Another Opening, Another Show...

This weekend Logan played the role of Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Most of you are probably wondering where a medical student would find the time to do such a thing. Fair enough. The answer to this riddle is that it was in a musical put on through the medical school. Each year a group of medical students gets together and puts on a musical. It is cast entirely of medical students (and their significant others, if they so desire) and student-run. We're talking producers, directors, tech, orchestra, everything. Becuase of this, they only practice on Saturdays until the very end, and they can easily arrange to have test weeks, etc. off since they all have similar commitments. Logan can be pretty shy, and he is not usually very social with his class, so this has been great for him. He gets to do something he loves and interact with his classmates at the same time! Last year the show was Bye-Bye Birdie and I did it as well. (He, naturally, was Albert, the male lead, and I was Mrs. MacAfee, a supporting role.) This year I had other things to do. Such as give birth. His role this year was a supporting lead, and it was as far an opposite from his true character and personality as I can imagine. He played an arrogant and cruel Captain in the Roman army. And he rocked it, I must say. Very funny! He parents came out for the weekend to "see the show" (a.k.a. Callum). It was fun to have them here. Callum loves it when we have visitors because he gets spoiled rotten. He is snuggled all day long and never put down. Even during naps. Lucky boy! Enjoy the pictures of my dashing Roman soldier (who is now clean shaven, by the way---I can't stand kissing a beard!). I love the one of him and Callum. They are both looking at the camera so seriously, and Callum is even raising a menacing little fist. :) Also, Logan's mom made his costume. Pretty cool!

If you go to church with us, look closely! That "girl," who Miles thinks is his dead bride-to-be, is actually Michael Dobson in a dress. Classic! :)

MILES' FANS

A Help or a Hindrance?

I knew that having a baby around would make everyday household chores more difficult, but I hadn't anticipated just how much it would slow down my laundry process. We live in a big, old fashioned high rise apartment building, so we have to take our laundry down to the second floor to do it with quarters. It is always annoying to do laundry this way, even without a baby. You have to lug it all down there, along with the detergent, hope a machine is open, and then make sure you always have quarters around so that they can rip you off by overcharging for use of the machines. And now there's a baby in the mix, which creates not only a shocking amount of extra laundry, but also yet another thing to carry. I usually just have to wait until Logan is home so one of us can go down and one of us can stay with the baby. However, the other day I was desperate for some clean clothes (and towels, and sheets, etc.), so I devised a way to do it myself. Pile the baskets, make a space in the center of the top basket, drape a blanket over it, and plop the baby in the middle. He's just about the cutest little helper I've ever seen! Ok, ok, let's admit it: he was really just a hindrance. But cute all the same!

The Aunts Arrive!

After weeks of pining away for him, Callum's Aunt Rachel and Aunt Laura (my little sisters) finally got to come and meet him! They are beyond obsessed. To say the least. They each came for about a week, and they overlapped for a couple of days. Those couple of days were a blast...but completely exhausting as well. We went for walks, watched funny TV shows while Callum ate, played bocce ball in the park, visited the Botanical Gardens, snuggled, gave Callum baths, slept, and, most of all, ATE!!! All of the Westover girls have always loved to eat---especially sweets---and Rachel was the instigator of our many food-related outings and activities this trip. Of course, Laura and I teased her about it and blamed it all on her, but when she left we still managed to "need" a treat every single day. Maybe it wasn't all her fault after all. :) I am supposed to be losing my baby weight, and so far had been doing so successfully, but after they left I was dismayed to learn that I had gained several pounds that week instead! Oh well, at least the road to my poochy belly was a delicious one. :) Enjoy some pictures cataloging their visit.

Callum and Aunt Rachel on Easter Sunday

Callum and Aunt Laura, the King and Queen of Drama :)

Squeaky clean and cute as a button!

Aunt Laura and her Ducky Little Nephew

Aunt Rachel and Callum modeling their hoods!

Best Thing Since I Last Blogged: I am feeling better! Also, Callum is now sleeping in the crib in his nook. What a big boy!

Worst Thing Since I Last Blogged: Callum is sleeping in the crib in his nook. He is growing up too fast!!!

Adding Insult to Injury

Let's face it: breastfeeding is hard. For starters there are the problems that every new mom faces: learning how to hold the baby correctly, working out latch problems, engorgement, leaking, and amazingly sore nipples, to say the least. Now let's add to that my own set of problems: reoccurring plugged ducts, a thrush infection so bad that it got up into my milk ducts, causing me throbbing pain after every feeding, and mastitis (a bacterial breast infection), all overlapping, of course. It's enough to make a person want to give up completely. All I have to say is that between my breastfeeding issues and the agony of pushing his giant noggin out of my body au naturel, this kid had better love and cherish me every day for the rest of his life!!!

