And the number one thing brightening our spirits in these cold months?

Posted on February 8, 2010
Filed Under christmas, das kiddo, family | 1 Comment

Rainey, of course!!

He’s still a long, skinny bundle of snuggly cuteness and charm. His head is pretty big for his age, and I think when people see him in his car seat they see his head first and think he’s really big for his age. He is long and he does have a big head, but he’s very light.

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He yells a lot, and in addition to a lot of ah-uhing and gooing and hahing he has made a few other consonant sounds–fa and muh come to mind. He’s eating some solid food now, and with that has come a new understanding of the fact that he has a tongue and that when he sticks it out it’s kind of fun. He’s willingly eaten sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, bananas, pears, rice cereal, and baby oatmeal so far.

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He pushes himself up pretty high on his arms and can rotate around from that position, though he’s not yet crawling. Now and then he seems to move backward from that position, but not forward (well, Ez said he saw him make forward progress the other morning, in honor of the Super Bowl, I’m guessing). When he really wants to cover a lot of ground, he rolls.

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He got a lot of nice toys and gifts for Christmas. Family and friends were very generous with him. He’s been really into playing with his plastic Playskool blocks lately. They come in a pail, and he likes to remove the lid and dump them out, chew on them, etc. etc. He’s also a fan of his car keys, and he still loves the mobile in his crib (thanks Flemings!).

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He’s such a bright shiny charming little guy. We love him to pieces.

For those who come looking for the latest Rainer photos…

Posted on August 30, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, family, photography | 2 Comments

Rainey in the swing

Rainey in the swing

Playing with the cow toy

Rainey, yo

Thank God It’s Friday

Posted on August 28, 2009
Filed Under Blather, Red Sox, das kiddo, dining, family, knitting, music | 2 Comments

I’m tired. It’s been a long day. Rainey’s been fine, but today has been one of those days when he fights a nap. It makes me tired just thinking about it. He would only sleep on my lap, which, while kind of nice, made it hard to do much.

So what HAVE I been able to do? Well, I made my little gift to the Jimmy Fund. I imagine they’ll be hard-pressed to make their 5 million dollar goal for this year’s telethon. I started Rainer’s Christmas stocking. I’m using the same kind of yarn I used for Ezra’s stocking–probably 10 years ago. I’m listening to The Kinks. One of my many ideas for calming Rainey (this is after exhausting all of the usual techniques) was to put on a CD he’s never heard before. I’m not sure the CD helped at all, but I’m enjoying it.

I’m also waiting on pizza and salad delivery. Ah… it’s here. Excuse me.

…

That was good.

The Sox are playing the Blue Jays in the rain. Tomorrow I am getting my eyebrows waxed. I’m excited. I still feel pretty dumpy since having Rainey, and this is one of my first steps toward feeling a bit more myself again physically. I’m also hoping to go to the gym this weekend for the first time in an embarrassingly long time.

I love the weekend now even more than I did before.

Californian, French ambassadors greet Rainer

Posted on August 21, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, dining, family, friends | 2 Comments

Rainer has now attracted visitors from far and wide. This past Monday evening he met our good friend Matt, who was making a stop in Boston to visit his dad and friends before returning home to Los Angeles after a work trip to Ithaca. Matt seems like a pretty big fan of spiffy wee kiddos in general, and since he showed interest we chatted him up about all things Rainey. It’s always good to see Matt.

On Tuesday evening we had a bit of an adventure leading up to our visit with Ezra’s sister April and her husband Manu–hailing from France, they were Rainey’s first international visitors. The original plan had been for April and Manu to meet Ezra at his office when he got off work. Alas, Rainey had just had a rough 18 hours or so. He kept me up much of the night on Monday and then refused to sleep until late in the afternoon on Tuesday. As I was a bit of a wreck, I asked Ez if there was any way he could come home a little early so that I could take a quick nap and clean up before April and Manu arrived. So, Ez came home, picked up Rainey, and drove into town to collect April and Manu. As I was drying my hair, Ez called to say that our car’s brakes had failed on the on-ramp to Storrow Drive. Naturally, I freaked out! But everything was okay. Because it was rush hour, traffic was moving slowly, so Ezra was able to rely on the emergency brake to inch the car into the nearby parking lot of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s office. He called to have the car towed and then walked to the T. Rainey slept through most of this! April and Manu took a cab (in classic Boston-area taxi style, their cab driver needed help figuring out how to get them to our house).

