Lil Rocker

Here are some pictures of Jack wearing a homemade tribute to my favorite band.

B.O.D. (Bottle on Delivery)

A gigantic box was waiting on our doorstep. It was bulky and "whined" when we shook it. There was also a strange clear liquid drooling out of the corner of the box. Needless to say, we were surprised when we opened the package. There was a pile of Fudge inside!

We aren't sure where it originated from. The return address says Florida, but the delivery was COD. Cheap people!

There must have been food of some kind inside, because the Fudge had a full belly. Not sure if the Fudge ate fudge or what, but there were just wrappers inside the box.

The Fudge came packaged with his own chair. Very nice giftset!


































Unfortunately, 10 minutes after opening this mysterious gift, it fell asleep. Lazy Fudge!

Week 9 & 10 Slideshow

Click here to see a slideshow of things Jack did the last 2 weeks!

Bumbo! (Now with Jack Photos!)

Why didn't I think up this brilliant idea?

We have been pretending to make Jack sit up for weeks, ever since he was able to control his head (sort of) and hold it up. We pull him into a sitting position and he looks like a toddler already!

We had seen the Bumbo seat at Babies R Us and thought it may be cool to use. Well, it was decided yesterday to go pick one up for Jack. I brought it home and plopped him in it right away. It is amazing! The way the Bumbo is designed, it uses the baby's body weight and an ergonomic design to let him sit up without making him uncomfortable. It is the single cutest thing I have ever seen! Of course we took dozens of photos (which will be uploaded this evening).

Most of the reviews I read online said it is a great item for babies until they can start to crawl, because they then can fall over in the seat. The makers say it is for children 3-14 months, but they also say it depends on your individual child's development.

I hope we get to use it for a while. Now he has a throne to sit in for his 100th Day!

Reversable Shirt

Orange shirt - pulled out of drawer and put on yesterday.

This morning woke up feeling stuffy around my neck. Maybe the neck line on my shirt pulled towards my back during sleep. Oh well, too tired to do anything about it.

This afternoon while putting towels away in the towel cabinet, I caught a glimpse of my reflection. My neckline did indeed look strange....too close to my chin, felt too tight. Just out of curiosity, I pulled the neckline away from me and checked the inside of my shirt.

Sure enough I'd find size and care information for my orange shirt. I'd been wearing backwards for over 24 hours. Sigh.

Father & Son

100th Day - Baek-il

It is Korean custom to celebrate the 100th day of a baby's life after birth.
Here's a little more information on the event:

Baek-il (100th day of baby's birth)
This is the day to give congratulations for 100 days after a baby's birth. The number 100 has an inherent meaning of maturity and perfection, signifying a baby passes through perfection period safely as a human being. People bring presents and congratulatory statements and wish for the baby's health and blessing.
The several different types of rice cakes are prepared, including baekseolgi (steamed rice cake), bulkunp'at gomul (red bean rice cake), ch'alsusu gyongdan, and osaek songp'yeon (5-color moon rice cake). Baekseolgi has the symbolic meaning of holiness, bulkunp'at gomul for expelling evil spirits, and ch'alsusu gyongdan for returning a baby which is secured in a holy world to the worldly place on that day. The 5-color moon rice cake is made with 5 pretty colors, signifying the harmony of nature. Unlike the rice cakes of Samchil-Il, the rice cakes for Baek-il are shared with neighbors from the belief of a baby's longevity and blessings.

Jack's Baek-il is technically 1/2/07 but we will be celebrating on New Year's Day since the 2nd is when I return to work.

The Florida Maidys will be present for the event as well as close friends and the Chicago family. My mother will see to the traditional Baekil food items. It will be a nice, and intimate celebration (like our wedding) of Jack's first 100 days on earth. I can't wait!

Morning Drill

I'm not a morning person.

Now having said that, here's what I've accomplished since being up for Jack's 6am feeding:

1) Cleansed face
2) Brushed teeth and rinsed with mouth wash (mouth wash is painful - who invented this?)

