Just when you thought it was safe...

Baltimore Trip

2009-07-04T13:04:00.005-04:00

We recently took a trip to Baltimore. Here are some photos.

Steve took Raina to a park to enjoy some outdoor time while Pam got a chance to take a nap in the car.

Yummy watermelon at Julie (Lin), John (Rhodes), and Dylan's house.

Squash with Grandpa Johanson

A great mountain bike ride at Patapsco.
Mommies and babies at Amanda and Dave's house. (Left to right: Amanda and Evan [10 months], Pam and Raina [12 months], and Sherri and Page [14 months]).

Daddies and babies (Steve and Raina; Evan and Dave)

The car ride to the airport (Ft. Lauderdale - that's Jules on the right)

At Julie (Lin) and John's (Rhodes) place we got to see baby Dylan.

A great time at the Modlin's (Julie's parents) in Severna Park, MD.

Raina on the potty

2009-06-23T15:11:00.003-04:00

Today we got out the potty. It's kind of big for her so I think we'll get a couple little ones. The goal: potty trained before 3!

Raina at South Pointe Park - with bumps and bruises from a fall yesterday.

2009-06-16T20:08:00.002-04:00

Morning trip to beach and South Pointe Park (& puppies for sale)

2009-06-14T20:43:00.005-04:00

A morning visit to the beach.

2009-06-12T20:09:00.001-04:00

Birthday Girl

2009-06-11T07:25:00.007-04:00

Raina is one year old now! Here are some photos from her birthday day. (I still encourage friends and family to join Facebook to see more. It is harder for me to get to the blog these days as it takes extra effort to upload pictures and videos. Facebook is great - we can upload photos, videos, and comments even from our iPhones. Let me or Steve know if you need help doing this. It is really easy and you could restrict your friends list to only the people you want, e.g., me, Steve, and other family members.)

Raina's First Bike Ride

2009-05-17T21:47:00.002-04:00

Raina got to ride for the first time using her new helmet and Wee Ride.

Boxing

2009-05-15T22:17:00.003-04:00

I've been taking boxing classes at the South Florida Boxing Gym here in South Beach. It's been great. Now I am deciding whether to quit Crunch and get a full membership at the boxing gym or keep my punch card.

At any rate, I am really enjoying it. Also, there is nothing like punching something after a long day of teaching. Plus, it's a great workout.

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T21:34:00.002-04:00

April is ending

2009-04-26T21:57:00.003-04:00

Here are some recent pictures. Yes, Raina does sleep sometimes. (And this is not even the oddest position in which she sleeps.) Also, a cute picture from Raindrop Daycare where she was hanging out in a wagon. This afternoon we had some fun at the beach.

A Trailer Ride

2009-04-19T22:05:00.002-04:00

Steve took Raina for a ride in the trailer today. The weather was great!

Raindrop Childcare on Tax Day

2009-04-16T21:29:00.004-04:00

Here are some photos of Raindrop Childcare on April 15th.

This first one is Raina and Christian with Mercedes, Raina's favorite caregiver. Mercedes is like a favorite aunt - Raina simply love's her. Raina looks for her when we arrive at Raindrop in the morning. It is comforting to know that Raina is in good hands while we are working.

The second photo is Raina and Christian - her buddy - having some Cherios at breakfast time. Raina and Christian like to giggle and have fun together. Christian is the granddaughter of one of our school's kindergarten teachers.

A 90 Degree Day

2009-04-14T22:09:00.003-04:00

It was unseasonably hot today! We all went to the Flamingo Park Pool after school. Mommy and Daddy each did 30 lengths (15 laps). They took turns taking care of Raina.

Fun at the thrift store.

2009-04-12T20:50:00.003-04:00

We went to the Flamingo Plaza thrift stores. Raina had some fun with some toys there - we often find the best toys there actually! The photo is blurry, but that is because she kept moving.

Raina at 10 Months!

2009-04-11T06:41:00.005-04:00

Raina is now 10 months! It's hard to believe. It's been tough but we're surviving. Last night Raina slept 7 hours in a row! It's exciting for me. Now when people ask us, "Is she sleeping through the night?" We can honestly answer, "Yes!" (Medically speaking, sleeping through the night for a child of her age is 6 hours in a row.) Over the last couple if days, we've been "training" Raina to go to sleep on her own. She's been doing a really good job. The first night (Wednesday) she cried for 40 minutes. (We'd check in on her to reassure her every 5-8 minutes. The next night, only one check and she went to sleep in about 15 minutes. Last night we didn't have to go in at all. Even when she woke up at 3:20 (after going to sleep at about 8:30), it only took a about 5 minutes to get her back to sleep.

On Thursday, Steve's parents came to town. They purchased a small condo down the street from us that they plan to use when they visit and to also rent out to vacationers. Yesterday, Steve went with them to IKEA for a marathon shopping trip. You forget how much you have to buy when you are furnishing a new place from scratch - even a tiny place like this one.

The previous night (Thursday) we went for a walk at the newly reopened South Pointe Park. Below is a photo.

Raina also has some bad diaper rash. I am pretty convinced it is from rubbing on her diaper. She's never had any diaper rash until now. We've been letting her go around bottomless, which has been VERY effective. If you know of a baby with diaper rash, tell the parents to let 'em go commando! (See photo below.)

Additionally, she just saved us about $.30 since she just pooped on the floor! Nice one.

The Boxes Blocks Game

2009-04-03T18:08:00.001-04:00

One of Raina's latest favorite games.

At Raindrop Childcare

2009-04-03T17:23:00.003-04:00

A fellow teacher at Fienberg Fisher - whose grandaughter is on the left in the video - took this video at Raina's daycare - Raindrop Childcare Center.

at the pool

2009-04-01T20:52:00.002-04:00

Finally the Flamingo Park baby pool is warm enough for a swim!

8 oz. and South Pointe Park

2009-03-30T21:29:00.008-04:00

On Saturday night (March 28th) we went to 8 oz., a really great place for burgers, with our friends John, Heather, and Roman (their son).

