tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2 2008-10-09T19:57:12Z eternal moonshine for a spotty mind! Movable Type 3.31 tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2.712 2008-10-09T19:54:21Z 2008-10-09T19:57:12Z

I'm reposting this contest button to enter into a drawing on The Knit Witch's blog. She makes some pretty lovely ceramic yarn bowls and has other goodies too....

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2.615 2008-07-21T04:27:14Z 2008-07-21T05:57:46Z

Hoo doggie. Someone (see above) in our house has decided that bedtime is unnecessary. We've tried going earlier and later with the timing and both result in the same big screaming fit. Right now Mark is sitting in the...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Hoo doggie. Someone (see above) in our house has decided that bedtime is unnecessary. We've tried going earlier and later with the timing and both result in the same big screaming fit. Right now Mark is sitting in the chair in her room while Zoe sobs hysterically at the gate. Last night I fell asleep to her crying in bed next to me. Getting her to sleep is easily taking 45 minutes to an hour (or more) *every night* no matter what. On the plus side, once she does get to sleep she's pretty much sleeping straight through until 6am and then sometimes will go back to sleep after a spot of milkies. I knit these pants for her and good thing I finished them finally because they just fit right now. Which means they may be a bit small next week. *rolls eyes* That's what I get for taking 3-4 months to finish them. (Oooh, I think I hear Mark which means she's finally asleep). I think I should probably sew clothing for her next time instead, as it should be a faster project to finish. We've had a number of travel firsts this past few months. First trip to Disneyland (staying at the Grand Californian Hotel onsite no less), first plane ride, first camping trip. Disneyland would have been more awesome had we not been there during a heat wave that had temps soaring into the triple digits and us nearly spending more time in our hotel room and the pool than in the parks. One of the pools at the hotel had a little water slide that Zoe absolutely adored. She would have spent the whole trip there if we would have let her. We rode the carousels in both Disneyland and California Adventure, Pirates (of course!), the Haunted Mansion, the Storybook Land Canal Boats, the Monorail, the Nemo Submarine Voyage, the Mark Twain Steamboat, and the Sun Wheel. Using the fantastic rider switch feature, Mark & I were able to go on Space Mountain (twice!), the Matterhorn, Star Tours, Big Thunder Mountain, and California Screamin' without having to wait forever. We'll be heading back in December and will have to hit Small World (it was closed for refurb) and Dumbo (lines were too long). We made it to the family reunion in Wichita this year, despite United Airlines best efforts to keep us from doing so. *sigh* Zoe was a trooper on the wacky trip out that had us at the San Jose airport at 9am on Saturday morning, through security, on the plane, off the plane, waiting around for an hour, on the shuttle to SFO, through security again, on the plane, waiting for takeoff, arriving in Denver late, off the plane, on the next plane to get us to Wichita and finally arriving 3.5hours late at 10:30pm having had no breaks and no real meals. We picked up our rental car, hit the IHOP, checked into our room and finally got to bed between midnight and 1am local time. The reunion was great. My dad had also decided to go this year and 3 of his (4) siblings were present with their families. Plus all the rest of Grandma's side of the family. It was something like 100 people! The next day we went to Hutchinson, KS to visit the Cosmosphere so Mark could inspect every speck of (space!) dust. :) We spent the evening at Grandma's and then were back at the airport bright and early the next morning to fly home. Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful. We had 3 weeks to recover from that before heading off on our next adventure -- camping at Portola State Park with Mark's family and a bunch of their friends. This was an annual trip when Mark was a kid and last year it was restarted by his sis & another of the gals in the group. We drove up for the day but didn't camp last year. This time we rented a van and camped. Zoe was filthy head to toe and loving it and spent much of her time running around the campground with her cousins. I admit that even as a non-camper, I had a good time and was already taking mental notes for next year before we'd even started packing up our stuff. With all that travel under our belts, we decided it was time to stay home for a bit. For the 4th of July the street around the corner from our house has a potluck block party and this year they even got a bounce house for the kids. Zoe was hesitant at first but ended up loving it and even going up the big laddery bit to get to the slide (which was the height of the bounce house!!). Thankfully the bigger kids were pretty patient since it took her a while to get up to the top. We headed out before the fireworks started but not before Zoe managed to coat herself in bubble soap and sidewalk chalk. Ah the joys of a toddler! Number of teeth: 12.75, as the 4 canines are in various stages Weight: 23.5lbs Length: 31.5inches Clothing size: 18-24 months Mobility: Perpetual. Climbs with no fear. Nearly swims. Speech: Comes & goes. Lots of emphatic babbling. Some even in English. Has dropped using some signs (like "all done") but is picking up others (like "please"). No means both no and yes and, sadly, "MINE!" has made its grand entrance. Travel since last update: Tons! Maker Faire the first weekend in May, (Great-great)Aunt Mary's funeral in Hanford, Disneyland during the May heat wave, Wichita, KS for the family reunion the first Sunday in June, and camping at Portola State Park. May well be in the Bay Area for a week about a week from now. Foods: Berries and whatever Mama's eating are her favorites.]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2.614 2008-07-20T19:06:20Z 2008-07-20T19:13:15Z

