Akello is one week old!

wow one week has come and gone. I feel like it has been four days. Where have all the cowboys gone? I mean time. yes, where has all the time gone.



I used to drink these things to get me going at work, or before i worked out. Ha!

working out. the only work out i get now is holding akello and his car seat. that things a beast!

p.s I highly recommend turbo tea. its the best for getting you going. you can get it at HEB

Lets talk about other recommendations. Those that know me know to buy me anything stainless steel for christmas or birthday. One of my favorite accessories has been my Sigg Mugg.



i used to be a Nissan fan, but no more. I have had the sigg for about a year, maybe 2 years now, and it holds heat amazingly well. I used to not be a handle guy, but sigg won me over.



get yours at whole foods today.

Today me and the fam went over to Special Addition on 35th and Lamar. Theresa had bought a sling from them a while back and they offered to help her with it once the baby came. well the babys here and that sling was pretty confusing, so we hopped in the car and headed on over

Theresa had been working with a girl over there named Rachel. She was there today too. Rachel is awesome and great to work with.


She taught us how to use the sling and after about 30 mins we were out of there.



its hilarious to see all the kids stuff they sell. especially college stuff. like little UT this or little A&M that. Im glad theresa is not college logo crazy. Neither of us are. In fact T has two degrees from UT and i have one degree from UT. and theres only one UT shirt in our entire house. and that's because Theresa needed a new shirt really quick while on campus one day.

Now dont get me wrong. we want UT to win and all that, but, when they do win, or loose, our lives stay the same. no bonus for making it to the playoffs, no fear of loosing my job. I dont play on the football team so i cant say that "we won".

Im glad T and i are on the same page on that one, b/c it seems like we are the only ones!

anyway sorry. fandom intrigues me, plus i have a black belt in keeping it real.

and now....your daily zen

Day 7. The Breast Pump

Hello from Gil and theresa, and a big whaaa whaaaa whaaaa whaaaa from A-kel.



today we gave the little guy a sponge bath. He actually took it pretty well. its those diaper changes that hes not a fan of. HaTES the air on his business.



We love to hear the same advice or information from a large number of people. a consensus if you will. Nothings worse than getting a Yes you should to a No you shouldnt from two different doctors.

One thing that we have been hearing from everybody is that whenever he sleeps we should have music on and speak normally. This is very hard for us. we always catch ourselves whispering and then stopping, sighing and then resuming the conversation at normal decibel levels.

If the baby gets used to silence when he is sleeping, he will always need it. (thats the thinking anyway)

so we have been playing music while he sleeps and we also went out and bought a Dex Soundsleeper from B'r'US. tHE THING DRIVES ME NUTS! it might be soothing to theresa and baby but its like chinese water torture to me! with its repetitive womb setting or ocean. you know ,,,the usual. But who cares, im just the dad.

I have been having trouble sleeping. as tired as i am, i for some reason cant go to sleep in my bed. i thought it was the temp, cuzz we dropped it to 79 instead of 77 for baby,

but the next day we put it back and i still couldnt sleep. Then i thought it was the lights that we left on, so one night, we left different light on. that wasnt it. so one day we turned the noisemaker off and listened to my FAILSAFE mix cd entitled "ambient go to sleep mix" nothing. Then i thought, AHA! its theresas snoring. She has started to snore since the pregnancy. but i went to bed before her, and still!

oh, we finished the Davinci code! we were kinda sad it was over actually, wed been reading it for 9 months.

whats weird though, is that i can go to sleep if i sleep on the floor. so i have concluded that for whatever reason it is, i cant sleep in the bed.

Akello sleeps in the moses basket next to the bed on THeresas side. iM wondering if maybe its a reflex that i have to be closer to the baby. but whats funny, is that this happens only at night. when i sleep during the day, no problem.

So getting back to the music. Akello was going to sleep and Theresa put on this CD called "On a starry night"


It is an awesome cd!
Theresa said she used it at naptime at a school she used to work at and said she loved it. I had just started to rock lil' kello to sleep when she played the first song. As soon as that song started playing i fell in love with it immediatly. i began to imagine what a perfect song this would make for a DVD highlighting akello's first days with the video and pictures that i took in the hospital. I started editing the whole thing in my head, how i would start it...etc. And thats when i lost it. I was moved to tears. uncuntrolable tears of thankfulness and joy. The song had triggered it in me. I just held him in my arms and quietly cried all over his blanket. And everytime i hear the song, i get teary-eyed.

I am surprised that it took this long. I thought i would be crying the first day! but not until now. The funny thing was, i went over to see who sang the song on the cd, because it was a compilation disc. and it was none other than Bobby Mcferrin.
yep. beleive it. the song is called common threads.



look at this picture. This is how it is, our bed is strewn with baby books. Theresa is constantly reading. constantly. and she usually will read a passage out loud for me to hear.


