Thanks For Noticing Me

Politics? Not so much

2012-02-01T07:50:00.001-06:00

So, I hear there's a presidential primary. Anyone else see this somewhere on cable?

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure you've noticed that I rarely blog about politics anymore. Do you care? Are pictures of my adorable children enough to keep you coming here from the 100 other social media sites you visit daily?

It's not that I don't follow it, and I even still circle things in my reading to use for later. But after a week of not posting, I'll throw it away, because, meh, who cares? Politics is angry, petty stuff, and I prefer to focus on my Darling Valerie or my cool kids.

A few days of the week are already taken. Mondays through Wednesdays, when I have time, I work on our Sunday School newsletter, so that takes any free time I have on the web.

Here's a look at the newsletter on the web.

By the weekend I rarely, if ever, get on the computer at home, because I want to spend my down time doing what I need, which is, of course, sleep. Or watching our favorite shows. Or shopping for the kids or groceries. Or, perchance, to clean. Oh, to dream.

But in case you're wondering about where I stand politically right now, I'm resigned to the fact that the Obamessiah is going to win again in November, and the American voting public will put the GOP in charge of the Senate, and the House again, so that there will be a stalemate for four more years until someone comes along - hopefully - in 2016 who can energize the country to put things in order again.

Sorry to be a political buzzkill!

Cooper and Penny's new toys

2012-01-31T13:45:00.002-06:00

Me and Cooper play a monster truck game on the Wii ...

Val and Cooper play "Cars" on his Leapster ...

We bought Penny a saucer seat that is like a little UFO. She's still getting this whole "sitting up" thing, but seems to enjoy it so far.

Cooper loves that train!

2012-01-30T04:33:00.000-06:00

This is the train at Bass Pro's winter wonderland exhibit from Christmas. Our boy still likes us to pull up the video to watch it go 'round and 'round!

Cooper and Penny at Mammaw and Grandaddy's House

2012-01-29T13:43:00.000-06:00

Cooper at Chick-Fil-A

2012-01-28T13:10:00.002-06:00

Cooper and his Mammaw like to go to Chick-Fil-A on Saturdays, where the chicken is plenty and the playground is hoppin'!

Penny's first cereal

2012-01-26T08:47:00.001-06:00

Yesterday at her 4 month appointment the doctor told us to start her on solids, so this morning Val sent me a picture of Penny's first cereal. Happy baby!

Penny's 4-month appointment

2012-01-26T05:14:00.002-06:00

Our precious little Penelope isn't so little anymore! We went to the pediatrician for her four-month appointment, and she's up to 14 pounds now, and 24 inches long. He wasn't worried about her development, no matter how frustrating it is when she screams at the top of her lungs for no apparent reason. Just babies being babies.

While Val and Penny were with the doctor, me and Cooper walked around the building. Cooper especially enjoyed picking the berries off the bushes and throwing them in the road, and inside there was a girl named Riley who raced trucks with Cooper, and that gave him no shortage of joy.

The latest bits from my Facebook status

2012-01-25T05:44:00.000-06:00

- I have a hot new movie idea. Here's the pitch: A producer at a TV station is under the gun during the sweeps period with her job on the line, so she becomes a serial killer to boost ratings. It'll air on the Lifetime Movie Network, of course, and no, it's not based on any of the wonderful, mentally stable lady producers I work with every morning.

- Is it weird that I actually prefer it cloudy than sunny much of the time? I'm less squinty and it's not as scorchingly hot in the summer.

- Cooper has so many things in his bathtub that I can barely see the bottom. I expect the creature from the trash compactor in "Star Wars" to pop its big eye out anytime now.

- I am very much looking forward to having a little girl, but I admit to being intimidated by girls clothing and hair!

- When I'm eating my "country boy breakfast" at Cracker Barrel, do they add that tiny sliver of an orange wedge just to make sure I don't get scurvy?

- Will the next generation of keyboards make a place for a key with ?! on it? Do we need two control, alt or shift keys?

- I'm not saying that it's storming hard right now, but my neighbors across the street just put their Christmas tree out yesterday, and I don't know where it's at but it's definitely not on the curb anymore!

- Val's mom babysat last night, so what exciting things did we do? Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings then shopped at Toys r Us.

- Memphis made the list of happiest workers, Nashville was on the unhappy list. Yeah, so take that, Nashville, what with your low crime rate and higher standard of living!

- Could someone tell Yahoo Music Radio that Taylor Swift's "Teardrops on my Guitar" is not exactly something I expect to hear on the Contemporary Christian station?

- Not everything has progressed for the better in 100 years. In 1912 as the Titanic went down, more women from third class survived than men from first class. In 2012: “An Australian mother and her young daughter have described being pushed aside by hysterical men as they tried to board lifeboats.”

- No, Radio Shack guy, I don't want a new phone package or batteries or pay 99 cents for 3 years of insurance on a $20 micro USB cable. I want to buy one item and get out, preferably within one minute and fifteen seconds.

- We bought Just Dance 4 Kids for our Wii to be our exercise for the new year. We looked at the other Just Dance games and didn't know 80 percent of the songs, so we figured it wouldn't be as much fun. So far we're enjoying it, but even "Surfin U.S.A." is wearing me out. Long way to go to get in shape!

- I'm going to go ahead and trademark the phrase "I have a perfect vision for 2020" so that presidential candidates in 2020 will have to pay me to use it.

- When we wake up from our afternoon nap, Cooper is an emotional wreck. He whines, cries and freaks out if I don't get up soon enough or if I leave his side when we see his mommy in the living room. He's only sorta calmed down by a piece of chocolate and a sippy cup of tea. This has been going on for 3 months. Gotta love the Terrible Twos.

- Poor Krackel, always the sad pieces in the Hershey's miniature bags left over at the end.

Cooper's trucks and train

2012-01-22T22:17:00.002-06:00

Somehow, Penny can doze, albeit uncomfortably looking, through all of it!

Cooper and Penny and the Rushings welcome in 2012

2012-01-17T11:31:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

OK, I know, I'm a wee tad late, but better two weeks late than never, am I right?

2012 opened with our family now complete: Daddy, Mommy, Boy, Girl. Done. From here on out we all grow together as a happy family! Until we add a dog, I mean. And fish, turtles, or whatever Cooper puts in his pockets while playing outside in the years to come.

So I thought I would give an update of how we ended the last year and start the new.

Our mini Cooper had such a good time this Christmas; we can't wait for what to expect in the years to come. He figured out the joy of getting and opening presents - including those not his own!

He runs around all day and doesn't know what to play with at any given moment: "Choo-Choo! Trucks! Buh-ball! (That's his basketball goal.) Race cars!"

Here's his schedule nowadays:

7-7:30 p.m. - Wakes up, snuggles with Mommy if Val isn't feeding Penny at the time, watches a show while drinking some strawberry-flavored milk.

We don't give him chocolate milk anymore because the poor kid seems to be allergic to chocolate. When he eats M&Ms or a Hershey bar he ends up with a rash around his mouth that doesn't seem serious but takes a day or two to go away.

8:30 a.m. - He eats breakfast, usually Eggo Waffles or Cheerios and an apple. Hopefully he'll eat a few bites before quitting to get down and play, then eating a snack or two at 10.

Noon - Daddy gets home. I hope I don't ever stop enjoying seeing Cooper watching from the window and start joyfully bouncing around, happy to see me, or Val opening the door for him to come greet me on the patio.

I will then feed Cooper lunch (rice and beans with BBQ Fritos or mac and cheese, usually), while Val takes a nap and Penny rocks in her swing, or is fed and lays in her crib, or whatever keeps her happy while we play.

1:45 p.m. - Cooper and I head back to the bedroom to take a nap. He runs toward the bed saying "Bear!" And if it's 1:30, then yes, we watch "Little Bear" first while playing with trucks in bed, then at 2 I hand him his lovies and he tosses and turns until giving out.

3:30 p.m. - Up from naptime, Cooper is usually in a very bad mood and doesn't want me more than 1 foot away until he gets a snack and some tea, and we watch the fire truck or ice cream truck episodes of "Dora." (Could also be "Roary the Racing Car" or the "Ni Hao Kai-Lan" choo-choo episode.)

6 p.m. - Two or three times a week this is bath time! I say, "Let's take a bath!" Cooper grabs a few monster trucks and runs to the bathroom so I can take of his clothes and diaper, run the "wa-wa" and he can splash in the tub for a long time.

7ish p.m. - Time to unwind before bedtime. We put him in his footie pajamas and overnight diaper, give him his Zyrtec, then put some Cingulair powder in a sippy cup of strawberry milk, he grabs a monster truck or race car to hold and we all sit on the couch watching a show. When he knows it's getting close to bedtime he'll leave my side and go over to Val to snuggle.

