I feel like I should write something...

but I can't quite decide what. With a new baby around there should be tons of stuff to write about, I guess I am just feeling overwhelmed at it all.

Dallas is taking to his new baby sister very well... sometimes too well. He figured out how to climb up on Cam and mine's bed (which is quite a feat, the bed is only an inch or two shorter than he is and to accomplish this he balances on the bed frame and gathers fists full of our blankets to hoist himself up) which isn't bad except sometimes I put Chelane on the bed and leave. I can be gone for only a few moments and Dallas will almost always have scurried up on the bed. He really just wants to hold her and play with her but he doesn't know his own strength nor the special care she requires.

Today Mom and I (I am very lucky to have Mom here to help with everything around the house and keep my company, I know I will be lonely when she leaves) were showing Dallas how to play catch with his ball. It is one of those $3 plastic balls from the big bins in a Wal*mart. You know, the really thin plastic ones that are about 9" in diameter and even if you chucked them with all your might it still wouldn't hurt whoever you were aiming at. Well he really loved it. Later that day I brought Chelane downstairs and put her in her swing while I made some dinner (Chelane decided to be awake from about 2:30 to 5). Dallas was running around, once and a while pushing the swing alittle or caressing Chelane's head or hand. I then turn to see him running across the room with his ball that he drops onto her lap. Luckily the game ended there, he removed the ball and had no interest in trying to play catch with her any longer.

Dallas has also developed a dislike for loud noises. I notice I tend to raise my voice often and for really no reason. When I do this Dallas will "shush" me. He also will "shush" if Chelane is crying (which only seems to happen if I have let her get hungry or she is in the middle of diaper change).

Chelane has started to do some long stretches at night. Last night she ate alittle after 10pm, so i was expecting her to wake me up around 1 or 2am to eat again. When she started to cry it was past 4am. I am trying to wake her up every 3 hours during the day (she does it herself anyways, I just encourage) to make sure she is getting enough to eat to justify longer stretches at night (I like those longer stretches). She is also producing enough diapers that I am not too worried about her not getting enough. I will admit I am scared to have a Dallas repeat (failure to thrive at the 2 week appointment) although she doesn't fall asleep nursing after 5 minutes the way Dallas did, so I am hoping we have this nursing thing figured out.

It is very nice to be able to be at home and relax. I was out and about a lot after Dallas was born (Cam's family was in town and my family was in town... not to mention moving when Dallas was 5 days old...) and I think that contributed to my failure to figure out nursing with him. This is a nice contrast.

Oh I kept debating on if I should say anything about this, I am getting sick of the uncertainty to be honest... So Cam didn't get rejected for the Portland job. He hadn't had any email or any contact from the Portland manager so he sent him a company IM on Monday. Apparently they have filled 2 of the 4 positions with locals (non E*Trade people I am guessing) and the manager in Portland is fighting with Human Resources about something (he couldn't say what) before he fills the other two positions (I am guessing with E*Trade people). So hopefully we are still in the running and Portland can happen. Ah, if I only had patience...

Well that is most of the exciting stuff around here. I should carry the camera around the house with me and shoot some pictures to post... posts without pictures just seem to be no fun.

Events This Last Week

Well Chelane finally came (yay! she just couldn't wait another day for October!) and she is absolutely adorable. Cam and I have taken to her right away. She is a very mild baby. She is sleeping for three hour intervals between feedings and isn't awake very often yet. I have been nursing her and she seems to be having enough diapers to suggest she is eating a good amount, I guess we will see for sure at her two week check-up. Here are a few pictures.


As for Cameron's job... He hasn't heard anything all week so he is figuring that he has a rejection email sitting in his inbox at work (he can only access his work email at work). We will find out "for sure" on Monday, but for now he doesn't have it. We are both pretty bummed about that, but it just looks like he is going to start throwing his resume out there and see if anything turns up.

Dallas has started to try to take his clothes off *sigh* He apparently didn't want to be wearing his shirt (I think this was Monday, the day before Chelane was born) and was trying to get it off. Luckily the shirt stretches or "un-stretches" when it is washed.


Apparently Dallas has become accustom to cameras and has decided on a certain face for his "smile." When we pulled out the camera to try to get pictures of Chelane while she was awake Dallas walked in front of it and gave us this priceless face.

Still Waiting

Well since I said to expect a post in a week regarding the job opportunity in Portland I figure I need to update. Cam hadn't heard anything from the Portland office all last week. On Friday about an hour before his shift ended (which would be 2 PST) he sent a message to the manager inquiring about the position. The dude in Portland told him that they hadn't figured it out yet. Cam let them know that he was expecting a baby still (he had mentioned it at the original interview as well) and that he may not be in work next week depending on what happens. The Portland guys say they will give him a call on his cell phone, if he isn't at work, to let him know about the job.

I guess this shouldn't come as a HUGE shock to anyone that has been following the stock market the last few weeks; there have been tons of banks going under and huge plummets and rises, so things have been pretty busy. Anyway, the training for the position starts a week from Monday (October 6th) so E*Trade technically has all of next week to mull over the decision of who they are hiring as well, I just hope they let us know sooner rather than later. Hopefully the delay also means that they are trying to get funding to help with moves (since they are having to import employees).

In other news I am still waiting on Chelane to decide to make her entrance into this world as well. I was due last Monday (the 22nd) and there is no "change" that I can see to make me predict when she is coming. I am hoping it will be sooner rather than later as well since there will be a lot to do if we have to move and I would like to be pretty recovered from child birth when I have to make a 12 hour drive to Oregon. *Sigh* I hate everything being to up in the air.

For something completly different Dallas broke our DVD player this week. He tried to put both Baby Signing Times in at the same time... Cam had to take a screw driver to the player to get them out and once he put it back together it wouldn't read the DVD's. It is OK though, the player was old, the remote only worked half the time, and we got a new player for about $30.

Some of Dallas' Favorite Things

This is a bit of a compilation of pictures of Dallas over the month of September and some in late August. He definitely has his own preferences and personality. It is very fun to see them develop.

One of the first things he is liking is using the stairs instead of the couch. I guess it is because he doesn't have to climb on anything (so long as he uses the first step). He will lay on it while watching TV and if we give him a snack to eat outside of his booster seat (dry cereal or something like that) many times he will plant himself on the step to eat it. Also with the aid of the 2nd stair he can reach a light switch - the only light switch he can reach in the house.

Stairs aren't the only thing he likes to sit in... Any box or basket that he can fit in, or if he can empty out one of his drawers, he will happily take up residence for a time. But I guess most kids are like that. (Karma took this picture, I am not sure what is up that face...).

Since we moved Dallas into a twin sized mattress that just sits on the floor in his room, he has started to enjoy looking at books and playing with small toys while in bed. One night Cam and I put him in bed, said good night and went about our activities. I walked back in (probably only 5 minutes after we put him down) to see how he was doing (I normally don't do that), but I am glad I did. I came into the room to this sight and ran downstairs to grab a camera and tell Cam to come have a look.

Dallas has had a bit of the hat fetish lately. He fished out his sun hat from this summer (that is already getting noticeably too small for him) and his winter beanie from his closet. Depending on his mood he will put one or the other on and wear it while he roams around the house.

While at Wal*mart last night we past a display of cheap, children's cowboy hats. Cam and I decided to see what Dallas would think of a cowboy hat (since he seemed to love the straw hats at Grandma and Grandpa's while he was there in July). Well he picked the red one over the black one and immediately put it on. We weren't necessarily intending to buy it, but he didn't take it off until we were home (even in the car where the hat was smashed between his head and the back of his car seat). Well it seems like a good buy, Dallas really likes the hat and now he has a hat that is a "toy" and that he can grow into (it is pretty big on his head still).

I Can't Believe it IS Butter

Honestly I still by margarine most of the time because it is cheaper than butter, but I cringe almost every time. Butter is much more natural and I like that. Organic butter is EVEN BETTER! I am slowly trying to move to organic fruits and veggies and natural, grass-fed, free-grazing animal products, the only thing that really holds me back is the price. It is hard to spend $4 for a dozen eggs when I can get them for $1.50, but the more I read the more I want to support local farmers and farmers abroad that allow their animals to graze and don't cover their veggies in pesticides. Being able to find coupons and learn more about organic farmer's products and methods is a huge motivator to convert my small family over to all natural and organic products. Organic Kitchen is doing just that. Thank you so much!