I have gotten rid of all my usual reading material (DWR catalog) and replaced it with
The happiest baby on the block. its a great book.



Theresa mostly reads Baby 411 (thanks Mi!) This book is awesome.



In other news, the concrete patio is now completed phase one!!!!!!
lets take a walk shall we...





Now the plan is to build a small railing out of the same material used for the fence.
it will be cedar slats. alternating between 6 inch and 4 inch slats laid horizontally. with a top cap just like the fence, for your drink to sit on. the fence will only be about 2 feet high. THis is phase 2. Phase 3 will then include a 2 foot gravel bed in front of the patio with some plants and landscape lighting. as shown in this crude artists rendition sans lighting and gravel.



ALSO! I took a picture of the stain on the fence.

this is before, the natuaral cedar


and after, the "natural cedar" colored stain and waterproofer


these pics were taken at different times of day so to show you the real comparison
check out this pic. i went ahead and stained the top and bottom of the fence just for fun in the interim. i will ultimatly stain it all the darker color as soon as i get a chance.



ok. on to the breast pump. today we went to go see a lactation consultant about a cracked nipple! Pooor Theresa has had a bit of a time and all the different advice is really begining to frustrate.



we were at her office forevor. ill make this short. She had years of training and all that, but she sucked. She gave theresa an ointment to use to heal and said to quit using lanolin, and that you had to wash off the nipple b4 each feeding. (kinda lame)
and then she sold us on these discs to put on the nipple to keep anything from touching it.


theresa - "arent you supposed to let your nipples breath? and air dry?
lact consult - "yes, thats what the hole are for"

chaching!!!

anyway so we also buy a brest pump from her and she had a great price on them. we wanted a breast pump, because A. manual ones suck (poorly) and B. whos got the time!

but seriously, T, can express some milk and then store it, and then i can handle the feedings when i get home from work.



If any of yall want to contribute to the breast pump fund, be my guest. they are not cheap, 225! but well worth it.

what sucks is that Michelle was going to let Theresa use hers, but we found out through multiple people that single user breast pumps are not to be shared!! (for health reasons)
so dont go buying one off of ebay.

OH THE NIPPLE GAURDS

so we get home and we use the ointment and the nipple gaurds. well for one, theresa looks at the ointment and im serius when i say that it said.."WARNING !! KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN, TOXIC IF SWALLOWED!!

Now theresa was using lanolin wich is totally ok for the kid to touch and you didnt have to rinse it off everytime you breastfed, wich HELLO is like every hour to 3 hours. Theresa flipped. almost drove back over there. Also the nipple gaurds. so you have this wet nipple thats usually leaking a few drops of milk, and you are supposed to sandwich this nipple shieild between the nipple and the maternity bra...and its supposed to keep dry because of the 3 little holes in it???

puuuhhhlease.


learning.....learning....

Day 6. The Pediatrician

Today we had our first visit to the pediatrician, Dr. Martha Macomber.
We chose her for a few different reasons.

1, she is close! about 3 minutes away.
2. easy parking! you can park right in front of the office, no big medical building,
no elevators.
3. the staff is nice
4. they have a sick kids waiting area as well as a healthy kids waiting area.
5. She has great bedside manner and always patiently anwers our questions.
6. She speaks spanish!
7. she takes our insurance. Ha! this should be number 1.

We have noticed that baby really likes car rides. He didnt make a squeek on the ride home from the hospital and didnt make a sound on the way to the ped. this morning. The car vibrations just put him at ease.

A few of our friends said that this was true for their infant as well. We are happy that akello is the same way!

I have noticed that my driving has changed pretty drastically. I am ashamed to say that it didnt change after T first learned she was preggers.

I am now mr. defensive driver. I stop, no I mean STOP at all stop signs and look both ways in excessive amounts. Im always on the lookout in all my mirrors for the crazy drivers and light runners. I concentrate on driving. Its all i think about when im behind the wheel.

and that goes for when im out driving by myself as well. I got stay healthy so that baby grows up with a daddy.

Well the Dr. had nothing but good news and put all of our concerns at ease.
he is gaining weight well and we will see her again in 2 weeks.

Another thing that has changed is Music. This also happened when I met theresa

As most of you know, im a huge Sade fan, and know alot of lyrics to her songs by heart. but its another thing to FEEL the lyrics. "lovers rock" used to be a cool song, but then I had theresa to think of when i heard it, and that made it more to me than just a song. And now..

The same goes for akello. Sade's "the sweetest gift" was always skipped and didnt make my "best of" mix on the ipod. Now its at the top of the heap!


Sade - The Sweetest Gift Lyrics

Quietly while you were asleep

The moon and I were talking

I asked that she'd always keep you protected



She promised you her light

That you so gracefully carry

You bring your light and shine like morning



And then the wind pulls the clouds across the moon

Your light fills the darkest room

And I can see the miracle

That keeps us from falling



She promised all the sweetest gifts

That only the heaven's could bestow

You bring your light and shine like morning



And as you so gracefully give

Her light as long as you live

I'll always remember this moment





Today i sat down to rock Akello, oh i should say, the eames rocker is wayyyyy
more comfortable when you are holding a sack of potatos. (akello) having weight in your lap really forces you to sit in the rocker correctly and really provides great lower back support. wich you really need at this stage.

