We've had an unusual fall, rodent wise. After Halloween, we started to notice that something had been nibbling on our pumpkins. After a while, the squirrels became so audacious that they would sit atop the pumpkin in the front flower bed, chowing down on the flesh as we stood in the doorway. By the time we threw the two pumpkins out, one had been chewed down to half its original height and the other had a large hole in the side with all the innards missing. Then, one evening a few days later, I encountered a flying squirrel (possibly the southern variety) on a tree in the back when I took the trash out before bed. Before then, I had no idea that flying squirrels existed in our area, and for good reason, since they are nocturnal.
By now, we have recovered from the long drive to Louisville and back--through West Virginia at the start of deer season, no less--and are back to our usual routines. The trip was a welcome break, with plenty of good meals, lots of free babysitting, and time well spent with friends and family. Best of all, we sustained no injuries from being pushed out of the way upon arrival to allow the grandparents to reach the guest of honor, Nathan, even though we had prepared ourselves for some shoving. Nathan was, however, met with plenty of entertainment and luxurious facilities. Nana and Grandpa had prepared their place with several nice toys for Nathan, including a massive exersaucer with more than enough activities to keep him busy, a wooden rocking horse that had been passed down through the generations, and a Fisher-Price toy with yet more small plastic balls to roll under the sofa. Most of all, though, he seemed to enjoy the wide open floors and soft carpet in the living room and family room. He was able to roll and scoot his way from one end of the room to the other.
Sunday, of course, was the main event. We had arranged to have Nathan baptized at St. Paul church in Louisville and had been looking forward to the day, though not without some trepidation. Nana had sewn a great little baptism outfit (sans Redskins logo, unfortunately) and had invited a number of friends and family, many of whom showed up to the baptism and the lunch afterwards. Cat and I, on the other hand, spent most of the time leading up to the church service worrying about how cranky Nathan would be and the extent to which his certain screams of tired anguish would echo through the sanctuary. Personally, I had spent several evenings plumbing the depths of my childhood memories of sitting in church, looking up at the beautiful stained glass windows, to see if I could estimate the frequency and amplitude of baby screams they could withstand before exploding in a lethal shower of brightly-colored shards of death. Fortunately, it was not to be. After enduring a Tolstoy-esque prayer prior to the baptism, Nathan behaved admirably, performing his new trick of attempting to escape to freedom by pushing off of one's chest only once while the reverend held him. He handled the water with aplomb and exhibited not an ounce of stage fright.
This weekend was the kind I had envisioned almost a year ago. For two days, I spent several hours in my comfy chair with football on television and a sleeping baby on my chest. Yesterday afternoon was spent watching the Clemson homecoming game, in which they handily defeated Duke. During much of the game, Nathan was napping on my chest while wearing his Clemson football uniform. His afternoon lasted through most of the game, so I had the perfect excuse to sit for hours and do nothing except nap and watch football. Cat also enjoyed the downtime, since she was able to get some chores done around the house that she had been unable to accomplish during the week when caring for an increasingly mobile and curious baby. Yesterday's pattern repeated itself today; during most of the Steelers game against the Chargers, I was ensconced in the same chair with Nathan on my chest. This time, though, I was the one in the football uniform: my London Fletcher Redskins jersey. The only downside was that Nathan's nap lasted until almost 6:30, so he missed his usual dinner time and was wide awake at his usual bedtime. He ended up going to bed at around 8:30 or 9 and it still sleeping at the moment, so we may be in the clear.
We took Nathan around the neighborhood briefly last night. He appeared to be just as fascinated with the nighttime environment and the cool air as he was with the kids in costumes and the neighbors handing out candy. The three of us completed an entire theme--Nathan as the skunk, me as Animal Control, and Cat as the vet ready to sedate the odorous vermin. All of the neighbors who saw Nathan thought he was the cutest skunk they had ever seen. Between holding Nathan in one arm and my homemade animal leash in the other, it was all I could do to carry Nathan to four or five houses yesterday evening. After a brief outing, we returned home, put him to bed, and handed out candy while waiting for pizza.
This has been a busy weekend for the three of us. Yesterday, we took a drive downtown in the new minivan and took a walk down to the Mall to visit the World War II Memorial. Today, we drove out to Homestead Farm, where Nathan previously met the devil goat, for Wesley's first birthday party. With the great weather--comfortably cool and not a cloud in sight--the place was considerably busier than Nathan and Wesley's last visit, but Liz was able to find a few unoccupied picnic tables next to the orchard for the party. Nathan made his rounds, meeting the party guests and saying hello to the birthday boy and then, amazingly enough, took a long nap in his stroller amidst all the commotion. The nap put him in a good mood for the rest of the afternoon; when we got home, he soon began bouncing around on our laps and was feeling very playful. Hopefully, the weekend's activity wore him out enough to help him sleep soundly tonight.
