Snow fall

Today was the 36th day of measurable snowfall in the Chicago area. Four more inches over night.

Happy Leap Day

All hell broke loose at work this morning. Related? Who knows? It felt like Y2K all over again...

Energy

Three weeks w/o caffeine and (other than less selection in beverages) I don't really notice. I do miss the high, though.

Baby sharing

No, not sharing babies like sharing a toy or an object; more like sharing experiences, stories, feelings, fears and realizations. Today, we spent the afternoon with another couple who had a baby only two weeks after we did. Since Amanda is only 11 weeks old, we are pretty much on the same path of development (though lots can happen in two weeks).

I found it refreshing that they have had similar experiences, frustrations and joys of parenting as have had. Tim receives the same greeting upon coming home from work from his Angela as I receive from my Amanda - tears not of joy, but frustration. With the hustle and bustle of the work day, all a father wants is some peace and quiet upon arriving home. That's not in our daughters' game plan so it seems.

I do have to say that our Amanda is getting much better these days. Her fits of crying (for no apparent reason) has decreased and she sleeps longer at night.

Our visit to Natalie and Tim also included a tour of their new home. It was our first visit; it's a very nice house. Katie and I are jealous of a few facets: square-footage, closet space, elbow room, finished basement, storage, his/hers sinks and laundry room. I could elaborate, but I don't feel it's necessary. We had a great time today; thank you for your hospitality.

Damn Cubs

I'm a White Sox fan, but have ties to many friends who are loyal to the North Side's Lovable Loosers better known as the Chicago Cubs. This year marks the centennial of this team winning its last national title in 1908 (the same year my house was built!).

I'm sitting in one of the stupid electronic waiting rooms trying to buy tickets for two traditions - Trifecta and Derk's birthday. The former is a golf-baseball-pub crawl and the latter is a birthday game for a good ex-coworker/buddy. He attends one game a year and drinks alcohol ony one day each year. They collide at his birthday game at Wrigley Field each July.

Daycare

The big topic at hand is that Katie's maternity leave (as long as it is) will run out in a few weeks. Then what do we do with our little angel? While Katie ponders part-time vs. full-time, we still need somewhere for her to go regardless. Family members have been less than receptive to the notion, so we are turning outside the family for help.

Most daycare places around us don't take infants. Hinsdale has a great day-car/education place that does take infants. In fact, they can take 12 of them at any given time. Why 12? Because that's how many cribs they have and also that allows them to maintain a four-infants-to-one-teacher ratio. No more, no less.

We toured it last night. I have to say that I liked it. They answered all of our questions and made me feel at ease. Katie needs some time to mull it over. One of the best perks is that we can drop Amanda off in the morning, park our car there and walk a few blocks to the Hinsdale train station to jump on the same train line we would catch from home. Bonus. The path would reverse on the way home.

All night, all night long

Amanda slept through the night for the first time last night. From 10:30pm to 7:00am she was asleep. How is it that in only a few weeks she can (in one night) go from needing to eat every 90 minutes to not needing to eat for over 8 hours? The human body is amazing...