05.02.07

When out to Tulsa this weekend for a little family outing. We had great fun - I know Liam enjoyed all the attention he got. Going out to a busy, “big-city” mall is vastly different with a child, in ways I never would have thought of. First off, due to the fact that Liam needs to be in a stroller still, we’re barred from using the escalators. Which means we were forced to use the one and only elevator in the mall. You want to know who the ONLY people to use this elevator are? Parents with strollers. We had to wait in line while, three at a time, strollers went up and strollers went down. You feel both discriminated against and, oddly, you feel a sort of kinship with an entirely new sect of people. It became ok to have to ride the elevator since we weren’t alone with our band of brothers and sisters. We all suffered together.

Let’s not forget the insane amount of trouble pushing a stroller through a crowded mall is. I felt like apoligizing to everyone I passed. Turning around because you went the wrong way? Fuhgetaboutit. Just keep on going and circle around. And no matter where you park the thing while you peruse merchandise, you’re going to be in somebody’s way. I finally realized I had to move, much like a shark, at all times.

In non-Liam related pondering, we went into Victoria’s Secret and I noticed this: the less there is to women’s underwear, the more expensive it is. They had a couple of strands of dental floss on the rack — $250. A perfectly average, completely covering nightshirt: $15. I don’t know, married 4 years and still the entire female universe remains a mystery.

And finally I just found out that in about 8 months or so, me and Carleen are going to be an Uncle and Aunt. My sister and her husband Eric are having a baby - they do not know the sex yet, of course, but I will be making regular updates, so stay tuned on that.

I don’t know why but weekends are particularly difficult lately. We can’t seem to keep Liam on a feed/nap schedule. We attempt everything we do during the week but still, it’s as if he knows that the weekend is different, that he should be able to sleep-in and party all day. We’ve also ventured into the world of solid baby food. He’s had sweet potatoes and peas so far. He seems to like it but tends to spit most of it out. It ends up everywhere, of course, all over me, the jacket hanging on the chair next to us, our dogs ear, everywhere.

Although the wackiness in his schedule made Liam pretty fussy over the weekend, Mike and I did manage to spend quite a bit of time together on Saturday. We even went to the mall in Tulsa, with Liam. It was our first real non-rushed “outing” together for god know’s how long. It was rough getting Liam to sleep that night, he was totally wired. But once we did we actually managed to sit down together and watch a movie without falling asleep in the middle of it.

Liam is really taking to the jumper his grandma and grandpa gave him for x-mas. It took awhile for him to get used to it but he seems to have the hang of it now and really goes to town. You can see a clip here.