And Rejoice some more!!!

Just a quick post about politics. First, for those of you who were beginning to doubt President Elect Obama's commitment to change: the next Secretary of Energy of the US will be Steven Chu. A Nobel-Prize winning physicist!! Change has come, a scientist in the cabinet!!

Here is an excerpt from what the AP has to say about this gentleman:

One of the country's most renowned scientists, Chu in 1997 shared the Nobel Prize in physics with two other scientists for his research into ways to cool and trap atoms using laser light. By cooling atoms to minus-273 degrees Celsius, they found the movement of atoms can be slowed to a point where they could be trapped and manipulated.

More recently, Chu's scientific interests have centered on energy and finding ways to replace fossil fuels with other energy sources such as biofuels from plants and converting energy from the sun into a fuel. He has spoken frequently about the need to link the physical and biological sciences with engineering to rally independent-thinking scientists in the fight against climate change.

"Steve Chu is a world-class intellectual," said Stanford University environmental scientist Steve Schneider, who knows Chu. "When I heard that name (for energy secretary), I smiled." Schneider said Chu will push hard within the Obama administration for reductions in the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

Obama has promised to move quickly on energy issues, including a push for more alternative fuels and to get Congress to address climate change.

Chu frequently has used the bully pulpit in a campaign against global warming and the need for alternative energy and greater energy efficiency. During a lecture last summer in Washington he bemoaned the fact that people too often prefer to spend $1,000 on a granite kitchen counter top instead of improving their home's energy efficiency.

A few years ago he was one of six Nobel Prize-winning scientists who expressed their concern about global warming by sitting against and climbing into a massive tree on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley for a photograph that appeared in a special environmental issue of Vanity Fair magazine.

I freaking love it!!

(Now, all we have to do is get Michael Pollan in Agriculture!!!)

Also, how cool is it that Rahm Emanuel seems to be involved in rooting out this crooked beyond imagination Rod Blagojevich. Sorry, I hate to do it, but I just have to... "the time's they are a changin'!"

Quick family update: Olivia is very excited to meet aunt Katie next month when she comes to visit, and I am bursting with excitement!! It'll be so good to see you Kate!!!

Rejoice!

This weekend I had my first performances as the newest member of the Festival Choir of Madison. I auditioned for the choir in November, made it in as a second soprano, and have been rehearsing the past couple of months for our holiday concert, "Rejoice!". It is such a joy to sing in a choir again!

We had a diverse repetoire, including:
- A movement of a Debussy work lamenting the month of winter as "nothing but a wretch"!
- An arrangement of "Wassail" for full choir by Ralph Vaughn Williams
- An early work by one of my favorite modern choral composers, Stephen Paulus
- A Latvian wassail song and a baroque Mexican cantata!

We performed this afternoon at the Capitol Theatre, part of the Overture Center for the Arts downtown. The acoustics are absolutely wonderful for choral singing. Renowned harpist Maryann Harr accompanied us on several pieces, which was a real treat.

I was cheered on at the concert by my parents, Bodo, Harpo and Allen. (Thanks for coming out, everyone!!!)

Thanksgiving walker

A little walking around, the morning after Thanksgiving!

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!!!!!!

Soooooo. The chocolate tasting last Thursday...it was one of the best experiences of my life!! I am so thankful to my darling Lee for this amazing birthday gift.

The chocolatier, Gail Ambrosius, uses only single source chocolate for her truffles. This means that the chocolate is all grown in the same region. We learned alot about how Cacao trees grow, and the farming practices involved. It was actually very fascinating. For instance, the Cacao beans are surrounded by a sweet, white pulp when they first come out of the pods, which enables a fermentation process to occur. Apparently this fermentation is critical to the way the chocolate turns out, and "lesser" chocolates (ie: Hershey's) are generally made from beans that did not ferment correctly. Wow! We owe soooo much to yeast! Bread, Cheese, Beer and Wine, Bio-Diesel and Chocolate!

Anyway, we tasted 6 different chocolates, and it was great to taste the difference between them all. One tasted like bannannas, one like raisins and dried cherrys. There where earhty flavors, nutty, toasty, roasty, spicy woody, even floral (one was like having a maw full of orange blossom, yum!). My favorite smelled like wild flowers and herbs, and tasted like a chocolate hazelnut tort witha smooth thick cakey texture.

mmmmm, chocolate. Lee and I want to ask Gail if she will sell us some of her chocolate
in bulk to use for baking.

Has it really been so long...

since we managed to post something to the blog!!! Wow, Halloween was the last entry, we are now a week out from Thanksgiving!

Hmmmm. Well, what has happened since Halloween? Not much, except, oh yeah, ELECTION DAY!!!!!! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!!!!! President Elect Barack Obama. Man, it just makes me feel good to say that. I recently got an email from a co-worker that relayed a story, the story is set some time in January of 2009. An old man walks up to a Marine posted on guard duty at the White House, and asks to meet President Bush. The marine politely explains that Bush is no longer the president and doesn't live at 1600 Pennsylvania anymore. The same thing, next day, and the next day, by the fourth time the marine loses his patience with the old gentleman, accusing him of wasting his time. The old man apologizes, and replies that he just really likes to hear "George Bush is no longer the president." Only 64 days now!!!!!

Election day was great. I took the day off work, and worked for Obama instead. I did a canvasing for the get out the vote effort, and stopped by our polling location to help out a bit. Wisconsin came through big time, and I am proud to have played a small part in that.

A few days later it was my Birthday. 32 years old. Lee fixed a scrumptious dinner (Moqui Mac and Black Pepper Chocolate Bread Pudding), Patty and Peter joined us, and Olivia gave me Socks and Underwear. Tomorrow (Thursday the 20th) I get my big present from Lee, a chocolate tasting at Ambrosius Chocolate shop, here in the neighborhood. Gail Ambrosius is the chocolateer (yes, that is her real name), and the woman is an artist! I am so excited!

Olivia is well on her way to walking. I believe the record is still somewhere around 8 steps on her own. Wow, what happens around here during the day!!? Lee just informed me that the record is around 25!! Crap, I totally missed that one! It is so adorable to watch her toddle along, and PLOP! down onto her well padded bum (another great reason to use cloth diapers!). It is so amazing to think that she will be a year old in under two months.

Work is going well, I will be moving into my new position as Estimator for Print Products starting December 1st. I am excited to learn new skills, and challenge myself in this way, and I continue to feel so grateful and blessed by this job. We are well taken care of!

Love to all the family and friends in Utah and elsewhere. We miss you all, and hope some of you will get to meet Olivia soon.

Halloween Adventures

What a fun holiday this has been! O went as a Kung Fu Panda (otherwise known as Kung Fu Boo-Boo), and Mama dressed up in a fun dress and bonnet. We went to a party at Happy Bambino, celebrated with some fun music, and got our picture taken officially! (I also took lots of pics throughout the day, now posted through our blog link.)

This afternoon we paid a visit to O's fairy godmother, Snow White for the day, at the toy store. O had lots of fun showing off for the ladies and checking out all the cool toys! We went home with a stuffed pumpkin rattle and a wooden car she already loves zooming around the floor. :)

It was a beautiful fall day, high around 60, sunny and warm. A great day to be out and about, and we got out for a couple of walks between parties!

Happy Halloween!

