How we sleep III

Or IV, or V, or VI ... honestly, I lose count. Here's our daughter, nigh on to midnight, doing her best Jesus impression.

Big boy

Lincoln is a couple weeks from his four-month checkup, but my mom, who's visiting this weekend with Dad, agrees that he's a very big boy. We're thinking 12-13 lbs. His strength is amazing compared to Greta at this age. He actually enjoys tummy time and lifts his head up like a perfect little turtle. And when he doesn't want to straighten his legs on the changing table, you might as well resign yourself to snuggling a naked baby.

I credit all the yummy Mommy milk for his supernatural powers. The kid eats like a champ and with all those antibodies, he hasn't been sick once! (knock on virtual wood)

I guess what I'm saying is I think he's really neat and it's an honor to call him "son." Although the nicknames of the moment are "squirrel," "squirt" and "the biggest of the bigs."

Mehr Fotos mit Onkels Chris und Luk

Chris just IM'd me from Germany, so they made it home safely. Greta is already asking, "Where are my friends?"

Onkel Chris

Our friends from Germany -- who we last saw in 1994 when Chris (pictured) was just a boy (11? 12?) -- completed their U.S. vacation and stayed with us last night before flying back to Frankfurt.

It was so nice having a conversation with non-Americans about the world, America, the "war" on terrorism. And it was even nicer having someone else hold Lincoln for awhile! Chris and his brother Luk even insisted on helping Carey clean the kitchen after dinner. Credit their good German upbringing, I guess.

We're planning a reciprocal trip of our own to Deutschland, after Lincoln can walk and both are a little more obedient. They live just outside Stuttgart, and it's great to know we'll have a place to stay!

Slumber party

When Max and Esme visited last weekend, I thought about what it will be like in a few years when all the kids are somewhere between 3-8 years of age. I envision slumber parties with sleeping bags on floors, with Max and Greta telling ghost stories to their younger siblings.

We had a slumber party of our own at Ward Place this morning. It only lasted a few minutes before the morning rush of showers, breakfast and Elmo, but it was very sweet. Sorry, I couldn't point the camera at myself. You don't want to see me in my boxers anyway.

Trial run

As Rob mentioned last week, Greta, Lincoln and I made the first trip to upstate New York from our new home. It was very much a utilitarian trip: retrieve our cats, Jinx and Sasha (who Aunt Colleen cared for since May during our crazy sell a house/buy a house/have a baby/move/start new jobs summer), and make a trip to the New York DMV in Pulaski to resolve an issue with my driver's license so that I can become a bona fide New Jersey driver. It also served as a gauge for how difficult (or not) it will be to see the grandparents. Turns out it is a VERY easy drive! Lincoln slept for all but a half hour of the 3:45 trip, which meant no pit stops were necessary. Greta amused herself with her baby dolls, kiddie karaoke, a variety of snacks, and a two hour nap. We arrived hungry but happy at Colleen's house just outside of Syracuse, where she was mixing up her yummy chocolate chip cookies.

The reunion between Greta and Jinx was very sweet. She told him: "I missed you, kitty cat. You come to my new house in New Jersey." He sniffed her hand (nose kisses) and let her pet him for a long time.

The kids amused themselves with dress up, baby dolls, the backyard swing set, and a trip to the zoo (I'll share a funny story about the baboons later this week). Colleen and I drank lots of tea and she got to reminisce about her babies while she gave Lincoln a bath and cuddled him. I think she could handle a fourth, but she swears three is it. Matthew, Allison, and Emily could not get enough of Lincoln, each trying to best the others in getting him to smile and burp. I think Matthew won, as he quickly mastered the "nose tap" that instantly resulted in baby gurgles and grins.

We also enjoyed a nice dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Pandillo (who was meeting Lincoln for the first time). Greta got more than her fair share of Grandma-time feeding the fish, picking tomatoes, and playing tickle monster. If only I could bottle her giggles and open them later when I need a laugh!

A short but sweet visit, with many more guaranteed.

