of time just looking at the little guy. I've actually had the opportunity day and night. Shhhhh...don't tell anyone, but I've started doing what I swore I'd never do (no mom, I'm not whipping out any 'You'll understand when you're older' language yet), but I have ventured into the precarious world of co-sleeping. Yep, that lovely sleeping arrangement when one over-tired parent can easily roll over and squish their mattress-pounding child...at least that's what all those baby books tell me. So why are we doing this you ask? Because Mark and I have decided that sleep is a good thing to try and snatch at night. But Theo's current gas/cuddle bum condition makes it so frequent crying fits ensue throughout the night unless there is a back rub at hand and a warm body to snuggle into. Thus, I have a new teddy bear to hold on to at night and Theo seems more than happy to fulfill the role. You're probably wondering what Mark thinks about all this. Well, let me just say that since starting this arrangement two nights ago we have had two five-hour stretches of solid sleep both nights. *sigh* Sleep is a beautiful thing.

But eating is also a beautiful thing and Theo has just decided that now is the time for food. He is currently latching on to everything in sight and since milk isn't going to start sprouting from Mark's chin, I should probably go detach the boy and get him the real deal.

Steph.

A Huge Milestone

Okay, maybe I should rephrase that title, lest you all think that he's started to walk or sing opera or something like that. It should more correctly read, "The hugest milestone to date with many more bigger milestones to come", or words to that effect. But you know, then it just gets so long and convoluted that it stops making sense. Kind of like reading this blog, isn't it?

The milestone? For those of you who are chronologically-challenged (or whose lives don't actually revolve around my baby, although I can't see why not), today is Theo's one month birthday! I know--time flies, doesn't it? It all seems to fast, and yet so slow. For example, it seems like only yesterday that Steph was waking me up early on a Sunday morning and we were calling the hospital. And yet looking back, it seems like it's been months since we brought him home from the hospital, even though it was only two-and-a-half weeks ago.

I know that this is only a microcosm of things to come in our lives together. I'm sure those of you who have "been there, done that" can vouch for the fact that it all goes by pretty darn quickly, really. Soon Theo will be walking, then running, then skating (lesson 1: bodychecking)...let's skip a few developmental markers for the sake of brevity...then going to kindergarten and so on and so forth.

And you know, I've changed too. In all of this, I've come to realize that even though there are important things that happen in my life and in our life as a couple, there's absolutely nothing, no feeling or emotion in the world that can compare to becoming a dad. I've been forced to grow up a little bit (just a little bit, don't worry), and I've begun to comprehend, if only somewhat, what it means to truly be a man and the spiritual head of my household.

Am I ready for this? Are we ready for this? I know, maybe we should have thought about this before. Hmm. But no, we did think about this before. Even then, it was just the world of abstraction--there was no concrete reality to reinforce the question. But now, holding a precious new life in your arms, that question takes on a whole new meaning.

Are we ready? Not a chance. Can you ever truly be ready for an experience such as parenting? I don't think so. But isn't that the magic, the wonder of being a parent? And you know, no matter what this kid throws at us, no matter how many sleepless nights, soiled diapers, loads of laundry, grey hairs (hey, wait, not yet please), or other things that I'm sure don't even occur to me right now, there's still a magic in being a parent. I pray that I never lose that sense of wonder, that I never take for granted the awesomeness of my responsibility as a dad. And most of all, that I never take for granted the fact that God is the greatest example of a Father that anyone could know. We can do this. After all, we have the greatest teacher there could be.

Some of my favourite verses of Scripture come to mind here, and I hope you'll indulge me a little bit. Matthew 7:9-11--"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!"

How can I be the best dad I could possibly be? By being the best man of God that I could possibly be. It's as simple as that.

See you all again soon.

Move Over Anne Geddes

Okay, are you ready for some outstanding photography? Are you sure? Okay, here you go:

Hey Tanya, stop crying ;-)

Just Chillin'

A couple nights ago, I was up for the 2:00 am feeding, when suddenly Theo just got really calm and relaxed, but still wide awake. Of course, I took advantage of the opportunity to pose him and get some good shots. Yes, only good shots. All our measures of "good" and "great" go out the door when you see the shots Steph took today. Okay, stop building it up, already.

No, you can't see those ones yet. Here are the lounging ones I took late at night.

I love the coy "looking away from the camera" shot:

And then there's the "almost looking at the camera" shot:

So very GQ, I have to say.

Some More Photos

Well, it's Friday. How's that for a short, declarative sentence? What else can I do....My name is Mark. I like ice cream. I am going to a hockey game tonight.

Not bad. Yes, I am going to a hockey game tonight. It's our very own Vancouver Giants against Kelowna, 7:30 pm. I was going to type the name of the arena they play in, but I realized that I have no idea how to spell the second word. You know, the one where the Canucks used to play. Right.

Wow, my laziness has reached spectacular new heights. Instead of just opening up Word and spell-checking I typed two extra sentences, simply because opening up Word would mean that I would have to take my hands off the keyboard and get to the mouse. So...much...effort.

Okay, maybe it's just my sleep deprivation talking. Let me tell you, the Carroll household is the place to be for a rousing good time these days. Yesterday's excitement included watching multiple hours of TV and going to bed. The night before was quite similar. And the forecast for tomorrow is looking about the same. Really, we are fun people to hang around with. Ah, babies--the great equalizer.

Now that I've completely wasted your time with random musings, here are the aforementioned photos that I'm going to post. By the way, I know I've been saying this pretty much every time, but Steph took some photos today that are absolutely outstanding. The best photos in the history of baby photo-taking, and I think you'll agree. But you'll have to wait a bit for those ones. Here are some really cute ones to get you warmed up. I don't want to hit you with all the cuteness at once.

Here's a blurry one of him on my knees:

I like this one as well. It's him with his very, well, inquisitive look.

That's all for now. More to come soon.

Why I'm Happy We Had A Boy

For those of you who don't know Steph's mom's side of the family very well, let me explain a little thing called "gender imbalance." You see, when we get together for family dinners, there seems to be a plethora of females, yet very little represenation from the male side. That is to say that the only male at the table is me. Not that there's not enough maleness in me to compensate (insert obligatory chest-thumping and testosterone-fueled grunting here), but it wouldn't hurt to have that imbalance addressed.

You know it's not long before I excuse myself from the table by saying, "I think there's a hockey game or maybe a tractor pull on TV that we have to go watch," (and include high amounts of previously explained chest-thumping).

But you have to admit that they're a pretty good-looking bunch. By the way, I changed one of the pictures on this post, so if you've seen it already, take another look.