When it's time for bed, I'll pause his show, he'll grab his lovies and roll over on me so I can pick him up. As I carry him out of the living room and to his bedroom, one of my favorite adorable things he does is say "bye-bye" to his favorite things, such as Mommy, Penny, choo-choo, trucks, race cars, etc.

Meanwhile, here's Penny's schedule:

6:30 a.m. - Penny wakes up, drinks a bottle, hopefully goes back to sleep before Cooper gets up.

We are blessed that she is sleeping through the night, even if she spends the entire time squirming and grunting. Sometimes she'll wake up a little earlier, sometimes later.

10 a.m. - Penny's awake for a bottle. Maybe. She might just eat an ounce or two. She'll stay awake, either in the swing or on her play mat or in the crib under the mobile. We got a mobile before Christmas that has a remote and lasts 20 minutes. With Cooper we had one that we had to wind up and only lasted 3 minutes, which wasn't enough time to get anything done.

Noonish - I'm home and she's still up and hopefully doing whatever it takes to keep her happy.

2 p.m. - She's ready for a nap, either on Val while Cooper and I nap, or in her crib, sleeping soundly on her tummy.

6 p.m. - We wake her up to take a 6 oz. bottle. She rocks in her swing or plays in her crib.

8 p.m. - She drinks a 4 oz. bottle, starts getting ready to sleep. She'll go in and out for a couple of hours.

10 p.m. - Finally conked out for the night.

She may have to start sleeping in her own room, though, because she's very, very squirmy, grunty, and pretty much thrashing around all night. We have alternated our theories, that it's her acid reflux, or congestion, or she doesn't want a swaddler, or she DOES want a swaddler. We tried without and she woke up by midnight. With it she manages to sleep all night, at least, even if she's noisy. We'll have to try it again soon, though we're not looking forward to waking up during the night to soothe her back to sleep.

Cooper and Mommy's good times

2012-01-15T09:00:00.003-06:00

Penny the little Tigers fan

2012-01-14T08:57:00.002-06:00

She's also quite the little chunky monkey!

Cooper and Penny's New Year's Eve, pt. 2

2012-01-12T00:11:00.001-06:00

Cooper and Penny's New Year's Eve, pt. 1

2012-01-11T00:08:00.003-06:00

New Year's Eve was so nice that we went over to Shelby Farms to feed the ducks and walk around the lake ...

Cooper and Penny's Christmas morning, pt. 2

2012-01-09T18:01:00.005-06:00

We've had a good time playing with all the new toys!

My skinny boy!

Cooper and Penny's Christmas morning, pt. 1

2012-01-08T18:09:00.002-06:00

This is all Cooper. Penny, not surprisingly, wasn't interested in her "Santa" gifts ...

This would be a stocking stuffer, a Star Wars lightsaber with M&M candy ...

Cooper and Penny's Christmas Day

2012-01-07T17:57:00.003-06:00

Christmas Day we went over to Val's Mammaw Margie's home with her Dad's side of the family for presents, food and fellowship ...

Cooper and Penny's Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T16:34:00.003-06:00

We spent the 24th at Nana's in the morning and at lunchtime, then at our house that evening with Val's family for dinner and to exchange gifts ...

Cooper and Penny's Christmas with the Burks, pt. 2

2012-01-01T04:53:00.002-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Christmas with the Burks, pt. 1

2011-12-31T04:46:00.001-06:00

Cooper and Penny at Grams' for Christmas, pt. 5

2011-12-29T02:48:00.001-06:00

Cooper and Penny at Grams' for Christmas, pt. 4

2011-12-28T15:42:00.002-06:00

Cooper and Penny at Grams' for Christmas, pt. 3

2011-12-27T19:38:00.001-06:00

At least he used his own credit card, or it really would have been ironic

2011-12-26T08:06:00.003-06:00

Remember the busted urban legend of the first Pres. Bush not knowing how a grocery scanner works? Now watch our current prez act as "regular people, just like us," as the Obamessiah scan his credit card without even knowing or caring if it's good or not and think, "What if it had happened to a Republican?"

As a commenter says: My wife and I take separate jets to our Hawaiian vacation, on your dime of course, now let me see if I have enough for this Justin Bieber CD.

Cooper and Penny at Grams' for Christmas, pt. 2

2011-12-25T19:33:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

2011-12-25T01:39:00.001-06:00

From our family to yours, we wish you a blessed holiday!

Cooper and Penny at Grams' for Christmas, pt. 1

2011-12-24T15:30:00.002-06:00

Penny and Cooper's Many (Adorable) Faces

2011-12-23T09:41:00.005-06:00

If you're wondering about the redness around Cooper's mouth, well, he might be a little allergic to chocolate, but doggonit he loves his M&Ms so much. We switched to Hershey's mini-bars to make sure.

Christmas as it might have been

2011-12-23T08:45:00.001-06:00

Here's what I wrote for the weekly Sunday School newsletter. Just thought I'd pass it along here, for the holidays ...

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope all of you have a blessed holiday full of family memories, fellowship, good eatin' and all the gifts you were really wanting but don't really need to have, I mean, because the season is about Jesus and stuff, and you feel guilty if you forget that part just because you opened an iPad on Christmas morning and went completely bonkers happy.

For something that will put you in the spirit, or not, I present Jeff's Completely Made-Up History of Christmas:

3 B.C. - Baby born in manger in Bethlehem, Israel, receives unnecessarily fancy gifts.

675 - Agnes York of 46 Robin Hood Lane, Nottingham Castle, England, makes world's first fruitcake. It remains intact and uneaten to this day.

955 - First Christmas special held by Vikings in Novgorod, Russia, featuring colorful wreaths hung on their horned helmets and handing out plundered gifts to their kids. Bing Crosby hosts.

1215 - Magna Carta originally an Advent Calendar full of slips of paper detailing rights given to peasants, plus little pieces of candy that really made it come together.

1633 - Although history has it that Galileo was put on trial for suspicion of heresy for arguing that Earth wasn't the center of the universe, in reality it was in reaction to an accidental kiss under the mistletoe with an unsuspecting nun at a Vatican City Christmas party.

1775 - Benjamin Franklin designs first Christmas card, a funny design featuring a King George III with a reindeer, inadvertently leads to opening shots of Revolutionary War.

1875 - Hallmark begins sending Christmas stories via telegraph. Women around the country gather around to learn whether the unlikely couple will end up together in the end. Downed telegraph poles in the southwest nearly cause a riot. All is saved by use of smoke signals.

1922 - Coca-Cola creates modern day Santa Claus. Christians later told that if they don't want their kids to believe in him then they don't celebrate Christmas correctly.

1974 - Bellevue Baptist puts on its first Singing Christmas Tree, complete with a 100-foot animatronics tree that actually sings. Next year choir sings instead, lowering the "incredibly creepy" factor.

1988 - Chuck Norris puts coal in Santa's stocking.

Wednesday - Parents around the country run out of creative places to stick Elf On The Shelf, just say "Whatever" and put it on the coffee table until Christmas.

Cooper admires the lights on our house

2011-12-22T09:46:00.002-06:00

Cooper loves the lights outside. He'll run around screaming "LIGHTS!" at the top of his lungs and running around pointing at everything. Except our new Santa, which we added this year after Val bought it for my inner Griswold last Christmas. Cooper's not so sure about Santa.

Inside, he wants us to pick him up several times a day to point at the lights and say their colors, and look at the ornaments. Then he likes to sit at the piano and pound out some carols. Sort of.

Cooper and Penny enjoy Bass Pro's Winter Wonderland

2011-12-21T12:43:00.002-06:00

Earlier this month Val and I got our eyes checked, which was just a good excuse for my Mom-in-law to see her grandbabies, then we went to Bass Pro for their Winter Wonderland, full of trains and race cars and trucks and coloring and Santa. It was like Cooper's Disney World!

2011 Jackson Gang Christmas Party, pt. 2

2011-12-20T21:35:00.003-06:00

2011 Jackson Gang Christmas Party, pt. 1

2011-12-13T20:55:00.002-06:00

We went up to Jackson last Saturday for our get-together with our friends in Jackson, at Roger and Melanie's new home. Good times for all!

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 8

2011-12-12T12:58:00.000-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 7

2011-12-11T17:55:00.000-06:00

Penny's UPS sponsorship

2011-12-09T08:45:00.002-06:00

Even though I live in a FedEx family and a FedEx town, my lil' sis Stephanie lives in Louisville and works at UPS, so she bought Penny a UPS hat so we happily put it on her! If my FedEx family doesn't like it, they can buy a purple baby hat for her!