3) Plucked eyebrows
4) Cleaned out Jack's bottle cabinet
5) Caught up on blogs
6) IM'd my husband and discussed grocery list
7) Sipping coffee (yes, it's day old coffee, but I'll take what I can get)

These may seem like trivial things to the average person, but since having a baby in the house, these things have become milestones for moi.

Why did I decide to stay up after his morning feeding?
Mainly because I actually slept last night. Jack went down around 11pm and did not stir till 6am this morning. That's a 7 hour sleep! Also, I decided now is the time to get my body used to being up earlier and getting him ready for day care and my commute to work. I can't believe I'll be back in my cube in a little over four weeks.

I've been heard saying I couldn't wait to go back to work. But now that the time is reaching near for the actual return, I wish I had more time with Jack.

2 MONTH MILESTONE!

Jack held his head at a 90 degree angle by himself this evening! I guess you have to be a parent to find this amazing, but wow! Look at this kid! He does something phenomenal every single day!

Lazy Sunday

Hanging out. Rooting for the Bears. Visiting cousin Kate. Playing with Mom and Dad. Holding my head up. All in a day's work!

Inside the Actor's Studio: Lesson 2 - Holiday Haze

Your motivation: it has been a tough week as the department store Santa and you just want to go home. You have been drinking since 10:00 AM and you can barely stand up. Some kids come and tell you want they want you to get them for Christmas. I want to see drunk and belligerent and caustic. Go.

Inside The Actor's Studio: Lesson 1 - Pillow Talk

Alright. Your motivation: you are a secret agent, tired and fatigued by a long day saving the world. All you want is to crawl into bed with a good novel and fall asleep. But, you get a call from the agency and they need you for another mission. I want to see contempt and anger and hate. Go.

Still the Ellie

Our niece Ellie has figured out she has competition for attention now that Kate is here (although the two are equally interesting and wonderful). I guess big sisters have the 'I need to compete for your attention' gene built in as I'm sure I was the same way when Wany arrived (I was also 3 years old just like Ellie).

But just take a look at these photos of dancing Ellie! She's got nothing to worry about!

'First' events and Paula

Jack has been doing many 'firsts' this week.

1) Laughing - occurred early morning 11/20/06 after his 7am meal. I think he was laughing at how disheveled and silly I look that early in the morning.

2) Holding his head up - while on my tummy, he can lift his head completely off my chest and look straight at me or turn his head to look at his dad, or his surroundings.

3) Reaching for toys - while placed on his play boppy he attempts to grab his black/white toy ring.

4) Mirror play - stares and studies at his reflection in his bee mirror intently...then lets out a loud "Ahhhh" and smiles/chuckles.

5) Enjoys books - Sits on my lap, listens and looks at books that are being read to him (Goodnight Moon).

6) Paula Deen - last but not least, our boy Jack enjoys watching TV, no matter what is on (just like Alex). I was occupying Jack with his toys and such when he decided he'd had enough of playing with me. He turned his head and TV caught his eye. This afternoon, he enjoyed an episode of Paula Deen's Thanksgiving special. I will have to remember to turn the TV off next time I want his attention for play time.

Week 8

Here is a quick glimpse at Jack's daily life now that he is about to turn 2 months old! The smiles are plenty and the laughs will start very soon!

Jack is Turning Heads (Well, His Own At Least!)

The Depths of Fatherhood

OK, I think I finally reached rock bottom yesterday. It is time that I seek some professional help. Unless I get a therapist or a counselor, I may not be able to overcome my addiction. So, here goes:

My name is Alex and I am a father.

I got one of those moments of clarity people talk about. Taylor was sleeping in yesterday and I was taking care of Jack. We ate, played, and had an all around good morning. I then looked at the camera to see how many photos I had taken.

I had taken 105 photos. In 2 hours. Wow.

