Fit Like a Fiddle

Graham had his long-awaited 2 month appointment today, and he's, in the doctor's overused terms, 'solid'.

Significant to the last post claiming his bigness, since October 15 he grew 2.5 inches, gained 4.25 lbs, and added 4cm to his head circumference. Where he was in the 65 to 75 percentile in height & weight last time, he's now a 'solid' 90th percentile.

Here's what Graham doesn't like: shots. He arrived at the office asleep, and started crying when we got him naked. Right when the doctor walked in, he was a flirty angel. All nice and everything. He stayed that way after he left, and gave the nurse with the needles a little goo goo. Then she stuck three needles into his thighs and he went into tomato mode. He turned red from the top of his head to the base of his tummy like a thermometer on a hot day. The crying didn't really stop until about 25 minutes ago, so we're talking about almost 6 hours of cranky.

He's fine now. We're cooking dinner while he's on the table in his car seat with the hiccups. For all intents and purposes, outside of the screaming we'll hear when we tear off his band-aids, he's unphased.

By the way, the doctor in the photo is not me, it's the real doctor. We have a couple friends who take their kids there too, and all of us get the same 'solid' keyword to describe our healthy children. Solid.

Graham is Big

The boy is big. Month #2 spanned from Halloween to Thanksgiving, and he trooped through the month slowly learning how and when to sleep, and, more importantly, how to smile.

Graham's favorite song is one that I made up over the course of a couple smile fits. It goes like this, and you make him rub his hands together like a mad scientist for the 'yes yes' parts.:

Sittin' on a rocket (poke him in the booty)
With money in your pocket (stick your finger in his fake-pocket)
Singin' yes yes yes yes yes yes yes (wringing his aforementioned hands)

Ticklin' your tummy (tickle his tummy)
And taking back my money (stick your finger in aforementioned fake-pocket)
Thinkin' yes yes yes yes yes yes yes (wring hands again)

[Repeat]

Here's the link to the pictures from the month. There are a lot of repeats, but they're all cute like buttons.

"Graham Grunts"

Boy Roche's latest nickname is "Graham Grunts". He grunts when he's happy, he grunts when he's sad, he grunts while he's eating and when he craps his pants. There's an increasing ratio of other sounds to his grunt count, but the grunts are winning by a mile. On that note, here are links to his week 3 and 4 slideshows. From here forward, I'm classifying his progress by months. Click on the links to see the respective weeks (1 thru 4):
	Week 1
	Week 2
	Week 3
	Week 4

Graham's First Two Weeks on Earth

We have all the photos of Killer Graham up on flickr, so you can look at his huge biceps in a slideshow. Enjoy!

Week 1

Week 2

Killer Graham vs. Big Shirley

In the orange corner, standing one foot 9 inches and weighing in at 8 and 3/4 pounds... Hailing from the mean streets of Seattle, Washington... Killer Graham Roche!

And the champion, at 2 feet 5 inches and weighing a solid 45 pounds... Pulled out of a steaming car in downtown Everett, Washington... Big Ass Shirley!!!

Shake paws and come out fighting...

Success! Graham Lucas Lives!

Thursday came and went without a hitch. The c-section surgery was without complication, and resulted in a healthy Elissa and a beautiful and sturdy Graham. He's a delight, for real.

The movies below were taken immediately after he came out. There's an initial video where he's covered in blood and jizz, thank me later for sparing you the convulsions.

Since we've had him, he's been 50% delight and 50% devil. The first night, he slept no longer than 30 minutes or so, none of which was outside of Elissa or my hands. 2nd night, angel. Third night, angel. Last night, things were so bad I felt I had to try every trick in the book to avoid criminal neglect charges. He wouldn't eat, cried for almost 7 hours non-stop, and we eventually had to feed him some formula just to keep his fluids up. After his first suckle, though, he's back on the good foot. I'm confident there's nothing he can do that will perplex us similarly, until he starts stealing bikes.

Please pardon the audio on the movies. When he was handed to me, I said something akin to "Welcome to Earth, Killer" and cried like a sissy not knowing what to say until we got back to the hospital room. Also, the 2nd video ends with the nurse saying "OK. This is the most dangerous...", and I can't for the life of me recall what was so dangerous. Maybe she knew he has the kung fu kick to end all kung fu kicks, and was about to say "OK. This is the most dangerous set of feet the human race has ever seen." Time will definitely tell.

Today is the Big Day!

