My baby likes to burrow

Our little Goobie is figuring out how to move. She can turn herself around in circles and roll really well, but when she tries to move forward, she just scoots herself backwards.

Well, yesterday morning Big Papa went in to go check on her in her crib and almost had a heart attack -- where was Goobie? All he could see were blankets! He quickly lifted them up to find that she had scooted herself all the way under her covers. She was totally happy, comfy, and warm in her blanket burrow. I couldn't get a picture of her all the way in it without waking her up, but I did get this one. I'd say it's still pretty cute.

The Speed and Subtleties of Sound

I don't wake up when the goobster cries at night, unless she's really howling even after mommy's done her best to console her, which is my cue to get up and do my daddy duties. It's not that I'm intentionally ignoring the baby crying--I honestly sleep through it. No, really, I do!

My voice teacher had this explanation handy. Apparently, the size of the small space between a baby's vocal folds is exactly the same size as the entrance to that specific baby's mom's inner ear. Ergo, a baby's cry hovers around an "ideal frequency" to be heard by the mother. This made me feel better, even if it turns out to be total hogwash. My wife is Programmed to wake up, and I'm not.

However, other recent events are messing with the sleep patterns of our little household..

Sleeping in on the weekends is fantastic--especially long weekends, like this current weekend we're weekending. My wife does too, although Goobie McGooberson has decided these last few mornings that 5:30 am is a fantastic time for a pre-breakfast breakfast, so poor Momma hasn't been getting her Z's, and tells me so after I wake up wonderfully refreshed around 7:30 am.

I'd like to say that last sentence was entirely true in regards to our current weekend. Nope. Not even. And why? Is it because I'm trying to use my weekendy time more wisely? Is it because I'm getting up early to hit the gym with, like, no one there but the sleepy door-watcher person and a couple juicers on the weights and marathon runners on the treadmills?

I'd like to say that one of those reasons is true.

Huh-uh.

I've been waking up at 6 am every morning since Friday to a soft, but sharp chirping sound coming from near the window. The Early Bird, you say, is visiting my apartment?

No, not the Early Bird...

At first, I couldn't tell where the sound was coming from--I got down on my hands and knees and looked under the bed. I checked all of our electronic devices. I checked Momma's sock drawer. I checked my new watch (um..it's totally analog) to see if it was self-destructing (it's kinda fancy like that).

Then Momma told me that it was coming from the vent...and then it hit me..in waves.

First, I then understood it must be our downstairs neighbor's alarm clock.

Second, that our downstairs neighbors probably aren't home, because even the most stubborn snoozers will at least hit the snooze button/turn off the alarm after at most 5 minutes of a loud alarm buzz.

Third, that our downstairs neighbors are probably gone for the long weekend to stay with family or friends.

Fourth, that our downstairs neighbors' alarm clock would thus be buzzbuzzbuzzing every morning this weekend at 6 am without anyone to turn it off. And it's not one of those turn-off-after-a-few-minutes alarms....

I checked. It turns off at around 8:34 am.

So, not only will my poor wife be woken up around 5 am every morning by the baby, but will have to wake up at 6 am, too, right after she settles down after a feeding.

But much worse is that I, too, will be sleep-deprived. For there is nothing worse than a sleep-deprived Set of parents and a happy baby. Because the parents get jealous, and people are gonna think we hate/don't appreciate our kid when she's being all cute, and we don't care.

Oh, well. I guess we'll..nap..or something.

House Hunters pt. 2

The Reveal!

After much deliberation, number crunching, and well, lots of thinking, we have decided where our little family will live during the first year of our law school adventure. Originally we were set on choosing option 2 -- the price seemed to good to be true and I (Cheesecake Mama) loved the idea of having a washer and dryer in our apartment. But after talking to the management, we found out that we couldn't apply until the end of May. They also told us that many of the residents would be staying for the next year so she couldn't really promise us any chance of getting an apartment there. We thought about putting down a deposit on another place while we waited to see if we could get into option 2, but decided that would be a very expensive gamble. So with that, option 2 left the table.

