Corwin Talks

Many times when I'm at the computer trying to get something (or nothing) done, Corwin will run up the stairs and climb on my lap and say, "I wanna see Owl." So I'll google some owl pictures. Then usually he'll say, "I wanna see a Hawk." And generally butterflies follow that. On Saturday morning Corwin came up as I was checking my email and said, "I wanna see Marmoset." I asked him, "You want to see a Marmoset?" "Uhmm, Yeah." So I google some marmoset pictures. What's that I ask? "Marmoset." I don't know where that kid learned about marmosets, but he seems to like them now.

A couple of weeks ago we asked Corwin about Halloween. We hadn't really talked about it, so we wanted to know if he knew what it was about. So Anke asked him what he wants to be for Halloween. He says, "I gonna be Pirate. mumble, mumble mumble, Candy, mumble, mumble, mumble, Pirate." So we gotta get him a pirate costume now.

Pictures for Mom

Sorry, Mom, but only two are of Conrad. He's a great little guy, but all he really does is lie there. He'll get more photogenic as he get older.

Corwin and I took the Cutlass to work one day last week. If you look close, you can see Corwin and his cow seat in the car. He was very excited to ride in the Blue Car. But he was equally disappointed when we went back to taking the red car the next day.

Little Conrad.

Conrad's impossibly charismatic older brother.

Corwin often wants to play, and Conrad often wants to be left alone.

On Saturday we went to the farmers market and picked a slew of tomato and peppers. We then spent all day Sunday turning them homemade marinara sauce.

We still have 3/4 of a bucketful left that I'll turn into salsa.

Milestones

Anke tells me that Conrad had his first big smile today.

Last night Corwin used the potty for the first time. He used it twice tonight!

A Saturday of Pictures

A snail on the Marsh Boardwalk.

Corwin is jealous that Conrad can nap on the deck, while he must nap in his room.

Corwin and Anke sweep the detritus from driveway that have accumulated there from the weeks storms and my finally mowing.

Drawing with chalk.

Clothes baskets make great beds.

Corwin isn't dead.

Neither am I.

The first Saturday that Conrad was home, Mom and I took Corwin to get a couple of things for Conrad. Corwin has a swell Turtle Towel and I thought Conrad should have such a nice towel too. So we went to Pottery Barn Kids, where the Turtle Towel came from to pick one out for Conrad. We couldn't decide between the sheep towel and a puppy towel, so I showed both of them to Corwin and said, "Conrad needs a towel. This towel will be for Conrad. Which one do you think he will like best?" Corwin picked out the sheep towel.

When we got home Corwin went to the shopping back and got the little sheep towel out. He immediately ran to Conrad and put the towel down beside him and said, "Here ya go." My little family rocks.

Random

I've not been so diligent in posting lately. Works been hectic, and we are still trying to find a groove at home with a 0 and 2 year old to care for. So recreational computer time for me has been minimal. So some random what's been going ons: Conrad came home from the hospital Sunday August 12 and been perfectly fine since. No medicine to give him and he's acting like a normal baby. Hooray.

Last weekend instead of mowing the yard Saturday morning we went to the marsh down the road. Lots of lotus flowers still blooming. Then we took a zoo trip Sunday morning, instead of mowing the yard. Combined with the heat, rain, kids, and shear laziness, the yard is looking a bit jungle like.

Butterflies from the prairie before the marsh.

Me and Conrad napping. I need to do a better job of taking pictures of the little one. Anke has been on the ball and snapping shots, but not so much me. One thing I was on the ball about are play tickets! Spamalot a musical version of Monty Python's Holy Grail, is coming to the Orpheum theater in Omaha the first week in November. Tickets went on sale at 10:00 am last Thursday. So I skipped out of work at 10:30ish and walked down to the box office to get some. The lad selling tickets helped me pick out some good one. So now we have third row, balcony seats, which are very good at the Orpheum. The other two times we've gone, we've had nose bleed seats way at the back. I'm excited.

On Sunday we're taking a field trip to visit Tony and his wife Jen, along with their boys. This will be Conrad's first trip out of Omaha. Next Wednesday evening Anke's Grandmother Renate and her Great Aunt Ursel are coming for a visit. They are two extremely sweet old ladies, and we are excited that they are visiting.

Kids

Yesterday Children's Hospital tried to install a PICC line in Conrad for his antibiotic therapy. But the little veins in his arms were too small, which wasn't all that surprising. In children so small sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So they're going do a surgical IV today.