I was going to talk more. but akello just fell asleep, that means i have to go to sleep.

DAY 5. GETTING SETTLED

Theresa and I are pretty tired, but having a good time getting to know baby and settling into the routine of no routine

He found his thumb today. that was pretty cute. We love to hold him and to talk to him.


We are learning very quickly about a lot of different things. About ourselves, each other, and akello.

We have a couple of questions for the pediatrician and cant wait for our appointment on tuesday.

Theresa calls Akello her little turtle. He looks like one too. That is his totem. and like a turtle i hope his years are long. He is so cute. He will stretch his head up and open his eyes, give a little yawn and his head will tuck back towards his body.



We have gotten a lot of good advice from people we dont even know through this blog. All advice and thoughts are welcome. We absorb anything and everything and adapt it to our needs.
so keep em coming and feel free to share your expireances.


A lot of you have wanted to come visit baby over here at the house. We really appreciate this but at the same time, we really need this time to settle into this new role of parents.

We know that you understand, and respect this. We want you to see baby too, (we are pretty proud) but this is for the best!

Thank god it rained. that was like his way of helping us out.

God - "dont worry about the plants...I got'em!"

I forgot to say. On the day that akello was born and upon entering our recovery room I walked over to the window to take a picture of the outside so as to remember what kind of day it was.
I took a picture of the blinds and then peered out the window.



I noticed a white bird, a dove, or maybe a pigeon. It flew aross the parking lot and landed on a lamp post high above the trees in the parking lot and looked my way. It brought with it a gust of wind and the trees flowed softly towards our room, almost as if to applaud and welcome, with the glint of leaves turning as the sun hit them, and the lone white bird looking our way, i felt as if the bird was Akello's gaurdian angel...sent down to stand watch.

I quickly made a hole through the blinds with my left hand and grabbed the camera around my neck with my right. I thrust the camera through the hole and looked through the viewfinder...
and well, you know the rest. The trees were still. The angel was gone.

Day 4. Going home

Salt $.10
Pepper $.10
2 packs of ketchup $.15 each
International Delight Creamer $.30
Breakfast Buffet Plate $5.00

Not having to sneak sugar packets from the Hospital Cafe...

Well, you get the idea. We were very happy and relieved that With the supplement and Theresas milk, baby A had his weight back up and was ready to go home.




Theresa was up and moving and feeling good. She danced with akello and finally had a chance to enjoy the flowers that some of our visitors brought in!




We were big fans of these blue Roses that Mrs. Duda (sp) brought in .

We did have a scare though, i was looking at his diaper and noticed what looked kinda like blood and urine. it was a pinkish brown. So i thought there might be blood in the urine. i stayed cool and just guessed it to be something else nobody told us about. I told theresa and we both agreed not to worry. we asked the nurse and she said, that its what happens when they urinate when they first get breast milk, some kind of crystals get flushed out of their system with it. It was OK!
whew.

Well i walked outside to get the carseat and forgot how hot it was. I had been in the hospital for 3 days never even stepping out to get some fresh air. I brought the car around valet style and brought up the car seat.



Theresas Mom was their to help us load things in and then made us lunch after we got home.




It was nice being home, bUT
its a lot harder getting out of my bed than it is the little expandable sofa in the hospital.
and of course, I was out of creamer when i got home. so i went to HEB to fill T's Rx and i thought i would go get some creamer, but they are out! so i drive over to target. OUT!!

NO horizon organic creamer in the Mopar area! lame so i bought land'o lakes.

I came around the corner and say Theresa burping Baby. too cute.



today AK whized on mama while she was changing him. i said, "dont forget to clean his penis, i think he got some BM on it." she started rubbing the warm wet gauze on it, and all of the sudden it was like the Bellagio Hotel up in here!

So BM is hospital staff speak for Bowel Movement. now we cant help but say it all the time.

We have the laptop on the end table in the bedroom and its like our little go to guide for all are problems. Hmmm...burping tips? Google it!


cant wait to put These on him!

Oh so, i have changed the description on the blog. This blog will now be out our new family and not so much about decorating. Although im sure we will be talking a lot about montessori still.

i posted day three right b4 day 4 so scroll down to see that one too.

Day 3. Great Nurses, more visitors

Day 3 was filled with visitors and family. Its so funny, You can tell alot about visitors that walk in just by if they go to wash their hands. (I would have been one of these people)

Micah, a 6 year old came in to say hi and washed his hands without being told. Then you had Middle aged people with kids of their own, (however born in a different generation), came in, no hand-washing, and just loved to kiss him. Quite interesting.


