A few words and a few pics

Busy, busy, busy.  Life is speeding along these days and I am mostly just trying to hang on and not drop any of the balls I am juggling.  But before another day slips away I wanted to check in and send ya'll some pictures.


I took this one because I don't want to forget how cute Roscoe looks sleeping in his bassinet.  He still likes to be swaddled to sleep (especially now that he pulls his pacifier out ALL the time on accident, wakes himself up and then cries while swinging it around in his hand...)  It looks like he wiggled about half his body out this time, little Houdini.

Ray's parents recently got back from Egypt and they brought Roscoe some traditional Egyptian gear.  Here he is modeling the littlest gallibaya (I think that is what it is called...)
 

Last weekend was Ray's thirtieth birthday and we had a lovely, but fairly low-key celebration.  We met some friends and family for lunch at Primo Patio, a Caribbean restaurant with all outdoor seating.  It is one of our favorite spots and has some uber-tasty jerk chicken with special "Primo" sauce...num, num, num...  
The weather was sunny and beautiful, so after lunch we strolled along the Embarcadero (by the bay) to our friend's boat and just hung out on the docked boat, swaying in the sun.  Lovely.  As you can see from the picture, the birthday boy was put to work carrying both Roscoe and Basi.  No such thing as a free lunch, not even for your birthday, Boo!

Sometimes while I work from home I set Roscoe up next to me with his Boppy "desk" and his toys and let him "work" next to me.  Here he is working hard, eating his beloved vegetables.  

One of my big work deadlines should be wrapped up soon.  Roscoe has his four month check up and more shots coming this weekend.  It is now 8:37pm and Ray is at his second job covering for his dad while he is in the Philippines.  Roscoe is having a hard time getting to sleep, so I think I might as well call it a night and join him in the room instead of walking back and forth 658 times to calm him.  Good night, everyone.  Much love from the SF nest!

The Times They Are A-Changing

Roscoe is getting to be such a big boy.  He is sleeping better at night (for a few nights he was only awake every 3-4 hours... last night not so much, but hopefully he gets back on track tonight - I can totally handle that).  He is getting better about sleeping in general and even spent the first shift of last night in his crib in his room (versus his bassinet in our room).  He has also started rolling over from tummy to back, although I don't think he realizes yet that he is doing it himself and it is not "being done" to him.  He always looks shocked and a little perplexed.  I am not in a hurry for the rolling because then he will start crawling and then walking and it is going so fast (where was this warp speed the first month or two?!)  

He has also taken early retirement from his first job(s) and has committed to a life of leisure for at least a few years.  Everyone at work (or at least the vocal ones...) was sad to see him go, but none more sad than his mama.  Here is a picture of him with some of his colleagues at one of my jobs (don't mind the fuzziness of the photo, the memory is still precious - the two beautiful ladies in the middle have become two of my dearest friends).

Yesterday was his first day with Liz, his nanny, and Elisa, his new best friend.  It was hard leaving him, but I tried not to focus on it too much and just get that first day done with.  I really do like her and I think we made the right choice.  I hung out for an hour when I dropped him off in the morning and it was nice chatting with Liz and watching Roscoe and Elisa.  It is so interesting to me how different they are and they are only 2 weeks apart.  Roscoe is smaller, but solid ("dense" is the consensus) and all about standing, wiggling and babbling away.  Elisa is longer and leaner and seems more mature somehow.  She is more delicate and has no interest in standing or rolling, but her hand-eye coordination impressed me and she does this thing where she lifts her legs all the way up that I have never seen Roscoe get close to doing.  I know all kids are different, but it was fun to see them show their differences already.  Liz said they did really well together, but they were interacting a lot in the afternoon and I think they distracted each other too much because they both skipped a nap!  I am happy he has a friend and a lovely mama to take care of him while Ray and I bring home the bacon.

Speaking of... Ray got a promotion!  The principal (boss man) called him into his office the other day to tell him that he was one of their best and they would like to promote him and give him a raise.  Yay!  Little did he know how close he was/is to losing Ray...  This is making us reconsider his plan to quit in June and he might stay through the year now when he will get a bonus and be fully vested in his retirement funds.  I am glad they are at least showing a bit of appreciation for Ray because he is amazing and they should show some love.

As for the rest of our lives... I am working 7 days a week trying to pull myself out of this work quicksand I fell into... the dogs are shaking and trying to sit on my lap because they are scared that it is raining outside... Roscoe is napping in his room... Roscoe's teething pain seems to have let up a bit... Ray ordered a new bumper for the 4Runner (and the customizations begin!)...and on Saturday Roscoe turns 4 months old and Ray turns THIRTY!

Another Boring Weekend

Haha, just kidding.

We sold the FJ!  It is bittersweet, but we know we are lucky it happened so quickly.  Ray thought he might have to part it out and restore it to stock to get the most return, but he actually sold it as-is for more than what he bought it for 3 years ago!  Of course he has put some money into it (and A LOT of work), but with a car that is still pretty rare.

And we bought a 4Runner!  We spent most of the weekend driving around northern California to find the perfect fit before we were officially car-less.  This is what our new ride looks like (this is not ours, but it was the quickest Internet photo I could find...)  Of course it will not stay looking like this for long. Since Ray sold off all of his "fun money" for the last 2 years with his FJ and didn't get to keep any parts he gets a little chunk of change to buy new goodies for the 4Runner.  Soon it will function as both an off-roader for Ray and a family car for us all.

A quick (and humorous - as in ridiculous) update to my disability claim: my claim was denied altogether and I am supposed to appeal it.  Why, you might ask?  Because they determined (sleuths, they are) that I am self-employed.  I don't know what tipped them off - perhaps the fact that I have told them that every time I have called or maybe it is because I pay for (what they call) SELF-EMPLOYED elective coverage.  And when I ask them to check my file to make sure it correctly states that I pay for self-employment coverage, they all agree that it is correctly classified in my file.  Ugh.  It has been "elevated" again for the one millionth time, so hopefully one of these times someone who can do something about it will actually read my file.  Otherwise I have to go to court and appeal their denial and hope the judge can read.

Our little guy is teething!  I am not especially excited about this.  I thought I would have more of a break between colic and teething, but Roscoe has other plans.  He does not have any teeth broken through yet, but he is drooling all over the place (so much that he chokes himself with it) and he is gnawing on everything in sight with his soon-to-be chompers.  He is also crabby, yells out in pain sometimes and has (more) trouble sleeping.  Poor little man.  I have these visions of him with a full set of teeth and not even rolling yet... he must not read the baby books.  My friend Jenni got him these stuffed veggie teethers and he had been doing a number on the green peas and the carrot.    

Roscoe is 100 today! (days that is...)

I randomly clicked on a link this morning that calculates how many days/weeks old your baby is (I have long lost track) and Roscoe is exactly 100 DAYS today!  To celebrate we are taking him to the doctor for more shots...

Not a lot to say today, just thought I'd pop in.  Here a couple quick updates:

* We did hire the nanny/sitter, Lizette.  She starts April 19.

* After a lengthy self-pep-talk, I successfully renegotiated my contract at my largest client.  That should defray most of the nanny costs, so it is almost like neither has really changed anything...

* Ray's parents are back from Egypt and watched Roscoe on Thursday.  They couldn't get over how quiet he was and how he only cried when he needed something.  Hooray for the end of colic!  Now that things are so much easier we may even gamble and have another one (eventually... don't get too excited)

Happy Easter everyone!