back from Denver and unburdened of clothes

Dion, Adam, and I were in Denver last week for the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention. Dion's chorus, the Toronto Northern Lights, finished fourth. Dion claims he is pleased in small part because he has already earned one fifth, one third, and five second place metals. First wasn't in the works. Westminster is just that good. The Northern Lights, and by extension we, will not be attending the convention next year because the chorus is doing a trip to the UK in May.

Adam did extremely well travelling. amazingly well really. almost never cried - not even on the plane. pooped through many diapers though. I think we should go up to size three diapers, since he's getting to the top of the size two range. Since we were taking so much more stuff than usual (gee, I wonder why?), I left the camera at home. If anyone has digital images of us, please email or post them. It would be much appreciated.

On the Saturday night before we left, we discovered moths in our apartment. And so, we spent the entire day on Sunday and Monday cleaning the affected areas, shampooing rugs, and doing laundry, laundry, and more laundry. We washed almost every piece of fabric in the apartment. To cut down on the laundry, we threw out a bunch of clothes and bedding. I think it was 5 green garbage bags full. We've always had too many clothes. It made puting the laundry away difficult. In fact, laundry hardly ever got put away. It used to sit in piles and in baskets that we'd shuffle through over and over again. We didn't just restrict ourselves to keeping clothes that we have worn recently but to clothes that we enjoy wearing. It was very liberating and I expect that it will make laundry a less daunting task.

The empty hanger pile when the purge was half over.

But seriously guys, if you wash everything, this is going to take forever!

astonishing

This article reports that homocide is the 2nd greatest cause of death of pregnant women. It is the cause in 31% of deaths of pregnant women. Pregnancy-related complications are first. I had heard (on Oprah) before that homocide is first. Whatever. It's probably pretty close for first and second since car accidents and suicide are pretty high up for non-pregnant women.

I really wish it became standard practice to report absolute risk in such articles. Michael Evans wrote an article about that in the Globe not that long ago. I can't link to it because the Globe's website is very miserly about letting you read the Globe online without registering or paying or something.

Ch-ch-ch-changes....

I admit it, I stole the title from Kevin. Friday, I accepted an offer for a new teaching position at Jarvis Collegiate. I'll be teaching three sections of Gr. 9 Math starting in September. It's a half time (mornings) timetable.

The previous Friday at 10 am, I logged into the board network and checked the postings - really just out of curiosity. Was AY posting any? Which subject areas seemed to be posted most often? that type of thing. But I spied the o.5-time Math/Physics posting at Jarvis. I mentioned it to Dion, who was very clear: "Do it!" How could I not apply? I called Sai (my department head.) "Uh, Sai. There's a posting at Jarvis."
"Damn you! I'll be your reference."

The deadline was noon that day, so Dion took the morning off to take care of Adam while I focussed on putting together my resume and cover letter. Well, I interviewed Monday morning and it went quite well. In my own mind I messed up one question but the post-interview chat was good. I got a feeling that I would like working with this principal and department head. Having sat in on interviewing for my mat-leave substitute at AY was a learning experience. I realised that if they've ruled you out, there is no post-interview chat. People are just too busy. They'd let me know Friday probably, Monday at the latest.

Wednesday afternoon, I got a big hint that I was the candidate. Someone at the board office called, asking me to put it in writing that I understood the implications of going to 0.5 full-time-equivalent status.
"Isn't this premature? I haven't even been offered the position."
"Uh. We just need to know."
The principals have to forward the name of their preferred candidate to the board before offering the position.

So last week was very anxious for me. I had been planning to return to work in February, not September. Adam won't even be 5 months old. OMG childcare! It's a jungle out there to find any childcare. AY is a great school, with model students and a fun, talented, and supportive staff. I must need my head examined. No one leaves "the country club," as the Als call it. It's a half time position. There's no guarantee that I'll be able to go back full time at Jarvis when I want to. My retirement gets delayed.

But despite all that, I knew that this would be the right move. Jarvis is an exciting school. Half-time, 5 minutes on foot from our home works so much better for Adam and by extension our family. Dion's mom, aka Poh-poh, expressed some interest in doing some childcare (who knew!?). Dion could change the start and/or duration of his leave, which he had planned for maybe Jan/Feb/Mar. All of this shifted through my mind and by Thursday night, I was trying not to get my hopes up.

Friday, AY science staff had an end-of-year lunch out at Jane's farm North of Uxbridge. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful setting. Jane's horses were really interested in Adam. I think it was the fragrance in the diapers. And the phone call came while I was there. Of course, I accepted. Sai got on the phone immediately with our principal to talk about what to do with my position at AY. Sai might have a coronary at the ripe old age of 28 (I think he's 28.) Glad it's them not me. Positions of responsibility - too much responsibility!