Penny doesn't get any nachos from Casa Mexicana, but she was OK anyway ...

Cooper enjoyed playing with my in-laws' tree and finding which ornaments were most breakable ...

Copy and paste

2011-12-08T08:40:00.001-06:00

The latest from my Facebook status ...

- I was teasing a smoker at work about being dedicated to latch on to that cigarette in this cold. But you know what? If there was a large supreme pizza and plate of BBQ wings out back and I had to eat outside, I'd put on a coat and enjoy every minute of eating.

- What's the deal with McDonald's serving breakfast starting at 3? Who wakes up at 3? If you're up at 3 it's because you're still awake from the night before. When I go to work at 3:30 I don't want a sausage biscuit, I'm looking for a nugget fix!

- I feel bad for the monsters on Yo Gabba Gabba. Once they freeze up they're at the whim of DJ Lance. Who know how often he takes them out of that case? It's like "Brigadoon" except with weirder songs and seizure-inducing special effects.

- Last night Val was teaching Cooper his letters on his toy laptop. I was showing him how to suck in air to get a good burp. Daddys have a different kind of relationship with their boys.

- What?! "Community" is going on hiatus? Whatever, NBC. Way to abandon one of the few laugh-out-loud shows on TV.

- As someone who stood in line for hours to see the Star Wars prequels and all three LOTR, I won't bemoan the Twihards who are so excited for tomorrow. But that doesn't mean I'm not a little proud that I don't know the difference between Jacob and Edward, and which is a vampire or which is a werewolf, or why this chick who never smiles can decide between the two.

- I don't know who decided to finally bring back Diet Cherry Coke at my Kroger, but I am very thankful!

- I understand that with ten trees in or surrounding my yard that I will have a leaf problem in Autumn, but our backyard is covered knee deep with leaves that are blowing in from the trees on the golf course. That's just not fair. Think Stonebridge can bag these up for us, once Cooper's done playing in them in, say, January?

- Sentence I never thought 5 years ago that I would say No. 2,456: "No, Cooper, your poop smells different than Penny's. I can tell."

- Why does the Dodo get all the love for being extinct? Why don't we ever say, "Went the way of the Mastodon?" How about, "Went the way of Lindsay Lohan's career?"

- It's easy to spell out O-U-T and B-A-T-H so Cooper doesn't know what we're saying, but how do you spell "M&M"s so he doesn't want any?

This blog has gas?

2011-12-07T08:19:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago when Cooper tooted and I said he had "gas," he thought that word was a hoot.

So now my favorite game with him (besides playing with his trucks in his room, in the kitchen, on the coffee table and outside), involves him pointing at things, like this:

Cooper (points at Christmas tree lights): "Light!"
Me: "The lights?"
Cooper: "Gas!"
Me: "The light have gas?"
Cooper: "Nope."

Cooper (points at monster truck): "Truck!"
Me: "The truck?"
Cooper: "Gas!"
Me: "The truck has gas?"
Cooper: "Nope.

Repeat until he can't name any other items in the room. Sometimes he'll say "yep," too.

My boy is a laugh riot, y'all.

It's actually educational, because he's a little mockingbird now and loves learning new words. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Cooper at the Dr. office

2011-12-07T05:09:00.000-06:00

Me and Cooper were just hanging out in the waiting room with his trucks while Val and Penny saw the doc ...

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 6

2011-12-06T03:02:00.002-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 5

2011-12-05T03:10:00.003-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 4

2011-12-04T03:09:00.000-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 3

2011-12-03T03:04:00.002-06:00

Cooper had such a good time following his older cousin, Nate, around ...

Thanksgiving dinner was served by Piccadilly, and it was delicious and we had a great time, and didn't have to clean up one bit! Thanks, Dad!

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 2

2011-12-02T03:02:00.000-06:00

Cooper and Penny's Thanksgiving, pt. 1

2011-12-01T03:04:00.006-06:00

Dad came into town early for Thanksgiving, so he and Nana got some lovin' from Cooper and Penny ...

Cooper likes Waffles, and Val's totally cool with it ...

Cooper likes to watch Penny. He always wants to come over and "see!" ...

Penny at 2 months

2011-11-30T08:40:00.001-06:00

So how are things in Valfrey Estates? Sleepy. The way I see it, we're two months in, maybe just three to go until Penny starts sleeping through the night - hopefully - and Val and I get some more rest.

For now? Exhaustion. But we're still happy and not nearly as stressed out as we were with Cooper at the same age. We're even happier on the weekend when Val's parents watch one of the kids and we get a little bit extra time to sleep or clean or watch our shows.

Monday we went to the doctor for our precious Penelope's two-month-old appointment, and all looks to be going splendidly. She's almost double her birth weight, up to 9 pounds, 6 ounces, with a height of 20 1/2. For comparison, at Cooper's two-month appointment he was two pounds heavier and two inches longer.

Penny's had acid reflux since she was in the NICU, so the doc prescribed an itty bitty amount of Zantac to help reduce the burning. Hopefully this will cut down on the fussiness. We had already started adding rice and changed her formula on the advice of the nurse, but we're not sure if either helped. At first we wondered if she was just hungry, but the nurse told us not to go over 4 ounces since her tummy can't handle too much.

Penny has periods of being unable to get to sleep soundly, so she ends up filling the house with blood curdling cries for a few hours a day. It's not as bad as Cooper's colic, so we're not freaking out, but it would be nice to get some extra rest with Penny asleep in her crib or bassinet.

It's been anything but a humdrum couple of months. Our schedule was already full with our mini Cooper, but now with Penny added to the mix we are active around the clock, as follows (beginning with when I wake up for work):

1:30 a.m. - I wake up, either because Penny woke me up (usually between 12:30 and 1:30) or with my alarm waking me up. I change her diaper, feed her a bottle, watch a show or movie and relax on the couch trying to get her back to sleep as she stares up at me while wrapped in a comfy pink blankie.

2:45 a.m. - I put Penny down in the bassinet and take a shower, get ready and go to work.

4:30-5:30ish - Penny wakes Val up to get fed. Val's up for the rest of the morning, because shortly after ...

6:45-7:15 - Cooper wakes up and is ready to go, go, go!

8 or 9 - Penny is fed again, maybe up and fussy.

Noon - I get home from work, play with Cooper and Val feeds Penny and tries to eat lunch herself while I force feed Cooper.

1 - Me and Cooper take a nap together, Val tries to get Penny to sleep so she can nap, too.

3 - All awake, ready for the afternoon. Hopefully the weather is nice and we can go to the park, or at least to Target or the mall.

4 or 5 - Penny is fed again. Then we eat dinner.

7 - Unwind with the lights out for Cooper, put him down for the night.

8 or 9 - I go to bed, Val feeds Penny and tries to get to bed ASAP.

Cooper's still doing very well with his little sister in the house. He likes to crawl up on the couch when we're holding her to see, and pet her hair, and he will give her his lovey and say "nice," because when he first did it Val told him that was nice. Once in a while if he feels she's been held too long he'll say "Penny down," but he doesn't get too upset.

In fact, Cooper just doubles his cuteness every day. He gigglingly repeats what we say, especially the funny words like "watermelon" or "bonus," and does this loud and long "yep!" that Val would say like the guy from "Storage Wars." All he wants to do is play with his trucks, destroy everything in the house and read books, and we try to accommodate him as much as possible. And force-feed some mac 'n cheese, chicken nuggets, waffles and fruit into his mouth three times a day.

Penny, of course, doesn't do much other than sleep, eat, poop and cry. We do enjoy when she's awake and happy, looking around at her surroundings with those big eyes, especially if there's a light to stare at. I'm not sure where she should be in her development by now, but I also remember the nurses in the NICU telling us that she could be a month or so behind due to being born five weeks early, so I'm just enjoying the newborn baby period and all the cute gurgles.

Cooper and Penny at the Burk Thanksgiving, pt. 2

2011-11-27T12:44:00.001-06:00

Cooper and Penny at the Burk Thanksgiving, pt. 1

2011-11-26T19:42:00.001-06:00

What I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving, 2011

2011-11-24T04:21:00.002-06:00

- My wife and two children who are the most important things in my world.

- My Darling Valerie for putting together some hashbrown casserole for me to take to work this morning for our at-work feast.

- The way Cooper yells "DADA!" when he wants my attention, such as if I'm walking past the bathroom while he's taking a bath.

- Penny's squirmy little noises when she's stretching and trying to get comfy in my arms.

- Those who don't hold my (many) mistakes against me.

- The Ultimate Nachos appetizer at Buffalo Wild Wings.

- Aaron Rodgers on my fantasy football team.