Micah meets a new freind



the day started great, Akello has his little routine and only cries to communicate a diaper change, or a need to feed.

Some of the nurses here are amazing. others are...so..so.

WE had some great night shift nurses that really helped theresa through some tough times saturday night. While she is recovering very well from the surgery, She was having a tough time with her Milk coming in and engorging her breats. She used a breast pump to releive the pressure and get back on track.

we also used a supplement to get baby's weight back up.




Theresa feeding a.k. the supplement


i love this picture. We look horrible. this is how we were. wiped out. people would take multiple pictures and our eyes were always thin and squinted we were so tired. Tired but happy

Akello was loosing weight, (as all babys do) and babys dont gain it back until they feed on milk. Well mothers milk does not come in for 4 days. until then, they nurse on collostoram (sp) a thick syrapy nutritional fluid. Luckily akello was (cluster feeding)

meaning that we would feed very often. usually every hour. This will bring the milk in more quickly. we were lucky for that, since this all went down on our last night in the hospital.

thats another thing. we were lucky with that, some parents that have natural births go home in a day or 2...and all this happens at home, and some dont know what to do!

saturday night was tough, but it's over
It was very stressful with a high degree of empathy, from me and our visitors.

Theresa is so strong, I am very proud of her. With the help of the nurse, we got through the night and theresa was feeling much better on sunday morning.


Thats another thing. We get soooo much conflicting information about baby.

it gets frustrating. Here is my favorite.

Nurse 1 "once the bottle of enfamil is open, it is only good for 4 hours"
Nurse 2 "once the bottle of enfamil is open, it is only good for 2 hours"
Nurse 3 " throw the bottle away after you use what you need, its no good after that"

You hear soo many "probably's" "maybe's" "could be's"

thats the thing. nobody really knows. its not like say... well, i'd like to say computer but..
well... car? no.....well you get the idea! oh i know, its not like a flashlight or anything where you know exactly whats wrong.

Day 2, Poop, love, Eat, love, Sleep, love

Day 2.



Yesterday was filled with visitors! Baby Boy and Mama worked with some lactation consultants to help in the brestfeeding process. It is tricky and baby boy’s got some strong little jaws. Breast feeding is frustrating and difficult but Theresa is doing great . learning more and more and determined that Akello will be breast fed.



Akello has a VERY strong suck reflex. This is very good in that it is not hard to get him to latch, he is always hungry and is always on the hunt for a nipple.



It is a pleasure to hold him and to have him fall asleep as he looks at me. Its one of my favorite things.



The hospital we are staying in is very nice but the interior or the rooms is rather lacking. It annoys me. No end tables, no rocking chair, no easy acess outlet plugs. No lighting over the guest seating area,



If this place had a 24hr starbucks they would be raking it in. They have a coffee bar (with bankers hours) other than that, the frulati café is open until 9pm, but it only has drip coffee, bad drip, plus the classic NJOY non dairy creamer. I am spoiled on organic creamer now . So I just drink it black.



Anyway, we are excited to go home on Sunday but do like the close nursing care for questions and help.

Theresa has come up with a new song for Akello,

I cant write music, thats why I play drums, but here are some lyrics

You are….my little Tortuga….your name is Akelllo…you’re a sweet little fellow!

My buddy Ron has already given him the nickname of A-Kel. Which I think is pretty cool. Tony and John like to call him mellow kello.



Theresa is up and about and feeling really good. Hopefully she will have time to go downstairs and check her email. We will see, I taught her how to change a poopy diaper today since she has been bedridden since the birth.. its is weird for me to be teaching her, seeing as how I only have 2 days expireance, but really that’s all you need I guess.

Akello has theresas toes. He is very strong, he breaks out of the strongest swaddle. I call him lil kong’ cuzz he reminds me of king kong! Breaking out of his chains!

Day ONE! THE BEAUTIFUL DAY!

Words cannot express the amazement that we expireanced yesterday. Pure joy. Pure relief. Pure uncomfortable sleeping. I cant help but think about our soldiers in Iraq and how they stay up for days, and sleep in shifts. I kinda of feel like that. But im on the poopy patrol!

I have changed 3 diapers so far.

I am writing pure stream of conscious style right now.

His nose looks different today. The birth went very well, and Theresa is feeling really good. I filmed everything and took pics all day. It took me forever to download the pics to my laptop. So far I have taken 350 pictures. That’s day one.



My friend leant me his Nikon D50 Digital SLR as well as a 3 chip MiniDV camcorder.
Two items that I had planned to buy for this day about 8 months ago, but you know what they say…If you want to make god laugh..Make a plan. Big thanks Joey.


Nothing is more beautiful to me than to see Theresa sing to Akello. It is soooo sweet.
Akello came out of the womb kicking and screaming. The nurses swaddled him up and passed him to Theresa. Theresa immediately sang to him, and he calmed down like that!


