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Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Hello! First, thanks to all of the Fishsuit-ees out there who came to Stockstock. (You know who you are!) It was a great show, and I was very pleased with the turnout. I hope to post a copy of my film here in the next few days. Through some interesting technical decisions, I think I may have created a film that I am unable to actually view at my own house. I'm trying to sort that out.
Second, sorry about the long absence. Insert standard apologies about schedule here. I'm making up for it with a vengeance, though: today you get one giant post covering the better part of six weeks. You might want to go get a sandwich.
A lot has happened since my last real entry, which was right before my month of paternity leave. It was the longest absence from work I've ever had since I entered the full-time workforce, but it still felt really short. We travelled for the first ten days, and I spent the rest of the time at home taking care of the Senator, helping Nicole with the store, and working on Stockstock. It was very fun, but I got so used to being around Nicole and Sofia that it was hard to go to back work the first day.
(Sofia did not make it any easier, either. I peeked into her crib right before I left the house that first day, and as soon as she saw me she broke out into a giant smile. Geez, kid, don't you know that I've got bills to pay? Can't you throw a big tantrum in the morning so I'll look forward to leaving the house?)
Over the past weeks we've hit several milestones, so I'll just lay them out for you in this handy list format. Clip and save!
First Plane Trip
Our vacation was a rather ambitious one, at least as far as I'm concerned. We flew from Seattle to Indianapolis (with a stop in Atlanta), visited my mom there for five days, then flew to Charleston, SC (with an inexplicable stop in Memphis), stayed there for five days visiting my dad and attending his wedding, then flew back to Seattle (with another stop in Atlanta). That's six different airplanes with a baby in ten days, and I wouldn't be lying if I told you I feared the worst.
I'd heard that young babies travel fairly well, but given the amount of crying Sofia was doing at the time, I was terrified. Someone suggested that taking late-night flights would help, because then the baby would be more apt to sleep. The problem is that if she cries the whole time, then everyone else on the plane is more apt to not sleep, in addition to them being more apt to throw us off the plane in some kind of nightmarish mid-air version of Survivor. I nervously booked late morning flights, picked seats as far from the emergency doors as possible, and hoped for the best.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. She did great. With the exception of a couple of crying jags in the early evening (which is her normal fussy time), she slept almost the entire time. On two different flights the people in front of us didn't even know we had an infant with us until we got off the plane, which as far as I'm concerned is like winning the Nobel Prize for Traveling with a Baby. (They should totally have a Nobel Prize for that, by the way.)
I think that part of our success was due to the fact that we bought a separate seat for the baby. We were originally not going to do this, but I am glad we did. It meant that the baby could sleep in her car seat while both Nicole and I had our hands free to eat, get up and go to the bathroom, operate our tray table, etc. Sofia got more rest and we were more relaxed.
We did have to pay half fare for Sofia, but it made our trip so much more comfortable. I can't imagine how painful it would have been for us to hold her for six straight hours. Oof. (Not only that, it's safer. As someone pointed out to me, I wouldn't think of even driving down the block in my car without putting the baby in a car seat, so why should it be any different when we're in a giant metal tube hurling through space at 500 MPH?)
And before I get a lot of comments, let me state: yes, I know that it will get harder. We've been duly informed of that fact by half the population of the Eastern United States. Every parent with a child that we ran into during our trip seemed to have two goals: 1) ask how our baby was handling the travel, 2) let us know that everything is SO MUCH WORSE once they reach Little Mathilda/Little Roscoe's age. What is up with the sharing of the misery, Airport Parents? We get it: parenthood is a complete nightmare and we've made the worst mistake of our lives. If that's true, then why can't you just let us enjoy these few moments of peace and quiet? Why must you take it upon yourself to be the Kinder-Cassandra and spread to us the horrible tales of our future? We'll get there soon enough, thank you very much.
Apart from that, we had a good time on our trip. We'd both been extremely busy in the weeks leading up to our departure, so it was really nice to get to my mom's house and just relax. Sofia enjoyed staying with her Nana and her Aunt Julie, and she got to meet her Uncle Mike and Aunt Amy, as well as her...er, my Aunt Tricia and my cousins. (Would that make Tricia her great aunt? Man, I need to look this stuff up.)