- Red Sox players who didn't waste away during the September swoon by eating chicken, drinking beer and playing video games in the clubhouse during games.

- Christmas music on the radio, even if they do play the same ones over and over and over again.

- The doctors and especially the nurses at St. Francis Labor & Delivery and the NICU who took care of Penny for her first 10 days.

- The doctor and nurses who fixed me up when I had a herniated disc in my neck.

- Watching "Monster Jam" on the Speed channel with Cooper.

- Fun stories in the news that makes us forget the serious stuff.

- Sliding into bed at night when I'm really tired and falling asleep so fast that I can't even remember what I'm listening to via headphones on the radio.

- On a related note, when Cooper and I take a nap together, and he wakes up and plays by himself and lets me get an extra hour. And Val lets me, too.

- When it's my turn to feed Penny at 1:30 a.m. and she doesn't have a poopy diaper.

- Watching "Pardon the Interruption" during the 1:30 a.m. feeding, in the dark on the couch with the house quiet and Val and Cooper snoozing.

- That even though Val was in labor for a long day, the actual pushing was quick and the epidural was awesome.

Cooper playing in the leaves

2011-11-23T11:08:00.001-06:00

Even though we have eight trees in our yard and a half-dozen more surrounding it, somehow there's a pile of leaves a foot high in the backyard, and almost none of them are from ours! Cooper loves playing in them, though, so why hurry to rake them up?

Penny's perfectly happy staying inside ...

Some of Cooper's favorite "books" are actually the Christmas toy ads so that he can look at the trucks and cars in there ...

Penny and Mommy at church

2011-11-22T20:18:00.002-06:00

Sitting in the balcony to make it easier to slip out when Penny gets fussy ...

Playing in Cooper's room ...

Daddy and his favorite kids cuddling up before bedtime ...

Val's Sunday School Baby Shower

2011-11-20T12:38:00.000-06:00

With Penny being five weeks early, our Sunday School class didn't get a chance to throw Val a shower beforehand, so they did so last Sunday after church. Being good Southern Baptists, we first gather for lots of food, then the womenfolk give presents while the guys and kids play in the gym.

Cooper at Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party, pt. 3

2011-11-19T16:34:00.005-06:00

It took Val some coaxing to get Cooper into the bouncy, but once she did he had a great time.

Jeff and Val's TV Shows In Review: Fall Edition

2011-11-15T08:16:00.001-06:00

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER - We very much have a love-hate relationship with this show. The whole point of it - Ted's finding a wife - is the least interesting thing on the show, and has been for at least three years. Marshall and Lily's baby drama is the best part, while the Barney-Robin love affair is tiresome. There have been ups and downs this year, which is at least better than the meandering, meaningless "Season with Zoey" (*shudder*) last year. There have been a few decent themes, such as the duck tie, Barney's plausible theory that if you born after May 23, 1973 you like Ewoks and before you don't, and Lilly's "pregnancy brain." Not so much: The episode where they all pictured their parents while making whoopee, and Katie Holmes' guest stint as the Slutty Pumpkin.

NCIS - A lot of self-reflection by Tony this Fall, not as much with the fun and movie references. Cut out the seriousness! Poor Ducky, they kill off his mom, he can't get a chick, then the one hottie he does court ends up killing people to impress him. This may be titled the Season Of Redheads.

COMMUNITY - Weird season. We say that a lot, "This is a weird episode." We're missing the "theme" shows. The best so far has definitely been the one where they showed seven different timelines during Troy and Abed's new-apartment party depending on who gets the pizza.

CASTLE - Good season, thoroughly enjoying it. They're not pushing the Castle-Beckett inevitable relationship too much and the cases have altered between dramatic and fun, all interesting plots.

HAWAII FIVE-O - Glad the Grace Park-is-undercover plot is over, and hopefully with her back they can get rid of the other women who are part of the team but we don't care about, including the CIA one who is actually evil. One request: Please keep Locke, er, Terry Quinn, as a good guy who wants to help McGarrett but can't show it, and not make him a corrupt dude.

UP ALL NIGHT - Cute little show, but maybe more so since we have our own newborn so we can share some experiences. Thankfully they toned down the bleeping of bad language which threatened to derail us.

Cooper at Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party, pt. 2

2011-11-14T20:06:00.001-06:00

Cooper at Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party, pt. 1

2011-11-13T19:54:00.002-06:00

Saturday we went to the birthday party for Audrey, she being the daughter of Val's cousin Josh and his wife, Cathy. There were lots of kids, there, and all kinds of things for Cooper to enjoy playing and eating!

Cooper and Penny's pleasant park day

2011-11-11T04:50:00.000-06:00

Cooper's 2nd birthday, part 3

2011-11-10T12:31:00.003-06:00

Cooper's 2nd birthday, part 2

2011-11-09T12:25:00.002-06:00

Cooper's 2nd birthday, pt 1

2011-11-08T17:34:00.001-06:00

The week of Cooper's birthday we traded illnesses. First, I had a stomach virus at the start of the week, then Cooper got an ear infection, then Mom visited and got sick, then Val got a headache and is too tired to breathe, and then I got sick again, and then Val's Mom got sick, and the next week her Dad ...

Well, as a result we had to cancel Cooper's second birthday party. But since Aunt Lynn and Granddad were already on their way, I still had a cake to pick up and Val's parents were coming over anyway before Noon to pick up Cooper, we ended up having a small impromptu lunch and Cooper got his cake and presents. And then everyone was gone by 1 and Val and I could crash with Penny the rest of the day!

Maybe if they'd take a shower they'd clean up their act

2011-11-08T07:48:00.001-06:00

If you just watch the mainstream media's coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protests, you wouldn't know how nutso the groups have gotten. If you have paid attention you wouldn't need more proof that the Occupy Wall Street crowd is made up of a bunch of jobless kookie hippies and anarchists with a violent streak, but here it is:

“My wife and I were at the AFP dinner. Some info on the AFP member who was pushed down the stairs by the protestors… she is the second woman the police are helping up in the Daily Caller video. Her name is Dolores Broderson, age 78. She rode on a bus for 11 hours from Detroit to get there. She went to the emergency room with a bloody nose and bruises on her hand and leg.”

That was in D.C. over the weekend. Meanwhile, let's go to the home of OWP in New York and see how they treat their neighbors:

“She and her employees are terrified by the constant threats, which she said began after she demanded the protesters stop using her shop’s restroom as a place to bathe every day. The final straw came about two weeks ago, when the demonstrators broke a bathroom sink, flooding the shop, and clogged the toilet — setting her back $3,000 in damages.”

You would think city leaders would be against these loons ruining their cities. You would be wrong.

Copying and Pasting from Facebook

2011-11-06T10:59:00.000-06:00

- Thoroughly enjoyed going to the park yesterday so Cooper could play on the slide with his monster trucks and Val and Penny could walk around, and then stop at Cracker Barrel to pick up dinner on the way home. Good times. And thanks to my lil' sis, Stephanie, for the gift card so I could get some meatloaf! Yum!

- According to this, when I was born, I was the 4,098,023,662nd person alive on Earth and the 78,474,309,510th person to have lived since history began. Give or take 100 million, I'm guessing. I would say that it makes me feel insignificant, but I'm pretty sure that at least 75 billion of those before me were losers.

- It's easy to spell out O-U-T and B-A-T-H so Cooper doesn't know what we're saying, but how do you spell "M&M"s so he doesn't want any?

- The theme song to Thomas & Friends gets out of my head eventually, right? Right?!

- You know, just because you put your groceries right behind mine on the belt and stand 3 inches behind me in line doesn't mean the cashier is going to scan my stuff any faster.

- I'm sure it's an oft-repeated joke by now, but I just saw it and will repeat it: "Ten years ago, Steve Jobs was alive, Bob Hope was alive, Johnny Cash was alive. Now we're outta jobs, outta hope and outta cash."

- Went back to work this morning for the first time since we brought home Penny. So I won't be getting more than 3 hours of sleep a day until, I don't know, April? What I'm saying is, that blank stare doesn't mean I don't find what you say to be interesting, it just takes a few extra seconds to process.

- So Val and I are changing a very wet poopy diaper by Penny, when Cooper walks into her room and shows Val the poop on his hand from digging in his own dirty diaper. Oh yeah, we're going to have a blast with two kids in diapers

- Do you think parents in frontier days would lament while riding into town that their toddlers didn't like riding in the wagon

- I wonder about the sobriety of makers of baby mattresses. Cooper's is 28" wide and fits both his and Penny's crib perfectly, although the tag says it is 27 1/4" wide. The mattress we bought for Penny is 27 1/4" and not snug enough, although online the Babies R Us site claims it is 29" wide. Hogwash. Can't anyone at these places use a tape measure?