It was so weird when they were doing the surgery because the doctors where talking about there day to day lives while delivering the baby.

Nurse 1 “so last night I made this meatless spahghetti sauce, wich is new to me.
Nurse 2 “what” meatless?
Nurse 3 “oh, hes a vegetarian”
Nurse 4 “oh wow, a man vegetarian, don’t see them too often
Nurse 5 “I would be a vegetarian but I like burgers too much”

And right after that…baby boy was born!

Thanks to all for you love support and favors!

The wireless internet connect in the atrium is in and out and really hard to upload pics.
Much less send an email.

Got to go!

Twas' the night before christmas

But i dont feel that way. I feel like im on some TV SHOW like .."while you were out" and I have run out of time, and while my neighbors will be amazed and everything is finished, i still want to paint this, or do that. But im out of time.

I also feel like im getting ready for a relative to come visit. A relative that i have not seen in a very long time. Cleaning every room and getting ready in every single way.


Theresa and I ran soooooo many errands today, like 1/4 tank o'gas.
Weve been everywhere today. We have done everything today. So much cleaning, laundry, trash, Youd think we were moving!

I am still very matter of fact about the whole deal. Thats kinda my way. I am very excited and cant wait, but my brain is just running on a deadline. Today I loved to say, I cant go, My son is being born tomorrow. How bout next year?
Its just fun to say.

I was this way when i married theresa. I was just all..."time to marry theresa, im going to go buy a ring, ill be back in a bit. "

It just seems like a very natural step for us.


ahhh....

So about this morning.



Yes, the concrete patio!

They got here early and were done round noon. now it has to bake for 2 days.






so this is how they do it. of course!







So my neighbors started to grow ivy up their side of the fence. I still have not weatherproofed/stained it, so i did that today too. when i finished it was night. so no pics. i stained it a natural cedar color. more red toned. i will do the rest later.





I finished the last door today in the bathroom. whew! up to the last minute.



i gotta say, i was pretty used to no doors, no all the doors really get in the way, cuzz there always open. we never close them for anything. anyway. my mind is quite tired.

Michelle sent theresa more clothes and a few gifts.



pretty frekin adorable

AND now a trip down memory road.















I probably wont sleep tonight, gotta get up at 5.

thanks to everyone for their calls and emails

We are truly blessed!

Tommorrows just a day away

Here is a picture of Theresa going after a chiliburger!

This is from The babyshower that My Coworkers threw for us. Not so much a shower as just a "lets have dinner at shady grove and just hang out" We got a lot of cool gifts including the coolest little clothes as well as babys first rattle!



There has been a late edition to the nursery. A small end table from Target to go with the rocking chair!


Im pretty beat. I more day to go and I am really trying to tie up all the loose ends.
And now...your daily Theresa.



Theresas with long time friend Simon (si-moan)

The Shelf!

(in darth vader voice) The Nursery Is now complete! It is time for Baby G to fullfill his destiny! (end vader voice)

So we are super happy that Tony finished the shelf! It is a beautiful piece made of hand selected maple that really looks faboluos in the room! I cant wait to bring out some toys and books to put on it!

The last Sunday Picture

4 DAYS AWAY!

baby likes to dance

Theresa laid down to surf online and baby really started to get down! i had the camera handy and filmed the whole thing. He was dancing up a storm!

So my mind is beginning to get tired and i have started to make mistakes with the doors, so today i just put the drill down and tried to kick it.

I had a few calls to make anyhow and some house cleaning that had to get done.

SIDE NOTE:

I have been thinking for a really long time (3 years) about making a film on SUPER 8
you know the old timey film cameras. Super 8's were the first consumer format film cameras and they have a great "old film look". Old film look. Think about that.

Will my son say things like, "Oh, wow. This video of me being born has that really cool old video look!" Will video have that same appeal 20 years from now?

I think that the answer is...Yes. Purely because its from the past. its nostalgic.
It doesnt matter what it looks like. if its not being done in the present time, then it will be cool. I wonder if kids in film school will be looking for old Hi8 Camcorders on ebay to make "gritty" films on ala "COPS".

ok, ENOUGH with the air quoting.

So,
My old roomate Eli's grandfather died about three years ago and Eli went to the funeral. Afterwards, All of the family members went through his grandad's house and picked things that they wanted as his grandfather had no Will. Eli saw a super 8 camera and while not really knowing what it was... he thought i might like it. so he took it, even had to argue over it, and he brought it back to me. When he bestowed it upon me I was really touched. Here was a Super 8 camera in mint condition that recorded sound, (a rare find) It came with the manual, the original case, and everything. I dont think it was ever used to be honest.

I thought, "this is my wakeup call..i have to start making movies"

Well its been 3 years. I keep the camera on my desk as a reminder to keep working at my film career. But im sure that the thing works just dandy and really need to start using it.




