July 22

Do you think I will always remember that July 22 was supposed to be Nathan's birthday?

I spent so long (ok, only nine months... but it feels so long when you're knocked up) counting down to July 22, that it seems strange now to disregard it as just another Tuesday. I don't know whether I want to celebrate it or resent it. I think probably resent it. Instead of meeting my son last July 22, I spent the day reading Harry Potter (and racing through it, since I didn't want to be mid-novel and have to stop reading to push a baby out!), getting a pedicure (they say foot massage can induce labor), and -- after one trip to the hospital for a litmus test on leaking fluid (no dice, obviously) -- pretty much doing a whole lot of waiting around, avoiding the phone since the only question anyone was asking me was, "is he here yet?" (Yes, brand new grandparent. We totally had the baby, and he's home from the hospital now. Didn't we tell you? Doofus.)

So now that it's July 22 again, I think that Nathan is kind of already one. I mean, what day you pop out doesn't really determine how old you are, does it? The day you're created should determine how old you are. (My sister once told me that's how they do it in China. She's full of useful random knowledge like that.) The problem with that is you never know exactly when conception takes place (don't get me started on that 1950s 40-week wheel every OB nurse still insists on carrying around). But somehow I think a conception date (off of which the due date is based) is a little less random than a birth date.

Anyway, happy birthday to my baby, who is gestationally one year old today! (Or is he gestationally one year and nine months? Or one year and nine months, minus the two "pregnancy" weeks before conception? Yeah, I guess that's it. One year and 38 weeks, then. My head is spinning.)

Facebook

I have been thinking about joining the Facebook generation. Mark joined a few months ago, and he has been connecting with lots of people from our former lives (like, in high school... or in Groningen). Which is kind of neat.

But he's also "connected" with some people we already know. Like... our siblings. Do we need an internet site to find our siblings? Really?

My friend Kristy said that I should join Facebook because then Mark and I could be married... on Facebook. But we're married in real life. Do we need to be married on Facebook, too? Again... really?

And my sister said that I should join Facebook so that Bowden and Simon can be friends with her dog, Rita... on Facebook. Really? Our dogs need cyberbuddies? After Simon traumatized baby Rita last year by hauling her up our front porch by the nape of her neck (not so much in a loving parental way, you should know), I'm not even sure they should be friends in real life (though they do get along tenuously when my pups visit Huntersville).

Lest this post start to sound too much like Andy Rooney, I should admit that I will probably set up a Facebook profile anyway. That's what happens when I have so many unfilled weekend hours stretched before me (Nathan is napping and Mark is working). Maybe once I get in there and play around some, I will understand what all the fuss is about.

And if I'm too old to do this, please don't tell me.

[update: I joined! Come find me!]

On the Democracy of Ground Balls

Our family has had quite the sporty week.

Sunday morning - Nathan and I cheered Mark and my mom in the Triangle Triathlon here in town. We got there late (Nathan slept until nine... I actually had to wake him up for a change!) so we missed the bike-to-run transition (and swim-to-bike, but we sort of assumed we would miss that one).... I can't make any sense of Cary on a normal day (I'm pretty sure Ryan can attest to that), but when half the streets are closed because of the event, I should have allowed way more time to figure out where to park and how to get from wherever I would park, to the event itself. Anyway we must have done some good cheering, since mom finished second in her age group, and Mark had a new best time for the run! Yay Mark and mom!

Sunday afternoon - mom and I got a couples massage at Iatria. Ok, so it's not that sporty. But it was awesome. And she deserved it, anyway!

Sunday evening - Mark, Nathan and I went with our neighbors Amy and Drew, and Jim and Renée, to a Durham Bulls game. Remember the movie Bull Durham? Yeah, it was made 25 years ago. Don't you feel old now? Anyway, if you didn't know, the Durham Bulls are a real team, and it's a great place to see a game. There's nothing like a baseball game, a hot dog, a cold drink, or some cotton candy (or d.- all of the above, if you're preggo Renée) on a hot summer night. Nathan hadn't been to a game like that before (church softball hardly counts, when he and I are two-thirds of the crowd!), and he was thrilled by all the people and all the cheering and the noise. He's recently started pointing at things he wants (or wants us to look at), so he spent the whole game pointing at everything in sight. It was super-cute. Especially for me, since I don't care as much about who wins and scores as I do about Nathan's antics.

Monday evening - I forgot about workout class and eat Mexican food! Hey, we talked about the missed workout class, so the dinner counts as sort of sporty... right?

Tuesday evening - Nathan and I went to cheer Hayes and Mary (friends from church) in their swim meet, the last of the season. Wow, did that bring back memories. Six-year-olds who can only swim halfway across the pool, kids with heat and lane numbers markered all over their arms, teenage girls flocking around the younger boys as their "mascot" for the summer (yep, that was Hayes), belly flops masquerading as dives off homemade starting blocks, kids with heat ribbons in one hand and hot dogs in the other.... it was sort of nice to re-live the fun and nonchalant part of the swimming world, especially after watching the serious Olympic trials a couple of weeks ago on TV. Anyway, Nathan and Hayes had fun playing in between events, as you can see.

