Worms

Owen's first real fear, aside from the occasional separation anxiety or fear of extreme dark, is worms. He and Travis went to a park clean up after a rain storm and there were lots of earthworms on the ground. O was pretty interested in the worms that day.

But since then, he's been very cautious every time he sees something that might possibly be a worm. Actual earthworms, little bits of leaf, and the wormy-looking pollen things that fall out of the trees in the spring are all suspect. He'll grab my hand tightly, say 'worm' in a worried voice, and point at the offending item. He'll even hide behind my leg. He's both curious and a little scared, and is usually OK once I explain things. At least until we see another worm.

Spiders, bess, and ants? No problem. Just worms.

Results of the First Nap and First Night Sans Crib

Yesterday Owen gradutated to not sleeping in the crib, due to his gymnastics. We debated going and buying a toddler bed or a twin mattress for the floor, but for now, have his crib mattress (softer side up), on the floor with all of his normal bedtime accessories on it.

He tried napping yesterday in his room for an hour or so. Travis went in a few times to tell him to lay down, but the temptation to play was just too great. Here are the photos post first nap attempt:





Last night went a little better. He was pretty tired, having only slept about 30 minutes in the car while out running errands. We had extended reading of nursery rhymes and 'Busy People' and then he went to lay in his bed without a fuss. I went to check on him later and this is what I found:





Well, at least he was sleeping, instead of playing tornado. He made it until 6 am, which is better than yesterday!

Owen does his own stunts

Last night, in the midst of a particularly contentious bedtime, Kerry heard a loud thump. On returning to Owen's bedroom, she found him lying on the floor, having hurled himself out of the crib. The fall apparently knocked the fuss out of the Young Gentleman, as the rest of bedtime went well, and a peaceful night followed.

Peaceful, but short. At 0540, we heard Owen's door open and a paci-muffled voice ask, "Mommy?" (This escape from the crib was thumpless, thanks to the mat of body pillows Kerry had made on the floor next to the crib.)

So Owen's crib days are over. He helped me disassemble the crib enough to get it out of his room and into the nursery next door, and he's now having his first nap on the mattress on the floor. Hopefully, anyway. I'm not hearing a lot of activity from upstairs, but Dr. T is still spinning smooth sounds. Actually, I'm more confident about naptime, as he generally calls for it himself. Bedtime will be more challenging, as it's been hit-and-miss on his wanting to go to sleep. Now that he can actually run around in his room... Kerry removed the most interesting or destroyable items, but I'm still expecting a stretch of long evenings.

I feel a little bad about the timing, as two weeks ago, Dad was here to help us, with his big truck, pick out and bring home a crib for D2. Luckily, as it turns out, none was available, so we only ordered one (versus buying, bringing home and assembling one), but we still spent the majority of a day driving all over Maryland looking, for nought, as it happens. Sorry, Dad. But at least, unlike the dresser from Ikea, we won't have to go back (twice) to replace a missing part.

The grain report

No, this isn't an early look at USDA information, so don't think you can make a Louis Winthorpe III-esque play on the commodities market. Rather, it's my collection of notes following an adventuresome round of buying mysterious grains at the neo-hippie grocery store (MOM, if locals are wondering). Below are my unedited notes on preparation and, crucially, my assessment of the O-pinion.

[Disclaimer: Kerry came across these notes and declared them blogworthy. I never would have thought them so, but she's been right about things before, so here they are.]

Barley flakes
Water 3:1
Boil 20 min (lid off, occasional stir - cooked to a sticky, soft mass in ~16 min)
(O didn't like)

Buckwheat groats
Water 2:1
Simmer 15-20 min
(15 min, lid on and water totally absorbed
Big groats. Strong, earthy flavor
O liked plain and w/ milk)

Bulgur wheat
Water 2:1
Simmer 15-20 min
Stand 10 min
(Put BW in while heating water. Simmer lid on +15 min. Stand. Nice pebbly grain. Not quite as chewy as groats. Tastes more like dinner than breakfast.
O ate it)

Pearled barley
Water 2.5-3:1
Boil. Simmer 35-40 min
(3:1. Lid on. Cooked but water remained after 35 min. Shd have taken grains out of pot; water congealed and made barley a little slimey)
Smooth, tender grains. Little flavor. O OK)

Amaranth
Water 2:1
Boil. Simmer 20-25 min
(2:1. Boiled with amaranth in water. 25 min with lid on. V sticky grains, tiny crunchy in a viscous goo
O likes)

Your Votes Please - Boy or Girl?

We got a good look at D2 during the 20 week ultrasound yesterday. He/she is pretty cute and all the important parts (heart, brain, kidneys, diaphragm, limbs, etc) seem to be in working order.
The one part of the ultrasound that Travis and I didn't watch - the part where they identify the gender! Yep, we're going old school and are going to be surprised. I'm 99.95% sure that neither of us peeked at the US screen, so it really will be a surprise.

So feel free to guess what the gender might be! And name suggestions are welcome. We have a few ideas (which we're keeping to ourselves for now).