And Whose Child Might This Be?......

An ongoing debate in Circle of Trust that is our friends, family, colleagues, and my imaginary friends...who does Parker Jackson Totten actually look more like?  I dedicate this entry to all those who we love and love playing the "who does he look like more" game with us.  I know it seems like it could get old, but it doesn't - endless amounts of look-a-like assignments!

When he first came out, fresh in the hospital, the comparisons and similarity declarations were frequent and confident – by hospital staff, friends and family, the dude who wheeled Treva down to the car on our way out.  But as a newborn, it’s really difficult to tell – at least I thought so.  Immediately, you notice the eyes of a newborn, so I thought for sure he was my son.  Until, I was told that all babies are born with blue eyes, something to do with recessive and dominant genes.  Which, by the way, I'm almost certain I learned about at the infamous Camas High School, but for some reason, could not recount the net of the facts.  I was provided a cliff notes version of this story in Chelan this year by Lars and Shannon - again, kind of hazy on the memories.  Anyway, his eyes were blue but instead of being from the simple fact that he is indeed, "my son," turns out he's just a baby with recessive genes. 


So the eyes won't work for our first comparison nod.  Instead, as noted in Exhibit 1, we analyze body structure. 

Exhibit 1 - "I love it when you call me Big Poppa"

One of these babies is yours truly, the other is Parker.  I see a LOT of similarities here.  I was just at my eye doctor the other day and she explained to me that babies look most like their fathers for about the first six months of their life as a survival motion.  Otherwise, as is the case in nature, if a father's son does not look like the father, there is a risk that dear old daddy would want to abandon and/or eat his child.  I searched for this theory on wikipedia, and it's true, dad's want their sons to have some of their characteristics early on.  And such is the case with our little man - he clearly has my nose, my eyelashes, and my...belly.  I haven't eaten him yet as proof that apparently I believe he resembles me.  I would say that since he was born, we hear more that he looks like me than Treva - the lady at the coffee shop a month in told me that he looks exactly like me, a little "Mini Me" if you will....well, while we may have similarities, an exact match is a little much.  I mean, I have hair - albeit thinning, I still have it.  But closer to me than Mrs. Totten early on.....more data needed.

Exhibit 2 - "Food Coma shows our natural state"

Parker squirms a lot, so it's also difficult to hold him still long enough to do appropriate comparisons.  But, we have discovered that directly after eating, he has a space-off period where he lets his body digest and his mind relaxes.  As you can see in Exhibit 2, he's a much cleaner eater than Treva was as a baby.  But notice how his nose looks next to hers, and look at the shape of his eyes, and his eyebrow, forehead - I'm seeing a lot of Momma Tots in this kid all of a sudden.  Funny, and true story:  a couple of months ago, one of the nice women in the Church Nursery told me that he looks exactly like me, except for his eyes, and his cheeks - those are his mother's.   Now I'm not a woman, but it seems to me that having an infant with chipmunk-chubby cheeks compared to the likeness of your own cheeks...well, that's not a comfortable image.  By the way, as you all know, my wife is smokin' hot, and I'm pretty sure the Church Lady was referring to bone structure in the cheeks, not the volume of material in those gills...After closer examination, I concur!

Exhibit 3:  "Just Close your Peepers"

He's a better sleeper than I am, but Exhibit 3 suggests that at one point in time, I did sleep well.  The pictures above have been rotated so for all you physics majors out there, we're not sleeping standing up.  But what you'll notice here is equally chubby cheeks on both sides and while you cannot see my legs, you know I've got some pudgy ones.  I was a man-child of an infant - as previously noted, 11 pounds and 4 ounces of fury.  Look at Parker's legs in Exhibit 3.  Rolls all over the place,  they look like gigantic sausages!  That's how my arms were, that's how my legs were.  He's a chubby bunny, just like his old man!  While you cannot see it in this picture, Grandma Totten was quick to point out that Parker has a dimple in his chin, just like Grandpa Totten.  Well, that skipped my generation, but Dianna called that out the day he was born - and he still has it!  If you look closely at my picture, I had a little dimple there as well early on.  Again, looking like his old man....MORE DATA!