Wany said I surpassed Jae at this point with pictures of Ellie.

Do I get a trophy or something?

The furry, the orange, the jealous 'sibling'

My sister gave birth to her 2nd child this Tuesday - a beautiful little girl named Kate. Ellie already loves her very much. Despite the fights and disagreements sisters have with one another, I believe they will be best of friends.

As for the Maidy household, a different story......Newt came to a conclusion this week. Jack was here to stay - he's not going away. It only took the dumb cat just under 8 weeks to come to this conclusion (sigh, shaking of head, sigh). Newt had been very good....aloof actually, about the whole business of Jack being around. Well, the honeymoon is over.

During the middle of the night, I heard rustling. Being a typical cat owner (or anyone who has a pet for that matter) I blamed the noise on Newt and his night crazies and fell back to sleep.

I woke up to horror the next morning....

I'd been eating pretzels the night before and left a bag of pretzel crumbs sitting on the couch. In the light of morning, I saw the bag had been dragged all the way to the kitchen near Newt's food dish. Also, Jack's rubber ducky which had been carefully nestled on Jack's play mat had also been moved. The duck had been abducted. It now also lay near Newt's food dish.

But the worst sight of all was still waiting for me inside the kitchen - on the kitchen counter. I'd brought my money tree plant home from the office. It was already in poor shape and I'd left it on the kitchen counter near the window in hopes it would get better by the time I had to go back to work in January. Newt had dug through the soil, leaving dirt and money tree leaf all over the kitchen counter. This alone would not have been so bad had the plant not been sitting right next to Jack's bottles and bottle accessories.

I wanted to drop kick this cat like Charlie Brown's football, right out our front door! I seriously contemplated telling Alex that Newt had 'accidentally' run out the front door while I was checking the mail. Of course Alex would never have believed me. I never check the mail unless I'm waiting for something from J.Crew. It was all I could do to keep from losing it completely.

For anyone who knows me, I have a slight neurosis. I clean. It relieves angst from my life and gives me a sense of order and security. So one can only imagine the horror Newt caused me that morning.

Well, the rubber ducky will be thoroughly washed and hidden from Newt's view. We are buying a drying rack for Jack's bottles and bottle accessories (whatever it is to keep it Newt proof). And the money tree plant will be finding a new home at ADP, on Alex's desk at his work after being repotted over the weekend with fresh, nutrient filled potting soil. As for the pretzels, unless being consumed or watched by a careful eye, no pretzel or pretzel bag shall be left out in the open.

Oh, and Newt's still living with us...for now.

Growing Sleep?!?

Jack's last feeding was 4 oz. at 5:45pm.
He then spent some time playing with his dad, then tuckered out around 8:30pm.
It is now 12:36am and he is still asleep.

I can hear him fidgetting around a bit via the monitor every now and then, but for the most part, he's been sleeping - like a champ!

He's done this before...sleeping a bit longer and having a longer duration between feedings. The last time he did this, I woke him up promptly 6 hours after his last meal as I was worried he was sleeping through his meal for no good reason.

During his 2 month well baby check up with our doctor, when I mentioned that I had to wake him up for a feeding, she assured me it would be okay to let him sleep through to his content.

"Really?" I asked in shock.
"As long as he's continuing to grow normally - which he is - just let him sleep through. Babies grow in their sleep."

Apparently, they go through cycles where it seems all they do is sleep, and cycles when it seems all they do all day is eat like there's no tomorrow. Jack's done both. He's up to 4oz feedings regularly now. We also don't have to burp him every ounce any more. We are down to two burps - one at the half way mark, and the last after he's finished - which has been up to at 5.5oz at one point. Jeesh!

Even with our doctor's encouraging and assuring words, I am still a bit worried that he's sleeping so long. He better be growing and getting stronger. We have a big day for him tomorrow. A bath, grocery shopping and Babies R Us!

Almost Ready To Walk!