Weekend Adventure

The Hayes Trio is gearing up for a Friday through Sunday get-away to bluff country - in particular, Decorah and Lanesboro. This will be our first "road trip" of sorts as a family, and we are very excited!

The plan is to get on the road Friday morning. We'll head to Verona for breakfast with Gramsy, then try to time our departure from there to coincide with Boo's morning nap. The drive to Decorah from Gramsy's should be between 2 and 2.5 hours road time, and we'll just see how often we'll need to stop! Not sure how this is going to go with sweet little O, but I think we'll make it just fine.

Friday in Decorah. We'll spend the night with Aimee, see Kristen at some point, and who knows what else! After O goes to bed for the night, Sean, Aimee and I are headed to Art Haus for an evening show of "North by Northwest". (One of my favorite Hitchcocks, and Sean hasn't seen it yet!)

Saturday in Lanesboro. We'll head north 45 minutes to another one of my old stomping grounds to see Stef in her closing night performance of "Man of La Mancha". Good theatre, good food, good friends to see...it should be a blast!

This will be Boo-Boo's introduction to these places and people who are near and dear to my heart. I can't wait to share her with them!

Wagon2

Oh-ho the Wells Boo-Boo Wagon is a comin'...

These videos pretty much sum up what Boo-Boo's life is all about these days! Walking is THE thing. All the cool babies are doing it. :)

When in Rome...

Madison, Wisconsin. It was the location of some of the first and most intense anti-war demonstrations in the Vietnam era. It is known to have a strong ethic of political activism to this day. Most spring and summer weekends, there is some sort of march, sit-in, or other grass roots political rally at Capitol Square. Every weekend, at the farmer's market, there is a dizzying array of tables with information about various grassroots organizations. People here seem to like to speak their mind, whether it's a 9-11 truth theory, PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays), Anti-Scientology marches (seriously), or Conservative Christian end-times fundamentalists.

Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded, and still largely dominated, by the LDS Church, and it's accompanying culture. There were small anti-war demonstrations during Vietnam, and there have been some today to protest our occupation of Iraq. There is, of course, a small minority of people who pursue political activism. But, in my experience, it is more a culture of blending in and maintaining the status-quo, than trying to make positive changes through grass roots efforts.

I never thought, that when Lee and I moved to Madison to start our family, I'd end up campaigning for a major party candidate for President. I am a proud, lifelong independent. I have been just as jaded as any voter out there for most of my voting life. But, as a new resident of the great state of Wisconsin, I want to say how excited I am to be here, now, during this truly historic election.

The reason that I am excited was made clear to me once more during Wednesdays Presidential Debate: Barack Obama, and his calm, reasoned, intelligent and honest approach to American Politics and Administrative Policy. Not only is Senator Obama's message of restoring a government for the people, by the people and of the people exactly what we need after the last eight years, the way in which it is delivered is like a ray of sun in the dusty halls of American politics. Nothing cleans out filth and stench like the light of day!

The hope and pride that I have always felt for our country has been sorely tried over the last eight years. I am very doubtful that my hope and pride could weather the storm of a McCain/Palin Administration. Yet, seeing Barack Obama handle himself with such respect, courage and honesty reassures me that my doubt is not needed or relevant. The tide is turning against the politics that John McCain has espoused; the politics of hate and fear. Barack Obama should, and I believe, will be the next President of the United States of America.

Impromptu Walker

Olivia and I met up with some other mommas and babies today at Lazy Jane's, home of Madison's BEST scones. We were the first to arrive, so we settled in to the kids' section upstairs. (I can't wait until O is old enough to play with all the fun costumes they have!) There is a cute, itty bitty table with three itty bitty chairs for wee ones. Little Miss O pulled herself up by grabbing the edge of the table, then proceeded to walk around to where one of the chairs was. Supporting herself on the chair with one hand, she stood there waving gleefully with the other hand.'

THEN. Olivia, baby with the strength of an ox, grabbed on to the back of the chair with both hands, and proceeded to push the chair all the way across the room - while walking with it! I was amazed at her balance and control. And her ability to maintain flirty eye contact with a couple of strangers at a table a ways away, cooing with squeaky, dulcet tones all the while. (Show off...)

Needless to say, I had to smooch her and smooch her and SMOOCH HER! Such a strong baby girl!

Pictures at Last!

Greetings, all!

So you know that "Hayes Family Photo Galleries II" link? Well, there are finally photos in that gallery! I posted pictures from the summer as well as September. Can't wait to post some orchard and Halloween pics! Anyway, just wanted to give you the update that we are back in business with the photos. :)

Olivia's First Political Rally

Boo and Mama went to Michelle Obama's rally downtown on Monday morning. We had a great time, and loved her speech! Afterward we were talking with our mama/baby playmates, and a newscaster from our local NBC station came up to interview us. Very exciting! O almost managed to grab the mike and take over. :)

This can be witnessed on-line because we in fact made the news on Monday evening!

How to find us:

1. Go to http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/28652619.html
2. You will see a Flash Player loading on the right side of the screen next to the article.
3. The Flash screen will most likely read "Webcast Headlines". Below the main screen you will see a series of little screens all in a row. If you hold your mouse pointer over one of the videos, its title will appear in the space below it.
4. Click on the right arrow next to the row of little screens a couple of times, and find the video named "Decision '08 Candidates in WI 9-22-08". Click, load, and behold the glory of the Boo!

Daddy Daughter Day (with a little activism thrown in!)

It's Friday night. The end of the work week. I am here at home, Lee is at her last usher training for the Overture Arts center, and Olivia is sleeping peacefully (despite the train horn, and the lefty propaganda [aka: Maddow] on the radio).

Tomorrow, Lee and her Momma are going to Decorah, Iowa for Family Weekend at Luther College. Jack (aka: SPARK!!) is a big 'ol senior this year. This means: DADDY DAUGHTER DAY!!!! I am so excited to spend the whole day with the sweetest baby girl ever! I am looking forward to the walks, maybe another jaunt to the zoo, lot's of playing and squeaking.

Also, we are signed up to man the Obama table at the Willy Street Festival! Olivia is really upset that she can't vote for him, so to calm her anxiety about it, I have decided to help her get involved in any awy she can. ;)

Well, I am off to Gov Track.us to get some facts straight! It's a great web sight, more user friendly than the official Congress sight for sifting through our do nothing Congress's bills, votes, appointments, etc. Here's a little tidbit that only took me a few minutes to discover:
In 3 years, Senator Obama has Sponsored 120 bills, and Co-Sponsored 488= 608 bills, or an average of 202 a year.
In 15 years Senator McCain has Sponsored 473 bills, and Co-Sponsored 809=1282 bills, or an average of 84 a year.
A great answer to the ridiculous claims being made that Obama has done nothing as a Senator.

Anyway, have fun with it!

Autumn is Here

Hi, family and friends! I can't believe how chilly September has been so far. Is this true everywhere???? I thought for sure I would have another couple of weeks in sandals and shorts. Although looking ahead at the weekend forecast, maybe I'm in luck after all. :)

Sweet baby O is recovering from her first cold of the season. Icky icky, nose all drippy. I had my first cold last week. I wonder if Superman Sean will avoid it this time around...I hope so!