Exhibit 4:  "We have a Match!"

Folks, I think we have a winner.  These are like mirror images of each other, tell me I'm wrong!  The one on the right is standing, the one on the left is not - but besides that, you could put tracing paper over them and wouldn't miss a beat! 

While this last Exhibit is enough evidence to convince me whose child this actually is, it looks like we'll have to keep close tabs on Parker as he continues to grow, and his features (and backside) continue to mature.  Personally, I think he's looking more and more like his mother every day, and I love that - I think his mom looks good.  But we had a good run little man, you've still got some of me poking around in there!  Regardless of dominant traits, he's a pretty good lookin' mashup of the two of us.  Ask him, he'll tell you :).

Christmas Morning is here!

One of my favorite things to do is to see Parker when he first wakes up - in fact, when I'm at work, it's the one thing I constantly find myself thinking about.  He's so much fun, super happy to see us and so excited to stretch!! 

As today is Christmas, check out the little man waking up for his first Christmas morning!  You can tell it's Christmas because of his pajamas, of course....

Merry Christmas to all!

Cheers,
david.

4 months = NO IDEA how many weeks

So, who started the whole, "how many weeks is your baby" thing?  I mean, weeks run out - that's why we have months.  And months run out, hence why we have years.  I have never, and I mean NEVER, given my age in months or weeks.  Could you imagine?  So if you are one of those people who have asked me how many weeks old my child is (my wife not included), I don't know the answer.  But he was born on July 27th and I bet you could find an app for your smartphone that would get you the answer with greater velocity and less vitriol than this guy would.  From now on, when asked, my baby is “less than 1 years old.”  Until July 28^th of next year anyway. 

Sorry, where was I going....oh yeah, the kid is getting older.  We noticed a lot of change (physically) that first month but now, even though we know he’s getting bigger and growing like a chia pet, the pictures between three and four months are less distinguishable.  I can tell which is which – but only because I’m his dad and I've got it like that.  Well, and because there is a giant “3” or “4” next to him. 

See for yourself, chase the "Tag" at the bottom and see the series.  All the way back to when he was 20,160 minutes old. 

Back on Track!

I do this ALL the time with the blogging business....fall into rhythm, just to tumble back out.  To be fair, I'm not a natural born writer - I do talk a lot though, and once you hit a certain level/volume of audible communications, it may just make more sense for the sake of your vocal cords and for the love of those around you to start typing things out.  I'm a really good writer in email, probably due to kicking out an average of 600 mails a day since I joined Microsoft.  There are a lot of smiley faces and exclamation points though, a "best practice" I will be making a focused effort to land in this blog as well.  

I also took a new job in November, managing a team of people based in Central Region US, Minnesota to Texas.  Turns out managing a team of folks that are geography-based, specifically in a geography where I myself am not physically located, seems to be just a wee bit more time intensive than I originally thought.  But it's all good, my ramp-up time with the new space has been educational and exciting, and I like the majority of my new team members, which is a significant win any day of the week in my book!

All of this to say, I'll get better at the blogging, I promise. 

A lot of updates to come on PJT, stay tuned.  And thanks again for visiting.  Oh, sorry, one more try:  "Oh, and THANKS AGAIN for visiting!!!!  :) "

dwt.

A man of the people...

Two true statements:

1. Since we've had Parker, Treva and I have altered our lifestyles a considerable amount.  All scheduling items revolve around his nap and feeding times, or sporting events, and we take him with us everywhere.  I read that we're not supposed to leave him alone at home.
2. Parker loves The People - doesn't matter how we need to change our schedules, he's a social butterfly and loves visiting with friends and family.  Which again, we're blessed and thankful to have some extremely special members in the illustrious "friends and family" circle.

He's obviously an active participant in the 114 Section of Sounders home games, so he knows all of his fellow fans quite a bit.  I don't have many pictures of those people though - primarily because there's a guy named Reggie close by who shouts a lot and uses rather obscene hand gestures on a regular basis which always seem to creep into any camera shots I could ever hope to capture....so, we'll skip the 114 Section. 

