a nerding we will go...

So, I’m off to a conference next week, baby in tow. Should be interesting. The hubby and I are both attending as we work in a similar field. And many people attend the conference with their very young children. So, why do I keep thinking that this is a disaster waiting to happen?

My biggest concern is having enough supplies with me for the long conference day without over packing to the point where I would need to hire a Sherpa. Add to my anxiety the fact that I am now entering my third week of Wei*ght Wat*chers. Will I find food that fits the plan? Will I end up gaining weight for lack of said food? How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?

Alas, I become a broken record of endless questions, driving even myself crazy.

So, anyone in the blogosphere heading over to the Society for Neuroscience conference in D.C.? Huh? Anyone? Bueller?

{insert sound of crickets chirping}

Well, if it turns out that you are (you know how these things pop up- “Oh, honey, we just MUST go over to that neuroscience conference they’re having- it will be a blast”) drop me a comment here before Friday afternoon or just look for the slightly crazed nerd-mom around the convention.

Take me to the river

A couple of weeks ago we had Gabriel baptized. It was a small ceremony with only eight of us present, not including the man of the hour. As you can see from the photo, he was none too pleased with the pouring of water on his head. I mean, he's just now decided that the bathtub is a fun place, but using cold water while he is dressed? No thank you indeed.

We had a lot of debate concerning this day. Nothing about whether we would or would not baptize but more relating to the social obligations surrounding the event. Should we have a party? Should we not? Should we invite the whole fan-damily? Or not? Who will be the godparents?

All of the debate was relating to issues relating to how other people would react. We worried that the extended family would feel slighted if we didn't invite them. Then we worried that those invited would be grumbling about yet another occasion for a gift. And all that we really wanted was a simple ceremony followed by a small dinner. In the end we went with our own wishes because, after all, it was our decision.

And all was good. Even Gabriel thought so once he took a few swigs from the bottle and found his thumb.

Queen of the Bumbo-bees

I am addicted to the concept of getting Gabe a Bumbo seat because he is chomping at the bit to sit up on his own. Pair that with the knowledge that I can get free shipping by ordering three, and you create a monster. I have been bugging all of my new-mommy friends to get one with me. I'm up to four!

Yes, I am just a WEE bit too excited about this.

I'm ordering the lime green one, in case you were wondering.

Well, baby...

No, not the intro to a Isaac Hays love song- just a note that we had another well-baby check yesterday. The little one is getting bigger. And bigger. He's 12lb10oz now, which makes for another 2 lb gain in a month as long as he picks up those other 6 oz in the next week (which is likely). I am thinking that he either measured wrong or my husband heard them wrong at the last appointment, because he seems to have shrunk an inch, measuring in at 23.5 inches. I know that they don't shrink at this age, but they sure do squirm on the measuring table. Let's just call it 24" and be done with it. These numbers put him in the 10th percentile for height and weight but, my gosh, he seems so awfully big to me!

We started cereal last night. I was going to wait until 6 months, but he is so darn HUNGRY all the time- I am hoping this will help. I am making all of his food, including the cereal. I went to this link posted by Shannon and I love it. So, his first meal was brown rice cereal, ground and cooked with love by mommy. The organic acorn squash, green beans, and carrots are ready and frozen. And about half of the people who find out I'm making the food don't actually think I am crazy- I thought it would be higher.

So much to say, so little time

It seems that every day I have a moment where I think "gee, that would make for a great post." The problem is, I can't seem to get a minute to sit down and write. Yes, I am back at work, but they actually expect me to...well...work. I have deadlines rolling in weekly, and there's no end in sight. There is some joy in job security, though.

Right now my little boy is sleeping peacefully in the swing, so I'd best write quickly...he seems to sense when I want to write or read. Those are the times he throws the biggest fits. I now present- my life in a nutshell.

Gabriel is growing like a weed and will be four months old in a week. Four months! He holds his head up beautifully, so he has graduated into forward-facing in the Snugli. Just in the last two days he has accomlished the "holding head up while being pulled to sitting" milestone. Cool. He also has stopped flopping around when I prop him up to sit. He's not so good with pushing up on his arms, mostly because I am *terrible* about fitting tummy time into his day. Bad mommy. Oh, and he talks so much- I swear to you he says "mommy." It sounds more like "mah-ee" but that's close enough for me!

My kitchen is again a working kitchen. We started ripping out the old kitchen when I was still pregnant. At the end of March, it was gutted to the drywall. About three weeks ago we were able to put in the new stove (in between we were using the grill, toaster oven, microwave, and camping stove). Just last week the fridge went in...bliss. It is a beautiful new space. If I can ever get the picture function working again (I think it has to do with our connection that is run by hamsters) I will post some pics.

The snowball effect of the kitchen being done is that I once again have a functional living room (dishes and stove were stored in there) and dining room (fridge and more dish storage). I am a happy camper.

At the same time I have been shaken to the core by the tragedy of Katrina. I actually spend my free time at work reading the news sites. I still can't seem to get my head around the whole situation. It is just so awful that I can't believe that it really, really happened. I have friends and family who knew people in the area- they all left early and are safe, thankfully. My heart goes out to every person affected by the storm.

Well, those dishes won't wash themselves. I'm off to be thankful for all of the joys in my life. Even the dirty dishes.