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.