Its Fall and We Caught a Squirrel

I hate to say it but I think fall is officially upon us. Though it was 80 degrees on Monday, its been lingering around the 60 degree mark for days now, and approaching the freezing point at nights. Its not that I dislike fall--it is a nice season, with good colors and mostly pleasant weather, not to mention my birthday--its just that it leads to winter and seems so very short in comparison to the winter. I'm sure its just perspective. Winter seems long because its cold and snowy and summer seems short because we take it for granted. Either way, I have mixed feelings about the fall.

So, its been a fast summer. We did enjoy many outings, when we could. Lizzie took the kids to the zoo more than once, and we went to the Ames pool a few times, though we should have utilized our membership a bit more than we did. We also had many park outings, and trips the ice cream shop. BellaRose has become fond of these outings and she knows if we are driving the car past 8:00 pm its a fair bet she's gonna score some ice cream. She is a Davis, after all, and we are fond of our ice cream.

Jude has grown like crazy! At his 6 mos. check-up he was 21 lbs. BellaRose weighed the same at 1 year. He's in the 95% for weight and 70% for height. He has already started to get a taste for table food, which is partially to be blamed for his above average weight. We try not to give him too much, especially things he shouldn't have, but sometimes he's too convincing with his cute "please, daddy" eyes. He too is a fan of ice cream.

I bet you're all wondering about the title of this post. Yes, as the second part reads, we DID catch a squirrel. In our house. Not a tree dwelling brown squirrel, but a striped ground squirrel, a.k.a "chipmunk" or "squinny". Lizzie discovered him one day when he decided to come check out place out while she was in the living room. I never saw him for weeks but Lizzie would have occasional sightings, usually when it was quiet, during the afternoon. He'd check the place out, and be scared off when he'd spy a living, breathing human. What did he think he'd find?

At first I was certain Lizzie had schizophrenia and was imaging the dread squirrel that plagued her life. I've never known a women so deathly afraid of rodents. During the Mouse Wars of 2010, she was on edge and thought she heard mice scurrying everywhere. Same for the chipmunk, whom she was certain had made a burrow underneath our bed and plotted her demise nightly. I vehemently explained that he stood no chance of defeating her in a duel and unlike mice, was not here for food, but rather a place to store his nuts for the winter. Chipmunks, as it seems, are not nocturnal and come out only during the day, when the master of the house--the only one NOT afraid of him--was at work. To be fair, BellaRose was pretty curious about the chipmunk and talked at great length about her adventures with the beast. She became a good sidekick when I took measures of my own to catch this possibly imaginary rodent.

After plugging up some entry points underneath the house, as well as inside, I had hoped to assuage some feelings and be rid of the pest. However, a few days ago, he was spotted again. We had set a live trap out, in the furnace room (a likely entry point) and placed some crackers with peanut butter in it. Being a swift and light creature by nature, the chipmunk snagged a cracker without being caught and ate it in front of Elizabeth, taunting her as if knowing about her phobia and plans for his removal. Then, a day or two later, I spotted him, when I came into the kitchen after changing Jude in the back room. He scurried underneath the cabinets and escaped. He is lucky I was holding Jude, for he had loose footing on the laminate floor and I could have stopped him, having no fear of him (I think he sensed it). I could tell that he was getting braver as well, coming out during the day when the master hunter was at home, and in the kitchen while BellaRose at breakfast. He must have heard the humans but was gaining confidence quickly. He also had a penchant for Disney songs.

Then, today, when I was again plotting my next move during naps, a "clank" was heard from the furnace room then a series of furious but futile scratchings. The beast had been caught...in a live trap that had no bait (he ate the other bait, continually teasing Lizzie). What luck! Likely just being overly curious and cocky, he entered the trap clumsily and set it off. Either way, he is now my captive. Not sure yet what techniques I will deploy to interrogate him. I must know how he entered, where his cache of nuts are and if he told any of his fellow rodents...especially mice...about or home. We will then take him to an undisclosed locale and release him so that he may spread the word. We spared him today, but others may not be so lucky. Just ask the few that made it out of Mice Wars 2010.

Its Summer

So, its been awhile, I know, but to be fair, I was going to post awhile ago, got the whole thing typed and ready to go and wouldn't you know it, the computer froze and I lost all my thought provoking material and wasn't in the mood to retype it. But now I have time so here you go. Let's hope the computer doesn't freeze...again.

Summer is here, though its been up and down. Sometimes chilly, sometimes muggy, seems to be raining a lot (which we just love, given last year's epic flood) all of which is great when you have kids. BellaRose just loves going outside ("bat-side" as she calls it) and doesn't quite get it when its rainy or 100+ degrees and she can't go. We have season passes to the Ames pool again and she loves going, of course. We've gone a few times but its hard with this rainy weather. She would go everyday if you let her decide. She went with her Momby a few weeks ago and I guess they (the lifeguards)let her go down a big slide, which she wanted to. Her Uncle Jordan was at the top manning the slide so she trusted him enough to push her down at least. The last time I took her she wanted to try it again but got scared when we reached the top. I guess she was expecting Jordan.