With everyone here safely, we had a lovely evening introducing Rainey to his Aunt April and Uncle Manu, catching up, dining at House of Tibet, and filling Rainey’s ears with his first taste of the French language. April and Manu brought him two cute little kids’ books in French. One is the French translation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They’ll be good practice for me, and I’d love for Rainey to learn to speak a bit of French, too.

On Saturday, after Ezra made a big batch of delicious oatmeal (Manu had never tried it before), we walked around Harvard Square. It was SO HOT and uncomfortable. We ended up stopping at Daedalus for a drink so that we could relax in the air conditioning. Poor Rainey minds the heat (as I do). After that we walked down by the river and then took Manu to Legal Seafoods so he could eat his first lobster roll.

Somewhere there is a delightful little video of Manu cooing at Rainey in French. I must find it and post.

More visits

Posted on August 17, 2009
Filed Under Blather, Gastronomie, das kiddo, dining, family, friends, the 'hood | Leave a Comment

Last Wednesday Kim, Glenn, and Hope arrived and met Rainer for the first time. It was sort of weird that they hadn’t met him sooner. Aunt Kim, Uncle Glenn, and Cousin Hope were sooo helpful! I think they enjoyed their time with the little mister, too. During their visit we played in the park, went out for ice cream, took lots of walks, visited the ducks in the Public Garden, went to the Davis Square farmer’s market, and ate lots of good food (both home cooked and not). They left yesterday.

Friday was Rainey’s four-week birthday. He’s growing and developing every day. He loves when Mommy and Daddy sing to him. The other day we sang and danced to “How High the Moon” and he got so excited! It seems that he is starting to be able to focus better on things a little further from his face, so he’s starting to enjoy the mobile in his crib more and he’s getting better at batting at the animals in his play yard.

Hope has a birthday coming soon, too. She’s getting so big! I was very impressed with how polite she is, and if she ever misbehaved I could always tell that she knew she was misbehaving. She must have good parents or something.

On Sunday our dear friend Heather came by to say hello and meet Rainey. She brought us fresh pies–peach and apple–from local shop Petsi Pies. Every time we drive past their shop on Beacon Street in Somerville I wonder about them. We tried the peach because it was still warm and it’s so good… tastes like they went out and picked the peaches that morning. Heather’s so lovely–always a breath of fresh air. She also gave Rainey a great book–Bruno Munari’s ABC. It has wonderful illustrations and is more creative and appealing than a standard ABC book (for example, a quail represents the letter Q). Thanks, Heather!

The bunny’s early accomplishments

Posted on August 10, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, family | 6 Comments

Yes, I call him Bunny sometimes.

For those interested in the play-by-play, I submit the following early accomplishments:

Last night, Rainer discovered my hair… or rather that he can grab it and hold onto it. I’ve been keeping my hair up during the day, but last night and this morning he hung onto it tightly.

Today he managed to hold the bottle I was feeding him by himself. I know it sounds crazy–he’s only three weeks old, but I swear he held it. He did have gravity helping him out a bit; the bottle was sort of balanced on his face in a way. Ez has witnessed similar feats.

In the play yard, with the monkey
In the play yard, with the monkey.

He’s very fond of the play yard our friend Lisa gave us. He likes to bat at the hanging animals (he can’t really aim at any animal in particular, he just waves his arms around) and generally wiggle making noises and looking at things.

More updates soon, I’m sure.