Tonight (March 30) we met up with our neighbors Mike, Serena, Stella and Sadie at the newly renovated South Pointe Park. Colleen and Soleigh (spelling?) met up with us too. It was a lot of fun.

Xterra Miami

2009-03-30T21:19:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, March 29th, I (Pam) finally got a chance to complete an Xterra race. It was a sprint distance off-road triathlon (400M swim, 15K bike, 5K run). It was very hard and probably I would have done better with some more training, but I still had fun. On the run, there were 3 river crossings! Here are some photos. (Some Steve cleverly "stole" from the photos from the race website.)

Raina has some fun with daddy

2009-03-18T19:49:00.003-04:00

Raina is having some fun with daddy here in this video. She is growing more adventurous and inquisitive every day. She has recently started trying to stand by hanging on with only one hand. She is also taking small steps when we hold her hands. She makes lots of interesting vocalizations - mamama, mmmbbbaa, dadada, etc. (I've been trying to get her to say "mmmbop.") We are still working on getting her to sleep on her own in her crib in her room. On Monday night she actually slept 6 hours in a row! Steve even got up at one point to check on her - we're just not used to this. Last night we had trouble getting her to sleep but then she slept 4 hours in a row, still not too bad. To us it feels like a full night's sleep - if you can believe it.

She is a happy baby, so when she cries in her crib, it is hard. But I am sticking to my word and trying hard to teach her how to get herself to sleep.

School is getting back to normal as FCAT (Florida's state assessment test) is now over. Tonight I spent a great deal of time re-arranging my room and adding some more colorful decor. I am hoping to have some learning fun with the students now that these tests are over.

Steve and I are trying to get back into shape. I have a triathlon on March 29th - it's off-road. I'm excited to finally get to do one of these, though I haven't really trained as much as I would have liked.

Odd things about living without a dog

2009-03-09T03:22:00.002-04:00

1. When I drop a piece of food on the floor - its still there 5 minutes later. How odd.

2. There's no one to lick my cereal bowl in the morning. I was literally holding out my bowl to no one the other morning.

3. I didn't even realize this one. When I make a sandwich, I always give a piece of crust to the dog.

4. When I get up in the middle of the night I still try to avoid stepping on the dog!

5. In the last couple of years, Sammy really shedded a lot. There isn't dog hair everywhere!

6. After 14, almost 15 years, its really weird not walking the dog in the morning.

7. I still feel the need to go home in the afternoon and let out the dog.

Sammy's Story June 1994- March 3rd, 2009

2009-03-04T03:16:00.007-05:00

Shortly After buying my first house in June 1994 in Federal Hill in Baltimore, I wanted to finally get a dog. Pam and I looked at all the pounds but had a hard time finding a puppy that didn't have skin problem or some annoying bark.

One weekend, we saw an ad in the paper saying lab/shepard puppies. (Craigslist didn't exist yet!) So we drove out to a house in Arbutus just off Route 1. There was a huge litter of puppies--maybe 10 puppies. Most were black and tan but one curious pup came over to Pam who also had a cute little white stripe on the side of her nose.

We told the people we wanted to think about it. So we went to McDonald's and decided yes, this seemed like a nice pup. So we drove back and they had separated this little pup and she was sitting nervously on the driveway.

We took the little pup to Petco to get some supplies. On the way there, this little 3 pound pup fell asleep on Pam's lap. This little pup turned out to only be 5 weeks old!!

We got some dog food and brought her home. She proceeded to take one piece of food at a time from her bowl in the kitchen to the living room where she would gnaw and eventually eat it.

After a few days, we still didn't have a name. Now Pam will dispute this story--but here's how it happened to me. Jason came over to visit and said, "You have to have a name... now!" So I looked at my cd collection (that's how people listened to music back then --we used something called a "5 disc cd-changer") and saw one of my albums Sam Phillip's "The Indescribable Wow" So I named her Sam as in Samantha.

Pam will come up with some crazy story about how she named her Sam.

So its my first Monday morning with this new dog "Sam" and I decide its time to walk her at the park. So I attach my new leash and take my new dog to the park. I took one step off the curb and Sam falls off the curb. She was so small she couldn't make the step! So I carried the puppy the five blocks to Federal Hill Park.

Dogs were running, people were having fun, and Sam sat there not knowing what to do. After a couple weeks I remember the day, like a proud father, that Sam could run faster than me. And thus began doggie adolescence. Sam was growing and running and would refuse to come back to me if I let her off the leash. I was late for work on a regular basis trying to catch the dog.

By late summer, Sam was making her first "bark". I use quotes because someone would come to the door and she would make the most pathetic little chrip "aaakk!"

I wasn't used to the responsibility of a dog. Jason and I were filming a mountain bike movie but I didn't want to leave the dog all day so I brought the dog in a small bag which I carried with me. She slept in that black bag wherever I went!

I also had the good fortune of working downtown and on my lunch break I went home to let out the dog.

We lived in Federal Hill until 1998 when we moved to our Hampden house. Sam was four and I was 28. We were both still pretty young. By this time Sam had accompanied us on camping trips (running up to 15 miles a day!) mountain biking and fishing trips. After a long run Sam would be totally recharged after a 30 minute nap!

At about the age of five Sam was no longer interested in playing with other dogs. Young pups wanted her attention but she wanted nothing to do with it. Sam was starting to get older. One day Jason was playing with her in the front yard and she came up lame. Of course we just blamed Jason. Its turned out this was the begining of some arthritis.

In 2004 we moved out to Stevenson, MD-- sort of in the country. She started to really slow down. We took her to the vet and it turned out she had contracted Lime's Disease. So we got her treated for that ($$$!) and she did improve slightly. This is when we started to notice that Sam would not hear us as well anymore. Pam came home one day and went all the way upstairs into the bedroom before the dog woke up! As a pup Sam would hear the tinest of noises.