- In 60 years will our grandkids make fun of old women by using names like Jennifer and Madison the way we do we Martha and Ethel?
Do you think parents in frontier days would lament while riding into town that their toddlers didn't like riding in the wagon?

- I am very much looking forward to having a little girl, but I admit to being intimidated by girls clothing and hair!

- When I'm eating my "country boy breakfast" at Cracker Barrel, do they add that tiny sliver of an orange wedge just to make sure I don't get scurvy?

What We're Watching: Newborn Edition

2011-11-04T05:44:00.002-05:00

During the day the TV is either just playing in the background or on "Thomas & Friends" or "Monster Jam" for Cooper, so Val and I don't get to watch a lot of our shows.

Plus, we hold off on our shared favorites until the weekend, so during overnight feedings we sit in Penny's room rocking her with soothing music playing.

Ha! Bor-ing! Seriously, we sit on the couch watching TV.

Here's what's keeping our attention for an hour at a time when Penny eats and gets back to sleep:

- PBS specials. I had Ken Burns' "The Civil War" on the DVR for several months in anticipation of late-night feedings. I had a War of 1812 doc on, too, but in the first ten minutes realized it was produced in Canada so the history is skewed, and not only that it's told by a bunch of weenies who started moaning about how the war showed the importance of dissent, and oh geez, this is going to be an argument about Bushitler's Evil Iraq War, so I turned it off and burned the DVR.

- Val is on a kick of watching people find stuff on some combination of Storage Auction Pawn Kings Pickers. It's strangely entertaining, much more so than "Antiques Roadshow," at least.

- Movies: I've seen "The A-Team" and "The Passion of the Christ." Yep, took me this long to finally watch it. Still need to see "Taken" and "Date Night" on the DVR.

- Val's very excited that Christmas movies start this week. We also noticed that Christmas commercials started en masse on the 1st. Val figures this is a good time to start listening to Christmas music, then, and I'm even considering getting all of our decorations out this weekend. Hey, why pigeonhole Christmas into one month if it can be more?

- I'll watch shows like "Conan" on TBS or "Red Eye" at 2 a.m. on Fox News for laughs. "Pardon the Interruption" keeps me abreast of sports.

- Val was intrigued by "Penn and Teller Tell a Lie," so she's sharing that with me, and also on Discovery I record a lot of "Mythbusters."

150 years ago

2011-11-03T07:42:00.000-05:00

More Civil War-Era Memories from The Commercial Appeal:

Oct. 3, 1861

Memphis woman arrested in Virginia suspected of spying for the Union -- The Richmond Enquirer states that a lady who gave her name as Mrs. Mary Ann Keith, of Memphis, was arrested in Lynchburg ... she was rigged out in a full suit of soldiers' clothes, and had registered her name at the Piedmont House as Lieutenant Buford. She said her reason for dressing in soldier clothes was, that she had determined to fight the battles of her country, and thought such disguise more likely to enable her to accomplish her object.

Oct. 4, 1861

New Southern Styles! -- Miss M. Perdue, 326 Main Street is now prepared to present to the ladies of Memphis and vicinity the Southern styles gotten up expressly for Southern wear. We no longer will (or can) depend upon New York for our styles and fashions, which never did suit our climate or our people.

Oct. 5, 1861

Eight persons were fined $6 apiece yesterday for driving or riding their horses faster than the law permits. The police are on the lookout for those who imperil the lives of others by reckless driving and those who indulge in this amusement will find it expensive.

Oct. 9, 1861

Fall Fashion (from the New York Commercial Advertiser) -- Ladies will dress the front hair quite differently this next winter. It will be crimped, curled and puffed out very far at the sides, and not worn close to the face.

Oct. 12, 1861

Memphis, as seen by a ruralist -- If it be in the afternoon of a clear, sunny day he has a grand panorama...Memphis appeared about a mile below; her solid ranges of walls lit up by the western sun, her spires, and towers, and domes, relieved against the clear, blue sky, just softened by a hazy tinge. Proudly she sat upon her bluffs -- a queen! (The writer was from Washington Co., Arkansas.)

Oct. 16, 1861

Fatal Duel. -- In consequence of a difficulty ...connected with the pending congressional election in Mississippi, Col. Wm. A. Lake, of Warren co., and Col. Hal. Chambers, of Coahoma co., had a hostile meeting on the Arkansas shore, opposite this city, yesterday forenoon...the gentlemen exchanged shots, and at the third fire Col. Lake fell...Col. Lake was immediately brought to the city, and is now lying at the Gayoso.

Oct. 26, 1861

We glean the following from the Columbus correspondence of the New Orleans Daily Crescent: I heard one of the men thus hail two soldiers of some other camp, who passed along swearing about something. "Look hyur, you fellers, you mustn't cuss that way when you pass this camp; we don't allow cussin;' we don't, and dad burn your melts if you won't have to dry up!" ... The ancient and popular "dog gone," I may add, is largely in vogue among the soldiers who don't like to "cuss" or "swar" right out.

Oct. 30, 1861

The editor of the Ripley Journal recently visited Memphis, and on his return, wrote and published the following: "The times are very hard in Memphis - business dull - everything very high and scarce. The insatiable thirst for gain, has so seared the consciences of men, that the most inhuman extortion reigns predominant." Are the strictures of the Journal just? Who can tell.

Penny our little flower

2011-11-02T19:45:00.000-05:00

Cooper and Penny's 2011 Halloween

2011-10-31T19:31:00.002-05:00

We didn't go to our church's Fall Festival tonight due to illness; Cooper's getting over his virus, which he gave to Mom and Val's Mom, and Penny's been very congested, so we stayed home for Halloween. Which worked out great. And he was just so adorable toddling around with his cape billowing behind him as he held his pumpkin and the flashlight.

Cooper enjoyed his first year trick-or-treating around the cove. He was shy sometimes, but mostly he just wanted to go next door to see their "choo choo," which is really a horse-driven evil carriage with wheels that look like a train, so for the past month he's asked to see the "choo choo" about 15 times a day.

Penny of course didn't care, but I'm sure she enjoyed being pushed in the stroller by her Mommy while her big brother went door to door getting "treats!" Which he then wanted all opened as soon as we got home. Maybe he won't notice that Mommy and Daddy get three-fourths of it!

Jeff's 2011 MLB Predictions in Review

2011-10-31T05:41:00.001-05:00

AL EAST - Boston. Actual: Dang Yanks. On August 1, if you had told me, "The Sox will implode and all we'll be talking about in October is fried chicken, drinking beer and playing video games in the clubhouse and Theo is president of the Cubs," I would have been confused, at the least.

AL CENTRAL - Minnesota. Actual: Detroit.

AL WEST - Texas. Actual: Texas. Hey, got one!

WILD CARD - Dang Yankees. Actual: Tampa Bay.

DIVISION SERIES - Red Sox over Minnesota, Dang Yanks over Texas. Actual: Detroit vanquished the Yanks, Texas took care of the Rays.

ALCS - Red Sox throttle Dang Yanks. Actual: Texas over Detroit. Back-to-back trips to the World Series for the Rangers.

NL EAST - Philadelphia. Actual: Phillies. Easy peasy.

NL CENTRAL - Milwaukee. Actual: Yes indeedy, the Brew Crew won.

NL WEST - San Francisco. Actual: Holy cow, Arizona ran away with the West. Who knew?

WILD CARD - Atlanta. Actual: St. Louis slipped past the choking Braves on the last game of the season, which would be monumental if not for a similar collapse that involved fried chicken, drinking beer and playing video games in the clubhouse.

DIVISION SERIES - Phillies over Milwaukee, Atlanta over San Francisco. Actual: Milwaukee beat Arizona and St. Louis surprised Philly.

NLCS - Phillies beat Braves. Actual: More surprises: St. Louis over a Milwaukee squad more interested in celebratory mugging than hitting a curve ball.

WORLD SERIES - Red Sox beat Phillies. Actual: St. Louis over Texas in seven games. I wouldn't have even guessed the Cards would make the playoffs even as late as Sept. 25.

Cooper and Penny's visit from Scott and Jenn

2011-10-27T04:32:00.001-05:00

Aunt Jenn and Uncle Scott were in town last Friday and couldn't get enough of their new niece and adorable nephew!

Precious Penny's One-Month Birthday

2011-10-26T10:41:00.002-05:00

Penny is due tomorrow.

Well, that's what the doctors said nearly nine months ago.

In reality, as you can tell by all the pictures, Penelope Rose is a beautiful little baby who enjoys a big glass of milk, long naps and sleeping in her car seat during Mommy and Daddy's trips to Target and Texas Roadhouse.