Closely related though are good friends Kasey and Tyler, a couple we first met through matchmakers Lars and Shannon and who are charter members of our DP dinner party group.  Kasey announced she was pregnant shortly after Treva did they were a lot of fun to visit with and catch up.  It's an incredible experience to share in tips, tricks, and techniques with good friends who are going through the same thing.  Kasey and Tyler were over at our place the weekend before Parker was born and we were discussing baby names - feels like just yesterday!  Then all of a sudden, here we are, having eggs and coffee cake discussing tummy time and bottle feeding techniques.  Crazy!  The Little Free baby is officially named Jackson Clark - Kasey's maiden name is Clark and they named him Jackson after Treva's family name.  Or, it's just a really cool name :) - funny and ironic we both had some Jackson in our names, friends for life!  Jackson Clark looks less than happy in these pictures, not representative of that cute smile we know he has! 

Next significant meet-and-greet occurred with our bi-annual Damian visit.  Damian coming to town provides a boost of good times for everybody - Treva, of course, loves seeing her big brother and talking about his travels and sharing stories of old.  I love Damian because he goes to Targy's with me and provides the ever-important majority vote for TV control.  Olive the beagle loves Damian because she has somebody to hang out with during the day who's willing to take her on walks.  Damian's like a community servant for just our little community here - he's invaluable, and his visits are always filled with fun and lasting memories!  It's fun to see Damian with Parker - he definitely grew on Damian over the course of the week and we are so happy to have Uncle Damian in Parker's life, we can't wait for the next visit!

Matt and Sarah are repeat visitors and Parker has become very comfortable with each of them, and even Cousin Bam-Bam.  They are actually expecting a new little Johnson in about five months or so, a little girl for Parker and Philip to tease and protect for the next sixty years.  We're extremely excited to have another baby in the family - we love babies here - but equally (perhaps even a smidgen more) excited for Matt to go out and procure all those cute baby girl clothes so I don't have to do the same if we're ever blessed with a little girl as well.  Treva is going to get mad that I said that.  So I take it back.  Treva's not "equally" excited for that benefit, just I am.  Regardless, a baby girl joining the Jackson-side family tree is going to be a lot of fun and we can't wait!  Needless to say, Philip has some getting used to having another baby around, so Parker provides a nice test subject for Matt and Sarah to gauge how Philip will react to the mini-him.  So far, SO GOOD!  Philip is a champ!  Just don't mess with his cars too much, and he's all good! 

Those are just a few of our visits the past month, many more to document at another time.  For now, we're all tired and we need some rest.....turn the light off when you leave friends, look forward to seeing you again!

dwt.

First Quarter Completed!

Another milestone in the Totten household as Master Parker celebrated his first three months!  Clearly, this blog is just a wee bit behind (I'll get better!!) since I'm actually just about completing the planning for his 4-month birthday party (there will be clowns, pretty dancing girls, enough macaroni and cheese to feed a Triple-A high school, and lots of ice cream).  Even though we're a little tardy with the post, still important to note the 3-month milestone.  It just all came so fast!  Tell the kid to stop growing!!

While we're celebrating birthdays, let's not forget about another large milestone in the 418 - Olive the Beagle had herself a grand old party for her birthday as well!  No dancing girls or ice cream, but she did get some chicken broth mixed in with her food AND she got permission to sit on the couch...that's pretty much paradise for an old lady beagle like her! 

Happy Birthday my loves!

dwt.

Repost!

Trying this video ONE MORE TIME!  Let's see if we can get this crazy technology to work...

Again, read the post below for context :).

dwt.

Awake and Alert!

We're spending more and more time with Parker working on his wake time skills - one of which is tummy time.  We got a great tip from a couple of friends to prop the little man up on pillows and the sort and see how long he can bounce his head around.  He's getting stronger and stronger and really enjoys making eyes at Treva and I, even sneaking in some laughs and smiles every once in a while.  Of course, all good things must come to an end - that Totten noggin of his gets heavy after a bit and he starts to lose his patience and collective reasoning, which leads to Parker moving from diplaying how strong his neck is to providing his best impression of an ambulance siren.  In any case, he can wail all he wants if he does this good during tummy time :).  We'll take that bad with this good, ha!

Baby Nair!