After not being able to find the mega remote that controls our entertainment system we pulled up the couch and found it has velcro panels on the back. Upon opening these panels we found the following: - the DVD player...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com After not being able to find the mega remote that controls our entertainment system we pulled up the couch and found it has velcro panels on the back. Upon opening these panels we found the following: - the DVD player remote that has been lost for months - Mark's wedding ring - Mark's iPod Nano - a length of parachute line - a padlock - two crochet hooks - a fingernail clipper - two cat turds (likely dingleberries) - several receipts - a business card for iFixIt - 3 linked baby toy rings - a sock - 3 hair rubber bands - a knitting row counter - a paperclip - the gauge swatch for Zoe's sweater - 2 blocks - a syringe for dispensing baby Motrin - lots of dustbunnies The mega remote was also inside the couch, still being digested. tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2.516 2008-04-11T00:10:00Z 2008-04-11T00:11:13Z

So much to post, I have no idea where to start. Looks like my last post was at 11 months. Well, I'm back thanks to another round of I-will-only-nap-on-your-person-or-in-the-carseat. Yeehaw! So while I still have a small person sleeping on...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Number of teeth: 11, with another on the way Weight: 22lbs Length: 30inches Clothing size: 18 month tops, bottoms need 18 month rise, 12 month waist & length *sigh* Mobility: On the verge of running. Readying to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Travel since last update: Did Thanksgiving in the Bay Area, Christmas in the Bay Area & Hanford, and headed back to the Bay Area in February for the Stitches West convention. Foods: Just about anything. Strawberries are a current favorite. ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2008:/chahn//2.456 2008-02-12T12:34:38Z 2008-02-12T12:44:11Z

I'm officially taking a break from blogging (She says after not posting anything in the past 2 months). Things are just too crazy with adjusting to the transition from caring for a baby to parenting a toddler and when I...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com I'm officially taking a break from blogging (She says after not posting anything in the past 2 months). Things are just too crazy with adjusting to the transition from caring for a baby to parenting a toddler and when I have some time where I can actually think complete thoughts, I'm using it for knitting or updating my knitting stuff on Ravelry (www.ravelry.com -- it rocks!). If things ever settle down, I'll be back because I am going to miss preserving memories here. I just can't do it right now. TTFN. P.S. I am continuing to upload new photos to Flickr, so if you are interested in seeing my little monkey grow up, give me your Flickr name and I'll add you to my friends list there, as I am not keeping any baby pics public there any more. Knitting and miscellany are still public. Also, I will still be reading blogs & LJ and sometimes commenting so I'm not falling off the face of the earth completely. I'm just picking other things over maintaining my own blog. tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.410 2007-12-12T16:59:57Z 2007-12-12T17:52:49Z

I cannot believe my little monkey is a year old already. Today we're celebrating with our mom & baby group at our house. My house hasn't been this clean in a long, long time....

