Thursday, May 28, 2009

Crib Notes: Month 1



Before we had Park, every mom warned me that the weeks following his birth would fly and I wouldn't get anything accomplished unless it included caring for the baby. Now I get it. Take this post, for example. I intended to have weekly updates, but the last time I wrote was after week one (a day late, even) and now I can't even get this first month recap done in time. Like I've done with pretty much everything else lately, I'll just have to let this go, too.

So before the little tyke wakes up to eat yet again (I hear him in there laughing in his sleep), I'd sum up the first month with Park as lots of learning experiences: Learning that what worked to soothe him one night doesn't work the next. Learning that not all shopping carts hold a car seat and you have to improvise. Learning to trust my mommy instincts. Learning that I'm no longer in control of my schedule. Learning to type one-handed ... and the list goes on.

11 hours, four wet diapers and one blow-out later ...


Before any more interruptions can prevent this from finally getting posted, here's a brief look at the last month at the Lindeman house. A few highlights are missing here, but by the time I get those photos downloaded, we'll be celebrating month 2.

Aunt Erin had fun styling Park's hair after bath time.


Craig, Park, Zoe and Luka enjoy long walks in the evening.


Our first Mother's Day.


Looks like we're buying a third seat to the basketball games this year.


Park meets cousin Hagen. This is one time out of three days where Park's eyes were actually open.


Stay tuned to see what happens in month two. Hopefully sooner than later.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

One of the best athletes on the planet.

Virtually every day Zoe does something that completely amazes us, I'm convinced that if she were human she would be a professional athlete. Today I tried to capture her catching prowess which enables her to catch a virtually anything, no matter how high it's thrown.

Disclaimer: You may want to turn the volume down, there's some crazy shit going on with my voice.

Friday, May 15, 2009

When push came to shove.

Here is the second of my two playlists for Park's big arrival. I was tempted to just lift everything directly from the "Jock Jams" series, but what I came up seemed to work out pretty well.

I call it "Push it Real Good."

(Songs were selected based on overall pumpitude and message/theme.)

Today Is the Day Apollo Sunshine
Casino Queen Wilco
Superman R.E.M.
I Won't Back Down Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Should I Stay Or Should I Go The Clash
Star 69 R.E.M.
Vertigo U2
Handle With Care The Traveling Wilburys
Here Comes Your Man Pixies
Float On Modest Mouse
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
In a Big Country moe.
I Will Follow U2
New Sensation INXS
Rock the Casbah The Clash
Hey Ladies Beastie Boys
Brown Sugar The Rolling Stones
Orange Crush R.E.M.
Pretty in Pink The Psychedelic Furs
Find My Baby Moby
Under Pressure Queen & David Bowie
Elevation (Influx Remix) U2
Beautiful Day U2
The Obvious Child Paul Simon
Stupidly Happy XTC
Ramble On Led Zeppelin
The Seed (2.0) The Roots & Cody Chestnutt
Elevation U2
Boom Boom Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Everything Is Everything Lauryn Hill
Baba O'Riley The Who
It Takes Two Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
All These Things That I've Done The Killers
Thing of Beauty Hothouse Flowers
Wake Up Arcade Fire
Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve

Total running time: 2.6 hours

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Carrie's labor coach might as well have been a 13 year-old girl.

My only real contribution to Carrie's labor and delivery were two modern-day versions of the mix tape—one for the 17 hours she needed something calm and soothing and another for the two and a half hours of pushing when she wanted to kick things up a notch.

Both went over so well that I thought I would share them with you in case you ever happen to find yourself trapped in a room with a woman writhing in pain.

First, the calm and soothing.