Sometimes it's hard to believe it's already been a month, sometimes it feels like it's been more than a month. And that includes the first 10 days that she spent in the NICU, with us going back and forth to St. Francis-Bartlett.

Nowadays we're still setting into a routine, in part because we've been blessed with a lot of help. Val's mom stayed with us a few days last week, and my Mom is coming this week for a few days to help out. So it will be next week before we finally have a full week of having to live on reduced sleep for good.

At least, for now, we secretly hope that Penny is awake for the others' overnight turn, but we know there's some rest on the horizon. There won't be soon.

When we are on our own, our schedule looks something like this:

2 a.m. - Jeff wakes up to change and feed Penny, then lays her back down to get ready for work.

5 a.m. - Val wakes up to change and feed Penny, then lays in bed wishing she could get back to sleep before ...

6:30 ish - Cooper wakes up, Val takes care of him.

8 a.m. - Val changes and feeds Penny, who might stay awake for a few hours while Cooper plays and they try to go outside.

11 a.m. - Val changes and feeds Penny.

Noon - Jeff gets home.

1 p.m. - Jeff and Cooper take naps. The last few weeks, however, I've allowed a bad habit of letting him nap with me. I will regret this when it's time to get him back in his crib for naps. Assuming Penny's not too squirmy, Val tries to nap, too, in Penny's room.

2 p.m. - Val changes and feeds Penny.

3 p.m. - Jeff and Cooper wake up. Playtime, outside time.

5 p.m. - Someone changes and feeds Penny, others try to make dinner. Try to keep Penny awake for a few hours.

6:30 p.m. - Cooper's bath time.

7:30 p.m. - Cooper's bedtime.

8 p.m. - Jeff changes and feeds Penny, Val tries to get in bed and early to sleep.

9 p.m. - Jeff puts Penny down, goes to sleep.

11 p.m. - Val wakes up to change and feed Penny.

Hopefully this will all work through the holidays and until Penny is sleeping through the night.

She's eating well, hasn't been sick and sleeps great. So far, so good. She's pretty squirmy in her bassinet all swaddled up, but that's normal for babies, I'm told. Cooper wouldn't stay swaddled past two weeks. He could fight his way out of any baby burrito I tried to wrap him in. She can kick her way out of the blanket, but thus far hasn't bested Houdini by getting out of the swaddling blanket with velcro.

One of the best parts is that our mini Cooper is handling his little sister just swell. He likes to watch her in the bassinet, and when she cries he'll look at you concerned and said, "Uh-oh Penny!" He also likes to try and give her his cars or his lovey - his favorite blanket is actually a burping cloth - and he hasn't exhibited any signs of being too jealous other than trying to crawl on you while we're feeding her.

He gets plenty of attention, I think, since she mostly sleeps, so for now I think we're okay. When she's big enough to play, well, it could change, but we're hoping that they'll keep each other company while Mommy and Daddy take a five-minute breather once an hour or so!

(I'm sure there's more to add, but I'll leave that to my Darling Valerie, who spends all day and all night immersed in and outnumbered by Team Cooper & Penny.)

Lacking nothing in 2012

2011-10-26T04:48:00.001-05:00

Here's how I'm guessing the conversation went yesterday when new Red Sox GM Ben Cherington told pitcher John Lackey that he's having Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2012 season:

GM: Your elbow is shot, John. You'll be out the entire season next year.

Lackey: Huh? I'm feeling fine.

GM: I can tell, you're a little limp in your arm.

Lackey: For real, I'm holding fried chicken, beer and playing video games right now!

GM: No, no, I see it going out any minute.

A reminder of Lackey's 2011 statistics: 12-12, 6.41 ERA. He is 26-23 with a 5.26 ERA since signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal before the 2010 season.

Penny and her proud Daddy

2011-10-26T04:27:00.000-05:00

Uncle Rob and Aunt Mary came for a visit to see precious Penny!

Cooper likes to try to give Penny his toys. It's so cute ...

Penny gets a visit with Nana

2011-10-25T11:23:00.002-05:00

Nana gets a treat with some special Penny time ...

Naptime is special time for Daddy and Cooper ...

Mommy and Cooper enjoy some cuddle time with his Thomas bucket ...

Cooper and Penny at the park

2011-10-22T00:20:00.001-05:00

Cooper's buckets

2011-10-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

My boy may not care about candy or trick-or-treating, but he does love buckets to put stuff in!

Random links on the Occupy Wall Street silliness:

2011-10-19T11:16:00.000-05:00

- My favorite headline isn't exactly about the protests, but it certainly would fit: "More Crazy Donkey Shows Rescheduled"

- They're not very good at math: "The mere fact that the protest is still going strong after 25 days is means it has met one of its goals: Organizers said from the start that they hoped to sustain their demonstration for two months."

- The Left is trying to make these unwashed drum-banging hippies into their own version of the popular Tea Party uprising.

Oh sure, it's like the same thing. Remember when the Tea Party went poopy on police cars?

No? How about when they sent lawmakers threatening mails saying it is "time to kill the wealthy?" Don't remember that part?

How about when they shouted "'Kill the Cops!" during protests?

Well, other than that, it's the same thing.

- The poor downtrodden protestors have to use their kayaks in Chicago to make their point.

Penny's bassinet balloon

2011-10-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

Penny's first doctor visit

2011-10-17T07:26:00.001-05:00

Cooper and Penny's visit from Cody and Katie

2011-10-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

Pretty Penny's Close-ups

2011-10-15T07:01:00.002-05:00

Cooper playing at the park

2011-10-14T22:45:00.002-05:00

Cooper's really enjoying his Daddy being home this week, including going to the local park several days ...

Penny's generations

2011-10-13T22:41:00.002-05:00

Penny with Val's Mammaw Margie and her Dad, marking four generations of Howells, and then down below, Penny's first bath at home!

Penny and Cooper update

2011-10-13T21:44:00.005-05:00

Wednesday we took Penny to her first appointment with her pediatrician, and for the fun of it made a two-fer and threw in Cooper's 2-year appointment as well.

Penny is up to 5 lbs 11 ounces and has grown 3/4 of an inch to 18.5, and all seems to be going very well.

We're still trying to figure out a schedule for her (and us). Right now we're on 3-hour days and 4-hour overnights. I'm taking the night shifts until I go back to work Monday, and keeping up with Cooper during the day while Val takes over Penny duty. (And dooty, I should add.)

She's mostly sleepy, but has had periods of being fussy for a few hours at a time, mostly during the day but also from 2a to 6a for me the other night, which just ended up being a time to finally watch my DVR recording of "The A Team" while standing up and rocking her. This will not be the last time, so we're stocking up on generic stuff to watch on the DVR!

Cooper's doing pretty well adjusting to his little sister. He's very interested in her and sneaks a peak at her in the bassinet all the time. He likes to crawl up on us when we're feeding or holding her, but doesn't exhibit signs of being overly jealous. Now, when she's a little older and needs more attention, we'll see, but for now we're happy.

Penny is right on Target

2011-10-11T02:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend Val and I decided to venture out and take Penny to Target. She takes up the whole basket!

We also had some friends come visit, including Patty and David ...

And Jenny and Rick with their daughter, Carly, whom Cooper enjoyed playing with ...

Our little angel is a very good sleeper ...

Which is great since her big brother is not any quieter with her in the middle of the living room!

Penny comes home!

2011-10-10T01:06:00.000-05:00

Oct. 5, 10 days after she was born, Penny was finally able to come home from the hospital!

Big brother Cooper still played loud, Penny still slept ..

Penny's last day in the NICU

2011-10-09T04:01:00.000-05:00

Still time for Cooper to play and Val's parents to come see their granddaughter.

Cooper and Penny

2011-10-08T12:56:00.002-05:00

Cooper never quite understood the NICU, but he did like to play in the mother/baby room for at least, oh, 10 minutes before it was time to leave and go play!

Thursday headlines

2011-10-06T06:48:00.001-05:00

"Doc, 2 Others Charged in Miss Chemotherapy Fraud"

Thankfully the Monoclonal Antibody Therapy pageant remains clean.

"Gumby Tries to Rob 7-Eleven"

If caught he's headed to the Pokey.

"Suspect in Lincoln Killing Pleads Not Guilty"

Only took nearly 145 years to get to court?

"Scientists Play Ping-Pong With Single Electron Using Paddles Made of Sound"

That's nothing. I hear some college majors are working on how to get protons and neutrons to play Burgertime.

"Beyonce Discusses Pregnancy and Her New Fragrance"

Smells like chocolate cake, pickles and virgin strawberry daquiri.

"Federal Reserve Considers Whether to Twist Again"

Like we did last summer?