I thought..."how cool would it be to shoot my kids birth, not on video, but on film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats right. how cool would that be.

well, maybe not so cool. cuzz all the other kids' video of their births have that "cool old timey video look" and my kid has that stupid old timey film look.

But seriously, I dont want to look like some tourist with umpteen cameras at the hospital, nor can i trust eli's grandpas camera since i have never used it.

But i do think that once we get home i will get out the old Super 8.

Out of death....Life.

One Week to go!

Wow, Only one more week to go! Theresa has the cutest little belly! Today is Theresas last day at school. it's kind of funny b/c her first day of school was monday.

We went on this Monster grocery shopping trip last night. You'd think that by looking at our cart that it was 1999.

I am slowly but steadily working on the bedroom doors. They are taking forever because I am painting them white. Ultra white! theres quite a difference between the trim white and the door white. It looks pretty cool.



I have one more door to go. hopefully i will finish that by tonight.



So the concrete patio is not going to get poured until Wednesday! thats right, the day before the baby is due. First it was supposed to get poured last friday, but the crew ran late, so then Aaron went out of town, so it was supposed to get poured Last tues or weds, then it got pushed to monday, then i got a call yesterday that its going to get pushed to wednesday! I am expecting a call today for the guy to tell me that its going to get pushed to next friday at this rate.

Theresa and I are very dissapointed. We really wanted this to be done by now so that i can plant some plants in front of the patio, thats definitly not happening now since the baby will be born the next day!

New Mobil

Check it out!

Theresa's freind Debra got us this little Mobil. It has cards that you can change out depending on age, and has links built in so that you can make it higher as the baby grows.

We put it over the changing table. The Nursery is now only lacking the shelf!
As soon as we get the shelf, it will be complete!



Right now i am still working on the doors. I have been painting the doors white. The doors just suck that paint right in. I have to give 4 coats per side in order not to see the wood anymore. Im thinking that maybe im supposed to prime them first. I dunno. i will go to Home Depot in the morning and ask those jokers what they think.

Theresas first day back at school was today. She works until friday and then she will start her leave. I will be taking off from work for two weeks starting on tuesday.

We had our checkup today and alls well.

Tommorrow the Porch is supposed to be poured, but i dunno, i havent heard from the Landscaper, so we will see.

Sunday Picture

Less than 2 weeks to go!

monster update

oh happy day!

Today was long and tiring. Since Tuesday I have been working non stop on getting the doors installed in the nursery. It has been quite a process, but it pleases me to say that I’m writing this blog rested and relaxed in the comfort of my Adirondack chair on the back porch with a cigar in my mouth and some HEB sushi in my belly.

Installing new doors is not easy. Its quite a long process.



I first started with the door slabs. I gave them about 3 coats of semitransparent polyurethane. Sanding with a really high grit between coats. (like 320grit.) This alone took a day. It takes a while for the coats to dry, and then you got to flip the doors and do the other side.
As you can see in the picture below... the doors come natural. They look nice but lack that finished glossy look and protection from crayola, hence polyurethane.



In the downtime I worked on hanging the Conan poster in the stairway and touching up the paint in the nursery.

So today I started with the real work. I got to say, its pretty daunting. But I look at it the way my friend Ceci looks at even the most daunting of computer problems. “Man made computers. Man should be able to fix computers”

So while its not really an option anymore, seeing as how I gave away all the old doors and I cant afford to have anyone come and do them for me…

I marched on…telling myself, I’m a college graduate. I can do this. All I need is instructions.


That brings me to a point. I have been thinking a lot lately about what I will teach my son. I have thought a lot about how my dad taught me. And how that worked or didn’t work. Well I shouldn’t say that. Because I don’t think anything didn’t work. But I cant get over the thought of how I want my kid to like soccer so much. But then I think…but I don’t want to force soccer or any of my intrsets for that matter upon him. Then my mind realizes that I only need to expose him to it and hope that he likes it.
Because after all, that must be how my dad got me to like soccer.

Because here is the funny part. My dad was known as a Football coach. American football.

I never even played football in junior high school or ever.

So how did I become such a soccer fan? Well I know, but that’s not the point. The point is, is that my dad never forced me to play football. That’s one thing that my dad has taught me without even telling me anything. I have been thinking about my dad a lot lately for obvious reasons, and because its his birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Dad!

But things come up here and there as I journey on this path.

I think my friend Chirs Goelkel summed it up best. He is a new dad and I asked him in a very generic way, “so what's it like to be a new dad?”

His answer was unforgettable. He simply puffed on his cigar, looked around for a bit, looked at me and with a smile in his eyes said, “I get it. I get it all. I understand. My dad..the commercials..everything! I get it now!”

And I’m starting to get it too.

But I’ve had too much sake tonight. Lets stay on target.

