Inspiration

So we put Seth down for bed early tonight because he has been really tired...and acting up as a consequence. Well, he was in his bedroom for about an hour just playing and making noise when I finally decide to go in and try to make him go to sleep. He, however, had climbed into his brothers crib and was nearly straddling his sleeping brother. He was standing over Levi, just talking to him. Levi, though, remained asleep and actually has been sleeping well so far tonight. Perhaps, Seth's soothing "Levi sleep well?" remarks will help him into fruitful slumber.

"LEVIATHAN"

Levi, or "Leviathan" as we sometimes call him, weighed in at 22 lbs on Wednesday. He is a few days shy of six months.

From The Onion

I found the following article particularly amusing:

I Can't Imagine Why Anybody Would Want To Stop Crying

By Emmet Henson 2-Month-Old April 9, 2008 | Issue 44•15

Life has so many wonderful experiences to offer. Like sleep. Or ingestion and evacuation. But I find life offers few opportunities more rewarding than screaming like a maniac until your voice cracks with the strain, so that the entire universe can share in your distress. That's what life is all about, right? The sheer exhilarating thrill of nonstop crying at the top of your lungs. It's such an important part of why we are here—why would anybody ever want to do anything else?

Don't get me wrong—I like squirming, drooling, and sporadically attempting to focus on colors and shapes as much as the next guy. But of all the various activities one can choose to pursue in life, crying is tops as far as I'm concerned. In my opinion, I find nothing is more fulfilling than a good steady holler. It takes no experience to begin, and within moments, all one's needs are instantly met! It's my favorite part of the day.

Heck, I'm crying right now!

I suppose some people might enjoy wasting their days with sleep or gentle cooing, but not me. No, sir. Not when there's all that fantastically loud crying to do. In fact, I love crying so much, sometimes I wish I could be awake 24 hours a day, just to hear the crying I miss out on hearing when I am asleep. I mean, I assume I cry in my sleep, too. Whoa. There's a strange thought: What if I stop crying for a moment when I'm asleep? That would be tragic.

Yes, there's nothing like a good, healthy, air-raid-siren-style bellow to renew one's red-faced passion for living. What you want, I've found, is to pitch your voice at about the decibel level of your standard jet engine and then hold it as long as possible before taking in air. That's the sweet spot right there. That's the ideal volume for a good cry—the kind of crying that isn't so much melancholy or sorrowful as it is a full-throttle roar of earsplitting shrillness.

It's so easy. Getting started can be as simple as being startled by your own hand.

In my opinion, anyone who isn't screaming his lungs out is just letting life pass him by. You'd think, after seeing how happy crying makes me, people would follow my example. But all around me there are tall, shadowy figures who seem to actively avoid the most pleasurable part of existence. Everywhere I look I see them: standing behind my stroller as they walk around town, or leaning in over me in my crib and making faces. Whole loads of people, not crying. Don't they realize what they're missing?

Look, I'm not a purist. I understand there are times when it might be perfectly acceptable to stop crying. Like when something is placed in your mouth for you to suck on. Or when somebody jiggles you for 40 seconds. Both are perfectly understandable and justifiable reasons to stop crying momentarily. But to be completely silent for more than, say, a minute? That's just crazy.

Take my parents, for example. If it wasn't for my tireless efforts, they'd sleep through the night! Can you believe it? I don't think it's because they're too old—I suppose I don't know how old they are exactly, but I can't imagine it's any more than, say, one. They've still got plenty of life in them. Yet they hardly ever cry, and when they do, it's usually softly, in the middle of the night, and exhausted-sounding. What happened to their lust for life? Don't they realize that every moment they waste sleeping, fiddling with the car seat, or holding picture books in front of my face is precious time they could be screaming their heads off?

How can I get them to embrace life and really make the most of wailing like a mythical banshee for hours on end?

I just don't understand these people—and not only because I have yet to grasp the concept of others as separate selves outside of me. Don't they know that all they'd have to do is take a good deep breath, let her rip, and the air would be filled with glorious noise? They can't be having a good time just sitting there, grinning slightly, and communicating through facial expressions and this bizarre series of coded grunts I have yet to decipher.

What do they spend their time doing? Comprehending spatial relations? I'd die of boredom in a minute. They must've been young once. Surely they can still remember the good times they had, splitting the very air with sonic knives of nigh-unendurable intensity. I would hate to think that someday I might be so jaded and cynical as to turn my back on wriggling and panting for breath, using every ounce of my being to emit a general, undifferentiated distress signal to all within earshot.

Spending entire days without crying? Why, it goes against the very thing that makes us human.

I hope I never become like them.

Seth's New Do

Ooopss... cut his hair just a bit too short, clippers got away from me or something. Seth's luxurious hair is now a buzz cut. Don't worry grandmas it will grow back, but I thought I would post a picture to get the initial shock out of the way.

(This is the only face shot pic Seth would let me take, and I even gave him chocolate!)

Isn't he growing up to be quite the handsome young man?
For a hair comparison here's Seth last Sunday at Raelle's Bday

Ellensburg........Ho?

