Sunday, December 20, 2009

Geaux Hornets


Friday night, Mom and Dad took me to my first Hornets game.

Dad even wore the appropriate colors...

It was fun!

Can't you see how excited I was?

What's that you say? I seem to be sleeping in every picture?!?!
Nonsense.
I insist: That is my excited face.

Dad was super happy because he got to see Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets play. Dad hearts 'Melo because he played at 'Cuse, which means he secretly has orange blood.

prize fighter

Ain't it the truth.


Not sure what class I qualify for: super flyweight? I did break the turkey mark this week at 10 pounds 3 ounces.

Monday, December 14, 2009

House Tour

Dad went over to the new house on Sunday and filmed a virtual tour so Mom and I could check it out. We were all really impressed with how much sheetrock was hung! And we have doors!
It looks like a real house.
Dad filmed quite the documentary.






Thumb


Dear Diary,
Today I found my thumb.
It is delicious.
But only for one day.
Marcus

Friday, December 11, 2009

Go 'Cuse!

Let's go Orange...


Mom dressed me in my game gear yesterday morning for the big game against Florida last night. I was kind of nervous so got a little fussy around 3 -- I mean, I still had hours to wait for the game. But I was careful not to spit up on my outfit. Or pee on it. Or drag my Baby Legs* through poop.
Go me!

And because Dad and I were orange strong, Florida tried to bring it. But we gave 'em the smack down.

And maybe I'm talking smack right now -- you'll just never know if I'm yawning or cheering in the last picture Mom took.


*my fabulous leg warmers.

Gingers Unite


My Aunt Chavie came to see me last week. She's awesome. And I say that not just because she's put up with Mom all these years, but because she has red hair. Just like me.
And when she was born, everyone in the delivery said, "She has red hair" while giving strange looks to her Puerto Rican parents. Just like me.
Well, I don't mean that Mom and Dad became Puerto Rican, I just mean, there was some question of whether the milkman was involved.

So, we had a fantastic time with Aunt Chavie. I went to the airport (twice), we walked (though apparently mom tricked her into walking way farther than she thought we were going), we looked out the living room windows,


made googly faces,

(wait a minute, she made googly face with Tenzing. too?)

visited my dude friend, Sullivan,


and ate really yummy stuff, like beignets,


pizza

Mom's friend Tiki, her husband, William, and their daughter, Ryan at Slice

and everything from Sucre.


Oh mama.

Aunt Chavie's favorite part was when Mom woke her up 5 minutes before leaving to take Dad to work. I believe she told her if that I woke up crying, to "Stay calm, give him his pacifier, and try to comfort him." Poor Aunt Chavie wasn't even awake yet.

sigh.
I was nice to her.

And Mom's favorite part was when she asked Chavie to watch me for a few minutes and Chavie asked her:
AC: What do I do if he starts crying? Just shake him?
M: umm, no, don't shake him... (laughter).
AC: No?
We came to realize that this was a case of verb confusion (shake vs rock/sway), but it was pretty funny.

Now, what you may have realized by this point, is that Mom collects red heads. There's Aunt Sam, Aunt Chavie, Tiki (party bonus: William is a redhead, too), and Sullivan's mom, Heather. I am apparently her trophy ginger, which I don't mind at all. I mean, unless she stuffs me and sticks me over the mantle.
We don't have a mantle, so I should be safe.

What she doesn't realize is that despite her completely unintentional infatuation with gingers, we are planning to take over the world and communicate in code. Like the Navajos.

I am not sure of all the details or our revolution, but there was something or other about Loreal, shades of me, and hair color. Look at all the options.


Gingers of the world, Unite!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

I'm a big boy now

Today Mom took me to the doctor for my 1 month (4 week) checkup. Like last time, I astounded everyone with my dashing good looks and Herculean strength. Most importantly, I gave Mom some ongoing proof that I excel at eating. And pooping, but who's keeping score?

Here's my new stats:
  • weight: 9 pounds, 7.5 ounces (50%)
  • height: 22 inches (75%)
Clearly, I am a giant.

In anticipation of our appointment, Mom pulled out some lovely big boy pants for me to wear for the first time. Mom said they were jeans, but Dad kept saying they were dungarees as he was dressing me.