South Carolina was fun, too. My dad's whole side of the family was there, including Sofia's great-grandmother, and they all got to meet the baby. Sofia did have a bit of a hard time for a while until we figured out something rather interesting: she'd never been around more than six people at a time. She'd met most of our friends, but always in groups of two or three. So when we showed up in Charleston and the whole family was there...well, Sofia did alright at first, but after a couple of hours she started to freak out.
And no wonder: dozens of strange, blurry faces peering in at you, all wanting to hold you and touch you and say hello? It would freak me out, too. It took us about two days to figure this out, and after that we started taking our leave early and putting her to bed. After that she spent time with everyone, and things were fine. it was an interesting lesson for us, though: it's easy to forget how much babies don't understand.
Even with the slight schedule problems, it was nice for Sofia to meet her relatives. Most of that side of the family is scattered all over, so we're rarely ever together.
It was kind of a bummer to leave the hotel and come back to our messy house, but I think we were all glad to be home. When we got back we carried Sofia around from room to room asking her, "This is your house - do you remember it?" We were kind of joking, but it was a valid question - after all, she'd been away from home for almost a quarter of her life.
First Babysitter
Although Sofia had been watched by others before, one of us had always been around at the time. When we were in Indiana Sofia had her first real babysitters: her Nana and Aunt Julie. They watched Sofia for a couple of hours while Nicole and I went to the movies. (This milestone could also be filed under "First Trip to Movie Theater for Parents Since Birth of Child".) It was a rather military operation: we had a very small window of time between feedings, and the only show whose start time and proximity worked out logistically was The Brothers Grimm. Upon reflection this was really not a very good movie, nor was it a good theater, but I found the outing very entertaining. I think this is partially due to the fact that I am a sucker for Terry Gilliam's imagery, but mostly due to the thrill of being out alone on a date again after so long.
We emerged from the theater about 15 minutes later than we anticipated, so we rushed home to find Sofia a little hungry but otherwise OK. I always heard about parents and babies freaking out when they are separated for the first time, but I think we all handled the situation rather well.
New Uncle
My sister Julie got engaged right before we left on our trip, so Sofia got to meet her soon-to-be Uncle Ryan while we were in Indiana. Congratulations, you guys!
First Swim
The hotel we stayed at in Charleston had a pool, so Nicole took Sofia swimming. LIke most things, swimming is a little more complicated when you have a baby. They can't wear sunscreen, so you have to take them when the sun isn't too hot. Their bodies don't regulate heat very well, so you can't take them in for very long or they get too cold. Finally, they can't swim - or at least ours can't. Nicole took her in the pool and sort of pushed her through the water, the way you might use a stick to push around dead leaves. Sofia seemed to approach the endeavour with a kind of bemused detachment. She didn't cry, but I got the sense that it was due to a lack of sufficient information more than anything else.
First Smile, First Laugh & First Baby Talk
For most of her tenure here, Sofia's expressions have ranged from Peacefully Asleep to Screaming in Agony to Generally Non-Plussed. When she hit about five weeks, she appeared to smile every so often, but they didn't seem like real smiles. It was more like she was trying out all of her facial muscles, and some combinations happened to resemble a slight grin.
Right before we left she'd started to do actual smiles, but only if she was in the right mood. Once we got to Indiana she really got the hang of it. She especially smiled a lot when she sat in the swing her Nana bought her, and she even started to laugh a little.
Now she does it all the time. All you have to do now is smile at her, and she will smile back and laugh. She knows how to imitate fairly well, and her vision has improved to the point that she can see you smile from several feet away. She talks all the time, too. We have extensive conversations of nonsense words; she will even wait until you are finished before she starts talking. It's amazing to see her start to pick up the protocols of language, even though she doesn't understand a word.