More Treasures

Callum has received a few more "treasures" since my last baby shower, and I wanted to be sure to acknowledge them on my blog.

This is the to-DIE-for adorable sweater that my best friend Morgan knitted for Callum. I can't wait until it fits him!

This super cute cowboy-themed blanket and burp cloth were made by my dear friend Heather (Westover) Hadfield. It is cowboy-themed to remind him of his Colorado roots! Fun!

This beautiful mother's bracelet was made for me by my cousin Amber. It is so beautiful! I love it!

Best Thing Since I Last Blogged: A visit from both of my sisters, and Callum starting to really smile! Cutest!

Worst Thing Since I Last Blogged: Some rather painful breastfeeding complications. Ouch.

Grandpa Mike Comes To Town

My dad finally managed to get away from work to come and see us for a longer period of time! HOORAY! It was so relaxing and fun to have him here, but I am very sad that he is gone now. So is Callum. He fussed and cried the whole way home from dropping him off at the airport, which is highly unusual since he almost always falls sound asleep in the car. We all wish he could have stayed longer! Here is a little picture travelogue of his visit with his little "Buddy Man."

The boys spent a lot of time just hanging out together. Here they are just chillin' in their PJs.

On Saturday morning we went to the lovely Missouri Botanical Gardens. The weather was great and there were lots of tulips and daffodils in bloom. I chose a picture of myself with Callum to represent this outing, because it is the first one that we have of me with him after having showered and put on makeup! It's a miracle! (Truly. I mean, let's be honest, how many times do you really think I've gotten around to showering, doing my hair, and putting on makeup since that baby was born?! Those of you who know me well are probably right. Those of you who don't are thinking of a number that is way too high!)

Unfortunately Grandpa Mike couldn't escape work entirely, so here he is spending some "quality time" with Callum one night.....

Callum is NOT pleased! It looks like he may just give Grandpa Mike a knuckle sandwich! :)
Callum and Grandpa both really enjoyed watching General Conference at Matt and Jane Thomas' house. :)

Just look at those baby blues!

Callum is so happy with his Grandpa! I love this picture!

The Month in Pictures

All month I have had good intentions of posting new pictures with witty entries to accompany them, but for some reason---and I don't have any idea as to what that reason may be---I was too tired and busy to do so. Instead I am going to take the easy way out and just post a bunch of pictures from the fun and exhausting month of March 2009 with one-liners underneath. It will be one of my most concise entries to date. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EVERYONE!

Our entire family now officially has March birthdays, beginning with Callum's on March 7th.

On March 9th I turned 27! I also brought my beautiful baby boy home from the hospital that day. What a great gift!!!

Logan turned 27 on March 28th. I made him a cheesecake for his birthday, which is a break with his family's tradition of making Decadent Chocolate Cake. (Which, by the way, is pretty much the best homemade chocolate cake I've ever had---it is pictured above in my birthday pictures.) He loves cheesecake, but I don't, so the one time a year that he can get me to make one is on his birthday. I think it's a new tradition in the making.

OUT AND ABOUT WITH MOM AND DAD...

This is a picture of Callum getting ready to go on his first outing. It was the day after we got home from the hospital, and I was still too weak and in too much pain to be lugging him around, so Logan got the thrilling job of wearing the girly sling while we walked to the end of the block and back. (That's all I could handle. Stitches.) I think this picture is hilarious, but he will probably kill me once he sees that I put it up on our blog. It is a fine example of my husband's fun and easygoing personality. I was at a baby shower for a friend while I was pregnant and I mentioned looking for a super cute diaper bag. One of the girls said something to the effect of, "No, you can't have a girly one because your husband has to carry it sometimes." I just stared at her blankly, clueless as to why that would matter. She and several other girls then started going on and on about how their husbands didn't want to carry pink diaper bags and so on and so forth. I was just sitting there thinking, "Well, Logan carries my purse for me in the mall, so I don't see why a diaper bag would bother him, especially since at least then he would be carrying a baby as well and the reason for his girly bag would be obvious. These guys need to lighten up!" I guess I was right!