As previously posted, Parker is officially a "blood cousin" for the second time, this time with a little bit of international flair.  I wanted to post some pictures of Baby Girl Nair, who by all accounts is doing marvelously well in Bangalore at the moment.  In customary Indian tradition, we do not have a name for Baby Girl until 28 days after birth, where Kelly and Anil will travel to his hometown of Cochin and have a naming ceremony with his family.  Parker and I discussed this over the past week, and we've come up with our "Top 5" Cousin Names list, in priority / favorite order:

1. Mickey (as in, "hey Mickey, you're so fine, you're so fine you blow my mind, HEY MICKEY!!")
2. Karisma - double meaning of "charisma" obviously, and also serves as the name of one of the most popular Bollywood actresses (seriously, google it...bing it...askjeeves.com it...you'll find her).
3. Natalya - We have needed a Russian in the family for a long, long time.
4. Maker - after my favorite bourbon, and a versatile name applying relevancy to any noun / feeling you can think of..."Trouble...Maker"...."Deal...Maker"...."Doo-doo...Maker"
5. Georgia - As in, the Peach of the Family.  Or Buckwheat because of all that hair.  Okay, total of Top 6 names. 

In any case, I'm sure the name will match the beauty of this baby and we're so happy to have her in the family!  More pictures below, we love you Cousin Nair, welcome to the family!!

dwt.

Parker Update!

I know, I know, it's BEEN TOO LONG.  The "commitment to excellence" phase of blogging was fun and actually became a regular rhythm in my own bedtime routine - but it's not sustainable.  I mean, you all don't want to listen to my corny commentary on a daily basis and, frankly, Tiny Tots is tired of having every moment of his life captured via one of three digital cameras we have strategically placed around The 418.  With all that said, we'll get more frequent updates in play over the next few weeks - the kid is just too photogenic not to give his gift of good looks to those aforementioned lenses every once in a while...

Some quick updates:

• Parker is really, really alert these days - he looks around now, makes eye contact all the time, smiles and giggles.  In fact, last night when I went to put him to bed, he sat there staring at me goo-goo'ing and giggling at me, smiling at me, for ten minutes or something.  I actually had to call Treva in to witness it.  I haven't quite deciphered what he was talking about yet, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with Washington State Initiative 1183.  It was amazing actually.  Not his argument on 1183 - just his smiling and talking to me.  Pretty neat. 
• Parker's still the best sleeper and eater we've ever had in a baby.  He still gets up once at 3:30-4am in the morning for a feeding, and Treva makes sure his day starts at 7-7:30am every day.  Last Friday night though, he went down at 11am and didnt' wake up until after 6am - that's pretty ridiculous.  We definitely consider that his first "through the night" experience!  It didn't stick of course, but one get-up during the night is not bad living!
• Treva's still very active with her Moms groups - she hosted this week, which both Parker and I were excited about.  Parker:  because he gets to show his friends all his stuff and then ALL the Queen Anne babies get to taunt the Beagle with him.  Me:  I will gladly clean the bathroom for promises of leftover pumpkin bread.  Deal!
• Parker's new favorite color:  Cyan. 
• We read a book every night when we go to sleep - He's not a very good reader yet.  But he's a really good listener (again, something else he got from his mother).

We've been working on tummy-time more and more these days.  I snapped a few pics tonight and we call this collection, "Take me now or lose me forever."

Title:  "He who flirts..."

Title:  "I Coulda Been a Contender"

Title:  "You Come Here Often?"

Title:  "The Audacity of Hope"

Title:  "Would I Lie to You?" 

Until next time, may your favorite pajamas have boats on them too.

dwt.

New Baby!!

Congratulations to sister Kelly and brother Anil in the birth of their gorgeous baby girl yesterday!! 

I do not know much of the details because I haven't gotten a chance to chat with Dianna yet, but I do know that she weighs 3.2 kg which seems normal, and look at that crazy head of hair she has!  Parker cannot wait to meet his new cousin! 

Congratulations Kelly and Anil!!

Parker wants to sleep in too!

