Cold Spaghetti

Birthday Boy!
Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Will trying on Grandma Wisneskey’s shades on his FIRST BIRTHDAY!

We just got back from a wonderful walk on a goregous morning in our beautiful city!

After a quick stop at CC’s for famous iced coffee and bagels, we walked up to St. Charles Street and then back down through our lovely neighborhood to home. What a great day to be in New Orleans and what a great day to be ONE YEAR OLD!

A rainy day kept us inside today!

Paul and Dad Wisneskey installed speakers into the kitchen ceiling first thing this morning. Then we enjoyed brunch at Bluebird Cafe (a yummy veggie-friendly eatery on Prytania Street!) The drizzle (and lack of convenient outdoor partking) kept us inside for the short tour of the Garden District and French Quarter. We ended up parking on the 8th (!) floor at the Wyndam Hotel across from the pier and walking over the Riverwalk, the mall that extends from the Aquarium to the Convention Center. We window shopped, enjoyed some beignets and chickory coffee at Cafe du Monde, and watched the ships in the Mississippi.

I fell in love with a local jewelry shop featuring work exclusively from New Orleans artists… wow!

Will at Dinner, Nov. 18
Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Wild Man!

Will at Breakfast, Nov. 19
Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

Will gleefully throwing Cheerios!

Last night, Paul’s parents flew in from North Carolina. They are spending the weekend here to celebrate Will’s birthday.

Will has been a delight. He is working on saying words (“Ma-Ma” is still his best, and he definitely seems to associate it with me). Other words he seems to be trying to say are “Gato” (“cat” in spanish… one of our babysitters only speaks spanish) and “Thank You.” “Uh-oh” is another bit in his vocabulary — and he correcty says it when he does things like drop his sippy cup on the floor.

They are so enthralled with him and entertained by his little faces, laughter, and constant curiousity.

The five of us (mom and dad, Paul, Will, and I) all went on a long walk through Aubudon Park this morning. I took lots of pictures with our new SLR digital camera (wow — what an amazing camera!!!) and Will enjoyed being carried a good bit of the way by Grandpap George and riding the stroller the rest of the time. It was a beautiful morning and has been a beautiful New Orleans day — low humidity, warm, some sun. A great November day!

Will in the Duck, Audubon Park, Nov. 19

Originally uploaded by hollyscheib.

A friendly duck in Audubon Park — Will did his best to “quack” with him.

I admit I was skeptical about the internet radio. But Muppet Radio has changed my mind! All muppets (including Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock) all the time!! Some of our most recent favorites:

– John Denver on the Muppet Show singing “Grandma’s featherbed” to all the muppet animals

– The Count and Cookie Monster “If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d have Baked a Cake”

– Billy Joel singing “Just the Way You Are” to Oscar the Grouch (…”ew, yuck! Grouch’s hate to be told that!!”)



Will is still a bit too young to appreciate it. But Mom and Dad LOVE it.

Will is going to be ONE YEAR old on Sunday. It is all very overwhelming.

He has recently hit a much-anticipated growth spurt. It is amazing how much bigger he looks and feels. It is so hard to see him grow — you want it to happen, but it still hurts all the same. It is exciting to buy new clothes in the next size, but bittersweet to put away the ones that are too small.

He is waving so sweetly now. And saying “Mama”. And lots of other sounds. He does seem to copy our sounds — the new exciting one is “Ga” for “Gato”. He has four teeth on top and 2 on bottom… with one more on the bottom right coming through. (With all the teeth up top, he’s like a little vampire!!) He is getting closer and closer to walking each day, but still wants to be held and “toted” everywhere.

He is so much fun. There is just so much to love about him. I understand so much in the world better now — having a child, raising a child, loving a child — these are life changing and incredibly maturing events. Nothing can prepare you for it, nothing compares to it. It adds a richness and dimension that is so unexpected that you can’t anticipate or predict it. I think it is like discovering another way that your heart and soul can love — it’s falling in love but in surprising, heart-won ways.

I make this blog to help document Will’s early days. I hope someday he can look back on it and realize how much time and thought his mom (and really, his whole family) put into everything about his life. How much we treasure every moment and work through the tough spots together.

Changing sites, so here are the old logs:

Fri, Oct. 22nd, 2004, 09:58 am How to Survive a PhD, part 1

1. Talk to other PhD students. Discover they are just as insecure as you are. Feel relieved.2. Remember that “Doctoral student” is a job title. Correct all of those who refer to it as “going to school,” “being a student,” or “attending college.” 3. Have a supportive spouse who reads your papers.4. Make the department administrators your best friends…. I’m learning the ropes!!!