Last Friday I attended my first round of usher training for Overture Center. I will volunteer usher for the 2008-2009 season. It will be a great opportunity to contribute to the city's art sector, meet some fun show-lovin' folks like myself, and see shows I might not otherwise! My second round of training is this Friday, and my first real gig will be in another week or so.

In other news, Indigo seceded from The Rainbow citing color rights violations, Dorothy joined her cause and enticed the Munchkins to picket The Wonderful Wizard's palace, and the Emerald City has seen multicolored vandalism wreak billions of dollars in havoc on its homogeneity. No Flying Monkeys have been harmed in the uprising thus far.

Finally, a Leader!

Click here to donate!

Well, although the thought of Boo Boo in the Oval Office is appealing and hilarious, I am officially supporting Obama. I have liked him for four years now, since his famous speech at the Dem's '04 convention. I have followed his political career, watched his voting, and believe that he is a good man, and a good leader. A leader who is there to serve!

After his history making speech last night, I am more hopeful about the future of America than I have been in some time. Lee and I will be sending him $20, and I encourage all who read this to do the same!

This is the kind of thoughtful, pragmatic, bold leadership we need. America has not seen a leader of this calibre in my lifetime! The ray of daylight that he brought to the political landscape of this country in his acceptance speech has changed that landscape. Whether or not he wins, this change is happening, from the bottom up. We are a democracy, we the people do have the power, and with leadership such as Obama and Biden, we will be a strong, secure, intelligent, compassionate country once more. We can and will heal the damage of the last eight years!

Giggles giggles giggles!

I have to document what happened yesterday morning because I have never heard Olivia laugh so hard for so long!

Auntie Bodo had spent Friday afternoon with us, and we spent the night watching the Olympics and playing charades during commercials. All in all a fantastic interlude! But Saturday morning was the best. :)

Olivia has a pink O ball, as we call it - a plastic ball with lots of holes in it, great for grabbing and whatnot. Well, while Olivia was playing with her stacking cups, Auntie Bodo and I started playing an amazing, Olympic worthy O ball toss game. We each held a wooden "guy" from a pop-up toy she has. The object of our game was to spin the O ball on the little guy, then toss it to the other person - who would catch it on her little guy and keep spinning! Waaaaaaay awesome and very challenging.

Well, turns out Olivia thought this was the most HILARIOUS game in the world to watch. Each time we spun the ball and passed it, she erupted into a fit of giggles. So Bodo and I hammed it up and started making all manner of sound effects. We had the sweet little muffin in stitches for at least ten minutes! Ah, it was priceless.

The Land of Nod: Being Asleep or Wandering?

Olivia goes on the most fantastic journeys on her way to sleep. She roams her crib, wailing, as if she were doomed to a life of wandering forever. Some days her gnashing of teeth gives way to actual gnawing on the crib rails. There are times when neither loving arms nor soothing lullabys, rocking or walking can calm her restless wake.

At these times, I wonder about our culture's humorous metaphor for sleep. Maybe it's not so far off, after all!

Many thanks to Daddy'o are in order for being with me this afternoon on a day when Olivia seemed to be wandering in the Land of Nod! It was good to have the company:) We had a yummy lunch together, too. Fortunately, Grandpa's morning with sweet O was a fun one. There was much playing and smacking of cups, much climbing and chattering and eating and slurping! We even got a video of brushing Olivia's teeth, which she loves. Ha!

Well, O just woke up from a nap, so I'll post this entry and get us ready for an afternoon walk!

Vote Olivia!

By Popular Demand...

Garden Bounty

Mary K is out of town and left Olivia and I in charge of seeing to her garden. We went over today and had a wonderful time playing in the dirt! I did some hard core weeding, then harvested some goodies: red onion, yellow squash, banana peppers, and tomatoes! MMMMMMMM!! I made my first tomato sauce of the season, and Sean and I enjoyed hearty platefuls of pasta for dinner tonight.

Thank you, Mary K!

Our First Night of Separation

It's been awhile since I've bestowed a KLASS award. This month it goes to Sarah Bodine!

Sweet Bodo spent Saturday and Sunday with Boo-Boo so Mama and Pappa could get away for a night. A good friend of mine from college got married in Davenport, IA on Saturday. Congratulations, Rachel! :) Sean and I decided to make an adventure of it. We set up camp a little north of town at Scott County Park, drove into town for the wedding, played at a couple of parks between the ceremony and reception, enjoyed dinner with friends at the Abbey Hotel, and danced danced DANCED the night away. Ish. Okay, maybe we left at 10p.m. because we were pooped. But still! We had a long, full, awesome day!

It felt so good to camp. To sleep under the stars. The rain in the morning flew me into a panic - Sean is probably still laughing at me, for it wasn't really rain so much as it was a few droplets. I guess I couldn't quite manage to let go of Mama Mode! In any case, we got up pretty early and headed to breakfast with...

The Sawyers! Princeton, IA, my old stomping grounds when I was but a babe. Norman and Lorna Sawyer are still fast friends with my parents, and truly a delight to have in my life (and Sean's and Olivia's!) as well. They hosted us for a reeeeeeal yummy breakfast: eggs and sausage and muffins and raspberry cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit and orange juice and coffee - OH MY!! I got to see pictures of two of their kids' weddings. Sarah was even in town for the night, and we saw her and her husband Mike at breakfast, too. Sean got to drive around and see the farm with Norman, and I got to catch up with Lorna. It was great fun to reminisce about my visits when I was much younger (playing on the hay bales, baking cookies, violin). I hope we can visit them again soon! And we have to bring Olivia next time:)

Olivia. Sweet girl! She had a ball with Sarah, including a giggly little interlude with her fairy godmother as well. Sean and I were just tickled at how much she loves her Auntie Bodo:) Come again, come again!

Nothin' Like a Little "Hallelujah Chorus" to Wake You Up in the Morning

Great merciful God in heaven, our Boo-Boo has slept through the night! And more. Yes, she made it from 6:30 last night until 6:30 this morning and only stirred to eat briefly at 3:30. I was so giddy this morning I had to put on Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" and make up my own lyrics in praise of darling O. Ha! Now my hope is that I can figure out a way to heal my own sleeplessness and get that kind of rest, too.

I am borrowing a book from another hip mama at my H. Bambino group that is working MIRACLES in this family. Olivia has gone from erratic napping and frequent nighttime waking to a regular nap routine and one or two nighttime wakings. Sean and I are agreed that this new book came at just the right time; we needed this new information to help us work through the challenges of PCSS (Post-Colic Stress Syndrome).

For those of you who may also be struggling with sleeplessness or sleep-related troubles, the book is called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", by Marc Weissbluth, M.D. His emphasis is on healthy sleep for the whole family - very important, as we have discovered!

Now then, I'm off to greet the day with my well-rested, brightly shining, sweet baby girl!!

A Swing and A Smile

Guess who can swing in a bucket swing at the playground now? If you guessed Olivia, you're right! (If you guessed me or Sean, you are clearly having yourself a good chuckle right now.) There is a playground just down the street from our home with one of those cute little baby swings. Last week I put her in it, just to see what would happen. Lo and behold, it's a fit! Mama loves taking her to the park now for some fresh air and big smiles as she careens wildly back and forth - okay, okay, maybe not careen per se, but I do love the images such language evokes! Papa has taken to swing time in the evenings after work. This feels like such a summer ritual, a real milestone to have arrived at!