All I can say is pants with feet? bah. Those are for babies.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving was a bevvy of activity and visitors. As mentioned, I got to meet my aunt, uncle, and cousin. But I also got to meet Nana and Pop Pop, Mom's mom and dad.



And Mom and Dad took me on my first road trip: To the Northshore. I got to meet a whole bunch of new people, though Mom and Dad didn't take a whole lot of pictures.

My cousin Debbie is holding me here. I really liked her. She made me feel very calm.


And I got to spend lots of quality time with Aunt Donna. We had met already -- she came over to hang out with us for lunch one day (and brought a yummy salad for her and Mom to enjoy -- I enjoyed it later). Aunt Donna talks to me in funny voices and makes faces at me -- so we have a really good time together.
I showed off my huge neck muscles. She was dutifully impressed.


Maybe next time, I can play with the big kids, like Emma June.


Here's what I thought of the day in general.

Well, except for the car ride home. I really HATE traffic. So I put on my grumpy pants and howled until we got on the bridge.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Busy Tuesday

Today Mom had a busy day planned for us.


First, my Aunt Julia, Uncle JP and cousin, Emma June came over to meet me and hang out. Here's JP trying to eat my brains.


And Julia and EJ being super cute. Or rather, just being themselves


After they left for the day, Mom's friend Kristal came over with her boyfriend, Roy. Kristal is studying to be a doctor at Tulane and worked with Mom at UPenn. She thought I was pretty cute. I thought about showing my approval by peeing, but decided to cry for Mom Juice instead.


And then we went to go meet my first dude friend, Sullivan. His mom and dad are Heather and John. Sullivan and Ryan have a lot in common: they put their moms through 42- and 37-hour labors, respectively.

See Mom, don't ever tell me I''m difficult. Even if I am having an I-want-to-nurse-all-day-and-don't-you-dare-try-to-put-me-down-to-pee days.

My First Dinner Party

With Mom and Dad's friends Tanya, Mike and Maggy. They made yummy food, as per usual, and we played pass the Marcus while Mike cooked.


Mom and Dad love getting a night off dish duty. And I love when people have sweaters that feel like my favorite blanket.
Maggy was really excited to see Mom and Dad and thought I was pretty neat, too. She was very concerned when I started crying after dinner and wanted to fix everything.

Alas, only the mom juice will do in those kinds of situations.

Monday, November 23, 2009

My 3rd Sunday

Was spent relaxing with Mom and Dad. Well, and having costume changes -- I got to wear 6 different outfits. Good times.

See, here I am chllin' with Mom in the morning.


And here I am hangin' with Dad in the afternoon. We were working hard on document review.


And I even tried my swing -- though I have to say it's not to my liking. I humored Mom and Dad for a few minutes.


And then the bewitching hour happened. I turned into a Grouchasaurus with an intense bout of colic.

Poor Mom and Dad. They could hardly keep up with me -- mostly because I had gas and hiccups and kept crying, which means I was swallowing more air. And the flailing limbs... Then I would pee and soak my clothes. So then I would have to be changed and, wo-is-me, I hate getting a fresh diaper when I'm cranky. So I would cry some more to express my utter dissatisfaction with the situation.
I finally settled down after a couple hours, and passed out on Mom's chest. She also passed out from exhaustion. Dad had already passed out. We had a good sleep and everyone feels refreshed this morning.

Except for Tenzing, who is acting like an animal today.
I am starting to suspect that he actually is an animal, but this idea is unsubstantiated.

Of course, I have not yet found my own tail, either.

My first girlfriend

On Friday evening, Mom and Dad took me to meet my first girlfriend. Her name is Ryan and she was born 2 weeks after me (and she's still bigger than me: I weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces when mom weighed me at 2 weeks). We met through our mom's bellies, and I think she was poking me in the eye. Further proof that she is a real trouble maker: she put her mom and dad through 37 hours of labor.
She also wasn't too thrilled that I came to see her when she didn't have her hair done, so she cried the most of the time we were with her mom and dad.
Here's some pictures of Ryan with her mom, Tiki


And here's her dad, William, who was pretty tired but very happy. He must have stolen that shirt from my dad, who we all know is the best dad in the world.

High Tea and What Happens When You Pass Out at the Party

High Tea
Here I am apparently having just finished my cup of tea.


Note my pinky.