Thu, Oct. 21st, 2004, 10:59 pm Saturation Point!

I think that we may be O.D.ing on the Wiggles. There are no less than 20 episodes on TiVo… and counting. And this does not include the episodes that have already been downloaded off TiVo and burned to DVD!!! Maybe I should be grateful… after all, it could be Barney…?

Mon, Oct. 18th, 2004, 08:26 am Riot Act

Workmen are removing trees from the lot next door. I read them the riot act for banging on my doors and windows and ringing my bell until the buzzer went super-sonic. Beware the wrath of a woman with a sick child.

Thu, Oct. 14th, 2004, 10:35 pm Will Update

Will is still a bit sick. He has fever that comes and goes and a little cough. But the big issue is that he just isn’t eating!!! He is still happy, laughing, and playing… but has moments where he isn’t comfortable, clingy, and clearly not happy. I don’t know what I will do if (when…) he actually gets really sick. I am very concerned over his eating and am nervous about his weight (he is very light for his age/height.) I am hoping that he will catch up by his 12 month check-up. I can’t wait until he is eating normally again… I want to feed my baby!!Second biostats exam tomorrow (anxiety!) Kitchen still mostly a disaster. Mom is here (Paul is in Chicago through Monday for Pinball Expo) and she is helping to try and make sense of the mess. Only a few more weeks until the counter tops come and then we’ll have a stove, sink, oven…. a kitchen!!

Wed, Oct. 13th, 2004, 10:58 am First Cold!

Will is sick for the first time! Just a slight cold… but it spurred me to find him a doctor. So, now we have a pediatrician (who I really like) and he is in the Tulane medical system. He has no appetite (an issue with his weight, see below) a chest cough (which he does in his sleep!), sneezes, a bit of a runny nose, some diarrhea, and has woken up screaming with ear pain (at least, I think it is ear pain because he is banging on his left ear.) He may possibly have an ear infection, but since those are pretty controversial right now (they usually go away without meds) I decided not to push the anti-boditic issue. Apparently, his diarrhea is an indicator that he probably doesn’t have an ear infection, so hopefully it’s just a bug working through his little system. So, lots of motrin and hopefully lots of sleep for our little man! Other not so great news… Will needs to gain weight!! He’s a little light for his age and size. Not a big issue (he looks great, according to the MD) but still something to monitor. You can believe I’ve been practically force feeding him as many calorie rich foods as I can!!

Fri, Oct. 8th, 2004, 02:16 pm Waving Hello!

Last weekend (Oct. 2-5) Will and I went to the greater Pittsburgh area to visit family — most especially my Grandma Betty, who lives in an assisted living facility due to severe memory loss (believed to be Alzheimer’s). Grandma remembers that she has another grandchild, although she forgets that he is a great grandchild (she gets my mother and I sometimes confused). It is wonderful to see her light up when she sees the baby (“What a beautiful baby!” She says.) She held him while he had some juice and watched him play (ie: crawl around the floor with me) with some of the other residents. They all loved Will (how could they not… he is adorable and so sweet!) Will also began a new skill over the weekend: he is waving hello and good-bye!! He doesn’t get the context of what waving is or means, but he is copying the behavior… it’s precious. What is even more cute is that he waves to himself (rather than hand pointed out toward the other person). He also does a “wild man head shake” where he’ll make babble sounds and shake his head back and forth. (Sometimes he does this while making raspberry sounds, which is particularly funny!)

Fri, Oct. 1st, 2004, 10:14 am Child care… got some?

Venting here…We are desperately seeking affordable child care! It is insane that anything involving families is so inflexible, expensive, and crazy to figure out. Just a few hours a day… not full time! It would be easier to put him in full time care, and probably cheaper! Argh. We’re totally frustrated… Personal vow::: I promise to do whatever I need to do to help my children when they have children.

Sun, Sep. 26th, 2004, 01:33 pm Will and the Walker

Will now has a walker (compliments of my mother). Paul and I were pretty much against this idea (do we *really* want this child *more* mobile??) but Mom thought it would be a good idea to make it easier to do stuff (from empty the dishwasher to use the toliet) without panicking that Will is putting his fingers in electrical sockets or playing with the toliet plunger. (From this perspective, we have to admit that it does seem like a good idea.) It is really interesting to watch him in a new device. He currently uses it the way he uses the other two contraptions in his life. One is a bouncy chair, which is stationary and responds to him bouncing up and down with his legs. So, when placed inside it, he uses the walker as a bouncy chair. The other contraption is his music table, which he interacts with by pulling himself up to standing. So, when not placed inside it, he pulls himself up on the walker (and then usually chews and pulls on the fixtures on top of it). Although he has moved a tiny bit foward in it, the act of moving in it hasn’t registered. It has not yet occurred to him that he can use it to move around. It’s little things like this that fill parenting with so much awe — just watching Will figure out the world around him, bit by bit, makes me stop and give pause to the magic of life. I’ve often said that bringing a life into the world is the closest thing to magic that exists in our reality. Now I am thinking that this magic doesn’t end there, but continues as that new life learns it’s independence and discovers itself.

