Thomas Site. It's A Place to Go.

Well, if you're reading this, you know I have fixed the site (although I haven't gotten all the pics back up...). It does sport a new look that I enjoy. (I like how Krazy Kat and Ignatz are sort of settled on a gray-colored ground, instead of hovering in limbo)

Like right now. I am so frustrated by this site. You see, I tried upgrading the software that runs it, and in the course of doing that, completely tanked the whole thing. Like, the site looks like hell, and all the images I uploaded are gone off the server, and to top it all off, the image routines are all broken.

Jeezum crow, time flies.

At least I have put up some photos since the last blog (five weeks ago!).

Alex continues to be himself, eating well, sleeping well, smiling. I like to say he's working on his Dutch because his coos have a guttural, back-of-the-throat thing going. His eating habits have begun to include a post-meal spit-up session, although Claire and I have yet to be on top of it enough to get the spit-up rag out before he does it. It's always still "Oops, he did it again! Can you get me a rag? QUICKLY?!?" He's moving with more confidence, but has yet to figure out how to get arms and legs beneath himself and actually get anywhere; he's more like those toy-store battery G.I. Joes that lie on their bellies in the mall, trying in vain to scrunch their way to the next store over...

Yesterday, Alex went in for vaccines. He came out with a lot of pain, and Claire had a long afternoon, since he cried uncontrollably most of the afternoon. Today, he is pretty much back to his regular self. He is increasingly responsive to the events around him, smiling and cooing back to the old fools making goofy sounds at him ("Dude! Do you have any idea how dorky you look and sound? You're literally going gaa-gaa!"--"Little Dude, I actually don't care, because it's great fun to watch you grin and coo back to me!")...

He's over 13 pounds.

A month has passed. Time seems to fly ever faster...

Alex's presence has made me all the more aware of the many ways that my life is blessed. Reading the news, hearing of the many tragedies in life, both great and small, I see how minor my own troubles are. I try to use this awareness to cultivate both compassion for others and moment to moment gratitude. I know also that I must appreciate this bounty right now, because at any moment it can all change. It would not take much remarkable to utterly alter my personal landscape.

The meditation retreats I've been on emphasize that every experience is just a personal experience—neither good nor bad. The good and bad are manifestations of our own attachments in life and to life, and enlightenment ultimately consists of accepting everything as it is, without judgement. I mention this here because the "bounty" mentioned above is really just my attachment to things I consider good, and if everything "good" is removed from my life, I will be left with everything else (presumably "bad" by my personal definitions), which ultimately is neither good nor bad, but just what is. I hope to reach a place of understanding and acceptance on this level as well...

New photos are up. The big things are:

Alex loves taking baths. He just completely relaxes when he goes in. We first had him in the bathroom sink, but you had to choose between immersing his head or his feet, so we went out to find an infant tub. What we found were a bunch of foam-lined recliner chairs that let you drizzle water over your child like you were basting him (goddamned litigious society!). This would have not given Alex the serene floating experience he obviously was seeking, so we kept looking, and ended up buying a cheapo plastic storage bin for eight bucks (lid included). It's big enough for Alex to stretch out in—at least for now!—and when he gets too big, we can use it to stash stuff.

Still getting used to typing 2007.

Everyone asks: how are you sleeping? what's Alexander's schedule? are you using nicknames?

I am sleeping well; I can't vouch for Claire, but I think she's doing okay too. Day-to-day, Alexander has no consistency. One day, he's awake all day, the next, he sleeps all day. We're working with him on this, and Alexander understands that in order for him to get his end of quarter bonus, he'll have to address this issue. Last night, Alex slept from 11:30 to 4:30, but tomorrow he probably won't.

We are using a variety nicknames; I seem to prefer 'Ale

Baby is officially:

Alexander James Thomas

He does amazing mouth exercises, and knows how to suck.

All is well.

Officially: Our baby was born December 31, 2006 at 3:18pm. 8 pounds, 8 ounces. 21 inches long. He is as yet unnamed. Photos.

Subjectively: everything went phenomenally smoothly. Claire's water broke while we were sitting in bed waiting for the day to begin. We hung around the house, getting stuff together for the trip to the hospital, and after dropping Erika off at Suzanne's house, we arrived at the hospital at 11:10 am. The hospital did some initial testing to be sure that the baby was on his way, and after some delay (they had technical difficulties with their equipment) admitted Claire and put us in a delivery room at about 1:10 pm.

Well, the due date came and went, and the only thing baby-related that happened was that Claire and I spent 3 hours at the hospital for a routine fetal monitor and ultrasound, which stressed Claire out immensely, since it wasn't how she wanted to spend the bulk of the day. The fetal monitor part went smoothly, but we waited over an hour for the ultrasound because the staff member who checked us in at the ultrasound station somehow erased our status without getting us into a room. It didn't help that when they finally did get us in the room, it took a grand total of 3 minutes to take care of telling us that everything was perfectly fine.