Conrad is doing well, however. He's eating lots. But he has rather bad diaper rash right now. Unfortunately the antibiotics kills some of the good bacteria in his digestive tract, along with the bad. Corwin is doing well also. It is good that he is such a resiliant little guy. I've gone back to work full time this week, as my sick time is starting to run on the low side and it will be another year before the bucket refills. And Conrad and Corwin are sure to be ill again in the next year.
Being a single parent must be really hard. I've only had to do it for a week now, and it's a lot of work. Getting up and showered and Corwin up and feeding him his cereal and getting him dressed and out the door on time is quite a chore. But he is so charming, it really isn't much of a chore. His latest thing is dancing in circles yelling, "CRACKCRACK! CRACKCRACK!" I'm not sure where he got the yelling of crack crack from.

I put him to bed last night, and at about 8:30 I heard some whining coming from his room. So I went to check it out. There he was, hiding behind the door buck naked. As soon as I came into the room, he became all excited and started jumping in circles and dancing around the room. So I got him dressed and put him in jammies that are a bit harded to take off. I let him watch TV with me for 10 minutes then put him back to bed. He was still dressed when he got up this morning.

Cliff Notes version

Conrad has been in the hospital since Monday. He has a kidney infection of some sort. On Friday his temperature finally broke, and he is starting to act like himself again. He's going to remain in the hospital for the next 10 days, so he can continue to receive the antibiotics via IV. Hopefully this was just an isolated incident.

Nice

This has been a very nice week. I've stayed home from work to help with, and get to know Conrad. We've spent time bonding and relaxing more than I had anticipated. Conrad is a really relaxed an low key baby. He doesn't cry nearly as much as Corwin did, and he sleeps more than Corwin did too. The only time he really seems to get pissed off is when he's hungry or I change his diaper when he's sleeping.

At the supermarket.

Anke, Conrad, and I have taken walks out to marshes and wetlands of Gifford Point yesterday morning and this morning.

The lotus flowers are in bloom.

Anke sporting our her new Ergo baby carrier. It can be used as a front, side or back baby carrier. Anke is very happy with it, and feels it's a great improvement over the Baby Bjorn.

And froggies abound in marshes, which probably excites only me.


Tomorrow I hop a jet air plane for Eric's wedding in Dallas. Anke will stay home with the kids, but Maurice's girlfriend, Bernie, is going to stop by and give Anke a hand. Thank You, So Much, Bernie!

Conrad's Life at Home

So far Conrad has been of a sunny disposition. He doesn't cry much and is sleeping long hours. After his night time feedings he goes back to sleep without too much fuss. He only get really mad at night when changing his diaper. Thus far Conrad is allowing much more sleep for Anke and I that Corwin did.

Corwin is adapting to big brotherhood like a champ. He hasn't been jealous of Little Conrad at all and is always genuinely delighted to see him. Corwin tries very hard to be gentle and wants to hold him regularly. Additionally he wants to carry Conrad and have him play, but the three day old isn't quite ready for rough and tumble play of the two year old yet. I couldn't be more proud of how Corwin is coping with the new addition to the family. It does help that Grandma has been staying with us, making sure that there's plenty of affection to go around. Thanks Mom.

Hospital

Anke was brought into the hospital Tuesday night to start the induction process. If everything went according to plan, Anke was to have had Conrad sometime during the day, probably afternoon of Wednesday. So I went home that evening so that Corwin would at least have Dad there in the morning. I would get up, take Corwin to daycare at 6:45- when they opened- and proceed to Creighton University Hospital.

When I arrived at just before 7, Anke appeared to be in much pain. Immediately Anke yelled for me to begin massaging her lower back. So I did. The next hour goes like this. Anke screaming, me massaging her back as hard as I can for the next hour. At the end of this time, my wrists are throbbing and I can't feel my finger tips anymore. I challenge any of you to massage someones lower back, as hard as you can for 15 minutes. It isn't pleasant.

Anke was in excruciating pain. The greatest pain she had ever experienced in her life. She had asked for an epidural at some point, but no one seemed to pay attention to her. So 10 minutes later I brought it up for her, again. So they paged the anesthesiologist, and she arrived 10 more minutes later.

(Papa acting like a monster, impressed Conrad not at all.)

The anesthesiologist was very firm, but friendly, telling Anke to sit on the bed and don't move. When having needle stuck in your spine it's important not to move. Just before inserting the big needle in her back, Anke starts saying "The baby is coming!" It takes a few seconds, and Anke saying it a few times before they start to believe her and think to check things out. And little Conrad was coming. I run out into the hall yelling "Get a doctor! She's having the baby!"