Choosing between option 1 and 3 was tricky. Both offered a lot of the same things, but option 1 required us to pay gas and electric. We are currently paying for both in our apartment and the bills can get as high as $100 a month. With that in mind we realized that OPTION 3 was our best choice! Even though the rent is higher, we would only be worrying about the electricity bill. All in all, our cost of living would end up being very similar to what we pay now, but we would be living in a bigger and better apartment very close to campus! We are so excited and can't wait to move into our new home!

House Hunters pt. 1

I love HGTV. Property Virgins, Income Property, Sarah's House, Property Ladder -- I love them all. But the show that started my obsession would have to be House Hunters. Oh, the drama! The excitement! The choices! Big Papa and I will stay up for 30 minutes more each night just to see which house they choose. It's also fun because it allows us to talk about what we would like in our future home. We won't be buying our first house for quite a while (three years of law school, and then few more years after that to pay off our student loans and save for a nice down payment), but we like to dream, just the same.

Currently, our House Hunters skills have come in handy as we search for our own home for the next year. Come August, we will be relocating to a new city, but we need to find a place now because, like in most college towns, the nice apartments fill up by May. After lots of google searches we came up with our top three choices, which we will share in House Hunters style. Which one will Big Papa, Cheesecake Mama, and their little Goob choose to make their first law school home?

Option 1: 

Rent: $645

Size: 801 sq. ft.
Utilities paid by tenant: Gas and Electric
Amenities: Air conditioning, dishwasher, coin operated laundry, playground, pool, one block away from a park, close to bus stop.

Nice and roomy living room. 

I like the tiles!

Ooh! There's enough space for a table in the kitchen!

Overall impression: Great price, but expensive utilities. Like the location for the parks, pool, and playground, but it's a 30 minute walk for Big Papa to campus.

Option 2:  

Rent: $480

Size: 630 sq. ft.
Utilities paid by tenant: Gas and Electric
Amenities: Washer/Dryer hookups, cable and internet included in rent, close to bus stop


Unfortunately, pictures were not available to download for Option 2, but I will describe it for you:

Living room: Very small, window blocked by the AC unit (which is optional). Vinyl floor.

Kitchen: Basic size, mini scale oven, hookups for the washer. Vinyl floor.

Bathroom: Small. Vinyl floor.

Bedrooms: Basic stuff, hookups for dryer in master. More vinyl floor.

Overall impression:  Love the price and having W/D hookups. But, it's the smallest of the three options, is much older and warn down, no AC, and the washer and dryer are in different rooms -- just a little weird. The entire apartment is covered in vinyl flooring as well so we'd need to find area rugs. It's also the farthest away from campus for Big Papa.

Option 3:

Rent: $720

Size: 900 sq. ft.

Utilities paid by tenant: Electric

Amenities: Air conditioning, dishwasher, coin operated laundry, extra storage, pool, heating and cooling paid by the complex

Nice size bedrooms.

Newly renovated bathroom!

Nice sized living space.

FABULOUS kitchen.

Overall impression: Most expensive option, but the utilities we pay would be super cheap since the complex pays for the heating and cooling. It's also the biggest with a large kitchen. This is the closest option to campus -- only a 15 minute walk for Big Papa. 

So, which option will these apartment hunters choose? Option 1 with the park and playground? The cheaper, but smaller, and quirkier option 2? Or option 3, the most expensive rent, but greatest amenities? We'll reveal their decision after the break! 

Man Cold vs. Woman Cold

I've been battling a nasty cold for the past couple days. Usually, I am a pretty helpful, perky, and happy type of person, but when I get sick that all changes. I wouldn't say that I turn into a nasty, grouchy monster (well... at least not all the time), but I'm much more melancholy and quiet.

When Big Papa gets sick, I turn into my "Superwoman" wife counterpart and spend my time making him soup, getting him juice, blankets, and comfy pillows so that he will be as comfy as possible. When he gets sick, like most big and strong men, he REALLY gets sick. I don't think, as a woman, I will ever be able to understand the severity of his man illnesses. But I try my hardest to make him feel comfy so he can get better.

