Update on Isaac

I realized this morning how way far behind I am with this thing. Isaac has not been swaddled in months, he shares a room with Parker now, and last night I dropped his late evening feeding. This morning I tried some Rice Cereal on him, and I gave him a little bit more at lunch time. I don't know whether he liked the rice cereal or not, but he opened his mouth for it, and his tongue thrust reflex is gone. This means I finally have a use for all that milk I pumped in the first few weeks after we brought him home from the hospital, if I take the time to pick it up out of my friend's freezer. Now if I can get him down to three predictable naps every day I'll be happy, happy, happy.

Pictures

My mom has been asking for pictures of Isaac smiling, and the one of Parker is from hunting eggs at Easter.

Cars

My mom keeps asking me what was wrong with my car last post. We took the van in for an oil change last week and found out that the oil pan needs to be replaced. Speculatively we think we have damaged it on the part of our driveway that has been damaged by a giant tree root. If we're careful we don't have to run over it, but the damage has already been done.

Our other car has a transmission leak. I had an adventure with it on my way home from the library Sunday night. I realized around 8:00 p.m. that my library books had been due back the day before, so out I went.

Michael has been supplementing it with transmission fluid regularly, but I guess it was a little low Sunday night because it decided, on McFarland Boulevard, to stop changing gears. I was stuck going about 40 until I could pull over, while the engine sounded like it was trying to tow a house across some railroad tracks on an incline. Actually, it was probably in second gear. I thought it was funny as I pulled over the my left foot was searching for a clutch.

I turned the engine off, and then back on, and it got me home, but I did have to release the gas pedal at times to get the engine to change gears. We'll get it fixed as soon as we can.

The Healing Power of Milk; or What's Wrong With My Car?

I tried to post pictures yesterday, but it didn't work out. Sorry, Mom!

I bundle Isaac up and swaddle him every night for bed. He sleeps better, it seems, if his hands are not free to wake him up since he sleeps on his back. Early this morning he was awake. When I got up to check his little bare feet were kicking and he was cooing to himself. At one point Michael went in to cover Isaac, and I heard a happy Isaac laugh. How cute is that?

Now I haven't yet seen a book that tells you what to do when your baby is sleeping too hot or too cold in the middle of the night and you want to make him more comfortable without inducing the need to feed. Any ideas?

I've been having trouble sleeping lately--it hits me every other night. I called the doctor yesterday to find out what I can do to help me sleep without impairing my ability to nurse Isaac. Dr. Edwards recommended warm milk, to our surprise. It isn't the first time milk has been recommended. Dr. Blum told me to try milk once when I was having more severe problems, yet still we were surprised. I guess I had forgotten.

Two Movies for Review

I started this post weeks ago.

Movie the First. Quiz Show

When I first heard Ralph Fiennes name, I thought the pronunciation was ridiculous, (I've since learned that his is a common pronunciation.) but after seeing this movie I decided he had done such a good job that he could pronounce his name anyway he liked.

The movie is, in one of my professor's words, not the kind of film you want to rent with your friends on a Friday night, but I watched it again a few weeks ago, and was reminded of how much I like it. I'm not very good at film reviews, so I'll just tell you what I like about it.

This isn't a suspenseful film, so I see no need to avoid giving away certain plot points. Maybe you're on pins and needles over what will become of the television industry, but considering these things happened more than fifty years ago, it's doubtful. Perhaps Robert Redford considered taking poetic license with the outcome (I'm sure he did to some extent), but surely that doesn't extend to pretending the grand jury investigation to place in an alternate universe (although that might have held a certain interest for me).

I like that John Turturro's character gets what he wants in the end, the exposure of Charles van Doren's participation in a fraud, but finds that what he wanted isn't at all satisfying. I like that it shows van Doren's reluctance to participate in fraud at first, though is reluctance is quickly subsumed by the lure of fame and popularity. I love the portrayal of Charles's father, Mark van Doren, who is crushed by his son's loss of his teaching job. I like that Charles is lauded for eventually telling the truth, but that he isn't ultimately allowed to avoid of the consequences of his dishonesty--because his conscience could never have been satisfied by getting away with it in the end. I don't love that these things happen, but I love what they show about reality.

The movie has its funny points, but it's that wordy sort of humor I like so much, like when the van Doren family quotes Shakespeare around the birthday table, or when Charles says that if they give him the questions but let him look up the answers on his own, it might be less egregious. Hank Azaria as Albert Freedman: "What's 'egregious'?"

Quiz Show is in my top movies.

Movie the second. Pushing Tin

Somehow my parents wound up with a copy of this film, no idea how. And I really can't put my finger on why I enjoy this so much. For some reason I am fascinated with Billy Bob Thornton in this film--deepset eyes and high cheekbones have something to do with it. His character is a melancholy one. He doesn't easily fit in with the social norm although he is excellent at his job. The risks he takes are somewhat juvenile, but in that terribly creative way that makes me feel protective of him as a fictional character. Weird, huh? Angelina Jolie appears with him in this film as his young bride. His acting in this film is only so-so, but we do get to hear him sing, and at one point in the film John Cusack's character literally kicks him in the butt.

The movie is cleverly written as John Cusack's movies generally are. Honestly, I don't always get the humor. The movie is about the destruction of a marriage, guilt, and the power of unrestrained obesession with being the best. Cate Blanchette is in this one too.

Eventually perhaps I'll figure out why I'm willing to sit through this film over and over again. Melanie once said that when Parker enjoys the same activity or book or movie over and over again it may mean he's trying to work something out about it in his mind, and I think that's what I'm doing with this film. Or maybe it's just about Billy Bob Thornton. I don't know.

Other movies I've enjoyed with him in them: Intolerable Cruelty and The Apostle.