My new department head has already been in touch with me electronically. We'll be teaching the 9 Applied together. I love a department head who teaches Gr. 9 Applied.

this weekend

This was a beautiful weekend to be outside playing ultimate. Maybe a tad warm. We were also able to enjoy the weekend with Dion's parents (Happy Father's Day, Gandalf!), who were able to enjoy some time with Adam in the shade while we sweated it out on the field. Adam was finally awake for some quality time with Poh-poh. She's been waiting eagerly for that, I think. He cooed for her and I'm sure he showered her with smiles, too.

Play Anything had lots of fun. Here are some shots taken by Amanda Osmond (or at the least with her camera). She posted more at http://picasaweb.google.com/amanda.osmond

Dion's pretending to be short or tired.

Unfortunately, I end up marking much more often than I would like. At least the practice has made me pretty effective at it. I'm also pretty good at calling a switch. :)


I'm looking long. I doubt I did it though.


#1 Fan


Who's the goof in long pants and a floppy hat?

I get a lot of questions about the pants. I feel cooler in them, thermally cooler, that is. They are really lightweight, they keep the sun off, wick sweat away, and dry in a flash. Furthermore, my legs are pasty white. It's not vanity to cover them but laziness and parsimony. Who wants to spend all that time and money for sunblock? And I don't care how stupid that hat looks. It stays on really well and does everything for me that the pants do. This is the first full-sun weekend in my life that didn't end in a sunburn on the face and/or neck. I've played in visors before but they just don't do as good a job.

Adam's growth

It's no wonder that all I want to do is eat.

0 months	1 month	2 months
20.5 in 75th pctile		24 in 85th pctile
7lb 1oz 25th pctile	9lb 11oz 50th pctile	13lb 4oz 84th pctile

Percentiles obtained from http://www.mybirthcare.com/favorites/babygrowthchart.asp

The bassinet is only rated to 17.5 pounds; so, we'll have to assemble his crib before we know it.

Good Morning!

this weekend

We were lucky enough today to spend some time with the Tsang family. They are amazing! Pam and Jesse make it look easy but I'm not fooled. Two babies are undoubtedly more than twice the work. But they're doing something right because everyone looks happy and rested - including Pam and Jesse.

Moms and babies.

Nathan was doing a thorough two year old job of exploring the world but only as much as mom and dad wanted him to. He was also very helpful with putting away toys and he got in all the appropriate "thank yous."

Saturday evening, Adam wanted nothing but company to settle. He has been an eager listener to several short stories in a collection call Island by Alistair Macleod.

Saturday afternoon, Dion and I went out "a deux" to take in the PushPull annual performance. It was really good. Dion's dad, aka gandalf, was kind enough to offer his services and he did a good job looking after Adam for us.

these photos and a couple more in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

Speaking of "Mcleod": Adam's baptism has been scheduled for July 15th at Mcleod-Stewarton United Church at 507 Bank Street in downtown Ottawa. "McLeod-Stewarton United Church is located at the corner of Bank and Argyle, one block north of the Queensway." ALL are welcome. No need to plan ahead but do let us know if you are certain that you're coming so that we have an idea of numbers for munchies afterwards.

Make that thrice.

As in: made a liar out of me thrice. My most recent entry explained how Adam had made a liar out of me twice. Moments later, it became thrice. It's now four - not three- times in the last seven days that he has vastly over-eaten.

I was carrying Adam to the car seat for the trip to our ultimate game when he brought up a small amount of milk, maybe a tablespoonful. But I knew that there was more to come. What to do? Well, I just happened to be standing outside the bathroom. Some quick thinking led to this:


I was just quick enough. He proceeded to empty his stomach - but not on me, just himself and maybe the sink a little too. He sat there very contently while I finished getting ready for the game and found him a new sleeper. We still made it to pick up Marnie and Dion at 6pm sharp. He looks very comfy; so, I think I'll give him his next few baths like this. After that, he'll probably be too big.

A snap from a couple of days ago. too cute!

made a liar out of me - twice!

I think I might need to retract my statement about our having the most beautiful baby in the world. The evidence is now inconclusive. I know passport photos are about as reliable as jailhouse snitches or K-cars but here he is:

I also need to retract my statement about holding up his head when awake. Only when he's WIDE awake. His drowsiness was part of the problem with the photo. It was pretty hard to keep him upright. I had to stick my hand inside his sleeper to prop him up. He was still so happily drunken and floppy that the photographer and I were in stitches watching his antics.