Fri, Sep. 24th, 2004, 10:11 am Sept. 24

First Biostats Exam today in just a few hours. We survived Ivan the first time, now experiencing him as mild rain and cloud cover. How crazy!Will is playfully saying “BAH!” regularly — we love it.Classes are starting to pick up (despite missing a week of them due to Ivan) and my “second semester” classes start in just a few weeks. Then things will really hit the fan!I was remembering being pregnant with Will last year.The first time I felt Will move in my belly, I was in Copan Ruinas, Honduras. I had been there for a little over a week, by myself, and was felling particularly lonely. It was bedtime and I was in bed, rubbing my growing belly, and talking to the baby. Being pregnant made me feel like there was always someone around with me (like a secret friend) and I often talked to the baby. I told the baby I was lonely and that it would mean so much for him (or her) to let me know they were there, too. And by golly — he did!!! That was the first time I felt him…

Wed, Sep. 15th, 2004, 12:57 pm House Update

This past weekend (Sept 11-12) my Mom and Dad came to NOLA to help us with the house. Paul and Dad hung attic stairs from the ceilings (this sounds like an easy task, but we have 12 foot ceilings and a 100+ year old house). They ended up getting a saws-all to cut through the old lathe board, plaster, and beams to lengthen the existing opening. SERIOUS work… I have pictures and will put them up on the ofoto.com site soon. The next morning, the used a jackhammer (borrowed from local contractor) to remove the existing stairs on the front porch. Friday, Paul removed another 200 bricks from the side of the house and powerwashed them along with several hundred others. These old bricks (original to the house) will be used to construct the new front steps and pathway. (We have to move the existing steps since they extend into the lot next door where a house will be being built starting in the fall.)Construction began Monday. The mason, who had dug and poured the foundation for the new walkway, began laying bricks Monday morning. Also, a crew came in to turn the hallway bathroom door, move the light switch, and prep the kitchen area for cabinets and appliances. So, the center of our house is a series of long plastic sheets, taped floors, and open walls. This was all very exciting until the hurricane!!!So, we had to move tons of construction debris under or to the side of the house in the hopes that the several hundred bricks Paul worked so hard to release and clean aren’t going to become missiles. Not to mention the huge shards of concrete from the old stairs. And the old toliet from the hall bath!!! It was a lot of work… we did board up the front door and closed the hurricane shutters along the outside of the house. The bummer is that the crews will be busy with post-storm work and won’t be able to get back to our house in awhile (at least, this is what we’re guessing) so, we’re back to the waiting game. Really, I am first hoping that our house is totally secure and dry after all this is over… then I’ll worry about the rest!

Wed, Sep. 15th, 2004, 12:35 pm Ivan Update!