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com I cannot believe my little monkey is a year old already. Today we're celebrating with our mom & baby group at our house. My house hasn't been this clean in a long, long time. tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.390 2007-11-18T18:37:46Z 2007-11-26T16:48:50Z

I really feel bad about having to combine months on these posts but this (umm, and last...) month has been all about getting buried in a pile of busy. The major increase in crawling speed coupled with a feverish curiousity...

mama http://blogs.halibut.com/chahn/ Communication skills are on the rise, though not proceeding fast enough for us or Zoe sometimes. We have had her give us a few baby signs, primarily for "milkies" and "all done". She's a sharp one, as she's given me the "all done" sign on the diaper changer when she didn't want to be there and often she'll sign "all done" in the high chair when she wants to be picked up whether or not she's actually still hungry. The biggie now is that she's started saying "Mama". Her first word was definitely "Hi" and we're pretty sure she says "kitty". Everything else is still babble to the adult ears in the house. The past week has plunged us into the Depths of Hell that is the one year molars. I still don't know if she actually was sick or not but last week her temp was up around 101F intermittently and peaked out at 103F. She's had congestion but no runny nose and has been pretty fussy and clingy, pulling out the brain melting shriek way more often than usual. Zoe has been tugging at her ears (ped said they're clear of infection) and stuffing her hands in her mouth, as well as nibbling on my arms and legs. During a screaming fit I saw the upper right culprit emerging from the gums. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the perp brought along some friends because she cut the four top center teeth all at the same time. Still only two little lonely teeth on the bottom for now. We are not amused by this teething business. Tomorrow we head north to visit the Smith clan for Thanksgiving and Zoe will get to play with her cousins, hopefully not eating too many of their toys. And in hopes of posting this before her birthday, we'll now sum up: Number of teeth: 6.5, center bottom, center top, upper right molar Number of teeth waiting to burst from the gums: Who knows... Weight: 18lbs Length: Not sure. Clothing size: 12 to 18 months Sitting up?: Ancient history. Crawling?: Swifter than eagles. Standing?: Pulls up, lets go for up to 30 seconds or so Walking?: Assisted by the LeapFrog walker or cruising the furniture. Climbing!?!?: Gah! On and off the couch if the nursing footstool is out. Travel in October/November: Visited Grammy & Grandpa in Hanford and was wary of Uncle Tom. Will visit Nana & Grandad and Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins...tomorrow! Foods: Decided to keep with circular cereal, squash, sweet potato, gingersnaps. ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.348 2007-09-20T22:47:00Z 2007-09-20T22:49:23Z

Hoo Boy. This month's a doozie. But in a (mostly) good way. Miss Zoe is officially mobile. Crawling. Pulling up to standing. Cruising. Oy. In the pic above she was chasing me as I was crawling backwards trying to take...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com In the pic above she was chasing me as I was crawling backwards trying to take her picture. Every time I told her to stop moving, she giggled wildly and headed right for me. Now that the forward motion is working for her, Zoe is picking up speed. Just in time for the Diaper Derby at the local harvest festival! Below is the view I return to *every* time I leave her in the crib for any amount of time. Thankfully, we dropped the mattress to the lowest setting. It was astonishing to see how quickly standing and cruising started after the forward crawling began. Babyproofing has commenced in earnest at home and the pets are rather nonplussed. This month also brings us teeth. Plural. In addition to the two bottom center, six new teeth are in the process of coming in and three of these (all on top) are through the gums and becoming more visible every day. This has made nursing a little uncomfy but (*knocks wood*) so far we haven't had any biting nastiness. Alas, she's made up for it with continued scratching and pinching -- why can't babies fingernails grow in when they're old enough to understand being told not to scratch Mama's tender arm flesh? Zoe made her longest car trip to date on Labor Day weekend when we visited our friends in Guerneville. Even though it was a short dip, she absolutely loved splashing around in the Russian River. She also took her first few forward lunges at their house. Other than the usual sleep havoc and a fit of hysterics for about 45 minutes (from San Francisco to Mountain View), the trip was a success. Next we'll see how well she does at Disneyland in December (for *my* birthday :). At her 9 month check-up today Zoe was pronounced beautiful and healthy but mildly anemic. I'll be adding more iron-rich foods to her solid meals in hopes of avoiding having to give her supplements. Since there seems to be some gluten sensitivity in the family and because she was sensitive to dairy via breastmilk, the pediatrician recommended that we delay introducing those and some of the other allergenic foods until after Zoe is at least 18 months old. "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:" Number of teeth: 5, center bottom, center and just left on top Number of teeth waiting to burst from the gums: 3, 1 top, 2 bottom Weight: 17lbs 3oz Length: 26 3/4in Clothing size: Too big for 9 months, not quite big enough for 12 months Sitting up?: Old news. Crawling?: Oh yeah. And gaining speed. Standing?: Pulls up on anything she can get her hands on. But not letting go yet. Walking?: Assisted by the LeapFrog walker borrowed from friends. Doom. Travel in September: Russian River/Bay Area for Labor Day and back to the Bay Area the weekend that followed. LA was planned but scrapped for the third weekend. Foods: Primarily still nursing but we've switched from purees to finger foods. Faves are butternut squash and cheerios. Though the cheerios have to go since it turns out that oats have gluten. She'll be very displeased. Likes: Watching big kids run & jump, hanging upside down, splashing in the tub Dislikes: Diaper changes that don't feature Mama singing "Yellow Submarine", too many times in & out of the car, waking up alone ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.350 2007-09-19T18:21:42Z 2007-09-19T18:21:13Z