We went in for a check up today. All is good!
Lil’ T is more beautiful with each day that passes. And Baby G is really starting to …poof out? I don’t really know how to explain it. We are now full term. So if the baby decides to come early all will be ok. The doctor says that the baby is measuring at 7 lbs 4 ounces right now. But I don’t think the baby will come early.



And neither should you. Or should you say it. I was reading this baby ethics thing online about what not to say to a pregnant women. I ran them by Theresa and she agreed.


1. Oh , you look big!
2. Oh, you look small!

Yep. People are different. In sooooo many ways. One of them, in women is how they carry a child. Telling them they look big or small (for oh say week 30) might make them feel worried or fearful.

Just tell them they look beautiful.
3. Miscarriage stories.
4. Critiquing names
5. Oh, are you gonna make it to the due date? You look huge!!!! There aint no more room in there!

Ok, seriously, back to the doors. Geez!

Oh, Theresa and I have talked. If you want to come visit the baby, you better visit him in the hospital, cuzz Me and T and Baby G are going to be bonding for a month with no interruptions. That means no family visits too.

Ok doors.



So I spread out the instruction from the lowes website, from the door knob instructions and from the instructions from this awesome little kit that is supposed to make door installation easy in 4 simple steps.



Oh this gets me back to what I meant to talk about when I started going off about my dad. I read instructions. I started thinking about it. Did my dad teach me to read instructions? I tried to remember that last instance that would put us in that situation. I could only think of when I was in boyscouts and we had to build little racecars for the pinewood derby. I cant remember if he read them or not. But I do remember there being instructions.

But anyway, Im going to teach my kid to read instructions.

Ok so, moving on.

In the interest of making this quick, im going to do this photo essay style!

1. figure out where the hinges go. measure. double measure. triple measure. get confused. second guess measure again. and set the template.



chisel away!



remove the template



remove template and chisel the leftover.


install the hinges and make sure everything lines up.

Install doorknob jig


bore the doorknob hole.


bore the lockset hole.


route and chisel the lockset plate and install the strike bolt in the door jamb


install the door knob


and wahlah!


This was so tiring. the hardest thing was chiseling. its not easy, especially if you want your mortise sets to look nice. but i did it! and the end result looks awesome! there are a lot more steps that i didnt mention. After you have done one door, the rest come easily. kinda like cubitec!

So both doors in the nursery are done! horray! So now the nursery only lacks the shelf that my friend tony is building. after that is installed, the nursery will be complete! (insert malefic laugh here)

It feels so good the have the nursery doors installed and finished. after all the prep and work that went into the first door, when i had finished the last step in the process, screwing the doorknob in the door. I simply closed the door. I heard it shut. I opened it. shut it. and laughed. I just couldnt believe that A. it worked. and B. that i did it, and its done. I laughed for about 30 seconds and then i just sat there and looked at it. amazing.

I got to say, this would have been much harder if not impossible to do if i didnt have my friend Tony. He told me how to sand the doors, let me borrow his chisels and taught me how to chisel. I would not recommend doing this on your own unless you know someone like Tony with all those tools and stuff.

Now i have to paint the bedroom doors and start with them!

stumped again!

On Sunday I helped remove a stump that was predominantly on my neighbors side of the fence. Well the old fence had been torn down and now was the time to get to it before the workers put the new one up the next day.

It was on my side too. and we knew that we needed to kill this thing while we had the chance. Emily and Neil had already made a big dent in it by the time i showed up after work. I put about 2 hours into it until it finally came out. It was a bitch and totally wore me out! i was useless the next day. but it had to get done.



So they finished the The Fence the next day! yay! its awesome. I was about to weatherproof it and all but Ted (father in law) told me to wait, cuzz apparantly it already has something on it, and i need to wait for that to wear off first. Sweet! I didnt have time to do it anyhow!









The concrete patio is fully prepped and ready to go, and they will most likely pour in on tuesday. I hate to wait that long, but oh well.

Sunday Picture

Here we are at week 37!

Baby Shelves & Fence progress

Theresa has been working on this project for the past couple of days, and yesterday she checked it off her list. Theresa wanted additional shelving in the closet as well as a way for the baby to hang his own clothes. Thats one of the montessori things, independence and all. This little unit was theresa's introduction into anchor bolts and how they work. She got pretty frustrated at times but didnt want my help in the least bit, except to bail her out of one instance,

but other than that, she did it all herself! i was mad at her, and proud of her all at the same time.
i just didnt want her doing any of that sort of work is all. I keep telling her to take it easy! but she keeps on saying she is able, and feeling great.

So...the fence. Do I have to remind you of the before? ok for drama i will show it again




and the after...



Pretty Flippin Sweet.


The Before.....


and the after...