So Dr. Babcock, the anesthesiologist, delivers the baby. Anke's doctor later told us that Dr. Babcock was glowing later, as this was the first baby she had delivered in 20 years. So all in all, Anke's actual labor was just over an hour, but she was able to cram all of the pain associated with Corwin's 23 hour labor into that one hour.

Conrad Charles Parker

8:07 AM
9lb 11oz
21 3/4 inches

Baby still In Utero

Baby is now two days overdue. Anke had a doctors appoint- ment today and they said everything was OK. We are planning on waiting until Monday, and if Baby doesn't arrive by then, on his own, Anke and her OB will start planning for inducing labor. The OB said that they would induce before Monday if Anke wanted, but induced labor is generally more painful. So she is going to wait it out a bit longer.

Baby Animals

Back Yard

Fontenelle Forest

Fontenelle Forest

Nothing Yet

I was hoping for the baby today (07-07-07), but it looks like the little fella is going to hold off. We even went for a long walking visit to the Zoo this morning to try and help things along. But no luck.

The official due date is Monday the 9th. A month ago I was sure that Baby would be here by now, judging by how Anke felt and the size of her belly. Shows what I know.

Heart

My Dad had another angioplasty in Des Moines today. He's had one bypass surgery and countless angioplasties in the past 10 years. He's always been a great father to me and set an example that I want to live up to. I love him and it always scares me when his heart betrays him this way, reminding me of mortality. He needs to lose more weight and exercise more. He really does much better with his diet than he used to, but getting the exercise is the hard thing for him. Hopefully he and Mom can get their house in C'town sold soon and they get over here to Omaha. I can just give him Corwin a couple of times a week and say, "Keep up!" That'd whip into shape in no time.

I've been lucky in that I haven't suffered much death in my life. I'm out of grand parents, it's true. My Dad's father died when he was 14. His mom died when I was only 5 or so. I was too young to really understand what was happening. My Mom's mom died when when I was a early teenager, I think. The only one to really affect me much was Grandpa. I wasn't all that close to him, he was one of those stoic old school farmer's. He didn't really believe in showing emotion. I believe he is where Maurice got his height from, and both of us got our long monkey arms from. But I used to go and watch pro wresting with him when I was 10 or 11 every Sunday. That was fun, he would always take it so seriously. That was in the days of the Iron Sheik and some Russian villain with CCCP on his red wresting trunks. How he hated them. Later at the end of Grandpa's life, when he couldn't drive safely, I'd take him to his doctor's appointments occasionally. This was at the very beginning of my Doc Martin phase (which continues to this day- Let it be known I wore them before their rampant popularity, and still wear them now that the trend has wained) and I had on a pair of plane black boots. Grandpa had on a pair of plain black shoes, too. He was so pleased that we were wearing the same kind of shoe. He died not long after that. It was sad, and I cried, but I dare say I'm a more emotional kind of guy now and would cry more.

When we were cleaning out Grandpa's house someone (I think Aunt Susan, but I'm not sure) threw an old beaten leather coat into the trash can. I thought, this is a pretty cool coat. I'm taking it. So I dug it out and put it on. It fit my long monkey arms well. But it was DRY. When I moved my arms, you could hear it creaking. The inside collar said, "100% Horse Hide". Mom put a whole tub of horse saddle grease on the coat to moisturize it. She told me that this was the coat that Grandpa used to wear when he would ride his horse to the bar to sew his oats in the 1930's. I've gotten many compliments on this coat over the years. Around 5 years ago I brought it to a tailor to have a new lining put in, and have some of the seams redone. I think it would please Grandpa to know that I'm still wearing it. And someday, I imagine it'll get passed down to Corwin or his brother. Or perhaps one of their sons.

Of the nice memories I have of Grandpa, though, we weren't as close as I would have liked in hindsight. Anke is so close to her Oma Alfrieda and Oma Renate, and she was very close to her Opa. Corwin's named after him. Corwin Günter Parker. I want my children to be close to their Grandparents, as I really wasn't. And we are off to a great start so far in that direction. But Dad has to live longer to do it. His procedure today went well and I talked to him on the phone, just hours ago. He already felt better. So he's ok, and that makes me feel better. He'll be around to see his second grandson born. I think having the Parker name carried on is important to him, so I think it pleases him that I've had boys. It also let's Maurice off the hook a bit. He owes me.

Anyway it's getting late, and I've rambled long enough. Enjoy the photo of Grandpa and Grandma from I'm guessing mid 1940's.

2

Happy Birthday Corwin