Daddy Day!

Olivia is soaking up lots of Daddy love today! I am going to a restorative workshop for a couple of hours this afternoon, taking some time for myself - which feels great! Sean woke up with Olivia first thing this morning, they are at church together now, and they get to hang out while I am at my workshop later. Too, too fun! Have fun, you two; can't wait to hear about your adventures!

Big Girl = Big Mess!!!

Bring on the solid food! Olivia stepped into the world of food this weekend (more than the little tastes that Daddy has been giving her for the last month or so). We are officially starting her on solids. Since little Miss Boo has shown a fairly sensitive tummy thus far in her life, we are taking it slowly to start. The common wisdom is to buy "special yum yum good baby rice cereal", processed with love (?) in a huge factory, packed with nutritious preservatives, and fortified with the nutrients that are removed in the processing. Ummmmm, no. Not for our baby! Remember, there is an awfully good chance that she was conceived in Hell's Backbone Grill (sorry Blake and Jen!! :)!!

The picture above is from Saturday night. We made our own rice cereal with fair trade organic jasmine rice, bought from the awesome Willy St. Co-op bulk section, cooked it, ran it through the food mill, and added some breast milk. Lee and I both agree that it was pretty bland, and so did Olivia! She wanted nothing to do with it when we tried to spoon feed her, so after consulting our books, we decided to let her try to feed herself. Well, you can see the results were adorable and hilarious, but I wouldn't say "successful"! The milled jasmine rice was the coolest sticky mass of starch, it has definite possibilities for some creative kitchen use.

Sunday night (after a great day at the Franparents!), Momma went to her Yoga class and got her tushy kicked, and Daddy decided to try cooking the last of our brown rice and see how it milled down. I could tell right away that this was going to work better. With the addition of some "boob juice" (a term borrowed from Ryan, heh heh) we had a nice consistency, and I gotta say, it was really pretty good stuff! Nice and sweet, a little bit nutty.

Olivia looked at me with a bit of suspicion as I moved the spoon to her face, so I had some, and told just how yummy it was. She opened her mouth, deciding to give it another shot, gave her usual look of concern, smooshed it around in her mouth, and swallowed! She actually seemed to like it! I got her laughing with some antics, and she continued to eat what I offered her, probably a couple tea spoons or so! She has always had a very sensitive gag reflex, and that is proving to be a bit of a challenge. She gagged and coughed, and had a mini melt down, and that was it for solid food for the night. She finished off her bottle, and hit the sack!

Oh, by the way, thanks again Jane, for the "Snug Tub Deluxe"!! It makes bath time much easier, and as Olivia starts feeding herself, that will be very convenient!

And one more aside, we have yet to see (er, smell) a real solid food poop, but it is definately looming large in our near future! Oh how I will miss the benign breast milk only poops of yore!

Here is a video of Saturday night dinner time escapades, sorry there is no sound. ENJOY!!

Snug in Her Tub!

Now that Olivia is six months old and such a big girl, we have graduated to the Snug-Tub for bath time, courtesy of O's fairy Godmother. Tooooooooo cute!!!

I have to tell the story of Olivia's antics at our playgroup this Thursday. We showed up a bit late because O was taking a good, long morning nap. The carpet wasn't completely occupied by play mats, fortunately, so we set up our blanket between Oscar and Iris. Boo-Boo was very happy and docile to start, having just awoken. She sat between my legs and played with her bug for awhile.

I allowed myself to get engrossed in the mamas' stories as we went around the circle. The next thing I knew, Olivia was not in my lap anymore! I looked out, and there she was on Oscar's blanket. (Oscar is probably the most chill baby boy I have ever seen in my life! He has a thick head of hair that runs wild and makes me giggle.) She commandeered his teething ring and promptly started chomping away on it. That saucy little crawler!

I set up a stack of cups on the opposite side of our blanket to bribe her back over. She wowed the other moms by crawling back over to our mat, knocking down the tower, and continuing along on her journey. Next stop: Iris' station! (Iris is another cutie, a day younger than Olivia, and I think equally as saucy!) Iris was playing on her tummy. Olivia crawled over to her and started batting her forehead, playfully squealing all the while.

I think we'll be looking at graduating to the next playgroup soon (6-12 mos.). But maybe we'll hang out on Tuesdays for just a couple more weeks so Olivia can rule as queen of the blanket kingdom...

Teething bliss?

It's a frozen wash cloth, aka; Slurpsicle.

Super Baby!

One of my favorite tricks to do with my girl! She's so cool!

We are in SO much trouble, and we LOVE it!

Well, it’s official... Olivia is mobile! She is crawling and loving it!!!

She is still pretty wobbly, and occasionally she does this hilarious peg-leg move with her left leg (channeling Tucker Dog yet again, the little side winder!), but she has such joy in her eyes and on her face when she looks across the sheet we spread out on the living room rug at her tower of stackable cups and motors across to knock it over! We don’t yet have video of this, but we will make that a priority and get it on the blog asap.

Also, we had Olivia’s 6 month check up with Dr. K on Monday. Our little darling is in the 90th percentile of weight gain, at a whopping 18 lbs. 4 oz.! She measured out at 26 1/4 inches long, which is right on track, and her head measurement is right on track as well. She got her next round of immunizations. And again, the Nurse’s mad mad skills left this Daddy pretty wowed! Three shots in, like, 20 seconds! Baby O’ had her usual intake of breath in preparation of a big holler, let it fly, and the nurse was done. Momma scooped her up, and soothed her, and it wasn’t long before she was smiling and cooing.

Monday night was kind of wild, Olivia had some side effect’s from the shots (nothing bad, just grumpy and sad), and she ran a bit of a fever most of the day Tuesday. This didn’t stop my intrepid girls from heading over to Happy Bambino for a little Mom to Mom support and Baby fun, but I will let Momma Hayes relate this adventure to you.

Tonight (Wednesday the 9th, happy 6 month birthday, baby girl!!) I am going to put the crib together. We are still using the co-sleeper, and it is working well, but it is getting kind of small for our big girl. I think it will be an interesting transition for all of us as Olivia moves into her own room at night. I also need to get Olivia’s new “Big Girl” car seat installed, as the carrier style infant seat in getting close to it’s recommended weight limit, and hauling around 18 pounds in that thing is just not that easy, especially compared to hauling the little Boo on your hip!

Work is still going well. We are still in the slow season, but I continue to form good friendships with my coworkers, and am always so grateful (especially in times like these!) to have a job that allows us to live the way we do. The base ball game last weekend with Spark and coworkers was a good time, and a great game! And I am looking forward to the company party this Friday, especially my Beloved’s scheduled rendition of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” with the band!

Well, that is enough for now, I suppose. I will be posting some video’s on the blog today, so stay tuned. And check back soon for crawling footage!

Sunshine and Roses and Berries, Oh My!

It was a beyooootiful day here in Madison. Sunny skies, a cool breeze, with a high around 70 degrees. I hope this continues through the holiday weekend. I loaded Olivia into her REI Piggyback carrier, strapped her on my back and we headed out to Olbrich Gardens: in particular, the rose garden.

