What a difference a week makes.

I'll just get the difficult part over with quick and say that we had to put down Callie around midnight this past Thursday. The tick disease wasn't the cause of all the problems that she was having. It was cancer in her intestines and liver and a couple more places that I can't remember that Laura mentioned. The more serious condition may have given a false positive for the tick disease diagnosis.

It was Tuesday, if I remember right, that our vet told us that we need to take her to the veterinary clinic in Stillwater, about an hour away. I took Connor to soccer like every Tuesday, but Laura decided to take Callie to Stillwater. After some nervous moments and times of waiting, Callie had some emergency stabilization done and she stayed there overnight. The next day , they then told us that she needed to undergo surgery to see what was causing this and to attempt to remove it. They first thought it was an ulcer in her duodenum, but even after some scoping, ultrasounds, etc. they weren't sure until they were in.

Anyway, all this was during the day Wednesday and I think she went into surgery Wednesday night and all went well. I guess Thursday morning she was peppier than before, but I really can't remember much of this, actually. Laura decided to go visit Callie Thursday evening just as Connor was getting ready for bed. The visit seemed to go well, but just before she came home, around 9:30pm - 10:00pm, the surgeon had called her and said that things were starting to get really bad and that it would be best to put her down. It was a difficult few moments, but we decided to drive back while Kelly watched Connor for us. We arrived there around 11:30pm or something like that and Laura was brave enough to go in and observe it and say her last goodbyes. I stayed in the car because I don't think I could have done it. Watching her while they put her down was not something that I wanted to experience. Laura came back out after a short while and we just sat in the car for a little bit to think about what just happened. In the end, what we did was the best thing to do because it was just going to get worse.

In hindsight, I wish we knew what was wrong with her and how severe it was when we had her at the vet in OKC because, probably, we would have considered putting her down then before doing all the stabilization and surgery. We felt bad that Callie had to go through all that just to find out it wasn't enough. It also sucked that she had to spent the last few days at the clinic instead of at home or something. It just came so quickly, but, I guess there's nothing we could have done.

The next couple of days were hard for us because just doing everyday things, we would think about every now and then because she was part of routines and such. The difficult part the next morning was when Connor was asking for Callie when they were letting Kip back in the house and feeding them and stuff. He seems to have forgotten about it in the last couple of days, but at the same time, I think we're trying to avoid mentioning anything that involves Callie too. I haven't asked him to get Kip any treats because I think that he would ask about Callie. We picked up Callie's food bowl as well. We're thinking about donating the urinary food to the vet because it's basically a brand new bag.

All in all, this event was hard for all of us. I still tear up thinking about certain situations and memories, but it's getting better. Now we have to plan for a huge expense that we weren't foreseeing as well. Yikes.

Some weird guy also just came up to me right now at the library saying how he studied Chinese and wants to go to Japan, etc. VERY weirdly social guy. I thought he was special or something. Anyway, he then continues to say that he's Christian and if I wanted to hear the gospel. 1) I don't want to hear the gospel 2) I don't even know what "hearing the gospel" means 3) Don't take up my time being nice to start but then trying to tell me about religion. I just told Laura that we need to leave OK. I've been approached by religious people more times here than all other places I've been combined. If I wanted to seek religion, I would do it myself. I don't need guidance or whatever you're offering. Anyway, end of my rant there.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that this guy asked if I was Chinese. Not very smart for getting a bachelor's in Chinese and living in Beijing for 4 months, is it? Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if his entire spiel was made up to segue into converting people. Asian people, at that...

I thought Connor was going to not cry when I left him this morning, but he did start to a little as I left. 6th day now...I would have thought he would know by now. The long weekend probably didn't help, either.

Okay, I'm going to surf now. I have a Dr.'s appointment this coming Thursday to get my throat checked. It's been uncomfortable for a couple of months now, so. Hopefully it's

This week is becoming quite a week! I'm pretty stressed this week, I can tell you that.

Let's start with Connor's 2nd day at school. He knew what was going to happen that day, but he only really started to realize after we got into the classroom and I started telling him that I would be back to pick him up. He started to cry, but he didn't. However, just before I left, he started to but, of course, I couldn't come back in. I heard him crying while I was walking out of the hallway. After I came back to pick him up, though, he was off and on throughout the day as he realized where he was and I wasn't there, but that he did good.

Today was another different story. Halfway through the drive to the school, he started to say things that was pretty obvious that he didn't want to go to school. He was saying things like "Connor will go to the store and do errands", "Connor AND Daddy go to the store", etc. This is because I told him I had to go to the store the first 2 days. Probably a bad idea to keep saying that, so I'll have to come up with another excuse. As we were waiting outside for the doors to open, he started showing signs of concern again. I mentioned that when I picked him up, I would bring him a special treat of a donut, after which he calmed down. I was also telling him that we could check to see if we could see the gym, because he was interested in that, but the door was closed. Right as we walked into the classroom, he started to cry. I calmed him as much as I could, but off and on he was crying. Finally, I decided to leave when the crying wasn't as bad, even though he was crying. It's so hard to leave during it, but I do think it's best to leave earlier than staying too long, as the teachers suggest. I haven't gotten a call or anything, so I figure he has calmed down.

What else. Oh, Callie. So, after a week or so of not eating pretty much anything, we decided to take her to the vet a 2nd time. The week of not eating anything started just before we left for our Colorado vacation and while she stayed at Laura's parent's house. Anyway, after giving her meds everyday and dealing with bright yellow throw up a lot of the times, we took her in for more examinations. X-rays showed nothing, which was good, but the blood work came in (just this morning) positive for tick disease. I don't really know what that means, but obviously does what we're seeing in Callie. No eating, feeling tired, etc. Anyway, after another $400 bill, she is on antibiotics and the vet said that she should start feeling better by the weekend. She's started to eat treats here and there, so we'll see how fast she gets better.

On top of that, Laura's Mom is just had surgery yesterday and will be staying the night tonight in our bed (they also stayed Tuesday, to my surprise), so we will be in the study. This week has just been very tiring for me and stressful. I just want a week of nothing happening, but of course, the school thing is going to be every week. Really hoping that gets better soon. Makes me feel bad because he's the only one that's crying when I leave. I told Laura that I take that as him missing the parents more than the other kids missing their parents, which obviously means they're used to it from babysitters or something or that they don't like their parents. :P

It's crazy how much stuff can happen in a few week's span, while other times nothing can happen in a span of several months. Anyway, on with the show.

Colorado Trip:

Overall, the trip went well. The plane ride there was fine and Connor did very good. We did give him the tablet to watch videos and stuff, but it was also nice that since our last time travelling, they allow tablets to be on throughout the entire ride. Of course, travelling in itself is always still stressful for me. I had to carry the stroller onto the plane, etc., etc. I hate Southwest and their stupid boarding policies. They don't have family boarding in the beginning, but between A and B boarding...which doesn't make any sense. Anyway, we go there and we got all our baggage this time and then rented our car and headed over to Chris' house. They were doing fine, but it did seem to me that they were definitely learning the baby thing still. I only saw Chris change the baby's diaper twice, I think. He really didn't do much and looked like Alicia was doing a lot of the work. Of course, I don't know what goes on during the evenings/nights.

We had a good time with Ellen and Matt. We stayed at their house for the entirety of the trip. Their basement was cold, but we got used to it. Colorado was quite hot this time around, so it was a strange change. Connor did pretty good sleeping on normal beds, but we did have to use pool noodles to make sure he didn't fall over. We visited my Mom and sister/cousins for part of the time and Connor liked that as well. We were able to see Ellen's venue for her wedding too. We saw Laura's friends and Connor, I think, had fun with Veronica.

On our anniversary night, we went and ate at Panzano's again. It was quite expensive, but oh well. It was pretty good. We ordered some weird soup that wasn't worth $18 for both of us, but that was the only downside.

The flight back was a little more stressful. For some strange reason, our ears were popping a lot, much more than normal on our descent and Connor was not taking it well. We tried to get him to drink liquids but refused. Finally, we had to take him out so Laura could hold him. I don't think he drank once.

Then, to make things extra worse, after we get to the car, or, rather, just before we got to the car, I thought it was strange that the car wasn't unlocking from even a short distance away. When we actually got to the car, I dreaded that the car ran out of battery somehow. Once I confirmed the keyless couldn't open the door, I manually opened the door and tried to start the car...nothing. Not even a struggle. At that point, I knew the battery was dead. We figured Connor had pushed one of the overhead lights and that, over a few days, drained the battery. Laura was grateful enough to go get security and he was finally able to jump the car after a few tries because, I think, the battery was so dead that he had to do some weird wiring with the jumper. I really want to get a portable jumper now. That would save a lot of hassle. Even if we had cables, in this situation, it would have helped because the closest a car could get was probably 20 feet or more, so a standard cable wouldn't have even reached. Anyway, we got the car running and went home, tired. We didn't even unpack for a few days.

Overall, it was fun, but I think every time that the fun is leveled out by the stress and since I tend to remember the bad things, it just feels like a really long, stressful weekend or something and not a vacation. Maybe it will get better as the kids get older. I don't know.

Connor's First Day at School:

So, I didn't realize that as soon as we got back from the vacation, Laura had to go to a parent's meeting or something for his school starting in just two days. During those two days, we reiterated to him a lot that we would leave him at the school and that we would be back to pick him up. Still, we were pretty nervous. I was the one to drop him off that day and, up until about 30 minutes prior to dropping him off, I was pretty relaxed about it. For some reason I started to get really nervous before I dropped him off. Thankfully, there was a little train set they set up on the rug which caught Connor's eye immediately and he went to play with it. I couldn't even get him to put his backpack in his cubby. Anyway, I told him bye, gave him a hug and a kiss and I left without any issues. I think if the trains weren't there, it would have been a different story. I really hope the trains are out every time or at least until Connor gets used to the new routine. I ended up just trying to kill time until 11:30 and went back to pick him up.

