It was almost worth the wait...

Hey there, everyone. Glad to see me? Aw, I'm glad to see you all too. Thanks for hanging in there with me for a slightly delayed post this week. It's not for lack of trying. I meant to get 'er posted yesterday, but Blogger wasn't allowing me to upload the photos, so it was pretty much a no-go. Hopefully today will see more luck come our way.

**LATER: No, there is no better luck today than there was yesterday. D'oh! I only got four photos loaded before it stopped working again, and I just can't devote my entire afternoon to sitting here waiting for Blogger to work. So I'm going to keep what I've written so far and the few photos I have up, and try for another posting later on in the day. Sorry.**

To start off this week, let's do something different, shall we? I said in my last post that it was my sister's grad this weekend. Apparently if you're a nurse you get two grad ceremonies. One of them is the usual cap-and-gown affair, and the other is your "pinning." I learned from going to this event that the tradition of the nurse's pin has a long and distinguished history (anyone want to insert a Top Gun quote there? Just checking) going all the way back to the Crusades. And really, any tradition that draws from the Crusades must be good. Anyway, nurses get a school pin to indicate where they graduated from. I take it that it's a little bit like a high school ring, but way cooler, and I'm sure there's much pin envy happening in hospitals everywhere. Okay, I'm rambling. Here's the photographic evidence that we were there. First off, a nice family shot.

Four generations represented in that photo, folks. Here's one of Steph, Theo, and me with Laura (Laura's the one in the cap and gown).

And finally, a nice picture of my mom and my sister that I'm putting on here not because of its relevance to today's discussion, but more so because I think they both look great. Oh yeah, and because my mom got to pin my sister because she's a nurse too. Maw. So cute. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

But you can tell what Theo thought of this whole affair:

So let's get back to the topic at hand, shall we? How is Theo? Well, in a word, better. In more than a word, getting better all the time (a little Sgt. Pepper there for all you Beatles fans). His colic seems to have subsided, for which we are extraordinarily grateful. His personality is coming out; he's playing more, gets bored very easily, and has located his tongue for the first time. He's also getting the hang of sucking his thumb, but he's still not quite there yet. We're getting good smiles out of him pretty much daily, and he's started to try to laugh and babble a little bit. Oh, and he followed something with his eyes for the first time too.

With all those milestones, is it any wonder why I couldn't post on time? And with circumstances conspiring against us, I still can't get anything going! So I have to stop here--this is as many photos as I got up before the aforementioned technical difficulties kicked in. Check back again tomorrow to see if I've had any luck. Thanks all; see you soon!

Oh shoot, sorry...

Yikes, they go by fast. The weeks, I mean. I find myself at yet another Friday, attempting to do my blog posting, but finding that I'm completely out of gas. So you'll all have to accept my sincerest apologies and wait another day or two for a new posting with pictures. Sorry.

But man, do I ever have some good pictures this week! Holy moly. I know I've said we've had cute ones before, but these ones just absolutely take the cake. I'm not kidding. Seriously. You'll just have to come back and look at them.

On a personal note (and why not take this time to talk about me for once?), things have been crazy this week. Like, insane crazy. However, it's all been good. Things are looking good for me in the job front, as I've been working towards an internship opportunity. It hasn't gone through yet, but I'll let you all know when it does (and more about what it is). For now, please keep praying for us, as this job is really an excellent opportunity that I'm really looking forward to. Also, I passed my Class 6 driver's test on Thursday, which means I am now fully certified to ride a motorcycle. Sweet. If anyone wants to go for a ride, you know where to find me--I'm always available (ha ha). Plus I polished off another final exam this week, which means one more course is about to bite the dust. All told, it's looking pretty good.

Okay, off I go. By the way, if you want someone to blame for the lameness of the post today, please place that blame on my sister Laura's head. She just had to graduate from university this weekend. Congratulations, Laura. We're really proud of you (and I can't belive you beat me--I'll get you yet). The health care system is lucky to have a nurse like you.

More soon, I promise, including photos. See you then.