Everything was in full bloom, and it could not have smelled sweeter. The air was crisp, yet somehow dense with the delicate perfumes of dozens of varieties of roses. Olivia cooed and babbled to the pinks, reds, whites, yellows and roses-of-many-colors. We took a leisurely stroll up one path and down another, up the steps to the observation deck, then down and around towards the fountain pavilion.

On the way home, we stopped at a blackberry bush just off the bike trail. I treated myself to a light snack, then purpled my fingers by picking the ripe ones, cupping my free hand to hold the precious offering. Olivia fell asleep on my back as we finished our walk, and I smiled at passers-by, proudly and carefully holding the berries in front of me so that they appeared to be guiding us home.

Pappa's World

Well, it's been a while...

I have so much to write about! It has been an amazing, and very busy month or so!

As Mama wrote, we have moved and had alot of fun things going on. Work has been kind of slow, which has been nice. It has allowed me to help out a bit with our crazy schedule. But, the really important part of this post is to talk about all the fun stuff I have been doing with our sweet baby girl!

On the morning of July 14th, Olivia and I went to "Daddy Bootcamp", which is a class for expecting fathers at the hospital where O' was born. She was in very good spirits, and was a great model for all the daddie's to be. She had her diaper changed by a couple of strange men (with Daddy hovering about, of course!), took a nap, showed off her latest tricks, and was adored by all.

The next week was busy, Momma had VBS going Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so we got to play alot. Wednesday was Baby Spa night. Olivia got a massage, then a good soak and splish-splash in the tub, and then fell asleep at the bottle, which was the perfect opportunity to trim her finger nails. Later in the week, Lee was busy with Auntie Sal, so Friday and Saturday night were good Daddy-Daughter times as well.

On the Solstice (June 21st), Lee went out with Sal, and Boo-boo and I loaded up the REI Pigy Back and hoofed it over to Olbrich Park for the neighborhoods Solstice Celebration. This was a fun spirited Hippie-Dippie event, with kites, local art, and some live Irish Folk Music. Olivia was a hit dancing to the music, and she wore herself right out. She fell asleep in the kid pack on the walk home, and I got the chance to try out a restaurant in the 'hood that I'd had my eye on called "Bunky's". I got a yummy Greek salad to go, and was totally happy about it!

Last week, Lee got the chance to go see a play with her Mama, and Olivia had a play date with her Fairy God Mother so I could go to the small group I have joined at church. She had a blast with Jane (as always!), and it was good for me to catch up with the B.Boys.

On Saturday, I finally got the chance to try out some Midwestern Fly Fishing! Peter's good friend BJ met up with me west of town about an hour, in what is known as the "Driftless Area". This refers to the fact that the Ice Age glaciers that formed the Great Lakes did not cover this portion of Wisconsin, so the geography is quite different. It is a beautiful area of rolling hills, lush green valleys, farmland and streams. Unfortunately, the flooding of a month or so ago wreaked some serious havoc on the trout streams, stripping away all the aquatic plants, which removes the insect's food, which is what the trout like to eat! Soooo, we didn't really have any luck to speak of, but we had an absolute blast, and it was just good to be outside, casting a line!

Well, we have a busy month ahead of us. Lot's of family birthday's: Uncle Spark's was the first, Cousin Julie's the 2nd, Uncle Ryan's is the 5th, Aunt Katie's the 16th, Cousin Elias and Gramma Lori's the 24th, and I think that covers it! This Sunday, I am taking Spark to a Brewer's Game in Milwaukee with some co-workers. The 11th is my company summer party (karaoke!!), the 19th we are floating the Wisconsin River (again with co-workers). There are a few other things that I know I am forgetting about, but that is most of it!

Home, Sweet Home

Well, we made it. We are now three weeks settled in at our new apartment. With an extra bedroom and a bit more space in the living room and kitchen, I think we are all feeling the benefit of spaciousness. We lucked out and found another place with gorgeous hardwood floors. Our landlord is a hoot. A shop teacher at West High who drives a Harley, he's quite the character. And takes good care of the place. We asked about gardening possibilities in the back yard, and he is planning on building us some raised beds when he gets back from Europe. Sweet!

Speaking of sweet. Baby O, how we love to see you happy! Our dear little one has made marvelous progress in the past month, with the help or our craniosacral guru. She is so much more comfortable and now spends most of the day smiling, laughing, and getting into mischief instead of crying, screaming, and struggling to find peace. Olivia is my little yogini. She practices downward facing dog, upward facing dog, plank, and half plank. She is growing fast, too: 17 1/2 pounds as of yesterday! AND she is getting two front, bottom teeth in!

The dog days of summer have not set in yet, but the mosquitoes are breeding like crazy after all the rain we have had. Just the other day I went out in the middle of the afternoon to pull the laundry off the line and got SWARMED by the little buggers. Ten bites in less than a minute. Ugh. At least they're not so bad when I'm on the move. Olivia and I have been able to get out for daily walks, which feels amazing. She loves her REI Piggyback carrier! It is loaded with straps to pull and suck on, and she gets to be queen of the world on Mama's back. We elicit quite the buzz while out and about on our adventures.

Papa Hayes has had many adventures with O recently, too, but I will save those stories for him. :) Thank you, my love, for being such an amazing partner! I have had a couple of busy weeks, heading out in the evenings to help with VBS at All Saints, or meet up with sister Sal and friends, or yoga class, or dinner and a movie with Spark (tonight), or APT with Mumsy (tomorrow)... It feels good to be so active and know that Olivia is having fun times with Daddy, but I must say that last night, the three of us together felt reeeeally good after (during) these busy times!

To close, I have an excerpt from one of the books I am reading right now: Momma Zen, by Karen Maezen Miller. The author used her experiences as a mother and a Zen Buddhist to create this memoir about motherhood as a spiritual path. Needless to say, I am loving it. :)

"Today's assignment is to drop the woebegone wishes and daydreams, the ruinous comparisons to the paradise lost or aspirations unfulfilled. Tomorrow, drop them again. When you need a change, make one. When you need a break, take one. When you need help, get it. When it's time to work, work. When you need to go to the bathroom, lay your baby gently on the floor beside you, give a coo and a smile, and let 'er rip. Ah! Free at last."

Happy Birthday to ME!

My birthday was a few days ago, and it was so much fun I have to blog about it. :)

Olivia woke up around 6 a.m. We got out of bed and let Papa Hayes have his Saturday morning sleep-in. The day looked like it would be a beauty: lots of sun, less humidity, and a gentle breeze that seemed juuuust right. O and I had our respective breakfasts, then hit the play mat for some morning fun. She is getting so strong! Her latest feat is propping herself on hands & knees, then scooch-scooch-scooching forward. She'll be crawling in no time!

We woke Daddy up around 9 a.m. I got really excited because his morning project was to make me a cheesecake for my birthday! Not just any old cheesecake, either, not for this poor, dairy-free girl (living in Wisconsin). (Sigh.) A sheep cheese cheesecake! (Wow, say that three times fast!) Now THAT'S a magical, magical thing.

One cheesecake, one baby nap, and two blissful parents later, the Hayes trio headed to the capital square for the Farmer's Market! True to form, Olivia cooed and babbled all the way, thrilled as ever about our Saturday morning excursion. I was happy to be wearing sandals and a short skirt: spring has arrived! We made our way around the square, stopping for asparagus, chard, an ostrich meat stick, and num-num bakery treats. We danced to the wild rhythms of a drum circle, then made our way to meet up with Gramsy, Grandpa Pete and Uncle Spark.

