Book Review: The First Twelve Months of Life

I have a new policy on my blog. I used to only blog about books that I read completely. The purpose of that was so I would have an accurate count of the number of books I read. That was more important when I was having a little competition year to year about the number of books that I read. I will not read 30+ books again for a while, I don't think. Also, it would be good to write about books I started, but didn't like...and that is the case with this book.

I ran across it in the library. And Aunt E recommended it. But it turns out that Aunt E was actually recommending "Your Baby's First Year - Week By Week", but called it by the wrong name.

This book, The First Twelve Months of Life, has not had a reprint since 1994.

And it seems to be even older. There was a sentence in there about how "Negroe babies" have certain health tendencies. And it always used the pronoun "he" as referring to the baby. Although this might have been a victory against political correctness in the 90s, it's just weird now. Also it's really boring and tiresome. It's no surprise that it's no longer in print.

So I read a couple of chapters. I am currently reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child"...that is actually really interesting.

Restaurant Review: Pizza Fusion

For my 29th bday, I decided to try out Pizza Fusion with Courtney and Mo. (Watching the baby at night is affording me the time to write this) .

The main reason was because they offer gluten free crusts. And I think maybe they make the crusts rather than getting Olivia's oven brand.

It was extremely tasty, and also very expensive. They overdo the environment-friendly theme. They deliver pizza only in hybrid cars. And they use only organic ingredients. We were discussing how Leawood is a perfect place for such a restaurant, since it's one of the wealthiest areas in the county and probably the nation.

I would go again...maybe get a small pizza though.

And I would go on Thursday, because if you buy a gluten free pizza on Thursday, you get a gluten free brownie. And it is really good.

I think baby's asleep. I will apply the swaddle me and get on with some sleep myself.

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UPDATE: more info
-I want to say that my Pizza Fusion pizza was the best GF pizza I've ever had - I think it was called Farmer's Market flavor.
- I will review prices to see how they compare to other local gluten free pizzas. This would be a great project anyway. I've been to four places now in KC.
-Also I forgot to mention that our server was very nice.
-Also, it was not very busy on a Thursday evening. We were guessing that it would be more of a popular weekend spot or lunch spot.

Annique update 2

1. Courtney is a very caring mom, and she jumped into that role really well. Women are very loving are they not?
2. We've taken Annique to the hospital for a bilirubin test 3 times now (every day). There is a rare health risk related to jaundice. So it's a bit annoying to go every day. But it has been nice to be forced to get out of the house.
3. Bilirubin today was 13.1, which is a decrease, so we don't need to get it tested again.
4. We finished Out of Africa :)
5. Maybe I will post this to FB, Laura!
6. That is probably the first time I've done laundry and dishes at 4 AM
7. We visited S1, my old work today. It was my first time back since they moved to the 1st floor. They are still really good friends! It was Annique's first trip just to meet people.
   
8. We practiced having Courtney take care of the baby without me, since that will be the norm. I spent a bunch of time mowing the lawn...they are doing well!!
9. Oh yeah, 24 is on tonight. Might rather be asleep if the baby is sleeping.
   

Baby updates

Not wanting to flood Facebook with baby posts, I need to keep track of memories somehow. I could do it privately, but this is good too.

1. I guess we will have trouble finishing watching that Out Of Africa movie that we started watching last weekend. It was a Best Picture winner.
2. The 2nd night at home was really tough. The baby wouldn't feed. i ran to mom and dad's around midnight to get the breast pump, and we figured out how to use it. Courtney called our lactation consultant at 11 PM, and we called the nurse at the hospital at 1 AM. But mom and baby got the hang of it.
3. That 2nd night, I also wondered if we would ever sleep. I was exhausted and I knew Courtney had to be even more.
4. Last night we slept when the baby slept. We also had a tag team effort..i watched Annique a bit while Courtney dozed. And I slept when they were feeding once or twice. I feel pretty good about it now.
   