Is It Friday Already?

Here we are again, another Friday, and you know what that means, right? More pictures! I know, it's the best part of your week. And just to reward you, this post has, I think, the most pictures I've ever put in a blog posting. Hooray for you!

Before we get started on the rogue's gallery, let's have a little bit of an update, shall we? I'm happy to say that the colic monster is slowly retreating, and more and more of little Theo's big personality is starting to emerge day by day. He's done sort of half-hearted smiles before, but as of, well, I guess yesterday he's started to full-on social smile. Let me tell you, that's just the greatest thing ever. If only he would hold the smile long enough or smile on cue so that we could get a picture of it. In due time, friends, in due time.

So yeah, the colic is going away. He's really only had a couple of crying fits over the past week, and all of them have been of the consolable type, so it's much easier to deal with. The only remaining issue now is his major separation anxiety. Because he was a nursery baby, he hates to be apart from mom and dad (I know, you'd think it'd be the other way around, but it's a long and complicated psychological process that I won't get into here because I'd have no idea what I'm talking about--just trust me on this one), and that doesn't bode well for, oh, let's say, sleeping on his own for longer than an hour. But it's fine--if that's all we have to deal with, our lives are peachy, thank you very much.

Speaking of peachy, how about those NHL playoffs starting tonight, huh? You know what that means--hockey every single night of the week for the next two months!!!! Sing with me: "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Plus, our Vancouver Giants are starting their third round playoff series tonight against Everett. At least we've got one winning team in Vancouver. Oh, snap!

Anyway, enough blabbering; on with the pictures. You know, when life gets tough, there's always time for a nap:

Okay, what's out of place in this picture of Theo's room? This could be a little game like the old "One of these things is not like the other" on Sesame Street. Look closely:

Aha, I think I've found the problem.

I told you our cat's starved for attention. She still hasn't resorted to allowing us to put a diaper on her though, so there's still room there. Okay, here's a good one. This is him all bundled up in his carrier:

Ahh, the life of a baby. Eat, sleep, poop, sit around...

Ironically, this is what I'm going to look like about two weeks into hockey playoff time.

Like I said above, Theo's starting to get much more social and interactive. This has meant that he's really into playtime now. In fact, he loves it when daddy plays with him. I'm not sure what's funnier about this picture--Theo's wave or my expression.

Whatever. It's not the last time I'll make a fool of myself. Sometimes when mommy and daddy just aren't doing it well enough for Theo, he likes to jump into his little chair and kick at the dangling toys. I have to say, this all just transpired this morning, so you're getting some pretty hot-off-the-presses pictures. Hmm, pensive Theo.

"Help, I'm lost in a jungle of toys!"

And here are a couple more that I just had to include. They were taken about five minutes ago. In fact, I was just proof-reading my posting in preparation for publishing it when Steph called me downstairs to take these pictures.

Can this kid get any cuter?

Yep, things have definitely improved at the Carroll household. In fact, things have gotten so much better that I've actually been able to take pictures of things other than Theo. I know this is his blog, but he's such an attention hog that I have to share some other photos that I took this week. I'm really proud of our garden this year (my Dutch heritage is shining through), and especially some of the tulips we have growing (does it get any more Dutch, really?). Check these out.Okay, so that's all for today. It's been a bit of an epic posting today, so thanks for sticking with it all the way to the bitter end. As always, comments are more than welcome, as are emails. See you all next week.

Mark (and Theo).

Sleeper Kudos

Just have to clear something up from the post below. We (and by that I really mean "I, Steph"...) actually do know that the uber-cute fire truck sleeper was given to us by Hildie...hi Hildie!!! In fact, the fire truck sleeper has a patch on it that says "Little Hero," which is now a nickname we (and by that I mean "Mark and I") use for Theo. Hildie also gave us a sleeper with embroidery saying "Tiny Tiger," which has also been adopted as a pet name. So Theo received much more than clothing in the deal. But he'll be tracking Hildie down when he's tired of being called Tiny Tiger at 23 years of age...