"Schmuck Arrested for Tagging Building"

I was going to go with "Doodoo Head," but schmuck will do, too.

Civil War Memories Insults

2011-10-05T11:28:00.002-05:00

More Civil War-Era Memories from The Memphis Daily Appeal:

Aug. 8, 1861

We understand that President Davis intends to put the Yankee prisoners to work in Richmond, manufacturing shoes for our soldiers. They could earn their "grub" in this way, and be, for the first time in their lives, perhaps, employed in a good cause.

Aug. 9, 1861

Board of Alderman meeting / Ald. Gallor introduced an ordinance imposing a penalty of $50 upon hackmen driving lewd women through the streets. Ald. Morgan said he had introduced a similar ordinance in a former board, but it had been voted down on the ground that to ride through the streets was a legal right. Ald. Farmer thought that if they were not allowed to ride, they would walk, which would tend to increase rather than diminish immorality. A resolution was adopted allowing services in an African church in North Memphis, provided they are conducted by a white minister.

Aug. 10, 1861

There was an air of life and activity upon our principal streets yesterday, that gave the city quite a lively appearance. At no time during the day was the Main street without its bustling crowds upon either side-walk, passing up and down. We very much doubt if any of the mere pretentions of the cities north of us could have shown so thronged a thoroughfare throughout the day.

Aug. 13, 1861

We notice in the August edition of De Bow's Review, the following just tribute paid the patriotism of Tennessee: "Though the latest to join the Southern Confederacy, she has exhibited a degree of zeal so far that no other state has equaled; and at this moment she has a larger volunteer force enrolled and ready for service than any of her sisters."

Aug. 14, 1861

Unfeminine Women -- We cannot conjecture the cause, but the number of women arrested by our officers for fighting and other unfeminine proceedings has of late been unusually great.

Aug. 15, 1861

Having been authorized by Governor Harris to raise a battalion of Mounted Rangers, for the war, I desire to enlist five hundred able-bodied men, mounted and equipped with such arms as they can procure (shot guns and pistols preferable), suitable to the service... Those wishing to enlist are requested to report themselves to me at the Gayoso House, where quarters will be assigned them until such time as the Battalion is raised. N. B. FORREST, Lieut. Col. P. A. Tenn.

Memphis stands a good chance to become the permanent capitol of the Confederate States if she will only take a proper move in the matter. It is every day becoming more evident that Kentucky, Missouri and a large area of the western territories must, by virtue of necessity, ultimately come with the South, thus rendering this city a central point -- it already possessing the other requisites of accessibility and healthfulness.

Aug. 16, 1861

Drinking coffee has become transformed into a highly extravagant indulgence -- the article is very scarce and very dear, and the New Orleans boats bring up but slender supplies....

Aug. 18, 1861

Blankets for the Soldiers. The near approach of the autumnal season, and the almost certainty of the continuance of the war, suggests not only the propriety, but the necessity of supplying our troops in the field with warm clothing and warm covering. It will not probably be within the power of the government to do this, and much necessarily depends upon individual effort.

Aug. 20, 1861

The New York Herald grows weak in the knees at the defeat of the Federal forces at Springfield ..."The news from Missouri which we published this morning, giving an account of the defeat of Gen. Lyon's army, and of the death of the general himself, is an additional reason for the prompt exertion of the utmost vigor."

Aug. 22, 1861

Shelby Light Dragoons -- This splendid company of cavalry paraded our streets yesterday evening, presenting a most imposing appearance. They numbered something over one hundred men of the most substantial character; and it may not be out of place to mention that the APPEAL office is represented in it by some seven or eight members.

Michael Shaeffer and Pressley Gamble were arrested on Island No. 10 two or three days ago as spies. They were yesterday put in jail here. They say they were on a fishing expedition.

Aug. 24, 1861

The luxury of the season in Memphis is a frozen watermelon from Bohlen, Wilson & Co.'s ice house on Main near Madison. The frozen melons are incomparably superior to the warm melons bought from the street peddlers.

Aug. 28, 1861

Proceedings in Council -- Ald. Morgan introduced certain projected amendments to the city charter. ... The first amendment is to extend the corporate limits very materially. The eastern proposed line is three miles from the center of the Mississippi River. Ald. Greenlaw said if the limits were extended, police protection must be provided and improvements be made on the new territory. ... It is well known that those living in the suburbs do not want to come in to the city limits; they do not want to have their land cut up into little lots . . .

Memphis has already furnished forty-eight military companies for the defense of the southern cause, and when called upon, will furnish more. We doubt whether any other city in the Confederate States of her population has done so well.

Aug. 29, 1861

For Coffee Drinkers --We are assured by a gentleman, who has often drank the beverage, that no substitute for coffee is equal to the infusion of the pea. Let the peas be well roasted without burning, then pound them. Cook the broken peas like coffee, and without admixture; boil well, then drink with milk and sugar. Those who are fond of chocolate generally like the pea coffee.

Aug. 31, 1861

The Atlanta (Ga.) Intelligencer gives the following advice to all true southerners: Let us all agree to stamp out the last trace of Yankeeism in the South, in our manners, habits industry, literature and trade. Those who feel that they have the taint of Yankeeism, either by birth or association, should seek to be rid of it. Let it become unfashionable, for instance, for young ladies to say "I reckon," "due tell," "wall whoever," etc. Let young gentlemen beware how they reply by "I guess I can," to any pleasant inquiry. Don't read Yankee books.

It is asserted that Gen. McClellan has ordered that the uniforms for the Federal troops be hereafter made of blue cloth, to distinguish them from the Confederate forces, who are mostly clad in gray.

Sept. 4, 1861

(U.S. Army) Gen. Prentiss, who has been commanding the Cairo suckers, it seems, has become tired of fighting those ferocious gallinippers that sport in that delicious region, and has accordingly thrown up the sponge and quit his trade. He is succeeded by some unknown Hessian, responding to the name of Grant.

Sept. 5, 1861

Earthquake - We have portents in the heavens above and on the earth beneath; a few weeks ago a comet blazed in the skies and we learn from the Knoxville (Tenn.) Register, that on Saturday last an earthquake shook the everlasting hills. That paper says: Our citizens were startled by a heavy shock of an earthquake, which commenced a few moments before five o'clock, accompanied by a rumbling noise and shaking of the houses. ... The shock created quite a consternation in the camps in this vicinity, startling the slumbering soldiers to their feet. . . The quake was felt through East Tennessee and as far south in Georgia as Augusta.

Mayor Park in the abundance of his gallantry, last week end ordered that every woman on the chain gang be set free. There were 11 of the sex in the calaboose at the time the order was given. Two of them soon afterward got so exhausted in their efforts to drink an appropriate number of potions to the Mayor's health that before midnight they were back in their old quarters.

Sept. 6, 1861

We are informed that country people and travelers are avoiding Memphis on account of a fear of difficulty about passports. If such be the fact, the fear is groundless, for no passport is required by persons traveling within the Confederate States.

Sept. 10, 1861

Monroe Street Ghost - The two detective officers connected with our city police stationed themselves on the haunted premises at the corner of Monroe and Third streets, on Sunday night. No missiles fell while they remained, but we learn that they have their suspicions. (A Sept. 8 story describes poltergeist activity -- brickbats, bottles and other articles being hurled into a yard on Monroe at nightfall with no sign of human involvement.)

Sept. 12, 1861

Mothers' Hospital. -- This institution, now located in the Irving block, has grown from a little effort, with thirty beds to start on, to the dignity of a Confederate States hospital, whose walls on Sunday last, enclosed no less than 497 patients...No money from the Confederate States has hitherto been used, volunteer efforts having, so far, met all demands.

Sept. 13, 1861

Mosquitoes -- Our citizens are generally complaining of great annoyance of those little pests. ...We have heard of various remedies to keep them off -- divest yourself of all clothing, and give yourself a thick coating of tar, from head to foot, then lie down -- not a single mosquito will annoy you. You can wash off the tar, at your leisure, with strong lye and turpentine.

Sept. 14, 1861

Alderman Amis said slave dealers in Memphis are not doing any business and they cannot afford to pay the yearly license fee of $300. He proposes that for the present the license be reduced to $100 a year.

Sept. 15, 1861

On Saturday evening the new bridge, over Wolf River, sank in the center, and yesterday afternoon the whole structure, excepting the two ends, fell ruined in the water.

Sept. 19, 1861

A Precious Half Dollar -- We were shown a half dollar yesterday with a dent in it deep enough to lay the end of the little finger in. At the battle of Manassas it was in the vest pocket of private M. Cane, of the New Orleans Tiger Rifles, and its presence there undoubtedly saved his life.