Now it can be told

Posted on August 10, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, family, me and my brain, nostalgia | 4 Comments

Before our son was born (2 and a half weeks early on July 17th), we kept secret the name we’d chosen for him. Now that he’s here, I can share the scoop on his name–what it means, why we chose it, etc.

Rainer Eli Wise Ball
(Rainey)

Rainer is a German name meaning “strong counselor.” In German it’s pronounced roughly “Rye” (like the bread) - “ner,” but we pronounce it “Rain-er” (or “Ray-ner”)–which I think is the Anglicized/Americanized pronunciation.

On May 3, 1997–early on in our relationship, Ez and I found ourselves wandering in the rain en route (the wrong route, as we later discovered) to a Kentucky Derby party. We never did make it to the party, but basically spent the day grinning and holding hands like school kids. We were struck by the idea of the rainy planet—that we live on and are a part of this sort of mystical, magical place where things are alive and breathing and changing… where things are charged and growing. The rainy planet is the mood and the place where we came together and where we live, still. That’s where the name Rainy Planet Press came from.

When we were searching for names for our son, we were looking for something that would feel right and have real meaning for us. Once we fit Rainer into the context of the rainy planet—we’re pretty sure it hit us sometime in May—we knew that would be his name.

Eli is Ezra’s late great grandfather’s name, and it’s Ezra’s middle name.

Wise Ball came about somewhat randomly, somewhat by default. Ez and I had been trying for a long time to figure out what to do about our kid’s last name. In the end, the woman at the hospital called about the birth certificate–Ez and I had been sleeping. I turned to Ez and mumbled something, he mumbled back, and we ended up with Wise Ball–no hyphen. Maybe someday Rainer will sign his name Rainer Eli W. Ball or Rainer E. W. Ball. However he decides to do it will be okay with me.

Some famous (some more than others) people named Rainer:

Rainer Maria Rilke (poet)
Rainer Gross (contemporary painter)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (director)
Rainer Hosch (professional photographer)
Rainer Schluetter (ATP tennis player)
Rainer Ptacek (blues musician)

So, without further ado… the mister:
Rainer

Pregnant Lady spills the beans

Posted on June 19, 2009
Filed Under Blather, Pennsylvania, das kiddo, dining, family, friends, me and my brain, the 'hood, the written word | 8 Comments

Now that I’m pretty far along, I’ve been pondering my overall thoughts on this whole pregnancy business. I don’t have anything too deep to impart just at the moment, but here are some practical reflections:

Only time will tell if it will actually achieve its intended purpose–to reduce stretch marks–but I have loved using Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter.
http://www.burtsbees.com/wcsstore/Bee2C/images/products/762_l.jpg

It just feels nice to smooth it onto the ever-expanding baby bump. I haven’t tried any of the other belly butters for pregnant women, so I can’t offer a comparison, but I’ll go ahead and recommend Mama Bee anyhow.

There are a lot of books and magazines out there, and I’ve done my darnedest to ignore most of them. Some are targeted at a different sort of mother, I think. Some just seem like a series of ads with nothing more than absolute fluff (if that) in between. And some have agendas that don’t fit in with what I have in mind for myself and my family. All that said, I have come across a few books and even a magazine or two that aren’t too bad–a few are even helpful! One of the first books we bought when we found out we were pregnant was the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. It’s a good reference guide with straightforward explanations of what’s happening to your body and to your baby throughout pregnancy. Another good book (well, I haven’t had a chance to test out the book’s recommendations yet, but it seems good) is The Happiest Baby on the Block. Yeah, it’s kind of the flavor of the moment, and there’s a good bit of rah-rah in the book, but the basic advice it provides on how to calm a crying baby is specific, seems sound, and comes recommended to me from friends and medical pros. As for magazines, the only ones I’ve been able to stomach have come to me free from my Ob/Gyn office. Fit Pregnancy seems to be at the center of the franchise, and they also publish some special magazines for mom and newborn and that kind of thing. It’s still a magazine with ads and some goofy celeb articles, so it’s not perfect, but it seems aimed more at an intelligent, perhaps more modern and urban audience than some of the other mags. I’ve found decent product reviews, recommended exercises, recipes, etc. in a couple of recent issues.