After much excitement over the past few days, we finally decided to pack up and flee New Orleans. And went to Mobile, Alabama! Although it sounds crazy to head TOWARDS the strike zone of a Class 4 hurricane, we made the decision based on several factors. One was that we truly had no idea where the hurricane was going. Forecasters had been saying it would turn right for weeks and had not. The risk of being in New Orleans if it continued on its direct path was a great risk, particularly because it would not have left enough time to evacuate the city. Also, city officials were asking residents to leave (they said that they would not do a mandatory evacuation due to the limited infrastructure they had to support it, so instead, could only strongly recommend us to leave). The city was expecting 12-18 feet of storm surge in the city — this doesn’t fare as bad as it sounds for our house, which is on the highest ground in the city and has not flooded in it’s 100+ year history. But, with the middle of the city flooded (New Orleans is shaped like a soup bowl), we would be stuck. And with the likely power outages and lack of water, we would have run the risk of being stuck and possibly in trouble. So, we decided to leave. We tried to get a hotel room in Texas… as far as 500+ miles away in Texas… to no avail. And with the cost of travel and lodging (with my Mom, the baby, and the cats) it didn’t really make sense. Enter Mobile. My Dad couldn’t leave Mobile due to his duties in the shipyard. We didn’t want him to be alone (my Mom was with us helping with Will since I was suppose to have a huge biostats exam this week). Dad has a generator, propane gas for the grill, and a pool in the backyard for extra water for bucket baths and toliet flushing. And, they are on high ground and about 30 miles from the Bay (as opposed to New Orleans, which is 9 feet BELOW sea level.) Sooo… it made sense to weather through the storm in Mobile. But, we had to leave the city first. It took us EIGHT hours to travel the 28 miles out of Orleans and St. Tammany Parishes to the Mississippi line. 28 miles in eight hours. We called my Uncle Corky from the road and when we told him how far we’d gotten he asked, “Are you Walking?!” The situation (as we understand it) was that folks were traveling east to go north and west (the western route was so tight that people chose to go “the long way” around to miss traffic.) So, the normally 2-2 1/2 hour drive to Mobile (140 miles) took us from 4:45pm until 3:30am. But, we got here. (A difficult trip to be in traffic with a baby who needs to be fed regularly!) And now we are waiting for the storm. Dad is at work and should be home in a few hours. It is dark here (feels like early morning still) and rainy. The coastline pictures on local tv show an impressively active surf. The local weather is actually somewhat funny… things like “expect 100 mph winds, possible tornadic activity, and 20 foot storm surge” while playing elevator music as if they were reporting a normal, sunny day. We aren’t sure what exactly to expect, but are expecting something big!We are happy to be here and hopeful that the storm is gentle on us and parts West. (We love our new city!!)

Mon, Sep. 6th, 2004, 11:16 am Rough Night!

It is important that I recount the not-so-thrilling parts of motherhood along with the super-fun.Last night was a not-so-fun night! Will is teething and is going through periods of fever and pain. Last night, he was very restless, clingy, and uncomfortable throughout the night. As Mom, my job is to make him feel loved, safe, and secure all the time — so I was on duty! My parents helped. At around 2:30, Dad moved into the guest room and Will and I shared the bed with my Mom. We took turns walking around with him, watching parts of Baby Beethoven (it calms him) and holding him. I managed to burn my chest, upper arms, and part of my neck yesterday while studying outside… so cuddling Will was not so fun last night! I did manage to get just under 2 hours of straight sleep, with a few 1 hour or 30 minute naps here and there, but I am still dragging today! The secret to surviving is to sleep when the baby sleeps — I am just not very good at this!

Sun, Sep. 5th, 2004, 03:15 pm Hurricane Frances Update

We just got a call from The Boy (my brother) who lives in Jacksonville, Florida. Until now, the local Jacksonville authorities had the area under a tropical storm warning… ie: no big deal. So, Skip and Emily gassed up the cars, made sure they had some water, and went on with life. Skip just called to say that they had just lost power — huh oh! They have some staples and will be eating their fridge leftovers in the next few hours and are currently filling the bathtub with water. It had only started raining (Skip said it had been windy all morning, though) and they are regularly going out and taking short movies of the storm. Apparently, their local news is reporting that most of Jacksonville is without power, so it could be some time before they get it back. (Especially since the rest of the state seems to really be getting hit!)

Sun, Sep. 5th, 2004, 02:43 pm Mobile

Will and I came to Mobile for the Labor Day holiday weekend. Granna Cheryl (“Granna C”) and PapPap Tim are providing some childcare to allow me some much-needed time for study. (And of course, plenty of pool time!)Will, Dad and I played in the pool for about an hour yesterday. Will LOVES the water and surprises me with how comfortable he is in it. He puts his face right into the water, and although may gasp and cough a bit, is quick to laugh and do it again. He seems to intutiatively grasp the concept of swimming (free-style) and wants to put his body in position (including face down). I love that he is comfortable in the water, but at the same time, make note that he will have to watched closely once he is more independently mobile. I had hoped to enroll in a “Water Babies” class with him, but can not find any in New Orleans! This is a disappointment – I am very eager to continue to have water time with him. Aside all of this, Will continues to chew, drool, and make zerber and raspberry sounds with gusto. He also is babbling more and more — making him undeniably adorable. He is getting very big (and so tall!) but is still perfectly proportioned, with healthy weight, round face, and wonderfully red hair. My father was home from work yesterday afternoon (a Saturday – he worked only in the morning) and just came home this afternoon to be with Will. This is the greatest testiment to how much we all are crazy about this child — that dad would leave work behind, and not to golf, but to spend an afternoon at home! Paul is spending the weekend getting caught up on work hours and working on the house. He is removing the old brick from the right side walkway of the house and pressure washing each brick to be made into our front stairs/walkway. He tried to chisel away the existing brick stairs (which must be removed since they go into the lot next door) but the bricks were much too old to be salvaged. (He will jackhammer those out in the next few days.)

