Leaving on a jet plane...

So Jen, Rebekah, and I are going to be going on a "vacation" this coming week. I put vacation in quotes because I don't know if it will really be a true vacation. A true vacation to me is one where I don't have to do anything, have no obligations, and can be myself. This "vacation" we will be traipsing around upstate New York going to a wedding, a graduation party, and visiting family and friends. In other words, being very, very busy especially since most of the family in NY has not met Rebekah yet. Now don't get me wrong, just because it's not a "real" vacation for me doesn't mean I won't have fun. In fact, I am sure I will have a lot of fun. I will enjoy the wedding, and the family, and the friends, and the graduation party. It's just that I doubt I will have any real time to just relax. In addition, we will have Rebekah to entertain while doing all these things. That's actually not that bad, but a toddler who is off her schedule (i.e. not eating or sleeping properly or at her normal times) will likely be very fussy, which doesn't make for a happy Daddy.



All of that is really minor compared to the impending airplane ride(s). I had no idea how difficult flying with a baby can be. I mean, we did go to Charleston on a plane with Rebekah, but she was only 6 months old, easy to entertain, slept the whole plane ride, and the total time on a plane was only 2 hours. When we go to NY the total plane time is going to be somewhere around 4 and a half hours! And she is not sleeping as easily, harder to entertain, and much, much older. I think keeping her amused will be the challenge part and we have a variety of hints and strategies we picked up from friends and websites we are going to try out. Some of these are things like giving her a new toy, using sticker/activity books, playing with pipe cleaners, and reading new books. Well, she LOVES to read (like her mommy and daddy), so that is one thing I am sure she will like. However, I have heard that giving her Benadryl would be easiest (so she will sleep, unless she has the opposite reaction, which would be bad, so a test dose is always prudent), but Jen isn't into drugging our child. I, on the other hand, am all for it. Whatever works easiest, I say. But I think Jen is going to win this one and we will have to make sure Bekah doesn't get bored and try out the multitude of entertainment strategies. And then we get to do all over again on the way back. Fun, fun, fun.



In addition to the actual plane ride, you have to make sure you have everything you need packed in the appropriate places. For me this means it's time to make lists. I am a list person; I like them, they keep me on track and they ensure I don't forget anything I thought to put on the list. Now if I forget to put something on the list, well that's out of my hands. So we will have a list of stuff that needs to go in the diaper bag, into the carry on bag, into the checked bags, etc. The list of lists seems infinite. Making sure we have all the clothing we need, toiletries, etc. is a full time job. Usually we wouldn't go to this extreme, but because airlines are charging per bag, we want only 1 bag each not including Rebekah. This entails much forcing of baggage closed, but it should be cheapest (as long as we aren't over the weight limit). We'll be carrying on some clothing (since I have such horrible luck with lost baggage) and all of the aforementioned entertainment equipment for Rebekah. If I'm not enough of a geek for you already, Jen and I are going to make an itinerary of where we need to go when. Not that we have to follow it, or that I'll be upset if we don't get to everything exactly on time or at all, but because we are seeing so many people at disparate times it will make sure we don't forget anyone or any appointments.

So as you can see, this is going to be quite an adventure. With the traveling, shlepping around a (possibly quite cranky) baby Rebekah, and general business of the week, you can understand my trepidation about calling this a real "vacation". I will definitely be looking forward to our other trip this summer (sans baby Rebekah) to Portland, Oregon in July which I can call as much of a vacation as I am likely to get any time soon. It will be nice to get away with Jen for sure though and go to my friend's wedding there. And yes, I know we are not the first parents to have to take a toddler on a flight, but it's our first time so cut me some slack. And this is my blog and I'll complain if I want to! :-) I will have Jen to lean on and she is the much more prepared one for this sort of thing, but I'd like to think we will have a learning experience. And isn't that what life's all about?

Incredible naked baby

Rebekah has recently begun dancing to music. She swings her one, yes just one, arm back and forth in a kind of sideways "Hey! Ho! Hiphop Hurray!". It is quite amusing actually. She pushes the buttons on her many musical toys and waits until the music starts, then goes to town. The only problem is when I try to go to get her to dance with me she gets upset. I guess she already knows that Daddy can't dance!