Sure you've come to the proper place. But keep a weather eye open mates, and hold on tight. With both hands, if you please. Thar be squalls ahead, and Davy Jones waiting for them that don't obey. We pillage, plunder,...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com We pillage, plunder, we rifle and loot, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack, drink up, me 'arties, Yo Ho, Maraud and embezzle and even highjack, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me. We kindle and char and inflame and ignite, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, We burn up the city we're really a fright, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves, drink up me 'arites, Yo Ho, We're devils and blacksheep, we're really bad eggs, drink up me 'arites, Yo Ho, We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do well cads, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, Aye, but we're loved by our mommies 'n dads, drink up me 'arties, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life For Me.]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.317 2007-08-13T18:12:30Z 2007-08-13T18:12:10Z

Um, yeah, July was busy. September is gonna be a doozy too, potentially with travel three weeks in a row. This should be interesting, as we're seeing the beginnings of separation anxiety and awareness of strangers. Zoe has been super...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Anyhoo, Zoe continues on her quest for mobility. She can scoot backwards and rock back and forth on her hands and knees and adds in rolling to get to things out of her reach. The house is still woefully unprepared for a crawling baby. Oh! And a few days ago she pulled herself up on a toy in her crib. The second time she only got to kneeling but that is still a pretty major accomplishment. Though we've been slacking on giving her solid foods, I have started making baby food for her by steaming veggies and running them through the food processor before freezing in ice cube trays. We've tried butternut squash, carrots, and peas and sweet potato is next. So far squash is the favorite with peas a close second. Oatmeal wasn't very well received but we'll try again now that I've ground the oats smaller. I am going to try making some applesauce next from apples off our tree in the backyard. Also we have bananas and avocados ripening on top of the fridge so we will add those to the menu too. Here's a summary of where we are now: Number of teeth: 2, center bottom Number of teeth waiting to burst from the gums: 4, 2 top, 2 bottom Weight: 17lbs Length: 26in Clothing size: 9 months, but not for much longer Sitting up?: Like a champ! Crawling?: Kinda. Stuck in reverse. Standing?: Assisted. But that's on the horizon. Walking?: No, thank goodness. That can wait a while. I hope. Travel in July: Bay Area for Grandad's surgery and Santa Cruz with Mama & Grandma Travel in August:None until Labor Day weekend. Foods: Primarily still nursing with solids 1-2 times a day Likes: "Petting" our dogs & cats, being held up in the air, being tickled by Mama's hair, chewing & drooling on everything in sight Dislikes: Diaper changes, having face wiped, sitting in one place for too long, sleeping alone ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.293 2007-06-25T17:07:58Z 2007-06-25T17:24:28Z