Adam has been pretty clingy this week. He has figured out the concept of "alone" and sometimes he's just not in the mood for it. Part of his trouble is that he now has a third state of consciousness: "awake-not eating". Before this week, his only two states were asleep and awake-eating. This third state is a little frightening, he thinks. He, therefore, seeks frequently to enter the state of awake-eating. Three times in 7 days, this has led to substantial vomitting, which of course leads to more of the awake-eating state. Adam might consider this a virtuous circle. I, of course, consider it to be a vicious circle. The cure is walking. Not ambling around the apartment, but at a pace that could induce sweating in conditions above room temperature.

On the very positive side, Adam seems to clearly understand the difference between day and night. At night, he only eats or sleeps, which allows us to sleep quite well.

Adam and I attended the Ontario Association of Physics Teachers conference at the Ontario Science Centre Thursday evening, Friday, and Saturday. I don't know how much he got out of it but I don't think I got much. Except that Bob Macdonald's presentation was entertaining, of course. And I learned about two-observer space-time grids for solving special relativity problems. They're pretty neat but it'll be hard to fit them in to an already jam-packed unit.

As of Saturday, bathing Adam just got MUCH easier because he consistently holds his back and head straight when awake. He couldn't do this on Wednesday, when Dion bathed him.

photos

No offense to any other babies,

but I think we have the most
beautiful baby in the world.


Full sized, these photos show the golden brown
sweeping into his iris from the pupil outward.

Everyone has many looks but this one, minus
the tongue, matches my mental image of Adam.


Adam's still not that into tummy time.
He's got to be in the mood for it. My camera
did an amazing job with skin tone here.

Mom finally assembled a baby chair for me
because I'm actually awake now and then.
I'm not so sure about this chair.


It can definitely be fun.

Or overstimulating and scary.
I don't think I've ever lasted 10 minutes in it.


Tighter fits:
the onesie on Adam and Adam in the bassinet.

LOL

These and a few more at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew in print quality. There are 10 here. 15 there. 33 on my hard drive from 60 or so that I shot.

ding! gratz!

In the past little while, Adam has levelled in a couple of areas.

- outgrown some clothes and moved from newborn-size to size 1 diapers, which are much cheaper
- eyebrows and eyelashes are much more substantial
- holds head pretty steady when awake and upright
- lets me know when I'm forgetting to sing while he eats
- enjoys making and reading facial expressions
- does not enjoy being alone
- much more purposeful reaching and grabbing
- puts on his happy face much sooner in the eating process, i.e., not just at the last second but as we are walking to the dining room where he has his daytime meals

Plus, because he's awake a lot more, I've had to watch his eating cues more carefully. It used to be very simple. When he woke up, he wanted to eat. When he fell asleep, he was done eating.

full month party

Yesterday was really fun and Adam was even more angelic that his usual angelic self for pretty much the whole day.

I had done a little online research and learned that red eggs and ginger are de rigeur for a full month party. I got up earlyish, fed Adam, and got to Chinatown around 8:45am in search of candied ginger. I assumed that things got going early in Chinatown. Not so. Maybe a fifth of the stores opened at 9am, most at 11am. Two large Chinese grocers were open but they didn't have candied ginger. I was directed to the ginger candies instead. Luckily, I found an open bulk store in Kensington that sold it ($7/kg, I think). I bought eggs and canned beets (for the dye) at Dominion and a Cinnabon as a peace offering for Dion in case my errands took too long and there was a scene, despite my having left a bottle of breast milk "just in case." They were both still fast asleep when I got home. Turns out, Dion didn't even know I was gone, let alone that he was home alone with Adam.

Aside: Adam had a bottle of breastmilk on Wednesday, which he took quite happily. Dion offered the bottle when he wanted to eat _again_ half an hour after having eaten for over an hour straight.
We haven't needed to do a bottle again yet and I'm leary of substituting a regular feeding with a bottle as our paediatrician warned that _my_ going more than 5 or 6 hours without nursing could diminish my supply. Anyway, I've started building up a small stock of breastmilk in our freezer for future use.

continued: Adam being sound asleep, I had time to shower before Adam's next meal and then he went right back to sleep, giving me time to dye the eggs and pack up everything we would need for the day at Dion's parents' place. We cart so much stuff around now that we have a shopping cart to move everything to the car. The beets weren't dying the eggs fast enough, so I turned to red food colouring. It did the trick. I added a little blue because I thought the red alone looked a little orange.

Dion's family was definitely surprised by the red eggs and ginger. It was a big hit with a number of people who couldn't remember the last time they had had a red egg. I got compliments too because the eggs were hardboiled just right and the colour was so vivid. I think the ginger is "supposed" to be pickled, not candied. But I definitely like candied version better and it smells better sitting out all day than does pickled ginger. Before I mentioned the red eggs and ginger, Dion had never heard of it. There is some disagreement on whether Dion's family has done this before. His mother and Aunt Edith say no but his Aunt Leela says that their mother did it for Dion and his cousins. They'll have to settle that themselves. I forgot to ask if there were red eggs for Dion's cousins on his father's side.

