State of the Union

Since it is Tuesday, Andrea spent the evening teaching and taking Jazz, so Garrett and I were home with Katie. Tonight Garrett and I watched the State of the Union address. I took this opportunity to explain to Garrett several concepts: President, Congress (Senate and House), Supreme Court, Speaker of the House, Vice President (and role in the Senate), and State of the Union. He responded with an emphatic "booha... eeeeyaaa!".

I was interested when President Bush spoke about increased spending on Alternative Fuels, and I was definitely interested in his education initiatives, since Garrett will be a direct recipient of this. But as usual, the State of the Union address was mostly grand pronouncements and very little substance. After the first 15 minutes, Garrett was hungry, so he ate one bottle and burped, then ate a second bottle through most of the rest. About an hour into the speech, Garrett fell asleep, so I set him down in his carseat and tried to change the laundry. However, this woke him almost immediately, so I buckled him in and whisked him off to Trader Joes, which has become a Tuesday night tradition in the past few weeks. I decided to forgo the frontpack and shopped with his stroller. We ran through the store in less than half an hour, but I forgot a few things (hindsight is 20/20).

Andrea was home before us and Garrett had fallen asleep in the last 5 minutes of the drive home, so Andrea pumped while I started dinner. We watched Gilmore Girls while we ate, and now I'm going to finish up some work, while Garrett is asleep in his bassinet. Andrea wants to do some cleaning because Danielle is coming to watch Garrett tomorrow, but she's so tired that I don't think she'll be able to get much done. Depending on how long I am working, I plan to do some too, but the night has already gotten pretty late.

Strikes and Spares

Tonight we met the gang (Darci, Danielle, Justin, and Natalie) at Lucky Strike Bowling Alley at the Block in Orange. We had a great time bowling and visiting. The third game was our wild game, where people bowled in funny ways (left handed, granny style, backwards through the legs) and Andrea got the best score of the evening. She even scored her first strike of the night using her left hand. Overall we had a great time and we're looking forward to meeting again in February.

Garrett was very curious when we first arrived, then became very upset when he got hungry. Andrea was feeding him and still bowling her frames and after a little while he calmed down. I rocked him to sleep and he slept in his stroller for almost a whole game. After that he played a little while with different people, but was getting tired again as we were finishing up. He fell asleep on the carride home and woke up to eat when we arrived. Then we all got ready and headed to bed.

Martial Artist in the Making

Tonight Andrea brought Garrett to United Studios during the break between the two classes so that I could introduce (show off) Garrett to people. He met Sensei John and Sam in the entryway. Then we ducked into the office so he could meet Sensei Alan. Alan was showing Garrett how to make punching movements with his arms. Garrett decided to grab hold of a finger with each of his hands. Then he started pulling them in opposite directions, until Alan said "hey, that kinda hurts". I have to admit, I have never gotten a 3rd Degree Black Belt in a submission hold, and Garrett did it on his first visit!

Daddy Day Care, Week 2

Tonight I was home alone with Garrett for the second week of Andrea's new Pilates class in Rancho Cucamonga. About 10 minutes after Andrea left, Garrett told me that he was hungry and proceeded to down almost 4 ounces of milk in under one hour! This obviously wore him out because he fell asleep soon after. I saw Katie pacing around (her potty signal), so I set Garrett down in the Pack 'n Play and realized he was asleep! After letting Katie roam outside for a few minutes, I took advantage of Garrett's nap to start the bottle sterilizer and wash a few dishes. However, as soon as I started heading for the bathroom, Garrett woke up!

He was pretty happy playing until Andrea's mom called. I think he didn't like being ignored while I was talking, so he started to cry. Once I said goodbye, I played with him.

Andrea makes everything Grand...

This morning Garrett was super smiley. Andrea set him next to me in bed while she walked and fed Katie, then we all had breakfast together. Andrea was teaching at the Grand Opening of a performing arts studio, so she got ready and Garrett played on his playmat. Garrett first spit up on his pajama, then during a diaper change, he peed all over the changing pad, so he went in the bath too.

As Andrea was leaving, Garrett got super hungry. Andrea felt guilty leaving him, but needed to go so after a few minutes on the breast, I fed him a bottle. After that he fell asleep in my arms and I cuddled him for about an hour. He woke up with a wet diaper, but fell back asleep after he was changed, so I transferred him into his carseat and he slept for another hour, while I did some housework. Andrea saw a lot of babies at the opening and missed her little man. The moment Andrea walked through the door, he woke up (breast-dar sensors were flashing).

After a good feeding, we all went to Trader Joes together. Garrett slept through most of the shopping, but woke up as we were packing up the car. Once we got home, we rocked Garrett to sleep so we could put away the groceries and prepare for our guests.

Around 6:30 Mom and Aunt Betsy arrived to visit and see our Christmas Tree. Of course, Garrett continued sleeping for the first hour that they were there. We had dinner and everybody got to hold Garrett. Aunt Betsy made some funny faces and took some silly pictures of Garrett in his grandma's arms. Just after midnight, we sent them home and did some cleanup before bed. Garrett slept in his bassinet for two hours without interuption before waking for a night feeding.