As you have probably already noticed, the voting for the Halloween costume survey has ended and the skunk has emerged as the winner. And if you have been checking the photo galleries, you may have noticed that we are now the proud owners of a baby-sized skunk costume. After much consternation and a vow to never again patronize Brands On Sale, Cat obtained a costume that fits well. As the glorious seven-month-long candy season gets underway, I'm confident that this purchase should net us a respectable take on Halloween. Now I only have to figure out my costume. Though I thought of it too late, my costume choice from last year was brilliant. I had planned to hit the streets in a mock coach's headset, a hooded sweatshirt with cut-off sleeves, and a purloined copy of the New York Jets playbook. Alas, since the Pats are not looking like the unstoppable monsters that they were last year, the Bill Belicheat costume would not carry quite as much cachet this year. I'll have to come up with something good.
Nathan is developing by leaps and bounds. Within the past two weeks or so, he has become steady enough when sitting to hold himself up with little to no assistance. The only exception is when he feels an overwhelming need to stuff his entire hand in his mouth; that takes too much concentration to stay upright. He has taken in increased interest in his toys and is now able to entertain himself for longer periods, even if only by watching his feet twirl around in circles. We put a set of interlocking foam alphabet squares down on the living room floor, so he now entertains himself by reaching around for whatever toy is in reach and/or taking the letters apart and chewing on them.
Not long after arriving in Cameron and stretching his legs for a while, Nathan braced for excitement as his Missouri family members began arriving. First, though, he had to try on the Halloween hat that his Nana bought him and try out the swing that Grandpa picked out. After bouncing around in the swing for a while until everyone in the room had had enough of the repetitive sounds coming from the swing's dashboard, Nathan had a chance to meet his great-grandmother. My grandmother, who is hard of hearing and has difficulty seeing clearly, was nonetheless thrilled to meet Nathan. With enough camera flashbulbs for a press conference Nathan and his great-grandmother just sat back and observed each other. After a short while, Nathan gave her his preferred sign of affection--a puddle of drool and a little bit of spit-up. As is customary in Cameron, the evening wrapped up with dinner and an immediate discussion of future meal plans.
In addition to the flood of attention for Nathan from relatives, the excitement for Saturday included an evening at the second annual Cameron Crawfish Crawl, a Cajun food and music festival at the local community center. One might ask, steamed and spiced bottom-feeding freshwater crustaceans in the heart of the rural Midwest? Cameron may not be known for its proximity to sources of fresh seafood, but it probably doesn't matter; I suspect that steamed crawfish are just as nasty in Louisiana. Nana's expression pretty much covers it. The fact that both of my parents were desperate enough to wash the crawfish down with a cold cup of the carbonated swill known as Miller Lite illustrates the general consensus on the evening's meal. That's certainly not to say that the Crawfish Crawl was not entertaining; the music by the "Missourah" Mud Bugs and other bands was good and the opportunities for people-watching were top notch. Had Nathan been a few years older, the profusion of tramp stamps on the women sitting near us could have led to a special teaching moment. As an unexpected bonus, we also discovered that there was a rodeo going on behind the community center. After dinner, my dad and I carried Nathan over to the rodeo to watch barrel racing.
Following two days of excitement, the main event began--Nathan met the family. On Sunday, just about the entire Fore clan came to Grandma's house for lunch. Nathan was passed from family member to family member throughout the day and was generally met with adoration. Also an attention-getter was his outfit for the day, a pair of overalls and a hat sewn by my mom from an old pair of my grandfather's Big Smith overalls. Grandpa worked on a farm for many years, so a worn pair of overalls was often his signature look. Along with the bandanna bib and railroad engineer's hat, Nathan looked like a little working man and was the recipient of many cheek pinches as a result. After all the socializing before, during, and after lunch, Nathan recovered by taking two long naps in the afternoon, one on my lap in the backyard and one on his Grandpa's lap in the quiet of the upstairs bedroom. Finally, he wrapped up the evening with some more time with his great-grandmother and a little bit of preseason NFL football before crashing for the night after a long and busy day.
Nathan is quickly becoming somewhat self-sufficient. During evening feedings, when we need him to focus on eating by giving him a bottle to help him settle down for the evening, he has started holding the bottle on his own, requiring very little intervention from me. Since his little hands are becoming quite nimble, I think he's probably about ready to hold on to a pickaxe and shovel and take a job working the mines to supplement our household income. After all, to live in this house, one must be a fully-contributing member of the family. Apparently, the thought of entering the working world so early was rather distressing to him. I can't imagine why...