Since Zoe has been fascinated by anything we eat and finally started trying to grab it out of our hands, we decided to finally give her a shot at solids. Friday evening I mixed up some organic rice cereal with...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Eventually, she wrestled the spoon from me because, really, it was more interesting than the cereal. I perservered and got another spoon. I also learned why so many babies get nightly baths, as she was totally sticky when we were finished. Saturday I gave her a chunk of banana to play with while we ate on the back patio and Sunday she got a little bit of avocado. Boy, this whole food thing is messy!]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.292 2007-06-25T17:07:00Z 2007-06-25T17:25:09Z

Yes, you read that correctly. I am, in fact, knitting boobies. They're for my mother-in-law who will be having a double mastectomy any time now. The yarn is Valley Yarns Southwick (52% pima cotton/48% bamboo) in "African Violet" and the...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com The yarn is Valley Yarns Southwick (52% pima cotton/48% bamboo) in "African Violet" and the pattern is Tit Bits from the Fall 2005 Knitty. I have at least three other projects on the needles but I honestly haven't really been making much time to knit lately. The other projects include the Pacific Waves Shawl in Elann.com Sonata Print in "Rio", Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket using Peaches & Creme cotton in "Fiesta Ombre", Yarn Harlot's Basic Sock Recipe using Elann's Sock It To Me Colori, and the Dollar and a Half Cardigan from the Spring 2007 Interweave Knits using Knit One, Crochet Too Parfait Solids.]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.290 2007-06-22T04:16:48Z 2007-06-25T17:26:12Z

Tonight Zoe supervised the planting of a Giant Pumpkin plant that we got free from the SLO FFA/4H group that is sponsoring a pumpkin growing contest to be held near Halloween at the Thursday Night Farmer's Market. The pumpkins can...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.288 2007-06-20T05:09:30Z 2007-06-25T17:26:45Z

Why is it that "more fun" and "more work" seem to go together so often? Regardless, I'm really loving this age (now that my sleep has returned to a more "normal" level this week). Month Six has brought us lots...

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Month Six has brought us lots of hugs, smiles, and giggles. Zoe is sitting up with less assistance and is reaching for *everything*, especially when we're trying to eat. I expect we'll try solids this week now that the camera has made its way home. Our Goldfish (Mommy & Me) class at the local high school is just past the halfway point. For her age, I'm told Zoe is doing fantastic though it seems her tolerance is shrinking. Today we were only in the water for about 20-30 minutes of the hour long class. It was definitely cold today though. At least Papa stopped by on his lunch break and was able to take some action shots with his phone! Here we are playing "Humpty Dumpty". Yesterday was the 6 month checkup with the pediatrician. Zoe is catching up! She's 15.5lbs, 25in long, and has a 16.75in head circumference. That puts her mostly in the 25th percentile for her chronological age and that is on the chart that assumes the baby is fed formula rather than breastmilk. Everything else looks good and we verified that there aren't yet any teeth in her drooly mouth (she sticks her tongue out when I try to check). Once she's grown one more inch in length we are going to have to put in her new car seat to replace the infant seat that pops into a base. Today we had our first session of the summer Parent Participation series at the local Adult School. We got to see some of the babies that we met through our last round at Parent Participation. The minute she saw the other babies she was wiggling and trying to crawl out of my lap to go to them. Definitely her father's daughter! This session we'll be learning about non-toxic cleaning products, making toys at home, and estate planning (odd, but we sorely need it) in addition to the usual songs and chatting. Hmmm... Sounds like someone is ready to go to bed. More next month! ]]> tag:blogs.halibut.com,2007:/chahn//2.284 2007-06-14T01:32:33Z 2007-06-25T17:27:22Z

Just testing my blog move. Ya know the one I started working on in *February*. Scary is that I only had 10 new posts since I moved the intital set over. 10 posts in 4 months....

blackmoondog www.blackmoondog.com Just testing my blog move. Ya know the one I started working on in *February*. Scary is that I only had 10 new posts since I moved the intital set over. 10 posts in 4 months.