One of our favorite things to do these days is wake Parker up.  I know, seems crazy since the kid was hard to get to sleep when we wanted early on.  But seriously, it's so much fun!  In the morning, when he first sees us, he always smiles after his stretch, so excited for the day!  Below are a couple of videos from us waking him up for his last feeding of the night - not so excited for the day since we're hoping he sleeps for the next six hours!

Just like his dad...

...the kid helps around the kitchen too. 

Finding his senses...

We're learning more and more about Parker each and every day.  It really is amazing to see him grow, see him experience new things for the first time, and most importantly, attempt to predict exactly what he's thinking when he does certain things.  We have his actions and thought processes nailed down to five key behaviors:

1. The "Give Us, Us Free" squeal, indicating he feels constrained by how we have dressed him (think swaddle sack / blanket) and / or physically restrained him (ergo, car seat).  It's a subtle mating call he belts out, attempting to attract the attention of some temptress who can swoop in and set him free.  Seldom does his intent actually land results.
2. The "Only Focus Can Break Bricks" stare down, typically most prevalent in the short time after eating, after diaper change when he stares off into the distance and ponders life's great mysteries.  It's not as long-lasting as it was when he was first born, but the mental focus he's displaying in pockets of time is extraordinary.  I used to think he was just spacing off, day dreaming of jelly beans and sleeping on clouds and stuff like that that all normal boys (well, Totten gents anyway) gaze off about on a regular basis.  But he furrows his brow - and you can only furrow your brow if you're doing one of two things:  the first being some business downstairs, and the second if you're focusing just before attempting to break some bricks with your forehead.  He's typically in the latter state.
3. The "He Hate Me" cry - sad, pathetic, whiny...giving us the impression that he firmly believes he means nothing to us and we've forgotten he's in the room.  Nothing subtle about this, delicate to soothe him in the near-term.  Just loud, direct, and with a heavy hint of vengeance in tone.  I had this cry in me as well, sorry Treva.  When I got old enough, and I was feeling this cry coming on, I used to pack a suitcase and stomp out the front door telling my folks I was leaving for good.  Eventually, I actually stopped packing the suitcase, just grabbed an empty bag and headed out to the garage.  I was pissed.  Needless to say, my folks caught on.  Not a lot of places for an eight year old to run away to in Camas, they knew the garage was my best bet. 
4. The "No, You are Incorrect - it is Sleep Time" reaction, blatant disregard for wake-time or proper eating habits.  He doesn't even try to give us the impression he's interested in staying away.  He just sneaks a sly smile in and nods off happily.  I love this behavior, one of my favorite.  He's impossible to motivate, immovable in his passion for shuteye.  The problem is that he typically doesn't exercise this behavior between the hours of 8pm and 7am.  What he doesn't realize is that I'm on to him.  I changed the Timex clock in his room to be six hours ahead of time.  Ha!  Outsmarted by his old man again!
5. The "Try and Tell me I'm Not Adorable" smile.  Treva's favorite, and I'll be honest here, kind of neat for me too...when he wakes up, first sees you peaking at him over the crib and he realizes that he's about to get fed...that smile, sometimes a little giggle even.  It's pretty cute.  He's showing more of this behavior every single day and it's amazing, we love it. 

More updates later this week - but this is basically the five ways Parker sees the world.  It seems to make sense to him, so I'm going to adopt these five as well, hopefully simplifying his continued maturation in the process.  So, if you hear Treva refer to "David is displaying too much Behavior #3 right now," you now have the reference guide to know that I'm probably in trouble for that.  Until next time, stay classy smiling babies...

dwt.

Seaside, v3.0

Finally time to put a cap on our first Family Vacation, and I shall do with a laundry list of things we experienced and/or things I realized on / after the trip.  To the details....


That's a rock made of hay in the background. 
True-story, Bing it.

