Three Amigos

Oh, what a year can do (aka Happy Belated Father's Day Craig!)

Last year at this time, we were always nervous to take Park out in public in fear of him crying and not being able to soothe him. We were still getting comfortable with bathing the little newborn in a bath full (kind of) of water. And we were consulting books left and right for how to get the baby to sleep when every night was a struggle.

My how things have changed.

The last year has been an amazing experience to watch Craig embrace fatherhood with everything he has, just as he does all of his passions (hugging trees, exercise, photography ... ).

Now, when Park has one of his rare fits out in public, Craig pulls out his bag of tricks to make Park happy (including doing things in public that I never thought I'd see him do). Bath time is no longer intimidating, either - this is Craig and Park's special time to play, splash and try out new hairstyles. And forget the Baby Whisperer. Craig has always been the one that could soothe Park back to sleep in one try after I've been in for several attempts.

I'm so lucky to have this guy as my co-captain in parenthood. And I'm so happy Park gets to grow up with him as a role model. I'm also just a little bit nervous at what the two of them together will throw my way.

Happy belated Father's Day, Craig.

Go Park, Go!

For months, Park has been happy just rolling to get where he wants to go. While we haven't been all that concerned, he has been going to physical therapy for a little strength-building and inspiration. We're seeing great progress, but he was still content rolling or sitting and kicking like nobody's business. Until Sunday. I'm not sure if it was because it was Father's Day or he just suddenly got a new idea, but when we sat him down that morning he took off for Zoe in a whole new way. He hasn't stopped since.

I'm not sure Craig and I (or the dogs) are ready for this.

One step away from Lawrence Welk

Carrie and I have never claimed to be wild and crazy people. We eat lunch at home almost every day, we've been known to spend a perfectly nice Friday night cleaning the house and, according to our Netflix queue, we watch an inordinate amount of documentaries.

Here are just a few of the titles we've either already watched or are hoping to one day find in our mailbox.

Ultramarathon Man
Food, Inc.
It Might Get Loud
Man on Wire (Highly recommended)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (Not sure if this one counts)
Step Into Liquid
No Impact Man
The Cove
180° South

Yeah, It's pretty much a laugh a minute around our house.

But don't get the wrong impression, we do know how to have fun—we can carry on some lively banter about House Hunters International as good as anybody (now, if that doesn't make you want to invite us to your next party, I don't know what will—of course we will need to be home by seven).

Sweating to the sunrise

A few weeks ago, probably hours after I enjoyed waking up on my own at a reasonable time without an alarm clock, I decided to sign up for the ultimate challenge and give myself a good a$$ kicking. I signed up for Shocker Fitness.

I have my walking friend Jenna to thank for introducing me to the program. She started mid-way through the last session and told me about all the "fun" I was missing. Seriously, what's fun about running sprints and bleachers before the sun gets up ... or really any time? Well, four weeks into this session and I have to admit that it's actually a good time in a crazy way. The workouts are led by the WSU track coach and staff three days a week at three different times. The earliest is best for us since Park is still sleeping and Craig works out at home on those mornings.

At the first workout, I went out a little too hard for the warm up and wanted to vomit during the remaining 45 minutes of 60 meter relays and bleacher climbing. Lesson learned. But this morning, four weeks and several hours of less sleep later, I was running faster for the warm-ups than I ever had and still had plenty of energy and enthusiasm to go for the circuit training that entailed running up and down bleachers and ramps, lunges, abs, push ups and power skips. And as I ran to the top of Cessna Stadium and caught the sun coming up, I realized that this is a pretty cool way to start the day and the view isn't nearly this good from my bed.

If you live in town and are looking for a challenge, I encourage you to check it out. All levels and ages are welcome (I'm pretty sure I got passed by a seven-year-old this morning).

Meet "Poops the Penguin"

For the first 13 months as parents, the worst health issues we've had to deal with consisted of some teeth cutting and a minor cold, however around 1:30 on Sunday morning we were so concerned about Park's well-being that I was frantically getting dressed to take him to the hospital while Carrie was downstairs calling the pediatrician at home (again, it was 1:30 in the morning).

The problem? You know the term "well-oiled machine?" Well, Park hasn't been one lately and let's just say every couple of days he desperately needs to release some hostages. Without getting too graphic, it all came to a head in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He'd been struggling to play the role of his very own Harriet Tubman all day, but it seemed his underground railroad had once again gone off the tracks. As the hours wore on and nothing we tried worked, it was becoming obvious he was getting more and more uncomfortable until he was finally completely inconsolable. He screamed. He thrashed around. He didn't want to be touched. It was heart-wrenching to watch. Neither of us knew what to do and were worried that things might only get worse. Luckily a while back I got a state health assessment at work and as a part of it they gave me the number for a free, 24-hour, on-call nurse so we started there. While we weren't able to get any definitive answers with that call, we did get the insight that yes, we should be concerned, and yes, we should call the doctor. So Carrie hung up and immediately called the pediatrician who felt we should take matters into our own hands (literally) and pick up a liquid glycerin suppository.

Not sure what would be open, Zoe and Luka (who were extremely concerned and probably a little annoyed by the disruption in their beauty sleep) hopped in the car with me and we all headed to Dillons. Thankfully, it was open and within minutes we were back home with our over-the-counter hostage negotiator. However, little did I know that my work was far from over, while I was gone I had been nominated to actually carry out the dirty work—not exactly something I had on my bucket list, but I took one for the team (well, actually Park did).

The thing worked within minutes and while we were celebrating with a ticker-tape parade through the house we noticed something funny about the suppository packaging. Apparently, it is now legally required that every product intended for a child's use to feature a cartoon spokes-character. And while we found it odd, we were so happy with the product's overall effectiveness we ceremoniously dubbed him "Poops the Penguin" and sing his praises with every waking breath.

However, while we love "Poops the Penguin" we hope to never have to call upon him again. In addition to his steady diet of prunes and whole grains, Park is now supplementing his diet with a little Miralax.

What's the complete opposite of Martha Stewart? Me.

A decorator I am not. Every year, I tell Craig that we're going to have the best Halloween decorations ever (it's his favorite holiday) and I make grand plans for creating a winter wonderland (my favorite holiday). Every year, after we've put away the plastic pumpkin full of candy (our one "scary" decoration) and the little trees I've had since my first apartment 12 years ago, I tell myself that the next year will really be spectacular. No excuses.

Now that we have a little one, there's real pressure to do it up right. We're creating memories, people! With just a few months to go until October, I figure I better start thinking about it now. Heck, the stores have had Christmas decorations up since last month.

Will I live up to the task? Will this be the best decorated house on Jacqueline Street in 2010? Time will tell.

In the meantime, I'll use this house as my inspiration for every day decorating. Vintage and wall paper really aren't my style, but there are so many other neat things about this house. Maybe if I start taking baby steps it won't be so intimidating.