The parents were let in a little early so we could see them sitting on the rug for storytime. Everyone but Connor, of course. I was like, oh man, what's going on, because he was sitting by himself at a table on the other side of the classroom. After the door opened to let all the parents in, he started crying. I went over to him and hugged him and he eventually stopped. They told me that he did great except for the last few minutes or something. I think it was starting to get to him or something. Anyway, I felt bad, but I think he had fun. He was able to say bye to both teachers and said that he would be back again, so we'll see.

On the way home, I did tear up a little bit after he kept saying that I came back to pick him up and that he missed me. I guess at that age, being left with a bunch of strangers and kids is a weird experience. It would be a weird experience for me even now. We were both proud of him that day. He even took a shorter nap and then went to soccer for make-up day and he did great.

Here's to more good days like that!

Now that I have about 2 hours of free time twice a week, I may set up a doctor's appointment to get my weird throat issue checked out. Hopefully, it's nothing serious.

Just under 2 weeks before our Colorado trip. It's coming up fast and we haven't done any preparation. I guess we don't need any prep at the moment. We're taking the same stuff as usual, but this time no pack and play, so that will be good. I don't even want to start thinking about lugging the car seat around, but whatever.

Yesterday, Chris did a video chat with us and we tried to get Connor to say hi to him, but he freaked out and started crying. We'll see how that will pan out when we go to their house to visit. They still haven't had the baby. it's about a week overdue, but they have an appointment on Tuesday for induction.

Connor is still giving me trouble getting into the car seat. That is what always makes the day bad for me. It's hot in the garage, it's starting to get hotter, and I just don't have the patience to sit there while he fiddles around before sitting in the car seat. Most of the time, he tries to get into the front seat area and I do not want him doing that.

That's about it really for updates. We really haven't narrowed down a name yet. 2-3 possibilities, but it will be hard to pick one. We haven't really considered middle names yet either. 2 more months!

At the library right now while Laura takes Connor to go shopping with Kelly. I'm watching him in the afternoon. It would have been better if it were flipped around because I was hoping to play some WoW or something, but there's maintenance going on right now, oh well.

I did start to brainstorm my next book. Just a few bullet points of what I was thinking for the story. I think it will be good once I figure out the details as right now I just have the VERY big picture.

Going to head to Kirkland's or perhaps Half-Price Books after this to browse around a bit.

Well, it's already the 5th, shoot.

The 4th was pretty uneventful, at least, during the actual time fireworks go off. In the morning we headed to a small town by Tulsa where they were having some sort of festival thing. Connor had fun briefly bouncing around one of those bouncy playground thingies. Then he ate a few watermelons that he loved and then got his face painted, along with some tattoos. We left after lunch since it was getting close to his nap time. He's been pretty tired this entire trip, which is no surprise, really. He never sleeps well here. I'm really not much of a fireworks person, but Laura and her Mom drove out to see some fireworks while her Dad was on the roof watching it.

The weather's been sort of hot, but not blistering the last few days. It's actually been quite cool in the mornings. I just booked our car rental reservations for our Colorado trip. It was about $225, which isn't too bad, I guess, for 4 days. I hope we don't have any issues getting the car and all that. Traveling stresses me out.

Lastly, last night before bed, I had to write an e-mail regarding working on the church website. I'm just getting really tired of the one way fricken conversations. They don't keep in touch regularly and they ONLY e-mail me when something's wrong or something needs to be done. None of my e-mails get responded to. I've told Laura already, but I'm just done with this nonsense. They can find someone else to take advantage of for all I care. I don't get jack out of doing this. I don't even feel good when I help out. In the beginning, I felt good that I was helping out, but now I just don't give a crap. And one thing I cannot stand is being used. After our baby gets baptized, that's going to be it for me. I just won't have the time or patience to deal with these people.

I think there's a party this afternoon with some guests. I've just been tired lately. We've been talking about maybe seeing the new X-Men movie tonight, but we'll see about that since the only time we can really go to is a 7p showing. That'll mean Laura's parents will need to put Connor down and stuff. I'm sure everything would be okay, but that's just another stress factor to deal with.

Okay, so Laura mentioned that I hadn't blogged since April. I thought it was May but apparently it was April. That's quite a long time and I'm determined to write a whole month SOMETIME this year...I think since it is the 1st of July today, I will start today and blog every day for this month...or, at least try to.

There is a lot of updating to do on this blog. Where to begin.

Connor's first soccer session of a month and a half finished up a couple of weeks ago and Laura decided to enroll him in another month and a half session. Today will be the 3rd of his lessons, but this time around, we were surprised to find out that he was the only one signed up for the 5pm time slot. So, he's getting some good 1 on 1 attention and we gotta say, he does SO much better. There is another boy that's in a class one higher than him, but he's the only one signed up for that time slot as well, so sometimes they combine the class together. Connor still does well, though, but being alone is still the best. On the first lesson, I was surprised how well he listened.

[Short break, I realized that I wanted to mow the lawn before it rained and while it was cool]

Okay, back from mowing. Anyway, since he's been the only one or one of two kids in his class, he's been a delight to take to soccer. The past month, I didn't really want to take him because he was just so disobedient. Hopefully, he doesn't go that route again as the lessons continue. He seemed to start to lose interest near the end of the lessons, probably because he was getting tired of the same old stuff every week. I would too.

Come to think of it, the rest of life has really been the same old, same old. Well, I guess there is one other big news. We found out that our baby is going to be a GIRL! That's pretty exciting news for both of us. We've still only told close friends and family. I'm close to posting it on Facebook, though. Anyway, yeah, we've already got a few sets of girls pajamas, clothes, and the like. Currently, we are trying to hammer down a few names to choose from. It's pretty hard, though.

So, sadly, that's about the extent of the news despite not updating for a couple of months.

I'll be back tomorrow for the day's update!

Yikes, it has already been a month since my last post? Seriously, time is flying by this year. My Mom's stay was mostly good - near the end, I had reached the end of my tolerance level, so to speak, so I was in a pretty grumpy mood. 8 days is too much, fyi. My Mom asked me why I was in a bad mood and if I was mad at her afterwards, but I just said that it was mostly because Connor was being difficult and I was tired. Oh well. It's over now.

Connor is still talking, talking, talking! One day, I swear he talked continuously for like an hour. I finally told him to play quietly for a few minutes, but of course he did not. I've been so tired lately. I don't know why. It's not like I go to sleep REALLY late...maybe I do. I tend to get into bed around 9:30 or so, but end up watching TV or on the tablet until like 11. It does feel like when I supposedly had mono last...two years ago? Just really tired even after a good night's sleep. I hope it passes or something. I do need to go see the doctor, though. Just for a yearly check-up and to see if my blood work is still okay and stuff.

We've been taking Connor to soccer practice the last couple of weeks and he's surprisingly having a lot of fun. The first day he warmed up after about 20 minutes and the 2nd time he was fine, but cranky because he was tired. Next time, I'm going to try and make sure that he's well rested because he runs around a lot during soccer. He plays with hula hoops, kicks some goals, plays green light, red light, and other stuff. Our class has around 4-5 kids, so it's nice that it's so small. Otherwise, it might get a little hectic. The coach is nice too and Connor seems to like him now. He talks about soccer a lot during the day.

Anyway, we're here in Tulsa this weekend for Easter and stuff. Sunday was have to go to Mass and tomorrow is Wesley's b-day party. Ellen flew in today and Laura picked her up. She finally got engaged to Matt a couple of days ago. The wedding planning craziness has already started. It sort of reminds me of our engagement, but not really in terms of planning because I really had nothing to do with it.

Here's to trying to get back on track...I know, I keep saying that every time and it keeps getting worse...

Ugh, just shy of 2 weeks. I'm not sure why I can't even get myself to write weekly anymore. On a quick side note, that last post was my 600th blog. That's pretty good - or pretty bad if you think the vast majority of that was written in the first few years I've had this.

I've been playing a little too much WoW lately since I subscribed a little over a month ago. I can tell. It was after a 9-month break, everything was new, Chris was playing, etc. I know that's not an excuse for moderately playing the game, but I am going to try and cut myself down after this week. Really, the only reason I got it was to play with Chris a couple of times a day. We decided on Thursday, so I'm going to try my best to keep night-playing down to Thursday and perhaps just one other night. I can play other times during Connor's naps during the day so I don't cut time out with Laura. I really am going to do it. Even I can see that this is getting ridiculous! I'm tired each day because I somehow get to bed at 10:30 or later. The thing is, even if it wasn't WoW, that seems to be the case. The other culprit is late night TV. I dunno. I just can't sleep at night or feel like I should use the free time without Connor for playing games or TV-watching. I need to re-evaluate, I think.

As I write this, it's already 11:30 and I'm going to be kicking myself tomorrow when tiredness hits. It usually does around 8-9 in the morning and then again at like 2-3 in the after noon, which are RIGHT when Connor is the most active.

My Mom came in fine yesterday, though the plane was delayed due to strong winds. Today was a tough day. Connor's sleep was bad, he was needy, cranky, tired, and everything in between. That and dealing with company just gets to me. Hopefully, this coming weekend, which is Connor's birthday party weekend, along with Kelly's, will ease the stress a little. We are playing golf Saturday morning, which may or may not be good. It's going to be cold, though I hope not a lot but if I play bad, I get frustrated at myself. I hate playing bad. I know that I shouldn't play well considering the last time I played was with Chris in the Fall I think. I tend to do well under these situations, but we'll see.

Well, I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed now.

Well, my weekly blog thing is done with...almost a month since my last. Oh well. Connor's sleeping at the moment, I think. I heard him just before I got in the shower. He's going to get up soon. He's pretty on the dot at waking up at two hours.

I'm not sure too much happened in the last month. February went quick. In a couple of weeks, my Mom is coming to visit again, this time for Connor's Thomas-themed birthday. I can't believe he's turning 2! We're having it in Tulsa, combining it with Kelly's birthday, which is actually the day we're having Connor's, which is like a week and a half later. We got a bunch of Thomas trains and a track set, so he will be very happy about that. He's been Thomas-everything the last few weeks. Dunno why. Maybe he's bored. The weather's been pretty crappy the last few weeks and cold, so we haven't been able to go anywhere outside, really. It looks like the next week should be a lot warmer, but it might rain. Might be time to use his boots more.

