Fancy Pants

We got this wireless keyboard/mouse thing, so now I can play on David's computer from the living room (through the wall) and it shows his screen on our tv!

That means... I can finish the blog posts I've started but couldn't finish because I was stuck on the couch! Woohoo!

So yeah, that's my to-do list for tomorrow.

LOL

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

PPPTTTTTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHOOOOOO!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

For years to come, when I need a laugh, I will remember this moment. I had gone to bed but David was still up with Halen, who wouldn't stop crying. David had fed and changed him, but Halen had started crying and David was trying to keep feeding him, rock him, burp him... whatever he could to get Halen to calm down. Poor David was going crazy.

I can't sleep through crying baby, so I came out and took over so David could go to bed. Halen calmed down, and after a while I thought I'd change his diaper again to get him ready for bed. I opened the blanket that David had wrapped around his lower body, and this is what I found. LOL!

Top 8 Reasons Halen is Just Like George Costanza

Halen and I went to the doctor this morning (see below), and as a result I've compiled the Top 8 Reasons Halen is Just Like George Costanza. Without further ado.... (drum roll please)

#8. Frequent Napping

Much like George Costanza, he enjoys sleeping throughout the day, often as a way to simply pass the time or avoid responsibility. He's also not afraid to sleep in public.

#7. He's Obsessed with his Parents

George Costanza and Halen both have what many psychologists (probably) refer to as a "Mommy Complex." It is well known that GC can't stand his parents, and yet he continues to spend countless hours in their company, even going so far as to move back home as a grown adult. Weird. Of course, Halen loves his mommy and daddy, but still... never leaving our sight? Geez Halen.

#6. He Eats Constantly

Your love of food transcends the everyday when your ATM pin is your favorite chocolate syrup. And how often does GC eat at the diner, anyways? I mean, can you even imagine him cooking? Somehow he's always eating, much like our little guy Halen here, who overcomes all obstacles to eat every 2-3 hours, day or night.

What's that? Obstacles? Yeah. More often than not, Halen struggles to get through a bottle, and often starts shrieking loudly, only to attack it with hungry face 5 seconds later. This process repeats itself for 20-30 minutes, when he finally decides he's had enough (don't worry, he eats plenty. See below).

The pediatrician thinks it may be reflux, and gave us a hypoallergenic formula to try for 24 hours. If he improves, we'll switch back to breastmilk but I'll need to make some major dietary changes. Adios, dairy, soy, and anything spicy.

Halen just finished his first bottle of formula which I tried a drop of, and let me tell you, it is NASTY. He made scrunchy wtf face when I first put it in his mouth, but proceeded to slowly and calmly drink a snack-sized amount. Now that is a true love of eating.

#5. He Has Perfect Hands

George Costanza's beautiful hands landed him a tragically short-lived gig as a hand model. Halen's hands are also perfect in every way. No weird veins, giant knuckles, nail funk, or patches of hair. Just perfectly smooth, awesome hands.

#4. He's Bald

Neither Halen nor GC are completely bald, but it is certainly true that there is an abundance of visible scalp. Halen's hair is noticeably longer on the sides and in back than it is front and center. Luckily, his hair is growing fuller, unlike George Costanza's progressively thinning do.

#3. He's Short

Halen was measured twice at the pediatrician's office today. First by the nurse, and then again by the doctor, who thought the nurse had misread the measurement because *surely* he couldn't be that short. He was 18.75" at birth, and now he's 21.25". That's the 15th percentile. But come on, he was 3 weeks early for crying out loud. He's still catching up.

#2. He's Chubby

As a baby, being chubby is a good thing. Unfortunately for GC, being "stocky" necessarily isn't. Despite his shortness, Halen's weight is perfectly average, which is why his doctor called him, and I quote, "chubbo."

And finally, the #1 reason Halen is just like George Costanza....

#1. He's Fussy

GC is a known complainer. Luckily for us, Halen's fussiness is much more endearing and most likely temporary. He demands to be held most of the day, and will start crying if I set him on the boppy or in his swing. In fact, I'm holding him right now and typed this entire post one-handed.

As I mentioned above, Halen might have reflux, but the doctor isn't convinced because he doesn't (usually) throw up, and the few times he has, it's not painful for him. She thinks it's more likely colic. Yippee.

Lately Halen's had 2 modes - fussy and asleep. Like I mentioned above, he's even fussy while eating. *While* eating!

I'm just thankful that he's healthy (in the ways that matter) and I know that it'll pass.

Grandma and Grandpa Schmit come to town!

Okay, this is a loooong time coming...

I've realized that the reason I've had such writer's block with this post is because I've already written about the main events. What's left over after Grandpa Wes vs. the Whomping Willow, our photo shoot with Halen, and our trip to In-n-Out, is in my opinion the best part of their trip - the bonding time spent with their newest grandson. Of course, there was the actual Mother's Day, but I didn't take any pictures. We had a lovely dinner at a seafood restaurant in Glendale after discovering our first choice was a buffet-only holiday special for $50 each. I had coconut shrimp - no complaints here!

Here are some pictures of Grandma Shanna with Halen. All of my pictures of Grandpa Wes and Halen are below in the whomping willow post :)

Updates

I mentioned earlier that David's mom and step-dad came to visit and meet Halen, and it's on my to-blog-about list. The problem is that all the pictures are on David's computer, and a) I'm on the couch, and b) David's usually using his computer for work during the day. I'll definitely write about it soon! I promise! It was a really nice visit.

