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.