March already. This year is going faster than last year, I think!

We're throwing ideas around for a Summer trip...maybe St. Louis, maybe Dallas, maybe Santa Fe. We're still not sure, but it sounds like St. Louis might be good, since we can stay at Laura's grandparents' house to save some money and TJ probably would drive out to meet us there. It's about a 7 hour car ride, according to Google for us and about 4 hours for TJ, so he definitely would I think if he's not busy or anything. I'm not sure how Connor will like being in the car for 7 hours, but I don't think that's anything a couple of movies can't fix.

We borrowed a whole bunch of Thomas DVDs at the library today, so I need to rip those tonight. Maybe it'll come in handy for the future.

Anyway, not much else to say this time. I gotta get a package that came yesterday...probably all wet from staying out there overnight. Hope not since it's Connor's birthday party supplies.

I think I'm slightly behind the weekly blog rate, but I will try and catch up.

My birthday was a good one, although Connor was pretty difficult during the day. It was the middle of the week, so I didn't get a break from him or anything, but that's okay. Laura made a really good, but super rich, chocolate cake that we finally finished eating I think a couple of days ago. I got a new cable modem for the internet, some books, and another Roku for the bedroom. Gay had visited two weekends ago for something, so we all went over the Kelly's for dinner. The downside was that I think I got the cold that she was trying to get over. I'm not sure if she's the one I got it from, but it could easily have been. The other option was the science museum when Connor and I went a couple of days after that weekend. Either way, I still have the runny nose and sinus congestion, but it's getting better. It's weird because of my last long cold and the Bell's Palsy that followed, I'm just hoping that it doesn't happen again. I don't remember colds lasting this long in me in the past. They were usually completely gone by the 4th day, 5th at the latest. I'm on day 5 now and I still feel there's a couple of more days of recovery. I dunno if it's because I'm getting old, my immune system is weaker, or what, but it sucks.

As for my Bell's Palsy, I think it's plateaued a bit. I've been noticing more soreness in the muscles in my cheek. Weird feeling. It's almost the same feeling you get when you've been laughing and/or smiling a lot or something and your face is tired. I just hope it's a sign of getting better.

Laura's b-day is coming up and so is Valentine's. I'm not sure we have anything planned for Valentine's, and we never really do plan something, but I did get her gifts ordered. One should be here tomorrow and the other probably on her b-day or later. It was a bigger than normal gift so hopefully she likes it.

We're already into February. I can't believe it.

Connor is getting so talkative now. He constantly talks and constantly wants me to talk. That's fine, but it's tiring for me because of the Bell's Palsy. Or, maybe not. I'm just not used to talking ALL through the day. Anyway, he's pretty funny trying to string together words and creating sentences. He consistently tries 3-5-word sentences now all the time. He's still really into Thomas and, that reminds me, we need to get him some Thomas trains for his b-day. We'll probably get tracks from Amazon since they were cheap, but eBay seems to have the best deals for the actual trains. You just have to find a good lot and get lucky with the bidding. We bid on a couple, but both outbid pretty quickly. I dunno why Thomas trains are so expensive. They don't seem that different from any other train.

We talked about taking a short trip to Dallas or something this coming President's Day, I think it was, but not sure if that's still in the air or what. I think Laura's parents are heading to Roman Nose that same weekend, so unless we find a place to kennel the dogs, I don't think that that's happening. Oh well.

Other things that's been going on in my head is another fantasy story kind of brewing about. It took a long time to write the first one and it's really not "done", but if I ever find time and energy, I would like to explore this new idea I have. I think it's kind of cool.

We finally finished watching The Hobbit's special features. There was about 9 hours, so we watched a little at a time. Took a coupe of weeks I think. It was pretty interesting.

Well, I think I should get Connor up soon. He took a late nap today and he was tired because he woke up earlier than normal, so if I let him sleep, he'd probably sleep way past the time he should be up!

Well, the time while Laura was gone ended up being all right. Bedtime were pretty easy as Connor didn't want to nurse incessantly. And now, even after Laura's back, he seems to doesn't want to nurse. Maybe once every few days, but we're getting there. Lately, though, it's all about the weird fits and screams for no reason or some random reason. I guess it's that time of age?

My Mom's visit went fine. Connor loved having her here. The weekend she was here, she and Laura cooked up a Japanese New Year feast along with a sushi platter we got at Tokyo. It was all very good. We even had the Lemons over.

The last few days have been a little rough at times, mostly due to Connor's fits, but also the weather became super cold again for a few days. The weather's supposed to go up again the next two days, and then I just saw that it's supposed to get cold/snow on Mon/Tue...sigh. I know it's Winter, and it's better than the 100-degree heat, but, oh well. I guess I wouldn't be as irritated if it wasn't for Connor. Without kids, this would be okay weather for me. With kids, it sucks because we can't do anything.

We got some curtains for the living room and it does make the room look better and slightly brighter during the afternoon, letting the sun in. It was expensive, though, but because of a sale, we were able to get another, random curtain rod for $1 from Kohl's.

What else...nothing else to report. Oh, my Bell's Palsy. I'd say I'm close to 80-85% recovered. I can't tell if it's getting better still. I guess it is. You can't really tell that I have/had it now if you see me talk, smile, etc. I still feel a little weird in certain parts of my cheek, so I know I'm not completely recovered. We'll just need to keep watching it. I know it can take up to months and months, so coming this far in less than 2 months is good. I'd even be fine if it stopped getting better at this point, since I look normal. Of course, I hope it keeps going.

Anyway, gonna play some Starcraft while Connor is asleep.

Another easy bedtime for Connor tonight. We opted to skip bath because I was busy writing an e-mail regarding the church website while he was watching a couple of Thomas' and I ran out of time. Wiped him down and fussed a little bit trying to put the diaper on him, but afterwards, he did fine. Tomorrow is a full day with him because Laura's Mom was here today until his lunch, so I had some help. I don't really know what time she's coming home tomorrow (hopefully no weather delays), but I think it's late.

I always hate it when Laura is out of town for work or something, even though it doesn't happen often at all. I miss her and it is times like these that I think I take her help and presence for granted sometimes. When she comes home after work, she immediately helps Connor and frees me from my sometimes stressful day. When that doesn't happen, I can really tell the difference in stress level. Maybe not stress, per se, but responsibility levels, I guess, if that even makes sense. It's just nice to have a break from Connor a little bit each day. I know that she doesn't get a break during the weekends at all and I need to be better about trying to take Connor so she can. It's just hard because Connor really likes to stay with Laura during the weekends. I know that Connor's 2-ish hour naps are a good time to wind down for the second part of the day, but I guess it's different, somehow. I should nap to get re-energized, but I don't want to waste that time, either. I guess I'd rather be refreshed than tired? I took a nap during his nap today and I think I feel better on those days, obviously. It's either that or going to sleep earlier!

Anyway, I think tomorrow, if it's not too cold out in the morning, which it may be as it says around mid-40s around 9am, I might take him to the zoo since we haven't gone in a long time. If the morning doesn't happen, I'll try and take him after his nap, although that cuts it close his dinner. Well, maybe not, but we'll surely hit rush hour traffic and that's something I don't want to do. 

I have leftovers for lunch, but I dunno what we're eating tomorrow for dinner. Laura had some quinoa thing planned, but I have no idea how to make it, so I'll let her make it for Wednesday. Thursday my Mom is coming to visit for a few days, so I'll have to check her in on Wednesday morning.

Well, it's 10pm and I wanted to watch one survival show and take a shower, so I better go.

I love you and miss you, Laura!

Oops, almost missed my goal by a day...or, maybe I think I missed it by a day. I'll make that up.

Laura left for her business trip to St. Louis a couple of hours ago. Laura's Mom took Connor to Kelly's for a couple of hours to give me a break. They're just about to come home, I think. At least, that's the plan. I have dinner ready, though. Pork chops, sweet potatoes, and asparagus. It feels like it's missing something, though.

Anyway, I'll probably write later. I just had thought about the blog and wanted to write a quick something. I'm hoping Connor does okay during bedtime tonight. He didn't seem to mind it too much when Laura left, but we'll see about that tomorrow or even the next day when she isn't back like normal.

Been working on the quilt guild website, teaching Laura's Mom most of what she needs to know to update the site. We should be wrapped up by tonight, if not already. I've taught most of what's needed to know. Next is just practice. Lots of it!

It feels weird in the house right now. Just me and the dogs. No Connor. No Laura.

Miss you already!

Oh, and one of my goals this year is to write in my blog weekly...and, yes, it WAS to write daily, but that went out the window on the 2nd...and taking a picture daily isn't going to happen either...sigh.

2013 Year in Review

What another roller coaster of a ride it's been this year. Connor turned one and grew up faster and faster. He learned so many new words each week, it's crazy to see how much of what we say and do he picks up without us even knowing. I can't tell you how many times we've been like, "Whoa, how do you know that, Connor?".

So, for this year, I thought I could switch it up a bit and even though I would do a very short summary of the year, I would spend the majority of my writing on what we MISS about being non-parents. I think it would be an interesting thing to do because once you become parents, everything sort of blurs together and you don't really think about what you used to do in your spare time and the like. Yeah, every now and then we think to ourselves if we could just go see a movie or go out to eat without any hassles, but I figured I could go a little more in detail than that...hopefully it doesn't turn out to be boring, ha. Come to think of it, I hope it's not just dinner and a movie that we miss doing without Connor!

This year was a big year, relatively speaking, in terms of traveling. We went to Colorado twice with Connor, once before he was walking and once after he was. Both times went fine, considering traveling with a baby. Overall, I think the enjoyment weighed out the stress...maybe. Connor kept us busy by walking very early, around 11 months or so. It's weird to think because Joseph is still crawling and he's already reaching 15-ish months! It would be a completely different perspective, I think, if Connor wasn't able to walk until that old. Connor and I played at the park a lot this year. That basically became the thing to do each day because we still hadn't figured out Gymboree or Mother's Day Out. We're hoping to get that started next year, though. Connor hopefully can handle being left alone without us.

