4-month check up

Clean bill of health and growth. I've been telling people that Adam is 18 pounds, which is overstating it by only 4 ounces. I'm glad his "height" more than matches though. I'm pretty sure that this is my side of the family showing up. With his complexion and eye-shape, he will always look like his father but at least he takes after me in some way. Other than some teething pain, he's a happy, healthy guy. He didn't cry because of the vaccinations, which even the paediatrician found surprising. He writhed and jammed his fists (both of them) in his mouth instead.

0 mo	1 mo	2 mo	3 mo	4 mo
WEIGHT in lb,oz followed by percentile
7,1	9,11	13,4		17,12
25th	50th	84th		93rd
LENGTH in inches followed by percentile
20.5"		24"		27
75th		85th		95th+

And now if you'll excuse me, for some reason I feel the need for a snack!

just a couple of photos

a cuddle with dad

This was over a week ago. When I went to the washroom he was here.

When I returned from the washroom, he was here.

a very interesting book

Adam, Dion and I had much fun today visiting with Val, Giselle, Mia, Grace, Nathan, and Pam and (not pictured, Tiee and Jesse). Pretty adorable that Mia and Nathan are holding hand with the littler ones.

more of the moms and babies

in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

OMG We're Old and A Failed Good Deed.

I came across this picture today while sorting through manuals and warranties. Why it was there, I just don't know. Why I was there is easy. I'm giving our old answering machine and its manual to Kevin and Su.

I think the photo would have been taken summer 2000. These people don't look terribly young, just much younger than we do. Conclusion: We're old. I should speak for myself here but, frankly, there's no point. We've all aged. Sorry kids.


Last week, I tried to do a good deed, but the result was a failure. Adam and I were on our way to meet Dion for lunch near King station. An older Chinese couple with very little English were clearly lost on the subway. Some fellow riders were trying to sort things out but no one could quite figure it out. We were between Wellesley and College stations. They just kept repeating Yonge, College, and Dundas. We didn't know if they were asking where we were or telling us where they were going. Now at College station, at the last moment the man decides that they needed to get off. He got off but the doors closed before the woman could get out. Uh oh. So we figure that she should get out at Dundas and wait for him. Her English was even worse than his.

At Dundas, I convinced her to get out despite her protests of "me Yonge Street." That's fine except it's all Yonge Street. In fact, I got off with her to wait on the platform for the man. This seemed the only sensible strategy to me. It took a long time for the next train to come. So we made small talk - in Mandarin! Here is what we learned from each other:

• The man is her younger brother.
• She's from China. (surprise!)
• The baby is my son.
• His father is a Chinese person. (she comes in for a closer look)
• No, not from Beijing, he's Cantonese-speaking. (okay, it was a lie motivated by my ineptitude with Mandarin)
• He's also a Canadian person.
• The baby is three months old.
• I don't understand anything else she asks me.

Oh no! The man was not on the next train! What was he thinking? That was the only sensible solution, right? The woman waves and indicates that she is going. I don't know if she was going to street level or back to College Station. I'll never know. Sigh.

• Thank You!
• You're Welcome.

photos

Tons of good ones. Here are five. These and more in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew asap.

My brother stayed with us for a couple of nights last week and the week before while down on business. He was very self-conscious about reading to Adam. I've seen this in a lot of parenting books, that is, what to do if you have trouble "making conversation" with the baby. Seemed impossible to me. Who is a less critical listener than a baby? Thanks for the book, Dan and Caroline. Adam enjoys it quite a lot.

everything to mouth, of course.

Adam loves to sit or stand. Unfortunately, he's no good at doing either by himself nor will he be any time soon. And it's only now and then that he's in the mood to sit in one of his chairs for any length of time. Singing to him while doing dishes can put him in the mood though.

just a headshot I like. There were about half a dozen from this "shoot" to choose from.

Dion and I _finally_ put Adam's crib together this weekend. Mostly Dion. I held stuff. Adam's been crowded in his bassinet for a couple of weeks now, especially since he's been rolling over and fond of sleeping on his front. Thanks to Lianne for the crib donation and to the RSA gang for the bedding.

Me, Me, Meme

Quoting Kristin:

"dietrich has thrown me a stöckchen - has tagged me to write 8 random facts about myself. heard about blog memes? this seems to be similar to the "5 things about me" blog meme."

Now it's my turn. And I agree, random is impossible here. But am I supposed to put stuff that most people wouldn't already know about me? This is hard.

1 - I hate the Sound of Music. I generally dislike most "break into song" musicals. It interrupts the suspension of my disbelief. I make exceptions for some comedies, e.g., Grease, but generally, I prefer musicals if all or nearly all dialogue is sung, e.g. in Evita. But let's be clear. I really hate the Sound of Music, not just because of the breaking into song. Too saccharine is at the top of the long list of things I hate about the SoM. However, now and then I sing two SoM songs to Adam: Do Re Mi and Favourite Things.

2 - I have a birthmark on my lower left thigh. It's about the size and shape of the head of a tablespoon and dark brown. I usually forget about it but now and then someone is really surprised by it, which surprises me.

3 - I like wearing socks and sandals.

4 - For special occasions, I give extra attention to my ears in the shower and I like to wear jewellery with sentimental value, usually my mother's jewellery. Otherwise, I hardly ever wear jewellery (other than my wedding band) or make up.

5 - I now make very LA Story orders at Starbucks, including recently: "for here venti extra hot hot chocolate with whip" and "tall extra hot soy milk red tea latte."

6 - I lose rolls of masking tape but end up with extra erasers all the time.

7 - I'm very prickly about my singing.