Beautiful World Colin Hay
High Tide or Low Tide (Jamaican Version) Bob Marley & The Wailers
Angel Dream (No. 4) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
A Minor Incident Badly Drawn Boy
Lodestar Sarah Harmer
Piggyback Bob Schneider
Pink Moon Nick Drake
The Rainbow Connection Willie Nelson
Find The River R.E.M.
First Day of My Life Bright Eyes
Fragile Sting
Grace U2
Half A World Away R.E.M.
I Adore You melpo mene
Closer Joshua Radin
Littlest Birds Be Good Tanyas
California Stars Billy Bragg & Wilco
Looking Ziggy Marley
Better Together Jack Johnson
Never Tear Us Apart INXS
Running To Stand Still U2
Three Little Birds Bob Marley & The Wailers
Wild Horses The Sundays
World Spins Madly On The Weepies
The Only Living Boy In New York Simon & Garfunkel
Your Faithful Friend Abra Moore
In the Sun (Gulf Coast Relief) Michael Stipe
Miss Sarajevo U2
Today Joshua Radin
I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You Colin Hay
Mercy Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Such Great Heights Iron & Wine
The Shining Badly Drawn Boy
The Luckiest Ben Folds
One Love/People Get Ready Bob Marley & The Wailers
Waiting for My Real Life to Begin (Album Version) Colin Hay
I Will Follow You Into the Dark Death Cab For Cutie
While You Were Sleeping Elvis Perkins
Here Comes the Sun George Harrison
Naked As We Came Iron & Wine
Everything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby) Joshua Radin
Don't Dream It's Over (Live) Neil Finn & Friends
From The Morning Nick Drake
Feel Us Shaking The Samples
Shape Of My Heart Sting
Wildflowers Tom Petty
The First Time U2
Please Be Patient With Me Wilco
Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
It'll All Work Out Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Smile The Jayhawks
Into the Mystic Van Morrison
Apron Strings Everything But The Girl
Orange Sky Alexi Murdoch
The Times They Are A-Changin' Bob Dylan
Last Night Of The World Bruce Cockburn
Catch the Wind Donovan
A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians
Memory Lane Elliott Smith
Have a Little Faith in Me John Hiatt
Walk On the Wild Side Lou Reed
Fade Into You Mazzy Star
No Woman No Cry (Live) Bob Marley & The Wailers
My First Child Nil Lara
One Big Love Patty Griffin
La Cienega Just Smiled Ryan Adams
Into the Mystic Van Morrison

Total running time: 4.8 hours

Monday, May 11, 2009

Showtime

So, I finally found a way to get some video off of our new camera and have posted two clips for your viewing pleasure (the pleasure part is debatable).

However, before proceeding, I feel like I should warn you that throughout the first clip Park screams like one of Condolezza Rice's cats who wasn't forthcoming enough about the whereabouts of the kitty condo. Like complete idiots, we had no idea what was going on with him and later discovered that a band aid had ripped off of his heal—leaving the entire car seat bloody. Not necessarily pleasant, but true. So as you struggle to listen through the first clip, keep that in mind.

The second clip is simply a more in-depth tour of Park's new room.



Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day … I made a mess.

We started celebrating mother's day pretty early this morning—sometime between one and three, whenever it was that Park politely requested Carrie's presence. However Carrie wasn't feeling overly festive at that exact moment so we put the real festivities off until around 9. That's when Zoe, Luka and I decided to make Carrie some pancakes for breakfast.

Now we could have gone the easy way and popped open a box of Bisquick and called it good, but this was Carrie's first Mother's Day so we went all out and made them from scratch with the help of this recipe. We thought they turned out pretty good, but we're afraid we were still a little overshadowed by Park who surprised Carrie with these yesterday.Teaches me to never leave my wallet and cell phone on the changing table again.

We're not sure what the rest of the day is going to hold, it depends a lot on how Carrie feels. If it's anything like yesterday, it's gonna look a lot like this.
Being Mother's Day and all, one final note on Carrie.

She has been amazing. It's been an incredible experience to sit back and watch her transform into a mom—and a great one at that. She seems completely all-consumed by love and we're all lucky to have her in our lives.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Crib Notes: Week 1



Miraculous. Exhausting. Peaceful. Challenging. Endearing. That's how I'd sum up the past week since Park entered our world.

First off, while I've been a little preoccupied going through the whole labor/delivery process and then adjusting to life at home with my new mom duties, Craig has been maintaining communication central and keeping me updated on all the new tweets, e-mails and Facebook comments. Thanks so much for all the love and support over the last week. You can't imagine how it gets us through the late nights and frequent feedings! We weren't sure how the Twitter feed would go last Monday either, but I have to say it was one of Craig's better ideas and now we have a great log of events/comments to remember how the day transpired.

On the home front, we're all adjusting to our lives being turned upside down. We're trying out the Baby Whisperer's 3-hour schedule of eating, activity and sleeping. You wouldn't know it by all the photos here, but there's been a lot more eating and screaming than sleeping ... or at least sleeping when mom and dad would like it. We'll keep trying, though, and are determined to get this little guy to get his days and nights turned around.



Zoe and Luka are also figuring out their new role as guardian and playmate. Everything is fine when Park is quiet, but they're still trying to figure out who's torturing who when Park is screaming his head off on the changing table.





We look forward to sharing more adventures and the infamous nursery video. And visitors are always welcome. Until then, peace out.



Carrie