Theresa and I are way stoked about it and cant wait for the whole thing to be done.
The right side of the house is complete, but the left still needs a littl work.
We decided to extend the fence on the right side all the way up to the front of the house, thereby
creating a private alley if you will. Crazy Aaron (the landscaper) suggested it be used as a washer pitch, (horseshoe like game but for poor people) I however am thinking of either a rock and cactus garden, or maybe a vegetable garden, or maybe a place for yoga and meditation.. but seriously, its got some possibilities

Before



and now



here is a view from the front


A detailed view of the Top "Cap" I really liked this look. i hate the way pickets look. the top cap is very nice looking as well as functional as it keeps the pickets from warping


Now on to the porch!
you remember how it used to look







I think there going to pour the concrete on monday!

tHE DOORS!

So I dont know how much i went into it in posts prior, but one of the last main things that has to get done are the doors. Here is the deal.

When i started painting the nursery and the bedroom, i realized the doors were the wrong color for the room, and that i wanted to paint them white in the bedroom and I wanted new doors for the nursery in a natural beech color.

Well i took the two doors off in the nursery and gave them to habitat re-store.

INT. NURSERY-DAY

Theresa walks in to the nursery to check on Gil's progress.

THERESA
Where are the doors?

GIL
Huh? Oh, I got rid of 'em. The wood is too dark for the room, Im going to get new doors.

THERESA
Oh. Well how much do new doors cost?

GIL
Oh, not much, they sell them at Lowes, there cheap, dont worry about it. Ive already bought new stainless steel door knobs and hinges. I just got to buy the slab, put the door knob in and that'll be it. I'll probably do it all tomorrow.

THERESA
So you know how to do that?

GIL
yeah, it shouldnt be too hard.

Theresa gives a look of approval as she sips her water and starts to walk into the bedroom

THERESA
Hey, you spilt white paint all over the bathroom door!

Gil (yelling from other room)
Don't worry about it! I was just testing to see if i can paint the doors in the bedroom white with the finish thats on them. its not going to work, so I'm going to have to get new doors and paint them white for in there.

And that conversation took place about two months ago. And here we are again.
And while yes the bathroom door still has a swatch of white paint across it like that biblical story of when they had to put lambs blood on the door so the breath of god wouldnt kill the good people of Egypt, Its time is near.

I purchased all the new doors at LOWES the other day, but get this. they all were 1/4 inch too wide. So i had to get them trimmed. Enter Tony Romero.



I took the doors over to his house and we trimmed them all down with this bad boy!


I dont even know what this is called. but its heavy!

So now they all fit!!




now i have to paint the ones in the bedroom, and put some polyurethane on the ones in the nursery. and i know what your thinking. the natural wood looks good in the bedroom, but its just a little too much birch,i thought about leaving it too but i decided to paint them white.

Bird Mural Complete!

Okay, so commiting on where to place the birds was quite difficult. there are so many possibilities. Well the other day I just said, ok, im comitting something today! So while theresa was busy in the baby's closest putting up some stellar shelving, i decided on where to place the birds and hopped to it!



Now I taped up each bird on the wall and once i was sure on the placement, i pulled out the laser!
This little laser level is awesome! it goes in all kinds of directions and patterns and what not. but i just needed a straight line up the wall so that the birds were all uniform, and none looked like they were flying drunk.



So I put a notch at the top so that when i took the decal off the wall to peel it away from its backing, i would know where to place the top corner of the decal.



using a squeegee i applied the bird decals. The texture on the walls was soooo thick, that i was a little worried that they wouldnt stick, but they did!





Here the birds are with the mobil that i intstalled immediatly afterward. the birds as you can see go on two walls, but they look like they are suspended in mid-air! we lovem!




So this morning Theresa and I attended a great CPR / FIRST AID / CHOKING class. it was held at someones house, and was taught by an EMS person looking to make some extra bucks. He charged 25 bucks a person, and there were 10 people there. and he taught for 1 hour and 45 minutes. you do the math!!

but it was great! Theresa was pretty up on that knowlege already, cuzz shes a teacher and all, but it was all new to me. maybe i learned it in boyscouts. but i dont remember.



anyway, we learned a lot. the heimlech manuever and CPR are different for infants than adults and so there was a lot to keep straight.

So work on the new fence is under way!!!



this fence is so old, that when the workers tore it down, all they had to do was push on it. literally.
no tools were needed, they did put there back into it, but it was still pretty easy. Whats amazing was the neighbors yard



i have been seeing this for a day now while they set the poles. i counted 7 bbq pitts.

Theresa has been busy with photo albums lately. she is in a decluttering mode, and no drawer or box of photos is safe! she is doing a great job organizing and getting things in order.



She has been working on the photos for a week, and says that she will be done tomorrow!

babyproofing continues

So I'm ashamed to say it, but, yes...this was my idea of cable management all but one day ago. And its a little sad coming from me, me being the detail oriented person that I am, especially with A/V stuff, but yes, this qualifys as ghetto.

And its not like i dont know my options...no. I know them full well. Well its amazing what having a kid will make you prioritize.



Hmm....i should go put the speaker grills back on the speakers now that im thinking bout it. Dont need baby g punching his finger through my woofers!