8 - I often want car rides to last longer. I'm usually feeling disappointed as I near the destination.

Your turn Gina. I also thought about picking Kevin (too predictable), Kern (has Day 3 to write still), Becky (on vacation), Pam and Jesse (already very prolific), and MarkMark (very unprolific).

This entry typifies my difficulty with blogging. It's the diversity of a public audience. I have close friends, acquaintances, relatives, in-laws, co-workers, former students, and maybe even current/future students reading the blog. It's very challenging to select content for that audience. And once selected, it is challenging to write the material, certainly in an interesting manner. There is prior knowledge to consider and things are easily misunderstood, not understood, or even offensive if they are not clearly, and thus, potentially boringly over-explained.

So fellow bloggers, I ask you: How do you handle the lines of clear-vs-concise and safe-vs-interesting? I realise that these adjectives aren't necessarily poles and that the so-called lines aren't really orthogonal either.

More babies!

I copy from Kevin's blog again:

"Rob and Rebecca are pregnant! (well, really Rebecca is pregnant and Rob is responsible for it) They are expecting their "little Ho" (her words, not mine) January 26, 2008.

You can read more about it here."

Congratulations!

Litter Reunion

It's too bad we missed several former players but the Litter Reunion on Saturday was quite fun.

Here are my pictures in no particular order. Sorry I didn't get everyone and the ones I got of some people are pretty poor (my fault - not the subject's!). Ah well. Anyway, print-quality versions are posted at: http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

This just in...

Jaclyn tells me that a $75 purchase at Shopper's Drugmart this weekend earns you two Cineplex movie tickets.

rolling over and photos

Adam has been rolling over front-to-back for a couple of weeks now but today he rolled back-to-front. Good stuff!

Dion and Adam Caught on Film

airplane!

The bug is in better focus than the boys but I don't care!

doin' what they does best

We were all TUCkered after the midseason tournament. Sorry.

boot to the head

Just Adam
There were so many good ones from this "roll of film" that I could hardly choose which ones to post. All these and more at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew

Got it! My feet are an obsession of mine.

I do enjoy my airplane rides.


eyes clearing turning brown

christening and the Ottawa folks

Adam's baptism was a really lovely ceremony. Adam is the first of the third generation of Fletcher-Patersons to be baptised at McLeod-Stewarton United Church and the first of the fifth generation to wear the christening gown made entirely by hand by my grandmother's grandmother. Unfortunately, we had to unstitch some gathers at the wrist so that the gown would fit on the eating machine. I really liked the minister and Adam was absolutely angelic. He actually slept through the entire ceremony. I think he noticed it but he didn't deem it worth opening his eyes when the water touched his forehead.

My cousin Jennifer and I are starting to look more like the "Hobbsey Twins" we liked to call ourselves when we were children.


CUTE! Adam, Mackenzie (4 years), and Keira (13 months). The girls are daughters of my long-time friend, Doug, and his wife, Melanie. You should have seen Keira have an absolute fit when her mother held Adam in _her_ lap.


My Aunt Bev knows a thing or two about babies. Adam looks very cozy in her arms.


Granddad makes a pretty cozy bed also.


Adam loves stripes so he must have been rather happy here with my cousin, Bruce.


Uncle Ian trying to be as cute as Adam. A nice try, Ian, but it can't be done.


Adam and Greatauntie Joan in the nursery.


Adam and Greatauntie Jean in the nursery.


Adam, Mackenzie, and Doug in the nursery.


Dion looks awfully happy considering his son is wearing a dress.

These pics and more at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew. Sorry, either I took no photo or no photo turned out well for the other people who attended the christening. :(

photos

1 - reading and reaching

A reader already! But there's a lot in this photo. That stretchie (aka snug sleeper) was purchased as part of 3 for $25 in Denver. I saw it in Yorkdale today for 3 for $40. US and Can dollars are nearly equal these days. And that sleeper is labelled 6 to 9 months! It's hard to tell here but he is reaching for the book. Since Sunday, his swipes have turned into definite reaches. That towel is rolled up next to him to keep him from sleeping on the flat side of his head, that is, the right side. I don't know if Adam has a favourite book but I've had I Kissed the Baby memorised for a long time now.

2 - playing and reaching
Adam isn't afraid of his toys anymore.


3 - eating and reaching
This morning, I had to give Adam something to look at so that he would stop craning his head around and start to eat. The wall behind me is blank. This is one of his old "toys" (crayoned shapes on foolscap) tucked between my arm and ribs. I have a much better photo and although it is perfectly PG, it shows just a little too much of me for me to post it on my blog. This one hides everything but my shoulder.


4 - reaching and sleeping
He had turned those pages by himself. Probably by accident but by himself nonetheless.


a glam shot. I admit that this one is staged with a light outfit and background to make him stand out more.


Do you think no one knows I have no teeth?


I'm cute and I know it.


Kristin's tales of antics and capers aren't entertaining enough to keep me awake.


Serious poses everyone.
Tiffany, this is Adam.


Content poses everyone.
Adam, this is Tiffany.


O man. He will be rolling over before we're ready.


The Carancis had this made for Adam by one of their own. It is lovely and it gets lots of use.


She knows what she's doing, right? right?!
I love it when he wrinkles his forhead. He can even do one side at a time.


Canada Day with Dad at Poh-Poh and Gung-Gung's house.


In about a month, I'll be allowed to face forward in the Snugli. I'll get more out of the piano lessons then.


But for now, looking at Dad is just what I want anyway.

These photos and a few more are available in print quality at http://picasaweb.google.com/dion.lew