When I get sick, Big Papa does a good job of taking care of me, but what happened today explains a dilemma I face. Let me set the scene: Cheesecake Mama lays on the couch coughing, nose red, piles of tissues around her. Big Papa looks at her from across the room opening his big brown eyes even wider.

Big Papa: What can I do for you? Need some water? A snack? A blanket? What do you need?
Cheesecake Mama: I'm okay.
Big Papa: No really, what do you need?
Cheesecake Mama: Really, honey, I'm fine.
Big Papa: What do you want? What can I do? (His eyes get bigger creating his signature puppy dog look)
Cheesecake Mama: No seriously, I'm fine.
Big Papa: But honey --
Cheesecake Mama: Really, I'm fine.
After a short pause
Big Papa: Are we still friends? Do you still like me? Are you mad at me? Are you angry? What can I do to make you happy again?

Law School, Here We Come!

Big Papa, here, announcing our official acceptance of an offer to study law at University of Iowa Law School! We're excited to head to the Midwest for our next adventure, and I, for one, am curious to see if Iowa is anything like its depiction in The Music Man. From what I understand, the town River City as showcased in the musical is the same as Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa. Furthermore, I remember watching the movie musical as a child and listening to the opening number- "You really ought to give Iowa a try..." Could it be that I was destined from a young age to do just that? Subliminal influences or no, our little family is about to Give Iowa a Try.

I've been keeping busy this semester a legal internship with a local firm, and it's been very interesting to finally get an inside look at the life of an attorney. I was lucky to be "adopted" by one of the partners at the firm who graduated from U of Iowa Law eight or so years ago. Not only is he eager to give me plenty of advice on how to succeed at the school, but he's put me to work on real cases drafting documents, doing research, and running odd errands now and again.

My favorite job so far was actually on my first day, when I showed up in a shirt and tie, and the partner asked me to come upstairs with him--he needed me for a very important task. Next thing I know, I'm helping a couple of guys from accounting tilt a half-ton, eight-foot safe onto a dolly. His big plan was to move the monstrosity down the somewhat shaky stairs onto his truck in the parking lot. The stairway was not only unsteady but also narrow, and I knew that I was not going to be the one leading the widow-maker safe down the stairs. I was relieved when my boss realized no one was comfortable with the task, and even more so when someone popped up from downstairs telling him that the safe didn't even belong to the firm, and that the real owner was wondering why he was taking the safe without paying for it. Aside from the boss' frustration that his prior agreement had been forgotten with the owner, all the would be safe-movers felt much safer. I was glad to hear that the next few assignments I'd be given were much less likely to give me a hernia.

6 Months Old

I cannot believe how fast she has grown. It seems like just yesterday when she looked like this:

Now she looks like this:

We went to the doctor yesterday and our little Goobie is doing great -- 17.12 lbs and 25.5 inches. She's in the 50% percentile for height, 75% for weight, and 90% for head size. We love our growing Goober! She's doing a lot of pre-crawling things, getting up on all fours and rocking, and is great at scooting backwards.

Tonight she gets her first taste of solid foods -- rice cereal here we come!

Life is Funny

First, a funny story. On Monday Big Papa was going to pick the Goob and I up from school. He called while I was still in rehearsal so I couldn't pick up and couldn't call him back until I emerged from the depths of the basement of the fine arts building. I figured he was waiting at our normal pick up spot. I got there and saw our car, but no him. I tried calling again... and again... and again, but no luck. I wheeled Goober and I back inside, thinking I'd see him there. No luck again. I went back outside but this time the car was gone! After calling a few more times, I finally got ahold of Big Papa. We had been chasing each other around the school for about 15 minutes. He got to our pick up spot and then when I didn't pick up, decided to come inside and find me. He was going down the stairs to the basement while I was going up the elevator. Then when I went back inside he went upstairs to another rehearsal room, then went back to the car. He had just left when I went back outside. Silly us!!!

Now, for some funny pictures.

The flash was a little too bright.

Watching TV already... does this make me a bad mother?

It's super cold today, but she's so bundled up she can't move!

Even without her coat, she wasn't too happy.