Jude has grown like wildfire. He just turned 4 mos. and is wearing 6 mos. to 12 mos. clothes, depending on the brand. He's a big kid, for sure, with a healthy appetite. My mom says I was a big kid too and everyone says he looks like me. For me its hard to see. I only know what adult, grey-haired, permanent 5 o'clock shadow Mike looks like, not 4 mos. old me. I guess I'll take their word for it.

Jude is sleeping in his crib now, in he and BellaRose's room. She doesn't seem to mind having a roommate and he's doing quite well. Some nights he'll go a full 10-12 hours without waking up or needing to feed and other nights he'll wake up like clockwork every 4 hours, feed, and go back to sleep. Either way, he and BellaRose are asleep from about 9 pm until 8 am each day. That chunk of time between 9 and midnight is quality Mom and Dad time, usually spent cleaning something, preparing for the next day or if we're lucky, relaxing, watching episodes of Grey's Anatomy and eating ice cream like its going out of style. Elizabeth didn't use to be as serious an ice cream connoisseur until she met me. As my family can attest, we Davis' are fanatics about ice cream and can devour whole gallons in mere minutes. And always between the hours of 9 and midnight--peak ice cream eating time.

The job is going well. Keeping me busy, that's for sure. Lizzie seems to be doing well too, adjusting to two kids. I would say she's doing fantastic. I'm constantly impressed. The times that I have both kids while she is out and about I find myself exhausted and at my wits end after only a few hours. She does it 8 hours a day, 5 days a week (and sometimes more). What an excellent mom and wife she is, for sure.

That's mostly it for now. I bought a truck, so that's nice. We've had to replace our dryer, which is fun, and just today we found we need a new fridge, equally as fabulous. Oh the delights of homeownership. Hopefully both of these investments pay themselves off and last millions of years. Well, that's all folks. Hope you enjoyed this riveting tid-bit. A true white-knuckle read, I'm sure.

Spring Time (Kinda)

So, its spring or almost. The equinox has passed, sure, but the weather hasn't completely got the hint. Sure, there was almost a solid week there where temps were 70 to 90 degrees, but now its nigh on freezing and windy. Alas, such is Iowa in the spring time. Its a like a teenager, lost and unsure of if its cold and prickly, like winter, or warm and loving, like summer. I myself prefer the warm and loving type.

As you can imagine, its been a bit crazy around the Davis household, what with there being four of us and all, and two of us can't eat or poop without help. I'll give you two hints as to who the two people are, but you'll only need one. Jude has grown like wildfire since coming home. Much like his sister, he is above average in size. He wore his size "newborn" clothes for about one week and is now fitting into 3 mos. attire like a champ. I can say he has no lack of appetite, that's for sure.

BellaRose has become very attached to her "baby rubber"--in BR speak--Jude in no time at all. Sometimes she is a bit too attached. She likes to poke at him and say "got you" or "tickle, tickle" when really its more akin to a pin prick or pinch. Luckily he seems to not mind her much and from time to time he almost seems to prefer, nay, even LIKE BellaRose. I may have seen an askance smile aimed in her direction a couple times.

All in all we really couldn't be happier with BellaRose's adaptation to a baby in the house. She plays well with him and hasn't regressed in behavior or acted out at all. She is still her usual bossy, playful, single-minded self, which is nice.

I think Elizabeth has also adapted well to having two little ones to take care of while I'm at work. I was able to stay home a week when we first came home, which was nice considering I had only been at my new job (which I love) less than a month. Sometimes I take the kids while Lizzie stays home and naps or rests, giving me a mere glimpse at what she goes through daily for hours on end. Not entirely sure how she does it. And all without getting a grey hair! I must learn, for my number of grey hairs is increasing daily and spreading to my beard and chest! But that's another post entirely.

I know we are eagerly awaiting the summer months, when we can take the kids outside or to the pool and let them burn of some energy. I know BellaRose is always asking to go outside. She just likes to run around and be crazy. Not sure what other fun things we'll do this summer. I don't see any vacations in the future, but maybe we'll go somewhere further than Des Moines.

With that, I sign off. Currently Elizabeth and BellaRose are napping and Jude is looking at me like he wants to do something more than bounce in his seat. I suppose I can acquiesce to his request. That's what fathers do, right?

Take care all and I hope that spring sets in for good soon and we can unpack all those summer clothes still stored away. But that just means more yard work and hot, sweaty days. Perhaps I really don't hate winter that much. Who am I kidding. I say the craziest things sometimes!