Callum loves his car seat! Anytime we put him in it (or the sling) to go out and about, whether it is going into the car or his stroller, he falls fast asleep. This is a blessing when we're out shopping, and I honestly think we may be able to take him to a movie in his car seat if he'd been freshly fed and changed, but it is also a curse when we go somewhere for a long period of time in the evening and when we get home he wakes up and isn't tired until about 2 in the morning! We need to find a happy medium, but in the meantime I'm grateful that he is so well behaved in public.

TUMMY TIME!

I love this picture of Callum and Logan having "Tummy Time" together on one of Grandma Paulette's fabulous quilts. Callum doesn't really like Tummy Time, but he likes it a lot more when his dad gets down there with him. He is starting to lift his head for brief moments during Tummy Time.

SPLISH, SPLASH...

By now he has had more than one bath, but these pictures are from his very first bath. He actually really enjoyed it, and his father really enjoyed it when Callum peed...on me. Granted, it wasn't the first time that had happened, but Logan managed to capture this particular incident on video camera, which brought him great amusement and joy. Now we can rewatch the moment in high definition for years to come.

He is so sweet wrapped up in his little hooded towel!

Here is the "after" picture. He is all dressed up in one of Grandpa Mike's preppy outfits, and totally and completely angelic. I am so lucky!

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

It unexpectedly snowed one day last week. It had been lovely, and then it snowed. It melted by the afternoon, but, nevertheless, it was chilly so we bundled him up in a "big kid" outfit to go to the mall for an hour while we picked out a new watch with Logan's birthday money. The cool little green hoodie is from his Aunt Laura, and the onesie is from his Aunt Rachel. It says on it, "Daddy and I agree: Mommy's the boss!" For some reason she thought that was funny. So funny, in fact, that she bought it for him in two sizes.

WORK IT!

What can I say?! The boy loves the camera! He is always sitting in the cutest little positions, and I was walking by him the other day and just couldn't help but laugh out loud at this one. I had to take a picture!

LULLABIES....

Callum is an excellent sleeper...when he wants to be. During the afternoon and early evening a tornado couldn't wake him up, but he loves to stay up (and demand attention) from about 9 - 12 every night. We're working on it. Luckily, his mother is a night owl by nature. However, she is so exhausted these days that her nature is now to desire sleep 24 hours a day. We'll see how everything plays out as he gets older. In the meantime, is he not just divine?! Those cheeks are irresistible!!!

Desperate for a Nap....

Lately I have received several requests for more pictures of Callum,

and there is a good reason why I haven't put any up lately.....

I AM EXHAUSTED!!!

(Isn't this a funny picture?!

Logan came home last week and found Callum and I like this.)

In fact, all of us are exhausted!

We are ready to fall into bed at this very instant.

Well, almost all of us are anyway.....

A Melancholy Morning

I am having a melancholy morning, so I thought I'd post a picture of Callum making my favorite face while I wait for him to decide that he wants to take a nap. (So that I can take one, of course!!!) He decided that he didn't want to go back to sleep after his 4:00 a.m. feeding today, so I am very tired. I have also been very sad that my mom isn't around to help me and to share in the joy of this baby's arrival, and yesterday I found out that my dad has to delay his trip a week and a half because something came up at work, so Callum and I are all alone now since Logan has a test week next week and has disappeared from our lives temporarily. :( My dad says that I used to make this face all of the time and they called me "Bird Mouth" when I did. So, at least I have "Bird Mouth" to snuggle and cheer me up. He is such a cutie!

Uh-Oh....

....I hope we don't have a future underwear model on our hands! :)

Isn't this picture hilarious?!?

Grandparents Rock!

Grandpa Reed and Grandma Paulette are obsessed with this little guy!

By the time he was six days old Callum had already met all of his grandparents.....I think he may be the most adored little baby on the planet! They just couldn't stay away! He is the first grandchild on both sides of the family, so there has been a general frenzy of excitement surrounding his arrival. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry about his birth, my dad, Callum's Grandpa Mike, was planning to come at the end of March, but once he saw a couple of pictures of Callum he couldn't stay away and he flew in to surprise me the day after Callum was born. He only got to stay for two days, but he will be back next Sunday for five days. We can't wait! In the meantime, Logan's mother, Callum's Grandma Paulette, came out to help us for about ten days. She left yesterday, which we are all very sad about. While she was here she cooked us tons of amazing meals, filled our fridge and freezer up with more food than we've ever seen around here, and did all of the housework, not to mention helping with watching Callum so that we (especially I) could sleep, both at night and during the day. Today was our first day without her and I was very nervous about how it would go, but we fared ok, although I was very sad not to be able to hand him off midday when I was exhausted and needed a nap. She is great. Last but not least is Logan's father, Callum's Grandpa Reed. He came just for the weekend because, like my dad, he just couldn't stay away. It was fun to see him, and we had a good time playing with Callum, playing Rook, and eating Ted Drewes' frozen custard. Yum! The McKenna grandparents bought us a really cool video camera as a gift for our combined birthdays, and Grandma Paulette got teary-eyed and insisted on having copies of even the most boring videos that we had taken. (Think me saying, "Ok, Callum, yawn....Ok, Callum, give us a big stretch..."and him not doing anything. That kind of video.) :) Callum is a very lucky boy to have so many doting grandparents! The child will want for nothing. :)

