Shake Yo Booty!

Daylight savings was not made for children.  Yowsers.  Momma!  Dadda!  Um, what's that noise?  It's 3:37 AM.  Oh, well it's Quentin of course ready to start his day.  If it wasn't for the Packers pummelling the Dallas Cowboys all night long I might have gotten some sleep.  That game was like watching a car crash.  I really wanted to turn it off and get some sleep but every time I reached for the remote they would do something spectacular.  There's just something inspiring about ripping the soul right out of a team's heart.  America's Team?  Good one.  I think it's safe to say the Packers make the playoffs.  But with the Pack playing late into Sunday night and the time change the kids were all screwed up.  We started the day at 3:30.  We tried to pack the bed with the whole family but it didn't take.  We have to go back to banning all children from bed.  We're such wafflers.  I just want to take the path of least resistance to sleep.  I'm not sure there is one.

The weather in Iowa has been fantastic so we had a glorious day getting ready for winter yesterday.  It's amazing what you can accomplish in a day when you start at 4am.  The house got cleaned, the laundry got done, the lawn got mowed for the first and hopefully last time this year and we found the time to watch some football and grill out.  We changed diapers approximately every 7 minutes as well and still managed to stay on course.  I think at any given moment in time someone is either crying (I'm including myself in there) or pooping.  It's really amazing how fast the human body can turn food into excrement.  We still are partial to Pampers versus Huggies.  We once again went with the Huggies for the newborn diapers and we find ourselves getting wazzered on constantly.  It's worth the extra few bucks to buy the Pampers and cut down on the laundry.  Huggies leak - constantly.

With Carrie hosting the feeding trough for Gavin Quentin and I have been spending more time together.  Getting him dressed in the morning has been a challenge so I sing to him, making up my own lyrics because I can't remember any children songs in their entirety.  Clearly, I have no singing talent what so ever or rhythm for that matter but I can put together some pretty sweet lyrics.  The other day I sang him a song to the hokey pokey music to get us going and we ended up with a "Shake, shake, shake yo booty.  Shake yo booty on down. Shake, shake, shaky yo booty on down.  Shake that booty." And so on.  It's an easy way to get his clothes on.  You put your right arm in, you put your left arm in.  Shake, shake, shake yo booty.  Shake yo booty on down. Put your left leg in, put your right leg in. Shake, shake yo booty. Shake yo booty on down.  Of course he's shaking his booty, which is really awesome. All day yesterday he's running around the house singing "shake yo booty down" while shaking his booty.  I've created a booty shaking monster.  We keep trying to get it on tape, but he gets a little camera shy.  Getting dressed is a shake yo booty down event now and a piece of cake in the mornings.

Gavin also took his first bottle yesterday and slurped that puppy down so that should provide Carrie with some night time relief down the stretch.  He's getting so much bigger.  He added his second and third chins this past week.  I'll be curious to see what he weighs in at during his next appointment because he's packing it on.  He's also started sleeping a little better at night.  If we go to bed pretty late like 11:30-12 he usually only gets up once or twice.  Now that I am writing that it doesn't sound that good considering we get up at 5.  Huh, it's amazing what you think is improvement with newborns.  With Quinny testing the waters at every step (Don't use that bat to hit the TV.  He turns around smiles, winds up...Quinny!?! and then smokes the TV.  That's it! TIME OUT! Wails away.  This happens in standard 15 minute intervals).  At any rate one needs a monstrous level of patience to make it to 10am.  Thankfully, I've been blessed with an extremely patient demeanor.  Carrie really leans on me and my patience to get through the day.  I really don't know what she'd do without me.  Yes, the blog is dripping with sarcasm.

We are slowly but surely getting used to the family of four.  One of these days we are going to be brave enough to venture into public as an entire family.  We aren't quite ready for that transition yet.  We were invited to dinner at a friend's house and we just kept declining.  I fear unleashing our tornado of a family on someone else's flat screen.  I just want to ask, are you insured?  And I mean well.  Really well.  I think Carrie and I are getting near looking for a reprieve.  We aren't there yet as we are still exhausted but we will be soon.  The stir crazies are starting to set in.

Here are a few pics of Gavin posing and Quinny not quite letting go of his youth as he joined Gavin on the floor for some time with his old toys.

Fitting In

As we continue to retrace our Midwestern roots we did what any new to Iowa person would do this past weekend.  Yup, we visited the ole' shootin' range.  Being a novice I wasn't too sure about this little adventure but my father assured me this would be a blast.  I'll bet.  I'm not afraid to walk into this place and let everyone know I don't know anything about bustin' a cap but my dad tells me to play it cool.  Sure, no problem.  I doubt they'll notice I know nothing about guns like how to load one.  We walk in cool as a cucumber checking out the cache or is it stash? of guns on the walls.  I'm doing my best to speak all the right lingo.  "Damn liberals!"  Well, I see there is the one the terrorists like to use (AK-47) and I see the one our marines like (M-16).  My dad re-fell in love with the beloved M-14 from his on-my-way-to-Vietnam days.  "Seriously, no seriously, I was accurate at 500 meters."  Uh-huh.  Me too!  Well, clearly that AR-15 is a deer rifle and a must have in any gun collection. Then we got to the hand guns.  Okay, sir I'll take that one. Ya, the shiny one with the long barrel.  Can you just load that sucker up and point me in the right direction?  We can just rent one of these right?  Suddenly, like a deer in headlights, the jig was up and we were exposed.  And I had such confidence.