First Rainstorm
This is only noteworthy because of where it took place: South Carolina. Sofia was born in the summer, a very dry time in Seattle, so she managed to go for over a month without seeing rain. (It may have rained once at night, but if so then we were all asleep for it.) One afternoon in Charleston the skies opened up, and it really poured. I held Sofia by the window to see, but she didn't seem to notice, frankly. I'm not even sure she saw it at all. That kind of attitude toward rain will serve her well now that we're getting into the Seattle autumn.
First Wedding
My dad got remarried when we were in South Carolina, and Sofia got to attend the wedding. She did pretty well - no fussing or anything. She even got to dance with her Grandpa at the reception. (I took about 8 million pictures of that, but most of them are in the giant sack of undeveloped film I have sitting on the bookcase.)
First (and Second) Limo Ride
A big secret that The Man doesn't want you to know is that in some cities taking a town car to the airport is almost the same price as taking a taxi or a shuttle. This is definitely the case when going between the Indianapolis airport and my mom's house. In addition to taxi fares in excess of $70, the cab drivers in Indianapolis are crazy. The last two times Nicole and I have taken a taxi there we were almost killed, and I mean that quite literally. (Cab driver's reaction to coming within 12 inches of brutally accelerating into the back of a car on an entrance ramp: "Whoa...where did that car come from?" What, you mean that car? The one that's been sitting stationary for the last three minutes?)
When we were leaving my mom's this time, I'd had enough, so I just called a town car service. Naturally, they sent the largest stretch limousine in their fleet. It had enough room for all of our stuff - which is important when you have a stroller - but it felt a little conspicuous. Also, a limousine? Most dangerous vehicle ever for transporting children. Nicole and Sofia were strapped into the very back seat (the only seats with proper seat belts), while I sat on the side bench seat. If there were an accident and Sofia's car seat somehow came undone, it had a good eight feet to fly before it hit the front of the car. (Luckily, I was in between to cushion the blow.)
We took a car service home from the Seattle airport, and they sent a limo too. It's pretty much old hat for Sofia now - she's averaged one limo ride every four weeks for her entire life.
Third Doctor Visit
After we got back, Sofia had her third doctor appointment. She measured 23.75 inches and weight 11 lbs., 15 oz. In short, this is one long, chubby baby. She's actually longer than she is chubby, if we go by averages: she was 90th percentile for her length but only about 85th percentile for her height. Sadly, the doctor didn't write down her rank in head size. I hope she doesn't have an abnormally small head; I don't want that to stand in her way of going to Yale.
First H.R. Giger-Related Plaything
Uncle Feng gave Sofia the one present that every child should have when they are born: a plush Cthulu. From the look of this picture, she seems to like it:
The label mentions that it's flame retardant, but it doesn't say anything about the dread creature rising from the dark waters to revel across the world for all of eternity. Odd.
First Movie Theater
We have avoided taking Sofia to the movies, what with her whole uncontrollable crying and everything. I never understood the idea of taking one's baby to a movie, to be honest. I mean, yes, I appreciate how relaxing it is as a parent to go to a theater and watch a movie. To a large extent, however, it's relaxing precisely because the baby is not there. Bringing the baby with you would seem to be a gross misunderstanding of the entire operation.
This is to say nothing of politeness, of course. That is because I am not foolish enough to think that politeness exists in movie theaters anymore. The advent of home theater seems to have fooled people in actual theaters into thinking that they are the only ones in the room. This is the only explanation for why people would talk in a giant theater full of otherwise silent people, and I presume it's also explanation for why someone would bring a nine-month-old child to an 8 PM showing of the 180-minute war epic Braveheart and then sit in the front row, an act I personally witnessed many years ago which is to this day burned into my memory, most likely due to the hearing loss I suffered as a result of the baby's lung-bursting screams. i can't imagine why the baby would be so upset; do you think it was because of the 90 decibel Dolby Digital soundtrack playing eight feet from her head, or could it have been the on-screen beheadings taking place at 100 times life size?
OK...rant over. Given my obvious opinion on this subject, it should come as no surprise that I am not interested in bringing my own child to a public movie theater, at least not until the next David Lynch movie comes out. I did have to make an exception to my rule, though, because of Stockstock. I very much wanted Nicole and Sofia to be there, for starters. And even if we'd wanted to leave Sofia with a babysitter, all of the people in our babysitting pool were at Stocksock, so we had limited options.