Nathan took a field trip today; Cat took him to meet Liz and Wesley at Homestead Farm in Poolesville. Poolesville is a small town west of Rockville near White's Ferry, a cable-driven ferry that is the last operational ferry on the Potomac. At Homestead Farms, Nathan met his first farm animals, doing his best to figure out the silly noises coming from the cows, goats, pigs, and chickens. It was a hot day today, so he and Wesley spent much of their time in the shade, but that didn't stop Cat from checking Nathan end-to-end this evening to make sure he wasn't sunburned. If my childhood is any indication, I'm afraid Nathan may be doomed to sunburn in the future.
Following a hectic five days with my parents, a.k.a., Nana and Grandpa, Nathan spent Wednesday recovering by taking a three-hour nap. Considering the long weekend's activities and the fact that he was hardly put down during their entire visit, it's not the least bit surprising that he was exhausted. It was probably fortuitous that I was still at work when my parents arrived on Friday; the superfluous niceties of having to greet both of us before lunging for their grandson might have been too much for the grandparents to handle.
Tuesday, my weekly flex day, was highlighted by a road trip to Gettysburg. Along the way, Cat was barely able to contain her disappointment at the fact that we skipped the Catoctin Furnace, a thrilling stop from our first visit to Gettysburg a few years ago. It should be noted that the Catoctin Furnace was the place where, having quickly had their fill of the place, the entire Brumbach clan began impatiently hunting me down as I leisurely explored the rest of the park. Gettysburg is a relatively short drive from Rockville; we arrived just in time for lunch and stopped at a previous favorite restaurant, The Pub & Restaurant in Lincoln Square in downtown Gettysburg. After lunch and a stop in the neighboring antique store, it was off to the park and the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. After a shopping stop at the park's gigantic new visitor center, we started a short drive through the battlefield. Since we didn't have the two- to three-hour audio tour on hand, the drive was only a short trip through some of the key areas (Pickett's Charge, Little Round Top, etc.). The intense heat of the day gave us an impression of the misery the soldiers must have suffered during the July battle. Because of the heat, Nathan spent much of the day in the air-conditioned car with Cat. Perhaps we can take him for a repeat visit when he is old enough to think of a battlefield tour (complete with the extended five-hour audio tour) as a cruel form of parental torture. What fun!
Today was a big day for the three of us. This being my day off, we woke up early and headed out to the far reaches of Virginia to visit the Redskins training camp in Ashburn. When we made plans to attend training camp earlier this month, little did we know that the Redskins would lose a star defensive end, Phillip Daniels, on the first play of the first practice of the year and that he would suffer a season-ending injury. In a surprising turn of events, the Redskins filled the spot by signing Jason Taylor, the Miami Dolphins star and runner-up from Dancing With the Stars. Unfortunately, not knowing Taylor's new number at the time, we did not know who to look for on the field, so we missed him completely. That, however, did not obviate the need for me to pack extra burp cloths today, some to address Nathan's profuse drooling in all situations and some to address Cat's profuse drooling whenever Jason Taylor is nearby. In retrospect, I'm somewhat surprised that I was able to pull her away from the practice field.
Our visit to training camp was a short one, due to the heat. Even at 9 AM, the heat was oppressive, though our opinions differed on the source of the heat; I blamed the intolerable Washington summers while Cat blamed the presence of Jason Taylor. By 9:15, we decided that we'd had enough and headed for the car. As it turns out, we left just in time; we learned from tonight's news that the practice was cancelled and the field evacuated shortly after we left due to an approaching storm. It was enjoyable, but Redskins training camp now joins a Redskins scrimmage, a Redskins game, and the Kentucky Derby as sporting events we can check off our list and now prefer to watch on television in air-conditioned comfort.
One of the goals of yesterday's outings was to pick up Nathan's first high chair. So far, he has done reasonably well sitting in the stroller in the dining room and watching us while we eat, but soon, he will probably want a better view. He slumps over a bit in the chair right now, but considering the way he is progressing, he will probably be sitting upright before long. During his daily periods of tummy time, Nathan has shown that he is determined to crawl. His legs work just fine, allowing him to scoot along awkwardly, but he's working on getting those arms in gear. He is also working on turning over; he nearly made it today, but couldn't quite push himself over that right arm. He's polishing his new moves so that he can show them off to Nana and Grandpa when they visit later this month.
Posts
All Comments