By the time we moved down to Miami in 2007, Sam was almost 13 years old. Her face had grayed and here joints were swollen. She didn't have the best of times, it was difficult for her in the Miami heat.

But she soldiered on but in the last year she was diagnosed with Kidney failure, and in recent month was loosing control of her bowels.

It kind of came to a head last night when Pam was using a night light to clean up dog poop and vomit so as not to wake up the baby. It became too much. Pam had to take home the baby sick from daycare and there was more vomit and poop all over the house.

So we decided to take her to the vet and "put her to sleep". I hope Sammy will forgive us.

I like to remember her when she was young, running through the forest, finding a rotten log, and tearing it to shreds. See you on the other side Sam.

Good bye old friend.

2009-03-03T21:16:00.004-05:00

Sam the Wonder Dog; June, 1994-March 3, 2009; R.I.P.

Today we had to make a tough decision. Sammy's health had been getting worse and worse. Last night she became ill. Today we made the decision to put her down. We are very sad and in a state of grieving - it is like losing a member of the family. But we have to keep reminding ourselves that she did have a good, long life (nearly 15 years). Despite her often hard to understand disposition, we will greatly miss her presence.

Lake Okeechobee

2009-02-18T22:18:00.017-05:00

On Sunday we drove up to Lake Okeechobee. We stayed the night and then went out on our rented pontoon boat at Roland Martin Marina. Here are some great pictures of our trip.

Here is a photo of Raina in the hotel room playing on one of her favorite toys. (Only $1.95 from the thrift store!)

We bought a life jacket for Raina at the Bass Pro on the way up to Lake Okeechobee. She didn't mind it for a while. Yes, it's pink.

There is a lock at Lake Okeechobee that is used to control flooding. This is us going through the lock to get to the main part of the lake.

And Steve did catch fish! Sure, it's a blue gill, but it is fish. Steve caught several pan fish and one small bass.

Fishing with daddy!

Catch of the day!

Back home sharing the bed.

Raina at 8 Months!

2009-02-11T07:16:00.002-05:00

We can't believe that Raina is 8 months! Here are some photos and a video of her eating dinner. There is also a photo from this morning of Raina and Daddy sleeping.

Raina plays hooky.

2009-01-25T22:12:00.002-05:00

Raina was home sick with Mommy on Friday. She was actually moving around a lot more before I finally got out the camera. She has a cold and cough, but she is getting better. Here you can really see that she seems to know her name now.

My Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades!

2009-01-13T10:04:00.003-05:00

Raina is now 7 months! Here are some recent photos. They are from my phone so they are not terribly clear. One is of Raina on a swing - she loves the swings at the park. Another is of her wearing some sunglasses at daycare. The other one is at Pei Wei. If you look very closely in the back you can see Steve with Raina who is using chop sticks as drum sticks.

Swing away, Raina.

2009-01-08T20:05:00.003-05:00

Raina enjoys a ride in the swing now. She has a lot of fun. This swing is one around 12th and Ocean Streets in Miami Beach.

Puerto Rico 2008-2009

2009-01-03T11:40:00.009-05:00

Christmas 2008

2009-01-03T11:32:00.004-05:00

Here are some pictures we took of Raina at our friend Jessica's house.

X-mas Eve

2008-12-24T19:02:00.004-05:00

Well, it's X-mas Eve and we are mostly packed for our trip to Puerto Rico. Steve and I are not totally sure what to expect. But we've been pouring through two books we purchased and we've been getting some information from the Internet as well. I definitely want to check out El Yunque National Forest - December 26th will be the best day so we're planning on going there then. (It's good to plan at least a couple of things otherwise you do nothing.) I want to do a hike in some of the rainforest - the only U.S. national rainforest.

I think traveling with an infant will be interesting to say the least. It is only Puerto Rico where there are American things - even a WalMart - so I'm hoping to be able to purchase some essentials when we get there - diapers, wipes, baby food, etc. We won't have to worry about passports, money exchange, etc. Although we discovered that Puerto Rico is in another time zone. The weather will be warm - we think much like Miami in the summer. We'll see. I'm looking forward to seeing some elevation/topography.

Steve has a nice looking fishing rod that breaks down small and has a case. He's hoping to get some fishing done here and there. Cool idea.

Through research Steve discovered someone's notes on a beach where you can do some nice snorkeling. (The trick is that you have to walk to the beach - only about a 30 minute walk.) So we might check this out as well.

I broke down and did a little decorating - on the door. I got the "happy holidays" thing from one of my students. There is a stocking that Raina got from a teacher at school, another stocking that is an older one for Sammy (back when she was our only "baby") and a third stocking that is one I made for Steve a long time ago.

It doesn't really feel like x-mas but it is nice that we are our own little family here in Miami Beach. We'll be meeting up with Steve's folks; and his brother, sister-in-law and nephew.

Not sure about Internet access at the places we'll be, so we'll likely have to post pictures and such when we get back - January 2nd.

A New Toy with some Peas and Quiet

2008-12-16T20:33:00.003-05:00

Raina received a Christmas toy today from one of our fellow teachers. She really loves her new toy!

And also here is a great pic of her eating her favorite peas.

Raina is six month old today!

2008-12-10T20:02:00.004-05:00

In honor of Thanksgiving...

2008-12-01T20:48:00.004-05:00

Well, it was a tough week. Sunday night Steve and I both became VERY sick. I think I've never been that sick before. We got food poisoning or some strong virus. Let's just say it is good that we have two toilets. The worst part is that for periods during the night neither one of us could care for Raina. She had to sit on our bed and cry a bit. It was scary actually. After speaking to a few friends, they said to give them a call if it ever happens again. One friend even said call any time. By Thursday we were feeling better, though we still didn't feel like we wanted to eat a lot. I suppose this was good as usually we overeat at Thanksgiving. Steve's parents came Thursday night and stayed until Saturday. It was a nice visit. Here are some photos and videos of Raina eating sweet potatoes. I decided to try them in honor of Thanksgiving. She seems to like them!

