Happy Halloween!

All dressed up

We had a great Halloween. We carved two pumpkins, one big (by Jimmy & KG) and one tiny (by me & KG). KG picked them both out at the Saline farmer's market (which is now closed for the winter, sniff) and said the little one was for "baby brother."

KG dressed up as a cowgirl, in an outfit Mimi picked out in Jackson Hole plus pants I made for her. Will was a zookeeper in an outfit Jimmy's parents got at the Toledo Zoo (which fit, thankfully - he's currently in 12-month clothes so it was totally a lucky guess on their part).

We've also had some excitement here - Will is now pulling himself up! He started with trying to climb into the bathtub and then moved on to other "fun" things - the laundry basket, the couch, etc. So we lowered his crib this weekend too.

Finally, I got new glasses! Photos of all the above craziness are on Flickr, or you can check out the slideshow below for the Halloween fun.

Visit with the Meaghers

Last week, our NU/Sheil friends Ginny & Robert were in town with their two kids, Judith & Gregory. Judith is just a few months older than KG and Gregory is just a few months younger than Will, so it was very cool to see them playing together! We were also able to have Nick & Alison over with their baby, Brendan, who was born the same day as Gregory - it was a Sheil reunion plus babies :)

Lots of photos on Flickr:

Avoiding the real world at all costs

As most of you know by now, I’ve started my search for an academic position (professorship) this fall. Thanks to the effect of the current economy on state budgets and school endowments, the pool of positions available is not what it is usually (particularly acute in CA). I’ve had many professors tell me that they think it is/will be “the hardest job market in thirty years”. As always, my timing is impeccable.

For the curious, my application packet consists of some set of the following, listed from most often included to least often: Cover letter, curriculum vitae (scientific resume, including list of publications), research proposals (my ideas/what I want to work on), research experience (what I’ve done to date), statement of teaching philosophy (how I plan to teach students about science, in both classroom and laboratory), grad and undergrad transcripts, and sometimes reprints of my published papers. Excluding the transcripts and papers, which aren’t that commonly asked for, the package ranges somewhere between 15-18 pages. I’m developing a jealousy for the cover letter and one-page resume thing you “real world” people do when applying for jobs. ;)

I’m basically done with my applications for jobs that have deadlines before the end of November. There are quite a few applications, and honestly I lose track most of the time of where they all are in terms of location. Related to this, we understand the annoyance of never giving people a straight answer when we are asked where we’ll be in the not-too-distant future…it’s just that we really don’t know yet. To help see where things are, I found a website that allows you to make up a map marked with whatever locations you input. I’ve generated a map that shows the zip codes for all the jobs I’ve applied for to date (see below), and I’m planning on keeping the map updated as the search goes on.

Potential Job Locations

We’re really hoping to end up either near family (CA or IL/IA) or near friends (Chicago or perhaps UT)...but, as my mom says, God will put us where He wants us.

Ch-ch-anges

New kids room set-up

It's been a week of moving things around here in our house - I think we've almost got things where we want them!

The biggest change was that Dom moved back to California. That meant we could turn our office back into a two-person office (Jimmy had been working in the living room). Since we had reorganized our living room to make space for his desk, we decided to go ahead and leave the extra space, which we have turned into a kid play area. We put the pack-n-play out there next to the bookcase, and now there's a good spot for both kids to play!

New living room set-up

Then we moved Will's crib into KG's room - where the pack-n-play had been. So now both kids are sleeping in one room! It's been an easier transition so far than we thought it would be. KG goes to bed every night between 8 and 8:30, while Will doesn't have a defined routine yet. Some nights (like last night) he conks out at 7:30 in his crib; other nights he doesn't go down until after he nurses at 9:30 or 10. But regardless, he either has to be picked up and fed or just fed, and that means going into the kids' room with KG already in bed asleep. Lots of tip-toeing, but so far, so good!

The new set-up feels much more spacious, and our morning routine has become a lot cuter... Will wakes up, wakes KG up, and she comes into our room: "Mommy, baby brother is wake!"

Random cute story from this morning (Will had a cold which I now have): Jimmy was driving the kids to day care and had this conversation. Jimmy :"Let's try and help Mommy tonight at home..Mommy has a cold." KG: "Mommy have cold? We go doctor, get Mommy shot, Mommy feel better." (Note we all got flu shots last week.) We were impressed with her logic!

Vote for Will!

I've entered him in the Gap Casting Call :)

You have to register, but can vote once a day.

Thanks!

For those wondering why I didn't enter KG - she sat still for about 2 minutes the last time we got her professionally photographed. I don't think this would be her thing. :-D

Bea, L'La and Lori's Birthday Party

Wine tasting group

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but what with one thing and another, haven't had time. So here's a brief recap of our past few weeks:

- Will's been eating like a maniac. He had his first Cheerios tonight, along with some diced peaches - most of the pieces actually got in his mouth, and he chewed them, no problem! A big step up from purees but I guess he was ready. We decided to give it a try after he managed to grab and eat another kid's saltine yesterday at day care. Not bad!