Sofia did great. We sat in the very back right by the door so we could leave if necessary. We thought she was going to start crying a couple of times and so we rushed her out, only to realize that she was still fast asleep. She's a trooper, that girl.
I have to say that I am somewhat proud of the fact that the first time Sofia went to a movie theater was for a show I produced, and that she actually got to see my work on screen (where "see" is defined as "sleep through"). How many other fathers can say that? I mean, besides Mel Gibson.
Longest Continuous Independent Torso Rotation
The length of the rotation in question was 180 degrees of arc, and it took place on her play mat. To put it a different way, she rolled from her stomach onto her back. Although she has only done it a couple of times and it doesn't yet seem instinctive to her, she did it nonetheless. It was pretty fun, actually. One minute she's on her stomach, her head bobbing around like a pigeon, and the next minute - floop! - right onto her back. My little girl is growing up! (Note to baby book manufacturers: start including a space for "First 180 Degree Continuous Independent Torso Rotation".)
First The Cheat
If you thought that I wasn't going to buy this for my daughter, you were sorely mistaken.
First Museum
The last week of my paternity leave was tough for Sofia. She seemed to be colicky - she wouldn't eat, she wouldn't sleep, and she screamed bloody murder for what seemed like no reason at all. It was therefore with slightly gritted teeth that we embarked upon Dierdorf-Miller Family Day on my last Thursday of freedom. First we went to Gasworks Park for a picnic, and then we went to the Pacific Science Center.
It seems that whenever the chips are down, Sofia rises to the occasion, and Dierdorf-Miller Family Day was no exception. She slept like a rock through the entire picnic - which was good, since that left more lemon cube cookies for me and Nicole. When we got to the museum, she was wide awake. Unlike the previous four days, when she didn't want to be held at all, at the museum she was perfectly content to sit in my arms as we walked around. She went on camera with me for the King 5 Guest Meteorologist and Virtual Goalkeeper activities (her first experience with chromakeying - is there a space for that in the baby book?), she watched as I thoroughly trounced an industrial robot at tic-tac-toe, and she looked around intently at all of the butterflies in the butterfly house.
Unfortunately, Sofia didn't get to see any more because her lame parents didn't get her to the museum until an hour before it closed. But they purchased an annual membership, which means that she will get to go back at least two more times in the next 12 months so that her dad will break even.
It was fun to see her there. She was so calm and interested - it was like she was a different baby all of a sudden. She's been pretty happy-go-luck ever since. One explanation is that she got over her colic and was feeling better. The other, more correct explanation is that she loves science and will grow up to win a Nobel Prize (for something other than Traveling With a Baby) as a result of her natural scientific proficiency, which she inherited from her parents, including her father, making the Nobel Prize mostly his, when you get right down to it.
Whew! OK, that's about it. I'm sure there is more to tell you about, but a) I can't remember it and b) my fingers hurt from typing. I will have lots of photos and some special surprises coming up in a week or two. Stay tuned!
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
I assume that most of you who care have seen the box office returns for Serenity. If not, suffice it to say that they were disappointing. I came to the realization yesterday that as things stand now there is likely not going to be any more Firefly, ever. And that is not OK.
So for those of you who loved this remarkable show, I urge you to go out and see the movie again next weekend and take your friends with you. If everyone who bought the DVDs of the TV show takes one friend to see the movie, then we might have a shot.
For those of you who never watched the show Firefly, I urge you to give its movie sequel, Serenity, a try. If you are the kind of person who thinks that movies should have stories and strong characters in addition to explosions, then you will like Serenity. If you think that good movies can be thrilling and serious and funny and literate all at the same time, like movies used to be, then you will like Serenity. If you are sitting around waiting impatiently for someone to make another Indiana Jones movie, then you will like Serenity. This movie is all that, and more.
I don't often wear my fanboy status on my sleeve, but this is one film that truly deserves it. Let's do everything we can to get ourselves at least one more chapter in the story.
(P.S. I'll have a nice, long baby-related post for you on Wednesday, I promise.)