The Sporting Life

Rhen and I went to our first swim class yesterday. It’s called “Shrimp and Kippers”. I guess I’m the kipper. The age range is six to eighteen months and oh yeah, the adults too. It started off swell. A variety of songs were sung to acclimate our children to the sensation of water and getting their face wet. On the second round of “I’m A Little Tea Pot” I dunked Rhen’s left side of his face into the water a bit to vigorously and made him cry a little. What can I say. The little tea pot business was only the beginning. We then sang “Motor Boat” which I’ve never heard in my life and then moved onto “Ring Around the Rosie” all incorporating various acclimation elements. Some kids just wanted to be left alone. Others were ready for the high dive. It all seemed to depend on the personality of the parent. At least that is how I saw it. The more mellow parents had kids that just wanted to chill and float about. The “Type A” parents had their children splashing, screaming, crying and then jumping and laughing like little hysterical deckhands. Class was a half hour long. A lot of group singing and circling followed by some freestyle time with your child.

Rhen and Dad swimming

After swim lessons we went down to the Heritage Fair (formerly known as the Victorian Fair) and had pork chop on a stick and talked to some friends.

The night ended at my parents’ place watching the Gem Auction (I love satellite tv) with my sister until about 11pm. It was a very good thing.

I, Parent

Christi and I have decided to press on with attachment parenting. Good information and reinforcement found at the Dr. Sears website. I wish we had a more attachment-parenting-friendly doctor. Like I said, our doctor is into this sleep training business. I just tend to shy away from parenting advice that follows, “I didn’t see much of my children awake during their first year because they were always sleeping by the time I got home from the clinic.” Incredible. Then, his head started to spin, gears whirred into action, and he kept repreating, “I-am-a-robot. This-is-how-I-parent.” I also expect he’s a Republican on top of it. Just a hunch.

6 mos.


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It’s early, public radio drones in the background and I’m brewing a big pot of coffee. Rhen was up a little bit this morning and since I’m such a sucker for an early riser I got up with him. He’s gone back to bed while I’m waiting for Seattle’s Best.

Rhen had his six month appointment yesterday. He did very well. When the nurse said we would measure his head, I said it’s huge and hardly fits through the door. He’s so advanced! She was all like, “Ha. Ha.” Hardly any fussiness after his two shots (he got a break this time, only two not four). I suppose if Rhen were a flight he would be arriving on time maybe even a bit ahead of schedule. The only thing that we haven’t really decided on is some sort of sleep training. Our doctor is the sleep nazi. He’s not as core as Ferber but he recommends or as he calles it, “my friendly advice” that we get him sleeping by himself. He wasn’t pushy about it, so not really a fascist at all. Basically, he said that every doctor would agree that a baby is unspoilable under six months and spoilable over twelve months. Right now he’s in a gray area. Christi and I had a laugh after the appointment about being spoilable. It just sounded so midwest to us, like getting a stocking cap in winter just might spoil that child!

A lot of development in the last week. Rhen can now sit up pretty well. He’s figuring out how to balance himself when he starts to fall. He airplane wings it. It’s so cute. He sticks his arms out, wobbles and then brings his center of gravity back in. It’s subtle and if you weren’t so obsessive like me you might not notice it or not care but I think it’s the greatest thing in the world. He loves to talk. He says, “Muh muh muh muh muh” and “Fogwah!.” Just kidding I say, “Fogwah!” I can’t help it. Fun word. He can roll over onto his tummy and finally get that arm out to prop himself up. Then he cries, well not right but it’s not far away. I understand. He is on his tummy and with nowhere to go. Not mobile yet. Definitely not wireless. He’s waiting for us to baby proof the house. Rhen’s favorite toys are his Baby Einstien Learning Blocks. He loves to see Mom at lunch and never sleeps when we go for our walk.

Sometimes when I look at Rhen and he looks back at me I think, God. He knows exactly what I’m thinking. This kid is psychic. Ok kid, cough up those lottery numbers.

Weekend Roundup

Rhen and I are kicking it around the house this morning while C. sleeps in. I guess she had a Pepsi before we went to bed and had a hard time getting to sleep. So Rhen is in his Johnny Jump Up rocking out, having already burned out in the Exersaucer.

Pretty good weekend so far. We got Rhen a new umbrella stroller. Ladies and Gentleman, we give you the Jeep All Weather Umbrella Stroller. This thing rules. The other one from Walmart (we suck) was too short. Christi theorized that it was designed short for new teenage mothers. It was also rickety and pushed Rhen forward so it looked like he was heaving. We are very pleased with the Jeep. Nice and tall. Easy to maneuver.

On the movie front we finally watched The Ring 2. Yes, we are a bit behind in movies. Once again, really scary but man did the plot stink and the character development? Slow, slow, slow! Same for the plot. I grew a bit bored during the movie while Christi covered herself during the more intense scenes. A little bit on the deer. Fakey fakety fake! Bad CGI deer. It was okay for a little bit but then when they all came out–no good. Your CGI is showing. My favorite part, by far is at the end,when Rachel comes out of the well and is surrounded by the misty forest filled with birch trees. I love birch trees. The scariest tree ever–screw the hoary pine. Birch is where it’s at. Anyway, somehow that scene made up for killing off the newspaper owner, Aiden’s inexplicable growth spurt (how long did it take to film this movie?), and Sissy Spacek’s embarassing performance as Samara’s natural birth mother. Sissy? Please. In the end, I ‘m glad we didn’t buy.

If you would like to see a good movie, I recommend The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Each shot, much like The Royal Tenenbaums is richly designed.

My favorite quote from Aquatic:
Ned Plimpton: Are we being attacked by hijackers?
Steve Zissou: Out here we call them “pirates”.

If anything, watch this movie for the superb soundtrack. David Bowie, some nice spritely orchestral pieces and Portuguese versions of David Bowie classics performed by Seu Jorge. Sweet.

Strange, today is Sept. 11th. The fourth anniversary of the attacks. Hardly a peep from any of the major news outlets about it. I watched the celebrity-studded Shelter from the Storm fundraiser Friday night, which made me think about the September 11th fundraiser because the sets were so similiar? Anyway, I remember being sad and exhausted, watching the Dixie Chicks perform I believe in Love and still feeling some sort of hope for us all, not knowing that after that song ended, nothing would ever be the same again.