In the meantime, here are some updates:

Cry Baby -

I made Halen cry twice today. Of course babies cry all the time, but these were two significant incidents. The first time, I was trying to wash bottles and pump parts with Halen in the swing. He was being super fussy, and I could only get through one or two parts before he'd start crying again so I'd run over and pop his pacifier back in (I know, great parenting, right?). Anyhow, I only had 3 bottles left to go when he started crying again, so I let him cry for the last 90 seconds or so in an attempt to just finish already. When I dried my hands and got over to him, he was actually crying. There were actual tears in his eyes for the first time. Giant frown. Until that point he only made dry-eyed crying sounds. I'm a jerk.

The second (and even worse) time, Halen was sound asleep so after doing a 10-minute power clean and actually brushing my teeth like an adult I decided to cut his super long nails. Now we all know where this is going, don't we? I'm actually a pretty good nail cutter. I've been cutting Saki's claws for years. I'm not sure what happened... it's all a blur now... let's just say it ended with his thumb bleeding, and me feeling like a horrible person. Of course he woke up, and there was crying (him, not me).

Baby Fat -

It's been 4 weeks since Halen went to the doctor and he's practically quadrupled in size since then so today I decided to weigh him. We bought a bathroom scale recently so I did the whole weigh myself holding a diaper then weigh him wearing a diaper thing. (Side note - diapers weigh less than 1/10th of a pound.) Our little giant weighs 10.4 pounds! He's gaining about 3/4 lb per week, or about 1.8 oz per day. What a chunk! Which leads us to the next update...

Baby Got Back -

We've graduated to a size 1 diaper!!! Yee haw. And, finally...

Baby Steps -

Happy 6 week birthday to Halen! Next thing we know, he'll be wrecking our car and studying for the SAT.

A Bunch of Cute Halen Pics

Because I have some stupid dumby lame-o stuff to do for work, what better time to post all the cute pictures we've taken of Halen lately?

A fun hat from my mom's "grandma shower"

Not so sure about daddy's driving.

You can actually tell his eyes are blue! Hooray!

Not sure about this one. Does he look ashamed to anyone else?

It's about a foot too big, but it was cold.

Taking a break.

Cute cute cute...

Grandpa Wes vs. the Whomping Willow (aka the Satsuma Limb-Cutter Massacre)

As promised...

Legend has it that Grandpa Wes is an experienced tree trimmer of sorts, so while he was in town we took full advantage. He and David took it upon themselves to trim the willow tree in our front yard, which until then was looking quite dreary. Let's just say several branches were actually draped onto the ground.

Not our tree...

Everything was going fine. The boys were out front working hard and being manly, and Halen and I were asleep on the couch. In other words, not supervising.

What could possibly go wrong?

So there we were, sleeping peacefully, when David woke me up. It went *something* like this:

D: Hey Honey, we're taking Wes to the emergency room.

M: Whuht?? What's wrong?

D: He cut his face open.

M: Huh?! How? Is he okay?

D: No, he cut his face open...

M: Oh, right...

Long story short- Wes was on the ladder, propped up against a not-so-sturdy branch, when said branch gave out, the ladder fell, and Wes fell right along with it. Face down. Onto the back of the 6-inch blade of the limb-cutter he was holding. I believe the magical number of stitches was 17?

That'll learn yuh...

It's a miracle he didn't break his nose, several ribs, an arm or two, or worse - jab an eye out.

Due to the nature of the incident, the following pictures are all "after" shots. I didn't know at the time that "before" shots would be required...

Here's Halen trying to be polite. (kidding! He loves scary Grandpa Wes!)

You shoulda seen the other guy.

And a more "artistic" version -

Grandpa Wes confronts his past -

And to answer the question surely on everyone's mind, here's the tree.

On a side note, Wes's glasses broke in half right down the middle, and while they were at the ER, I played a rousing game of "find the other half of the glasses in the branch pile." David's explanation of where to look? "By the ladder."

Spoiler Alert...

A list of upcoming blogs to look forward to:

*Grandma and Grandpa Schmit come to town!

*Grandpa Wes vs. the Whomping Willow (aka the Satsuma Limb-Cutter Massacre)

*A Bunch of Cute Halen Pics

Stay tuned...

Fancy Us!

Grandma Shanna and Grandpa Wes (David's mom and step-dad) are in town for Mother's Day, and they brought their fancy camera! (more on their visit later...)

An assortment of Stratton family photos for your viewing pleasure:

I swear Halen was awake for this photo shoot. The kid is shy, okay?

Halen's 1 Month Old!

Sooo grown up!

Grandma Shanna and Grandpa Wes are in town for mother's day, so I'll have some photos in a few days.

If You Weren't Sure Who Wears 'Em

Halen's first pair of pants!! I mean, he has lots, but none of them fit! Until now, that is. Actually, I think they're shorts.

Of course this is blog-worthy. Shut up.

The matching hoodie, not so much.

We had to have a discussion about manners after this little gem...

Auntie and Uncle Come to Town!

Yesterday, my brother Chris and his wife Laura came up from San Diego. Laura was out of town when Halen was born, so it was her first time meeting him. It was really nice to have their company. They were very hands-on, which was a nice little break for me. We enjoyed the backyard, BBQ'd, played croquet, and caught up. Here are some pictures from their visit. (Actually, just pictures of everyone with Halen. We're a bit one-tracked right now...)