As Promised...

Alright, I promised one update a week on Thursday or Friday, and I figure 11:00 on a Friday night is still Friday, so I'm still on time. I'm only harping on this because my Uncle Dale threatened to beat me up. If you don't believe me, check out his last comment. Oh yes, he seems so nice. That is, until you make him angry....

Anyway, happy Easter, all! Had a big family dinner over my parents' place tonight. You know, it's always a good day when there's turkey involved. Oh, and stuffing and mashed potatoes too. Hey, does anyone reading this call "stuffing" "dressing" instead? When I was growing up, we always called it "dressing" in my house, but I got persecuted for calling it that when I met Steph. So I'm not sure if this is one of my family's little idiosyncracies or if it's a more wide-spread thing. Post a comment and let me know.

"So Mark, how are things?" you may be asking. Well, they could be better, but they also could be worse. I mentioned the colic exensively in my last post, so I won't beat the dead horse here--suffice it to say it's still there, although it seems to be getting more infrequent. This is only a good thing, let me tell you. In that sense, things could be going better. But then again, Theo's a healthy and seemingly happy little boy (when he's not crying, that is). His weight gain is normal, he has all his various appendages, he can hear (figured that out when I dropped a metal pan into our kitchen sink) and see (you should see him staring at a set of blinds--it's like, whoa, dude, they're totally weirding me out), and is extraordinarily cute. So it could be worse. All in all, I think we're doing well.

Okay, how about some much-anticipated and long-awaited photos? I happen to have a few for you. This first one I think I'm going to send to the Canucks organization. They broke the heart of one of their youngest fans by TOTALLY CHOKING AND NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS ...*ahem*... sorry. I think we all know how I feel about that. But hey, if you say it in a Professer Frink voice, it's pretty darned funny.

See? He's totally devastated. Take that, Bertuzzi.

Next, here's Theo and daddy, hanging out at Grandpa Ted's probably waiting for a hockey game to start or something. I just absolutely love the expression on his face in this one. Totally priceless. Check out the little feet, too.

What else we got? Oh yeah, here's a good series--a triptich, if you will (and I will). He's on the couch, wearing quite a cute little sleeper and mommy's taking some pictures. Like I said before, the blinds totally make him whacked out. Here he is, just staring at them. Uh, Theo?

Hey Theo, look over here...

Ah, finally, we got your attention (although he doesn't seem too impressed with having to look away from the blinds, does he?)...

I especially enjoy the little fire truck on the front of this sleeper. Whoever gave that one to us (sorry, but I don't remember who gave what anymore) if you're reading this, good choice.

There's one more thing I want to talk about before I sign off for this week, and that's our showers. We've had the most amazing array of showers thrown for us over the past few months that it's almost overwhelming. By the way, for all of you who have given us gifts, we (and by "we" I mean "Steph") are trying to send thank-you cards to everyone for them. We're (and by "we're" I mean "Steph is") about 65 cards into the stack, and the list just keeps growing. Our apologies if you haven't gotten one from us (and by "us" I mean, oh, never mind), but it's on its way.

But that's not what I wanted to talk about (then why'd you waste a whole paragraph?). What I really wanted to say was a big public THANK YOU to everyone who's had a part in throwing us a shower. Props go out to Kristi, Steph's step-sister, and Betty, Steph's step-mom, who planned one for Steph's side of the family (which my side came to as well); my Aunt Brenda and my mom who planned one for pretty much everyone from Richmond Baptist and my side of the family (which Steph's side came to as well); Kristen at Focus who put a work shower together for us and Carl and Amanda; Bill and Gwen Converse and the amazing young married's care group at North Langley Community Church for a fun care group shower (no family at those ones); and Tanya Szczur (yeah, just try to pronounce that name--I dare you. And no hints, either) for a great shower that she not only put together while on the other side of the world, but also threw while fighting an ear infection and the flu. Mind you, she did pick them up in Fiji, so my sympathy level is relatively low. It's great to have you back, Tanya--we missed you (especially beating you in Dr. Mario). Plus, we've still got one more shower to go that Angela Buvyer is putting together for the Murrayville Church crowd, so thanks in advance for that one.