- Dom's last night here was supposed to be last night - but his flight was delayed! So he and Jimmy are on their way back home from the airport with a $100 travel voucher. Woohoo!

- We went wine tasting over the weekend with Jason, Lauren & Hannah in SW Michigan. Hit our favorite winery, where the girls had a great time running among the vines. Lots of photos of Flickr.

And now to the main post I've been meaning to write...

1) Kaitlin has developed her own large, imaginary group of friends. Bea is the main one. Bea is both "very very tall" and small enough to fit in KG's pocket. She has pink hair and blue eyes. L'La is another friend - she's not as tall as Bea, and usually has blue hair. KG talks about going to their houses, playing with them, etc. She opens doors to let them in, has to have them around to go to sleep, and is generally very cute playing with her "friends."

2) A couple weeks ago, we went to Lori's birthday party. All the families she works for were there, along with their kids, which was pretty cool - we have met most of them before, but it's fun to actually sit down and talk to people you hear so much about! We had a kids vs. adults baseball game, and Dom played (on the kids team - figured that would even things up). He tried to hold back - he batted one handed & lefty - and hit precisely one pitch, which sailed out of the park. On his way around the bases, he stopped to pick up the kids who were ahead of him so he ended up carrying three toddlers from first to home. All the parents were cracking up. Our favorite play Dom made fielding was when he two-hopped a ball at 2nd base (gloveless and holding a beer) and came up about to fire the ball to home - then held himself back. I was like, "Um, Yeah, Dom, taking the head off the person at home plate, not a good idea." LOL. We had a great time and it was really too funny to watch Dom playing ball with the kids - he gave them some great tips and according to Lori, the kids were all talking about him the next day and all want him to come back to her party next year :-D

Long-awaited videos

Will on the move. Not "crawling" so much as "shoving himself forward."


KG in her Forte jersey

Conversation with KG

Scene: KG's bath.

KG: "Here Mommy, the ducky! You the ducky's mommy."
Me: "I can't be the ducky's mommy, Kaitlin. I'm not a ducky."
Jimmy: "Tell Mommy she's a goose, Kaitlin!"
KG: "No, Daddy! No Mommy is goose!"
Jimmy: "What is she then?"
KG: "Kathleen!"

In other news... We've had visits from grandparents, aunts, and uncle Dom. Dom is still here, living with us while he interns in the U of M P h y s i c a l T h e r a p y dept. He's been cooking for us practically every night - we've had grilled salmon, watermelon & tomato salad, grilled pork chops (two ways), and more. Tonight we had homemade pizza - two different types of crust, honey wheat & regular. Nom nom nom.

Still on the charts

Will's stats at 6 month checkup: 21 lbs 15 oz (96%), 28 inches tall (87%). Go big man! We've also been cleared to drop out a nursing if he wants (swap in solid foods). Yay!

When mommy is on the road, the fun begins...

Kathleen is Orlando for business, so Dom and I got to play Mr. Mom (and Uncle Mom, I guess) last night and this morning. Last night went very smoothly, with Dom prepping pot roast for dinner in the crockpot and KG going down to sleep without so much as a whimper or attempt to get out of her room (YAY!). Then, moving onto this morning…

6:00 AM Get up, get washed up and get dressed…all kids still asleep, so far so good
6:25 AM Start Will’s milk thawing, feed Violet and walk her, still good
6:40 AM Prep bottles for Will
6:45 AM Start feeding Will… he’s only partly awake, but eating well
6:51 AM Will comes fully awake…wait, it’s Daddy feeding me and he’s using a bottle…this is the FUNNIEST THING EVER (crap crap crap crap crap)
7:02 AM Still trying to get Will to finish bottles between giggles, smiles, and talking (cute, yes, but we've got a schedule to keep!!!)
7:08 AM KG wakes up, wants Daddy…no, not you Uncle Dom, I WANT DADDY!!! (double crap crap crap crap crap)
7:12 AM Finish with Will’s bottles, change his diaper and hand off to Dom for getting dressed, move onto KG
7:18 AM KG diaper cleaned up (poopy, of course), clothes and socks on, time to clean up bottles and put on sunscreen
7:19 AM No, Uncle Dom, WANT DADDY TO PUT ON SUNSCREEN!!! (triple crap crap crap crap crap)
7:21 AM Sunscreen on (Dom cornered KG in the kitchen and put on the sunscreen while she meekly protested, good work Dom!), bottles cleaned up, time to head out
7:26 AM Violet given treat, out the door
7:30 AM Pull out the driveway

The morning ended up with the kids at daycare at 7:35 or so and Dom at the hospital at 7:57, so no one was late at all. Guess that means we’ve got this all down pat, right? (cue sigh)