After the longest year of our lives, today is the big day for Elissa and me. We're due at the hospital in an hour, and at 11:30ish, we should have the baby in our hands. Thanks to everyone for presents, prayers, and patience. Elissa's really happy to be transitioning from pregnant lady to Mom, and I'm happy for her (and for myself of course).

We'll be in the hospital from now until Sunday or Monday, and I'll be updating everyone as news comes through. Fingers crossed!

Killer Graham Lives!

Elissa had her bi-weekly doctor appointment today and we got an ultrasound of the baby's progress because he's measuring big. To be brief, today's findings have the baby's head circumference in the 95th percentile, and he's already estimated at 7.25 lbs with 5 weeks left before the due date.

That said, all the advice is for a scheduled c-section, which we've scheduled for 9/27 at 11AM. There's a chance that the labor will start early, but I'm jazzed about the date. 9 == 3*3, and 27 == 3*3*3. That's bad-ass, I don't care what you think. Plus, 9/27 is the first date in the new VH tour, so put that in your pipe and cry for me.

Regardless, the ultrasound was sadly mostly 2D. The two 3D pictures we got were of Graham's face (he looks like Melissa) and his undercarriage (he looks like me). No cause for alarm on anything else. I got to ask all the questions I had about c-sections, since our hippie birth classes deal mainly with the downside of modern medicine's contribution to birthing. Our doc did a good job of conveying to me that everything about giving birth is torture.

It seems that the process of picking how you have a baby is similar to how you decide how to remove a fish hook from your hand. There's a specific physical limitation that constrains your options to only those involving a lot of pain. Nothing is a cakewalk when it comes to getting that kid out, but we're taking one of the easier routes. Given the size of the cranium, the "ring of fire" we learned about in the hippie class would burn down the whole hospital for Elissa.

The countdown is on, the drum roll has started. 4 weeks from today, you know this.

Born Lucky, indeed

Be careful what you wish for. You might get it all at the same time.

Such is the case with me. I've been waiting for the wonderful Van Halen to reunite since the day my brother Dan and I figured out that Sammy Hagar wouldn't hold a candle to his predecessor. I've also been waiting for my whole adult life to spawn a descendant, and the aforementioned Graham Lucas Roche is the answer to those prayers. As (bad) luck would have it, these two blessed events are happening almost simultaneously. I'm not dismayed as much as I am in awe that the possibility for such overlap is uncanny in the grand scheme of the universe.

Had I not been expecting the coming of the chosen one, my master plan would make me the envy of my pathetic peers. There are a fistful of dates on the VH tour that will inevitably serve as the highlight shows. Their first show in Charlotte, NC, of course. NYC, LA, Chicago, definitely. Indianapolis, since DLR hails from Bloomington, likely. That said, a friend and I were toying with Expedia to find a round-trip flight that would have us flying out of and back into Seattle, with a bender and a VH show in between, within 24ish hours. We had a few of these worked out, the west coast shows were definitely easier to accommodate.

Add the price of the event to the mix, though, and there's a really good chance I wouldn't be able to do this more than once. Floor seats, really the only seats worth buying, are $150 (not including tax & fees). The airplane would be anywhere from $100 to $400. Add another $200 in sundries (car rental, beer, food, hotel) and we're up to almost $700 a person for the outing. Again, I don't think I'd do this more than once.

It's all water under the bridge, though. The shows themselves run far higher than the amount I'd be willing to pay for any other act on the green earth. There's a show in Seattle, which will sadly be a non-highlight, yet to be scheduled, and another show in Portland for 12/1/07. We're thinking about making a "Graham's First Travel Adventure" out of the Portland experience, more on that later.

Meet my new friend Big Shirley

She's here! Welcome the latest addition to the Seattle Roche crew: Big Shirley.





Last weekend, Elissa was out of town and I was home totally by myself for probably the first time since I got Maxine in 2000. I went from shelter to shelter looking for a good sized, nice, young dog, and happened upon Big Shirley up in Everett. I immediately fell in love. Who wouldn't? No one wouldn't, in fact, which is why I had to wait until Thursday and then enter a drawing (it was only me and one other lady) to get her. The cops up there pulled her out of a car on a hot day and no one claimed her, so she's all ours now.

After grabbing her from the vet this morning (spay & deformed 5th claw removed), we took her around town and for a trip around the lake. She's surprisingly well-behaved. A lot of energy, but someone taught her what to do when the humans mean business. She sits when asked, and always throws a high-five once she's on her ass. Now she just runs laps around our dining room table and acts nice.

We're taking her camping next week where she'll learn more of the ropes. I think she's going to be great. She's docile as heck, no aggression toward dogs and no fear of people. Good choice. Thanks!