Gametes In Love

We’re visiting family this week. S’ family is getting lots of G love. G in turn is getting oodles of people fawning over him. And a new toy from Auntie K! Yeah, his life isn’t sucking right now.

On the way out here G had his very first plane adventure, and I must say he did pretty well. He cried on the first landing, either because he was hungry, or the ear pressure thing, but CA to Philly went rather uneventfully. He slept most of the way from Philly to Norfolk on the second leg and when he wasn’t sleeping he was smiling and grinning like a goon. He gets high marks for his first day of travel. I hope the return adventure will be just as uneventful.

I was really worried that our first leg (a red-eye flight) would turn into a bloodshot -eye flight for all passengers around him, but he snoozed through almost all of it. He had the most comfortable seat in the house though, which might have helped.

Meanwhile, I’ve come to the conclusion that US Airways is running a social experiment, trying to see just how uncomfortable they can get their seats before people would just prefer to stand instead. Maybe all my recent international travel has spoiled me, but even Lufthansa Economy looked (and probably felt) like First Class on US Air. I get nautious if I don’t get enough sleep. I don’t sleep well when I’m not comfortable. I felt sick most of my day yesterday. Draw your own conclusions.

Our travel experience was also highlighted by our normal set of fiascos — they messed up our seats, so that NONE of us were seated together (maybe they thought a flight attendant would care for G on the trip), and they broke our luggage. At least this time it all arived with us. 2/3 times in the past it didn’t make it past our connection. It’s great to have to plan for lost luggage, lemme tell you.

Back to the reason we’re here — family.

We’re having a blast. G is letting people hold him without must fussying, which is awesome. His cousins even got to carry him while he chilled in their arms. He even trained Cousin G to change his diapers — yeah, there’s a memory he’ll appreciate when he’s in his teens 🙂

We also met G’s great-grammie. She is 94 this year and sharp as can be. He was the talk of the adult care facility she’s staying in while she recoops from a broken hip. He brought many a smiles to aging faces, lemme tell you.

Our only misadventure thus far has been bed-time. I don’t know if it’s the timezone difference, or G’s awareness that he’s not at home, but bedtime was rough last night. He did great for naps, but evening time was brutal. I hate having to let him cry-it-out, but after multiple pick-ups for comfort, nursings, and even cuddles with me in bed until he fell asleep, I had to give up. Every time I’d put him back in his crib he’d start crying. I hope this gets better by tomorrow, because a cranky G = cranky mommy, and that’s never a good thing.

Ta ta! I’ll post pictures soon,

Ok, many of you have noted that you’re having a hard time being able to view the private posts I’ve created. I thought that simply signing in, would let you view them, but alas No. I’m also struggling to be able to add new users and the invite feature isn’t doing what I thought it would be.

So…. the two posts are now password protected instead. The password is “gnluv” (and will be going forward for all “not-directly-visible” posts going forward.

Knock yourselves out 🙂

I spent some time writing down my thoughts on what happened over the last few days. It’s important to me to remember the details and how I felt.

Given that these are long, and not quite in the theme of G, I marked them as private. That way if you are looking for your “All about G” fix in your blog reader of choice, I didn’t want you to get berated with my thoughts on loss.

However, if you’re curious, you are welcome to read them — just log into WordPress and go to our main blog website: http://gnluv.wordpress.com

My grandfather passed away Wednesday 6/10. He battled cancer and an ailing body for over a year now. I’m saddened that his last days were not the peaceful ones I wished for him, but I take solace in knowing that he will no longer be in pain and that he passed away in the company of those that loved him most: his wife and daughter.

I’ll post on the events that followed in another story, but I wanted this to be about him. The picture above is how I want to remember him: vibrant, loving and dedicated to his family.

The house certainly feels empty without him, even though he spent much of his last year resting quietly in his bed.

You will be missed, Grandpa! Sending you much love from us all. Always.

I think S has a Noah complex and is in the process of building an arc. He can’t stop himself from getting the animal lovey blankies for G. And for fear of over-attachment to any one, we get our blankies two by two. We now have a menagerie of two frogs, two monkeys and as of last month, two giraffes.

Our problem (S’ self-control aside) is naming our giraffes. Froggie 1 and 2 are named Franklin 1 and Franklin 2 (respectfully), the monkeys are Moonka 1 and Moonka 2. Yet, when it comes to the giraffes though we can’t agree. I like “Spot” for a name. S digs “Nubbs” on account of the nubbins on it’s head. We’re at an impasse, so we’ve agreed to let you decide for us. Here’s where you come in:

[polldaddy poll=1687849]

We have considered the compromise of naming one Spot and the other Nubbs, but Naah — too much of an opportunity for G to question why we have different names and then catch on to the doppelganger game. Besides… one of us has to be right ;p

So pick already!

“What? I’m standing here! Move along.”

Don’t you just want to pinch the cuteness off this little bum?

Lounging with my sick little monkey 🙁

@ bedtime: And Neko makes 3

There’s a kid’s TV show on Sprout that S found the other day while going through our on-demand channels: the Pajanimals. It’s a Jim Henson Muppet production. It’s cute! I take it back… it’s saccharine.

Each episode is 4 minutes long, and all it is is a single song per episode. AND NOW I HAVE ONE STUCK IN MY HEAD!!!

That’s right: all morning long I’m singing to myself “I love to hug my lovie! My night-time lovey dovey…”

So I’m going to share the joy (HA!). Now you too can share in the lovey dovey pain I’m in!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmYO5V4WDjA]

(P.S. forgive the video quality — it’s the only clip I was able to find)

The sniffles faerie brought a friend! Yeah, an ear infection. We’re sooo (not) lucky.

But G is taking it like a champ. After a day of whining and poor naps he’s in a much better mood today. He’s a sight to behold though — his nose is drippy and his eyes are goopy. Yeah, who’da thunk that snot can come out of your eyes. Not attractive! But thanx to my online moms I got the very sound advice that it could be an ear infection and his pedi should check him out. Sure enough; Dr. M confirmed the ear/sinus infection and gave us some antibiotics to take for two weeks.

We’ve also discovered that in addition to hating the nose sucker, G also dislikes having his eyes wiped. Apparently this child is not big into personal hygiene.

Good news, though, is that he’s not contagious so he’s going back to daycare tomorrow. I got a note from the doc saying so though, because I didn’t want other parents to worry when they saw that puffy, snotty-eyed child o’mine.

I’m staying home with him today, and I’ll admit, although I’m not thrilled it’s because he’s sick, I’m enjoying a work-day off to cuddle with my snuggle bug. I miss maternity leave 🙁 For those that would encourage either S or I to be a stay-at-home parent, though, please share with us your winning lottery ticket first.

P.S. Note to future me: goopy eyes + runny nose + stinky G breath = sinus/ear infection + antibiotics

P.P.S. What did moms do before the internet?