Shut Up and Enjoy the Ride

I can't say that going without a full night's sleep going on a week and a half straight now is anyway to live, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Maddy is a trip, except for the fact that her theme song is Up All Night (Sleep All Day), preferably the Slaughter version, remember those guys? or at least their hair? What parents wouldn't want a newborn that sleeps all day right? Not when there's hell to pay when the sun goes down.
We're starting to get into a groove with her, thanks to Melanie and her book of wisdom. The past few days were busy for us and we're all pretty wore out. Christmas started Sunday with Gina's brother, sister-in-law and mother coming down. Monday was my family. Maddy made out in her first Christmas, money, clothes, toys, what else could a girl want? Oh yeah, how about a Harley? Compliments of uncle Paul.
So I knew it had to happen, and it probably would have taken a bit longer if it weren't Christmas, but out came the pink. This girl already has more clothes than Gina and I combined and more pink clothes than Gina has owned in her lifetime.

I'm not sure about all babies, but Maddy loves the water. We gave her a bath Friday night and she loved it, especially getting her hair washed, she would arch her head back trying to get further under. Baths go great until they're over and she realizes she's cold.











Boulder still thinks she's a special toy he's not allowed to play with yet, but he's getting used to her. He still insists on getting as close as possible.
I am looking forward to some long rides this weekend, unfortunately the trails will probably be a no go with all of the rain and temps not cold enough to freeze the ground. Time to get out the fixie and rack up some long miles.

We're Still Alive, I Think

Maddy and Gina came home yesterday from the hospital. I have to say this was probably the scariest part of the entire experience, not just traveling in the car with her for the first time but also that we were now officially on our own as responsible parents. We gave this outfit to our good friends Thomas and Ann when their son James was born and they gave it back to us for Maddy so I thought it was appropriate to bring her home in it.

Last night was rough, more so for Gina since Maddy hasn't quite found a rhythm when it comes to feeding. I think she was up every hour from 11:30 on. She falls asleep while eating then wakes up and either realizes she's still hungry, or that she has completely blown out a diaper. This morning was her first Dr.'s appointment, already.

Boulder is so excited he can't contain himself. After several hours of letting him sniff her out he was finally able to get up close and check her out. She's so small compared to him.

Madeline "Maddy" Marie Harshman

Born Friday, 12/14/2007 at 6:43pm
6lbs 8.4oz., 19 1/2 inches

Show Time

So Confused

Boulder has been particularly out of sorts with all of this preparation for the baby. Everything that we unpack he thinks is for him. We put together the pack and play tonight which also has a mobile, so of course, he thought all of the animals were his new toys.

As for the nursery, both dogs aren't quite sure why they're not allowed to move back into the room. All Boulder knows is that the giraffe and elephant he's been looking for for 2 months are finally back. Now, just how to get to them is the question.

The Home Stretch

The past few days have been a furious effort to finish the nursery. Over the weekend the last of the wall paneling went up and painting could start. I had the grand idea of using a paint sprayer on the paneling to save time, well that plan went to hell in a hand basket quick. We coated the walls and floor with paper to prevent over spray from covering everything in a mist of white paint. I've never used a paint sprayer before but here are my tips:

1. If using inside of a finished space, cover everything you do not intend to paint that color,
2. Use a full face respirator mask, not a dust mask and safety glasses
3. Make sure the material you're painting/staining will absorb the paint or stain

If you follow these simple rules you'll have a better experience than I. As soon as I started spraying, I had a cloud of latex paint fill the room, my dust mask wasn't really designed for this and neither were my safety glasses, I was inhaling paint through my eyeballs and had a headache for the next two days. I soon realized that wood and MDO do not as readily absorb primer as quickly with the sprayer as when brushed on which made getting an even coat difficult with out putting on too much paint. I ended up have to brush around all of the paint I sprayed on, which kinda worked out since that's the most annoying part of painting, constantly going back and dipping the brush in the paint. Also, those clouds of paint will settle somewhere, usually the first surface it hits. I made out fairly well here except for an area on the floor where we didn't cover it with paper.

We went with bamboo for the floor, it's considered a "green" material and was relatively cheap compare to regular hardwood but I would not recommend the Morningstar product from Lumber Liquidators. It scratches and dings way to easily. Also, I'm not sure if it's true of all bamboo flooring, but nailing it was a pain in the ars. Standard floor nails would split the wood along the grain causing the tongue to ripple making locking in the next piece tightly difficult. Maybe staples would have been a better bet, I would have glued but I used an under layment to reduce the noise if there were uneven spot in the sub-floor.

After some touching up and filling in small gaps I think the room turned out nice. Still a few small details to knock out.