One of the interesting things about Billy Bob Thornton is his versitility. Sometimes it is difficult to recognize him from film to film, The Apostle being a case in point.

Movie Quotes, and a New Name for the Blog

So I need a new name for my blog now that I have two. Any suggestions? Today I started thinking about doing one of those silly "How to..." titles, because:

A couple of weeks ago I followed Kathy Bates and Rene Auberjonois to a movie called My Best Friend is a Vampire a/k/a I was a Teenage Vampire. Information about the movie referenced the fact that this was one in a series of films with "I was a..." blank blank sort of title. You may remember that one of Michael Landon's first films (or was it his very first?) was I was a Teenage Werewolf. Vampire also starred Robert Sean Leonard. It was fun and amusing, but generally awful.

Maybe the title of my blog should have something to do with the birds nest inhabiting the light on my front porch. Something about the birds watching us.

Isaac occasionally looks gloweringly at us, which Michael says means he's judging us. This is a reference to the movie America's Sweethearts.

Kiki: Nobody hates you.
Gwen: Oh yes, they do. I was in a store the other day, you know that great store on Melrose? And there was a baby in a stroller and he was looking up at me and he was judging me. The whole world is judging me for what I did to Eddie.

(copied of of the IMDB page for this film)

This is one of those films we often quote. Particularly (in a whiney voice):

"It's so hard being the only person who cares about other people."

Parker

Smiling Isaac

Isaac Smiles; Too Bad I Can't Get a Picture of It

Isaac has begun smiling at us spontaneously on occasion. For instance, this morning Michael watched the boys for me while I got a few extra minutes rest and then took a shower. By the time I rejoined Isaac, after a twenty, twenty-five minutes absence, he seemed genuinely happy to see me. That sweet toothless grin. And he's finally begun making sweet little baby noises. On the flip side, he's back to making me hold him, or else put him in a moving seat for naps.

Not the best kind of sleep a baby can get.

I've been thinking about the fetishization of the black male and how it relates to some of the media's attitude toward our new president, but I haven't figured out how to blog about it.

I wish he were interested in *Robin Hood*. That's a good one.

I had a thought. What was it?

It's amazing how many Disney cartoons you can fit into one day. I think Parker has had me play Dumbo four times, The Little Mermaid, and now 101 Dalmations, and we've still had time for computer play, a long nap, and lots of laundry folding.

We're letting him get his fill now as he recovers from that surgery.

Don Chaffer Quote

From The Khrusty Brothers: Prologue (a CD Andrew got me for my birthday):

"They say that youth is wasted on the young, but I say if I could have grown a beard sooner, I would have."

They thought it was funny anyway.

Parenting Magazines; Ground Beef; Sleep

I read articles in these parenting magazines, and am constantly amazed at how easily some people can be offended. I was telling Michael the other night, I don't understand why moms writing in to these magazines seem to be so offended or irritated by unsolicited advice. I can sort of see it, but here's how I feel about advice. If I think it's good advice, I'll take it. If I think it's bad advice, I'll ignore it. I appreciate it when other people take an interest in my children.

There are certain advantages to being a T on the Meyers Briggs preference evaluation.

On another note, I spent way too much money on ground beef at Sam's Club on Saturday, when, if I watch the sales flyers it is quite possible to get ground beef for just under $2.00 per pound. The problem is, I spent to much, thought I needed it when I really didn't (it was on my grocery list, but probably shouldn't have been), and now I don't want to break it up into freezer bags to freeze. It's more difficult than usual to find the time at this particular moment in my children's development.

The house is a mess too, but I have to remind myself that playing games with Parker is more important than house work, even though the housework is necessary to my own sanity. When Isaac's night time sleep patterns become more consistent this will be less of a problem.

Saturday night he slept eight hours straight. I still only got six and a half contiguous hours in, but it was still a huge improvement. Unfotunately last night I hardly slept at all, besides which Isaac did not repeat Saturday night's performance.

Correction

I think I flubbed one of Parker's lines from the book reading. The book is called Blue's Backyard Mystery, and what Parker reads is, "I have an idea. Let's play the cloud game."

Do you have any idea how cute it is to hear a two year old say, "I have an idea?"

He says some really adorable things that are way too grown up for him.

Parker Reading

Last night Parker was sitting in the living room reading to himself, a book called Blue's Backyard Mystery. I wish I had a recording. I remember he said,

Hey, let's play the cloud game. I see a sailboat, said Blue. I see a dinosaur, said Magenta. Hey, the strawberries are gone.

It was sweet. We've read the book several times over the course of the week, and he remembered the details enough to look at the pictures and read it to himself.

When Carol made pancakes for us on Saturday Parker tried to sound out the letters on the syrup bottle. Starfall.com and SuperWhy on PBSKids.com have gotten him interested in letter sounds.

He's Still Sleeping, While Parker hasn't Gone to Sleep Yet

I wonder if this means he'll always be a good napper.

At Isaac's checkup yesterday I asked Dr. Brown whether he was old enough now for me to let him sleep when he is sleeping and not wake him up every three hours to nurse. The hand out she gave me said that babies his age typically nurse every three to four hours. Dr. Brown said that as a breast fed baby he typically wouldn't go more than three hours between feedings, and that I shouldn't let him go more than four during the day, while letting sleep as long as he chose at night.

I can't find my copy of Babywise to see what they recommend.

This morning I fed Isaac at 9:50 and then let him sleep since he hadn't gotten much of a nap during the previous between feeding period. At 1:30 the child is still (sweetly) asleep.

He made a little noise around the time I took Parker in to get ready for his nap. Isaac's eyes opened, but he went right back to sleep.

Oh, I hear him. Maybe he's waking up! I hope he'll give me a little bit of time to get dinner started this afternoon.