BabyDay #1 in retrospect

I was too tired to post last night, but I must report our triumphant arrival at Chateau Bebe. We had an uneventful and surprisingly easy trip, even after entering the maelstrom of 90/94 through downtown Chicago. We managed to cross all lanes of traffic for our left exit, then return to the right, but not too far to the right lest we be inadvertently exited where we did not wish, and then successfully got off where we meant to. There was a temporary parking spot by the American Legion, as advertised, and here we are. Ta daa.

The wonder child, needless to say, is adorable, and his loving parents treat him with as much care as if he were made of antique glass from before the dawn of time, discovered in a golden chamber in the pyramids. He is, of course, just that precious if not more so. Most of the time he is very chill, gazing about him with wondering eyes, but at some point in the early morning, he awoke and cried inconsolably for a time. He has not yet gotten the hang of a bottle, so at these times we are useless, but we got to hold him and walk him around quite a bit yesterday, and blandished him into sleep a couple of times. He just got a whole battery of vaccinations a couple of days ago, and it is thought that this may have upset his little system.

The Sparrowhawk and I took a brief walk around the neighborhood before sunset, and reacquainted ourselves with Chicago's biting cold wind. It is specific to and native to the city, and extends up even into the northern regions where we are now. When we got home, I made dinner. I really had no ideas about cooking before we set out yesterday, but on the spur of the moment, I threw some vegetables and things into a bag. We were bringing home the two coolers that the Philosopher and Lovely Friend brought with them to Thanksgiving and forgot to take away, so I put some sausages that were in the freezer in there. Dinner was salad and spaghetti with Italian sausage. I used sauce out of a jar, but prettied it up with the sausage, red pepper, mushrooms, an extra chopped tomato, and some fresh basil. I then cleaned up everything afterward.

This morning, baby and parents are sleeping in, no doubt recovering from last night's binge-waking. We're still in the previous time zone, so we've been up for awhile.

BabyDay#2

Note to self: PLEASE start doing free weights again. I've spent literally hours--well, a couple of hours at least--carrying this 14 pound baby in my arms as I walk around and around in a soothing fashion. My arms are tired! He's not going to get any lighter, so it behooves me to get ahead of the game! I was very pleased that I could do it. I got him to go to sleep in my arms this afternoon, and the Lovely Friend suggested maybe I could just continue to hold him while she was on a conference call, since if I tried to put him down, he was quite likely to wake up at just the wrong time. It's very satisfying to watch over a baby as he sleeps peacefully on your shoulder. Tonight I walked him around and burped him so his parents could eat. I thought he might go to sleep again, but no. It was quite a long process. I think he wanted to stay up and party.

The Sparrowhawk and I started out the day by driving to the area formerly known as Andersonville to pick up some pastries and a very special cake in honor of the Philosopher's recent birthday. We thought it was going to start snowing earlier in the day, so we were glad to get this errand done. However, the snowstorm has changed its path, as they are wont to do. Around lunchtime was when I took care of the baby while his parents had work calls, and the Sparrowhawk also took a nap. The accommodations are very nice, but admittedly not quite as palatial as our bed at home, and he didn't sleep as long as usual. Once he was up and the baby was returned to his parents for maintenance, the Sparrowhawk and I went for a walk to a nearby church that was built by a group of Volga German immigrants. We think some of our ancestors were Volga Germans, though probably not these guys.

I had asked if they wanted me to cook tonight, but the Lovely Friend said she wanted to order out from a restaurant the Philosopher liked. So we had an intriguing spread of different dishes, and everyone got a taste. This was followed by a lifetime first--Swedish princess cake! We saw people making this amazing construction on the Great British Bake-Off, but I never imagined I would taste it. It looks a bit like a hat, and when a single candle is stuck into it and lighted, it looks a bit like a bomb. But when it is cut into and distributed, it's delicious.

Now it's raining persistently, and will be snowing by morning. But we don't care, because we don't have to go anywhere!