To Ellensburg we go? Well, nothing is official yet but there is a fairly decent chance that by either Summer of Fall of 2009 we will be enjoying eastern Washington from a different vantage point. No more Pullman, no more PU2, no more WSU. It very well be off to CWU we go for a masters in biology. I'm waiting to hear back from a professor but I could start as early as this summer which means we would have to find a house, pack up, and move by the start of CWU's summer session. If this all goes through I would spend two years at CWU and then be ready for another application cycle by 2011. Exciting times. Children Seth got a car bed. It is pretty sweet, and I must say I wouldn't mind sleeping in it myself, except that Seth wouldn't let me. We were therefore able to convert Seth's bed back into a crib and move Levi out of the bassinet (which is in our room). I can't describe how much better this is for my sleep. Even if I have to get out of bed during the middle of the night I don't have to wake up every time he does. I feel bad for Rachael though, she has the ears of a bat. Expelled Not that anyone really reads this blog, but just in case I thought it would be good to point something out. Being interested in biology (what with the undergrad degree in biology and going for a masters of the same) I am also interested in Ben Stein's new documentary about intelligent design. I'm not going to get too much into the movie, but if anyone reading this blog is interested I would suggest going here. Apparently the movie espouses some of the worst myths promulgated by the ID movement and attempts to link evolutionary theory ("Darwinism") to the holocaust, Nazism, Stalin and more. Just so were clear, there is no scientific debate about IF evolution happened. Some mechanisms still need to be fleshed out but anyone who tells you "a lot of credible scientists don't even believe in it" is woefully ignorant of the facts or intentionally lying to you. Thats my rant for the day.

A bedtime prayer

I just had my son say a prayer before he went to bed. Following is the exact transcript of his prayer: "Dear father, Thank you We-eye Thank you Mommy Thank you Daddy ... Sethy ... Thank you Mommy We-eye .... Thank you Yesus Thank you church Jesus Christ Amen." (Seth pronounces Levi as We-eye, and Jesus as Yesus) I was rather impressed overall.

What is worse?

So what is worse: Having a cold; constantly sneezing, coughing and blowing your nose? Or Giving it to your 5 month old son and have him doing the same things?

In the name of milk...Amen

We have a thing with our two year old being polite. We never let him have anything without first saying "May I have (insert object of desire here) please." It works really well, and even if he is throwing a fit he knows he has to calm down so he can say it otherwise hes not getting anything. Sometimes, however, he forgets. A lot of times it comes out "May I have please yes you may." I find it particularly amusing when he finishes with a "yes you may," which is how we respond when he has successfully delivered the password phrase. This morning though he wanted some milk. He already had milk in his cereal bowl but he wanted "milk in cup." "How do we ask?" "May I have yes you may." "May you have what?" "May I have......" "Have what?" "Milk in cup..." At this point he looks up at me obviously thinking I'm going to give him the cup of milk but I return a look of "keep going" "......Amen" I called it good and gave him the cup. It was all I could do to stop myself from laughing.

Months later musings

I read an article recently discussing the huge drain on the health care system that unnecessary trips to the emergency department creates. Highly trained (and paid) and complex (therefore expensive) equipment is used often to confirm that yes indeed; your child has a cold. It reminded me of an experience I had about a year ago.

My oldest child is now 2 years old and he has already been to the emergency department twice. One of these trips I feel was justifiable when we thought he was having an allergic reaction and thought he was having trouble breathing. The second of which, while not really our fault, was most definitely NOT a good use of the hospitals time.

We had gone to visit my parents for the weekend. My son was being irritable, not sleeping, tugging at his ears, etc. Obviously my wife’s first thought was otitis media and we didn’t want to wait until Monday when we were back at home. We wanted our son to be able to sleep (and therefore to allow us to sleep). Visiting my parents is fun, but even the most fun plans can be ruined when nobody gets sleep.

It was Saturday so most clinics were closed. We called around and no pediatricians were open. The doctor’s office that my mom goes to, however, just so happened to be open. We called. “Sorry, we aren’t taking new patients,” the receptionist quipped.

“This wouldn’t be a new patient, we just need to have him checked out, and if necessary some antibiotics.”

“I’m sorry but we can’t see him.”

“You guys are the only open doctor office in town! What are we supposed to do then?”

“The emergency room is always open and cannot, by law, refuse treatment.”

…….

That’s right, the receptionist actually told us, more or less, that the emergency room would be a viable option for our situation. My mom was fairly upset that they wouldn’t take her grandson, especially considering she has been going there for some long amount of time. She called them and was angry, but ultimately still goes there. My mom is very loyal to service providers whether or not they deserve it. That, however, is the subject for another post.

Eventually my wife decides we should take our son in to the emergency department. We do. We see a doctor.

Guess what, no ear infection.

This emergency medicine specialist, who probably clears 300k a year, was relegated to ear checking duty. Here’s the kicker: You had to pay for it. That’s right, you footed my son’s bill. Being a student with kids in the state of Washington the government essentially throws money at you and also gives your children complete medical coverage. Thanks for that.

I felt pretty bad, you know, being part of the problem not the solution and all that jazz. But the thing that upset me the most was the receptionist. How many ear infections has she sent to the emergency departments? How many runny noses? How many coughs? How many other people like her are there answering phones?