The Apple Face

2008-11-23T07:34:00.002-05:00

Raina tried apples for the first time. You'd think we gave her Sour Patch Kids!

The Amazing Flying Raina

2008-11-15T10:23:00.000-05:00

Self explanatory I think.

Raina at 5 months!

2008-11-11T16:26:00.008-05:00

Raina Skye is now 5 months! It's hard to believe. Here are some great photos and videos. I decided to try to feed her a little cereal, because, well, it seems like fun. She played with it a lot. I think she only gets about a total of a teaspoon at each "feeding." For now most of her nutrition is still coming from breast milk and a little formula. Also, there is a picture of a road sign we spotted in downtown Miami when we went to Bike Miami on Sunday. Pretty weird - a cross roads of Pam Way and Weller Blvd.

COLD FRONT!

2008-10-28T10:23:00.000-04:00

BRRRRR!!!! This morning was 57 for us south Floridians that means its time to break out jackets, mittens and scarves. It is only getting up to 72 degrees today.

Baby bath in the kitchen sink

2008-10-27T20:54:00.000-04:00

It's easier on mommy's back.

James and Obama

2008-10-22T22:35:00.002-04:00

Our upstairs neighbors and friends James and Kristin volunteered for Obama campaign last night for their visit. This picture of James and Obama looks like is photoshopped but its not!

a full laundry basket

2008-10-19T21:33:00.006-04:00

Finally the weather is starting to break. This morning we went to the beach to enjoy the "cool" 73 degree weather.

at the dinner table

2008-10-16T07:22:00.002-04:00

Last night I felt bad that Raina was sitting on the floor watching us eat way up at the table. So what did I do, I put her (perhaps unwisely) on the table in her Bumbo. The photo's a bit blurry, but still very cute in my humble opinion.

Raina at 4 Months

2008-10-12T11:37:00.004-04:00

Raina turned 4 months old on Friday, October 10th! Here are some recent photos and videos. She has recently become interested in things like her feet, sticking out her tongue, and the array of interesting toys she has. She now is making grasping moves at objects, including mommy's hair and earrings! I'm sure as soon as her binocular vision comes in, mommy might lose some earrings and daddy might lose some chest hair! Fun!

So long Mazda we barely knew ya

2008-10-07T21:23:00.003-04:00

So we sold the Mazda 6 last night. We are for the first time ever a one car family. The good news is we don't drive a lot here on the beach and it will cut our car insurance bill from $145 a month to $75 so that will really help with our monthly bills.

Unfortunately, will Raina's $480 a month day care and her $310 a month health care bills are bills are out of control. So we will miss the car but hopefully things will actually be better for us in the long run!

A new decision.

2008-09-29T18:56:00.002-04:00

Today, I have been convinced that pumping at work is just too stressful. I am very disappointed. I guess I wanted to be super-mom or something. I've been pumping at least twice a day at school. Now I think I will just have to pump in the morning and maybe in the afternoon after school and that will have to be it. I won't be pumping at work. At least I am going to try it.

As a result, Raina will be getting part time breast milk and part time formula (probably). I have to just keep telling myself that it will all be okay.

The best convincer (is that a word?) actually was my assistant principal. Steve and I ran into her on our way out today. She said with her daughter she had the caregiver give formula during the day and she breastfed outside of this time. Her daughter is well adjusted, healthy, and does well in school.

Okay, okay, I know, there are people out there with real problems. But this is a very emotional thing for me. I don't know if its stress or hormones or both. (I might still bring in the hand pump for occasional use.)

The interesting thing is that I did a pretty extensive search on the Internet and I am hard pressed to find any information about part time breast feeding and part time formula feeding. Most of it is either one or the other. So if anyone out there has any ideas, let me know!

No witty title

2008-09-23T21:00:00.009-04:00

I've discovered many things this week. The major thing I've discovered is that I just need to relax more. This seems to hold true for most things. When I relaxed about not having any grades yet for my students, magically I came up with some easy assessments. When I relaxed about pumping milk, suddenly I was pumping a lot!

Raina is doing very well in the day care center. I try to go visit every day at 11ish (my lunch time). Yesterday I didn't make it. (No stress!) I am also visiting her at 1:30 and trying to nurse. Steve said why not nurse her at 1:30 if I can rather than pump. I was missing her by the end of the day so this was a good suggestion. On Wednesday and Thursday this worked out great. Yesterday she must have been crying because when I got there, she was getting a bottle. No biggie! (No stress!) I fed the rest of the bottle to her, had some cuddle time, and then went back to pick up my students from P.E. I didn't even stress about not pumping. (This all sounds a bit silly to most people I'm sure, but I am the type of person who sweats the little things. It's got to stop.)

Last night Steve and I were going to go to a friend's place for game night. I LOVE GAME NIGHTS! We were very tired though, so we decided to lie down for a bit and take a nap. The next thing we knew, we all, all three of us, had fallen asleep for many hours. We woke up at 5AM! I guess we were pretty tired.

Okay, the thing you really wanted, some recent photos and videos of Raina. She is about 3.5 months. (She will be 4 months October 10th!)

Talking aloud

2008-09-15T13:04:00.005-04:00

Well, today was Raina's first day at daycare! It was hard to leave her there, but I trust the caretakers. I am home today. I go back to work on Wednesday (September 17th). Today and tomorrow are "practice days." I have been pumping at the times when I think I will be able to at school.

Steve checked in on Raina on his break and she was doing great and taking a bottle. I didn't know how much milk to leave. (It's not like I have a guage on my breasts!) But I figured about 4 oz. per bottle. I left four bottles of 4 oz. each.

Okay, this sounds boring to most of you, but it's what I'm dealing with right now.