This past Summer wasn't as hot as the last years, so that was great. Still hot at times, but very much manageable. The Winter has been feeling colder than normal, which is hard because we can't get out as much.

We had visits to Tulsa here and there for different occasions, but Connor had issues with something each time. Mostly napping, some having to do with boredom (?), etc. Him being bored is a bit weird when we're over there because he certainly has more to do than here, but I dunno. It must be a little different. The house is much too large for him and while we're there, he's all about Mommy and it's hard for him to keep close to Laura because she's always trying to help out around the house. It would be nice if for once we could just go there as guests, but, I doubt that will happen. Christmas will be very interesting, for sure. So many people and so many things going on. I think it will be a very difficult time. Sometimes, I think if the difficulty and stress is even worth it. Sometimes it's nice to just relax and not have to worry about every little thing that is coming up next. I keep telling Laura that we should just do catering for every meal, but oh well.

The other big thing, which came out of nowhere was my Bell's Palsy after a horrible (perhaps the worst I've ever had) cold that started on Thanksgiving day with a severe sore throat. It even hurt just to swallow saliva. Anyway, that continued for a few days, then it turned into a bad runny nose and coughing. A week later, I wasn't getting any better. Then on Friday, Dec. 6th, I believe, I woke up and half my tongue was "numb." Coming back from the dentist and you tongue still feeling numb is the best way I can describe the feeling. I didn't think much of it that day. I had taken Nyquil for the first time ever the night before, so I thought it might have been that. The next day, lo and behold, my face, the same side as my tongue, was paralyzed. I started to freak out, not at first, but as I realized that this wasn't normal. I mentioned it to Laura several times that morning and after a while, we both decided that I should go to the ER. So, I did. After a super quick trip, they diagnosed the Bell's Palsy. It didn't really hit me what was going on, I guess. I was just having difficult talking, as one might expect when the muscles on one side of your face doesn't work. I read up on it after I got home and it looked like it was going to be a slow, slow recovery process. I got some medication and that was that.

It's now almost been a months since the diagnosis and I'm doing much better. Every day, little by little, I'm getting my movement back. My smile isn't normal yet, but it's getting there. I just hope that all of a sudden, the recovery stops. It can happen, I guess. Recovery can be as quick as a couple of weeks to several months, up to a year, even. I think I'm somewhere in between, from the looks of it. I'm about 70% recovered, I would say. At this rate, another 2 weeks or so should do it. I'm hoping so! Anyway, the first week was the hardest to get used to it. It was  hard to eat, talk, drink, brush my teeth. I didn't realize how so much of my daily routine would be affected. The biggest was my eye, as I couldn't shut it voluntarily. I had to get drops to keep it moist and at night I had to tape it down. I still occasionally do, as if I don't, it seems like my vision is blurry afterwards. I didn't go out as much during this as well because, 1) I didn't want to hurt my eye/get it dried out and 2) I didn't want any human interaction during this time. This was difficult as I usually take Connor out every day somewhere, like to the park, etc. I felt bad during this, but he got through it okay.

Then came Christmas. Overall, it was a good time, though a bit stress-filled for everyone, it seemed like. It felt like there was more prep work having to be done or something. Anyway, we were there for a week and it was a good break, for the most part. Connor was all about Mommy during it, probably because of the fact that she was there all the time and not at work, lots of new faces, and etc., etc. He did really well at the Christmas mass and he and Wesley were funny sharing snacks and stuff. There were some sharing meltdowns at times, but nothing big. It was nice to have Matt and Ellen there this year, too. It felt super fast though for the week to go by. Weird how perception always works! Gifts that I got were good, too. Laura and I did our Christmas as always before we left. We both liked our gifts. I've been practicing with the fountain pen a lot the last week. She also got me Ni No Kuni, a PS3 game that was made with the help of Studio Ghibli. It looked really fun when I saw it sometime ago. Laura's Dad was given the PS3, so we're going to borrow it sometime to play the game. When I got the game at first, I was like, what?! We don't have a PS3! But then she told me the details.

Anywho, I'm actually really tired and it's almost midnight, so I don't want to stay up longer, but I think I'll just decide to not do the special write-up  mentioned up top. Basically, sometimes I missed just being "free", I suppose. It is good to see Connor grow up and see the funny things that he does. I think those little things, despite the stressful times that I have during the day, are the things that keep me going. He just does a lot of funny things I really need to learn to be in the moment and remember then when they happen. I've already forgotten so much since he was born. Yeah, I've taken photos and videos, but it's just not the same as vividly remembering, I guess. I'll try and do better this year.

Oh, and Chris and Alicia had called us before our Christmas to tell us that they are having a baby in July. It's going to be very funny to watch them handle it. We both don't think they are ready, but we'll see in 7 months! They are going to find out the gender, but I'm not sure when. I'm sure we'll visit them sometime.

Here's to a good 2013 and an even better 2014!

Back from the Christmas extravaganza and back to our normal schedule. Everything went fairly well and despite a few hiccups with Connor waking up during the nights and a handful of bad naps, he did okay too. Came home Saturday and spent most of yesterday trying to clean up our super messy house. We just don't have enough storage space for the ever-growing amount of toys that Connor is amassing. We either need to move or get a storage shed or something.

Last Friday was the 3-week anniversary of my Bell's Palsy. It's still getting better a little bit each day, so that's good. I'd say I'm at about 50% recovered or so. I can finally close my eyes without using my fingers and I can sleep at night with the tape. Thank god. My non-open-mouthed smile is starting to come back, but smiling while opening my mouth is still wonky. Hopefully in a few more weeks, I'll be recovered.

Still need to work on my end of year summary. I'll try and probably do that tomorrow before bed. The years are starting to fly past.

5 more days until Laura HAS to open my gifts!

A few more days have gone by and the Bell's Palsy is slowly and steadily getting better. At least, that's what I like to think. Really, though, I do seem to have more control over various parts of my face. I'm able to almost close my eye now, but still having issues with smiling and other, more difficult facial movements. Eating is still about the same. Since I can't still move my lips, it's hard to open wide enough to put food in. My vision has been a little blurry/foggy the last couple of days. Hopefully, there isn't permanent damage going on. I've been using eye drops liberally, so I hope that helps. The last couple of nights, I've had issues with taping the eye lid shut. Dunno why. Maybe it's because I have some control over my lid vs. no control at all? It's harder to keep taped down or something. The other thing is that once every night or every other night or so, I'm waking up with night sweats. Last night, I woke up and I had to change my shirt since it was so wet. It was cold too. I'm hoping this is a side effect of the Palsy and/or the meds that I am taking. I read a few people on the support boards mentioning insomnia and night sweats with the Prednisone, so that made me a little more relaxed about it. I'll probably mention it at the doctor's appointment that I need to set up next week. I have a few more days of meds left and I'm done. The last few days I've also had a lot of twitching and stuff around my face going on, mostly around my lips and chin. The left side of my face is also sore. I think that's a good sign. I still do think that I have at least a week or two before even coming close to normal again, but I just hope that none of the loss of movement is permanent. I can only wait.

Just coming back for a better update before Connor wakes up soon.

So, this bad cold I've had since Thanksgiving has blown up to bigger things, apparently. The first week was severe sore throat and then coughing/runny nose. The Friday of next week, I woke up with a weird, numb feeling of my tongue, but just the left side. I had taken a Nyquil the night before for the first time ever, so I thought it was that. I decided to wait a day to see if it would go away. The next day was even worse. The entire left side of my face was numb. I guess numb isn't the correct word since I could still feel it. More like paralysis. Anyway, about midday, I was getting freaked out so I went to the ER. They suspected it was Bell's Palsy after a quick look and hearing about my cold for the past week and a half.

So, there's nothing really I can do but wait. I have a couple of medications, but hopefully within a week or two, the symptoms get better a little better each day. I guess the majority of people are fully recovered by 3 months, some shorter, some longer. It's not bad in the sense of pain or something, but VERY annoying when it comes to talking, eating, not being able to blink/close my left eye so I need to put drops in every so often and sleep with tape over my eye to keep it closed, etc. Lucky me. And I still have this stupid cold to boot. It feels like it's starting to get better, though, the cold anyway. Still have a runny nose but my coughing is down a lot.

I gave Laura one of her Christmas presents because I was feeling a little down and needed something to cheer me up. It was one that I couldn't really wrap anyway. It was the 3 Sims expansions that I bought for her back in November during the huge sale. She liked it a lot and was playing it for a little bit yesterday. I gotta wait 2 more weeks to give her her real gifts, though. Bleh.

Anyway, I can't thank Laura enough, as always, for taking care of me during this this past weekend while wrangling Connor around since he only has eyes for mommy during the weekends. The weather is quite cold outside this week, and the last week at that, so it's been hard to take him out to play or anything, especially since he and I still have this stupid cold. He's slowly getting better as well. A couple of nights he's been struggling to stay asleep, but hopefully this is ALL over soon. I doubt I'll be recovered by Christmas time, though. We'll see.

I need to think about my year-in-review, but I have an interesting idea for it this year.

I can't believe Connor is still sleeping. It's been just about 3 hours...I kind of feel like I should go check on him, but that will definitely wake him up. It good that he's trying to catch up on sleep, though.

Bell's Palsy...awesome.

(will update with a longer post sometime soon)

It's almost Thanksgiving and that means that Christmas is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to trying to snag some good deals again on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, although I probably won't end up buying anything. I've already started seeing houses with lights up and I think that it's a tad bit early. I think on or after Thanksgiving day is the right time. I'm also keeping an eye out for the giving tree thingy to start at Walmart again this year. It probably won't start for another week or two, though. As far as presents for Laura, I think I've got them picked out. I just need to order them. We're going to do another Yamamoto Christmas at home before we leave for Tulsa. There are going to be so many people this year, it's going to be crazy. Hopefully, Connor will be able to get out of the house once or twice each day. I was thinking about it and, usually, no one leaves the house during the holidays, which I think would make Connor crazy even if there are plenty of things to see around the house.