Ez and I have taken two classes so far at Harvard Vanguard in Cambridge–Prepared Childbirth and Caring for Your Newborn–and I’m so glad we took both of them. Sure, some of what was discussed we already knew, but there’s plenty we didn’t, and it’s good to have it all confirmed and put together coherently. It’s also good to see other expectant couples and hear how they’re doing. Our instructors were both very good–very knowledgeable, approachable, and down-to-earth. I know that Isis Maternity does loads of classes, and they’re probably very good, but I just wanted to go with the Harvard Vanguard classes. I’m not sure, but I think they might be a little cheaper (may depend on your insurance). Even if they’re not, I just wanted to stick with something that feels a little less retail and a little more health-oriented for now. As with the Mama Bee, I can’t compare the classes to anything else, really, but I feel that I can whole-heartedly recommend them.

There are a lot of deals out there.  The major baby clothing folks have frequent sales.  Of the basic standby brands, Carters and Oshkosh seem pretty good–they might even be corporately connected at this point.  They have a lot of outlet stores and they’re always sending out coupons and having promotions.  Gymboree is all right, though I think their stuff is maybe a little better for slightly older children rather than newborns.  They have a lot of sales, too. 

http://www.teacollection.com/live/images/products/small/R93267L_Cilantro.jpg
Our kiddo has this little gem from Tea Collection waiting for him.

When it comes to slightly more posh stuff, I’m a fan of the Tea Collection (well, some of it), BabySoy, and Janie and Jack.  Janie and Jack can be a little on the uber-preppy side, but the stuff is very well made and some of it is so cute!  It’s pricey, but sometimes they have good sales, and sometimes it’s just worth it to splurge.
 
http://s7d3.scene7.com/is/image/JanieAndJack/100008662?$PRODLIST$
Bubnick’s hoodie from Janie and Jack. You can’t see from this little picture, but it has a submarine on it.

BabySoy stuff is simple, well made, and really soft.  Of those three more pricey clothing options, Tea Collection has the best sales.  Their range is nice when I’m sick of the blue for boys, pink for girls business.

And then there are the consignment shops. I mean, kids grow fast! Super big props to my pal Lisa for taking me on a tour of some of her favorite kid consignment stores in our area. My fave of them all is Growing Up in Belmont (they’re on facebook but don’t have a web site yet). Their prices are just as good as other consignment shops, and they get in the best merch. There are good kid consignment shops everywhere, it seems. I’ve been to good ones in State College and the DC/Northern VA area, too.

Lots of people have asked me how I’ve been feeling and what I’ve been craving. At first, I felt pretty good. At the VERY beginning, I was a bit light-headed and warm. In the first trimester, I was pretty tired at times, and maybe a little moody, but I really never had “morning sickness.” I was lucky. My second trimester was pretty easy, as it is for most people, though I think I had less energy than some people have. I found out around the end of my 2nd trimester that I am anemic (possibly pregnancy-related), and that may be why I felt so blah. I’m on iron supplements now, and I think they’re helping. Sometime during my 2nd trimester, the heartburn started. Now it’s pretty bad, especially at night. That’s the big thing that kept me up a couple of days ago. No amount of antacids, repositioning, or drinking water seemed to help. But some days it’s better than others, and it’s very normal at this stage in pregnancy. Like many pregnant women, I’m experiencing a little swelling. I especially notice it in my ankles, but again–it’s not that bad. I’ve encountered pregnant women who have it a lot worse than I do. As of today, I physically just feel big. I get winded pretty easily. Again, that’s all typical. That’s me, Typical Terri the Pregnancy Fairy. Anyhoo…

Cravings… I don’t know that I’ve had specific cravings, but looking back on what I’ve been eating over the last 8 months, I’ve consumed a good bit of:

Those are the items that seem remarkable. I still eat a lot of tomatoes, and my veggie intake seems about the same as ever. If I am getting more protein, I think it’s from the dairy products and nuts. I haven’t been eating substantially more soy products or anything like that. And I tried pickles at one point, because you know–they say pregnant women crave pickles. Well, I actually found them a bit repulsive, and usually I like dill pickles. Go figure.

