A Dream Come True

[ty] 30 Sept '07

Saturday night my friends Zak and Brian came over and we played through the first 3 levels of the new Halo 3 videogame together. Mind you, Zak lives in Seattle and Brian lives in Portland. We played cooperatively through the campaign over microsoft's X-Box Live service. This may not sound like a big deal but it truly is the realization of a life-long gamer's dream. I have spent no small amount of time chauffeuring electronic equipment both near and far in order to play cooperatively with my friends. NO LONGER.

Not only does the new Halo have some beautiful graphics but it also allows you to go back later and watch your exploits in a specially designed "theater" mode. From said theater mode I downloaded a couple of screenshots of our madness.

Sor driving, B-Bri on turret, Zip on shotgun.

A classic case of hit and shoot and run. Note the blood spatter :)

His wingman long gone, his driver dead under the vehicle, Bri
stays with the sinking ship. Which happened, like, 2 seconds later.

You never leave your wingman!

Tyson's Mitch Hedberg Imitation

"Stumpies, how many strikes until you're out in baseball? Three! That's right!"

"Stumpies, how many periods in a wrestling match? Three! Right again!"

A little piece of me will always live there...

[jd] 26 September 2007

We just got back Monday from a fantastic trip to Seattle, other wise known as 'the city of bearable temperatures'. Cayden and I went last Sunday so I could spend a couple days working in my old lab. Kendra watched him in the mornings and he came to lab with me in the afternoons. As the cutest baby on the planet, he was a hit. And naturally he chose those three and a half days to learn how to shriek. By the time Daddy showed up on Thursday he had perfected his Teradactyl mating cry.

Seattle was good to us in our seven years there and we have missed it desperately since moving to the land where you can fry eggs on your hood. Being back was wonderful. As my plane descended into the mist, the pilot came on the intercom and said Seattle was 55 and rainy. And I thought, "of course it is". Nubby and I picked up Tyson on Thursday afternoon, and we drove straight to Pike Place Market for two Seattle essentials: fresh donuts and a trip to spice guy. Thursday night was George's co-ed bachelor party, which ended for me with Nubby getting thrown out of his very first bar. Daddy was so proud. For George the night ended in a gin-haze. Tyson and Zak were driven home by our friend Kevin and as they were waiting to pull out of the parking lot, a trio of girls at the end of an equally entertaining evening trounced by. My husband, being a gregarious guy, stuck his hand out the window to high five them. The first two slapped his hand, but the third grabbed it and started tugging on his wedding band while shouting, "It's a marraige ring! It's married". Tyson hurriedly made a fist and pulled his hand in the car, trying to imagine how to tell me he lost his wedding ring to a drunk bimbo downtown.

Compared to Thursdays excitement Friday was rather tame, and we were in bed by 10. I, however, was up two hours later with cramps. I got a hot water bottle and tried to go back to sleep. The rest of the night passed in a blur of new hot water bottles, puking in a bucket, and making Tyson get out of bed to pick up Nubby and place him on my boob to nurse. I finally asked Tyson what time it was. He said 6:15 am. I asked him which side your appendix is on. He said the right. I told him it was time to go to the hospital. I later found out he thought I was being a hypochondriac, but he imediately got up and got Nubby dressed and put us both in the car. Eight hours later I was in surgery and Tyson was off to perform George and Beth's wedding ceremony. The procedure went pretty well. They were able to do it laparoscopically, which means a much less complicated recovery. I wasn't able to nurse Nubs for 24 hours, so he was on formula briefly. Like the little champ he is, he ate readily and didn't give Daddy too many problems. Ty brought him by to visit me Saturday night after the wedding. Nubs did well until he realized he was sitting next to my boobs and collapsed onto my chest, grabbing at my gown and crying. Once we turned him around and he couldn't see the boobs, he stopped crying. That's because he has the attention span of a peanut.

Ty spung me from the hospital on Sunday morning and brought me back to Zal and Kendra's, who had a potluck for us that afternoon. Much like our going away party we found ourselves looking around and thinking, "What did we do to deserve this?". It was amazing to be back and surrounded by people we loved. Seattle will always be a home to us.

Nubby Represents

[ty] 17 Sept '07

Despite the monsoon of allegations and press surrounding Bill B. and the Pats my son knows what's up and happily represents in the name of New England.





