Owen William and the Massive Book

They say that you shouldn't get frustrated when trying to calm an infant, as they can sense your frustration, which makes them anxious and screamy themselves. Last evening, at least, Owen exhibited a corollary, having a very long nap on my lap while Kerry and I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Apparently our happiness about finishing the book manisfested itself in pleasant baby sleepiness.

As for the book itself - no spoilers, don't worry - we liked it. Very well done. I can't see anyone reading the first six books, wanting to read the seventh, and being disappointed.

Genghis trivia

Q: What was the first song that Kerry and Travis, independently of one another, sang to Owen?

A: The Oscar Meyer advertising jingle

I came to "My bologna has a first name..." last night via Emily's advice to sing folk songs at 3am. It wasn't 3am, but Owen was crying, so I gave "This Land Is Your Land" a try. He seemed to like it, as he did the first verse of "Blowin' in the Wind". But he hadn't previously enjoyed my improvisations on "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", so I suspected that it wasn't the folk genre he liked as much as the Woody Guthrie/Bob Dylan hybrid voice I was affecting. I tested this theory with my folksy interpretation of the Oscar Meyer jingle. He dug it, as well as a Guthrified version of "Lush Life".

"Every day is different"

That's the official motto of Genghis-rearing. Case in point: Monday night, we had crying or eating for all but about two hours between 9:30pm and 4:30am (at which time I gave up and went to work). Last night, between 7:30 and 4:30, we had sleeping, interrupted only by three very calm rounds of eating, diapering, and returning to sleep.

I think the returning to sleep last night was greatly facilitated by a triple play of milk narcosis, snug swaddling, and real squeezing hold until the eyelids got heavy. (Regarding the last, I was slightly concerned that my "sleeper hold" was approaching wrestling quality - see my earlier post which mentioned the non-running-wildness of Owenmania - but all was well.) But, beyond its general truth, that's the beauty of the Genghis-rearing motto: not only does it provide comfort in rough patches, it also keeps you from getting cocky when you think you've got something figured out.

On the worth of Chihuahuas

Monday's Express reported:

A Chihuahua in Masonville, Colo. is alive and well after protecting a toddler from a rattlesnake. The 5-pound dog jumped in front of the child moments before the snake struck, suffering numerous bites.

Makes me (slightly) regret all those bad things I've thought about yippy little dogs.

Babies everywhere

A week ago, picking up Scott, Carlie, and Lily at the airport, and then again at the train station yesterday, I was struck by the fact that all of us heading here and there with great purpose - maybe even to do Important Things - were once babies, whose existence could be summarized as eating, sleeping, pooping, and otherwise being fairly tiny and helpless. It's not a particularly profound observation, but the feeling of being surrounded by all those ex-infants was striking, nonetheless.