Cousins

The jury's still out on my job, the house is a money pit coated with deadly lead dust, but THIS is why we moved to New Jersey:

Aunt Sara, Uncle Peter and cousins Max and Esme came over this afternoon for the first time. Max and his Dad played lots of soccer in the backyard, while Greta and Esme eventually warmed up to each other and had fun pushing one another on the swing.

Mom, I managed to corral the brood once for a photo, and this is the best I could do. Not half bad, actually. At least they're all looking in the general direction of the camera.

Next post on Saturday...

Just a note to daily readers that Carey is in Syracuse with the kids and the camera, so nothing to share until Saturday at the earliest. I'm told cousin Matthew (he's in second grade) is trying to teach Lincoln how to do "arm farts." Greta is loving playing dress-up with her older girl cousins, Allison & Emily. And Daddy is loving watching TV without having to burp Lincoln at the same time!

Sleep habits

I know ... get a life, Dad, it's almost 3:30 a.m.! But I'm not sleeping well tonight, so thought I'd share this. Here's how Greta is sleeping as I type.
Note the bed above her head. So the question is: Has she outgrown the toddler bed? Or is she comforting herself at night when she wakes up by moving to the floor, which is how she and I slept together for a few weeks immediately after Lincoln's birth? (when the middle-of-the-night feedings were fast and furious and she kept waking up)

What do y'all think? Just a quirky kid or time to buy a twin-sized bed? Please chime in with comments.

Bubbles!

Carey's been crowing about Lincoln's bubble blowing lately and I finally saw it first-hand tonight. Here's how the little bugger greeted me when I got home from work. Click the photo to enlarge it and see the spit hanging from his lips.

Naturally I wanted to get a shot of both of us blowing bubbles, so I could claim it was something I taught my son. But he wasn't very cooperative. Still, the spit's there if you look hard enough. Good job, boy.

Sunday

Just a quick Monday morning post to share a couple photos. Carey liked this one of me and Lincoln. Mostly because he's smiling for once, and I'm looking dour. Sunday was very tiring, that's my only explanation for the visage.

We did have fun in the afternoon attending the annual South Orange Newcomer's Day. It was a little like a collegiate career fair. Everyone from the Rotary Club to the library hawking their services. Learned a few things about trash pickup and recycling, while Greta kept her wary distance from all the strangers and the weirdo in the "Cat in the Hat" costume.

The Merrills take Manhattan

We braved the skyscraper canyons today for the first time. Our friends from Germany, Chris & Luk Braeuninger, are visiting the U.S. and we met them in Central Park. Before we made it to the zoo, a woman on the street kindly gave us an invitation to a Barbie event taking place inside. So Greta scored a schwag bag featuring her first Barbie and Dad got to see Mira Sorvino, who was the celebrity spokesperson for some animal rights group that sponsored the event. Greta also took part in her first protest march, chanting, "We Love Animals!" as the kids marched around the zoo. After, we enjoyed a nice lunch somewhere on Park Ave. and were home in time for a late nap.

"The Four Seasons" (Or "Greta Dressed Herself")

Hat from spring, dress from summer, trick-or-treat basket from autumn, and boots from winter.


Even sillier than the outfit is the dialogue that went with it. While I washed dishes this morning, Greta first walked into the kitchen with the boots on and informed me: "It's snowing outside. I need my boots." When I replied, "Really? Snow?" she said, "No, mom. I'm pretending." A few minutes later she walked through again, this time carrying the basket, and told me she was "going shopping at Target and then going to the market." I told her we needed bread and eggs. She said "I know mom. I already have them." Sure enough, her play food loaf of bread and two eggs were rolling around at the bottom of her basket. Just as I finished up the dishes, she called for me to carry her baby down the stairs because she couldn't carry the basket and her doll. I noticed she had added a hat she outgrew last summer (which is why the chin strap is across her eyes). When I asked her about it, she declared it was sunny and she needed to keep the sun out of her eyes. Every day is sunny with you, my dear. Every day.