We also had a wonderful visit from Grandpa Spray II who lives in Vegas and hence enjoys the ability to fly down after work on Friday and head home Sunday afternoon.





Bathtime brought to you by the number 2 and the letter O.


So thats a quick pictorial update of the last week or so at Casa de Sprayberry. Right now Jordanna and the Nub are in Seattle wearing denim and sweatshirts while I swelter in the chill autumn upper 90's of Tucson. I head out Thursday to attend/officiate the celebrated Wang Clan Thang as our good friends George and Beth make their union official in the eyes of the state.

JD called me to let me know that she had safely arrived and the first thing she said to me was "I'm where you want to be." Beeatch.

More pics later. Check out the video of Shark-Baby attack...

To eat or not to eat

[jd] 13 Sept 2007

So all recommendations say not to feed your baby until 6 months. Most doctors will say 4 months is fine. The research on the topic is disjointed and inconclusive, suggesting that babies are ready somewhere between 4 and 6 months. Cayden has been showing some signs of being ready since early August, so I just wanted an answer! Eventually Ty and I decided that we would put him in a high chair while we were eating, and start feeding him if he showed interest in food. He has been watching us eat, and last week we decided to put a couple of chunks of banana on his tray while we were having dinner. Mind you, this child has put EVERY OBJECT HE TOUCHES in his mouth since mid-July. He threw the banana on the floor, rubbed it on his shirt, rubbed it on me, and stashed it behind him in his chair. In short, he put it anywhere but his mouth. Because that banana? Clearly not edible.

This is the hunger that never ends

[jd] 10 Sept 2007

While Cayden is not off the charts, he is a very big boy. The other day at target, another mother asked how old he was. I replied that Cayden was 4 1/2 months old, and how old was her little boy? 8 months? No, that boy was 14 months. Next to Cayden, most babies look 2-4 months younger than they are. And where does all this healthy chub come from? My boobs! The consequence of our robust child is that I am already below my pre-pregnancy weight. Of course, my pre-pregnancy weight was 3-5 lbs less than I like to weigh. We set a hard and fast line last night. If I drop below a certain weight (one that has in the past had negative effects on my health) I am going to wean the little bugger. I don't really want him on formula, so I am eating constantly in an attempt to keep up. This is my incredibly verbose and obtuse way of saying I'M HUNGRY.

Update

[jd] 6 Sept 2007

Yes, I am still having depression/ anxiety issues. This past weekend SUCKED (from an anxiety perspective, from a family perspective we actually had an awesome weekend. Pictures of the succesful outcome of our goodwill trip forthcoming. I love goodwill). Yes, I am getting help. I found a great counselor, we are totally on the same page, and my insurance gives me unlimited visits for a year. I have been getting emails and notes from many of you and I love it and it helps, even if I don't write back right away : ). I don't want people to worry, or to be embarassed. I'm not ashamed of it. I wasn't embarassed when I had gastro, I can't see why I should be about this. Anyway, I know some people have been curious about how it was going, so I thought I would let you know. My bad days now are much better than my bad days in July, so I think the intensity is decreasing. Whenever I go a week or so without any bad days I get really excited, because I think it is all over. Then when one bad day comes, it turns into 5 because I am depressed about having another attack. Such is life. I can't complain too much. I have a fantastic husband, a good life, Jeff and David are great, and our new friends Kristin and Jamie have been another welcome source of support. Plus, when I bring Cayden over to see them he and Ian interacting are always good for a laugh. Yesterday they got involved in the slowest, lowest power tug of war match I have ever seen ('dude, that hat is totally mine once I figure out how to get two hands on it').

Fistful of Stumpy

[jd] 5 Sept 2007

I had Cayden on our bed while I was getting ready yesterday morning, and Stumpy hopped up to join him. When I came out of the bathroom, Cayden had a fistful of fur/ loose skin and was trying to figure out how to drag it into his mouth. Toku (aka stumps) was twitching his tail, but otherwise completely ignoring this indignity. I think he may be the most tolerant cat ever. He got his sutures out yesterday and was pronounced in excellent shape by the vet. He is mobile enough that he has already escaped the house three times, so I think he is feeling okay. Once he grows in his fur, he will look almost normal again. Almost.