A couple of days ago it snowed for the first time this year (I can't remember if it snowed earlier in the year, but oh well). It didn't snow much. Barely, really. A few piles here and there. It was just really cold. Connor played in it and he seemed to have fun. He had his snow pants and stuff. We do need to get him good gloves, though, but I'm not sure, at this point, that would be a good investment. The weather is supposed to get warmer throughout the week, so that's good. It's hard for Connor and me to go to the park and stuff when it's so cold. I'm sure we could go, but I'd just be shivering all the time. I also need to start looking for a good coat. We tried sewing the zipper on my old Nike jacket, but it was such a pain, I said quits.

Nothing new otherwise. Connor is, again, starting to say more and more. Still only a couple, maybe three, word sentences, but he's saying words a little clearer now.

We're leaving Wednesday this week for Tulsa and back on Sunday. We were going to get our piano from Dawn, but I don't think that's going to be happening. Whenever we do that, it's going to be a big pain, though. We already have a place to put it, which is good.

Okay, a day late, but I'm here. Connor's taking a nap, so let's do it!

I don't believe anything big happened in June or July...or August for that matter. I really can't remember. September, however, was our big Colorado trip. We went there mainly for Lisa's wedding in Keystone, as Connor was the ringbearer, but we decided to stay there longer than we needed and make a vacation out of it. Overall it went great. I hate traveling by plane, with or without luggage or Connor, but it went fine. Connor did great on the plane. On the way there, we didn't even have to get the tablet out. We had some new toys and stuff and that kept him busy. On the way back, though, we did use it for a while.

While there, we visited Ellen and Matt for a couple of days and stayed at there house near Denver. It was fun there and Connor really liked their dogs and things to play with/things to watch. He liked the turtle as well. The one thing that sucked was that when we arrived at DIA, one of our luggage wasn't there. The smaller suitcase of the two, although, we didn't have all of our stuff in one suitcase thanks to Laura's packing. It was still annoying. At any rate, the people at DIA were pretty helpful and they scheduled to drive it out ot Ellen's house once they found it, which was nice. They did find it within a few hours and they had it driven to the house around 6pm or so. I'm not sure where exactly it was, but I think it was just forgotten at OKC or something.

The two days went by real quick and we headed up to Keystone with my Mom, since she helped us out by watching Connor one night. It was cold there, but the weather was great. Connor did well in the ceremony, sucking on a dum-dum, but failed to take a photo with Lisa. I understand, though. There were so many people there that he didn't know and he was really getting his attention. He played a lot with Veronica and even got a kiss, too!

After Keystone for a couple of days, we went to Chris and Alicia's house for a couple of days to visit them as well as Reiko and my Mom. That was okay, as well. By this time, though, Connor was getting tired, I think. Tired of the different environment, naps weren't that great, too many new people, etc. Laura took Connor to Boulder one day with my Mom and Reiko. Apparently he loved Reiko and played with her a bunch. Chris and I went to the driving range one day and that's about it. We saw Ellen one last time for lunch the day before we left. We ate at Cinzzettis which wasn't that great this time. Oh well. I think the novelty is wearing off.

The flight home, as I said, was fine. We got in at like 6:30 or something, though, so we were racing to get home and get Connor down. He never really got used to the time change, which sucks because daylight saving time is this weekend. It was really just nice to be home, though. There's nothing like being back home with all the amenities that you're used to.

That was basically the highlight for September. Most of October wasn't that interesting. It's mostly been dealing with Connor and his growing up. He's learning so many new words per week, it's kind of fun to teach him words. We've started the transition to 1 nap per day and that's going, okay, I suppose. It could be worse and it could be better. The thing is we have no choice since if we try a 2-nap day, he usually doesn't take the second nap, which means he's up from 10:30 in the morning until bedtime and that sucks because by 4pm or so, he's starting to lose it. So, anyway, right now I'm putting him down between 12:00 and 12:30 and letting him go as long as he would sleep, but he's usually up by 2:30 or 3:00.

We're also working on his temper tantrums and frustration management, as well. Trying to at least. When he gets mad he hits his head on the walls and floors and, lately, he's been making these super high pitched screams that hurts our ears. Hopefully, this will pass soon.

Really, though, most days aren't too bad. He's just been tired-ish each day, so it's a delicate balance of playing and trying to relax, although he just runs around all day and ends up tired anyway. We still need to figure out Gymboree and/or Mother's Day Out stuff...maybe for the Spring.

The other big news over the last year is the fantasy book that I've been writing. As you know, I've had a rough outline for months and months now, but really only started writing in the Spring, I think. I'll have to check my revision dates. Anyway, I finally finished it last week, err, maybe 2 weeks ago. Then, I went through the story a couple of times, editing, revising, and adding stuff. I finished with that last week, printed that out this past weekend and gave it to Laura. She just finished it last night and she tells me that she liked it. Hopefully, she is telling me the truth. I definitely think that it could have been better, though, but I was both wanting to finish it and losing motivation to write it. Maybe I will keep it shelved for a while and come back to add to it, and maybe publish it later or something. I need to write out all the suggestions she had on paper and go back to it once I have a clear mind again. I do have some of the sequel in my head, though.

Looking back, I did enjoy it, I suppose. I learned that writing is pretty hard and the hardest part was getting what was in my mind onto paper in a way that I liked it and making sure that the reader would be reading it the way I had the story in my head, which, I guess is the core of book writing.

I can't believe it's already the end of October. The holiday season is just around the corner. I already got a gift for Laura. One of it, anyway. Before we know it, it's going to be Connor's 2-year birthday...crazy! Laura and I both have a dentist's appointment in a couple of weeks. I'm going to get my crown re-done in the back, which has been a long time coming, but wasn't anything that was urgent to do. I just hope that I didn't get any cavities since a year ago.

Connor is starting to cry, as he usually does, about mid-way into his 1 nap. He hasn't gotten much today, which will suck later. It's a fine line on how long to let him go and when to get him. Sigh.

I will try to be back soon.

I think maybe, just maybe, I'll try a blog-everyday project in 2014....we'll see...

5 months! Wow, I really need to update. I will promise to do that tonight. Connor is starting to wake up now.

Another tornado crisis averted.

I can't believe that it's almost halfway through the year. Things are still kicking along. I got the crockpot recipe that Laura found going around 11:30a or something and it's currently set for 4.5 hours. Looks good, though. Not a very soupy recipe, so we'll see how it looks.

Another couple of storms again this week. Oh, I guess the last time I wrote was just before the big tornado that hit Moore, OK. Anywho, the 19th was when it all started. This storm went right over us and a tornado landed a few miles from our house, to the East. We were in the bathroom and all that. Connor actually kinda had fun because it was something new to hang out in the bathroom for a little while with piles of blankets, pillows and both dogs. It wan't a long time, so that was good. He was starting to get antsy. We went in and out a couple of times, though.

The next day, the 20th, was another big day of storms/tornados. Unfortunately, it was a devastating one that hit Moore, OK, about 20 miles South of us. About $2 billion in damages I guess. Anywho, it luckily missed us, but it could have easily been us, I guess. I think Edmond is in a "favorable" location or something because storms and such always seems to miss above or below us. Knock on wood.

A storm shelter would be a great fall back, but they're pretty expensive and it's a rental. Who knows how long we will be in OK.

I've been super tired lately. More than normal, like more than usual fatigue. It's sort of like last Summer when I was super tired and I may have had mono. Feels like that. Hopefully, it passes.

Back to my fantasy story. I've written a little more outline, but I'm doing a lot more details in my head regarding the story, i.e. getting more in-depth. I just need to get it down on paper! I dunno why, but it's hard to get my ideas onto paper. I just need to write it even if it's all scattered so I at least have it down and go back later to flesh it out.

This weekend we're going to head to Bartlesville to go to Sunfest, which is something that Laura used to go to I guess. Hopefully Connor isn't crabby! He's still at like 8 teeth or something, although I don't know how Laura counts those. He rarely lets you look at his mouth.

He's napping right now and I'm just watching the news about the storms/tornado possibility South of us. And North, too. Got lucky again!

I have a little time before I head to bed. I guess I just need to do a recap of the first few months of 2013. 

Laura and my birthdays weren't too overdone, I don't think. Honestly, I can't remember much from a few months back anymore...not sure why, but it's definitely because of Connor. I'm sure I can remember if I sat down and thought about it hard, but not quick recollections. 

We did travel to Colorado in February with Connor. That was a pretty stressful ordeal, but we learned a lot from it. It went generally okay. I think there were just things that we would do differently the next time around. Of course, the next time around would be totally different as Connor would be much older. The next one will probably be in August or September (or both?) and he'll be a year and a half. hopefully we won't need to take the car seat, but then again, I don't think he'll sit for an hour or so quietly. You never know, I guess. It's just that the car seat was so big and heavy. We did okay, though, for the most part. We enjoyed our time in Colorado and caught up with friends/family. 

At this point, Connor was still only taking a few steps, but by his first birthday, he was walking like it was nothing. They develop and grow up so fast.

Next up with Connor's first birthday. We had it in Tulsa and had close family/friends. He got a lot of gifts and I think he had fun. He ate a good amount of the cake that Laura had made for him. She also worked on a lot of the cake toppers for him and they turned out great. 

April was still on the cold side for this year and it's only recently been starting to warm up. Laura had applied to the Portland VA, but the two openings was cut to one and, in short, it looks like we're staying here for the time being. We'll keep trying, though, whether it be Portland, Denver, etc. It's really not bad here, but the past couple of days and dealing with tornadoes could change that outlook. 

We had a big Mother's Day/grandparent's anniversary two weeks ago. It went well, as usual, though I think at times it was a little stressful due to weird, unforeseen events. 

At any rate, that's where we are now. 