Grandpa Mike was the first to arrive!

We are counting the days until we see him again!

Grandpa Reed started teaching Callum how to play Rook early.

Callum does NOT look pleased with this hand! :)

Three generations of handsome McKenna men.

The Most Adorable Member of the Family Arrives at Last!

He has finally arrived! I am pleased to announce the arrival of our perfect little son, Callum Michael McKenna. He was born a week ago at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 2:53 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and measured 21 inches long. He has dark hair and big, bright, very alert eyes. We are obsessed. Ok, beyond obsessed. As are all of the other adults in his life, from his grandparents to his aunts. He is already being spoiled rotten! On the morning of Friday, March 6th, I woke up at 4:00 a.m. with contractions stronger than any of the Braxton-Hicks contractions that I had felt before. They continued throughout the day, usually about 10 minutes apart. However, Logan had a bunch of mandatory lectures and learning activities that day which would have been hard to make up, so he headed off to school anyway with his cell phone ringer on. (We live about 4 blocks from the school and the hospital.) Callum was considerate enough not to start coming in earnest until much later in the day when Logan got home. :) By about 9:00 p.m. the contractions were strong and coming less than 5 minutes apart. We waited until they had been doing that for about 2.5 hours and then headed to the hospital. We waited too long. When I arrived I was 100% effaced and 5 cm dilated. I told them I wanted an epidural ASAP, but by the time I had gotten out of triage about 20 minutes later I was in agony and already 8 cm dilated. When the anesthesiologist arrived 10 minutes after that my water had broken, I was at 10 cm, and the pushing had begun. So I had no choice but to do it the natural, old fashioned way, with no drugs. It was highly traumatic for me, and I really don't like to think about it, but after pushing his big head through my little pelvis for about an hour and a half he arrived at 2:53 a.m. and I fell in love instantly. Every moment of pain was worth it, but let's just say we will be going to the hospital much earlier next time! However, I do feel like I accomplished something that I was certain that I could never do, which my sister Rachel confirmed to me when I called her in the middle of the night and she said, "Whoa...you did it with no epidural?! Sarah...you are a REAL WOMAN now!" After texting out several pictures to my family, my dad decided that he could not wait another second to see his grandson, so he hopped on a plane and surprised me on Sunday. He was here for less than 48 hours, but I am so grateful that he came. It meant a lot to me, and I know that he had a great time visiting Callum. On Tuesday I talked to him on the phone and he told me that he had been highly unproductive all day at work because he was so depressed that he wasn't with Callum anymore. Cutest. :) Logan's mom has been staying with us all week and has been an amazing help. My apartment has never before been so clean and so full of food! I love it! Logan's dad is also here this weekend, but he just came for a couple of days because, like my dad, he is obsessed with his first grandchild and just couldn't stay away. Visitors still to come for longer stays include my dad and both of my sisters. I am so excited! In short, we are on cloud nine just adoring our little boy and enjoying all of our visitors. Now if we could just get some sleep.....

Fat Girl Glamour Shots

At Thanksgiving my little sister Rachel was looking at the pictures on my digital camera and noticed that they were almost all of me trying to look cute with my little pregnant belly. She looked at me and said, "What are these?! Fat girl glamour shots?!" Once again, luckily I am not sensitive. I just laughed. Well, Rachel, those weren't fat girl glamour shots but these are. :) My Aunt Muriel (the painter who threw me the posh shower) wanted some pictures of a pregnant lady to paint, so she asked me if I wanted to do a little photo shoot. Now she has her pictures, and I have some wonderful photos as a keepsake. Thanks, Auntie Muriel! Here are several of them. Baby should be coming any day now. Fingers crossed!