There is another new baby there today as well. This baby is only two months old. She is very cute. I saw one of the caregivers feeding her and I asked the director what she was eating. She was eating formula mixed with rice cereal! I kept my mouth shut, but I couldn't believe it! The baby is way too young for that rice cereal. It's bad enough, in my opinion, that she is not getting breast milk, let alone the fact that her digestive system is not ready for anything but formula or breast milk! Of course I don't know the reasons behind why this baby is on formula and not breast milk. But there is certainly NO reason to feed a two month old baby rice cereal! I mean, you wouldn't give a newborn puppy steak, would you? No, because it doesn't make sense. Here I am stressing about pumping milk and so on - it's hard work, but it is worth it for Raina. Okay, that's my rant.

Today's my birthday as well. I'm 39 today. I don't feel 39. Of course I'm not sure what 39 is supposed to feel like. People say I don't look 39. Whatever "looking 39" means.

So like I said, I am home without Raina, which seems weird. Initially, I was continuously talking aloud. Then I remembered that Raina isn't here! (You see, Steve and I talk aloud to Raina all the time.) It must have sounded kind of funny when I said something like, "So now mommy's going to make some coffee." Sam probably thought, "Well, okay but why are you telling me?" --Pam

"A mother who is really a mother is never free."

2008-09-06T20:29:00.006-04:00

(quote is by Honore de Balzac)

Parenting is definitely becoming the toughest job ever. I have been feeling guilty because I don't feel things the way people say you are supposed to feel. Raina goes into daycare beginning September 15th (coincidently on my birthday). People keep saying things like, "Isn't it going to be hard?" or "Geez, aren't you going to miss her?" (Or even worse, I hear things like, "Well I didn't go back to work for a year! How come you're going back to work?" Well, moron, I have neither the finances nor the sanity to stay at home, by myself, for a year! Geez!)

I've been home alone a lot with the baby as Steve is back at work. I have about 3 more weeks to go and I am thinking about how hard it is. I go through the list of women I've known who've had children. Every single one of them has has help - mainly from their mother. (I don't have this option.) Anyway, I have been feeling incredibly guilty because I am looking forward to going back to work and having Raina in daycare. The thing is... the daycare seems like a REALLY nice place and the staff are so wonderful. And, the daycare is on campus! I guess I just need someone to say, "Don't worry, it's okay to not feel guilty." (Steve has said this numerous times, of course. But I guess I need someone else to say it too.)

It is sad that I found reassuring words on the Internet! Anyway, I have to just let go of some things I think. (Such as the fact that I feel bad every time I have Raina sitting there, alert and awake, and I am not constantly interacting with her or reading to her. I want her to be smart and be able to be a good reader, yada yada... I guess it's bad that I'm a teacher.)

Okay, so I ramble on here. But writing this is making me feel better. I found the above quote on-line. Every time I read it, I think I understand more.

On a lighter note, Steve and I both went mountain biking. I had a great ride! We did our idea of taking turns while the other watched the baby. At one point in the evening, I was like, "Hey, how did it get so late?" To which Steve replied, "Well, mountain biking took us twice as long as usual." Oh, yeah, "a mother is never free." --Pam

The Lip

2008-09-05T11:06:00.003-04:00

Raina is 12 weeks old now! She will be 3 months on September 10th. In some ways it goes fast, in others it goes slow. Today I also have a guest dog - Princess. She is visiting our neighbors Kristin, James, and Iris. The last couple of days she has been barking, so she is staying with me today. I think she just wanted company - as you can see from the photo.

Also, Raina makes a face I call "The Lip." She makes this expression when she is about to cry. There are a series of photos above. (They're all from my iPhone, so they're not quite high quality.) --Pam

Expressions that are not particularly helpful

2008-09-03T03:51:00.002-04:00

"Everything in moderation" It sounds pretty good. How can you disagree? But how about Crack cocaine in moderation? Yeah, I know that's not really what they meant. They meant "Dessert or something less harmful in moderation. Well, Can you have dessert every meal?. Every other meal. Define moderation again... Because for most people that's an excuse to do something in excess and then call it "moderation"

"It is what it is" This seems to be the new catch phrase of 2008. My administration at school says it a lot. I interpret it to mean one of several true meanings: 1. "Get out of my office." 2. "No" 3 "I give up and so should you!"

Raina at 11 weeks

2008-08-26T15:47:00.002-04:00

Today Raina discovered Sam the Wonder Dog. (She stared at her for a long while. When mommy started to play fetch with Sam, Raina "talked" about it.) She also decided to have a "conversation" about her new dolly.

What the Fay?!?!

2008-08-22T16:28:00.002-04:00

Soooo... when the hell is Fay getting on out of here anyway? I just looked outside to see about going for a run and here comes another friggin wave of Fay storms! I've decided that Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, etc. totally suck. Why, well, I'll tell ya. When you get a nice big snow storm up north, like in Baltimore, at least when you don't have school, you can go play in the snow. And you still have electricity. Granted, we didn't actually lose electricity for more than like a half an hour during Fay, but still. So what do you get after a big storm or hurricane? A big mess! Okay, I'm done ranting. --Pam

Raina at 10 Weeks!

2008-08-19T12:03:00.009-04:00

Yesterday we decided to brave Tropical Storm Fay and head to a mall. Raina was fussing a lot, so we figured a ride would be good. (We couldn't go for a walk at our normal outdoor mall because of the weather of course.) We went to the "Mall of the Americas." Most of the signage was in Spanish! The mall was pretty empty of customers but it was indoors. Of course we ended up spending money. Although we got some good deals on items from Marshall's and another discount store.

Today Raina is 10 weeks old! She is getting pretty good at holding her head

Our friends from upstairs came by for some blueberry pancakes that are my (Pam's) specialty. The storm is still going on. School was cancelled again today. We are wondering about tomorrow. We have a lot of wind and rain that comes in waves. Still, we are considering a trip to Target.

Above are a couple of cute photos from this morning of Raina in this green outfit I got at a garage sale for $2! She is also able to sit pretty well in the Bumbo. (These are all from my iPhone, so the resolution is a bit low.)

Baby Talk

2008-08-14T19:37:00.016-04:00

Raina is becoming more interactive every day. (Though one of these pictures of Raina asleep after a bath.) Here's a series of smile photos. And below is a video of Steve singing to her. She started to "talk" a bit as well.