Jude Richard John

Its official, we're a family of four now. Well, since February 20th, to be exact.

At 10:27 am, at Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames, our son Jude Richard John was born. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was 20.5 in. long. He was born at 39 weeks and three days, two weeks later than BellaRose was. He weighed only 5 oz. more than BellaRose did as well. They were the same exact length, 20.5 in., though many people I have discussed this coincidence with believe that all babies are 20.5 in. long at birth. I suggested that their tape measures may only go to 20.5", but that seems illogical.

The whole labor and birth went by fairly quickly, though if you asked Elizabeth, I think she would differ on the definition of "quickly". For the past few weeks she'd been experiencing contractions that were irregular in length and would come at random intervals--many times hours upon hours apart. Furthermore, she fell on the ice on Super Bowl Sunday, so we went in that evening to make sure baby was okay, which he was, but it was found out she was 3 cm. dilated and 80% effaced. At her following neo-natal check-up, the midwife further exclaimed Elizabeth's closeness to having this baby and she was told that she would most certainly not make it to the due date--Feb. 24th-- and could have the baby "any time", which is a reassuring diagnosis to be handed by a medical practitioner. I find that pre-natal care is a lot like meteorology in that they can only be so exact with their estimations or time, severity, when something will occur or what will actually happen. But I digress. As a result of that hullabaloo about going "any time", we were both on high alert for a couple weeks, only to be let down when contractions continued to be irregular. At our 39 week appointment, the midwife said we were ever closer but still not there. They couldn't break our water since we weren't full term, but stated they would if she were still pregnant at 40 weeks. We set up our appointment for the following Thursday, his due day, and planned to likely be induced but alas, Sunday morning rolled around and it appeared Jude had an important function to be at and needed to come out that same day. We were okay with it though.

So, like I said, the actual labor went fast, at least once it kicked in full fledged. At about 5 am, Lizzie started to get regular contractions and by 7 am they kept going and getting closer, about 2-5 mins apart. After finally convincing her this was likely the real deal (she really didn't wanna go in until his head was poking out) we made for the hospital. Of course, we hit nearly every red light in town and got stopped by a train. However, we made it.

She was at about 4 cm. dilated at that point and the midwife said we were gonna have him that day. Naturally, we were hesitant to believe this diagnosis (see meteorology reference above) but played along nicely. The kind midwife, however, did prove to be correct and things began progressing quickly, much quicker than we or the hospital staff presumed it would. By 9am were almost nearing the time to push and Elizabeth was contemplating an epidural but since she progressed so fast it really became a non-option for her so my wife, that ol' girl, experienced the full pangs of natural child birth, even the dread "ring of fire". I have a new found respect for her now. More than she will ever truly appreciate.

Jude came out pretty promptly, with probably about 30-45 mins of pushing. It was hard to imagine what he'd be like. The second kid would help predict, or so I thought, how dominant Elizabeth's genes were since BellaRose is like her doppelganger. We were unsure if he'd be blonde or have brown hair, or none at all like Bella did. His eyes would likely be blue but could be brown and who he'd look like was also up in the air. I was presuming he'd be another carbon copy of Elizabeth--blonde with blue eyes and her distinctive mouth. However, Jude came out with a full head of brown hair, way more than his sister had at birth, though he did look a lot like BellaRose did at birth. People say he looks more like me than she did. I'm still unsure. Regardless, I like the little guy a lot. He's a funny kid and I'm eager to the throw the ball around with him, though I am a bit jealous of all the time he gets to spend with Elizabeth.

The whole name thing was another fiasco. We'd been giving the family a fake name during the pregnancy--Dracula Rambo--and keeping his true name a secret. The bigger secret was that we weren't sure on his name at all and wanted to wait to meet him to decide anything solid. After a few hours, family was hounding us for names so we had to decide. Both of us like the name Jude and that it was rare and cute. I wanted to name a son after my dad and since I'm not sure if we'll have another kid, let along a boy, I thought it best to name him John now. Jude John didn't sound too cool and we didn't want him to be known as "J.J.", so we incorporated Jude's other grandpa's name, Richard. So, if you wanna know, that's how he got his name.

All in all we are very happy with Jude. He's a good baby who only really cries when he's hungry, which seems like all the time. BellaRose likes him too, and he likes her. They sit together on the couch a lot and she likes to play "tickle baby" or "get you baby" a lot. She insists on giving him a kiss before bed too, and when she gets up she asks where "baby" is. We couldn't have asked for a better response from BellaRose. We were anticipating regression behaviors, acting out and jealousy issues but so far she's been very responsive to the idea of a baby brother.

We'll let you know more soon. Hope you enjoyed the update. Thanks too all for the well-wishes, support and congrats! We appreciate it all so very much. Thanks again and toodles!