Presidential Debates

We have been surprisingly into the Presidential debates (maybe i won't say publicly, but you can probably guess which candidate i am backing and which one i think will do anything to get elected) and decided to dress up for the VP debate (which was MUCH more entertaining than the first debate).

My pal Stephen from TJ's bought this shirt for Soren when he was on a 3 week existential road trip. I promise it's not conditioning-- we just think it's cute (he'll probably end up a Libertarian).

Lisa had the idea to dress up as the candidates, so we did! It was a smashing success.


And also, he has been growing surprisingly fast. (This is tediously obvious, i know. But somehow, it's surprising to us). He is already fitting into this great onesie that my good friend Val bought for him in Hawaii at Matsumoto Shave Ice. We were pretty jealous, actually, and wanted one for ourselves.

And Soren and i have been going on more adventures as part of the Tag-Team Daycare plan. For the most part we are having fun. I have earned the nickname "Mr. Mom" from a few older guys who have lived on this street for decades. One of them laughs at me everytime. It's kind of cute, in a way. Soren doesn't mind being the center of attention, as long as it's not for too long. He loves to be looked at for about 2 minutes. Then he wants people to leave him alone, so he'll start whining. What a funny kid. He's great.

Last Hurrah, -or- Picture Overload

We start our "last" year of school in just a handful of days, so we wanted to take a vacation while we had the chance. Sure, we'd rather go to South America or Northern Europe for a few weeks, but circumstances made east Ohio a little easier.

I probably went a bit overboard taking hundreds of pictures, but after living in Cincinnati, eastern Ohio looks positively gorgeous. It was so good just to do nothing but be with our family. I think we have a lot of fun, for the most part. I do feel a little guilty at the idiosyncratic world that Soren is unwillingly being born into... but we think it still works out in his favor. Having an eccentric parent or two is pretty harmless, compared to some things in this life.

You can probably tell that our kiddo is becoming a bit more more work, but also a large bit more fun. He is showing off his new smile a lot. He also gets bored pretty easily, and long car rides are not his thing. Just wait until he is old enough to have to listen to my music for four hours in the car! Or my jokes! Heh heh. It's just the beginning, kid. : )

School starts on Wednesday!
Darn.

happy 4 month birthday, silly monkey!

He celebrated by continuing to smile even after I got the camera out.

we don't mean to brag....

but we are pretty sure we ended up with the best baby of the lot.


Soren gets cuter and more grown up by the day. He's such a happy kid, with the biggest smiles and brightest eyes. He is vocalizing a lot more recently, and we're especially amazed that his first language seems to be some sort of ancient Hebrew dialect. His new big achievements are putting his hands to his mouth and effortlessly raising one eyebrow. I assume you can put your hands in your mouth, but what about the eyebrow trick? It's beyond my abilities, at least.


He's even developed his first crushes on two married women (yikes), and is quite pleased with himself when his persistent staring and little coos attract their attention. Watch out, Jason and Alex...


Soren is a great sleeper, taking a few long naps during the day and sleeping 10-11 hours at night, with only a few sleepy, midnight snack breaks. We feel almost guilty for the amount of sleep we're able to get. And maybe I shouldn't go overboard with pride, but he doesn't cry much anymore unless something needs fixing. But, can you blame him? I suppose if I was carried in a comfy hammock all day in my pj's and fed tasty milkshakes whenever I began to think I might be hungry, I'd be content too.


I keep trying to capture his smiles on camera. Yet, he's fascinated by cameras... the sounds? or the red-eye-reducing light? Who knows. But, bringing out a camera is a sure-fire way to distract him from crying (yay!) or from smiling (oh well). These are the results of the most recent attempt to get a smiley picture:

His 4 month check-up (4 months!) is Monday. Anyone up to bet a few bucks on his weight? I'll put a dollar on 13 pounds 10 oz...

Photo Shy

One night Soren was being particularly grumpy and we were getting a little sick of trying to make him stop crying. I thought that I would document the event in case he grew up thinking that he never cried. AS SOON as i turned the camera on, he looked at me and suddenly looked REALLY cute. Of course, i was pretty won over, even though he totally trumped my efforts.

what a week it was...

Soren celebrated his three month birthday on the 18th by weighing in at exactly three times his birthweight, just a half ounce under 11 pounds. He seems so huge to us. I was faced with the mostly fun yet sentimental task of reorganizing his dresser drawers, putting away the small stuff to make room for the 3-6 month size clothes. Gosh those newborn shirts seem tiny. It really wasn't long ago that they were so loose on him. I've begged him to stop growing for a little while, just so I can get used to how big he is already, but that approach hasn't worked yet.

then.

now.

After several days of threateningly misty eyes during crying spells, the inevitable happened... his first real tear! Poor sweet kiddo! I haven't caught it on camera yet, but Soren has an amazingly convincing pouty lower lip face. It's enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. I'd better start toughening up a bit now that we have this new tear development and all. I swear that a vegetarian mom even more health conscious than I would be tempted to give in to the pleas for Easy Mac with hotdogs with the lip and tears in combination...

Sweet Sophie and Milo have been living it up for a week now at their new home. Keeping them out of the bedroom left them with just very little space to roam, and the demands of caring for Soren left them with much less attention than they deserved. I'm sure they'll soon be comfortable and happy on their 100+ acre farm, where the squirrels and birds might actually be chased and not just threatened from behind the window.

Here is Soren's last picture with the cats. Notice his dashing cap! If only we had a pair of suspenders and aminiature bag of newspapers for him to pretend to sell.

Well, at this point I might as well throw in a few more recent pictures. That's what you came for, right?

"Union on strike! Read all about it... only 10 cents! Get your papers here, folks!"

Soren enjoys starting his mornings with a cup of tea and a good book.

He prefers rooibos, but will settle for a lovely jasmine green if that's all that's available.

Two weeks ago my wonderful grandfather died in California at the ripe old age of 95. He was the most loving man you could know, and made a positive impact on the lives of countless people around the world. He will be dearly loved and missed by all of us. I wish Soren could have known him. I flew to the Bay Area last Saturday for his memorial, baby in tow. I was nervous about the 8 hours of travel time, probably almost as nervous as those poor passangers eyeing me suspiciously as I walked down the ailse, baby sling and all. Soren is a super champ though, and just slept and ate the whole time. No crying. He was a huge hit in California, where he got to spend more time with his grandma and auntie Lauren, and saw my dad for the first time. I am certain he would have loved his first trip to the ocean and to SF had he not slept right through it in his sling. He was really on his best behavior the whole 4 days, so now no one will ever believe me again when I tell them I was up all night with him. He really does do this! Really!

Soren is really a happy little guy. This week he magically discovered the captivating world around him. We used to get an occasional smile here or there, but now he interacts with us most of the time he's awake. It's so fun to have him respond to our voices and our touch with his darling sloppy smiles. We've gotten a few preliminary coos out of him too, and look forward to hearing more of those. You can see the determination and focus in his eyes as he stares at the dangling toys of his bouncy seat... he wants them, badly, and is trying to figure out exactly what one must do to reach an arm out and grab them. In time, little bean. You'll figure it out. Soon nothing will be safe from your tiny hands.