The six of us walked the square together, taking a lunch break for O, then headed to State Street to find a spot for lunch. We settled on Frida, a Mexican grille, and Daddy'o went off to pick up Sal while the other five of us grabbed a table. Stef and Jason also met up with us, yay, hooray!! It had been too long since we had been together, and this was the perfect festive occasion to catch up. :) I was greeted with flowers and a birthday balloon that was promptly tied to our backpack. The nine of us talked and laughed and chomped and cooed over cute Baby O, creating quite a celebratory tableau.

Next stop: the zoo! I went home to pick up the cheesecake, drove back downtown to pick up Sean and Olivia, and we met up with the Franson Four plus friends Allen & Stephanie. The weather could not have been more perfect for all of this outside time! First things first: CHEESECAKE. We gathered around a picnic table and dug in. Mmm... Thank you, my love! We polished off the whole thing, plus half a bag of kettle corn. Hehe. Then we made our way in to see some animals: lions, monkeys, more monkeys, seals, giraffes, rhinos and tapirs were all we had time for. Olivia fell asleep pretty early on (such a trooper for our busy day!), so we'll have to go back soon to see the other animals and play at the newly remodelled children's zoo.

Sal and I had plans to catch a 4:10 showing of "Sex and the City", so we hurried away to Sundance Cinema. I know, I know, the reviews have been so-so at most, but I loved it! I'm such a sap, and I love those characters, it was so much fun to see them again, and I thought the movie was fantastic. Laughed hard, teared up a little, gasped and sighed along the way. Good times! Thanks, Sal!

What better way to end a fabulous day then to go out for a fabulous dinner with my fabulous husband? Olivia's fairy godparents came over to watch over her sleep, bless them. Sean and I headed to The Weary Traveler a few blocks down on Willy Street. We enjoyed a satisfying meal and relished some one-on-one time! Soon, hopefully, we can establish date night on a weekly basis. :)

Good times, good times... A truly delightful birthday!!

Eureka!

I am having another weight-has-been-lifted, clouds-are-retreating kind of day. :) Olivia had her first appointment with a craniosacral therapist today, and it was amazing!

I'm getting ahead of myself. I should explain some things first...

CRANIOSACRAL THERAPY

"Craniosacral therapy if a light touch manual therapy that uses no more than the weight of a nickel of pressure to release restrictions in the body. These restrictions are often structural in nature. The CranioSacral system includes the membranes and fluid which surround the brain and spinal cord and extend to the bones of the face, down to the sacrum and tailbone. This system directly impacts the nervous system."*

FOR INFANTS

"Pregnancy and the birth process can put stress on the baby through the many obstacles and compression forces placed on the baby's system. A baby who spends an extended period in the birth canal or a baby born Cesarean section without the natural forces of gravity can be at risk for possible problems down the road. A baby who has difficulty nursing is in need of craniosacral therapy to assist with managing oral motor skills and alignment issues."*

FOR OLIVIA

Olivia has had a couple of pretty tough months, and we have been struggling to find ways of making her more comfortable and well. We have had her on and off of a couple different kinds of medication for reflux, but they just didn't seem to be working (in one case, it seemed to make her worse!). I regularly to go a mama/baby group at Happy Bambino and have been sharing our struggles with other women there. Just this past week, a woman recommended a craniosacral therapist as a new option. We thought we'd look into it.

I nabbed a cancellation spot this morning at 10 a.m. Olivia and I headed out and had our first session with Patty. We filled out some background information, and Patty talked to us about our experiences, about why we thought this work might help Baby O. At the appointment, Olivia spoke for herself, too!

The work Patty did was pretty cool. She examined Olivia's skull, neck, spine, sacrum, and because of Olivia's reflux woes, felt for her digestive organs, too. The areas most worked on today were the digestive organ sphincters, the cranium, and the neck. Patty found a lot of tension in all areas. She believes that the vacuum extraction that was part of Olivia's delivery is a key contribution to this tension.

THINGS TO TRY

I came home with a great set of new tools, things to try with Olivia in the next week or so before our second appointment. First, inversions! Yay for upside-down baby time!! Hehe. This encourages spinal relaxation and may allow Olivia to work some stuff out herself as she squirms around in the air. Second, spinal massage. Patty showed me how to encourage relaxation in Olivia's spine as she is upright in my arms, especially in her super-tense thoracic region.

The most interesting light bulb that went off in my head today was about Olivia's posture. She likes to be upright most of the time, is prone to arching, and is generally uncomfortable on her back. Patty explained that the tension is such that Olivia gets temporary relief in these positions, even though they only exacerbate the problem in the long run. Our third thing to work with Olivia on is getting more comfortable in flexed positions, the opposite of her tendency to arch and remain rigidly upright. I have a sling I am going to try with her that I can lie her down in and try to encourage more of a cradle posture for her.

Tummy time is also a good thing. Now that Olivia is so strong, she has been holding herself up on her hands and knees lately, and this is a great way for her to use different muscles and get in healthy developmental postures.

LUCK BE A LADY

Alrighty, we'll keep everyone posted on how this all goes! Fingers crossed!

* Taken from Patty's literature on her practice.

Of Slurpy Contentment and Such Lovely Things

Olivia and I had a wonderful time at our play group this morning/afternoon. She is in such high spirits again today! After two five-hour stretches of sleep, I'm not surprised. Mama is feeling pretty good, too!! That's right, between 8:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., she only woke up once. A new record-setting night of sleep. :)

When she is feeling well, it is so much easier for me to get out and about and connect with other people. We joined a group of moms for lunch at Texas Tub's Taco Palace after our play group and had a blast! Most weeks Olivia has not felt well, was crying or in pain, so we headed home right away after group (if we made it through). It is such a huge blessing that she is feeling so much better; a lot of other regulars noticed today and were happy for us. I hope we may continue to find ways of making our sweet little boo-boo healthy and happy.

GROWTH CHECK-IN

Let's see, if she weighed 16 lbs., 3 oz. at the end of last week, she must be close to 16 and a half pounds now! Biiiig girl! Soooo big! It is fun to notice different signs of her growth: the number of rolls on her tummy and legs, the way her feet don't fit into those cute little booties anymore, her oh-so-cute-and-squeezable cheeks that dominate her face, those hands that are so open and inviting to play these days, and the chin, THE CHINS, I can't get enough of the soft folds of her middle chin! Hehe.

WEEKEND PLAY

This weekend was so fantastic, I must share silly tales of fabulous times! On Friday afternoon, I put Olivia in her highchair while I was fixing some lunch. She was not too thrilled about the set-up, but I was so hungry I had to find a way to make it work! I ended up wheeling her around the kitchen in her highchair, spinning it around and crying out "Weeeeee!!" Well, wasn't that the ticket! She smiled and GIGGLED and was in seventh heaven, and Mama got drunk on her laughter. Especially after what happened during lunch: a rousing game of "Boo!" Sort of a precursor to peek-a-boo, and her new favorite, I think. I had to call Papa Hayes and let him know how happy our baby sweets was.