I haven't been playing WoW since May 1st or something like that. I've started to work on my fantasy book a little more now, but still "stuck" in a sense. I need to just get over the first few pages and just write. I have a weird tendency to make each page write perfect as I write it so that when I'm done writing, the book is done. However, after reading some techniques on writing and outlining, I decided I'm going to try a general outline first and then fill in the details later. I just need motivation to finish out the story, but for that I still need to come up with a good resolution. I think I need to also accept the fact that the first draft is going to suck a lot. It'll take a long time of reworking it to make it even acceptable. I hope to have Laura read it first and give some critiques.

That's really it. Connor has been talking more and more and having more personality. He's sort of starting to get an attitude. I think he's trying to learn to speak more clearly, I've noticed. Some words come out more and more pronounced, relatively speaking. He does understand a lot more though. I think he's bored during the days. I do try and go out and do interesting things, but I dunno what to do. I dunno about Gymboree yet. :P He loves to play outside, though. He wakes up about 6a, still takes a couple of naps, one around 9a and then around 2p and goes to bed around 7p. Not sure when to transition to one nap, I know we need to soon, but he's not ready for it, I don't think. He does get tired a lot and sleeps the two naps for an hour and a half or more each, plus he usually sleeps through the night, so, at the moment, it seems that he does need it. He'd be pretty cranky with one 2-hour-ish nap, I think. 

I still need to go to the doctor, too. And the dentist. I just keep pushing it off. Story of my life!

Well, this week was tornado week here. One landed a few miles from here while we did our precautions in the bathroom in the middle of the house. Today was another threat, but it missed South of us. Demolished Moore, OK. Could be time to move, regardless of jobs!

Well, I should head to bed. I was going to get more writing done tonight, but alas, didn't get to it again. I just need a laptop with no internet connection or something. I get distracted too easily.

Wow, really, another month gone by RIGHT AFTER I said I'll write soon...sheesh.

I think I'll try to write this week. I've been itching to work on my fantasy story...still thinking about the best way to go about this plot every night while trying to go to sleep. I just can't come up with a cool storyline/resolution.

Hopefully, it'll hit me soon.

Aaaaaaannnndddd another two months...well, almost. Connor's waking up now, but on his next nap, I'll be back to write some.

Wow. 2 months since my last blog. What's been going on? Hopefully I can catch you up soon.

Okay, let's get on with the 2012 review!

Certainly a huge year for me and Laura. The first months leading up to Connor's birth was hectic. We had a lot going on in terms of figuring out work (the biggest issue I think), getting his room ready, getting all the stuff we needed to get him home, and basically just getting ready to have him! The first months went quick, if I remember correctly.

Connor Kazuaki Yamamoto was born 3/30/2012 at 2-something in the morning! 2:44 or something. I can't remember. It was a quite the grueling battle, mainly for Laura. I was just tired. She was tired and in pain. I guess an 18-hour labor will do that. We went in around 8 in the morning and I think we both were expecting maybe a couple of hours of labor at the worst. Issues with the pitocin led to a longer-than-needed labor. Oh well - everything well smoothly in the end and everyone was okay. That was the important part. After the long day, the next few days were spent keeping him fed and getting used to it all. I had taken a week and a half off from work when he was born. Laura was able to take about 6 weeks of full-time leave, which was nice. Oh yeah, the leave situation was another thing that was very annoying. That aside, there was then a 2 week part-time leave that Laura took to ease me into parenthood full-time. I told my work about this whole stay-at-home thing, oh, I think in early February or so. I quit April 20-something.

The first few weeks were hard getting used to, of course. I was at work, though, so it was all Laura for a month and a half. I really can't remember how much he slept in the beginning. I think 30 minutes or an hour after being up like an hour. Man, it's embarrassing, but you really do forget things during first time parenthood. There is so much going on. Luckily, Laura's Mom helped for about a week after he was born. I'm sure Laura appreciated that.

Skip forward a few weeks. I think my Mom came down to visit/help as well. Then after that, one Connor was settling down and his "schedule" more consistent, Chris and Alicia. Skipping forward a couple of more months, he was finally starting to interact but he still couldn't move. A couple of MORE months and he was finally crawling. Time was going so fast for us, it literally went like the last couple of sentences I wrote. All the little things in between have been forgotten, at least in my mind. It's like, birth, first poop, first bottle feeding, first roll over, first-[insert event here].

He's just over 9 months now and I can't believe he's that old already. He starting to babble, eat solids pretty well, eating out at restaurants. I suppose the next thing is walking! He's starting to try now. Sort of dangerous, actually, if you're not watching.

Come to think of it, a lot of the 2nd half of the year was me getting used to taking care of Connor and getting into the groove of things. Laura took a job here in OKC, obviously, so we're here until about June, at which point we need to decide whether or not we're going to stay here or move. It seems for now we're going to be here since Laura should probably work a year or more before moving on.

It snowed a little during this Christmas, which was a nice change since the last few years. We do miss the snow. Although it snowed, nothing really stuck, so it wasn't THAT great.

The big present for me this year was a banjo! I had watched a banjo documentary on Netflix a few months back and I got really interested in. I always liked the sound of a banjo, though, but the documentary kicked it into high gear. This was a DIY kit, so I had to stain the parts and put it together. It took a couple of nights, but now it's put together and tuned and everything. Getting used to playing it and fingers don't hurt since the first few nights! I remember I was "decent" with the guitar, so hopefully I can pick up the banjo fairly quickly - a few months before I can start playing some decent tunes.

And so, 2012 has passed. A big year for sure, probably the biggest year in terms of lifestyle change for us. Connor is great, but he is also tough to take care of and work what we liked to do around. We've seen a couple of movies in theaters thanks to Laura's parents watching him, etc. I've gone to a few doctor's appointments taking him with me. Sometimes he does extremely well, sometimes he cries the whole time. Makes me nervous, for sure. My driver license is actually expiring at the end of this month, so I need to go to the DMV. Of course, it'll probably take an hour or two of waiting, so I can't really take Connor. Laura's Mom is coming out next week and she's going to watch for a while while I go. Hoping it goes smoothly/fast. I first have to go to the DMV then to the tag agency to get my actual license. Stupid.

This year will probably be another big year, not because we're having another child, but because Connor will be walking, talking, and all that it brings. I'll probably need to step out of my comfort zone more and take him to events and stuff...dreading that!

We have a few trips out of state planned for this year as well. We're juggling going to CO next month. This will be his first time flying! I'm nervous about that as well. Thankfully, the flight is pretty short, maybe a little over an hour, so it shouldn't be too bad. Besides, people aren't flying to be in a quiet environment, right? Oh well.

Anyway, gonna go take a bath now I think. Laura is watching the season premiere of Poopton Abbey.

It's the third, THE THIRD, of the new year and I haven't even done my usual year-end recap. I will promise to do that this weekend after Connor's down and I can think for an extended period of time. I do have a couple of goals for myself this year, however. We'll see if these get done:

1. Matt said he would draw the pictures to a storybook that I wanted to make for Connor so I need to come up with a draft. I had an idea in mind. Just need to flesh it out. 
2. I want to get a lot done, if not finish, on my fantasy story. I got a "how to write a fantasy/sci-fi" book for Christmas so hopefully that'll help. I just don't have the time to sit down on a regular basis to write. I'd like to get a schedule going, like a couple of times a night set aside an hour or two or something. The thing is, I'm the type to want to set aside several to work on something. It takes like an hour for me to get into the rhythm. Plus, I still do need to tweak my story. There are some things that I need to change to make it work. 
3. Start taking more photos again. I was going to do the photo-a-day thing, but I'm already 2 days late. Poop. 

That's it for now. We'll see how it goes.

I've been wanting to write more in my fantasy story lately...just need to find time and creativity, I guess!

Connor is sleeping a LONG time right now (and today, in general). Hopefully this doesn't screw up his nighttime sleeping.

It's Friday, though! Not sure what we're going to be doing this weekend. I know we're going to try and head to Walmart to do some giving tree shopping for a kid or two, but nothing else planned. Laura's parents are coming up this weekend as well.

Among good news, looks like my super cool gift to Laura should turn out good - 4/4 items should be received in time! I just need to sit down and think of a good presentation for it.

What else. The weather is getting quite cold. Well, actually, it's been cold for a couple of weeks now. It's only in the 50s usually, but a few 30s and 40s scattered. This would be warm in Laramie, but now that we're used to the hot weather, it's quite chilly. It's pretty windy and overcast now, too.

We've been dealing with the stupid squirrel problem lately as well. Dumb roofers took out the barrier that they put up last year and didn't put it back so they got in again. Traps are out right now. They already caught one. I think this time there was only one or two, so hopefully it's a quick solve.

That's about it. Next week is prep for Christmas, I guess. We're going to Tulsa for a few days as usual. I'll try and write out my year-end summary again. This year was quite the big change for us, obviously!

Whoa, already a month? I am severely forgetting about this blog thing.

Let's see. Let's talk about golfing. So, we all went golfing in Tulsa like I mentioned on the 27th of Oct. It was very cold in the morning, but by mid-round, things were warmer and it was actually quite enjoyable. I was teamed with Laura's Dad against family friends. Bill was pretty good and consistent. Ron I think it usually only okay, but he played pretty good I think that day. Hence, we lost. I can't remember by how much but it wasn't too bad. We could have played better, but it was good overall. Dave had some nice shots and saves for our team. My short game sucked, as always. The course was pretty interesting as well, with canyons and creeks and such. There was one hole, where the tee was like a couple of hundred feet (maybe less) higher than the green. After we shot, we proceeded to drive our carts down the path. There were lots of signs that said "slow" because it was quite steep. Dave and I went down first. Dave was sort of going kind of fast at the beginning and I was beginning to worry a little. At one of the of hairpin turns, Dave realized that right before the turn, he was going too fast, so he had to slam the brakes. Of course, that just made us spin almost. The cart began to tilt but Dave got his leg out and I think that helped to keep us from not tilting over. Anyway, after that he still seemed to go faster than suggested, but oh well. It was fun overall and I'd like to do it again when the weather is nicer. I sort of miss playing a lot of golf, but yeah.

Since then, I've had more health exams and blood tests and everything seems to be fine. I gotta get my mind to believe that now. Poop.