First NJ farmer's market

Greta, Linc and I walked to the South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC!) parking lot yesterday for the weekly farmer's market. I was taken in by the red peppers, Macintosh apples and broccoli crowns, but Greta made for the sweet stuff. She chose this M&M cookie, half the size of her head, which she shared with me and the pigeons.

Sister's serenade

For those of you who oohed and ahhed over Greta's Happy Birthday to Lincoln singing debut, prepare yourselves for this gem.

Love handles

Carey chides me for not posting enough photos of Lincoln. So here's one of the Pudge Muffin as I appreciate the fat rolls he's growing on his sides, just like Daddy.

New trick

Greta's got lots of 'em, of course, but I thought this one was best to share since it will scare her Grandpa Jerry. New Jersey has brought out the climber in our little girl. She wants to climb everything -- from Lincoln's crib to every apparatus on the playground. This is a particularly nasty climb, with about 18 inches between steps and nearly vertical. But our little girl bested it on her first attempt and now she scampers up it like a pro.

Yes, Dad, I spotted her the first few times, but then her independent streak showed through: "Don't help me, Dad! I can do it!"

Indeed you can, little monkey.

Artist at work

Inspired by Southern Belle Ella, we captured Greta last week at her cousins' house painting in the buff.

Wednesday images

Two shots for today. A few of you are clamoring for something showing the new house. This is the best we can do until the weekend, when one of us can hold the kids while the other crosses the street for a wide enough angle.

And this is the "dirtiest Greta has ever been in her whole life," according to her mother. Click the image to see the grime on her face, shirt and legs. They found a favorite playground five blocks from the house. That must be one reason why we pay more than 10% of my salary in property taxes.

Growing up

I know it's mostly just my perception and the arrival of Lincoln, but Greta, if not quite old enough to drive, seems at least about ready for kindergarten. I came home today after my first day as a New York City commuter and she greeted me at the door with a hug. This was after a mid-day phone conversation that ended with me saying, "I love you" and she replying, "I love you too, Dad." And tonight at dinner she made a point of buttering her own roll. And before bed, she voluntarily pooped in the potty!

It all adds up to a pretty mature little girl if you ask me. About the only thing that reminds me she's still only two years and four months old is her impatience. This weekend she busted out a new saying. When told we would swim again tomorrow, she stomped her feet, thrust out her bottom lip and whined, "Not tomorrow, to-NOW!"

Four generations

I think I've recounted our 28-week prenatal check-up... how I told everyone I didn't care if it was a boy or a girl and just wanted 10 fingers and 10 toes. I still believe that, deep down, but I also know that when the doc pointed to the penis and said, "it's a boy," my smile almost cracked my face. I just love the idea of a matched set -- a nuclear family just like the one Sara and I enjoyed growing up. And I love the anticipation of boyhood -- baseball games, tree houses, bruises galore. That's why it was so nice being at camp this weekend, with as Carey put it in the camp log -- "four generations of Merrill men -- from 93 years to 10 weeks."

Out of the darkness

Hey readers -- I missed you! I really did. Felt sort of like a boiling teapot these last nine days. Boiling with thoughts and quips and photos, but unable to release any steam in this blog. I won't bore you all with day-by-day details, but I'll trickle out some stories and photos over the next few weeks.

We spent our first night in the new house on Aug. 27. Both Carey and I agreed that it seemed smaller and quite a bit more run down than it did when we toured it as prospective buyers. But our home inspector assures us the "bones" are healthy, so we figure over time we'll spruce it up just the way we want it.

I start work on Tuesday and we just returned from a weekend visit to my family's "camp" on South Lake in New York's Adirondack Mountains. I'll post photos when our DSL connection is activated and I'm not piggy-backing on a neighbor's wireless with awful upload speeds.

Oh, and Gardner, I'll review the 37" Vizio HDTV as soon as we decide whether DirecTV or Cablevision deserves our dollars. For now, believe me when I say Dora the Explorer on DVD has never looked so good.