And a final note: I might have the best friends and family in the whole world. Whenever I get a bit nervous or stressed about some aspect of pregnancy, childbirth, or motherhood, I am able to handle it okay, and I think a lot of that is because I know I have support from friends (both those with children of their own and those without), family (via phone, web, and in person), and of course my wonderful husband. Besides the obvious biological stuff, I would not be doing this without him. We’ve always said that when we are together everything is better. We’re planting this kid in a well-tended garden.

All right, here are your pictures

Posted on May 31, 2009
Filed Under Blather, art, das kiddo, family, friends, nostalgia | 2 Comments

For those of you who need to see the nursery and other things I’ve mentioned (Kim, for example), here ya go.

Some views of the nursery in progress:




I’m planning to hang some images from vintage children’s books in the nursery once I get mats cut.



I’ll try to put this one in a shadow box–the book is in nice condition and I don’t want to cut it up.

And here we have Heather’s adorable doggie, Misha. This is an old picture, but it’s so cute I couldn’t resist. How could anyone abandon this dog? Heather just found her… tried to discover her owner, but no one ever stepped forward, so Heather got herself this great dog!

Catching Up

Posted on May 29, 2009
Filed Under Blather, das kiddo, daytripping, family, friends, music, this old house | 2 Comments

Time marches on, and progress continues.

Over the last couple of weekends, Ez and I ran about a million errands, and at the end of it all we had an assembled crib with mattress and crib skirt in place, nursery curtains hung, fully-stocked kitchen cabinets, and cheerful new plants to add to the new-life vibe we’re cultivating. We also found time to go to the beach on Memorial Day.

May 19 we went to see St. Vincent at the Somerville Theater. Opening act Pattern as Movement was… well… hideous in my opinion. My attempt to describe them: Opera jazz rock with ethnic yodels and sea lions. Ezra’s attempt, perhaps more on the nose: Catholic liturgical prog mass. I’m sure they’re lovely people, but… no. St. Vincent is always good stuff, and the new album sounds like another solid effort, but the show felt too short. After seeing her from the front row at the Middle East last year, the whole thing felt much less intimate to me. The Somerville Theater isn’t a bad venue for her, but really small venues are often best. Tuesday’s show was the first of her current tour, so perhaps later shows will feel a tad more spontaneous.

Recently, I also got to visit with dear friend Heather and meet her adorable doggie, Mischa. No joke, I’d say at least 15 groups of people stopped on the street to admire the pup and chat with us. That Mischa is a charming pooch.

We went to our first childbirth class this week. Seems good so far. Ez made me giggle–probably without even trying–during the relaxation exercise.

Ooo–we are finally getting a new dryer. Whooppee! Dry clothes.

Okay, so this post is pretty boring, with no fun pictures. I plan to follow it up with a silly post, less relevant to anything at all, but with pictures (not mine). Prepare for visual stimulation! Ish!

keep looking »

Song of the Day

The Essex Green-Sorry River 

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The Knitting Turnip

On My Needles

Rhapsody in Tweed cabled pullover for Ezra! using Tahki Donegal Tweed in Forest, from Fall 2004 Interweave Knits. I've just picked this one up again, so it's moving up in the queue!

Sweater with Cable Patterns pullover using Araucania Nature Wool Chunky in Mauve, from Rebecca Magazine Number 28

Heather Pullover using Classic Elite Wings in Larkspur, from Rowan’s A Season’s Tale... This needs the knit doctor. I'm going to have to frog back a little bit and redo the shoulder area. Long story.

Hush Pullover using Jo Sharp DK wool in Wine, from Rowan’s Calmer Collection

More scoop on my knitting endeavors can be found at my home on Ravelry (clicky here).

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