Thanksgiving was last week and Connor had a fun time I think. He interacted with a lot of new people and strangers, so kudos to him. He ate most of what we ate as well.

Now, the thing that sucks is that he's teething pretty badly, so his sleep at night, we assume, have been crap. Utterly crap. I'm usually up sometime between 2 and 4am in the morning for the rest of the day. That doesn't sit well for me. By mid-morning, I'm exhausted and by later afternoon, I'm dozing off to sleep.

My Mom came over as well for a few days during Thanksgiving. She had fun, but as always, I was stressed out by the end. I took her to the airport today and she's now back in CO.

The big news over the weekend - oh, wait, Connor got baptized this past weekend as well. That's big news. He did great. No crying at all during any of it. It was pretty short and simple and I didn't have to do anything real weird or something that would make me uncomfortable.

The day before the baptism, however. Man. We were on our way home from Tulsa and as we got off the turnpike, we were about 5 minutes from home, literally. We stopped at the light and once it was ready to go again, I hit the gas and something clanked and the car just wouldn't go anywhere. We think it's the transmission since the car just revved. Anyway, we started to panic because it was a fairly busy intersection and crowded because of some people coming home from Thanksgiving, I imagine. I was like, what are we going to do! AMAZINGLY, a state trooper in his SUV was right behind us. The odds of this happening are like, so small, I can't even begin to fathom. He walked up and told us he was going to push our car to the nearest parking lot, passed the lights and to the left. He just pushed us with his car. I really don't know what we would have done. We would have blocked one lane and it would have been horrible. Plus, I was in my pajamas and dress shoes still... embarrassing to be standing outside in that.

Anyway, after we were in the parking lot, Laura called AAA and got it towed to a AAA-approved service shop. Ryan came to pick us up and take us home before this. Laura waited for the tow truck. Luckily, everything happened very quickly, within 15-20 minutes probably. The next day, I called Hyundai to go about trying to get it fixed under the warranty.

It's currently at the shop. I called today for an update and they were supposed to call me back, but no go. Hopefully, they call back tomorrow or I'll have to call again. I hate doing that.

So, the last couple of days, we've been down to one car and it's sort of annoying because I have to take Laura home and pick her up from work so that I have a car while at home. It's about 2 hours of driving a day. She wants to get a rental. I think we might if we don't get an estimate on when we'll have our car back. I don't think the dealer will pay for one even though she thinks they will. Anyway, I'm gonna wait another day or two to find out more details. Hopefully, it's covered under the warranty and if so, the fix is quick.

Well, last night was a crappy night for me, so I'm going to head to bed early tonight. Probably 8:30p.

See ya.

It's almost been 2 months, sheesh.

There's been a lot going on, so lots to summarize.

Still going to the library lots. We've basically been reading a new book every day, so that's cool.

Connor's naps took a nose dive in the last two months, but it's slowly getting better. His nights were the worst, though, waking up like every 2 hours to feed. It's down to like 2, maybe 3, and we're trying to get rid of that last feeding around 3-4am. The thing is, he's not doing a good job staying asleep after getting him settled down...which means I've been waking up at like 3-4a every other day and maybe 5a every other day. It's getting old. I need sleep.

Other than that, he's growing, man. He's 18lbs 13oz and he's crawling everywhere and sitting up by himself pretty well. I swear I can't remember how the transition from not being able to sit up by himself  to being able to sit up well came from. One day he was just sitting up and we noticed it. Goes by fast.

I did take my trip to Colorado last week! It was a nice break, but it was only for 2 days, really, so there wasn't much that I could do. I stayed at Chris' and saw my Mom and sister for lunch. We played golf and bet $1/hole. Chris talked quite a bit of crap but, alas, there was a reason he was in junior varsity. I beat him 15 of the 18 holes. I was playing at or better than what I used to in high school on the front nine, even. But then, I choked big time on the back nine (still beat Chris though). I shot decent overall. Chris' Dad also came to play. He beat Chris...that's 'nuff said. It was pretty cold when I arrived there, in the 30s and 40s I think. We went to the driving range on Sat and it was cold and snowing, but the next day the sun came out and although the first couple hours were chilly, it warmed up nicely. I still like how the only time I visit, it was the coldest weather this year...

I was going to meet up with Deni, but that day she was in the mountains looking at venues for her wedding, which isn't going to be in Puerto Rico anymore obviously, so she couldn't meet. I headed down to Denver on Sunday and met with Ellen and Matt to see their place. It was a nice place, although located in a slightly sketchy area of Denver, I thought. The dogs were fun too. The black one bit me the first time she saw me, but then was fine after. Got some good pictures too.

Now, back in OK, the Autumn weather is definitely noticeable and some of the trees are starting to change colors.

In 2 weeks, I am golfing with Dave, Ron and Bill. I felt like playing, so after I heard they like golf, I challenged them to a 2v2 scramble. It should be fun. Went to the driving range this past weekend as well. Hit pretty good. I'm not sure why I'm playing so well...I haven't played in literally 3 years. I've only played 3 times in those 3 years and before that was like 2002 or something ridiculous. If I practiced regularly, I bet I could do pretty well in tournaments and such!

Anywho, what else...I'm starting to get a little back into photography again. I think the Fall colors will be a big boost, that is, if I can find a good place for the colors.

Whelp, he's crying now from his nap. I better go...I don't have too much spare time these days...can't even take a nap because I usually spend the majority of his naps trying to keep him asleep...sigh.

Well, the Olympics are finally over. I'm not that big of a fan, just a few sports. And, before I continue, I want to say that trampoline should not be an Olympic sport...seriously.

My Mom is flying in, like I mentioned, in a couple of days. She's only going to be here for the weekend, though. I'm not sure what we're going to be doing. I know we're going to try and watch this sushi documentary we've been wanting to see. I think my Mom will like it.

The weather's been tolerable the last week or so. We've had a couple of thunderstorms and much needed rain. This past weekend, we were able to hit the driving range for the first time in years! It was a little rough at first, but once I got the rhythm going and remembering how to swing again, I started to do decent. I need to start practicing because I want to ask Laura's Dad and see if he wants to challenge another two family friends on a round of golf. I think we'll do pretty good. Anyway, it was fun. We took Connor and he had fun. Laura tried to hit a few balls, but I think she was frustrated at the difficulty. It does take practice. I think golf is really only fun if you're decent at it. Even I get mad when I don't play well and it's generally better than most of the general population.

What else. Connor is still well. I'm doing good during the weekdays. I'm not sure if it's easier than before, but his naps are getting better, so that in turn makes my job a little easier.

Recently, we discovered the library as a source of books...who knew??? I want to start going every week or two and get books for myself, as well as Connor. I do like getting books for cheap at Half Price Books for Connor, but since we go through a book a night pretty much, we might as well start borrowing because there's a limitless number at the library. I was even able to decide that I didn't want a couple of books I put on my Amazon to-buy list because it didn't look good.

So, it seems like Autumn is just around the corner. Weather getting "cooler", for the time being. I can't wait for the leaves to change color. I really want to head out somewhere and get some good shots this year. Last year I was very lazy and didn't get anything.

Oh, one big thing is that we're going to be staying in OKC for another year or so. We had a chance to move to Portland again, but it would just have been a nightmare to pull off in the time we had. It would have involved packing and storing everything but bare essentials within a month, finding a decent place, apartment or hotel, to say for a month that would take dogs/isn't crappy and having to look around in Portland (not sure how) for a place to move to, all with Connor. I think we chose the right thing. There will be more opportunities in the future. On the bright side, now we don't have to fly and travel for the holidays. :P

That's all for now.

It's been a few weeks - the last couple of weeks have been a rough patch for Connor and his napping, so it's taking a toll on Laura and I. He seems to be getting better, but we're not through it yet. This coming Wednesday, Connor has his 2nd appointment for his shots. Hopefully, it goes well...and I'm going to try and not get the rotavirus (assuming that's what I had a for a few days).

I finally went to the doctor for my weird lymph node swelling. Did some blood tests and she said they looked fine, but it looks like I may have had mono several weeks ago. That could explain some of my symptoms, but we'll see. Next week I need to schedule another follow-up appointment to make sure that my levels for whatever signifies mono is getting better. I'm also going to ask a little more about the lymph node thing. Still feels swollen. It's weird because I usually start out fine in the morning and it gets progressively worse through the day.

Chris and Alicia visited a couple of weeks ago as well. They seemed to have fun. It was super hot outside, so we couldn't do much there, and with Connor, we can't really "do stuff", so...oh well. It was good to see them.

My Mom decided not to move out to Vegas to take care of Ken's baby. That was probably a good idea. She's coming again to visit the last week of August for a few days.

We're currently in Tulsa, visiting for Laura's parents' birthdays. Connor had a horrible night last night because the day leading up to his bedtime was horrible. Not much sleep. He didn't get much sleep today, either. It usually is the case when we come here since he doesn't really sleep on the way here and the environment here isn't what he's used to. The crib bounces, the floor creaks, the light is bright, etc. It's also annoying because we need to go up and down to his room every time he starts fussing. The day we get home isn't great either, because it's another 1.5 hour drive and he is fussy when he gets home. Then he takes a day or two to catch up.

They are watching the Olympics right now. I'm not a big fan of the Olympics. It's not that exciting to me. The only sports worth watching to me are probably the track and field stuff.

Well, that's all for now.

Well, got the American Mensa results back yesterday. Bad news. I didn't make it in. I thought I probably wouldn't, but anyway. The worst part wasn't even that I didn't get in. So, the test consists of two tests, the Wonderlic and the Mensa Admissions Test. The Wonderlic is some old test from the 30s that they use for various thing, most notably for pro football players, for some reason. It's a 50-question test with a time limit of 12 minutes and you have to answer as many as you can correctly. I can't remember if there's a penalty for wrong answers. I think there was. Anyway, I got a 29 on that test and that put me at the 83rd percentile, not even close to the 98th percentile required.

The Mensa Admissions test was a longer test consisting of probably 150 or so questions total spanning 7 sections of various topics. I got a 92 on that test...do you know what percentile that put me in? 97th...97th!