Wednesday evening - I remembered to go to workout class! But just five minutes in, they paged me from the nursery upstairs since Nathan was hysterical and no amount of hugging or games or books would distract him from his fury. The clingyness continued all night, with nursings and bottles and hugs dotting the hours of wailing, until he finally cried himself to sleep (something I try to never let him do) around 10. Whew! I have no idea why he was so traumatized - he's stayed in the nursery (there and at church) many times, with hardly a problem. And he seemed fine today. So who knows... I'm just glad it's over! So in lieu of my missed workout last night, I made a batch of brownies and drank some red wine. Not as bad as the Mexican that replaced Monday's workout... but not great.

Bonus I-love-you points for anyone who can tell me what are as fascist as ground balls are democratic.

If you want to see more pictures of the Bulls game, click on our family, below.

by mgoetts

Bollywood Dance

Look! It's a post not about Nathan! This blog has gotten a little baby-heavy recently... which is good news for some of you, and annoying for others. Me? I do have a whole life outside of mommying, even if I don't mention it much. This summer, I have to admit there's a chunk of that life that thinks of nothing besides So You Think You Can Dance, which I watch with eagerness and joy every week. (Thank goodness for my dvr, though... I'm pretty over Mary screaming all the time, and the results shows are just stupid long.)

Anyway this week Katee and Joshua did an awesome dance that the show said was in Bollywood style. Now, I don't know how accurate this really is in actual Bollywood terms (maybe Andrea can tell us), but it was super fun to watch, the costumes were beautiful, and it satisfied my never-ending itch for Indian flavor (for the night, anyway).



If this video makes me so happy, maybe I should go to actual India, instead of sytycd's poor man's version of Bollywood. Hello, vacation planning!

Big Boy Bath

Seeing as Nathan will be one in just a few weeks, we thought it was finally time to "graduate" him out of his newborn tub... his legs and arms started sprawling over the sides several months ago, which isn't great since it gave him access to all manner of things we tend to leave around the sink (soap, utensils, dirty dishes, etc)... which he can pick up with not only his hands but his crazy monkey feet too. So earlier this week, we brought the newborn tub back to Millers Creek to return it to Lucas, its original owner. And tonight (yes, that was the first bath he's had since then... so we don't bathe our kid that often... does anyone really do the bath thing every day, anyway?... can I play the drought card again?) Nathan had his first bath in the big boy tub.

Don't get me wrong, Nathan has been in the bathtub before. He has enjoyed many a bubble bath with mommy (and a few with Daddy, too!) in the last 11 months. But he's never been in the tub alone, with all the water to himself, and the freedom to roam about without a parental death grip around his torso. So tonight, we put the gripper mat down, filled the bathtub with a few inches of water, dumped in some toys, and set Nathan down for a monumental first....

...And he was completely unfazed. I guess the big boy tub is a whole lot of boring, compared to the pool. Or the ocean. Or even the hot tub, which had way better bubbles than what he got tonight!

Oh, well. I found it monumental, even if Nathan didn't care much. I don't know what I'll do when he takes his first shower. Then he'll really be a big boy!

Swinging

We spent the last couple of days in Millers Creek visiting with the Churches and my Grandpa. Nathan slept like a champ, especially for being on the road (it's getting easier and easier, thank goodness!), and we had a nice time. This morning while the dads were fishing, LeAnn and I took the boys to the park. Nathan has been on swings before (I mock you, oh sign that says 3+) but today he seemed to think he was running or something. I get such a kick out of his little legs going crazy all the time! (Pun intended.)



For those of you who love to hear Nathan's voice... that's him saying yeah and hey (I know, I have taught him to be such an articulate child... HA), but it's Lucas you hear giggling (off-camera) towards the end.

For pictures of our visit to Millers Creek, click on Nathan on the air mattress, below.

by mgoetts

4th for the 4th

Nathan spent his first 4th of July cutting his 4th tooth. Yaaaaay America! That's not nearly as patriotic as Sienna Caskey, who decided to celebrate the holiday weekend by busting out of Kelley's womb early this morning and blessing us with her life on this earth. I'm pretty sure that trumps a 4th tooth. The tooth has its upside, though... even with the insane amount of slobber over the last few days, I'm sure it was decidedly less messy than Sienna's choice for celebrating.

Although Nathan would love the bright colors of fireworks (and probably the noise, too, if I'm being honest), it doesn't get dark until after 9... so it would have been way too late to have him out. He will have to enjoy his first patriotic pyrotechnics display in some future year.

In the absence of fireworks, I thought I would share bright colors by posting this picture of Mark and Nathan, taken earlier in the week.

Clemson fans have a long tradition of wearing orange overalls to football games. (Maybe Mark will de-lurk long enough to tell us why... I honestly don't get it, myself.) So this was a proud moment for Mark... baby's first orange overalls.

Happy 4th, everyone! (Seriously: yaaaaay America!)