• Parker may some day read this and think...."wow, you guys are super lame to break down three days at the coast into three different blog entries." 
• We're at a crossroads in the "we should get a vacation spot" discussion.  There's clearly an argument for Chelan - we are there every year.  But nothing beats the coast, and we're so used to that Astoria - Cannon Beach corridor, that feels like home.  And then, there is the Seabrook adventure that Mrs. Pannoni and Mrs. Verhasselt are co-chairing.  By the way, I'm co-signing whatever Mrs. Pannoni and Mrs. Verhasselt tell me to co-sign.  I don't think we solved anything...well, other than staying at the Shilo Inn wasn't that great of an idea.
• The beach was beautiful - but seriously, I think I enjoyed taking the mid-day naps more than walking in the sand.  Is that bad?
• Cannon Beach - is it actually "better" or does it just feel more "grown-up?"  And if it's the latter, do I not have to honor my anti-establishment nature and boycott Cannon Beach going forward??
• Eating outside on the Oregon Coast is amazing.  I think every restaurant on the coast should have outside seating...I think it should be a law.  I get it - it rains on the coast.  But when it's sunny outside....there is nothing better than a soup / salad / sandwich / calamari (huey's selection) and a beer, under the sun with the smell of the ocean.  That's good living.  When I become deputy mayor of a coastal town, expect a lot of outdoor seating.

First dip ever in the Pacific Ocean!  He likes it, he really likes it! 

• I do not understand this concept of "no minors allowed" forbidding babies from entering food and drinking establishments.  Of course, babies are considered minors.  But I'm pretty sure Parker can't handle any whiskey yet.  And even if he could stomach some alcohol, he doesn't know that he has fingers yet so it's not like he could pick up a glass.  I suppose there are the occasional parents that would take advantage of this "babies in bars" movement, end up drinking too much and being highly irresponsible with their offspring.  And those people are idiots.  Which is why you should have to take a test to earn the privilege of taking babies with you wherever you go.  It's like a sticker on your ID, with a baby face and crossbones signifying you can safely and maturely manage babies with booze.  The stickers expire and require regular re-certification, and there's a tax / fee applicable to ensure the processing department's administrative staff costs are covered and Uncle Sam gets his traditional kick-back (assuming another Bush wins office again someday, of course) and at any point in time, if over 80% of a restaurant / bar's inhabitants determine that any specific sticker-holder is abusing the privilege, they can revoke that said individual's patronage liberty by repossessing their sticker.  Oh, and the stickers have to have holograms.  1) for security / legitimacy concerns.  2) because holograms are amazing. 
• Funny story about dropping Parker's toes in the Pacific for the first time - Treva was taking the picture, I was doing the dipping.  I got distracted (it happens), and the water level came up, and the next thing he knows, waste-down the kid was Ocean-fied.  Whoops.  I think if he just got his feet wet, it would have been a bigger smile on his face.  But as any male who reads this post can relate to.....getting everything below the waste wet is a bit of a shock to the senses.  I didn't anticipate this being his first exposure to that kind of pain.
• We still love the beach.  We hope Parker loves the beach too. 

 
Hope the next vacation comes even remotely close to the kid's first "paid time off." 

dwt.

Big boys sit up straight...

That's a long week...

Not much tonight - we're all tired here at Team Totten.  After a rather dreadful Tuesday, I worked from home on Wednesday and made sure the little man was back on track!  And then, Thursday and Friday were great days for the little man, sleeping the majority of the night and good sessions of nap and wake time.  And so here we are, our favorite days of the week...and we're all exhausted!  Just now, got back from a wonderful family dinner out on top of the hill and all three of us fell asleep downstairs on the couch.  To be fair...it's completely normal for Treva to fall asleep early on a Friday night.  Even reasonable for Tiny Tots to nod off - but me?  Yeah...it's been a long week.  Until tomorrow, pretty please let the "sleep in" angels touch their wings down on our brand new roof... 

Seaside, second post!

With more on our first family vacation ever, I humbly present the Seaside recap, version 2.0!

What's the first thing you do when you go to the beach?  I think a lot of folks would recommend to frolic – in the sand, in the surf, in the mighty Pacific….and the good lord knows, I love to frolic.  The Tottens?  We go to the beach to eat.  And if you’re going to eat in Seaside, hello The Stand!  The finest made-to-order Mexican spot in all of Seaside, Oregon – and they serve cerveza’s as well, FYI.  Parker didn’t like his quesadilla, so I ate it for him.   In the picture to the right, you can tell he's thanking God for the food - see his "praise Jesus" hand?  He does that for the good stuff in life...