Liz and Reina meet Raina

2008-08-10T17:54:00.002-04:00

Liz and Reina came to visit today and we even cleaned up the house! There was a big rainstorm and I found a frog out front that was smaller than my thumbnail. Check it out.

Orlando trip

2008-08-07T20:08:00.002-04:00

We decided to escape the horrible construction noise here at our condo. The foundation is being "restored" and the tile on all the walkways is being replaced. The job was supposed to take half the time it has already taken - and they still aren't finished. (This reminds Steve and I about the hotels.com commercial where the couple cannot carry on a conversation due to construction noise.)

The noise from the foundation drilling was so loud that you couldn't carry on a conversation. So on Tuesday morning, we took off for Orlando.

The trip turned out to be okay. We got into Animal Kingdom for free. We did the safari, which we liked. Unfortunately, it was VERY hot. Since we also had Raina with us, we walked around a bit more and then headed back to our hotel. We did really appreciate the free admission though.

We also checked out Louisa Lake State Park. There are many lakes there and Steve tried a bit of fishing.

Well, I'll have to finish this post later, I hear Raina about to fuss.....

The trials and tribulations of new parenthood.

2008-08-04T20:35:00.006-04:00

If you're reading this and you have never had children, I won't lie to you - it is REALLY HARD! Steve and I are surviving despite not getting a lot of help. Our neighbors upstairs (James and Kristin) have been extremely helpful. They have helped take care of Raina a lot. Also, it is nice to have someone give reassuring advice - e.g. "Yes, you are doing the right thing." OR "Don't worry, this is normal."(referring to some freak out Pam is having about Raina).

The other day, Pam and Kristin hung out at Starbucks for a while and Kristin snapped this photo on Pam's iPhone.

Yesterday, we went to Sawgrass Mills Mall. We happened upon one of those photography franchise places. Thinking that we were only buying a $9.95 package of one pose, we ended up getting a bit more. Pam felt bad because there were a lot of great shots of Raina. We bought one of the $9.95 sets and then one 8X10 each of two other photos. It is too bad we couldn't afford more, but that is the way it goes. We ended up spending $62. Of course the people there kind of make you feel stupid for

not spending like $500 on photos. When Raina is older, we will get more photos taken I suppose. We are hoping we will be able to scan the 8X10's and make prints of our own.

Steve takes Raina out for walks a lot. Here is a photo of Raina smiling. She started smiling a few weeks ago!

80 degrees and low humidity!

2008-07-24T13:48:00.003-04:00

wow really great weather here in Baltimore! We stopped by dave and amandas last night with the baby.

Raina smiles!

2008-07-21T11:07:00.005-04:00

The other day Raina smiled at her mom on que. It was pretty cool! Also we visited our friends John and Julie and their daughter Ruby. Ruby learned how to hold an infant. Thirdly, John was very good at singing fun songs to Raina. It kept her calm for at least a little while.

Raina's first trip to the pool!

2008-07-09T01:14:00.002-04:00

After several false starts we finally made it to the local community pool. Raina seemed to have very little reaction to being put in the water. I guess that's good...

Maybe some grandparent help wouldn't be so bad...

2008-07-08T11:01:00.003-04:00

Its interesting raising a baby without having any family nearby. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I was wrong. I really wish we had more help. I think it will get better in couple of years when we meet other parents with kids.

Oddly enough, being off for the summer hasn't really helped. I should have gotten a job just to have something else to do. It doesn't help that they are redoing the walkway out front and they are jackhammering all day every day.

We will be going to Baltimore in a week. It will be nice to see some family and friends.

more cute baby pics!

2008-07-04T08:56:00.002-04:00

The word for the day is "tired".

sinus surgery

2008-07-03T15:46:00.001-04:00

Well I survived my sinus surgery. I really think this will stop my reoccuring sinus infections. Really hard to go to the hospital with a baby. James and Kristin are gracetiously watching the baby for us now@

Getting pretty tired....

2008-07-02T18:36:00.003-04:00

We seemed to have slowed down in the number of pics we have taken. I wonder if I has something to do with our marathon of non sleeping! Raina got up about every hour last night. Today we took her to the chiropractor (sp?) . The midwives say that a lot of babies get out of wack when they are born. So we went to this pretty cool guy who also gave Pam and I adjustments too. Yes it was something to see a three week old to get a little tweak to the neck! Now she is paralyzed from the waist down. ;o) (Yeah I know "Don't even joke about that!" ) I tried fishing in Snapper canal -- I saw many fish but caught none.

Saturday Morning photos

2008-06-28T13:13:00.004-04:00

We got up early this morning and took some photos at the beach.

Piola's Friday night

2008-06-27T23:03:00.004-04:00

We went with Josh, Meredith, Kristin, James and Iris to Piola's Friday night. Kristin finally got to hold Raina since she was sick earlier this week.

When it rain(a)s it pours

2008-06-27T10:02:00.002-04:00

I think I finally understand the expression "when it rains it pours". Yesterday I had to pay $113 get a new tire for the Mazda. The tire just went flat sitting outside. Weird. I also dropped off the van because the check engine light was on. It apparently needs a new transmission. Its going to cost over $300 a month to put Raina on our health insurance. Next week my doctor wants to perform sinus surgery since they are so badly infected. Raina has not been sleeping so neither have Pam and I. They are jackhammering up the walkway out front. I am not working and therefore have no income source.

That was my Thursday! But today is a new day and Raina has actually slept for a couple hours.

"I want milk!"

2008-06-24T11:36:00.002-04:00

Here is a video of Raina and Daddy. Raina is not really interested is interaction --just "I want milk!"

Our first movie with Raina

2008-06-21T20:12:00.002-04:00

We took the Bugaboo stroller up a couple of blocks to the Lincoln Road movie theater. I wasn't sure if this would work. Its a three story movie theater (kinda urban style) so we had to take the elevator to our theater on the third floor. When we got into the theater itself we parked the stroller in the handicap area and sat in the next row. Pam fed her for a good part of the movie and then Raina slept in my arms for most of the film. She did make a couple peeps but nothing too bad.