Sept. 20, 1861

Manassas Street -- On the motion of Ald. Gailor, Council last evening directed that the street hitherto known as Boundary Avenue shall henceforward bear the name of Manassas Street.

(Classified Ad)

To venders [sic] of Newspapers -- I hereby notify venders of newspapers that hereafter they shall not disturb the Sabbath with their cry of such and such papers for sale; if they do, the police are hereby especially notified to place all such disturbers of public worship in the calaboose, and if it is persisted in, I will stop the sale of all newspapers on the Sabbath. John Park, Mayor

Sept. 21, 1861

Ald. Merrill proposed that Council should, for the future, meet every week at 7 o'clock on Tuesday evenings. Ald. Kortrecht was of opinion that the oftener Council meets the more it will find to do; one regular meeting a month would be better than two at present. Ald. Townsend had found that a certain amount of gas had to be let off every meeting; to double the meetings would be to double the amount of gas expended. Ald. Farmer thought that to let off the superfluous gas might be conducive to public safety; he was in favor of four meetings a month. ... The subject was referred to the Ordinance Committee.

Sept. 22, 1861

Meeting of the Hebrew Ladies' Association of Memphis -- A meeting of the Israelite ladies of this city was held at the home of Mr. Strauss, dry goods merchant, where a society was formed under the name of "The Hebrew Ladies' Association for the aid of the Volunteers," for the purpose of giving aid and comfort to the Confederate army.

Sept. 27, 1861

University of Mississippi. -- We learn from the Oxford Intelligencer that it is necessary, on account of the want of patronage, to suspend the exercises of this institution. The board of trustees are to hold a special meeting ...when, it is anticipated, the halls of the University will be closed until it can again command a reasonable amount of patronage.

(With only four students registered, the university closed and would not resume classes until 1865.)

Sept. 28, 1861

The intelligence from Nashville advises us that Gov. Harris, in obedience to Gen. Johnston's requisition, has called out the reserve of thirty thousand troops ...the "Volunteer State" will speedily respond to the required quota with which she has been assessed, and if needs be, will go thirty thousand "better."

Get your own ducks in a row, dude

2011-10-05T07:24:00.002-05:00

Obama is out gallivanting around the country whining that Republicans won't put his jobs bill up for a vote, while Harry Reid (D-Snoresville) blocks a vote in the Senate because he knows he doesn't have enough Dems to pass it even though they're in the majority.

Cooper and Mickey

2011-10-05T04:34:00.003-05:00

We enjoyed some Cooper and Daddy time Tuesday afternoon at Toys 'R Us, where Cooper thoroughly enjoyed playing in the Mickey Mouse car ride in the store:

Cooper and Penny's first meet-and-greet!

2011-10-04T08:12:00.006-05:00

Cooper and Penny finally got to meet this weekend! Of course, the first ten minutes he just played in the mother-baby room while Val fed his little sister, but he stopped for a minute to give her sugars. Then he grabbed me to go outside and play outside and around the hospital. His favorite part was the ice machine and the automatic paper towel dispenser.

Unfortunately my camera's batteries ran out so we have to make do with fuzzy cellphone pictures. Sorry.

At the bottom is a picture of Nana with Pretty Penny! Nana was so excited Monday to get to see her great-granddaughter!

Don't go to the light!

Precious Penny

2011-10-03T07:18:00.000-05:00

Val's baby shower

2011-10-02T11:28:00.002-05:00

The day before Penny was born, The Jackson Gang held a shower for Val at Heather and Geoff's home in Southaven. Something must have been in the water, because hours later Val's water broke and it was time for baby!

Penny and Grams and Aunt Lynn

2011-10-02T07:16:00.000-05:00

Cooper and Grams

2011-10-02T07:10:00.003-05:00

Mom and Cooper shared some Mexican Saturday afternoon, he got a ride in the wagon and got to push it earlier in the week, and then enjoyed an Oreo ...

Penny's wide eyes

2011-10-01T20:40:00.001-05:00

Penny-sized burp

2011-10-01T11:29:00.001-05:00

This was taken early in the week when we were feeding her in a room next to the NICU.

Cooper's farm book

2011-10-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Penny in the NICU

2011-09-30T02:41:00.000-05:00

Penny's birth story

2011-09-29T10:41:00.002-05:00

At 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning the 25th, my six-week neck surgery recovery was officially over at five days when my Darling Valerie woke me up and told me that she was very sure that her water had broken overnight.

Surprise!

No time to worry about post-op restrictions at this point, so it's time to get the luggage out because Val was only 35 weeks and two days pregnant and we hadn't even gotten around to packing a bag for the hospital. This was No. 456 of Things We Needed To Do Before Penny Was Born But Now Must Finish On The Fly.

I, being a male with no panic mode (stop laughing), took a shower while Val called her parents to get them to come watch Cooper, then her dad drove us to St. Francis Bartlett, just five minutes down Hwy 64 and where Cooper was born 23 months earlier.

It took a while for Nurse Giggles to check us into Labor & Delivery. I call her that because she was a dear and helped us for 12 hours, but bless her heart she had a tendency to giggle at the most inappropriate time. For example, "Sometimes babies just don't like to breathe *Giggle!*"

Once checked in Val was put in a room and told that she'd be there until Penny was born, either in a matter of hours naturally or induced, or days if the docs decided to let her water build back up and let Penny develop inside the womb so long as there were no infections. That debate lasted several hours, with the nurses and docs tracking Val's contractions like a group of guys analyzing their fantasy football teams on a Sunday.

Val would have bad contractions, then they'd subside. Then bad again, then slow down in intensity, all the while the folks in scrubs were looking for a "labor pattern."

To recap: Val spent all morning and afternoon moaning and flopping from side to side in pain, while I sat next to her watching the Titans game and eating McDonald's that her dad brought me.

By 4:30 we decided, "You know what, she's having contractions all the time, those things hurt like the dickens and obviously Penny's coming so let's get on with it, right?" Not to mention, Val hadn't eaten or drunk anything in almost 24 hours by this point, and she wouldn't again until after she gave birth.

The big bonus of this was, Val got to get the epidural and stop the worst of the contraction pains. This was also about the point that the weather guys broke into our NFL games to tell us that Memphis and Bartlett were smack dab in the big scary red box of a tornado warning, and we were on that "4:35 Bartlett" list of scheduled targets.

Of course, this brought forth the idea that Penny could be born in the hallway. Thankfully not. The storm produced some great lightning but no tornadoes.

I was kicked out for a half-hour during that procedure, so I ran home to grab a few things and get some Arby's for dinner. I did buy an extra sandwich for Val that she enjoyed at midnight.

By 7:30 Val was at least 6 cm dilated, but the nurses weren't satisfied and gave her some oxytocin to speed things along. And oh did it work better than they hoped!

By the time the nurse checked again at 8:40 p.m. Val was at 10 cm and Penny was already sneaking out of Val! Seriously, the nurse had Val hold her legs together like a five-year-old trying not to go wee-wee in the middle of Kroger.

Did I mention that there wasn't a doctor in the hospital at this time? The on-call doc was actually in Germantown delivering two babies, and the backup on-call doctor was in Collierville on the way. So the nurses told Val to push, she did so one time and one time only, and Penny popped out into the nurses' hands.

The backup on-call doctor walked in a few minutes later in his polo shirt and shorts, looked satisfied, scrubbed in to do his business, and was gone in 15 minutes. And I'm sure took all the credit when he got home, put on his smoking jacket and puffed on a stogie while drinking a large glass of wine in his leather-clad study. Or so I imagine that's how doctors act at home.

Our little Penelope Rose was born at 8:56 p.m., weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces and 17 3/4" long. Not too shabby in size for being almost five weeks early. But she wasn't fully developed, so the nurses took her to the NICU to double-check everything, and pronounced her fairly healthy.

Unfortunately she has been a little fuzzy with the whole coming-up-for-air-while-eating thing, so she's going to stay in the hospital until the staff is satisfied that she won't digress. I mean, it's okay when I shovel food in my mouth without breathing, but when you're 24 hours old it apparently is bad.

Val was discharged Tuesday afternoon and since then we've been to the hospital during her feeding times at 12, 3 and 6 p.m. to be by her side while she feeds and we get to hold her. They won't let us hold her when she's asleep, since anytime she's awake she needs to be eating and she might want to play.

We're also still waiting until her big brother can meet Penny. He still has no idea what's going on, although by now he has to be a little suspicious, right? We're looking forward to bringing Penny home and taking pictures as a family and letting Cooper start figuring out how he's going to simultaneously pick on her, hit on her friends and fend off her suitors in the coming years. He'll be a great big brother.