So close, but, not good enough. Oh well. It was something I wanted to do and now I know. You can take other standardized tests to see if you can get in, but I'm pretty sure you can't take the Mensa test again. I think they use the same test over and over again.

It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I really need to go to the doctor to get checked on my lymph nodes and tiredness and stuff. Could be allergies again, but I don't think so this time. I just gotta get the motivation to make and appointment. I don't want to take Connor, sigh.

Sucker's starting to get hot here! I can't stand it already and it's only like 94-95.

Things are still good. Pretty much into the weekday routine and schedule. Sometimes he gets cranky at night, but that's only 1 or 2 times a week, if that, and that's probably expected anyway. I wish that he would sleep through the night though, from when we put him down at 8pm-ish to 5am or so. We can only hope.

Not much news to report. My upset stomach has finally passed (as have my swollen lymph nodes). I guess I had a longer case of mild rotavirus (suspected) than I had planned for. I'm still not sure if it was the rotavirus, but, I think it was. Connor's poops have been normal the last couple of days too, so I think it was a simultaneous thing.

Tomorrow Laura's parents and Kelly and Ryan are coming over in the morning to eat breakfast. I'm going to make the fluffy waffles that we had again. Going to double the vanilla extract to give it just a bit more flavor and it should be good. We bought some bacon too, which we haven't in a long time.

What else. We're in the process of figuring out moving and what jobs to accept and all that for Laura's next step. We'd like to move to Portland, but there aren't any jobs and the one interview that she's waiting for from OHSU still hasn't contacted her. On top of all that, our lease (that we don't have a signed copy of...) is running out in like a month or two or something like that, so we have to start worrying about that too.

The next month is going to be stressful!

I'm still alive!

Glad it's Friday tomorrow. Today was exhausting, for some reason. Connor had good naps, but for some reason I was super tired. I put Connor down at 4:45p, right before Laura got home, and I just fell asleep on the floor for almost 2 hours! Laura was sad that she couldn't see Connor much tonight, though.

Not sure what's going on this weekend for Father's Day and stuff. I think Laura's parents are coming up or something.

As I see I have some time, I'm going to work on Connor's face timelapse!

Must. Update.

Dang, last night we had the biggest hail storm that I've ever seen or been in. Luckily, we were, again, just out of the path of the storm, but there were cities reporting grapefruit sized hail...damn! I saw pictures online this morning. Also, the Walmart Neighborhood Market nearby had some downed power poles too, like 10 of them. The driveway and streets were littered with branches and leaves today.

It was kind of cool, though, because I finally got to use my flashlights and headlights and stuff. Not to its full potential, but enough. I thought at one point, the hail was going to shatter the front storm door. I got nervous for a second, so I closed the front door. It was also really loud in the garage when I went in there to get a flashlight.

Baby's waking up...

Well, it's Memorial Day weekend, whatever that entails. We're going to be heading out to Tulsa here in a couple of hours once Laura gets home and finishes packing and feeds Connor. He was a bit fussy eating this morning. Got a little frustrated, but after a 10ish minute "cooldown", he seems to have eaten about the same as he usually does, although a bit later.

Nothing new the report. Been having some spamming issues with some of my websites, so I had to take down a couple. One didn't really matter, the other was TJ's Kinja Designs website. The last one was my Cranes For a Wish website that I didn't want to take down, although I haven't updated it since August of 2011. Anyway, I think it's fixed now. I should really get back into it...no time though!

Maybe I'll post again this weekend if I find some time.

Well, this past week marked the beginning of Laura's transition back to work, part-time. This meant that I would be home with him the first half of the day and then Laura would come home around 1pm each day. It went well for the most part, although I was nervous. There was only one day, Friday I believe it was, that was difficult. He was overtired and wouldn't sleep nor want anything to eat. I was getting frustrated because he just wouldn't get to sleep, even though he wanted.

Other than that, it's going well.

This weekend we went to an antiques mall to check some stuff out. Nothing interesting caught our eye. I forget what we did on Saturday. Wait, that IS what we did Saturday...wow, my time and memory are slipping. Today is Sunday, okay. I've been tired or something this weekend and trying to catch up on sleep from the weekday or something. I woke up at like 10:45a today. I took Connor to the other room to put him to sleep after he woke up and ate around 7am. Apparently, he slept until almost 10a, which is great. I was sleeping in the glider.

Not sure what we're up to today. It's already 1p, so, who knows.

Great 7-hour sleep last night!

Today was Laura's first half-day back to work after her short maternity leave. She was sad, but she'll be back in a few hours! He's taking a pretty good nap right now. I should eat something since I'll need to entertain him in a bit...he's been making small sounds here and there this past 1.5 hours.

Way behind on this blog. Sort of falling behind on Connor's blog, too. Need. More. Time.

Laura goes back to work next Monday, so it'll be just me and Connor during the days. Sort of nervous. Hopefully, I can pull off all the things I need to do correctly. I think the hardest part will be feeding times and getting the milk warmed and ready and all that. Hard to time how long he will sleep and stuff.

Went to Wesley's b-day today. This morning Laura's family came up to visit for the event. We ate brunch at Bravo's and Connor slept all through that, and he actually slept from 11am to about 2pm. As he woke up, we fed him and got ready to head to Kelly and Ryan's for Wesley's birthday party. He started getting fussy shortly after we got there and he didn't get much good sleep while we were there. After three hours or so, we headed home. He's been fussy the last few hours (I called this happening yesterday!), but hopefully he sleeps long soon. Don't want to have another difficult night.

Mother's Day is coming up and we're not sure what to get my Mom. She's coming here in 3 days, on Thursday, for 6 days, I think. I hope it goes well...

It's come by so quick. 2 more full days of work and I'm going to be a stay-at-home-Dad!

I'll post back with training details and such later. Gotta try and get some sleep before we tend to our boy tonight. It might be a long night.

It's almost as though this blog is merging with Connor's blog, since what he does is basically what I'll be doing as well. I'd hate to stop writing in my blog though. I need to think of another idea to keep it going.

I have 1 more week of work left and then it's full-time at home for me! Going to Tulsa I believe next week for a few days. Then, my Mom is going to be visiting from 5/3-5/9. After that, it's going to be uneventful until our 2-month pediatrician appointment...whoa, I'm already talking about 2-months from now! He's a bit over 2 weeks right now. Time flies even faster when you have a kid!

Among other news, this past weekend, I entered 2 photo contests that I thought I might do good in...we'll see. Total cost was around $50, so I hope I get SOMETHING out of this... both will have their results around mid-May, so I'll report back then.

Yup, it's hard to blog both for Connor and me at the same time...

Anyway, all's well so far and he was born on 3/30/2012 at 2:44am after a grueling 18.5 hour labor by Laura. She did great, though. I don't think anyone else could have done what she did in the way she did it. She got through those contractions via how she practiced in her pregnancy and did great. Love you!

Work has been good the last 2 days I came back. Not having too much trouble staying awake, but I'm definitely tired.

Connor did great last night, too, but the first night was sort of rough. We went and saw the pediatrician on Tuesday. After a stupid 30+ minute wait, Connor is doing well and he's already back up to his birth weight. Laura and I totally forgot diaper change stuff and, of course, he poops as we see the doctor. Thankfully, they had diapers and stuff in the office.

Now it's just getting into the rhythm and hoping that he sleeps more!

Sorry, been forgetting to write in here. We've scheduled the induction for tomorrow morning at 7:30am, so the next time I write in here will be after the baby is born! I'll have a website for the little guy, trying to blog in there everyday, but I'll try and not forget about MY blog, too.

We have a lot of the stuff already ready, but I'm sure we'll have some last minute stuff tonight.

I rented an iPad 2 so we can use it in the hospital, the guests can use it, etc. Other than that, I think we're both getting nervous and the countdown has certainly begun!

Love you bub. You're going to do great. I think I'm the one to worry about more!

Come on baby!

We had some good rain the last couple of days. Soaked the seeds I threw around the yard pretty well. Hopefully they start to grow as it gets a little warmer.

Had an appointment with the doctor today. It looks like she updated the due date to just a couple of days ago, so it doesn't seem as though Laura is that much overdue, just, a few days now. We had another appointment for next Monday, but she thinks we'll have the baby or some sort of activity by then. That would be good. We even got everything we needed packed into the car because we had thought we might induce today, but, now we're just ready, I suppose.

I've been sleeping out on the couch, well, I guess just yesterday, but now tonight as well. Laura just snores a bit loud after she falls asleep and it gives me trouble going to sleep. I don't sleep as comfortable on the couch, but I feel a little more refreshed in the morning. Tonight, I'm going to try sleeping on the guest room bed. Hopefully it'll be good.

Tomorrow is essentially my Friday as the university gets Thur/Fri off for spring break. Woot. It would be a good time for the baby to come, too!

Got to leave work about 45 minutes early because our director let us since it was a nice day. I think it was because she was leaving early and felt bad, but works for us!

Still no baby. We have an appointment on Tuesday to discuss inducing. We're hoping that it happens this weekend so we don't have to induce. Laura hasn't felt much in terms of activity, however, so that's not promising, but it could be any day, so. Cross our fingers!

Sorry about the sporadic blogging. I guess there goes my goal of writing every day. It lasted for a while. I did start up another site for our boy, so I'll probably start writing more/every day over there. I'll try not to forget my blog.

I got some bermuda grass seeds today and threw it around the yard. We want grass since most of our yard is weeds. I would spray weed killer, which I did in some places today to see how well it works, but, at least with the weeds we have, as long as it is mowed once a week, it keeps our yard green. Everywhere it's starting to get green, however, which is nice. Although, that also means that it's going to get hotter and hotter. It's quite warm already, as high as the mid/upper 80s. Summer's going to be blistering again I think. I did "till" a little of the back yard where it's dirt/sand. It's weird that it's sand. Hopefully, it rains the next week or two and the seeds start to sprout. I'd like a lush yard.

Other than that, just waiting on the boy. It can't come soon enough, although, that means we'll be non-stop tending to him, ha.