I am clearly British, not a Yat*.

* see link for translation, for all you non-New Orleanians

What Happens When You Pass Out at the Party
And here's what happens when you drink a little too much mom juice and pass out at the party. Someone dresses you up in your Halloween costume. Even though it's November.
The end of November.
(sigh)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Grand Tour de l'alimentation et la vie

Or: The Grand Tour of Food and Life


In the almost 2 weeks since I hatched, mom and dad have really been getting the hang of me. I have been putting them through an intense training regimen and am please to report that they have exceeded my expectation. They can both change my diaper while avoiding the dreaded projectile poop. I tend to aim it at the wall for dad (and it really does run down the entire wall so they have to pull the dresser out to get it all) and the airpot for mom. They unfortunately do occasionally have to wash all the cloth diapers if I drop a bomb during a changing.
I just feel so airy and free as a lark once they take my diaper off that, well, you know...
My fire hose does still get them once in a while. Or at least the cloth on top of me, my shirt, and, if I'm really lucky, my socks. I hate socks, so, all the better. I'm pretty good at taking them off anyway.
Regardless of which one it is, mom and dad think it's pretty funny so I'm happy to keep making them laugh. It's the least I can do, right?
Really, I'm practicing to be the next Jackson Pollack (sans cancer stick, of course):


And mom can nurse me with one arm, which is handy for when she wants to multitask. Speaking of multitasking, I sometimes like to poop while eating, which always gets some funny faces out of mom.

I had my 1 week check-up on the 12th and amazed everyone with my alertness and neck control. Mom is pretty sure the doctor tells everyone they have a perfect baby, but she still went ahead and let her ego be fluffed. To substantiate my amazing eating skills, I gained back the 5 oz I lost, plus 4 more. So I weighed in at 7 lb 12 oz last Thursday. I did lose a half inch -- but Pops says it's because I'm less coneheaded and my caput went down some.
Oh well, I'll just fluff my hair next time.
I can't wait to see what I weigh at my next appointment -- when I'm a whole month old. That'll be Mom's b-day, so I plan to do her proud.

And, let's see, what else?
Mimi helped mom figure out how to to use the Moby last night, which is awesome.

They practiced on an unwitting Raggedy Andy. Poor fella.

I fit much better than he did -- I mean without having my legs folded up next to my head. This means, mom really can hold me all the time if I want her to.
Maybe not the best thing, but she can take me for walks and vacuum. She still loves that vacuum -- in fact, I got so used to it before hand, that I kind of like the sound. Or at least I don't dislike it.

Yesterday I also had my first sponge bath which was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed it, which allayed Mom's fears. She thought it would be like rocket science, but it was easy breezy. And it knocked some of my peeling skin off for a day... My hair was nice and soft afterwards.




And since last Thursday, Mimi and Pops took us on culinary tour of the city.

We went to Domenica, Dragos, NOLA, and Commanders Palace for brunch (Mom took Mimi and me to St. James Cheese Company for lunch yesterday, which made us all feel like we were on vakay). Here's some pictures from Commanders:

Needless to say, I slept through their song (Baby face, you got the cutest little baby face...), but that's no different than any of the other meals. I let mom finish eating before I decide to wake up, which means she got to practice nursing in public. She quickly discovered that not having her Boppy and comfy chair means that she requires some extra hands at this stage.
And I wasn't thrilled about that diaper change on 2 chairs at a coffee shop... Thankfully Mimi was there. Well, I guess it would have been ok, but I really had to go and soaked my clothes. Mom had packed a change -- but it was the shirt I came home from the hospital in and I outgrew it. So after suffering the indignity of being stuffed into a too small shirt -- a crop top, really -- Dad cut it off of me at the next clothing change.


So right now, I'm waiting for Mom to finish the laundry so she can feed me some more and change my diaper. Mostly, I'm just super excited for Dad to come home tonight so I can pee on him. I mean make googly eyes with him. He's awesome and Mom and I really missed him the last 2 nights (he went to Chicago for an important ERISA meeting). I kind of gave mom a hard time the first night because she let me sleep too long during our trip to Commanders. Dad said I'm getting a time out, but I'm pretty sure when he sees me, he'll forget all about that silly little threat. I am quite cute -- plus my Jedi mind tricks are quite powerful.