Fri, Sep. 3rd, 2004, 12:51 pm Sleep Aids

We have a new method of relaxing Will into sleep…The vaccuum cleaner!!Paul came up with the idea based on a recent Sesame Street episode. In the show, Baby Bear cannot get his little sister (Curly Bear) to sleep. Oscar, begin a grouch, tries to make things worse by making lots of noise. But instead of making her fussier, the ruckous puts her to sleep. So, Paul decided that maybe the loud, constant sound of the vaccuum would work on our very fussy and tired boy…. and did it ever!! Yet another reason to love our re-furbed Dyson.

Mon, Aug. 30th, 2004, 11:21 pm Chopper Update

Will is definitely in the throws of heavy teething! I got a chance to check out his upper gums today — his top two teeth are at the surface (maybe another week or two before they break?) and a third above isn’t far behind.He had a little pain off and on today, but with some Motrin he does better. He is drooling so much that Orajel doesn’t really help much. Having the pacifer is great in helping contain his mouth (he will chew on everything and even shaved off the edge of a wooden shelf with his bottom teeth) so the binky helps keep our lives a lot less wet!He is making more and more sounds and is so much fun. He will make raspberries and zerbers back and forth with you for minutes at a time (this is seriously fun). He also is going after hidden things and loves peak-a-boo and exploring.

Sun, Aug. 29th, 2004, 07:11 pm Number three…

Two number three’s right now…– Will is cutting tooth number three (to the left of his bottom middle teeth which have already come through)… AND– The third dder (dual degree student from our MPH/MSW masters program) is expecting a BABY!!! (And on Valentine’s Day!)

Sat, Aug. 28th, 2004, 06:42 pm Will Milestone!

Last night, Will took his first tentative steps forward pushing on his stroller. (He’s been standing for about a month or more, and tentatively cruising for a few weeks.) You can tell that he knows forward is the next-step (so to speak) and he is working to get there!

Fri, Aug. 27th, 2004, 08:20 pm End of week 1

It’s the end of the first week of my doctoral program. Today, Paul watched Will while he tried to work… and managed just about 3 1/2 hours (a good benchmark for those thinking about working from home while watching a child.) And those hours include an early morning hour while I was nursing.Will seems to be settling back into a routine and slept pretty much through the night last night (first time in a long time). He is sleeping now from about 9-6, give or take. He tends to sleep about 8 hours and then will drift in and out while nursing in the morning. We generally nurse for about 30min-1 hour in bed and then start the day. We are still trying to work out how to continue nursing and balance a full day of work and classes. His two bottom middle teeth are definitely through. No sign of others, although he started some teething-type fussiness tonight so he maybe struggling with another tooth soon.Everyone comments to me on the difficulty of child-rearing while pursuing a career (especially an academic career, and especially an academic career focused on working in under-resourced areas of the world). We are determined to make it work.House Update: Still no kitchen, and baths are status quo. (It’ll be like this for months.) Paul removed more of the confederate jasmine from the front gate. We found that there are two entrances through the wrought-iron fence (the second was engulfed by the jasmine, so we couldn’t see it). The second door still has it’s original door handle and it is really beautiful. He also is working on replacing the porch lights so that they don’t collect so many bugs. We also noticed that most other shotgun doubles paint the underside of the porch roof light blue. We don’t know why and are wondering if this is a period thing? Also, for family hungry for Will photos, I’ve started a page on “ofoto.com” (a kodak site) for folks to see (and if you want, buy) pictures. My picture-sending has slowed down, so hopefully this will help (you may have to register to buy prints, they are about 22 cents each, I think.)

Thu, Aug. 26th, 2004, 06:36 pm Afternoon Fun in Nola

Ignoring the piles of biostats to review, I decided to entertain Will with an outing. We checked out the local UPS store (just down the street at Prytanina and Octavia — it used to be a pharmacy or grocery, I think!) and then decided to check out the newly opened, 1-day old Wal-Mart.Between Irish Channel and the Warehouse District, right on the Mississippi, and between two rough-looking warehouses, Wal-Mart practically glistens. New bricks, a paved lot, and two huge ceramic cows on platforms in the front — oh boy!It was incredibly busy. We escaped the bustle by visiting the fish tanks (Will seemed to like the neon-white fish best, I think because the tank was filled with them!) We played with the Elmo dolls (they were scary). And we talked with tons of people who were interested in Will. A manager in the fabric section called him “little red” and just *had* to hold him. We have a big night along tonight because Paul has his first local hockey game!