Its interesting to change your perspective and be the annoying people with the baby. BTW, we saw Don't Mess with the Zohan which had some funny scenes but they were all shown in the previews.

Daddy's new role in life - a comfortable bed!

2008-06-20T19:23:00.003-04:00

Right now its okay for a 8lb 14 oz baby (she got weighed today) to lie on my chest. We both fell asleep. Speaking of weight, Pam is already down to 166 lbs from a high of 183 ten days ago!

Raina's first trip to Ikea

2008-06-20T17:49:00.003-04:00

So we broke down today and bought a HEMNES (typical Ikea name) changing table. We don't have a lot of room but after changing Raina about 80 times a day I think its worth it. Our high dining room table is not so great.

The good news is Raina doesn't cry a lot and when she does it can be fixed by one of three solutions.

1. change diaper

2. milky

3. pat on back to burp.

funny breastfeeding quote

2008-06-19T15:27:00.003-04:00

Pam just said something pretty funny.... While breastfeeding she said, "This breast is bigger than Raina's head!" Yep they are getting ridiculously larger!

Beach Baby

2008-06-18T11:19:00.004-04:00

Raina"s hiccups

2008-06-16T11:44:00.002-04:00

Raina gets the hiccups a lot.

My first father's day

2008-06-15T22:21:00.005-04:00

Raina made me a card and breakfast in bed. She may have had some help from Pam. Our neighbor Serena had her baby Sadie just three days after Raina was born. Here is the babies pic. Yesterday the Rodriguez's came to visit. Violet is holding Raina next to Pam.

Guess what! more Raina pics!

2008-06-14T22:03:00.004-04:00

Wendy and Sarah's visit

2008-06-12T22:54:00.003-04:00

Wendy and Sarah came to visit on Saturday. The baby was born four days later on Tuesday. Before the baby was born, we took Sarah to the beach, the pool and Wendy and I went dancing at Cameo on Saturday night. Here are some pics. Also here is a great pic of Pam right in the first stages of labor.

Raina day 2 and 3

2008-06-12T22:36:00.005-04:00

This is later the same day when Raina was born. I was able to find a pretty good deal on a flight for my parents to come down the same day. I picked them up at the airport at about the same time James, Iris and Kristin got back into town so we had a meal in Raina's honor.

Wendy and Sarah left to go back to Baltimore today. We had a good time. I will put up some fun pics of Sarah's first time at the beach. She also really enjoyed playing with Sammy and the flamingo park pool.

Where'd we get the name Raina?

2008-06-12T11:20:00.005-04:00

We got the name Raina from a Peter Himmelman song called Raina.

Here are the lyrics:

Raina

From the album Flown This Acid World (1992)

Some say the world has gone insane

And some say that God just got up and walked away

Some say dreams have frozen

Like a river that will not thaw

But not me since I've seen Raina

Some say that all is lost

And that innocence can't be restored at any cost

Some say you lose your spirit

If you lose a sense of awe

But not me since I've touched Raina

There's so little in this world that's true

I have boundless dreams for you.

Some say there's no end to the night

And some say the reward just isn't worth the fight

But I'm no stranger to the allure of dispair

I've spent a lifetime inside his jaws

But not since I've seen Raina

Raina Day 2

2008-06-11T18:20:00.004-04:00

Raina Skye Johanson Our New Baby!

2008-06-11T08:24:00.005-04:00

Well, she's here! Finally! The process was for sure the hardest thing I've ever done. Labor progressed really well up to 9cm. Then we were stuck at 9cm for what seemed like FOREVER! By the time it was time to push, I was almost relieved. The birth turned out the be slightly complicated. Raina's head was coming out slightly sideways. (I didn't know all of this at the time, but I knew something was up when Shari the head midwife showed up and then had a couple other midwives take Steve out of the room to explain what was going on. I could also see the impatient look on Shari's face. So I knew it was time to get down to business.) I did have to have an episiotomy unfortunately. But the decision was made by Shari because it is better than having a brain damaged baby! I had no idea at the time that this was going on. Anyway, Raina is healthy and eating well. (In fact she cried as soon as her head popped out.)

Last night was first poopy! Woo hoo! (Technically her first poop was when she came out of me.)

She's a good sleeper so far - though it's only been one night. She slept with us in bed. At this point, I highly recommend co-sleeping. It's the best way to monitor and feed the baby.

Well, I'm going to take a break. I still feel pretty tired and sore.

Raina Skye Johanson Our New Baby!

2008-06-10T21:58:00.003-04:00

We went into the maternity center around 2am since pam was having bad contractions. At 10:30am Raina was born. More on this later when I am not so tired. Here are some pics

cervix and the blob

2008-06-06T16:03:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I was informed that my cervix was 1cm dilated and the baby is engaged at about position 1. (I have been recently experiencing what I would call mild menstrual-like cramping off and on. To make myself feel like I wasn't going crazy, I had the midwife do an exam to check these things.)

This morning, well..

...okay, it's gonna be graphic. Parental Discretion Advised:

This morning the mucus plug came out! Ew! This is what it looked like: Think of a snotty-blob about the size of two tablespoons, tinged with a little brown blood. And, it came out of me! Gross!

Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily mean that labor is starting. It simply means that things are going along as they should. As the midwife says, it could be tomorrow or two weeks!

Anyway, it's a little freaky. --Pam

2008-06-01T10:47:00.001-04:00

John, Julie and Ruby came to visit on Wednesday. We had a great time at Flamingo Park!

Semi-hostage love puppy

2008-06-01T10:38:00.002-04:00

okay here's what Sammy and I do on the couch. She likes to lay with her but in my face --- I prefer her head. So I force her to lay with her head on my chest. Its not quite a hostage situation but still a semi-hostage situation. But once I make her do it she will stay.

Time Left?

