2004:04:30
2004:04:29
Life has changed
For instance, poop has definitely been more of a topic of conversation than it ever was before. How many times has he pooped today? What color is the poop? He's grunting; he must be pooping. Just calm down a second J while I clean the poop off your foot. He let out the loudest fart, but there wasn't any poop. Sorry I took so long, J pooped on the wall.
2004:04:27
I have it easy.
Well, every time I've spoken to Kate today, I have heard a screaming baby in the background. And while I've had my share of headaches today at work, I know it can't compare to the super job Kate's doing at home.
Thanks honey!
2004:04:22
My toaster is on fire
Yesterday, I was toasting up some breakfast at work. The first time didn't really do the job, so I started the toaster oven again. At the ding, I looked inside and saw that there was a nice little fire going.
I immediately rescued my corn toastie (you can't beat Freihofer's Corn Toasties), which had luckily not caught on fire. Several thoughts came to mind. I have created a fire at an organic synthesis pharmaceutical plant, where flammable solvents are used in abundance and it is forbidden to have any kind of flame on-site. Should I try to blow it out? [I blow and the flames get bigger.] Should I pour water on it? Before I do that, I should unplug it. Where is the plug for this thing? The cord seems to go behind the refrigerator. Should I move the refrigerator? If I close the door of the toaster oven, will that create a backdraft-type situation such that the next person who opens up the door will be consumed by flame?
What I ended up doing was blowing intermittently, opening and closing the door to see if it mattered, and just staring at the flames. As they died down, Seth came by and gave a little blow that put the fire out immediately. After the toaster oven cooled down, I cleaned out as much of the crumbs and grime as I could, that had collected at the bottom of this communal toaster oven for who-knows-how-long.
This morning, as I started the toaster on its second cycle again, I noticed a few glowing embers and the faint smell of smoke in the air. Perhaps I should start buying breakfast in the cafeteria.
2004:04:20
Back to work
I survived my first and second days back at work, without too much trouble. It's really tough to leave in the morning, and I think about Kate and J all day, but I am managing to get work done.
So, J seems to be building his neck muscles and getting the hang of his hands, to some extent. He has all but abandoned his cry build-up. It used to steadily get louder and angrier, but now it's pretty much on or off. I can't wait to get home to see what little things have changed today.
2004:04:16
2004:04:15
Buddy v. J
As so astutely observed by Mr. Joseph Reiter, our baby has a slight resemblance to Buddy Hackett.
Buddy
J
This may be too much information, but J was conceived shortly after Buddy's death, so there might be more to this than meets the eye.
2004:04:14
2004:04:03
We Have Baby
To try and explain what I'm feeling right now would be impossible considering my lack of language skills and the experience of emotions I've never felt before. We have returned from the hospital with a baby boy, whom we named J C Colello.
He was born at 1:41 AM on April 1st, 2004. He weighed 9 pounds, 14 ounces, and measured 22 inches at birth.
I'm sure Kate will eventually get around to letting you know all about it. I'm sure I will, at some point, recap my memory of the event (probably over and over again). Right now, all I can say is that I am overjoyed, impossibly happy, fantastically proud, a little tired, and scared out of my mind. There is a little human being on the floor in our apartment, a little human being that I saw emerge from my wife just two days ago.
I feel like my life has just begun.
And then...Pictures to follow.