Another cool thing about the Stand is that it’s actually on a block that holds significant memories for Team Totten.  Just kitty-corner is Lil’ Bayou, home of one of the 145^th best jumbalaya’s on the Oregon Coast.  Clearly, it’s not the food that makes this place memorable – the hurricanes certainly are tasty but, again, don’t support the memory queue that much.  Rather, I believe one of our first trips to Seaside with the Hueys, this is where they learned my intolerance for waste and freely accepted me into their family circle of friends, despite the occasional personality faults that rear their ugly head in fragile and over-served moments.  Even better – Tiffany’s sister and brother-in-law still actually talk to me when I see them, meaning the damage the hurricanes inflicted either couldn’t have been as bad as I remember…OR, Family Dees / Morris have a long-term view on friendships.  Anywho, I digress. 

Across the street from The Stand is the Cleanline surf shop.  When I was in high school, my best buddy Wyatt and I would tear out of Skunk Hollow before the sun reared it’s cheery face on any given Sunday, final destination Cleanline – the only trusted surf shop in Seaside.  We’d rent surfboards, we’d rent body suits (well, always except once – mistake not repeated), and we’d head south to a place called Indian Beach.  And it was magical – as magical as 46 degree water and three foot breakers could be anyway.  Still fun, and I’ll never ever forget the excitement I got when we would finally get to Cleanline after the drive….it’s just a deck full of good times associated with that shop.  I bought a ponch necklace and everything – I still have it.  I don’t wear it anymore and not because the necklace isn’t cool, it’s because my neck is significantly fatter. 

 

I feel that I may have gotten off track.  As mentioned in v1.0, staying so close to the promenade was really nice.  A long enough walk to make it feel like you were working off a Pork Burrito, but close enough to enforce a strong feeling of guilt if you didn’t trek it daily.  Olive loved walking with us but was clearly more interested in the beach.  It seemed like nobody was out there, so multiple times we just let her loose off the leash and she went nuts…so much stuff to smell!  Parker didn't have as much interest in the beach - but he liked being so close to Mrs. Tots and I'm sure he enjoyed the ocean smells! 

Day 1 in Seaside was perfect - Day 2 in Cannon Beach was even better....more later!  Until next time, just because it smells like fish doesn't mean you'd want to eat it with chips.

dwt.

Happy Baby

Coffee with the parents and sailboats on his jammies?!  No kidding, I'd be happy too.

dwt.

"Best in Show"

Treva pulled out a pretty cute outfit for the little man this past week, and we couldn't help but snap a few pics of his first "collared shirt experience!" 

After a fantastic weekend with friends and good food, this week has seen a bit of a slow start.  I did not get to spend much time at all with Parker on Monday because the day was so packed and today (Tuesday), he did not have his best day.  Unable to fall asleep, he's past the point of no return now and his attitude needs an adjustment.  I asked him what was wrong and why he doesn't just close those tired little peepers of his and catch some zzzzz's - a reasonable inquiry from my perspective.  He responded with yelling.  I wouldn't consider that "progress"....I outlasted him tonight though, and I'm on bottle duty tonight as well.  He's getting a big dose of DWT tonight and we'll get this train back on track! 

Parker has formally requested that we stop taking pictures of him when he's laying down.  He claims that being horizontal adds two pounds.  Seems a little subjective, but you can tell from the two pictures on this post, the vertical look allows those cheeks to leverage gravity a bit more, thereby producing a thinning effect and making the man appear more svelte than he actually is.  I told him that as soon as he can do more sit-ups than I can, he can choose his own portraits.  Until then, he's cute from all angles if you ask me...

dwt.

One more milestone!

Two months old, the time has flown by!  I've had to spend more time away than I anticipated with my boss being on sabbatical, and I have certainly grown more in appreciation for how amazing Mrs. Totten is.  The kid is cute - but he's also a handful, and there's no off time for her....As my schedule continues to be ridiculous, her patience and tolerance has exceeded expectations.  She's amazing.  And the kid?  Yeah, I'm hoping he's looking as long-term as his mother is with this :).  Two months old...wow!

And the weekend winds down...