2008-05-20T16:55:00.005-04:00

(1) Only eleven days left of school! (And you thought that only the kids count down the days!)

(2) Working on 36 weeks pregnant. Pam is ready to not be pregnant anymore. Kind of looks like she's hiding a basketball in there, doesn't it?

(3) Sam is looking older these days. She's slowed down, but you can still see in her eyes the young dog she used to be. She still gets excited if Steve or I go to put on running shoes! It makes us sad.

My room at school

2008-05-18T11:23:00.002-04:00

I thought I'd show a pic of what my room looks like at school. I recently got rid of my teacher's desk so I have more room to interact with the kids. I now have a desk and my projector right in the middle of the room where I sometimes sit.

Steve

Peanut butter on banana with a side of dill pickle

2008-05-15T19:42:00.007-04:00

Pam here. I'm writing this and eating a banana with peanut butter (a co-worker's favorite) and a couple spears of dill pickles on the side - no, really! It's not a craving really, it's just that I'm hungry and these were the two easiest things to make. I just got back from riding my single speed mountain bike. I recently made some modifications in an attempt to make the ride more comfortable. I installed a super short stem and 2.5" riser bars. This seemed to help a bit. My thighs still kind of bang into my belly. So I end up riding kind of bow-legged. Basically, I'm just trying to stay as active as I can. (Yesterday was deep water running The day before some lap swimming.) When I got back, I ran into our neighbor Serena and her 18 month old Stella. Serena is also pregnant with her second child and is almost the same due date as me! So we get to compare bellies. She took this photo of me on my bike tonight. I'm just finishing 35 weeks pregnant.

visit to baltimore

2008-05-13T17:29:00.006-04:00

I was able to get back to Baltimore for my 20th high school reunion. People seemed nicer than I remember. Samara Rosenberg is really growing up! (see pic) I also visited my former Towson co-workers John and Andy (HUH!) at the rotating sushi bar. On Sunday Jason at I went fishing at Loch Raven. Here is Jason with one of the many pickerels we caught. We also caught a couple white perch, some bass and almost a crappie.

2008-05-13T17:24:00.002-04:00

Here are some pics from the 5k I ran in march.

Baby Shower

2008-04-27T20:21:00.005-04:00

On April 23rd the Social Committee at our school held a baby shower for Steve and I. Here are some pictures. (I didn't notice until seeing the photograph that the cake is missing the word "A" in "It's a Girl.") It was fun and we received a lot of wonderful gifts and gift cards!

like a sleeping bag that's too small

2008-04-20T09:53:00.004-04:00

Well, I think that is what is happening in regards to the baby. Before I would get little kicks. Now I think she is running out of space. So now she sort of rolls around. It looks weird on the outside because sometimes it makes my stomach look sideways. Very weird! I also periodically try to figure out things like: "I wonder if that bump is her butt or her head?" Here is a photo of me posing very sexy in front of a car in south beach. (You know, just like in the magazines!)

The problem with teaching kids with Spanish language backgrounds

2008-04-14T23:15:00.003-04:00

Today in science class I talked about the 38th anniversary of Apollo 13. Or as my students would say "Apoyo 13" No joke. If you don't know, "pollo" is spanish for chicken and you say it like "poyo" hence "Apoyo 13" ... makes teaching tough! - Steve

went to the AVP pro volleyball tournament with one of my volleball groups. I never knew volleyball could be so serious. The winners took hom $20,000!

Body Snatchers

2008-04-08T17:10:00.004-04:00

I have to keep reminding myself that I will eventually have a normal body again! It's hard to remember as my belly continues to expand and the "little alien" inside kicks around.

Bass Fishing in the Everglades

2008-04-04T23:42:00.007-04:00

I finally got to try some bass fishing at a pond in the Everglades today. The water has risen a lot recently and it was very difficult to fish from the shore. I did a lot of standing in swampy mud water just to be able to cast into the pond. Can you believe that this cute puppy dog was just dumped out on the road? The people who run this Miami Motocross adopted it. So I started casting with a senko plastic worm and hooked into a nice two pound bass. I noticed that two 5 to 7 foot alligators kept following me around the pond wherever I went. After catching my third bass that thrashed around a lot I finally figured out that the alligators were waiting for me to catch a fish so they could steal it as I reeled it in. Pretty frightening considering I was standing ankle deep in swamp mud. Unlike sharks, alligators can follow you on to dry land! The magic hour hit and I caught bass after bass and lost several huge ones in the lily pads. I even caught one peacock bass.

Peacock Bass Fishing!

2008-04-02T17:46:00.008-04:00

Today I went peacock bass fishing with guide Steve McDonald from bassmasters.com. I went with Hippo and little Hippo too. We fished Miami canals near the airport. On little Hippo's first cast he caught his first peacock bass. Soon we all three had fish on board. The highlight of the day was sight fishing for fish on their beds. Both Hippo and I were able to accurately cast right on the fish bed to get some nice size fish. The male fish have an interesting hump on their head. The last couple of fish were on artificial lures which made it even more of a challenge. It was a little scary driving 50MPH in canals around town. Watch your head on those bridges!

Mountain Biking at 7 Months Pregnant

2008-03-30T17:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Steve and I went to Oleta River State Park. Here they have some great mountain biking trails. Steve wanted to get in some more riding on his new bike. I went along, but rode on the flat, dirt roads around the park. It was good fun for me since I haven't been on my mountain bike in some time. Here I am wearing one of Steve's jerseys and my own maternity bike shorts.

Boating with Mike and Serena

2008-03-28T19:58:00.005-04:00

This evening our neighbors Mike and Serena (and baby Stella) took us out on their boat. We drove by some of the most expensive real estate in the country including Shaq's house.

new bike for Steve

2008-03-28T00:16:00.003-04:00

I recently got a new mountain bike. I got a Specialized Epic 2008. It is very cool. I took it out for the first time today at Oleta River State Park.

We also saw No Country for Old Men with Kristin tonight. Kinda good but very odd pacing. Kinda long.