On Saturday morning the three of us headed to the Farmer's Market up on the capital square. Too, too fun! Olivia babbled and cooed all the way there. We played on the lawn and had fun along the loop, seeing what was for sale this week. We bought lamb brats for a Memorial Day picnic, eggs (on special: $1/dozen!), and raspberry jam. Mm-MM! Oh, and we couldn't pass up a pastry or two: a dairy-free, wheat-free rhubarb bar for Mama and a hazelnut-chocolate chip scone for Papa.

Olivia had a playdate with her fairy godmother on Saturday afternoon while Mama and Papa went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Which was AWESOME and we totally recommend for any Jones' fans. (Tho' we both had to shake our heads at Lucas' stamp on the film with the CGI gophers...*groan*) Olivia got to try out her new entertainment center (verdict: maybe too much too soon!), took a nap, slurped down a bottle, and played played played in loving company.

Our big excursion of the weekend was on Sunday evening. The three of us went to the Arboretum for the first time this spring. Aunt Sal had clued us in that the lilacs were in bloom, and the Arboretum has a world-class lilac garden. We weren't sure if the weather would hold out for us, but fortunately it did. We wandered through the apple orchard and were giddy on the blossoms' sweet scent-scapade. We ventured into the woods and enjoyed all of the fresh spring growth. And of course, we had to do some running around and frolicking through the lilac garden!

Yesterday was a good day to be with family. We headed out to the Franparents' home in Verona for an afternoon meal of Farmer's Market brats with chips, veggies, and super sweet strawberries. Papa and Boo-Boo took an afternoon siesta, while Mama and Gramsy took a walk through the prairie and woods nearby. Then it was time for dessert: rhubarb pie! Mmmm... I am still smiling at that. :) Yay for Mumsy's pies!

TODAY AGAIN

Well, another nap has come to an end, and I am off to play! Love to all - hopefully you will take a peek at this again; we are still writing, I promise! We'll do better in June to make up for May. :P

One Month Later...

My goodness, has it really been a month since we last posted?! Dear Aunt Nancy sent a lovely email inquiring about the Hayes family health and general well-being, filled with love and yellow card wisdom, complete with downloadable music therapy, noting that our blogging had slowed to a mysterious standstill. So here I am!

It has been quite a month for us. Olivia's tummy woes have not abated, and we recently finished up a shaky trial with a new medicine. Done with that one for good! She actually had a fantastic weekend, and we hope her contentment will continue throughout the week. :) A friend of Sean's recently recommended seeing a chiropractor who works on babies. We are intrigued and interested in scoping out that possibility.

Oh, I hear someone waking up from her nap! More later...

(New pictures from the past month in our photo gallery!)

Olivia's baptism day

Here is a video of Olivia after her baptism, April 27. She had a great day, slept 7 whole hours the night before!!!! WOW!!! Lee and I weren't quite sure what to do with ourselves!

As you can see (and hear) from this video, she was a very happy girl. This was an amazing blessing to our small family after the challenges of the last few weeks.

We have continued to try to discover what may be causing our sweet child such discomfort, and at this point we suspect reflux and teething. But with alot of prayers and help from family and friends (a big BIG BIG shout out to the Mount's, Olivia's new Godparents!! We love you and don't like to think of what the last three plus weeks wouldv'e been like without you!!!), our pediatrician and some good books, Olivia is at last finding some well earned peace. And of course, this peace translates into peace for Momma and Poppa too!

Spring is slowly pushing aside the chill here in the northlands, and the green buds of growth seem more beautiful than ever to this desert rat.

Sending love and warmth to all of my friends and family far away and near!

It's Tough Work Being a Baby Girl!

Okay, it has been way too long since I last posted. But for good reason, truly! Olivia had a tough time the past week and a half or so. She seems to be feeling much better now, yesterday was really a turning point, but we had a tough, colicky stretch there. Much crying and screaming and tummy woes. Icky icky icky. We think it may either be reflux or food allergy related - possibly/probably a combination of the two! Mama and baby are both exhausted from not sleeping much, but we are doing our best to catch up now. In fact, she just may be out now (I have her in the sling). Off we go to try for a nap!

Fossil Fools Day?

Sean and I were very rudely introduced to this "day of action against the fossil fuel industry" yesterday. Olivia and I were heading out to a playgroup at Happy Bambino yesterday morning. When we got to the car, I found a note on the windshield (see picture). Turns out the right front tire was flat. MAJOR BUMMER.

Apparently we were not the only ones to suffer this act of vandalism. The Madison police department received calls all day reporting this "prank". Between 150 and 300 cars are estimated to have been involved. The incident is believed to be associated with Rising Tide North America and Fossil Fools Day. For more information, check out this website:
http://www.fossilfoolsdayofaction.org/category/front-page/

Many SUVs had four tires deflated, while Sedans tended to have two tires deflated. (Gee, I guess we should be thankful they only deflated one tire on our compact LEV with the cloth grocery bags and car seat base in the back seat.) Schmidt's Auto reported 120 service calls by 6:00 PM, and more calls were still coming in. The company was generous enough to cut its service call rate in half, lowering it from $40 to $20. One has to wonder how many other auto shops received calls throughout the day and how many total service calls were made related to this cowardly stunt.

Last night when Sean got home from work, he put the spare on and drove the car to the nearest gas station to fill the deflated tire with air. Unfortunately, there was a tear at the rim, so Sean took the car in this morning. We ended up getting two new tires. We had just replaced all four tires less than a year ago.

Let's brainstorm some of the consequences of yesterday's shenanigans to try and get an idea of how much additional fossil fuel waste was generated yesterday in the name of self-righteous radicalism:
- Energy wasted on telephone calls to the police.
- Energy wasted on telephone calls for auto service.
- Energy wasted on gasoline usage by auto services and individuals.
- Energy wasted on refilling deflated tires.
- Energy wasted on purchasing new tires.

Now let's make a list of ways in which fossil fuel usage was diminished:
- *cricket cricket*

As an owner of one of the targeted cars, I am of the opinion that the perpetrators behaved like sneaky cowards and did nothing productive for the cause of decreased fossil fuel usage. Their actions were a personal assault on me and my family, and this experience did nothing to encourage me to drive less. I would recommend to them to try other methods of getting their point across, such as forming an organized, public coalition to analyze information and approach local government with specific ideas for change; getting involved in local government, running for office perhaps, and addressing the needs of Madison and the greater Madison area in regards to local transportation; or approaching individuals in a respectful manner and sharing their information, opinions and ideas in such a way that the recipients will be left with smiles and enlightenment, not frowns and financial loss.

Here are some examples of what other people around Madison have to say. These are excerpts from several comments that were posted on-line in response to a news article about the incident:

- "I am going to waste resources and build an oversized garage to protect my full size truck (which I need for my environmental restoration business) from these idiots. "

- "This little stunt did much more harm to the cause of bringing awareness to irresponsible fossil fuel use and now it will be left to more responsible citizens and groups to clean up the mess this group left behind."

- "These so called environmentalists should really do a more thorough analysis of the cost of their 'pranks.' The additional use of fossil fuels to fix their misguided attempt to encourage people to drive less and the reduced good will to their cause far out weigh any attempt at a positive statement they were trying to make."

- "I am one of the victims from the flat tire incident from yesterday. It was bad enough that it happened, but the fact that I was trying to leave work early because my son was sick and needed to be picked up from daycare made for a very traumatic experience."