Not a long post tonight but I just want to go on the record...we have the best friends on the entire planet!  Every night this weekend was spent with some of our closest and most loved ones, and we're so very blessed to have such quality people in our lives!  A fantastic weekend was capped off with dinner the Huey Gang after an enjoyable day of church-going and football-gambling, both of which Parker is legitimately an "expert" at - impressive for only a couple of months old! 

Roark Huey was so very sweet to Parker, coming up and touching his bald spot in between hugs and kisses.  Pretty cute :).  He managed to get a little jealous only once, but he moved past that pretty quickly to playing and having fun in ths new world only known to him as "a house that isn't baby-proofed yet."  He didn't fall in the fireplace - so, all is good! 

Greg and Tiffany both started new jobs recently so it was nice to get a 30-day progress report and to see how they're coping with different schedules and responsibilities.  It feels like that's Treva and I every week, still trying to figure out the right rhythm!  Speaking of rhythms, Parker had a great day today, lots of wake-time and a long nap tonight before his night-time feeding.  It does feel like he's able to sleep more soundly now (when we let him), and being awake has turned into a mix between "happy and curious Parker" and "really ticked off Parker."  This is in sharp contrast to the first month of his life when wake time was at a premium, and if he was awake, there's an above average chance he wasn't happy about it.  He looks around all the time now, and we continue to find new positions during wake-time that seem to inspire him to giggle and glance around aimlessly.  Kind of like me at work between 2-2:30pm. 

Anyway, all God's people have a ridiculously productive and blessed week - we love you all!

dwt.



It's the "Freakin' Weekend!

Here at Team Totten, we love our weekends!  Come, celebrate with us, the water is warm!!

After a significant build up of concern heading into last night's sleep routine, Parker was an absolute champ.  He slept 5 hours straight, and had a gigantic smile on his face when I went into get him for his midnight snack.  So rewarding!  But then, he remembered that it can't be all peacocks and daisies (he is a Totten, mind you), so I wouldn't say it was his best feeding...that and he decided to projectile just about everything inside of him all over the place leading to my first trial of Oxyclean Stain Remover (insert trademark sign here), followed by some heavy scrubbing and an occasional curse - I mean, who doesn't clean their walls and clothes hamper at 4am?  I can tell you...Oxyclean isn't perfect. 

Only in America.  Fact.

Parker's new trick when I give him a bottle is to sneeze.  It's awesome - remember when you were a kid and you were trying to make milkshakes or a smoothie or something, you turned the blender on high and then took the lid off?  And milk went everywhere?!  That's what my face looks like when I'm hovering over him with a bottle and he sneezes.  It's marvelous.  Happened three times last night in fact.  He laughed after the last one.  We had a talk - I think we're clear now on what works and what doesn't. 

A classic morning at The 418, kicked off with breakfast for Parker and coffee for the bride and I.  I made breakfast for us, and Treva and I made faces at Parker for about an hour to keep him awake, good times!  Then, I raced off to Idaho (actually, it was only Carnation, WA where farms and mosquitoes are the only things around...kind of feels like a state away) and participate in something the kids refer to as a "Hell Run"...an organized free-for-all 5k in the mud complete with pits, walls, barbed wire, and large men with wrestling masks on.  I run a lot - but never in three feet of mud.  That was weird.  But, we finished and nobody hurt themselves...that I know about.  So a good deed done - cherished mud hounds Kyle and Hepler to the right. 

Tonight was a special treat for Master Parker - Moshi Moshi with the Huhmensons!  His first sushi experience, and at happy hour prices!  Moshi Moshi is one of our favorite restaurants in all land, and while he didn't get any spicy tuna rolls, he took the bottle pretty well in the restaurant and no major meltdowns.  That is absolutely a victory for us! 

Today I thought a lot about how filthy I was, and the fact that for some reason, it was my own doing.  And that quickly followed by imagining how much dirt PJT will be tracking in one day, and not at all realize he's doing it.  Boys love dirt, and our hardwoods love attention....I can't wait!  

Until tomorrow, the guidance I leave you with:  drive safely after a mud run...The good Lord forbid anything should happen on the way home....your underwear is dirty. 

dwt.