And of course, everyone who came to these showers and got us amazing gifts, we're really appreciative of all of it. Your love and support and all is really overwhelming to us. We really do appreciate everything you do for us, and how much you mean to us, so thanks.

Okay, getting sappy--time to sign off. That's it for this week, everyone. Have a great Easter weekend, however you choose to spend it. If you're in Langley and looking for something to do on Sunday morning, our church is holding a really cool Easter celebration, complete with egg hunt for the kids. Drop me an email or comment on the blog if you're interested in getting directions. Even if you're not, drop us a comment anyway--we love to hear from you.

Talk to you all again next week.

A Long Hiatus

Hi again everyone,

I know, I know, it's been so long since new post came that you wondered if I'd just totally forgotten about you, the adoring public. Well, I haven't. But there's a good reason why I haven't blogged in quite a while.

You see, there's this little thing called colic, and it totally disrupts your entire life. Needless to say (for those of you who've dealt with colic, at least) it's been very difficult around here for the past while. Maybe things are getting better, but maybe my ability to handle it is increasing as well. No, wait, it's not. Never mind.

Over the last few weeks, we've continued to deal with screaming fit after screaming fit, for hours almost every night. Some nights he surprises us and doesn't scream, but that doesn't mean he actually sleeps (or lets us sleep). In fact, there was one little patch last week (at least I think it was last week--I've lost all track of time, really) where he didn't sleep for three days. And I'm so not kidding about that. Oh sure, he'd take naps here and there, but they were only about 20 minutes in length, and then he'd be back to his old tricks again. I quite honestly think that I'm going insane. Thus if this post seems a little bit, I don't know, off, please excuse me. At least the men in white coats haven't come to take me away yet.

It's not like I didn't expect that a baby would cry. Many of our friends (all of whom either haven't had kids at all or haven't had kids with colic) have said to us, "Well, didn't you expect the baby to cry? I mean, that's what they do!" Yes, I'm aware of that. I know babies cry, and they pee on you (ooh, had that one happen to me just today, actually), and they fuss. But this is way above normal. Even our doctor and the nurse practitioner at our doctor's office have both admitted that this is one of the worst cases of colic they've ever seen. That's us, though--never do anything half way.

But before this post turns into a real whine-fest (but hey, thanks for letting me vent), there are a couple of things going well. First of all, I alluded to a medical problem for Steph in one of my last blog entries. Now that the tests have been done, I can tell you all what was going on. In her six-week physical, the doctor found a lump in her breast. Okay, how many of you either gasped or groaned about that? Anyway, for close to three weeks we worried about it and waited for an appointment at BC Women's hospital. That appointment happened last week, and we're happy to report that it's just a cyst, not cancer. A large sigh of relief went up in this household at the news.

Another thing that's going well is that at least Theo's still devastatingly handsome. The lack of sleep sometimes makes us blind to his cuteness, but I'm sure you will all recognize it for what it is. I have so many pictures to post and so much more to say, but I really don't have any time tonight, so you're going to have to wait. I'll post one photo at the end of this entry just to keep your appetite whetted.

Oh, here's one more administrative note. I know that many of you are following this blog still, and I appreciate your continued support. I am going to make a serious effort to get at least one post up here every week, complete with pictures. It will happen usually on Thursday night or Friday morning, so that you can get your fix of Theo before the weekend starts. Some weeks you might get more than one post, but let's stick with the "one post guarantee" for now. I'll even give you your money back if you don't get one post per week! I know, I'm so generous.

Anyway, Steph and I both really appreciate everyone who's been praying for us and giving us kind words whenever possible. You've all made this time a little bit more bearable, and for that we salute you. Now I really have to get my Greek homework done before the night is out. I'll leave you with two pictures, actually; one is a shot I think we'll try to get some money off of, and the second one is my current desktop wallpaper.

Good night all, and see you back here at the end of the week for more pictures.