For the full article and comments, follow this link:
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/279855

Well, this has been rather grave in tone, I know, so dear readers, please feel free to share any lighthearted experiences you had with April Fool's Day this year!

Media Darling Follow-up

Here is a link to Olivia's first media appearance - Isthmus article, written by Aunt Sal, featuring Miss Olivia Lee Hayes:

http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/article.php?article=22065

Unfortunately, Baby O's picture only appears in the printed version of the paper, not in the on-line version. Boo. But here is the picture they chose to use - on page 2! Yeah, baby!

(Yes, Olivia is sitting in a basket on a shelf, covered with hats. Hehehehehe!)

Swing Heil!

I'm on a video kick lately. What can I say, she's THAT CUTE!!

For those of you who have been over in the past few months, or had us over, or heard us talking, you know that Olivia luuuuvs to move. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy's arms get tiiiiiired. So we thought we'd give something new a try:




That's right, we got Olivia her first big toy. Complete with flying Pooh Bears!

Hmm. I think Olivia and I will put up some posters around Madison and start a baby rock band called The Flying Pooh Bears. Yes, ye-es...

Saturday Morning Antics

Mama couldn't resist taking more videos of Olivia this morning. Playtime with Daddy on Saturday morning is so much fun!

Victory is mine!

Snow. More snow. It is still snowing.

Are you kidding me? That's it. I'm done. It is freaking spring, for crying out loud!!!!

Well, today, Olivia and I said, hang the snow, hang this winter, hang everything by jove! So we bundled up, dug out the car, and headed to Target for a little shopping to perk us up. I wanted to finally get the swing for Olivia from our old baby gift registry, but they didn't have it in the store. Doh. Must be only at the Super Target in Fitchburg.

HOWEVER. I found a pair of cute spring socks for myself and an adorable Easter outfit for my baby waby. Yay!!!! Springtime fun!!!!! Stay tuned for pictures in the next few days or so...

Tummy Time Milestone

Watch this to see Olivia's latest feat during playtime!

Work it, Baby

Some of you may be skeptical at this latest revelation, BUT IT'S TRUE.

Olivia did the moonwalk this morning.

KID YOU NOT!!

Yesterday she had fun walking while Mama supported under her arms. Today she had fun walking again and expanded on her repertoire by walking backwards. It was the cutest ever! Hehehe!

Olivia, Media Darling?

Photo courtesy of Miss Aimee Ringle.

My sister, Sal, writes articles for Isthmus, a Madison weekly journal. She has a regular shopping column and decided to feature Happy Bambino this week. That's the super cool local baby and beyond store that has been a supreme asset for us newrents. :) Apparently Sal has been scheming to get Olivia in the paper (hehehe, I love it!), so baby O and I will head to HB with Sal and have a little photo shoot! Stay tuned for a link to Olivia's first publicity stunt...

SuperBaby

Olivia had her two month appointment with her physician this morning - including her first round of immunizations!

First, some general updates. Olivia now weighs 12 lbs, 14 oz: almost at the 13 lb milestone! She moved up to the 88th percentile in terms of growth, as compared to the 81st percentile at our last appointment check. The doctors have this crazy growth chart curve thingy mcwhatsy going on. Pretty cool. Something to do with trigonometry? We'll look to Uncle Ryan for further explanations. She is 23 1/4 in long - er, um, tall? :) She showed off for Dr. Kreckman by standing on the table (okay, okay, you caught me - not on her own just yet! supported - but still!) and exhibiting her mad neck swiveling skills.

(Note to self: no more blog entries after 7:00PM.)

Moving on. To the big event of the morning: NEEDLES!!!!!! Oh, Mama wishes we were talkin' Canyonlands here. But no. The big, sharp daddies. Tho truth be told, these needles were teeny tiny, attached to little wisps of hypodermic syringes.

Olivia was on for one oral vaccine and three shots, two in her left leg and one in her right leg. She was a little fussy already going into the whole shebang, so Mama was a little nervous! Apparently Daddy was a nervous wreck, tho the girls never knew it. :) Olivia was very intrigued by the oral vaccine. I wonder what she thought of a non-boob taste experience.

Then came the three shots.

*gulp*

Okay, really, I can't make a big deal out of this! The nurse who did them was AMAZING! I swear, she is The Flash. (Flashette? Flashina? Flasher?) Here's what happened:

The Mama Version

Olivia lay on the table. The nurse held down her legs while Daddy and I held her hands and cooed at her lovingly, masking the rising terror that rose within us. The first poke came, and Olivia's face turned bright red; she opened her mouth wide (how in the world she got her mouth open that wide, I'll never know) and I anticipated the scream. And anticipated...and...Christ, woman, will you not scream??? (Okay, just letting my Irish roots into the picture a little, I confess...hehehe.) I looked down the table, and the nurse was already finishing the third poke and applying the bandaid. Olivia finally screamed, but by the time she did, the nurse had packed up and was heading out the door. Sean and I scooped her into our arms. The scream was brief, truth be told, the bright red receded from her face, and I held her in my arms, talking and cooing and kissing her, as she hung there with a dazed expression on her face, almost smiling really. Mama was so proud! Such a strong girl. No more screams. Wow! (*whew*) I held her, then Daddy held her, we bundled her up in her car seat, stuck a bink in her mouth, gave her a few swings and she was out like a light. I laughed.

She ended up sleeping for an hour straight. What a blessing!

The Daddy Version

Well, we all know that I don't have the flair for the the dramatic that Mama does, so I hope none of you find this boring after that action packed account of the event :)

As Lee mentioned, I was a nervous wreck, but was able to keep it cool. As the Nurse came in and unpacked her gear, I was actually kind of excited to see her in action. My boss takes her 1 year old daughter to the same doctor (thanks for the referral, Leah, Dr. Kreckman is great!!), and had told me about this amazing nurse, and how fast she is. I had been bouncing Olivia, trying to calm her a bit before all of this. The nurse came in and asked me to lay her on the exam table. Lee and I immediately moved so that all that was in Olivia's field of vision were Mama and Daddy, and our loving faces. I immediately thought back to the heal prick, when we were still in the hospital, and how instinctive it was for both of us to do the same thing.

Olivia fussed a bit during the oral vaccine, but by the end, seemed more intrigued than annoyed. Them out came the alcohol pads to prep her adorable, chubby little legs. I felt the blood rise a bit within me. The nurse instructed us to keep ahold of her arms, and she did the rest. I barely saw the first needle poke, and I completely focused on Olivia. She opened her mouth, her face turned read, and somehow, her mouth kept opening. I have never seen her mouth open that wide. I was bracing for a scream that would evacuate the building! Suddenly, the nurse was slapping on the bandaids, and on her way out the door! Olivia let out a bit of a scream (not much for her, really!!), I picked her up, and handed her to Mama. Lee bounced her, and we both talked to her, I was still half expecting a fit from her, but the strong little girl was done, and ready for a nap! I asked to hold her, Mama got ready to go, we loaded Olivia up, and were on our way, the Babe sleeping soundly with a bink and a grin!

Happy St. Patty's day to that nurse, and if I get a chance, I'd love to buy her a Guiness sometime for making what I thought for sure was going to be a hard, painful experience for my little girl into something that barely deserves a blog mention! Slainte!!