5. I'm sad to go back to work on Tuesday! I will miss spending time with Annique and watching her learn new things, and continuing to bond. I'm a bit nervous about my ability to learn new career skills and work, and take care of the baby in the evenings.
6. Grandpa Kenny hooked us up with grocery shopping.
7. Grandma Laurie helped with Annique's first bath.
8. Annique is really cute and although she doesn't look like me, I had fun bonding and singing to her. she likes my harmonica as well. She is pretty and it's fun to hold her.
9. My cousin Ann will be the first cousin to meet Annique. And she is hooking us up with a meal. Our aunts so far to meet her are Janice, Elizabeth, and Linnie.
   

Childbirth story:

There are a lot of things to tell. and I cannot really describe it well. The first thing from my perspective, is that Courtney didn't feel well enough to do anything that day. Laurie came over to help. But for me that did not translate to "Courtney is in labor". I thought it was a more gradual process over several days where you see labor signs. But I came home around 5 PM, and Laurie told me to pack a bag because we were going to have a baby. So far that week my concerns had been about finding a new car and my need to mow the lawn. And Courtney was concerned about work transitions and church youth committee issues. There was never going to be a time when we were ready, I think it just happens that way, where you drop everything at whatever moment. I was in shock. I swear that I thought Laurie was kidding, and I asked her several times if we were really having a baby today. I knew the 5-1-1 rule about contractions, but it happened really quickly. to be continued....

Movie Review: National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)

This movie is really good, maybe better than the first, except I liked the bad guy less this time, not in a good way (wow that is confusing to describe). If you get the chance to watch the DVD, watch the commentary. It is fun to hear how a certain scene is actually filmed on two continents, but the movie makes it looks like it is all in one place of course. Then they comment on how the sets were built, and how the monument in the background is not really there - it's CGI, etc. That really was the White House, but they didn't let us stand on the sidewalk.... Watching special features really makes me appreciate how movies are made.

Missouri Mavericks

There's a hockey team in Kansas City again...not in Kemper Arena or Sprint Center, but in the new Independence Events Center.

I took my dad to a game for Father's Day. It was a delayed FD present, and this is a delayed post about it. He was very excited, and repeatedly told me how great of a gift this was. Of course, he bought us some BBQ ribs beforehand, kind of evening out the gift.

The Independence Events Center has a huge parking lot, and it is free. We parked about a half a mile away, toward the exits, so we wouldn't have to wait on the way out. We are so smart.

The arena is very nice, and all of the seats are close to the rink. We sat toward one end, and all of the scoring ended up being on the other end, but we did see some nice defensive plays. The PA system was way too loud. I can't stand the two second snippets of rock songs during every stoppage of play. Also annoying was how the mascot was passing out t-shirts while the game was going on, causing a ruckus in the stands. And there was a competition about which section could be the loudest for one full minute to get free pizza or something, and that was during play as well. The main entertainment product should be just the game, not all the other shenanigans.

But the game was fun, even though I don't understand all of the hockey penalties. The Mavericks came back from behind and won. My dad was VERY into the game, and he seriously cared whether the Mavericks won or lost. Hence that is what separates me from what you would call a "sports fan", my ability to not really care when I don't want to. That skill comes in handy when the Royals are your major league baseball team.

The halftime show was fun, a bunch of inflatable mascots did a dance in the middle of the rink. Some other contests were MC-ed by Holly Starr, who hosts 38 the Spot in the evening, which has the Simpsons.

Overall, I would say it's an overly expensive form of entertainment. But I am the same person who was on KCTV5 news a while back, saying that if an NHL hockey team would move to KC, I would not watch any games on TV.

http://lostlifefound.blogspot.com/2007/01/dan-on-news.html
http://lostlifefound.blogspot.com/2007/03/keeping-out-pens.html


I am looking forward to some T-Bones (minor league baseball) games this summer - you can get into that for $3 if you wear green on the right promotion day, and stuff like that. And that is a sport where I actually know the rules. Not spoken like a true Canadian, but that is how it is.

Best of March 2010

Pic of the month: Showered

Best Movie That I Saw for the First Time: Avatar

Best Book I Read for the First Time The Worst Hard Time

Best Restaurant Dined in for First Time Indianapolis Restaurant - Adobo Grill

Best online videos I watched for the First time: Lots of good ones, want to share all
Italian Motor Bike Show:



The funniest video I've seen this year:



26 Gigapixel photo:



Movie/TV special effects...this is an eye opener