We were there from 1 or 2 in the afternoon until about 11 and Adam hardly fussed all day - it just took me a while to settle him enough to get in the carseat to go home. Fortunately or unfortunately, he was asleep the whole day. A little boring perhaps but he was peaceful enough that we could pass him around so that everyone could hold him, even a few people - like Bob here - who are skittish around babies.

Anyway, the day was really fun. The food was terrific and the company was great.

Here are some pictures of Adam that Uncle Yan took at the end of the day, in almost complete darkness. I'm a little envious of his lens. These were taken at an f-stop of 1.8. I love a wide open aperture.

Is he winking?

drowsy Adam

and gone. Notice how the depth of field is so small
that his eyes are in focus but his nostrils are not?

All these photos and more at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

weight gain

The eating machine went to see his doctor today. The doctor is happy with an ounce of weight gain per day but our eating machine gained two ounces a day for the past 16 days, i.e., 2 lb in just over 2 weeks. Total 9 lb 11 oz.

On being a mother

This post is insired by the mother's day entry by Pam on their blog: http://nathantsang.blogspot.com/2007/05/happy-mothers-day.html

I'm not sure yet how being a mother will change me/ being parents will change us. From what I've observed in other people, there's no doubt that it does. I don't feel any different though. It'll probably take some time and I think the time away from school will make a difference.

I'm all about being a teacher. Not that I won't be a teacher again or that I'm not a teacher now. One of my concerns has been about how being a parent will affect my relationship with my students. Is there a little less nurturing for them? Will I still go that extra mile? Will I still run "open gym" Fridays after school when I have my own child/ren to go home to?

See also http://lewfamily.blogspot.com/2006/06/open-gym.html

fattening

Adam's not exactly chubby yet but he's starting to soften up.

NEW: a fold in each arm and thigh plus an extra chin

very Adam. one of his most common looks. I also like that this pic shows off his hands.

Despite what some of his acquaintances might think, Adam does cry sometimes.

ooooooooou!

These photos appear in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew. The album is now sorted by date. These photos are last. I couldn't find a way to make it reverse-chronological.

eating machine

Adam has spent about half of the last 5 hours eating. Okay, maybe only a third. But definitely more than a quarter. Growth spurt perhaps.

babysitting

To say that Dion was babysitting while I was out this evening is no slight to the significance of his childcare. The distinction is quantity, not quality. Whereas Dion is an occasional babysitter, I am a full-time babysitter.

Do I have that right?

first word and more photos

It may be polysyllabic, neither English nor Cantonese, but we predict that Adam's first word will be "Gesundheit!" He hears it as regularly as "Hi Adam."

We have posted the following photos and more in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

Try a push-up you say? Sounds fun!

Okay, I'm trying.

Oh, forget it. That's way too hard. I'm taking a nap.

This guy's hair looks nothing like mine.
Not that I know what mine looks like.

I must learn from the Master.

Mom made my first toys for me. They crinkle.

a few more photos and weight gain

around sunrise, I think

with dad. quality time?

Wouldn't it be nice to believe that he was actually smiling at 10 days?

completely gorgeous, no? I know, I am biased.

I have about a dozen great shots from this shoot.
I could hardly choose which ones to post.

self-portrait using the bathroom mirror

He makes the funniest faces sometimes.

Poh-poh cannot get enough.


Gung-gung either.

Adam's doing really well gaining weight.
0 days: 3220 g (7lb 1 oz)
1 day: 3035 g
2 days: 3020 g
9 days: 3320 g
12 days: 3487 g (7lb 11oz)

Someday, Dion will get more photos posted in print quality to http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

poses

Unfortunately, they happen too fast to catch on film but Adam has quite a repertoire of poses. We've given the most common ones names. Some will be easy to envision based on their titles
- Divo - hand rising, palm facing face, arm outstretched
- Champion(s) - two fists above the head, elbows locked
- Half Champion - one fist above the head, elbow locked
- The Wave, aka Touch Down or Field Goal
- Question!- one open hand above the head, elbow locked
- Vogue - left hand on left ear, right hand under left elbow
- I'm Not Listening. - hand flat across each ear
- I Can't Hear You. - thumb behind each, fingers splayed

Adam's cheeks are firmer than they used to be (muscle tone from all that vigorous eating, I guess) and I'm sure our doctor's appointment today will confirm that Adam is already a fair bit heavier.

If time permits today, we will be uploading more photos to http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew