My First Book Review

So people ask me, Soren, what are you reading these days? Let me tell you . . . lots! I read (or actually, get read to) all the time. I'm talking 5 - 8 books a day. OK, they are short books and I've read some of them so many times I actually remember the ending (No more Mousie Takes a Bite, please. The lead character in a children's book should not DIE IN THE END!! And Mom and Dad wonder why I am having trouble sleeping through the night?)

Another book I like much better is Guess How Much I Love You. It's about two hares, two Nutbrown Hares to be exact, a son and his father. The son keeps asking his dad, "Guess how much I love you?" then he does something like jumps in the air as high as he can and says, "This much." "Wow, that's a lot," says dad. But then dad spoils it by saying, "And I love you THIS much," and jumps even higher. I just wish Little Nutbrown Hare could have outguessed his dad Big Nutbrown Hare just once!


Another one of my other favorites is Read-Aloud Rhymes For the Very Young. Here is a sample:

Snail's Pace by Aileen Fisher
Maybe it's so, that snails are slow. They trudge along and tarry.
But isn't it true, you'd slow up too, if you had a house to carry.

I think if I wrote a rhyme at this stage it would be something like:

Standing Up by Soren Randall
I teeter a bit and totter a lot, whenever I try to stand.
But I can stand steady, with Dad's ever-ready, helping and holding hands.


The book I want to tell you about right now is I Am Learning All The Time by Rain Perry Fordyce and illustrated by our family friend Audrey Anne Miles Cherney. I have a signed copy of this book, I am so lucky! I like this hot-off-the-presses book so much I'd like to offer a review for the greater reading public.

The first thing you need to know is that this is a book about kids that are homeschooled. I think this is a very cool idea. And for artistic purposes, the kids in the book are drawn as dogs and cats. This probably has a deeper meaning, like we should all just get along or maybe that dogs and cats are just like everyone else and should wear pants with holes in them for their tails, I'm just not sure. But the spirit of the book can be summed up by what two of the kids say to each other at the park while they are looking at a ladybug with magnifying glasses:

"Why do people always ask us why we are not in school?" I ask my very best friend Bennet.
"I guess they don't know . . . " he says.
"Know what?" I ask again.
"They don't know we don't have to go to school," he explains.
I think about that . . . while we explore the wild world of bugs and grass.

I love that exchange. I don't know if I will be homeschooled, but I'm glad I live in a town where it is an option. I like the idea that we all don't have to be the same. Because hey, I'm a unique individual! And I have a feeling I'm going to like looking at bugs too. I also like the story line of the "adventure fort," which is a treehouse but so much more. I hope my dad builds me something like that.

The story's great and the illustrations are interesting, action packed, and lots of fun. But I do have to say there is one terribly unrealistic plot hole in the story. Where is the bickering? I mean, are you really trying to tell me that two brothers get along all the time, playing chess, battling and capturing a Tyrannosarus Rex, doing dishes after dinner, and writing letters to mom and dad as to how much they love them? Come on! Where are the arguments? Like this is what really happened when the two brothers found the dinosaur... First brother: "But I want to name the Tyrannosarus Rex 'Napoleon'." Second brother: "No, I saw her first and I've already named her 'Sarah Palin'. She's obviously a girl!!" First brother then hits Sarah Palin over the head and runs away crying.

Or maybe spending less time in public school and more time in a caring and nurturing environment, especially for boys, helps you get along with others more kindly. Something to think about.

P.S. Here's a link to the website for I Am Learning All the Time, where you can order our friend's book and more!

Losing My Cool

People ask me, "Soren, you are such a calm and collected little guy. There must be something that upsets you." Well the truth of the matter is, it's not just one thing that gets to me, it's everything! And it always happens at a specific time. A time commonly referred to in our household as the "witching hour."

You know the feeling. It's what you feel when your waiting in line to catch a Washington State ferry that's about to leave in two minutes and the driver in the car in front of you asks the attendant for directions, lamely holding out an upside down map of Ohio. Or when you're in an airport waiting to board a plane and the announcer says, "I'm sorry we've overbooked this flight. We forgot how many seats we had on the plane." Or the feeling you get when you realize you've just locked your keys in the car and you don't have a spare set. You don't know whether to cry tears of sorrow or scream in outrage. Well when the "witching hour" strikes me, I know just what to do. All of the above.

You're skeptical, I know. You ask, "Soren, there can't possibly be anything in the life of a 3 month old baby that could cause such consternation." Oh, please. When was the last time you tried being a baby? This stuff is hard! Everything is new to me. I can't talk. I have very little control over my bowels. I don't have any teeth, but that doesn't keep my gums from hurting. I have no locomotion abilities. I have very little stamina and I tire quickly. I need to sleep at least 15 hours a day but I don't know how to go to sleep on my own. I can get uncontrollable hic-ups without any warning. Sometimes my stomach gets so upset I feel I'm going to explode if someone doesn't burp me (which involves much back pounding, way fun). When I least expect it I spit up all over myself and those around me. And my only two means of communication are smiling a toothless grin or screaming at the top of my lungs.

So between the hours of 4 pm and 6 pm, after a fun packed day of being me, I am a little tired of . . . well, everything. I could be smiling one minute, feeding, playing or who knows what. The next minute I'm screaming my head off. I can't help it, I just have to do it. I turn beet red. My eyes start watering. And you know what? It makes me feel better. Even though I'm screaming and tears are running down my face, at last, I am in control. Mom and Dad are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, burping me, dancing me around the room, bouncing me in my hammock, trying to feed me, offering me pacifiers, toys, bribes, anything . . . if I would just stop.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not being manipulative. I am legitmately worn out. I can't even control myself at this point. I'm like a careening out of control car with no brakes flying down a steep, winding canyon road. Somebody help me stop!

Finally after everything has been tried, calm suddenly returns. Usually the cure is just letting me scream and cry for awhile (up to an hour) and after being fed and gently bounced in my hammock to some accompanying soft singing, I finally fall asleep. The witching hour is over. Until tomorrow.

Vroom, Vroom

Whee! Dad got a motorcycle and he says I can go riding with him when I get a bit older. I can't wait! Hmmm, I wonder how MUCH older? Now that I think of it, he didn't specify an age... Do I have to be big enough to fit into his helmet?

We only have one-and-a-half cars at the moment (Papaw & Grannie Annie own half of our Volkswagen camper-van and sometimes they take it on trips, and it doesn't like to be driven short distances anyway), and since my carseat is in the Toyota Matrix and it needs to sit in our driveway in case Mom needs to take ME anywhere, Dad needed a commuting vehicle. He likes to bicycle to work in the summertime, but not when it's dark and sometimes rainy, like it is now. He's owned three motorcycles previously (before he met Mom) and got his motorcycle driver's license endorsement back when he was a teenager, so Mom couldn't argue that he wasn't experienced.

So Dad shopped around and bought a second-hand Honda Nighthawk 250 from a guy who had fallen in love with a lady from Holland and was moving there. Guess he couldn't take his shiny red bike with him. I like shiny red bikes. A lot. I hope I get to ride it soon!
And to cultivate my biker-dude image, I have started wearing blue jeans. Just don't look too closely--they have snaps in the crotch.

Ring Me Up!

I'm practicing hanging ornaments on my face, in case this skill is needed for tree-trimming come Christmas.
Mmmm, these rings are also really yummy. Anything I am handed these days goes straight into my mouth. I finally figured out how to order my hands to direct objects there, and that makes tasting everything so much easier.

I'm Mostly in a Good Mood These Days

I'm almost 12 weeks old, and most of the difficult newborn days are behind me. My digestion system has matured, I'm sleeping 3- and 4-hour stretches, I can hold my head up pretty steady, and my parents are finally figuring out what I'm saying with my differently pitched screeches. Sheesh, took them long enough to learn my language!

Just wanted to say hi to all my fans out there. I'm thinking of you.

I Will Eliminate 90% of the Competition...

Dad always tells me, "You can't make yourself smarter or better-looking, but you can eliminate 90% of the competition if you just learn to dance." I started my lessons this weekend, by attending my first contra dance. (Mom & Dad met at a contra dance, by the way, which is a type of folk dancing with a caller and live band and lots of opportunities to mix and mingle -- thank goodness, or I might not be here today.)
I didn't join any of the contra lines, but my parents held me and danced with me on the sidelines. I didn't fuss once during the whole hour; I was too entranced by the swirling dancers, stomping feet, and the driving tunes played by the fiddles, guitar and banjo -- just the kind of music I like!

I'd like to go back soon and maybe join a dance or two. I think if Mom or Dad wore me in a front-pack it would work. Only they'd better not swing too fast or I'll get dizzy!

Please note in the photos that I am also wearing shoes for the first time.

Yeah, I Got Hope!

I'm so happy!!!


And so is my dad... I stayed awake for the other guy's concession speech, but fell asleep before Obama's victory speech. However, I heard excerpts on the news this morning and think he set the right tone for uniting the country behind his agenda of change. I hope he's still president when I'm eight years old!

P.S. An update on the Cute Baby Photo Contest in our paper: I didn't win, but Mom & Dad assure me I am cuter than the little girl who did, and I believe them, and that's what counts.

I Can Wear Pants!

See who's wearing the pants in this family now!

I can't believe my parents waited until I was eight weeks old to dress me in real clothes. Did they think I LIKED wearing pajamas all day?! Sheesh, they just made me sleepy.

I feel quite the little man in my new outfits.

Make Your Vote Count

Tonight as you ponder the presidential debate, I want to tell you about another important election that is about to happen. And funnily enough, in this election you can vote for me! I'm talking about the "Oh, Baby Ballot!" that is in the October 15th edition of the Port Townsend - Jefferson County Leader, our local newspaper. You can consider this election as a warm up for November 4th event.

As you consider which baby photo to vote for, you can take comfort that none of us will be required to solve the Wall Street banking crisis, help with the disaster relief in Galveston, or negotiate with Vladimir Putin; at least not for a few years. Instead, your vote will either lift up or devastate the anxious parents of one of the baby contestants. So, don't do it for me, but rather do it for my parents. Vote for Soren R, baby #11 (you'll see me reclining in my bath tub) as your favorite "Oh, Baby" photo.

To vote just cut out a ballot from this week's Leader (page B12) and return it by mail or in person to the Leader's offices by 5 pm, Friday October 24th.

Extraordinary Rendition

Until recently, I thought my parents were normal, everyday, loving people. Parents who had normal jobs and fit into traditional American culture. This is the story of how I found out that my parents are not normal. They are secret agents.

It all started this past Monday. I first noticed things weren't quite right because Mommy got up before 10 am. She was up at 9 o'clock sharp. Then she and Daddy both started packing. They packed clothes and food for what seemed like a week. Dad packed his computer and other things from work. Then they started packing things for me including even my singing Teddy Bear that makes womb sounds to help me sleep. This was quite alarming! Something was definitely up.

All of this was quite strange, Mom and Dad didn't seem panicked. They went about packing the car calmly and early in the afternoon they put me in my car seat and we drove away from the house. Little did I know my whole world was about to be turned upside down.

Now, I don't mind car rides, so long as they are short. But if you take me in a car and it becomes clear to me that we are leaving town, I reserve the right to get a little upset. I mean, this was not in my plans for the day. Walks, sleeping, feeding, regular diaper changes . . . these are all things I anticipate, plan for and even enjoy. But out of the blue car rides to who knows where, for goodnes knows how long? These I strongly object to. So, I threw my fit as we left town, we stopped, and Mom soothed me and let me know things were fine. Ok, at that point I at least feel like I've been consulted and I give my consent. I settled down for a little car ride. Well, the next thing I knew we were some place on the south end of Hood Canal, at Potlatch State Park. I had slept most of the way. We stopped there and I got a nice long feeding and a diaper change. Ok, they are attending to my priorities, I guess I can go along with this a little longer. We drove some more. A lot more.

The next time I awoke we were near the Pacific Ocean! We checked into a big hotel in Ocean Shores, the Quileute Resort and Casino. No my parents were not going out for a weekend of gambling. They have a whole different addiction entirely. They had come to this far off place for a great gathering. Who would come to the far reaches of the Washington Coast to conduct a meeting out from under the prying noses of mainstream society? Revolutionaries, that's who! Insurgents! People that want to change America, change our lifestyles, and change our very way of living. Imagine my shock when I discovered that my mild-mannered parents are card carrying members of the Renewable Energy Movement.

You know what I'm talking about don't you? People who want to put solar panels on every sunny roof. People who like wind farms and think they look like giant, moving art sculptures. Folks who think the rancid stench of brewing biodiesel in the morning smells like "victory." People who want electric cars, electric bikes, and want to tear down the icons to the freeway age like the Seattle Viaduct and replace them with people sized surface streets and sidewalks. Real whackos, you know?

Mom and Dad had travelled to Ocean Shores so Dad could attend the northwest "solar summit." Mom thought it was relaxing to spend some time with me at the beach at a resort. Ha, ha, ha . . . I'd show her!

Dad later told me there were more than a hundred other solar enthusiasts in attendance. Politicians, utility professionals, solar installars, manufacturers of solar panels, and environmental activists. My Dad works for a solar installation company called Power Trip Energy and his goal is to get as many solar power systems installed on sunny roofs as possible. This allows people to make their own electricity from sunlight. His job title is "solar agent." Ok, I basically will come, over time, to believe my parents are dorks. That's my job as their child. But right now I think my Dad's job is cool.

So what were Mom and I doing while Dad was learning about solar trends. Well, we walked the ocean beach a few times (a first for me), I got fed in our room a lot, and we walked around the resort and casino many times, and I got fed in our hotel room a lot. You could say by the end of the two days Mom and I were pretty sick of that room. Also, I'm all for Native American sovereignty, but I can't say I care for the inside of a casino either. The people who worked there were very nice though.

One nice thing we did, after Dad's conference was over on the second day we all went swimming in the pool (another first). I have to say I really like the water. Maybe I'll be a lifeguard when I'm older like my Mom and Dad.

So, eventually after two and a half days and two nights the conference was over and it was time to go home. We were all tired. It was late afternoon. I think Mom and Dad were under the delusion that the ride back to Port Townsend would be similar to the ride to Ocean Shores. But this time I knew what I was in for, a long trip. And it was getting dark. I couldn't see anything out the windows! I won't bore you with the long story but, let's just the say the trip back was a bit . . . unpleasant. Imagine the Donner Party expedition, except we didn't have to eat each other to survive. After a 6 hour trip that included 6 stops, much of the latter part I spent screaming my little lungs out because I wanted the whole thing to be over, we reached home. It was quite a relief to all of us.

Now, I'm quite open to more trips and more adventures. I generally like a little adventure. Just so long as I'm not in my car seat too long, I get to go outside a bit, and I get plenty of comfortable eating and sleeping. But please, next time I would like more family members involved so I can be held by familiar family members of people, more walking outside, and more swimming if at all possible. And I definitely do not want to spend nearly 2 days in a hotel room by myself with Mom again or 6 hours driving at night. And I think Mom and Dad got that message loud and clear.

Day 31 - I'm No Longer Tongue-Tied

Yep, I'm one month old today. Mom and Dad celebrated by going on a date last night, to see the musical at the local playhouse. It was their first night out together since I was born and I stayed home and hung out with Auntie Jill. Actually, I slept the whole time, but she kept praising me, so I must've been good company.

The big event this week -- although I also slept through this -- was that I got my frenulum linguae clipped. I bet you don't even know what that is, or that you have one, too -- under your tongue. Mine was apparently a little too close to the tip of my tongue, and it might have affected my sucking, making Mommy's nipples sore. They call this being "tongue-tied," literally. When I was deep asleep, I had this dream that a sharp pair of scissors was creeping stealthily towards my mouth, and when I woke up a little while later, my tongue felt longer. Really, it had more range of motion. Which I put to good use when I open my mouth wide and bellow.

Another thing: You'll notice in these pictures that my right hand is blue. How annoying! No, it's not poor circulation. It's usually the same color as the rest of my skin, but today my parents tried to make my handprint with blue ink and -- they should've guessed this -- the ink didn't really wash off. Not even with Fast Orange. Real smart!
Lastly, I didn't realize I was going to have to go through puberty at three weeks old. Right now I am suffering through the bad stuff (pimples) without the benefit of the good stuff (girls, driving). But I'm leaning that all of life is preparation for what lies ahead.

A Day in My Life

So people ask me, "Soren, what's it like, being a baby?" Let me tell you, it is no easy job. No way, no how. It is a 24-7 non-stop Herculean effort. What? You think not? OK then, I'll provide you some insights on what a typical day in my life is like.

12 Midnight - 3:30 AM (yeah, that's right, AM!)
Most of you folks out there (unless you work the night shift) are blissfully unconscious at this time of night, but oh no, not me. It is my job about every 1 - 3 hours, daytime or nighttime, to eat. That is my numero uno responsibility. If I do not eat, I do not grow and ever get to leave this house. So I eat, heartily.

I'm sleeping with Mom right now (Dad is sleeping downstairs in the wallbed in the library; he's like the emergency back-up for Mom). When I need to communicate I try to do so with subtlety, with little squeaks and squirming body movements. I try not to wake up Mom with a full-throated howl in the middle of the night -- that would be cruel and unusual punishment. No, my Mom and Dad are pretty good to me, so I try my darndest to be good to them back. And usually, after a few squeaks and grunts, Mommy will rouse herself from sleep, prop herself up on the headboard and breastfeed me. This always hits the spot. And you know, what comes in must go out, right? So I like to follow up my feeding with passing a little doody. Since she's already up, Mom will usually change me right then. Afterwards I usually drop off to sleep for a couple of additional hours.

3:30 AM - 10:00 AM
I average three to four feedings each night and at some point between 3 and 6 a.m. I'll feed for the last time. Then Mommy will use the telephone in the house to "beep" Daddy to come and hand me off. Daddy will usually start by changing my diaper. He likes make sound effects while he's doing this like he's opening a radioactive vault. When he's done and the new diaper is on he'll say, "We have containment." I'm not sure what that means but I feel better afterwards.

Dad likes to take me downstairs and put music on, and dance around our living room with me in his arms. I like that -- he's a good dancer. So far my favorites are North Carolina Appalachian music (Laura Boosinger singing and playing banjo) and Irish folk music (the Irish Rovers, who were stars when Dad was a little kid). We will oftentimes then go for a walk. Since my legs are not up to propelling me around yet, the people who are holding me have to do the walking for both of us. My favorite way of being carried is in something called a Moby Wrap. It's a big long piece of cloth that is wrapped around my holder's body and I nestle down in it. It is so comfortable I pretty much sleep the whole trip.

Lately Mom and Dad have been having guests over, to help them cope with the challenges of being new parents. I've met both sets of grandparents, Mom's two sisters (my Auntie Nora and Auntie Jill), and Mom's good friend Sierra. One of these folks will often get up and help Dad with breakfast and with holding me. I like being held by family. It makes me feel loved.

10 AM - 2 PM
Around 10 or 11 a.m. or so, Mom will get up. She doesn't get a lot of solid sleep in bed with me and I think a few hours of sleep after I'm up helps her keep sane. Once she's up and had breakfast we might do all sorts of things: go to the Farmer's Market, go for a walk in the neighborhood, or just hang out around the house. Dad has started working again 4 days a week, so he'll be gone much of the day. I basically get held, eat, process the food, sleep, squall once in awhile if I'm not happy, and start the whole process over again. Lots of people stop by or get introduced to me during our walks. They say things like, "He's so cute," or "He's so small," or just, "Ohhhh." They always smile. I like making people smile. I hope I can keep doing that my whole life.

2 PM- 4 PM
If I'm in the mood (and Mom and Dad are lucky), I'll take a nap around 2 or 3 p.m. My favorite place to sleep is on a bunk in the living room. Mom or Dad will wedge me in with pillows and I'll just drift off. They'll usually have some Irish music or something playing in the background. I'll hear them talking in the background so I know I'm not alone. It's a nice way to sleep.

4 PM- 8 PM
Dad gets home from work between 4 and 5 p.m. So around this time we'll start thinking about dinner. For the past couple of weeks friends of the family have been dropping off pre-cooked dinners every other night. Mom and Dad really appreciate this. Mom and Dad and any family staying over will set the table and sit down to eat. All of those wonderful food smells invariably set my stomach to rumbling. I want to eat too! When I make my desires known (more squalling) Mommy usually sighs and takes me off to the living room for nursing. After I'm fed she is able to join everyone for dinner while I'm lying on the bunk snoozing off my "milk coma."

8 PM- Midnight
Well it's been a long day. I'm sure I've had a few firsts (everything is new to me). This past week some of the firsts include: meeting Auntie Nora, taking a shower with Mommy and Daddy (way fun), meeting Nora's friends Mary and Beth who live in Seattle (I hope Mary brings her accordion next time), meeting Sierra (she promised to come back and give me another sponge bath, wahoo!), riding in a car seat (for that matter, first ride in a car! Hey, everything is going backwards!), and first time visiting Mom and Dad's church. We didn't go to the whole church service, we just stopped by for snacks and socializing afterwards. I was a little . . . "overstimulated" let's say, by the crowd of folks all talking at the same time in the church reception area. But it was nice to meet all those folks and know that even more people care about me.

Around 9 p.m. or so in our house everyone starts heading for bed. I usually get one more feeding with Mom, and Dad usually keeps me company until Mom is ready for me in bed. Then Mom and I settle down for the night and everyone else goes to their respective bedrooms. It's been a long day, but fun. I wonder what tomorrow will be like?!

Week 2: Losing Body Parts

Well I feel so mature and worldly entering week 2 of my life (life out of Mom's body, that is). Since my last entry many interesting and bizarre things of note have occurred. I'll start with the least strange and frankly best event of all.

Meet the Grandparents
On Wednesday, one week after my birth, I was able to meet for the first time Dad's parents, Jim and Gloria. They traveled from the land of my father's birth, the dusty plains of eastern Washington. They were fun, though I'm not sure they knew what to make of me. "He's not very big, is he?" said Grandma Gloria. "Does he have a pointy head like Jeff had?" added Grandpa Jim.

Jeez, I can tell these guys are going to be a tough audience. I did my best to be cute and after two days they became completely enamored of me. Just like Mommy and Daddy, they think that everything I do is completely adorable. Hahahahaha . . . you are all in my power now!

Meeting a Legend
I met my first famous person on Sunday. His name is Andy Mackie and he is a musician and music teacher of young kids in Jefferson County. I met him at the Andy Mackie Music Foundation Family Music Festival at Memorial Field in downtown Port Townsend. Andy holds the Guinness World Record for leading a group of the most people playing harmonicas at the same time (about 1,700 people). He has also taught many more children to play harmonica and raised money to ensure that any child in our county who wants music lessons can have them as well as an instrument of their own. He is an amazing man and I was very honored to meet him. He even gave me an autographed harmonica!

Meeting the Mountain Climber in the Family
Auntie Jill (Mommy's younger sister) arrived last Saturday (8/30) and has been here all week. She is way cool and super helpful to Mommy, Daddy, and me. In fact, I think Mommy and Daddy would be complete wrecks without Auntie Jill's help this week. She's helped out with all the routine boring stuff like helping to cook food, tidy up the house, change diapers, give me baths, etc. But what I've really appreciated is all her cheery holding of me and especially our outings.

She and Daddy walked me down to Point Hudson (Olde Pointe Hudson? Hudsonsie Pointie? I'm just going to be a traditionalist and call it Point Hudson). We arrived in time to walk the grounds and see the displays of boats for the 2008 Wooden Boat Festival and listen to some live music. We heard two people playing fiddle and accordion. I couldn't believe so much music could come out of two instruments. I've decided I like music. I want to play all the instruments. But I don't want to play like Daddy, I want to be good.

Auntie Jill also took me on a walk all the way to the Marine Science Center Pier at Ft. Worden and we walked back on the trails over Morgan Hill. This was a puny hike for Auntie Jill. She has climbed Mt. Rainier 5 times! She's also been to Pakistan, climbed up frozen waterfalls, and been a ranger at Mt. Rainier National Park. Now she's taking a hiatus from adventure while she gets her nursing degree. I can't wait until I'm old enough to do some real hiking with her.

Losing Body Parts
OK, for all you squeamish people you might want to skip this section. I thought that this stuff only happened to old people but I guess your body can do weird things at any time in your life. So here it is . . . my umbilical cord stump fell off. I just woke up at 2 a.m. for a little early morning meal and there it was in my swaddle. Ewww! Well I guess it is all part of growing up. It looks like I'll have an "inny."

So Who Would I Vote For? - McCain vs. Obama
My goal is to make this blog inclusive and I don't want to turn anybody off by dissing their favorite candidate. But the fact of the matter is I was born during the 2008 Democratic National Convention and have heard much of the Republican National Convention broadcast this week. I can't not be aware of this stuff in my household. Dad is such a political geek. And he is a total Obamamite, as is Mom.

So after listening to all the speeches the last two weeks, here is my analysis. Like many of the other pundits, I find the Democrats unusually organized this year. They seem to have coalesced behind Obama in a way that they apparently didn't do the last couple of presidential elections. I like what Obama has to say, especially about promoting renewable energy (Dad's business), making sure health insurance is available to all, and making college affordable by encouraging financial aid for public service. I'm all for that. I also like the fact that he believes we should take steps to address global warming so our planet is still habitable when I am an adult. It is a small favor my generation asks.

Regarding McCain, I think he made a pretty bold choice in Sarah Palin for VP. I mean, my gosh, picking an Alaskan!? You never know what you are going to come back with when you go to Alaska. She appears to be part grizzly, part beauty queen, and part basketball point guard (tough and quick). She's certainly more qualified than Dan Quayle and a whole lot easier to look at and listen to than Lieberman. She should make the race somewhat interesting.

But what about McCain? Well, I have to say I am pretty unimpressed with his campaign lately. He just seems to be ripping off and repeating lines from the Obama/Biden campaign. That works fine as long as Obama is making speeches and McCain can just repeat his lines. What will McCain do if he actually wins? He can't steal Obama's lines at that point and he'll have to lead and think for himself. Oh, I forgot, Karl Rove will be there to help him come up with a plan at that point. OK, now I've given myself nightmares!

Day 4 - The Farmer's Market

I had my first public outing today to the Saturday Uptown Farmer's Market. It was fun. Daddy put me in the red "Moby" which is basically a big long piece of fabric which he wraps around his upper body and I slide into. It is way cozy. I can't help but fall asleep when I'm in it. So, I'm told that we spent about an hour and a half at the Farmer's Market and about ten thousand people (well maybe 20) peeked in at me. I like to make people smile and that is what they did - even the ones who are sometimes kind of grouchy.

Another big milestone, both for Mommy and for me, was that Mommy's milk came today. I like breastfeeding, which is a good thing because I think I'm going to be doing a lot of it. I think Mommy likes it too, though she has been kind of gritting her teeth when I first start.

Breastfeeding always makes me sleepy. No matter how hard I try after about 10 minutes I can't keep my eyes open. But it is a nice way to fall asleep.

One of the odd things that is happening to me is the hic-cups. I don't know where they come from but I do seem to spend a lot of time hic-cupping. Daddy even tried to teach me his trick to stop. He said, just say to myself in my head "I'm not hic-cupping, I'm not hic-cupping," over and over. Well that's fine for you Dad but it doesn't work for me, or Mom either, so it must be genetic.

Day 2 - No More Mr. No Name

Hi and welcome to Day 2! Today some big things happened. The most important is I got a name. This was a big deal to me because I didn't want to go on being called "the baby" or "the little bird" or any of the other references Mom and Dad have for me. I tried not to be impatient because I realized that getting a name was something that would affect me for the rest of my life. Just imagine if I got named "Randy." That would make me Randy Randall, real cute. Or "Dweezel," I'd have to be some kind of long haired guitar player.

So imagine my relief when Mom and Dad named me Soren William Randall. I was named after my great grandfather Sorensen and my middle name is for my Mom's dad William Testerman. To let everyone know, Mom and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Testerman (Ann and Bill) hung a banner over our front porch which says "It's a Boy - Soren!" I decided I like banners with my name on them.

They say I look like my dad - what do you think?

Day 1 - I'm a Boy

Wow. Being born is an event. Well, it was eventful. So today is Day 1.

Let's see, it started out kind of wet. I was born in big tub of warm water called an "Aqua Doula tub." I would have to rate it as an excellent way to be born. No one was wearing a mask and I didn't get spanked.

So when I popped out of the water the midwife (Kathy) put me on Mommy's chest and Daddy and Mommy held my head out of the water. I had my eyes open so I saw everything. Mommy and Dad looked happy and relieved (hey, I got it under control, quit worrying). Breathing was kind of hard. The midwife cleared my mouth and nose with a little suction bottle. Looking around, I noticed I wasn't in a hospital, I was in a house (it turns out, my house, in the daylight basement - where my future bedroom may be).

There was a midwife and her two assistants, Mommy and Daddy, Leah, and Audrey (taking pictures). On the other side of a privacy sheet were two paramedics. You see, I got a little excited (some may say agitated, I prefer excited) and I "pooped" while still in Mommy's tummy. So when Mommy's water broke it was kind of green, which made Mommy worry. So the midwife called for paramedics to be on standby just in case I needed help. Well, that was fine but I didn't NEED any help at all. I was just fine, happy and healthy. Once Leah cut the cord I was out on my own in the big wide world. Watch out world, here I come!

Other highlights from Day 1: I got to help Daddy chase deer out of the back yard (someone left the gate open), I got to poop on Daddy (and he didn't figure it out for a good 10 minutes or so, that was funny), I had lots of pictures taken of me (I like pictures), and I got to meet my new family. They are really nice, so I feel lucky.

OK, I'm kind of tired so I'm going to sign off.