Apparently, according to our gun toting host, the liberals up there in Milwaukee have made it so renting isn't so easy.  I guess a few poor souls have rented one of these blasting machines and taken their own life in the range.  Didn't see that conversation coming this weekend.  So, what's a couple of guys with a Wisconsin and a Florida driver's license to do in a gun shop in Iowa?  Well, get the scoop on how to illegally purchase a firearm of course!  It's deer season!  Okay, well, we are about to enter the realm of state line crossing gun smuggling rebels.  Hmm, maybe we should just head home and watch the football game.  What do you think?  It was at that point that our host realized we weren't going to shell out thousands for our second amendment rights or at least put that theory to the test.  Maybe the NRA could defend us.  And I was really looking forward to popping off a few rounds.  I hear it's a great way to relive stress.  In all seriousness you could choose a target that had a picture of Saddam on it.  Isn't he already dead? I really wanted to take a shot at Osama.

After the gun shop experience I enquired to my colleagues at work that I was attempting to assimilate into my new state but can't seem to grab a foothold.  Of course they were incredulous to my gun buying ignorance.  They tell me,"All you have to do is run down to the Sheriff's office and get a background check.  After paying for that you just need to fill out an application for a permit to purchase a weapon.  It's only about a two month process.  Once you've paid and procured one of those you can then go back to paranoid gun shop owner fill out another application, wait 7 days and by Easter you could be the proud owner of a Glock or a Sig-9," but after waiting so long you've probably already moved on to a new hobby like corn planting since it's spring.  Oh, and no duh?  Where did you grow up?

Quinny seems to be fairing a little better.  It's about 6:30 the other morning and I'm getting my briefcase together and he's finishing up breakfast in the kitchen.  I look over and he's chugging out of the milk carton. Now, I know he didn't see me do that because I'm allergic and don't drink milk.  Care?  That's what I thought.  I got a sweet picture.  It was hilarious to look up and see your not quite two year old chugging down some good old fashioned moo-juice.  Where did you grow up?  In a barn?  Just wait it could still happen. 

Gavin is growing like a little weed so it looks like he's taking after his big brother.  He weighed in at 7 pounds 11 ounces at his two week appointment last week.  That's a full pound and nearly a pound and a half since being released from the hospital.  Now, I know what all that crying is for in the middle of the night.  Ungry! Ungry! We have another child that snores the day away and screams all night - again.  Seriously?  Well, at least we know it can't get worse.  We are probably getting between 3-4 hours a sleep a night but it comes in roughly 45-70 minute increments.  Obviously, Carrie does the heavy lifting but do me a favor and set your alarm for every 50 minutes tonight and let me know how great you feel tomorrow.  Oh, right, you already had kids.  If you haven't do it soon before you get too old.

The top picture is of Gavin on weigh-in day.  You can see his giant paws.  Q slamming the milk and a victory shot for bragging rights.  Yes, Wisco won the bacon trophy.  We don't play Iowa for 3 more years. The next time Iowa has a shot at beating Wisconsin Quinny will be able to drive.

Happy Halloween

We had our first Cedar Rapids Halloween and fairly good weather.  By fairly I mean a temperature that would be considered tolerable and a breeze less than the 40 MPH winds we experienced throughout the week.  The city held trick or treating Sunday evening, which seemed a bit odd but this is the first time we've been trick or treating in 20 years so I'm not in a good position to argue otherwise.  For a warm up work held trick or treating for the employee's children on Thursday.  It took Quinny a while to warm up but once he got started it was "want some" and "more."  He didn't quite grasp the candy concept.  He's not yet two so we haven't been feeding him candy on the regular.  Tonight we found out why.  Oh, the highest of sugar highs and the lowest of sugar withdrawals. I thought the whole thing was a myth.  But after three suckers, one pack of M & M's and some skittles I'm a believer.  There is such a thing as a sugar high.  Upon finish the aforementioned candy he went ballistic.  He was screaming and moving a hundred miles an hour. We literally started running around the house - in circles for the next 45 minutes trying to bring him back down.  When he crashed, he crashed hard and we hopefully have a peacefully sleeping little hamburger. 

I can't imagine we don't live in a Halloween utopia.  I'm not sure if there is a single house here without children in it.  The entire neighborhood was either out trick or treating or happily greeting the hundreds of candy hoarders.  The majority of houses were decorated.  I fear we won't measure up come Christmas time.  I have house decoration envy.  We feel good that so many of our neighbors are in the same place in life raising families and are so friendly.  We've definitely hit the jackpot in that respect.

Quinny was a hit in his hamburger costume and we didn't see a single other burger in the neighborhood.  Gavin and Lucky joined the caravan around town.  Gavin had a little pumpkin onesie on but it was too chilly for him to be exposed so he was all bundled up and tucked into his stroller.  Lucky wore is badger red bandanna and enjoyed the walk around to see all the people.  Being out trick or treating instead of in waiting for the trick or treaters means we have far too much candy left over, which is slowly being devoured by me. 

Outside of having too much candy we had a fairly quiet weekend.  Quinny carved his first pumpkin but was more interested in allowing me to do the dirty work.  Shockingly he didn't want to plunge his little paws into the orange goo and start scooping out.  We carved a little happy face into his pumpkin and lit it up for the first time.  Quentin definitely got a kick of lighting it up.  Pumpkin!  Orange!  It was a good time to see Halloween from a different perspective. 

Here are some pics of Quinny posing on the proch before we headed out for our bounty of candy.  A picture of Gavin in his costume and one of Q returning enjoying his first ever sucker.