She also has decided that being naked is fun. So this morning when I got Rebekah up for the day, I realize she had peed through her diaper, even though its one of the "overnight" kind of diapers. Weird I know. I guess her kidneys were working overtime last night. And since she peed through her diaper she also wet her pajama pants. So I change her diaper and decide that I don't really need to put pants back on her since we don't usually get her ready for the day until after her morning nap. Well, I put her in living room while I was making lunch (which I conveniently forgot, by the way) and all of a sudden, I don't hear her normal ruckus. Knowing this to be a tell tale sign that she is getting into trouble, I walk into the living room to find Rebekah in the middle of the floor waving her diaper above her head in a triumphant motion. My first thought is, "I really hope she didn't pee on the floor." I mean our dogs do that enough that we don't need to have people peeing as well. Thankfully, she didn't pee on the floor and I was able to successfully put her diaper back on. Quite the experience for sure.

Otherwise, everything is well here in Lorenz Land. I have one review article in and I am working on a second. It's nice not to have students on rotation or in class now. I can actually do some scholarship work. This is Crazy Ray and you have been warned.

Newness is fun

OK, so I finally decided it's time to set up a real blog so I can keep my friends and family informed on the goings-on in my life. Jen may be "guest blogging" on here sometimes as well. I used to blog on myspace a lot, but since no one really uses myspace anymore, I figured it was time to do this. I think doing this will be fun, but we will see. I don't know how often I will be blogging, probably when I have something to say. I may review books, movies, albums, bands, or anything else that tickles my fancy. And yes I just used "tickle my fancy", so sue me. Well, don't because I don't really have all that much of value and you wouldn't get much. Just a bunch of student loan debt.

Everything is going pretty well. I have been very busy with work this past semester. I had a bunch of papers to write and things to grade and stuff to do. It has slowed down somewhat now its the summer and has freed me up to do some more writing and research. I enjoy seeing my patients at the mental health center. I have been much more focused and attentive the past few weeks and it has enabled me to get a lot more done. I have a conference coming up soon in Salt Lake City and I am looking forward to that. It will be a very good learning experience for me (I hope).

Rebekah is now officially a year old. Where has the time gone? I don't know. She is becoming more of a little girl and less of a baby. She definitely has her own personality and wants. She has started dancing while sitting down and, although she isn't walking quite yet, she is getting very close. She is keeping Daddy and Mommy very busy chasing her and keeping her entertained. Our new nanny has been working out well. She is very good with Rebekah and takes her places. Rebekah has started to miss Mommy (not so much Daddy) when she is leaving in the morning to go to work, but our nanny says she gets over it pretty quickly. She has also started to say some words like mama, dada, and dog. She also has started to recognize many more words and can tell you where Daddy's nose is, and where her belly button is. She can also say "moo" when asked what a cow says. We had a birthday party for her, but it was just family and everyone had a good time. Rebekah had no idea what was going on and didn't like the cake, but I think she enjoyed all the attention. The newest adventure with her is that we are trying to cut out formula and bottles, so this will be a challenge. She had a pediatrician appt. last week and got a clean bill of health as well as a couple immunizations. She weighs in at a little over 23 lbs. and is 32 inches long (tall?).

Jen is still working for Rite-Aid and she has a new partner who seems to be working out for her. I think she likes working, but would much rather be at home with Rebekah. She is a very good mom and I am lucky to have her raising our children. Our relationship is even stronger now with the baby and we try to make some time for us to go out and have a date night. We recently saw the new Star Trek movie and it is highly recommended, even if you aren't a fan of Star Trek. Rebekah got a pool for her birthday (thanks Gramma Geri!) but it is quite large (10 ft. x 3 ft.) and we are able to get in it with her and cool off. She also got a whole host of other toys which sing songs or make noise, or sing and dance (Elmo live! is the first sign of the apocalypse and the machines are going to rise up against us. It is way too smart for its own good.). Jen and I also had birthdays which went well, but we didn't really exchange gifts. Just another year older. I only have one more year before I am officially out of my 20's. Man I am getting old.

Jen, Rebekah, and I are going to be in and around Syracuse, NY in the next couple weeks. Jen has one cousin who is getting married and another who is graduating from high school. Almost no one in Jen's family from NY has seen Rebekah in person, so it will be an adventure for her. I am sure she will be shy initially, but will eventually warm up to everyone. We are also going to see some of our close friends from college since it has been forever since we have seen them. It'll be good to catch up in person. The only part about the trip I am dreading is the airplane rides. There and back we will have to keep Rebekah entertained without her being able to crawl around. This is going to be fun!

The last couple days have been pretty rainy here, but now it has cleared out and I think Rebekah and I will go for a walk. Well, I will be walking and she will be in a stroller. But it will be nice to get outside in the warm weather.

Just two more random thoughts: You can be overwhelmed or underwhelmed, but can you ever be just whelmed? and I can be dishevelled, but what about shevelled? I don't know. Maybe you all have an idea. Also, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the blog or what you would like to see on here.

This Crazy Ray and you have been warned....